Summary: First, a glimpse of the past that may affect the future. In present day, Urahara asks Ichigo and Rukia to stakeout Souken's old apartment. Meanwhile, Ishida plans a quiet evening at home watching TV with Nemu.
200 years ago…
Ishida Kimiko's lungs burned as she struggled up the grassy hillside still damp with the morning's dew. The weight of her infant son seemed to be pulling her arms from her sockets. The small pack on her back pressed down, making her feel off balance. Gaining the top of the hill, she had no choice but to stop and try to catch her breath. She looked back at the small village she had fled. It was a farming town surrounded by rice paddies, the green shoots swaying in the light morning breeze, sunlight reflecting off the standing water. It was far away from any major city or port. It was a place the rest of the world forgot about as the people went about their daily lives following the cycle of the seasons, planting and harvesting. She had hoped it was far enough and remote enough for her to be forgotten too. No such luck.
She couldn't see them yet, but she felt them. The shinigami were moving from house to house. How had they managed to find her? There was no way of knowing. The only thing she knew for certain was the need to run. She unwrapped the blanket from her son's face to see if he was alright. Genpaku seemed to know instinctively that something was wrong. He stared at her, his eyes wide, not making a sound. That was good. She carefully replaced the blanket to protect his face making sure he could still breathe. Thing were going to get rough after they entered the woods. Taking one last look down the hill, she took a deep breath and headed towards the tree line. Was it her imagination, or had she seen a figure in black moving around down there? They were approaching this side of the village. They would know soon that she had gone. Heart pounding in her ears, she focused on gaining the shelter of the forest. The trees didn't seem to come any closer though she ran as fast as she could. She was only a few meters away when she slipped on the wet grass.
Twisting her body, she managed to land on her back protecting Genpaku, but knocking the breath from her body. She lay struggling to pull air into her lungs, feeling the shinigami drawing nearer every second. Regaining her feet, she was forced to take the time to restore the area where she had landed to a more normal state. It was bad enough she didn't have time to cover her tracks, she could at least be sure she didn't leave such a large and obvious sign of her passage behind. She took as much time as she felt was safe, picking up the grass stems and rearranging leaves. Anything she could do would help.
Struggling back to her feet, she picked up Genpaku and made her way into the forest. She had to find a place to hide. She walked as fast as she could, trying not to leave a trail. Soon she could no longer see the clearing behind her. Looking around, she saw an evergreen with branches touching the forest floor. Pushing her way through the needles, she found the area beneath the branches formed a conical space under the tree. She could barely see out. Putting her back to the trunk, she focused on her breathing and holding in her reiatsu. She had run as far as she could. Now her only chance lay in concealment.
A voice called out from the clearing. She couldn't make out what they said, but she could guess. They spotted her trail. Her efforts to hide the spot where she fell had failed. They now had a good idea of where to search. Concentrating on breathing slowly through her nose and exhaling quietly through her mouth, her hand unconsciously found its way to the cross on her wrist. She quickly shoved the thought of fighting the shinigami out of her mind. She had never been a great warrior. She wouldn't have a chance. Her husband, Eisuke, had been very powerful. He had stayed with the rest of the men in the clan to fight the shinigami and to give her and others like her the opportunity to find a place to hide. They did so knowing it was suicide. She hoped his death had been quick and painless. She could not let his sacrifice go for nothing. Their son had to live. The legacy of the Quincy had to survive.
A man's voice called out. "Sir, the Quincy came this way. I'm sure this is the right direction, but I've lost the trail in the underbrush."
"Everyone spread out." His superior said. "See if you can pick up any signs."
Kimiko's heart pounded in her chest even as she continued to practice the quincy technique of stillness. Breathe in slow, let it out quietly, mind still as a pond on a windless day. They could not detect what was not there. She tried to ignore the pulse of her heartbeat in her ears as she withdrew into herself, no longer tracking them by their energy signatures, preventing even the slightest leak of her own reiatsu. She followed them by ear as they moved farther and farther away. They had spread out in a fan and were soon moving past her hiding place. One by one, their steps grew fainter. They didn't see her. They were going away.
Just as she was about to risk probing outward with her powers, she heard one getting louder. It was coming back.
With a silent prayer, she held Genpaku closer.
Go away shinigami, she thought. There's no one here. I am a rock, I am a tree, I am nothing. There is no one here shinigami. Please go away.
None of her silent pleas made any difference. The shinigami came closer and closer, its footsteps louder and louder as it came straight for her hiding place. Kimiko struggled to control her fear as the shinigami came right up to the tree and stopped. She couldn't breathe as the shadowy figure on the other side of the branches slowly knelt down. When the shinigami pulled the branches away, she felt her heart stop. It was over. Her efforts had been futile. The shinigami facing her was a woman with long, dark hair in a thick braid. She stared deep into the woman's eyes as she clutched Genpaku tightly. She couldn't look away as she wondered what the woman was going to do to them.
"Unohana, did you find something?" her leader shouted from far ahead.
"No sir." The woman called back. "There's nothing here. I was mistaken." She let the branch fall back into place and stood up.
"Get back up here then." He replied. "We'll keep searching in this direction. The quincy couldn't have gotten far."
"Yes, sir." The woman called Unohana said as she casually walked away.
The sound of the hunting shinigami faded into the distance. Eventually, it disappeared. They were gone.
Keiko didn't know what to make of it. Was it a trick? Was she really going to be allowed to live? How was this possible? Trick or not, she had to take advantage of her opportunity.
She stayed under the tree for the rest of the day, long after she felt the last of the shinigami's presence. When Genpaku started to fuss, she fed him, ignoring her own hunger and thirst as she kept as still and quiet as possible. She listened as off in the distance, the little village awoke, went about its business, then prepared to go back to sleep. The sun began to sink on the horizon before she felt safe enough to move. She ate sparingly from the little food she had with her and drank most of her water. Genpaku had been so good through their ordeal. She changed and cleaned him as best she could, then wrapped him up for travel. She looked over the items in her pack once more. There had been little time to prepare. There was a little food, some spare clothes for her and the baby. Most importantly were the scrolls.
Eisuke had insisted she bring them with her no matter what. They contained the knowledge and teachings of the tribe. Their history, their techniques, all that she could reasonably carry about who they were and what it meant to be a quincy. So much had already been lost. She picked up a bronze tube. This was the most important scroll of all. Few quincys knew of its existence. Fewer still had the talent to use the knowledge it contained. Eisuke had been one of the few, one of the elite.
Tears squeezed past her tightly shut eyelids. She put the scroll back. There would be time to mourn when she knew she was safe. She had Genpaku to think about. She had to preserve the legacy of the quincy. She settled the pack as comfortably as she could across her shoulders. Picking up Genpaku, she forced herself to smile at his gurgling face. It gave her a good feeling when he smiled back. As long as one of them still lived, Eisuke's legacy would survive and the quincy would never die. She set off for the nearest road opposite where the shinigami had gone.
Reiko was so excited, she hardly finished swallowing her food before she talked. "I was amazed! I could hardly get to sleep last night. Knowing we were hunted down is one thing but to read a personal history like that made it feel so real. It's like I was there!"
Uryuu smiled with pride. His ancestors were pretty amazing. He had given Reiko a selection of the family history to read last night. Apparently, she had read through them all. Ryuuken wasn't eating breakfast with them. He took some toast on his way out the door, another overloaded day ahead of him. That made Uryuu Reiko's sole listener as she waxed enthusiastic over her new found heritage.
"Just think Ijima-san, your ancestors had to have gone through something similar to have survived." He pointed out. "It was a story that played out all over the world."
Reiko's face turned thoughtful as she took that in. "You're right." She said. "I wish even more that I knew my family history."
"In a way, you are learning it." Uryuu said as he adjusted his glasses. "The story of the Quincy is the story of your family. As long as we exist, you'll never be alone. You'll always have family."
Reiko blushed. She fiddled with her glasses as she glanced away. "Thank you Ishida-san. You don't know what that means to an orphan like me."
He didn't know how to respond to that. The silence began to feel awkward. He tried changing the subject.
"So, ah, I have to get to school. Did you have any plans today?" He asked.
"Well," she said, "I don't have to start my new job until this afternoon." Reiko had managed to find a job delivering Chinese takeout. "I'll be working four to ten tonight. I think I'll spend this morning apartment hunting."
"That sounds good." He replied.
"What about you?" She asked "Do you have any plan this evening Ishida-san?"
"No," he responded, "After the last couple of days, I'm just going to spend a quiet evening at home."
He already had it all planned out. After getting home, he would finish his homework, order a pizza and just spend the evening watching his favorite show, Burari Reijou Totsugeki no Tabi, starring Don Kanonji. He found the show very amusing, though for different reasons than Don Kanonji's regular audience. He hoped Nemu would like it too. A quiet evening alone, just the two of them. It would be great.
"This is just great." Ichigo complained. "I'm missing school for this?"
"Quiet you fool." Rukia hissed, removing the binoculars from her face. "This is a stakeout. No one can know you're here."
"But nothing's happening." He grumbled.
"Stakeouts are like that." She said. "You can go for days without seeing anything. The key to catching your prey in the act is to make sure they never know you're there. That's why you can't move or make a lot of noise."
Ichigo sighed. At least in his spirit form he didn't feel the effects of the sun beating down on him. They were lying on a rooftop watching the apartment building next door. The one Ishida's grandfather used to live in.
"This is so dull. Can't I at least use the binoculars?"
"No. Now shut up." She said without looking at him. She continued to watch the apartment in prone position propped up on her elbows. He thought back to how he got roped into this crazy mess…
"Kuchiki-san, Kurasaki-san, welcome! How are my two favorite customers today?"
Urahara had his usual suspicious looking smile on his face as he greeted them.
"Cut to the chase, hat-n-clogs." Ichigo said "Why did you call for us."
"Ichigo."Rukia whispered, "A little respect."
If the carrot topped boy's manners bothered the shopkeeper, he didn't let on.
"Tell me, how much do you two know about Ishida-san's grandfather?"
Ichigo scratched his head. "Ishida's grandfather? Not much. I know he wanted soul reapers and quincys to work together. Hollows killed him when Ishida was very young. Not much besides that."
Rukia nodded her head besides him. She knew even less than that.
"It would appear someone has taken an interest in him." Urahara said. "Last night, the town's shinigami was attacked by a team of arrancar."
"Inoue-chan mentioned something like that." Rukia said.
"Isn't that the guy with the weird hair?" Ichigo said scrunching his eyebrows. "Kuro…Kuru something-or-another."
Rukia sniffed. "Honestly Ichigo, it's not that hard. It's Kuruma… ah, Karada…"
"Zennosuke Kurumadani is currently healing up in the backroom." Urahara interrupted. "Thanks to your friend Orihime-san, he has made a quick recovery. Well at least physically."
"Physically?" Ichigo questioned. "They did something to his mind?"
"Sort of." Urahara said as he snapped open his fan. "You could say that."
No sooner had the words come out of his mouth when a bloodcurdling scream came from down the hall.
"Ahhhhh! No! NOOOOO!"
"Is that…?" Rukia began to ask.
Urahara gave a resigned sigh. "Yes, that is Zennosuke-san. We've been trying to calm him down for hours."
"Can we see him?" Ichigo asked.
Urahara frowned, holding his fan in front of his face. "I'd rather you didn't. Still, if you must I suppose a peek wouldn't hurt."
He led them down the hallway and stopped before a sliding door.
"I'm just going to open the door a crack and let you take a look. Please don't make any noise, it may upset him."
Suiting actions to words, he slowly pulled the door aside. Ichigo and Rukia put their eye up to the crack. What they saw made their blood run cold.
"No, no, this doesn't match my old hair at all!" Kurumadani cried as he pulled a blonde wig off his head. "It's the right shape, but the wrong color! I can't be seen like this!"
"We're doing the best we can Zennosuke-donno." Tessai rumbled apologetically. "Please, try this one."
Kurumadani took the wig offered and tried it on. "I look like a freak!" He said. He grabbed Tessai by the lapels. "Please! Can't you do something, anything to make my natural hair grow back?"
By turning to face Tessai, he made his damaged afro visible to the two young shinigami. As Ichigo took in the lopsided cut and the bald patch at the top of his head, he involuntarily gasped. He heard Rukia below him also breathe in sharply from the hideous sight. No doubt her jaw was open in shock as well.
Kurumadani whipped around. "What was that? Is someone there? PLEASE TELL ME NO ONE ELSE SAW ME LIKE THIS!"
Ichigo and Rukia, acting as one, slammed the door shut and put their backs against it as Kurumadani howled and wept with embarrassment.
"I warned you." Urahara reminded them.
"You were right." Ichigo said.
"Please forgive us." Rukia added. "I think I'll have trouble sleeping tonight."
Urahara turned to lead them to the sitting room. "Please follow me and I'll explain why I called you."
They entered just as Ururu was setting down cups of tea on the table.
"Will you be needing anything else, sir?" She asked.
"No Ururu. Please go up front and keep an eye on the shop." He said with a wave. "You say Orihime-san mentioned this to you already?"
Rukia took a sip of her tea, then set it down "She told me her and Chad chased off the arrancar and brought, Kura…. Kaura, whats-his-name here."
Urhara also took a long appreciative sip of his tea. He tilted his head back, eyes closed in satisfaction as he savored the taste. It had been a long night.
"From we have gathered from Zennosuke-san, the arrancar are here searching for something." He said. "Something from Ishida-san's grandfather. They were looking over his old apartment building when Zennosuke-san was attacked. "
"Do we know what they are looking for?" Ichigo asked.
"No, we didn't learn that." Urahara replied. "What we do know is that they didn't find it. That's why I need you. If they didn't find it the first time, they are sure to try again."
"You want us to watch the apartment building?" Rukia guessed.
"Exactly." Urahara exclaimed as he pointed his fan at her. "I have Jinta watching the building now. He is more than capable of reporting in if something happens, but he is not allowed to take action. Also, I do not like putting him in a position of risk alone."
"Why us though?" Ichigo asked "Since this involves Ishida's grandfather, why not have him check it out?"
"Ishida-san will be notified in due time." Urahara said from behind his fan. "Unfortunately, he doesn't have the ability to use a mod soul to keep up appearances. You can begin surveillance immediately without arousing suspicions."
Shows how much he knows, Ichigo thought as he lay on the roof. Chappy could pass for Rukia on a major caffeine buzz, but Kon? The last time he entrusted the mod soul to use his body, Rukia had to go around modifying the memories of half the girls in the school after he snuck into the girl's locker room. Who knows what crazy perverted things he was up to at this very moment?
"Ichigo. We have movement." Rukia murmured.
He snapped out of his daydreaming and focused on the apartment window. The new owners were a young professional couple with no children. They had been gone for hours. Looking closely, he could see there were shadows moving around inside.
"Geeze, they must be really suppressing their reiatsu. I can't feel them at all." He whispered. "Now what?"
"Now we let them alone for a few minutes to get comfortable." She said putting the binoculars away. "Then we'll surprise them by coming in through the window."
"The window," he repeated, "got it." He pulled Zangetsu off his back, preparing for battle.
"And remember," she warned, "We are to capture at least one for interrogation."
"Capture?" Ichigo looked at Zangetsu. "My powers aren't really suited for capturing hollows."
"Well if you learned a Kidou like I keep telling you to, you wouldn't have that problem." She scolded.
Ichigo scowled. "Pardon me! Not all of us spent six years at the oh-so-prestigious Shinigami Academy."
"Drop it." Rukia said. "It's time to move out."
She shunpo'ed into position, standing on the air just off to the right side of the window. Ichigo frowned. One of these days, that girl was going to go too far and then he'd…he'd…he'd take her over his knee and give her a good spanking, that's what! Yeah, that's what he'd do. With that settled in his mind, he moved into position on the left side of the window. Rukia started a countdown with her fingers. Three, two, one! As her last finger went down, they crashed into the room.
"Freeze!" Ichigo shouted.
There were two arrancar in the room, one heavey set and bull-like, one slim and insectoid. The hollows had already done considerable damage to the apartment. Drawers were pulled out with their contents scattered all over the floor. Holes had been made in the walls and ceiling. They had been caught totally flat footed. They dropped the items they had been holding. The one with bull like features inched his hand towards his zampakutos.
"Uh-uh" Ichigo warned. "We can both strike at a distance. You don't have a chance."
"With your off hand, remove your swords with you thumb and index finger only." Rukia ordered.
Sumuqan glanced over at his companion for guidance. "Anata?"
The arrancar's wasp like mask covered all but the lower jaw. Despite this, it was easy to see the disgust and contempt in the hollow's expression. "Just do it."
They both drew their swords out as directed, letting them fall with a clatter on the floor.
Rukia nodded towards the enemy. "Ichigo, I'll keep them covered. You put the restraints on them."
Ichigo did not lower his guard as he cautiously approached them. "You heard her you two, we're taking you in. I don't want any trouble with you."
"It's too late for that, shinigami" A voice behind him said.
Ichigo whirled around to see a tall, lanky arrancar with a snake's jawbone mask holding its sword tightly against Rukia's throat.
"Why you…" Ichigo snarled as he started towards him.
"Don't even think about it, shinigami." Nergal taunted as he brought Rukia to her toes by pulling his blade upwards. "One false move and I slice her head off. Now drop your zampakuto."
Ichigo's teeth were bared in rage, but he did as he was told. Zangetsu hit the floor with a heavy clatter.
"You too, girly." Nergal hissed in Rukia's ear.
"What?" she said as she slowly lifted Sode no Shirayuki to his eye level. "You're afraid of this little thing?"
"Don't play games with me." He said. "Drop it now!"
"If you say so." She replied.
She opened her hand so that the blade dropped point first. From the height she had raised it, it gave her sword plenty of time to gather enough speed for the razor sharp point to go through Nergal's foot like butter and embed itself in the floor.
The arrancar howled in pain, but did not release Rukia. It didn't matter. He was distracted enough for Rukia to push down on his sword hand and slip out from under his grasp. Once free, she pulled Sode no Shirayuki out of the hollow's foot, sweeping the blade upward to slice him in two. He had barely faded away before Rukia took charge of the situation.
"Ichigo, move!" She shouted as she attacked Anata. The strange looking hollow had recovered it's zampakuto and countered Rukia's attack with a point heavy defense, forcing Rukia to back up.
Ichigo dove for Zangetsu, but was bowled over as Sumuqan tackled him. They wrestled around on the floor as the hollow tried to use its superior size to his advantage. Ichigo squirmed to get into a better position as Sumuqan tried to wrap his huge meaty hands around the boy's neck.
"Don't you…ever…bathe?" Ichigo ground out between clenched teeth.
Finally, he thrust with his legs, hurling Sumuqan across the room. As the hollow struggled to his feet, he was too late to prevent Ichigo from regaining his zampakuto.
"Now you're going down." He said.
In desperation, Sumuqan dived to where his zampakuto lay on the floor and managed to pick it up. Ichigo charged, prepared to battle the now armed arrancar. To his amazement, the hollow used sonido to retreat to the farthest corner of the room. Hands shaking, Sumuqan opened a gargantua back to heuco mundo. He dived in before the portal was even halfway open.
"Sumuqan, you coward!" Anata shouted. Taking advantage of the momentary distraction, the hollow managed to kick Rukia in the chest, driving her back. It ran towards the gargantua.
"Don't let it escape!" Rukia shouted at Ichigo.
He tried to tackled the arrancar as it headed towards him. It flipped forward, landed on Ichigo's head then somersaulted towards the portal. With a mocking salute, Anata escaped through the gate just before it closed.
"Dammit!" Ichigo swore. "I can't believe we let them all get away."
"It was my fault." Rukia said. "I didn't know he was in the room behind me. I should have checked."
"Don't be too hard on yourself." Ichigo said. "I'm just as responsible for this mess."
Speaking of messes, he thought, what about this place? He looked slowly around the apartment, taking in the damage.
"Say Rukia, what division is responsible for cleaning up stuff like this?"
Nemu didn't know how to describe how she felt that day. For some reason she felt really in the mood for some serious alone time with Uryuu. Really, really in the mood. Maybe it was because they were interrupted for the last two nights, but she was reassured by the fact that his father would not be home until very late as usual. Best of all, his little 'house guest' would be working until ten o'clock, probably not showing up until sometime after. They would have plenty of time all to themselves. To make things a little more interesting, she decided to try out some of Matsumoto's lessons from the Shinigmai Women's Association meetings. As she rang the doorbell, she hoped Uryuu would like it.
"Coming!" She heard him call out. He opened the door and his jaw dropped.
"Whoa." He managed to say.
"Pizza delivery." Nemu announced holding up the box.
"I've never seen a pizza delivered by anyone dressed like this." He said.
Nemu had done her best to be as eye catching and attractive as possible. With a little help from her friends, she had selected a simple sleeveless white tank top, form fitting and low cut, hugging her body down to her denim mini skirt wrapped around with a black belt with silver roundels. Her shoes were open toed high heels that went well with her black knee length stockings. She had gone very light on her makeup and perfume. For jewelry, she had dangling gold hoop earrings, a small charm bracelet and a celtic cross on a gold chain around her neck. It fit in well with the warm day.
"You look fabulous." He declared.
"Thank you, sir." She said "But if I'm not back to the shop in twenty minutes they will dock my pay."
He laughed at her joke. "Dock your pay. Get in here!"
"Only if I get a good tip." She insisted.
"How's this?" He said as his hands slipped around her waist. They kissed long and deeply.
"OK." She said as they came up for air. "I quit."
Laughing some more, he took the box from her hands. "How did you get this anyway?"
"I intercepted the delivery man on the way here. " She explained. "It was easy to persuade him to give me the pizza, but difficult to get him to leave. "
I'll just bet it was, Uryuu thought as he watched her walking before him. The denim skirt was snug around her hips and swayed hypnotically with her movements. They sat down on the couch and put the box on the coffee table.
"Have you ever had pizza before?" He asked.
She shook her head. She looked intently as he opened the box. Steam rose out from the still warm pizza.
"I hope you don't mind, I ordered extra corn." He said as he picked up a slice.
Nemu imitated him and picked up a slice herself, taking a big bite.
'Hmm. Interesting." She said after she swallowed.
"Not bad, eh?" He prompted.
"It's a bit greasy though." She said. "See, there's some on your mouth. She leaned in, running the tip of her tongue over his lips. Instantly, the pizza was forgotten. They dropped the slices back into the box as they came together, hands exploring, breathing heavily. Uryuu was surprised at how aggressive Nemu was acting. He broke away as she tried to pull him on top of her.
"Hey, let's save this for later. The pizza's getting cold and the show's about to start."
He picked up the remote control and turned on the TV. Nemu didn't really feel like eating at the moment. Nonetheless, she picked up her slice and leaned against Uryuu on the couch as she ate. She had to admit, Don Kanonji put on a good show from the moment he opened with his trademarked phrase.
"Spirits are always with you! BOHAHAHAHA!"
An hour later, she still wasn't sure just what it was she had watched.
"That was absurd." She observed. "The man clearly doesn't know what he's doing."
"I know." Uryuu responded. "It's the funniest thing in the world. He just keeps going on and on about the spirit world, but he's got to be making it up. He never gets anything right. You didn't like it?"
Nemu thought for a moment. "I understand it's not nice to laugh at someone. Still, he doesn't seem to realize he's doing anything foolish."
Uryuu smirked a little. "From what Kurosaki was telling me, he wouldn't get it even if you explained it to him. He kinda lives in his own little world."
Nemu glanced at him from the corner of her eye. "So the show is over now?" she asked.
"Yes," he said turning the TV off, "that's pretty much it."
"Good." She said as she turned to him. "I'm in the mood for desert."
"Well, I think we got some…" He started to say as he stood up. Nemu pulled at his belt, forcing him back on the couch. The look on her face was unmistakable.
"Oh, you mean that kind of desert."
She nodded. Their lips met once again, the heat building almost instantaneously. She guided his hands where she wanted them to go, moaning with pleasure. He was taken aback when she roughly shoved him down on his back and straddled his body. Her full weight pressed down on him pleasantly as her mouth hungrily sought his. He was beginning to feel things were getting out of control.
"Nemu, don't you want to take this up to the bedroom?" he asked as she started to bite at his earlobe.
She shook her head. "That'll take too long."
She began removing his belt. Uryuu started to panic. It seemed a risky doing it right there on the couch. After thinking about it for a second, he forced himself to relax. After all, they had the house all to themselves. No one was likely to call or stop by. Dad and Reiko would be at work for hours yet. So where was the harm, he thought to himself as he heard his zipper being pulled down.
"I'm home!" Reiko shouted as the front door banged open.
Nemu scrambled to the other side of the couch and frantically pulled her skirt and top back into place. Uryuu barely had time to zip up and get his belt back on before Reiko entered from the hallway. She walked in slowly with her face downcast and dejected.
"Ijima-san, are you OK?" Uryuu asked.
"No," she sighed, "I got fired." She walked over to the couch and sat down heavily between Uryuu and Nemu. She put her head in her hands and propped her elbows on her knees.
Uryuu and Nemu looked at each other over Reiko's head. As it was Uryuu's house, he would have to deal with it.
"Um, why did you get fired?" He asked.
Well, they weren't mean to me or anything." She replied. "I tried doing deliveries first, but I kept getting lost and the customers were complaining. So I told them I could help cook, and I can you know, but the spices were all in clear glass containers and I kinda mistook a few things.
She grinned sheepishly. "So they had me washing dishes. I figured there was no way I was going to screw that up. I had it all figured out. I would set it up so I would wash them all at once, then rinse them all at once, then dry them. It would be more efficient that way. But as I was stacking them up, I didn't realize how many there were until I was standing on tiptoe, and just as I was thinking that maybe it wasn't such a good idea…
She shrugged. "They said it might be better if I just left instead of trying to work it off. Oh, can I have some of that pizza?"
Uryuu gestured consent and Reiko helped herself to a cold slice.
"So what are you guys up to?" She asked.
"Ishida-san was showing me his favorite television show." Nemu replied.
"Then why's the TV off?" Reiko pointed out.
"We were finished." Uryuu said. "I was going to show her something else."
"There are many things I don't know about the real world." Nemu said. "Ishida-san has been kind enough to teach me."
"Did he tell you about that outfit yet?" Reiko asked.
"My outfit?" Nemu said as she looked at herself. "Why? Is there something wrong?"
"Don't get me wrong." Reiko said. "It looks good on you, but not being familiar with the real world, I guess you wouldn't know that showing that much, uh, front, um. Well, it kinda makes you look easy."
"Easy?" Nemu repeated.
"Yeah, you know. Like cheap?" She shrugged. "Sorry, I'm just trying to help."
Nemu got up from the couch. "I have to be going." She said coldly.
"Do you really?" Uryuu asked weakly.
Nemu looked at him with a stony look. "It's obvious you need to see to your house guest once again. Apparently I'll be in the way."
Reiko, sensing the mood, shrank down on the couch and turned on the TV trying to withdraw from the conversation.
"Can't you stay longer?" Uryuu pleaded.
"I really don't think that's wise." She said in a flat tone as she headed for the door.
"Should I call you tomorrow?" He said following after.
"I don't know, should you?" She said over her shoulder as she walked faster.
"I would really like to." He said as she grabbed the doorknob.
She paused. "All right. You can call me tomorrow."
Relieved, he moved towards her to kiss her goodnight. She didn't wait, snatching the door open and walking quickly out into the night. He watched her retreating back feeling vaguely ashamed and powerless. Did they just fight? As she turned the corner and left his sight he turned back inside and closed the door. Dejected, he went back into the living room.
"Got anything to drink?" Reiko asked.
