Summary: The arrancar are running out of options and Nemu is still dealing with her feelings of jealousy.

160 Years ago…

Ishida Hitoshi wiped his brow as he held up the finished cross with his tongs. Steam still boiled off the rapidly cooling metal from its last dunk in the cooling barrel. He'd done it. He actually made a working quincy cross. The metal was alloyed, blended and shaped in just the right way to focus and channel the spritirons gathered by the quincy who wore it. He had completed the first step in his apprenticeship as a weaponsmith.

"Let me see that." His father Genpaku said.

His son obligingly dropped the small pendant on the palm of his leather glove. Carefully, he felt the cross with the bare finger of his other hand, not touching it until he was sure it was cool enough to do so. When he could, he picked it up and held it with his eyes closed.

"Very good." He said. "There's still some room for improvement, but otherwise very good. It's functional."

He opened his eyes, his face beaming with pride. "You picked this up fast."

Hitoshi smiled at his father's praise.

"It's not as hard as I thought it would be. As far as I can tell, the trick is all in how you infuse the metal with spiritrons."

"That's exactly right." Genpaku said. "It took the Quincy centuries of trial and error before we learned the secret that allows us to forge our weapons.

He looked over at the scroll removed from its bronze case propped up carefully far from the forge.

"We stumbled on this technique by accident more than anything. Like anything else, it's not so hard once you know how. That's why I'm proud to be able to pass these techniques on to you. If we lose this knowledge, it's unlikely we'll ever rediscover it."

"Are you sure father?" Hitoshi asked. "If the secret was lost, wouldn't future quincy work to re-discover it?"

Genpaku sighed. "I'm sure they would Hitoshi. It's not that simple. Besides knowing the secret, you have to be born with the talent to use it. Not just any Quincy can do this you know."

He clapped his son on the shoulder. "I wouldn't worry about it too much. The talent runs strong in our family. I expect you will pass this along to your children. Now let's try again. You still have a long way to go my son."


Ururu looked up from her sweeping as the bell rang over the shop's front door. She went to greet the customer still holding her broom. She gave a polite bow.

"Good morning, sir. Can I help you?"

He was a fairly large man in rumpled clothes. He peered at her with red-rimmed, bloodshot eyes. He hadn't shaved in days, his hair was limp and greasy and his skin was clammy.

"I understand this is a very special shop." He rasped. "That people looking for very particular things have a good chance of finding them here."

Ururu looked puzzled. "I'm not sure what you mean, sir."

The man fumbled through his coat pocket producing a small box.

"Give this to your boss." He said as he handed it to her. "This will explain everything. He'll see me then."

With a frown, Ururu took the box from the man and went to the back room. It wasn't long before the proprietor himself came out.

"Ah, welcome to my humble shop, Mr…?"

The man ignored Urahara's obvious implied question and didn't give his name.

"Do you have someplace we can talk?" His eyes shifted to Ururu and Jinta who had also come out from the back "Privately?"

Urahara's smiled slyly from the shadow formed by his hat. "Of course. Come right this way. "

He led the stranger to the sitting room in the back and offered him a seat opposite the round table in the middle.

"Would you like some tea?" Urahara asked.

"I really don't have a lot of time." The man said, his eyes darting around the room. "I've come to ask you about a certain object. I understand you are very good at finding things."

Urahara decided to overlook the man's extreme rudeness of ignoring hospitality and being so bluntly direct.

"I take it the object you are looking for has something to do with this?"

He opened the box Ururu gave him and held up a quincy cross on a chain.

"I have to tell you sir, we don't get a lot of quincy business here these days."

He set the pendent and chain down on the table.

The man leaned forward. "You do deal with them don't you? At least in the past? The thing I'm looking for used to belong to Ishida Souken. He used to live in this town."

Urahara snapped open his fan. "I am not unfamiliar with that person. He never dealt with me in any way. Why do you think I would have anything of his?"

The man was visibly sweating now. Desperation was etched in every line on his face. "Everything I've tried to find this object hasn't worked. It's important that I find it. It could be very dangerous if it falls into the wrong hands. If you don't have it, I can make it very worth your while to find it for me."

"I've no doubt of what you say." Urahara said gently waving his fan before his face. "However, who is to say yours are not the wrong hands?"

"Isn't that proof enough I'm on the right side?" the man said pointing to the cross on the table.

"I'm afraid not." Urahara said snapping his fan shut. He picked the cross up and dangled it between them. "You see, this is a fake. Just like you. Now, Tessai."

With a grunt, the huge bespectacled man seized the stranger's hands and forced them behind his back. Their guest had no idea when the large man had snuck up behind him.

"What are you doing?" He cried. "I came to you for help. Is this how you serve your customers?"

Urahara smiled. "I don't think you know as much about us as you should. I've handled Quincy artifacts before. They have a certain quality, a responsiveness if you will, when you touch them. This feels like so much dead metal. Even if this were not the case, I'm afraid you don't wear that disguise very well."

He held up his cane which began to glow.

"Let's see who's really visiting us today, shall we?"

Striking the man in the forehead, the guise of a human being melted away revealing the form of the arrancar Sumuqan.

"Hmm, not sure I want to expand our customer base in this direction." He said while rubbing his chin.

"You fool!" Sumuqan bellowed "You have no idea what you've just done. You've as good as killed me!"

"Now, now, we're not that harsh. " Urhara assured him. "You may find our interrogation techniques a little unpleasant, but we're not about to kill you. At least not right away. Tessai? Be careful while I try a little restraint kido on our guest."

Sumuqan refused to surrender quietly. The man holding his arms was powerful, but desperation gave him strength. He drove the back of his head into Tessai's face. He struck just right, smashing the big man's nose. Instinctively letting go to grab at his face, Sumuqan sprang free before Urahara could restrain him. Running out into the shop, he almost didn't see Ururu standing before him. Ignoring the girl cost him dearly as she kicked him across the shop. Crashing against the wall, he barely had time to gather his wits before rolling to dodge Jinta's iron club. Staggering to his feet, he unsheathed his zampakuto.

"Trample…!"

Before he could complete his incantation, Ururu neatly snatched the sword from his hand. He could only stand there, flatfooted and dumfounded as Jinta smashed him out the front door. He had enough! He picked a direction and ran.

"After him!" Jinta cried as he pursued.

Sumuqan fought to gather his wits about him enough to use sonido or at least get airborne. His mind was in a whirl of panic and dread, too muddled to concentrate. As soon as he could get away, he would open a gargatua back to Hueco Mundo. He would not report his failure to Sargon. No, he would look for a new group to join, maybe one that wasn't so murderous.

Turning a corner, he saw he wasn't going to get a chance.

"Sargon!" he gasped.

The huge arrancar stood there as if he had been waiting all day. He already had his zampakuto drawn.

"Sargon, you have to give me another chance!" Sumuqan pleaded. "There's no way I could have succeeded in that mission."

"Then you are of no use to me at all." Sargon growled. Sumuqan's pathetic expression stayed on his face long after his head struck the ground.

Sargon turned away disgusted. He stepped through the gargantuan just as Sumuqan's pursuers arrived. There were hardly worth looking at as the dimensional rift closed behind him. The mission had been so simple. Find out if the shopkeeper had the artifact, and if he didn't, hire him to find it. How could you mess that up? Now that Sumuqan had failed so spectacularly, there was no point in trying it again. The fool deserved his fate. That left only himself and Anata in charge of the various hollows that had allied with them. They had better produce some results soon or their own followers would turn on them.


"Wow, this place is nice!" Reiko exclaimed as they entered the clearing.

Uryuu had his reservations about bringing her there, but there really was no better place for training nearby.

"Yes, it is." He said. "Usually if you can't find me anywhere else, you can find me here."

"I can see why." Reiko replied as she stood next to the waterfall. "Such a private place so close to the city. How did you find it?"

Uryuu took off his backpack and put it down.

"My grandfather brought me here. This is where he taught me how to use my bow."

He had a lot of happy memories of that time with Souken. A lot memories afterward too. Years of training alone after sensei's murder. Practicing with the Sanrei glove for seven straight days preparing to invade Soul Society. And Nemu. She was now a part of those memories. Maybe that's why bringing Ijima-san here felt wrong. There was nowhere else to take her though. What else could he do? He did promise to start her lessons today. With that thought in mind, he decided to get started.

"Tell me Ijima-san, what do you know about firing your bow?" He asked.

She looked upward as she recited the process. "Well, you gather spiritrons from the environment around you, focus them at your center, channel them up through your arm and use the cross as the nucleus of your bow. You create the arrow in almost the exact same way pulling the energy with your opposite hand."

"That's correct." Uryuu said. "But did you also know the process is easier if you're wearing quincy robes?"

"It is?" She asked. "That doesn't seem logical."

"It's not." Uryuu replied. "It just always feels that way to me."

Reiko gave a rueful grin. "Well it doesn't matter. I don't have any quincy robes."

"Oh I wouldn't be too sure." Uryuu said. He turned around and pulled something from his backpack. "Ta-dah!"

Reiko gasped. "Quincy robes? For me?"

"Yes." Uryuu said smiling as he handed them over. "I made them just for you."

She ran her hands over the blue and white material. "Wow. I heard the quincy wore special clothes, but I never seen any before."

"This is just to get you started." He said. "They're a basic pattern. Once you get the general idea, you can customize the theme however you like. That's also quincy tradition."

"Thank you Ishida-san." She crooned as she hugged the clothes against her body. "Should I try them on now?"

Uryuu adjusted his glasses. "I think just the cape for now."

She grinned from ear to ear as she pulled the cape over her shoulders. She gave a small spin.

"How do I look?"

Uryuu had to smile back at her enthusiasm. "It looks very good on you." He gestured for her to stand over by the riverbank. "Now, show me how well you shoot. Stand over there and fire one shot towards that boulder."

Reiko skipped over to the spot indicated. Calming down, she took a stance and ignited her bow. She slowly, carefully created an arrow and aimed it. Uryuu was glad it at least went downstream. She missed the boulder by several meters.

She turned to face him. "What am I doing wrong?"

Where to start? Uryuu thought.

"Well, your stance is all wrong. Holding the bow in your left hand, you should have your left foot forward. No, point the toe forward a little too. Now holding you bow hand parallel to the ground, you want to draw so your elbow is, no wait, you're doing that wrong."

"Can't you show me Ishida-san?" she pleaded.

Show her? He guessed he was going to have to, she wasn't taking direction well.

"OK." He said while gingerly putting his hands on her waist. "Turn your body this way. Yes that's it. Now point your toe out more. Is that comfortable? Good."

He stepped back. "Now let's see your bow hand."

She still wasn't doing it right. "Like this?"

He sighed. "No. Here let me show you." He stepped up behind her and steadied her arm at the proper angle. "Alright, now let's try this again."

Holding on to her, he could feel as she pulled spiritrons from their surroundings, feel them building up as she pooled them together. Soon, she was ready to draw.

"Now Ishida-san?" She asked.

"Yes." He said. "I want you to draw and hold. Don't fire until I tell you."

As expected, she didn't do that right either. Still holding her bow arm, he reached around with his other hand to guide her drawing arm into the right position.

"Do you feel the difference Ijima-san? Can you see how this will give you more control?"

"You're right Ishida-san, this is much better." She said "Should I fire now?"

"There's one last thing you have to consider Ijima-san." He replied. "It's very important. How do you feel?"

Reiko didn't understand. "What do you mean?"

"Firing a quincy arrow is not just a matter for gathering energy and directing it." Uryuu explained. "Quincys fire from their heart. The purity of your intent affects the accuracy of your strike. You must fire from a heart filled with the desire to protect. You can still hit your target with a heart filled with hate or anger, but the desire to protect stems from love. A heart filled with love makes the best shots possible. Do you understand?"

She thought it over. "I think so Ishida-san. I think I'm ready to try now."

"Alright then." He said. "Now breathe out, hold it and let your fingertips gently roll away. The release should almost be a surprise."

She nodded and settled down into her stance. Taking a deep breath, she let it out slowly. Seconds later, she released. The arrow struck the boulder right in the center!

"I did it!" she screamed "I did it!" Turning around, she threw her arms around Uryuu, squeezing him tight. "I'm so happy. You helped me so much."

Uryuu's eyes widened. He hadn't expected this. He reached around and carefully pried her arms off.

"Don't get too excited." He said. "That was just one shot. You have lots of practice before you will be any good."

She beamed up at him. "Yeah, but now you're with me. I'm sure I'll get better in no time."

"Tell you what," he said with an awkward smile, "you keep practicing, and I'll watch you from over there. OK?"

They did just that for the next half hour. Every now and then Uryu would correct her or encourage her as he felt necessary. He did not try to physically correct her again. He felt she really didn't know him well enough to warrant that much invasion of his personal space. Concentrating on teaching Reiko made him lose track of time. He was surprised to hear Nemu's voice calling out to him.

"Uryuu! Are you down here?"

He called back. "Yes, here I am."

"What's all that noise I hear?" She asked as she entered the clearing. "It's almost time for our lessons."

She froze as soon as she caught sight of Reiko.

"Hi, Nemu-san!" Reiko shouted waving wildly. "We were just practicing."

"We?" Nemu asked looking at Uryuu.

He grimaced. "I gave her my word I'd teach her proper quincy techniques. This was the only practical place."

"I see." Nemu replied. "I understand."

And on an intellectual level, she did. It made perfect sense that Uryuu would take that woman here to train. It was a logical location. She hadn't told Uryuu yet about their conversation in the women's bathroom yesterday. He wouldn't know Reiko had designs on him. She supposed it was her fault. She still wasn't sure if she should tell him. If she had, he probably wouldn't be down here alone with her. She couldn't really blame Reiko either. Her relationship with Uryuu was a secret to everyone. She was perfectly innocent in all of this.

On the other hand, she couldn't deny she had a burning desire to drag the woman out into the stream and hold her head under the water. She consoled herself with the knowledge that jealousy didn't have to be logical and was a perfectly normal response. She would just have to ignore it. She gave a polite bow.

"How are you doing today, Ijima-san?"

"Just great," the young woman replied, "I'm starting the night shift at the convenience store tonight and I think I found an apartment nearby."

"You found a place to stay?" Nemu said. "I'm so happy for you."

"Yes, I'm sure the Ishidas will be glad to get me out of their hair." Reiko joked. "Oh hey, speaking of Ishida, look at this. He made me the coolest outfit!"

"Did he now?" Nemu said politely. "How nice of him"

Yes she could just see that last air bubble breaking the surface as Reiko grew steadily weaker under the river's surface. She pushed the ugly thought away.

"Are you ready to go to our lessons now Ishida-san?" She asked thought slightly clenched teeth.

Uryuu had the horrible feeling peculiar to the male of the species that he had done something wrong, but he didn't know what.

"Um, yeah sure. Let me get my backpack."

Scooping up his bag, he joined Nemu at her side as she walked back up the path.

Reiko called out after them. "Bye Ishida-san, bye Nemu-san. Have fun."

Nemu looked backwards to see Reiko waving and smiling enthusiastically. She waved back and tried to put the girl out of her thoughts. She was a problem Nemu would deal with later. For now, she was going to enjoy her hobby with her man. Reiko would never have that privilege. Still, as they got on the train to go across town to the dance studio, an annoying thought kept buzzing in her mind. For some reason, the image of Reiko smiling and waving seemed to alter in her memory. Now that she had a chance to think about it, it almost seemed Reiko was not smiling at all. In fact, her expression could almost be called a smirk. Yes, Reiko was a problem that definitely needed to be dealt with.


It had not been a good session. Nemu had woken up feeling nauseous that morning. She had no idea why. She couldn't blame it on her gigai. Nonetheless, she forced down her breakfast and spent her morning playing with Yachiru as she had planned. This was her first vacation ever, and she was not going to let a stomach bug ruin everything. It didn't feel serious enough to go to the fourth division and she didn't want to run into Mayuri-sama again using her own equipment to check it out, so she simply ignored it. She still didn't feel too good. Besides her queasy stomach, seeing Reiko made her very upset. The instructor had to correct her several times. Their lessons were usually a fun time for both of them, enjoying the feel of their graceful and strong bodies as they weaved together on the dance floor. Today the lesson felt like nothing but work. Both of them were tired and felt off when they were done.

"I'm sorry Uryuu." She said on the train home. "I don't know what was wrong with me today."

He put his arm around her shoulders. "It's all right Nemu. Everyone had a bad day sometimes. Why don't you rest until we get to our stop?"

Gratefully, she put her head on his shoulder. She did feel very tired. She was going to have to tell him about Reiko. But how? What did you do in these situations? She needed to ask someone. She closed her eyes and started to doze, leaning against Uryuu's comforting warmth. The smiling faces of the Shinigami Women's Society came to mind. Yes, her friends. One of them could help. She would ask them the next time she saw them. She knew getting into a relationship with Uryuu would be complicated. She didn't think something like this was going to happen. Uryuu gently shook her awake.

"Nemu, it's our stop."

Stepping off onto the platform, they took a moment to stretch.

"We still got some time, Nemu."Uryuu said. "What do you want to do?"

"I don't really feel like going anywhere." She replied. "I still feel tired. I feel like a hot bath more than anything."

Uryuu gave a wicked smile. "Well you know, nobody's supposed to be home right now. You want to back to my house."

Nemu gave him a stony look.

Uryu adjusted his glasses. "Look, I know that didn't work out too well last time, but Ryuuken's at the hospital and Ijima-san is supposed to be at her new job. What are the odds we'll be interrupted?

Nemu continued to stare at him.

Uryuu sighed. "OK, so the odds are pretty good."

"Uryuu." She said. "I know there are many things I still don't understand. I don't want to be offensive and I don't mean to hurt people. "She took a deep breath. "I want you to know that when it comes to Ijima Reiko, I…I…I just don't like her! It's probably a cruel and hurtful thing to say, but I do not want to have to see that woman ever again. "

Uryuu began to laugh. "Neither do I." he said.

"Really?" Nemu said.

"Yes,'Uryuu replied, "I mean I know she's had a hard life and all, but she's really annoying. I hate to think I might get trapped on an elevator with her someday. She'd drive me nuts."

"But you're so nice to her." Nemu pointed out.

"I know." Uryuu admitted. "With her being a quincy, it makes things complicated. I'm glad she's moving out soon. I'm hoping she'll either move on with her quest to find more quincys or build up her own circle of friends here in Karakura that don't include me. "

Nemu was surprised to feel relieved. "So what do we do now?" she asked.

Uryuu took her hand. "Come with me. I have an idea."


In a country about the same size as the U.K. with twice the population and 85% of the land mass being mountains, there's not a lot of space. Privacy is hard to come by. A young couple looking for a few hours alone had few choices, but one of them was a very good choice. Uryuu had passed by this particular "Love Hotel" many times, but he never considered that some day he would be using it.

While he'd never been inside one, everybody knew how they worked. There was no clerk. It was almost totally automated. Available rooms were indicated by a back lit picture. You selected the room you wanted by pushing a button and the light went out as the key dropped into a dispenser below. After some consideration, they selected a room with a gothic theme, draped in red and black velvet and 18th century style furniture to include a huge four poster bed and a claw foot bathtub more than suitable for two. Selecting the four hour option, they took the key and followed the lights guiding them out the door.

"I'll get the bath started." Uryuu said as they entered the room.

Nemu took her time looking around. Designed to blend in with the surroundings, the phone by the door had an old timey look to it and a leather bound book had the room service numbers and price listings in case they should need anything. The list of things available was impressive as it was eclectic, anything from snacks to alcohol to extra lubricant and anything in between. A flat screen television was hidden behind an oil painting that slid sideways. The various cable channels available or that they could rent was posted besides it. None of that especially interested her. She was impressed with the huge bed. Made of carved oak, it was both elegant and solid. Lying down on the mattress, she found it wonderfully soft. It would be nice to stay here a while. With the sound of water running into the tub, she got back up and looked around a little more. The nightstand had some kind of cabinet in it. Opening it up, she saw it was stocked with various oils and lotions. She pulled out a bottle that was labeled "Aromatherapy Massage oil". Opening it up, she found it smelled nice.

"Would you like me to use that on you after our bath? " Uryuu murmured in her ear as he embraced her from the back.

"You want to give me a massage?" She asked.

"Why not?" He asked as he began to kiss her neck. "I think you'd like it."

She put her hand along his face, stroking his cheek. "Yes, I would like that."

She pressed her body against his as he drew her tight in his arms, a small gasp escaping her lips when he nibbled at her earlobe. She dropped the bottle on the bed. She was about to turn around to enjoy his lips more fully when he whispered something in her ear that stopped her cold.

"Nemu, I'm not happy about how things are going with us."

She stiffened as the words echoed in her brain. "Not happy?" She murmured

"No," He breathed into her ear. "I know we said we'd take whatever we can get and be happy with it, but lately, I find it's just not enough."

"What do you want to do Uryuu?" She asked. She felt confused and a little afraid.

"I want more than this." He said. "I don't want to hide or relationship anymore. "

He turned her around and looked deep into her eyes. "Nemu, I want to let everyone know about us. I don't want to skulk around making excuses to see each other. I want to tell our friends, I want to tell my father."

Nemu couldn't believe how happy his declaration made her feel. It was so unexpected. So romantic. So impractical.

"Uryuu, Mayuri-sama would never accept you."

"I'll make him accept us." He said forcefully.

Nemu hugged him tight. "That's sweet, but impossible. He is not open to persuasion."

Uryuu stroked her hair. "We can't keep going on like this. At least our friends should know. I love you Nemu, I don't want to hold it in anymore."

"And I love you, Uryuu." She said as she reached up to guide his face down to hers. It was a long time before they came up for air. "We'll work something out. I'm sure of it."

Uryuu bent down to kiss her some more, but stopped.

"Uh oh, I forgot about the tub!" He ran over to the bathtub and turned off the water. "Whew, that was close. It's just right. "

"Do you want me to scrub your back?" Nemu asked as she entered the bathroom.

"That sounds nice." He said with a smile.

They got to work disrobing each other with many long pauses for kissing and caressing. This carried over to the lathering up before their soak in the tub. That was the great thing about being in a committed relationship. There was no awkwardness or clumsiness to their actions, no reason to be embarrassed. Well, almost none.

"Did you get a tattoo? "Uryuu asked as he scrubbed her back.

"Hmm?" Nemu replied. "What do you mean?"

"It says shop at Urahara's on your butt."

Nemu cursed the shopkeeper and his cheap gigais.

"Don't worry about it." She said.

"But I mean who's expected to read it there?" He continued.

"I said don't worry about it." Nemu insisted as she rinsed the suds off her body. She stepped into the tub and sank down into the hot water. She held out her hand to Uryuu. Hurriedly rinsing of himself, he eagerly joined her in the tub.


They still had an hour left on the room. Uryuu had slipped into a light doze. Nemu watched his face with her head resting on his shoulder, enjoying the feel of the silken sheets against her skin, still warm from their lovemaking. He wanted to shout their love from the top of the world, letting everyone know. Silly, romantic, impractical man. How did she have the good fortune to meet him? She snuggled closer, all her problems forgotten in her joy. She'd worry about them tomorrow.