Chapter 7

Shuuhei pushed the blue button again and the window slid down silently. He looked down inside the door trying to see the glass. Where did it go? How did it do that? He pushed the red button again and the window slid up. He watched the glass meet the soft edge of the window frame. If he put his hand up to stop it would it cut off his fingers?

This whole contraption is amazing…

He leaned forward in his seat again, looking over Yumichika's shoulder. The thin shinigami was sitting in the front flipping through a magazine.

"Ayasegawa-san," Shuuhei said excitedly, "change the music again."

Yumichika sighed dramatically and flipped another page. "Shuu-chan I've changed the music four times in the last minute and a half. I refuse to change it until the song is over."

Shuuhei pushed himself farther over the seat in front of him. "Well then push one of those," he pointed to the little buttons with pictures on them, "I haven't seen what those do yet."

Renji grabbed Shuuhei's shoulder, and gently pulled him back into his seat chuckling softly. "You're like a little kid."

Shuuhei was all smiles, "I can't help it! This thing is incredible!"

Orihime laughed as she drove. "Hisagi-san, for how smart you are and mature and responsible, you sure are silly!"

Kira spoke from the other window. "You should have seen him when he got a hold of a communicator for the first time."

Orihime laughed again as Yumichika let out another long sigh. "Orihime-chan, I still don't understand why you bought this. There's nothing in here except girls in ridiculous outfits and a silly quiz about how important looks are for you. That's stupid; I don't need a magazine to tell me something like that."

"It's just fun Yumichika-kun," Orihime replied, "and the outfits aren't all ridiculous. Look at her." She pointed to a picture.

Yumichika scoffed, "This girl has on a dress and a tie! That doesn't make sense."

Orihime pretended to pout, "I think she's cute!"

"Gimme that." Renji reached between the seats, and plucked the magazine from Yumichika's fingers. He sat back against the seat, and flipped through the pages. "'How Important Are Looks' quiz… yeah this is kinda silly."

Kira leaned over and scanned the questions. "Orihime, what is your best friend wearing?"

Orihime looked in the mirror at the blond, "What?" she asked.

Kira looked up at her. "It asks what your best friend is wearing."

"Oh, um… Tatsuki never really wears anything besides jeans and t-shirts. Oh, and her school uniform of course- and her karate uniform."

The three shinigami in the back looked back at the page.

"You have a dance performance in five minutes," Shuuhei read, "What are you doing?"

Orihime chewed her lip, "Um… stretching?"

Renji frowned at the page, "Most of your camping trip pictures are gone. Where are they?" He looked up, "I don't get what that has to do with looks."

"I think my pictures would be gone because I would have given some away to my friends." Orihime smiled in the mirror again, pleased with her answer.

Kira read, "The star of the football team is talking to you at a party, but he's not too bright. What do you do?"

"Oh please," Yumichika rolled his eyes, "This quiz is for children."

"What's football?" Shuuhei asked.

"It's a game Hisagi," Orihime answered, ignoring Yumichika, "I wouldn't care if he wasn't bright, if he was nice I would talk to him… That is if Ichigo was okay with it of course."

Renji glared at the page clearly interested in the results of the quiz, "One more question: It's Saturday, and you have plans with a movie, and ice cream. What do you wear?"

Renji looked up perplexed, "Do girls really think about what they wear around the house?"

"How do you have plans with a movie?" Shuuhei asked, also perplexed.

"Let's hurry up and finish the quiz please." Yumichika leaned his forehead against the window.

"I would just wear sweats," Orihime answered, "I would want to be comfortable."

Renji, Kira, and Shuuhei all leaned in to read the outcome of Orihime's answers. Renji read aloud: "'Inner Beauty' it says. 'You know beauty is on the inside. You love your guy for his personality, and not his looks. Good job for being mature, but it's okay to like looks a little too.'"

"Yay!" Orihime cheered in the front, "That's what I was hoping I would get! Not that Ichigo isn't nice to look at of course, but I would love him even if he wasn't."

Renji was still frowning intently at the page. Kira leaned over to him and asked, "Are you taking the quiz for yourself Abarai?"

Renji looked up, and realized everyone was looking at him. He blushed slightly, and looked back down.

"No… I was just thinking…"

Yumichika grinned, "What Abarai-kun?"

Renji's frown deepened and he rubbed the back of his neck. "Girls are just… strange that's all."

Yumichika giggled as Shuuhei took the magazine from the red head. He flipped through pages as they made their way to the next store. Orihime had run out of supplies, and Ichigo insisted someone go with her. Urahara was not about to let the substitute shinigami go out yet, so Ichigo had practically shoved everyone that wasn't on patrol out the door with his girlfriend.

"And don't let her spend a bunch of money on weird stuff," he had whispered to Shuuhei as he walked out the door.

Orihime pulled into the parking lot of a large market and pulled the lever for the trunk as the five got out. Shuuhei went around to the back, and grabbed two large guitar cases and handed one to Renji.

Sado had suggested when they were in public places, to carry around their swords hidden in the cases. This way they didn't attract suspicion; they just looked like a band.

Shuuhei looked at Renji as he pulled the strap over his shoulder and adjusted the hood of his dark gray sweatshirt. The tall shinigami had braded his long hair, and tied a black scarf around his forehead. Renji had said that he had finally learned how to dress in the real world after two years. He had been buying his own clothes for a while now, and had retired the hippy bell bottoms, and leather vest.

So if he buys his own clothes, he has to know what those jeans do to his ass…

He fell back slightly so he could watch the red head's hips sway back and forth as he walked. Thankfully, Renji was talking with Orihime and didn't notice. Unfortunately, it didn't last long as Shuuhei almost ran into Renji when he stopped just inside the doors.

"I'll get the fish!" Orihime exclaimed, "Hisagi-san, will you get the vegetables? You said you know how to cook tempura right?"

Shuuhei nodded, but then looked around a little concerned. "Um, where do I go?"

Kira grabbed his arm, and pulled him away from the other three. "We'll find them Orihime-chan, you guys meet us back here!"

Orihime waved, and disappeared down an isle with the other two.

"So what's going on Shuuhei?" Kira's eyebrow raised as the two made their way towards the large 'produce' sign.

"What's going on with what?" Shuuhei didn't know why he was pretending he didn't know what Kira was talking about. Kira knew him better than anyone and he could save himself a lot of head ache if he didn't play dumb.

"What's going on between you and Renji?"

Shuuhei shoved his hands in his pockets, "Nothing right now."

Kira gave him a sideways look, but said nothing as he unzipped his blue jacket, revealing the white t-shirt underneath. The blond liked cooler temperatures and seemed to overheat easily.

They entered the produce section, and Shuuhei stopped in front of a large bin of sweet potatoes. He eyed the pile, searching for the right shape, color, size…

"I hope you're being careful." Kira said quietly at his side. "You could really get yourself hurt in this situation."

Shuuhei didn't want to hear this, so his retort was a little harsher than he had planned.

"You really shouldn't be talking Kira."

"Actually," the blond snapped back, "I think I'm the perfect person to be talking to you about this."

Shuuhei grabbed three potatoes, and placed them in the basket Kira was holding for him. "This is totally different than us."

"I know it is." The blond said as he made his way between the bins, "I knew I wasn't hurting you when I ended it because I knew you didn't love me."

Shuuhei stopped and put his hands back into his pockets. "Kira, I've told you a thousand times that's not true."

Kira looked at him over his shoulder, "And I've told you a thousand times that it doesn't matter."

Shuuhei rubbed his forehead and sighed, "So… what? Are you worried about me getting involved with Renji? Because I've already told him I won't until he's ready."

"How exactly are you going to know when he's ready? Hm?" Kira placed a bunch of carrots in the basket, "How is he going to know when he's ready?"

Shuuhei was getting frustrated, "So, what the hell are you saying Kira? What do you want me to do?"

Kira didn't look up as he selected an eggplant, "I'm not saying I want you to do anything. I'm just worried about my best friend, that's all."

Shuuhei suddenly felt like an asshole. Kira was only trying to make Shuuhei really think things through before stepping into extremely dangerous territory. He was worried about his feelings, and Shuuhei had jumped all over him.

"Shit," he muttered, "I'm sorry."

"No need to treat me like glass anymore Shuu, I can handle it." Kira shoved the basket into Shuuhei's arms with a crooked smile. "I know you'll be smart about it, I just had to say something."

Turning around, he started back toward where they were meeting the others. "Personally," he said over his shoulder, "I think you're the best thing for Abarai right now. He needs the comfort I know you can give him."

Shuuhei put an arm around Kira's shoulders, and pressed his lips into the soft blond hair. He didn't care people were looking- let them look.

X x X x X

Renji had no idea what he was looking for; some kind of batter? Tempura flower something?

"Here it is." He heard Yumichika sigh next to him. The slender man pulled a package off the shelf, and handed it to Orihime.

"Thank you Yumichika-kun!" She exclaimed, "That's everything! Let's go find Hisagi and Kira!"

Renji followed but was wary; he'd had a peculiar feeling in his stomach for a while now. It had started when the group had split, and had gotten progressively more uncomfortable as they made their way through the store. He looked quickly over his shoulder, but saw nothing out of the ordinary.

The feeling intensified when the five met up again. As they moved through the check stand, Shuuhei gave Renji an anxious look as Orihime paid.

"Do you feel that?" Shuuhei's dark eyes flashed.

Renji nodded to him, and turned to Kira. "I've felt strange ever since we split up."

Yumichika grabbed the bags, shoving one at Kira, and snatched the receipt from the cashier. "Thank you, we're in a hurry."

Orihime looked wide eyed at Renji, "So I wasn't imagining things!"

Renji shook his head, and put a hand protectively on her shoulder as they made their way out the sliding doors. The sun had begun to set outside, and the temperature had dropped. Renji scanned the parking lot, and worried absently about all the possible hiding places behind cars.

Shuuhei had been leading the way, but stopped abruptly causing Yumichika to crash into his back.

"Shuuhei, what in the-" Yumichika started, but Shuuhei cut him off.

"What the hell is that?" Renji looked to where Shuuhei was pointing and stilled; his blood running cold.

Sitting on the roof of Orihime's car, was a slight form in a long dirty cloak. The cowl hid most of the figure's face, but Renji could clearly see the long skeletal fingers resting on the creature's knee. It sat with its head slightly cocked to the side, posture lazy, regarding the five with what seemed like bored interest.

"You are Kurosaki's companions I believe?" It hissed at them. Renji shivered at the voice, it sounded like those crazy Viazard kids Ichigo had befriended… only a hell of a lot creepier.

Shuuhei wasted no time and opened the guitar case, grabbing his daikatana and tossing another to Kira. Renji followed suit quickly, pulling out the tachi he had chosen, and handing Yumichika his katana. Orihime moved behind Renji, and frantically started punching numbers into her cell phone.

"Who are you?" Shuuhei's voice had taken on an icy edge, "What do you want with Kurosaki?"

The figure on the car stood and Renji noticed it was barely taller than Orihime.

"I personally don't want anything from the Kurosaki human," the cloaked figure hissed again, "I could care less about our father being dead. If he is dead, that means he was weak… Our leader on the other hand, is a different story. He wants revenge for his homeland, and his family being destroyed."

"When you say 'father', you are talking about Aizen correct?" Kira asked.

"Yes, I believe you called him Aizen."

"Who is your leader?" Shuuhei growled.

"Oh I believe Kurosaki has already met him." The figure chuckled, "Or maybe he doesn't remember. Tinieblas had barely enough time to greet him before the pathetic shinigami was on the ground."

Fire burned in Renji's chest. This Tinieblas bastard had ripped a hole in Ichigo's chest almost killing him, and now one of his underlings was standing before them laughing about it.

He stepped forward, but Shuuhei's hand pressed to his chest stopped him.

"Calm down Renji." Shuuhei whispered.

Renji growled but stood his ground.

"So what are you exactly," Yumichika spoke up, "besides hideous."

The figure chuckled again and placed a hand on its hip. "I am called Famelico. We are early creations of Aizen-sama when he dealt with negative currents of reiatsu. But I assume you have already figured that out, considering the vessels you now carry yourselves in."

"Yes, we did," Yumichika looked bored, "It wasn't that hard."

The figure stood still for a few seconds regarding the group. He then raised his hand and pointed at Yumichika. "This one's insolence is beginning to irritate me. Maybe I should teach him a lesson."

Renji stiffened as the others turned to see Yumichika's eyes widen. He clutched his chest, and let out a strangled gasp. Kira caught his arm and tried to steady the slight brunette.

Shuuhei and Renji moved as one; they flew at their cloaked attacker with swords raised. Shuuhei aimed high on the left, and Renji went for the knees on the right. For a split second it seemed as if Famelico was going to just stand there and take the blows, but then his bony hands reached into the folds of his cloak and pulled out a length of cord, split three ways with large metal balls on each end. He wielded it like a whip and the air next to Renji's head cracked loudly as he narrowly dodged.

Shuuhei hit the next ball that came at his face with his sword, and managed to almost knock Famelico off the car. Renji used the opening to swing at their attacker, but only clipped the front of the cloak.

Famelico took two quick leaps backward, giving himself some space. He then raised the boleadoras above his head, spinning the weapon and sending it hurling towards the two shinigami. Renji tried to block but the metal balls did their job, catching the two men and tangling their bodies together. The trap was complete as the balls spun around each other tightening the cords hold.

"Shit!" Shuuhei howled as they fell and he landed hard on Renji.

"Aaagghh! What the fuck is this!?" Renji roared as Shuuhei struggled against him.

Famelico laughed above them and Renji turned his head to see Kira kneeled on the ground next to Yumichika. The blond had his arms protectively around the smaller shinigami as he coughed and struggled to breathe.

"Tsubaki!" He heard Orihime shout, "Sacred Solitary Cutting Shield! iI reject/i!"

A flash of golden light erupted from where Orihime stood, and a tiny scream ripped through the air. Renji heard Famelico cry out in surprise, but it was quickly followed by Orihime's cry of pain.

"Shit! Inoue!" Renji shouted, "Hisagi what the fuck's happening!? I can't see!"

"Orihime's down! So are Kira and Yumichika!" Shuuhei bellowed, "Damnit! I can't move!"

Renji felt a weight besides Shuuhei crushing his lungs. Shuuhei must have felt it too, because he gasped and cursed into Renji's shoulder.

"You are pathetic… shinigami…" Famelico hissed close to Renji's ear.

Shuuhei stopped struggling, and Renji felt his own body become like lead. He couldn't move; everything was so heavy. His head fell back onto the concrete and his eyelids drooped closed.

So this is what losing your reiatsu feels like…

He didn't want to die here, but he couldn't do anything. As blackness surrounded him, he was glad of the warmth of Shuuhei's body against his own; at least he wouldn't die alone.

But then a calm, familiar voice bit through the darkness, stirring a painful hope inside Renji's heart.

"I understand why you think shinigami are pathetic… so do I…" The voice was cool, confident, and filled with provocation. "But unfortunately for you, I hate hollows more."

Renji heard a sickening thud, and Famelico screamed in agony.

What the hell is happening?

And then another voice- Urahara's… and it was like angel song, before he passed out.

"Ah, good evening! It looks like you are now susceptible to certain spiritual attacks… In that case… iSing Benihime…/i"

TBC