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A/N: Day 21... and I'm behind by about 25,000 words.

This entry has 2,951 words.

Chapter Eight: Caught in a Storm

"I-ishida-kun?" Ayame stood on one side of the table in her grandparents' house. She had her head turned down and focused on her fingers as she played with her nails.

On the other side, sitting in a chair, was Ishida. He was sewing together the glove she had worn an hour ago. "What is it?" His glove was still on his left hand, giving him an odd appearance; however, he had informed her that he could not remove it easily like hers.

"There's still a fireworks festival to go see… would you want to go?" She paused to glance up from her fidgeting to see if he was looking at her. He was not. "With training over, there's some time to loosen up. And it's –"

"I am not going." He answered flatly. "There is a lot to prepare for." He hesitated in his answer and sewing. "You can go if you want."

Ayame felt depressed about being rejected. "Oh… okay," she said quietly. She turned around, cast him a quick glance before leaving the room, and headed upstairs to her room. When she came back down in a light blue yukata with white Japanese lilies and dark blue lines, and a white soft obi tied around her waist, Ayame felt pretty. She had let her hair down and rearranged it into a loose, low-hanging bun and added a silver butterfly clip for decoration.

Ishida looked up and he stopped everything he was doing. Ayame looked down on him. "I'll be back when they're over," she said and left. She could feel his eyes on her as she walked out of the house. It made her smile knowing she could get at least one person to stop and stare at her.

She found the center of festivities. A few others, like her, wore yukata. A few people down, she saw Yasutora. The others must be there, too. Ayame wanted to say hello. She was stopped before she got too close.

"Kawano-san?"

Ayame turned to face who called out her name. "Hai, Ishida-kun?"

"I finished the glove," he said and presented the repaired glove to her.

She smiled and took the glove. "You could've left it at my house."

"It's best if you keep it on."

"But I thought training was over?"

Ishida sighed. "Right now, you should be –" He stopped before he could continue.

"What is it?" Ayame turned around to see what it is he saw. She was pushed between two festival stalls and then to her knees. Ishida crouched close to her and stuck his head out from the cover of the stall to watch whoever was walking toward them. "Ishida-kun?" She blinked and closed her lips when he put his hand over her mouth. The contact was enough to make her skin flush and crawl. And his body was awfully close to hers as they hid between the stalls. Ayame put her eyes on his face. He looked scared. Who was it he saw? She looked at the reflections in his glasses. Kurosaki, Yasutora, and a few others traveled together as a group. They chattered as they walked on, passing Ishida and Ayame without a glance. Once Ishida removed his hand from her mouth, she asked, "What's the matter with you?"

He pushed his glasses up before answering. "I don't want anyone getting any ideas."

Ayame wanted to get up, but it was difficult with Ishida so close. The space between the stalls was smaller than she had imagined before. "Well, now that you've come to do what you wanted, you can go back to your business, then."

The two of them struggled to get their balances. As Ayame tried to stand, her knee cramped. The jolt of pain caused her to lose her balance. She got back up quickly. The speed at which she took to stand caused her to crash into Ishida's chin.

"Uhn!" Ishida instinctively put a hand to his chin.

Ayame held onto the top of her head and moaned, "Itai~!"

"Watch what you're doing!"

She gave him a sharp glare, and then left. Ayame rubbed her head with one hand. The glove Ishida had given to her was in her fist. What am I doing? She asked herself. Tears started welling up, but she resisted the want to cry. She would not cry until she was away from the public. Part of her hoped Ishida would follow her and say something. Another part knew it would not happen.

The fireworks were wonderful: bright, big, colourful, and loud against the starry night sky. Ayame had found a quiet place to sit and watch them. She admired the fireworks' reflections in the water of the river. Once in a while she would be distracted by a firefly or the chirp of a cricket. The majority of her attention was on the fireworks, however. She almost forgot about crying when the firework show began. When the fireworks were over, she walked back home to get some sleep.

A box sat on the table at home. Ishida must have left it there because it was not there when she left for the festival. She opened the box to find a white tunic and white pants. The only distinctive feature was a long, thin, four-pointed blue cross printed on either side of the tunic. There was a letter that came with the outfit. Ayame picked up the note, then unfolded it to read: "Don't give up now that you've completed your training – we can save Rukia." She carefully folded the clothes back into the box, placed the note on top of the tunic, and then took the box upstairs where she left it on top of her bed.

After taking a shower and putting on her pajamas, she sat on her bed and stared at the contents of the open box. She bit down on her thumb. This had to be a sign. He really must want her to follow him. It should not be hard to figure out. Ayame sighed, then propped a leg up to rest her head. I haven't known any of my classmates for long, she thought. Is it smart to go do something for someone I barely know? She sat up straight and crossed her legs. It's not like Ihave to do it, right?

Ayame got up from her bed and snatched up the tunic. The fabric felt comfortable and durable. She stared at the clothing, pondering why she should go help the others. "Damn it, Ayame!" Her tunic was thrown down on the bed. The expression on her face changed from anger to disappointment. "He didn't even want to see the fireworks." She sighed. "It's all about proving the Quincy's strength." Without thinking, she removed her shirt and put on the tunic. Next to go was her pajama shorts, replaced by the white pants. She looked at herself in the built-in mirror on her closet door. "It's kind of creepy... how did he know my size?" Ayame played with the front part of the tunic; starting at the waist, the tunic was slit on either side and had flaps reaching down to her knees. The horizontal line of the cross sat on top of her chest, closer to her clavicle, rather than directly on her bosom. Only one thing remind: the glove. Ayame equipped the glove on her left hand. Having only the one hand gloved looked odd.

She was admiring herself, styling her hair in the same way she did for school, in the mirror when the doorbell rang. Before either of her grandparents could get answer the door, Ayame was downstairs and ready to open it. On the other side was Orihime Inoue.

"I-Inoue?"

"Ah, Kawano-san! I was stopping by to see if you'd thought about going with us to save Rukia."

"Oh." Ayame cast her eyes down.

"What're you wearing?" Orihime giggled.

Ayame put her bare hand over her chest. "I don't know. Something Ishida-kun left me."

Orihime smiled. "He's strange, isn't he?"

Ayame grinned and thought, That's one way of putting it.

"So," her classmate cut through the silence, "are you joining us? Sado's already at the shoppe, and Ichigo should be there!" When Ayame did not give an instant answer and glanced over her shoulder, Orihime tried to cheer her up. "If you're still not sure about what you can do, I'll train with you! We could use all the help we can get."

Ayame looked at Orihime to see her big stupid grin. It was hard to not smile back at the orange-haired girl. "I guess." She nodded.

"No!" Orihime shouted.

"What?" She gasped, put on a pair of sneakers, and pushed Orihime outside to move their conversation away form her grandparents', who might have been awakened by the door bell. "I thought you wanted me to go?"

"It can't be 'I guess'!" Orihime put a hand on her hip and waged a finger in Ayame's face. "You have to say it like you mean it!"

"But, Inoue..."

"Kawano-san," Orihime become quiet and looked sad, "hasn't Rukia helped you in some way?"

Ayame looked at Orihime, confused at first. There really had been no real interaction between her and Rukia. They were only classmates. Then, Ayame remembered the night Rukia had been taken away by the two Soul Reapers. She understood what would happen to Rukia if no one went after her. Classmates or complete strangers, Ayame honestly did not like knowing Rukia would be executed. Her only friend had been effected by the Soul Reaper. The thought of Orihime being depressed for a long time if nothing was done... it hurt Ayame.

"Ano..." she began. "Inoue-san?"

Orihime looked up.

Ayame put on a big smile. She made fists and shook them briefly in front of her for emphasis. "I'll do my best to help in any way I can!"

"Ah~!" Orihime's eyes widened and she pumped a fist into the air. "All right! Let's go! Follow me!"

At the moment Orihime turned one last corner, she said, "We're here!"

Kurosaki turned around, shocked. "Inoue! Kawano!"

Ayame came out from behind Orihime, grinned and waved.

"Take care of us!" Orihime said happily and bowed. Ayame followed Orihime's lead and bowed.

When she stood up, Ayame glanced around to see Yasutora and Ishida were there, too. So was the man with the cane and hat. She avoided looking at Ishida for too long.

"What's this? Hey! What the heck's going on?" Kurosaki shouted in confusion.

The black cat she had seen with Orihime and Yasutora a week ago approached the group. "A little slow, aren't you?"

"Yoruichi!" Orihime gasped.

The cat continued. "Don't tell me you hadn't sensed the sudden increase in their spiritual power." Kurosaki glanced over his four classmates with a dumb look on his face. "While you were working to regain your Soul Reaper power, these four were training, too." Orihime and Ayame joined the other two. Yoruichi turned around and jumped for Ayame's arms. She caught the cat and held it gently. " Instead of freaking out, you should show your gratitude."

There was a long pause. Kurosaki started stuttering, then freaked out. "That cat just talked!" He threw his hands up and then put them on his head.

"He's not a cat, Ichigo." Orihime said with a frown. "He's Yoruichi."

Kurosaki stuttered the word cat.

"It is shocking, after all," Ishida commented.

Yasutora added, "It's his first time seeing Yoruichi."

Ayame sighed. "Men."

"Ok~!" The group's attention was drawn to Urahara – Orihime had told Ayame his name on their walk over – as he clapped. "We can't stay out here talking forever! Let's go inside!" They did as he suggested and started for the shoppe. Orihime was stopped by Kurosaki, but no one seemed to mind.

"I must admit I'm surprised," Ishida spoke to Ayame after walking up to her, "that you decided to come. It's going to be dangerous."

"I know the dangers!" Ayame snapped quietly at him.

Yoruichi squirmed in her arms to remind her the cat was still with her. "It might be more dangerous than you think, Kawano-san." The cat turned to look directly at Ayame. "Especially now that there's one more Quincy left in the world the Soul Reapers didn't know of. A woman, too. Excuse me." Yoruichi jumped out of Ayame's arms and walked into the shoppe. Ayame and Ishida were left to stand in silence.

"Do you still want to tag along?"

Ayame looked up to Ishida. She was more scared now than she had been an hour ago. There was a determination in her that showed on her face. "Yeah," she said and turned toward the door, "and I don't think you should worry about me. We've got friends with us."

"But Kawano-san." She stopped and turned back around to face Ishida. "Why are you coming with us?"

There had not been a real time when she could think straight about her decision. Ayame had actually never thought about a solid reason for joining the others to save Rukia. Her gaze drifted to their feet. "I guess..." she paused and then looked up, "I guess that I want to help save Rukia. Inoue came to my house and told me that it would be nice to have extra help. And the look on her face..."

"You two coming inside or what?"

Ayame's skin jumped when Kurosaki spoke behind her.

"H-hai!" She ran inside before anything else could be said or asked.

Everyone traveled to an underground room.

"S-sugoi!" Orihime exclaimed and clapped her hands together.

"This room is huge!" Ayame said in equal amazement. "How did it get here?"

Orihime added, "It's like a secret base!"

A tall man with glasses, a mustache, and cornrows came up to the girls and took one of their hands into one of his big hands. With the other hand, he dabbed his eyes with a handkerchief. "Th-thank you! I, Tessai, am deeply moved by your reactions!"

"D-don't mention it," Ayame mumbled.

"You're welcome." Orihime blushed and looked just as nervous as Ayame.

Urahara clapped his hands again. "All right! Attention, attention, please! Here we go!" He made a sound, snapped his fingers, and a square that looked like it was made of papier-mâché appeared out of nowhere. "This gate leads to the Soul Society. It's known as Senkaimon, or Tunnel World Gate." His expression became serious. "Now, pay close attention..." He raised his cane and hit Kurosaki directly on the forehead with the end of it.

Kurosaki was split into two. His human body, caught by Yasutora, was complete dead weight. Ayame and the others gathered around his human body in awe. "Warn me next time, will ya?" he raged.

"It comes out so easy!" Orihime gasped. "So Kurosaki-kun's no longer inside Kurosaki-kun?"

Urahara started chuckling, his back to them.

"Obviously not, Inoue-san!" Kurosaki exclaimed. "Stop talking like I'm not here!"

"Let's continue!" Urahara announced. "There is a layer of Reishihenkanki, Spirit-particle Conversion Machine, on top of the normal Senkaimon."

"Reishihenkanki?" Kurosaki echoed. Ayame attempted to say it, but stumbled over it.

"Hai." Urahara continued. "You should already know that the Soul Society is a world of spirits. It's not possible to enter the Soul Society unless you are a spirit or have the form of one. This means that only Kurosaki, as a Soul Reaper, can pass through. To allow the rest of you to cross, we will convert you into into spirits using the Henkanki."

Ishida spoke up. "So you're saying, without extracting our spirits, by passing through this gate..."

"Correct," Urahara interrupted. "You'll be able to enter the Soul Society as you are now."

"Alright! Let's – " Kurosaki started forward.

Urahara was quick to jab him in his side before he passed him. "But! There is a limit to how long we can hold the connection between the gate and Soul Society open; four minutes."

Everyone is shocked and gasps. Ayame, worried, asked, "Is that enough time?"

"Normally? It's impossible," Urahara answered.

Kurosaki blurted out, "What?"

Urahara's face and tone became serious. "It was a reckless idea to begin with, but I'll do my best to hold it open for that long. If you can't make it to the other side in time... you'll be trapped in there, between this world and the Soul Society, forever."

Ayame and Orihime glanced at each other and then looked back to Urahara. Orihime asked, "Then, what should we do?"

"Go forward," Yoruichi said. The cat walked between Orihime and Yasutora, and stopped to finish talking. "The heart and the soul are connected. What is important is what you feel in your heart, and the will to move forward. Your guide will be me." Yoruichi looked behind to see the group of students. "Only those who go forward... follow me."

"Are you an idiot?" Kurosaki stepped forward. "Isn't that why we're here?"

"Kid, you understand that you cannot return if you fail?"

"So winning's the only option, right?"

It was quiet for a moment. Ayame was beginning to have second thoughts. She felt a hand grab hers. The hand belonged to Orihime. Her classmate gave her a soft smile and nodded in reassurance. Ayame grinned back, feeling a little better. Yoruichi stared at Kurosaki and answered, "Correct."

Seconds later, the portal glowed blue. Urahara and Tessai kneeled on either side, creating the blue light illuminating the portal inside the square frame. Urahara looked at the small group. "Ready? Remember, run in the instant it opens."

"Got it!" Kurosaki grunted.

Ayame and Orihime chimed, "Right!"

Urahara and Tessai then opened the gate. Light blinded the area for a moment, and then they were all transported into the Senkaimon.

A/N: I do NOT edit this for the fact that this is for NANOWRIMO - editing is pretty much a taboo for NaNoWriMo participants. Because NaNoWriMo is more about quantity than quality, I am trying to find a way to have quality without dragging the story on. This may cause some parts to feel rushed or unfinished. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter!