Ichigo hadn't slept much that night. His thoughts about Rukia and whether or not she would accept his apology gift kept him awake. He briefly heard her come in this morning and felt her pause by his door. Part of him wished she was still staying in his closet, although he would never admit it to her.

"Good Morning, Ichi-GO!" Isshin, Ichigo's father, announced to all of Karakura. Ichigo grunted in return. "Ha, hah! No response, I win by default!"

"Shut up, Dad," Karin grumbled.

Isshin's lower lip quivered as if she hurt his feelings. "Oh, Masaki, none of our children love me anymore!" he cried, hugging the large poster of Ichigo's deceased mother on the wall. Karin rolled her eyes.

"Oh, Good Morning, Rukia-nee-san," Yuzu said sweetly as she brought the morning's late breakfast to the table.

"Good Morning," Rukia smiled. She walked behind Ichigo's chair and brushed her hand against his arm. The gesture got Ichigo's attention and he watched her sit next to him. She kept her eyes locked to his—they held no more anger. She fumbled with a small bracelet on her wrist. His bracelet.

They still didn't speak but ate brunch in a comfortable silence. When the family was done, Rukia stood up and slipped a scrap of paper on Ichigo's lap on the way out. He waited until he got to his room to read it, in fear of the humiliation his father would inflict if the note was discovered.

Thanks for the gift.

…

…

I'm still not talking to you.

Ichigo smirked.

.

----------------------------------------

.

Orihime woke to a knock on her door. Tatsuki and Rukia had left early that morning and she promptly fell asleep when they bid her goodbye. "Ooo who could that be?" she muttered and stumbled through the apartment. She opened the door, one eye closed against the bright sun.

No one.

Orihime looked around, she was sure she heard someone. She began to close the door when something caught her eye. A wrapped brown paper package lay on the stoop. She bent at the waist, picking up the gift. It wasn't heavy but the sides buckled with gravity.

Inside, she put the package on the low table and sat back. It wasn't wrapped like it came through the post so someone had delivered it by hand. Taking a deep breath, she picked at the twine holding the paper together and pulled.

A breath escaped her lips. The wrapping may have been plain but its contents were vibrant and beautiful. A turquoise, aqua and purple yukata stared back at her surprised gaze. She reached for the fabric, gently feeling the silk and cotton blend under her fingertips. The pattern on the material was nearly white and depicted an intricate arrangement of swirls and starbursts. She recognized the cloth as something Ishida had talked about in the Handicrafts' Club: Batik painting from Indonesia or Singapore.

Ishida.

Suddenly her hands were quickly searching for something within the folds of the fabric. When she picked the garment up out of the wrapping, she found it.

Inoue-san,

Please accept this as a token of apology. I will be at the Tanabata Festival tomorrow night. I would be honored if you would wear this piece.

--Ishida Uryuu

.

----------------------------------------

.

"I want a purple one," a small child demanded.

"We're out of purple ones," Renji responded with anger. It was the second night of the Tanabata festival and his patience had grown thin. He crossed his arms and scowled at the toddler.

"But I want a purple one!" the child screamed, her arms flailing in the air. Her green yukata flapped around her wrists as her tantrum grew.

"Listen brat, we don't have any purple ones left tonight! So just give me your money and I'll give you a fucking pink one!"

The little girl's expression quickly changed into shock, then her eyes filled with tears and she ran away wailing.

"Abarai-san, why are you making my customers cry?" Urahara asked in his usual singsong tone. He had just walked up to the shop's booth and witnessed the whole thing. The blonde man tapped the side of his cane against Renji's head. "You wouldn't want to get Benihime involved to keep you in line, now would you?"

Renji gulped with full knowledge that Urahara kept his zanpaktou hidden in his cane. He wasn't about to get his ass kicked by the former Captain of the 12th Division. Urahara smirked. "That's what I thought. Now I'm going to get us some taiyaki," Renji's face perked up hearing the name of his favorite food, "And then I'm going to eat them all in front of you."

Renji felt like a vein was going to pop from the rage bubbling up to his face. Urahara just loved to push his buttons. He tried to focus his anger away and recognized someone in the crowd. "Oi, Arisawa!" he waved. His expression immediately changed when he spotted her walking by.

"Tatsuki, who is that tattooed man calling you?"

Tatsuki looked where her mom was pointing and internally groaned. "That's just Ichigo's cousin." She put on a fake smile.

"Oh? Well, we should go say hello," Tatsuki's father commented. He started to steer his family toward Urahara's booth. Tatsuki could feel her face begin to flush, both from the embarrassment of her father's insistent casual chat and from what she implied about Renji yesterday. She really, really, really didn't want to run into him again so soon.

Renji watched as Tatsuki and her family walked over to the booth. "Arisawa Hiroshi," Tatsuki's father stuck a hand out to greet the redhead. "I hear you're Ichigo's cousin." Renji reached to shake his hand with a firm grip and bowed with respect.

"Uh…yeah, I'm just visiting and working here for the summer." Renji's eyes drifted towards Tatsuki's face and noticed she was avoiding eye contact.

"Well, any family of Ichigo's is welcome in our house anytime. Stop by for dinner some night. I insist."

"Th-Thank you, sir."

"Um, Otou-san," Tatsuki started, "There's some yakitori nearby. Didn't you say you wanted some?"

"Why yes, I did. Come on, dear," Tatsuki's father locked arms with his wife. "Are you coming, Tatsuki?"

"I'll be there in a sec. Just want to look around first." Her dad nodded and continued walking down the rows to the yakitori stand. When her parents were out of sight, Tatsuki let out the breath she didn't realize she had been holding.

"I'm so sorry about that."

"It's okay," Renji shrugged.

"No seriously, he can be just so…nosy sometimes. You know how Dads get."

"Actually, I don't."

Tatsuki snapped her head up at Renji's reply. She immediately regretted her words.

"I grew up on the streets with Rukia. Since you know everything about Soul Society and Shinigami, I thought you would have known that too." Renji raised an eyebrow, mocking her. Tatsuki felt her face redden and fumbled with the obi of her yukata. Now she could see there was more to Renji than his tough façade and annoying tendencies. Dammit, I don't want to feel like this around him.

"I'm sorry. Um, I gotta go or I'll hear it from my dad." Tatsuki turned away from Renji, afraid that looking at his handsome face would give her thoughts away.

"Tatsuki?" he called out to her as she left. She stopped and glanced over her shoulder. Renji grinned wide. "You look like a girl."

.

----------------------------------------

.

Chad stood at the top of the levee bank, admiring the lights from the nearby shrine. He always loved this time of year, both for its weather and the festival. Tanabata, the Evening of the Seventh. He knew its story well, having an admiration of Japanese culture and folklore. Tanabata celebrates the meeting of the two stars Vega and Altair, two lovers who could only meet once a year. The romantic in him liked the story and secretly wished for the same thing.

A crack of a twig caught his attention to a tree nearby. There she was, standing on a branch, her plum long hair floating around her in the breeze. Her eyes were closed, feathery eyelashes seemed to flutter like wings of a butterfly. She hummed a soft melody that sounded like the open sea. If she hadn't made her presence know, Chad would have never realized she was there.

He gazed at the beautiful sight. Her voice was soothing and he felt as if he was floating across waves. When he opened his eyes she had moved from the tree to a few feet in front of him. She was tall, legs long and bronze. Her curves moved as she walked towards him. She slid her hand in his, lightly grasping his fingers. "Who are you?" Chad heard himself say. His voice seemed far away and muted. She simply smiled and continued humming.

Then a breeze kicked in, and she was gone.

.

.

^__^ REVIEWERS GET COOKIES! ^__^

Update Schedule: Monday, Wednesday, Friday

I couldn't find any references about Tatsuki's family but I knew
she lived with both her parents (and a brother??). I just
picked a random male name for her dad's introduction.