Urahara Kisuke stood on a hill, overlooking the situation. He smirked to himself. It wasn't uncommon for the shopkeeper to hold secrets, so this was no different.
A black cat walked up to him, rubbing its head against his cane. "Hello there, Yoruichi," he spoke and bent down to scratch the cat between its ears. Shihouin Yoruichi responded with a purr. "Remind me again why I put up with your ancestor? Those kids are smart. They'll figure it out sooner rather than later."
"You owe her one," a masculine voice came from the cat's mouth. "Plus, you know what she's like. She'll do whatever she wants."
"That she does." Urahara sat down on the grassy knoll and Yoruichi climbed into his lap. They sat there in the moonlight, waiting and watching.
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"What do you mean we're trapped in an illusion?" Ichigo demanded.
"Screaming about it isn't going to help me think!" Rukia pointed out. She lifted a hand and rubbed her temples with her fingers.
"It's gotta be Ben-Ten's doing," she sighed. "We should have been more careful. Now we can't find anyone because of this stupid illusion and it's too late to warn them."
"They'll figure it out," Ichigo shrugged. "Now we just need to figure out how to break the spell." He grinned widely with his usual cocky expression.
Rukia looked at him oddly just then. With the dark lighting, his sudden confidence, he looked just like…it was almost like…
"Don't look at me like that," Ichigo frowned, and turned his head away from Rukia's gaze.
A sudden flush rose to Rukia's shocked face. "Like what?"
"I'm not him," Ichigo suddenly burst out. Rukia felt like his words had slapped her. She was like a fox caught in a trap. "Whoever he was, I'm not him, Rukia."
Rukia blinked, tears beginning to prick her eyes. "What would you know about it?" she cried out, her brow narrowing with irrational anger.
"I don't know anything, and that's the problem!" Ichigo shot back. He took a few deep breaths, balling his hand up in a fist at his side. "It's just something I heard."
"What was it? What did you hear?" Rukia practically screamed at him. Her face began to turn red from anger and the tears starting to surface.
"That I'm a lot like 'him.'" Ichigo scowled at her.
"Wha-What?" she stammered, unable to comprehend his words. "Who did you hear that from?"
Ichigo sighed. "Ukitake."
"Wha—"
"And Byakuya."
Rukia gasped, quickly biting her tongue. "Nii-sama?"
"Yeah. I'm sure they didn't mean for me to hear it though. Still doesn't mean it didn't happen."
"Nii-sama? I can't believe it…" Rukia looked at the ground in disbelief.
Ichigo walked towards her, his face a mixture of concern and disappointment. "What happened, Rukia?"
She averted her eyes, afraid to look at him. "I…I can't."
Ichigo huffed, tired of playing this game. "Fine. Whatever." He turned his back to her and walked away, settling down on a rock perched over the small stream.
Rukia placed a tired hand against her forehead and let out a shaky sigh. Goddammit. She took a deep breath to calm down and walked over to where Ichigo was resting. He gazed out into the sky with his usual scowl. Only this time, that scowl had a meaning. Rukia sat down next to him and dangled her legs over the edge of the stream. She put a bare foot in the water and let the current run over her toes.
"His name was Shiba Kaien," Rukia started. Ichigo glanced over at her as she spoke. She swallowed and kept looking into the sky.
"He was the Vice-Captain of the 13th Division.
"I loved him…
"And I killed him."
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Ishida held Orihime's hand tightly, making their way through the dense grasses and trees. He felt her hand growing limp with fatigue. "Do you need to rest?" Ishida said to Orihime over his shoulder.
"No," she lied, sweat growing on her brow, "I'm fine."
Ishida stopped in his tracks. "Well, I need to rest," he lied for her sake. She was pushing herself and he wouldn't have that.
Orihime nodded and let her hand slip out from Ishida's grasp. He immediately missed the warmth of her touch. She settled down on a patch of grass and stretched her legs out, finally catching her breath. She smoothed out the beautiful fabric on the yukata Ishida custom made and gazed at it with admiration.
"Ishida-kun?" she said, her eyes open to his. Ishida kneeled down until he could look directly in her huge hazel orbs. "Thank you for this. This is the most beautiful yukata I've ever seen."
"It was nothing," he dismissed. "And thank you, for the picture you gave me."
Orihime grinned. The moonlight hit her eyes and made them sparkle. She swallowed before speaking next. "You've been very kind to me, even after I behaved so horribly towards you." She moved her hand to place it next to the hand Ishida supported his weight on. Her pinky finger touched his skin and that familiar spark surfaced.
"It's all right, I deserved it. I'm the one who should be apologizing for not saying anything that night." He shifted his weight to sit down next to her. "I don't think you're weak." He paused and looked directly at her. "You're one of the strongest women I know."
Orihime felt her cheeks lightly flush at his comment.
Ishida bit his lip before continuing confession. "I just don't want to lose you. Not again." He looked up into the sky, his finger twirling a blade of grass.
"And I don't want to be your second choice just because your first isn't available."
Orihime's face grew hot after his statement. Is that how he thought of himself, as the second choice? She didn't realize how much attention he had paid to her during their time together. He must have figured out long ago that she harbored feelings for Ichigo.
Ishida turned his face back to Orihime, finding her deep in thought. He had taken a chance and left the truth out on the table. He figured she didn't return his feelings, but that was okay. She knew now and that was all that mattered.
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"This is insane," Tatsuki growled with Renji close behind. "I swear we've passed that same rock before."
"That's because we have," Renji said flatly.
Tatsuki stopped in her tracks. "What?" She spun to face Renji, dark eyes blazing.
"This is an illusion, and now we're stuck in a loop." Renji met her gaze.
Tatsuki felt her face begin to grow red and her blood boiled under her skin. "What the FUCK?! Why didn't you tell me this earlier?!"
"If you had stopped to listen to me for one second, maybe I could have!" Renji raised his voice to match hers. He was not going to back down. She was infuriating, but she did look good when she was mad. Her dark eyes flashed with passion and her equally dark short locks stood on end. "I do have experience with these kinds of things, woman, so maybe it would do you some good to actually trust someone else."
Tatsuki bit her tongue until it nearly bled. He had struck a nerve, whether he meant to or not. "You don't know anything about me, punk." Her eyes narrowed to a sliver.
"I know that you don't trust anyone but yourself these days. That's why you won't tell your friends, even Inoue, what you know. What I don't understand is why you are so fucking stubborn that you won't come clean." Renji step closer to her as he spoke.
"That's none of your damn business," Tatsuki said in a near whisper. She felt herself step back, aware of his advances. She may have been trained as a deadly weapon, but she felt helpless around the large redhead.
"When it comes to this group, it is." Renji's beady eyes narrowed but looked sincere. "They are…my friends. And their business is my business too. If you don't tell them the truth, I will."
"You wouldn't dare," Tatsuki hissed. Her steps back were suddenly stopped by the trunk of a tree.
"Try me," Renji pushed and stuck a hand against the bark right next to Tatsuki's head. His heavy breaths matched hers, as her chest rose and fell against the crimson fabric of her yukata. Her heart beat hard against her chest, his eyes were intense. She felt her lips grow thin with anger and her own frustrating emotional rollercoaster. How was it that she could be completely infuriated and attracted to this man at the same time? This man, who was still very much that orphaned boy from Rukongai. The struggle for acceptance and winning back those he loved raged a battle behind his brown orbs.
Then his mouth crashed down on hers and her mind went blank.
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It's technically Monday, so here's the update. ^_^
Don't worry about Chad, he's got the first part coming up in the next chapter ;)
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