Summary: Nemu can't deny it any longer. She really is sick. Reiko finds a place to stay, but before she moves out, she has something to tell Uryuu.
Nemu woke up feeling dizzy and nauseous. Why did this keep happening? It wasn't fair. The first vacation she'd ever taken in her life just had to coincide with some persistent low level sickness. It usually went away as the day went by. She hoped that was the case for today.
As she rose from her futon feeling weak and shaky, she suddenly started to gag. Quickly staggering to the small bathroom attached to her room, she barely made it to the toilet before she began to vomit. She couldn't blame this on Uraharas rental gigai or a stomach bug. This was the worst she'd felt all week. She could no longer ignore the fact that she was genuinely ill.
Disappointment hit her as she got up to wash her face in the sink. This required getting medical help. She loathed the thought of reporting to the lab. She would much rather go to the fourth division for treatment. They were far more gentle and understanding. Also, she didn't want Mayuri-sama to know. If he found out she was sick, he might take an interest. She could imagine he would run her through all kinds of tests just out of curiosity. Being that she was on vacation, no one would wonder where she was if she did go to the fourths compound. She decided to do just that. Still, this ruined her plans. She would have to call off her day with Uryuu.
She carefully washed and dried her hands and face, rinsed out her mouth and brushed her teeth. Even the smell of the toothpaste made her gorge rise. Returning to her futon, she crawled under the still warm comforter. She wrapped it tight around her. It hadn't been very cold in the bathroom, but she still felt chilled. She shivered until her body felt warm again. Once she felt comfortable, she picked up her phone.
With great reluctance, she sent Uryuu a text. It wasn't long before he replied. It was short, understanding and concerned. So like him. She sent another message to reassure him it was nothing serious. He sent another reply, wishing he could be there, sending his love. She smiled. She wished he could be there too. She put her phone down and rolled onto her side. She felt so weak. She would rest a bit more before she got up. Still feeling cold, she pulled the comforter over her head. Before she realized it, she went back to sleep.
Ryuuken frowned as he watched Uryuu fiddling with his cell phone. He did not find that kind of activity appropriate for the breakfast table. Not to mention all the beeps and clicks as Uryuu typed away were distracting. How could he enjoy his newspaper in peace with all that racket?
"Something wrong Uryuu?" he asked.
His son jerked his head up. "Huh?"
"Is there something wrong?" he repeated. "It must be important if you insist on annoying me with that thing."
Uryuu looked guiltily at his phone. "No, no it's nothing."
"Then put it away." Ryuuken insisted.
Uryuu put his phone back in his pocket as his father returned to his paper. So Nemu was sick. He hoped it wasn't too serious. While he was a little worried, he knew she had access to excellent health care. She would be fine. He still wanted to be there. Since he couldn't, he had to figure out what to do with the rest of his day. There was no club meeting today. He supposed he could go down to the Sunflower Seams shop after school and see what new supplies they had in.
"Good morning everyone." Reiko said dejectedly as she took a seat at the table. With a sigh, she took a plate and began to serve herself.
"Are you all right?" Uryuu asked. "I'm guessing working all night at the convenience store took a lot out of you."
"I didn't work all night." She replied. "I got fired."
He raised an eyebrow at that. "Fired again? What happened this time?"
She held up her hands defensively. "I swear, this was totally not my fault. There must have been a short in the microwave. It could have happened to anybody!"
"That would explain this then." Ryuuken said folding his paper to show the local news page. A large color photograph accompanied the headline "Convenience Store Fire Successfully Contained."
Reiko buried her face in her hands. "I guess I'll have to spend today job hunting again. I really don't want to. I found a nice apartment nearby in the paper I want to look at. It looks perfect and it's right in my price range! If I don't go there today, maybe somebody else will get it."
Ryuuken furrowed his brows. "May I make a suggestion Ijima-san?" he asked.
"Sure." She said. "Anything if it'll help."
He pushed his glasses higher up on his nose. "I didn't want to insult you by implying you were not capable. I know how important it is for a young person to accomplish things on their own for the sake of their pride and self esteem. However, as you are having trouble keeping employed, I can offer you a position with my hospital's housekeeping department."
Reiko's eyes lit up in gratitude. "You mean it! Oh wait, no I couldn't. You're already loaning me deposit money for apartment hunting."
"I can and will garnish your wages to get it back." Ryuuken pointed out. "After that, I'm sure you will find something else sooner or later."
Reiko said nothing at first. Her voice began to quaver when she tried to speak. "This is really kind of you. I…I"
Uryuu thought it would be best to change the subject. "Ijima-san, there's something odd about your blouse. I can't quite put my finger on it though."
"Oh, you noticed." She said. "Yes, it's off the rack but I didn't like the cuffs or the collar."
"No wonder the stitching doesn't match." Uryuu exclaimed. "Yet the fabrics are identical."
"You wouldn't believe how many fabric shops I had to visit to find this." She said while gesturing at her blouse. "Once I removed the original pieces, I found there wasn't enough material to make the changes I wanted and for some reason I got stubborn and didn't want to go with a different material."
"I know the feeling." Uryuu said with a smile.
Ryuuken was not about to tolerate this. "I'm going to work now. Ijima-san, please stop by sometime today to fill out the employment forms. Uryuu, don't get all wrapped up in your hobby and forget to go to school."
"Like I'd ever do that." Uryuu retorted.
Ryuuken wasn't listening. His mind was already on his work. He left his dishes in the sink and walked out the door.
Nemu leaned over the table and put her head in her hands. She breathed in the steam from the tea she just ordered. It seemed to help. She still felt sickly, but she had to eat something.
As she walked to the fourth division compound, she had struggled with the competing feelings of nausea and starvation. She still felt like she could throw up, but her body was screaming at her for food. As it was lunchtime already, she stopped at a nearby café the lieutenants usually visited and ordered a small bland meal.
She rested a few minutes, then took a sip of her tea and picked up her chopsticks. After a mouthful or so, she could feel her appetite growing stronger. She was beginning to feel an urge for pickled vegetables. She might order some later. Watching people walk past the front window as she ate, she was only a little surprised to see a group of her fellow lieutenants walk by.
Hinamori Momo spotted her, clutching the sleeve of Ise Nanao to get her attention. Soon the whole group entered the café calling out greeting as they approached her table.
"Nemu, I didn't expect to see you here." Kotetsu Isane said. "How are you enjoying your vacation?"
"Not much today. I don't feel well." Nemu replied. "I was going to visit your compound later today."
"Don't feel well?" Matsumoto Rangiku said with a sly grin on her face. "Had a little too much last night, eh? I know a cure with raw egg and red pepper that'll perk you right up!"
"You would." Nanao sniffed.
Nemu shook her head. "No, I haven't been drinking. I've just been feeling ill for the past few days."
"You don't look sick to me." Momo said. "In fact, you seem to be glowing a little."
"Will everyone please stop telling me I'm glowing." Nemu snapped. "I assure you I have no bioluminescent cells!"
Her friends stood with mouth agape at her outburst. They'd never seen Nemu get so emotional before.
She was instantly contrite. "I'm sorry. I don't know why I reacted like that. Please, sit down."
The woman looked glanced at each other, but accepted her invitation and soon put the incident out of mind. The waiter, a rather handsome man with a thin pencil mustache, soon stopped by to take their orders. Once they were done, they turned their attention back to Nemu.
"So your vacation has not been going well you say?" Nanao asked.
Nemu sighed. "There have been a lot of complications. Nothing is going as I had planned."
Momo's brow furrowed. Nemu was giving her a strange vibe. "You mean you're having problems besides being sick?"
Nemu looked around at the faces of her friends. She had meant to talk to them eventually about her situation sooner or later. She supposed this was as good a time as any.
She started to tell them about what had been going on in the real world. The arrancar attacks. Finding another Quincy. Uryuu helping her get settled in. Reiko frequently interrupting their private time. What she had told Nemu in the bathroom.
"I know I must do something about this situation." Nemu finished. "I just don't know what the appropriate response is."
Matsumoto leaned back crossing her arms in front of her impressive chest. "If it had been me, I would have snatched all the hair off her head and fixed it so no man would look at her again!"
"Matsumoto, please!" Nanao said. "This is serious."
"I was being serious." Matsumoto muttered while rolling her eyes.
Nanao ignored her. "I think you handled things very well so-far. You could probably work things out with this girl with a simple talk."
"Sure." Matsumoto murmured. "A simple talk, a nice heavy stick..."
Nanao hissed at her for silence.
"Nemu," Momo interjected, "what does Ishida-san think of all this?"
"He doesn't like the situation any better than I do." Nemu replied. "He says that Quincy or not, she is annoying and he would be happier to see her go."
"Do you think it would be better if he told this girl about your relationship?" Isane asked.
Nemu gave a wan smile. "Uryuu is too nice sometimes. I think it would be better if I did it."
At that time, the women's orders arrived. There was a lull as they paused to let the waiter set out the food and drinks. Matsumoto boldly watched him walk away as he headed back to the kitchen.
"Always enjoy the ambiance here." She purred, her eyes tracking the oblivious man from behind his back.
Nanao slapped her shoulder. "Will you stop that, you're embarrassing me!"
"What, I'm leaving a big tip." Matsumoto protested as she rubbed her shoulder.
Isane tried to change the subject. "So Nemu-san, before we go back to my compound, do you want to tell me what the symptoms are for this sickness you're having? "
Nemu leaned forward to answer, keeping her voice low so the other women wouldn't hear. She knew some people found descriptions of bodily functions upsetting, particularly if they were eating. With her razor sharp memory, she had no trouble describing everything in great detail. Isane frowned at what she heard.
"Tell me, has your period been late this month?" she asked.
"Yes," Nemu replied.
"How about before that? Was it irregular? Did you only have light spotting?" Isane continued.
"That sounds about right." Nemu said. "Why? What do you think it is?"
Isane looked very uncomfortable as she noticed all the woman at the table were watching them intently. Gesturing to Nemu to lean closer, she bent forward and whispered in her ear. As she listened, Nemu's eyes widened in alarm. She shot to her feet in reaction.
"No." she said. "You must be wrong. That's impossible."
"You have to consider the possibility." Isane replied. "Ishida-san has a very powerful reiatsu. If you two have been…"
"Leave him out of this!" Nemu said raising her voice. "You don't understand. It's simply not possible!"
Turning on her heel, she headed out the door. After taking a few steps, she stopped, returned to the table, fumbled some money out of her obi, slammed it on the table, then stalked out the door for good, all without making eye contact with any of her friends.
"Isane, what was that all about?" Momo asked. "Did Ishida-san do something to her?"
"I'd rather not say." She said. "It's just a suspicion. It may be nothing."
Matsumoto frowned. "Do you think we need to go talk to him? He seemed like a nice enough boy, but people can fool you. He may have a hidden side we don't know about. It's important for men to realize you must be open and honest in a relationship."
"That's true." Nanao said, nodding in agreement. "They also need to realize women are not toys or objects and need to respect their feelings."
"Yes, exactly." Momo said. Her eyes had a strange, distant look in them as she spoke. "Men need to realize the worst thing you can do to a woman is to toy with her emotions and play games with her heart. How much it hurts to feel fooled and betrayed. How it feels worse than spikes of glass plunging into your heart. A man who would do such terrible things, he should… he should have his babymaker cut off with a dull zampakuto!"
Everyone's head snapped as they stared at her in shock.
"Momo!" Nanao exclaimed.
Momo quickly snapped out of it. "Oh, sorry." She said meekly. "Did I say that out loud?"
Isane reached over to lay a hand on Momo's shoulder. "Maybe you should come back with me after lunch. There's someone I think you should talk to. I think it'll help."
"So what should we do about Nemu?" Matsumoto asked.
"I know not our strong suit, "Isane replied, "but I think we should leave Nemu alone for now. She will have to sort things out on her own."
After a moment to think about it, the woman nodded at this. Sometimes, the best way to help a friend was to give them some space. They went back to eating their lunch.
Nemu leaned against the door to her room as soon as she got inside. Her breath came in heaving gasps and not just because she had run all the way home. She was struggling inside to reject Isane's suggestion.
"It's not possible." She whispered.
Isane couldn't understand why her diagnosis couldn't possibly be correct. She had never examined Nemu before. She didn't know about how polluted Nemu's body was. She was completely wrong.
But what if, hypothetically, she was right? Unconsciously, Nemu put her hand over her abdomen. If Isane were right, there would be dire consequences. Serious repercussions. Her mind's eye filled her imagination with images of her father's face. She could picture him angry and disgusted, lashing out at her in rage. That was the best case scenario. It would be far worse if he became…interested.
Her back slid down the door as she curled up in ball. She knew something was wrong with her. It couldn't be that. It had to be something else. She needed to find out exactly what it was. Only now, she was too afraid to try.
Standing on a nearby rooftop, Sargon kept his reiatsu tightly controlled as he watched the silver haired man leaving the hospital. He had been following Ryuuken off and on over several days. Approaching him for information had been Plan C, a contingency move he had hoped he wouldn't need. This was more than a little bit dangerous. He was impressed by the amount of power the human seemed to posses. He would have to approach the man with caution. His target was not only powerful, he seemed to be very skilled as well. As Ryuuken entered a restaurant, Sargon made his decision. He would make his move tomorrow.
Uryuu put his toothbrush away and headed back to his bedroom. Despite the change in plans, it hadn't been a bad day. There were many new pattern books in at Sunflower Seams. Being a regular customer, the clerks didn't mind him spending a few hours looking at them all. It took a lot of self control for him to only buy three before going home. It had been nice to spend the day indulging in his hobby he thought as he got into bed. He still would have rather spent the day with Nemu. He had just gotten under the covers when he heard a knock at the door. He was surprised. With Ryuuken still working, he guessed it had to be Reiko. Why would she want to see him now?
"Come in." He said.
Reiko opened the door and stuck her head in. "Hi, Ishida-san. Is this a good time? I see you're in bed already."
"No, now is fine." He said. "What did you need?"
She opened the door wider. She had on a long terry cloth robe and pink fuzzy slippers. "I just wanted to talk. Can I come in?"
"Uh, sure." He said gesturing for her to enter. He moved over to allow her to sit on the edge of his bed. "What did you want to talk about?"
She looked around his room, swiveling her head from side to side as she sat down. "Well, this will be my last night staying here with you and your father. It's kinda weird. I know I didn't stay here long, but it's like I'm leaving home. I'm really going to miss it here."
Uryuu would have liked to say the feeling was mutual, but lying was against the code of the quincy. "It's not like you're going very far. Your apartment's only half an hour away."
"I know." She said. "It's just that I really like staying here with you. In a way, it's like I finally belonged somewhere. Like I have a family."
Uryuu adjusted his glasses. This was making him uncomfortable. He changed the subject. "So what are you going to do now?"
Reiko sighed. "I really don't know. I'm glad your father got me that job at his hospital. I'm going to do my best when I show up tomorrow! This is one job I am NOT going to lose. You just watch. Then when I get off work, I'll move in to my place. You'll help me won't you?"
"It's not like you have a lot of stuff." He pointed out.
"No, but I will need someone to help me go shopping and pick up a few things."She said "I can a sleeping bag and some paper plates and stuff to get me through until I start making money."
"Have you decided if you're going to settle down instead of looking for more quincys?" He asked.
Reiko looked thoughtful as she considered the question. "I still think there are more quincy out there. I may go looking for them again someday. For right now, I think I should stay for a while. Of course, I could see settling down here permanently if I had like a really good reason."
"Oh?" Uryuu said. "Like what?"
Reiko seemed to get a little flustered. "Like…like learning more from your grandfather's collection. There's still so much I haven't read and techniques I have to learn."
"That's true." Uryuu agreed. "I've read through the entire collection several times and it seems like I find something new every time."
"It's kinda scary when you think about it." She said. "For all we know, that may be the last body of written work on Quincy lore. What if something happened to it?"
The very thought chilled Uryuu to the bone. "Our family has guarded those scrolls and artifacts for generations. I will be just as careful as they were."
"Still things happen." She insisted. "Haven't things been lost or damaged over the years? Things like fires and earthquakes happen all the time. I'm betting more than a few scrolls were lost that way. Can you say for sure the collection is complete?"
Uryu shook his head. "No, I know some of it is missing. There are references in some of the books that point to other works I don't have."
"That's sad." Reiko said. "Whole areas of knowledge gone forever."
"Maybe not all of them" he said.
"You think there are other copies somewhere else?" she asked.
"Actually, I'm pretty sure Ryuuken has them somewhere." He replied.
"Your father?" She said in surprise. "I though he hated being a quincy? Why would he have part of your grandfather's collection?"
Uryuu had wondered about that a lot himself. "I don't know. I'm sure he has his reasons."
Yes, Ryuuken may indeed have very good reasons for keeping part of the collection from him. Uryuu wished sometimes he felt close enough to him to ask him why.
"Ishida-san." Reiko said. "Would it be alright if I asked you something kinda personal?"
"I suppose." He answered cautiously. "What do you want to know?"
Reiko's eyes were on the floor as she asked her question. "I just wanted to know…do you think there's a future for the quincy? I mean, do you see there being more of us someday? Maybe this time finding a way to fit in with the world?"
A future for the quincy? He had to smile. It wasn't something he thought about a lot, but he did think about it sometimes. Getting married. Having children. Passing on his knowledge and skills. Since his fight with Ichigo, he felt a new commitment to his grandfathers' dream of shinigami and quincy working together. He wanted to pass that along as well. It was a wonderful vision.
"Yes I do." He answered. "I can see the quincy moving forward in the future. This time, we will work with order and nature instead of unbalancing it. I'm convinced my grandfather had the right idea to make this happen. I'm going to work hard to make sure his dream becomes real."
Reiko smiled at him. "I'm glad you're not like your father." She said. "I want to the quincy to have a future too."
With that, she worked at the knot at the front of her robe. As Uryuu watched in bewilderment and alarm, he could see nothing but skin as she began to slip it off her shoulders. He quickly seized her hands!
"Whoa, whoa, whoa! What do you think you're doing?" He demanded.
Reiko grinned at him. "I'm thanking you for all your help."
Uryuu felt horror and shame rush throughout his body. "Ijima-san, if I said or did anything to imply that you owed me, um, favors for my help, I am so, so sorry. Whatever it was, believe me, you don't owe me anything, especially, uh, you know, that kind of thanks. Please, forgive me."
"O.K., fine," she said as she tried to pull his hands away. "I admit it. I'm doing this because I want to."
While relieved he hadn't inadvertently pressured Reiko to act this way, he still have quite a problem on his hands. He held her robe firmly closed.
"Ijima-san, we barely know each other." He said "You really should think this through."
"I have." She said earnestly. "I thought about it since I first met you. Can't you see it, Uryuu? This is destiny! We are the future of the quincy!"
It scared him more than a little bit to hear her using his name so familiarly all the sudden. He needed to shut this down now.
"Ijima-san," He said sticking to the formal use of her name, "I understand why you are thinking this way, but it's not going to work. I'm in a steady relationship right now and I don't see it changing anytime soon."
"You mean the shinigami girl?" Reiko said with a smirk.
"You know about Nemu and me?" He asked as he let go of her robe and leaned back.
"Everybody must know by now." She said. "You guys are so obvious. It's all right, I'm not upset. I understand."
"You don't sound like you understand." He said.
"Believe me I do." She said. "I used to be in the same situation. You must have been so lonely surrounded by people who could never understand what you're going through. How could a relationship with a normal be satisfying? But we're together now. We have the same history, the same powers, we know what it's like to live this way. You don't have to be alone anymore. You don't have to settle for that shinigami."
Uryu didn't like what he was hearing. "Settle?"
Reiko laughed. "Oh come on! I know how it is for a man. You have needs, she's not exactly unattractive, she was convenient. Why not, eh? But you don't need her anymore. Now you can finally have a real relationship with one of your own kind!"
That did it. Carefully getting out of bed on the other side, Uryuu drew himself up to his full height. He looked down his nose at Reiko
With a voice like a glacier, he said "I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to leave. Now."
Reiko looked at him with astonishment. "What? You're rejecting me?"
"Absolutely." He said scowling. "You have insulted someone I care for deeply and I am not going to put up with it any longer."
Reiko stood up and began to angrily tie the sash on her robe. "Are you telling me you'd rather sleep with that, that, THING than one of your own kind?"
Uryuu fought to control his rapidly growing fury. "Ijima-san, we may both be quincys, but you are certainly not my kind!"
He went to the door and held it open. "Get out, and good evening to you."
Reiko's face was a mask of rage. She stepped into Uryuu's personal space and pointed her finger at him.
"You are going to regret this." She threatened.
"I doubt it." He replied coolly. "Now good night."
"Fine!" she growled. "Good night!"
Scowling, she stomped out into the hallway. As soon as she was out the door, she stopped and slowly turned around.
"Oh, one last thing Ishida-sama." She said mockingly.
"What's that?" He asked.
"You're stitching is uneven and your patterns suck!"
Eyes widening with outrage, he slammed the door in her face.
Uryuu tossed and turned as he tried to get to sleep. He knew it was foolish, but he couldn't stop being angry at Reiko. She still thought of Nemu like she was an animal or a machine. So she had been lying to him? He thought he had really gotten through to her. Well it didn't matter. She was moving out. She really needed to do something about her attitude. Nemu was not a thing. She was a person with dignity and feelings. It really bothered him. Nemu was like a flower opening up in the sunshine. She hid behind a mask most of her life to protect herself. Now she was starting to leave that shelter behind to explore who she really was and what she wanted. It made Uryuu want to protect her all the more. How dare Reiko imply he was just using her as a convenience! And his stitching was NOT uneven!
Squinting at his alarm clock he was able to make out the glowing numbers. It was 1 am. He wasn't going to get any rest at this rate. Maybe he could use a little air. He got up, taking his robe off the hook on his door and putting on his slippers. He wasn't going to go anywhere far. Sitting in the back yard for a while should be enough. He looked towards the guest room as he entered the hallway. Reiko had the door closed, presumably asleep. Going downstairs, the house was lit by the full moon outside. He didn't see a need to put the lights on. Sliding the glass door open, he went outside and looked up at the moon. He took a deep breath of the crisp night air. He nearly jumped out of his skin when Ryuuken took a drag on his cigarette right next to him.
"You're up late." he said.
"I couldn't sleep." Uryuu replied. "You?"
"I just got home." Ryuuken said. They stood in awkward silence after that, side by side looking up at the moon. After minute, Ryuuken shook out a cigarette from his pack and offered it to Uryuu. He looked at his father as though he were crazy. With a slight shrug, Ryuuken put the pack back in his coat pocket. More time passed. Ryuuken took another long drag.
Uryuu looked over at his father. "Ryuuken?" He began to ask.
Ryuken turned his head and raised his eyebrow. Uryuu really wanted to talk to him. He needed to talk to someone. He felt like he was juggling a lot of problems with no one to share the burden. It would really help to get some advice.
"Well?" Reyuken asked. "What is it?"
Uryuu turned to face him. As he looked at his father, he could feel all his resolve draining away.
"Nothing." He said. He went back in the house.
After a while, Ryuuken finished his cigarette and crushed it out. He had a pretty good idea about what his son wanted to talk to him about. If only they had that kind of relationship. He went inside.
