Teh he~ Chapter two. ^^ Hope it's at least pretty good. It's a bit shorter, but not that terrible. haha anyway enjoy~~

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Kibichi continued to badger Izumeki about what Renji and her were talking about alone. "so what were you talking about that you just don't want to talk about?" She continued. Izumeki rolled her eyes and continued to organize one of the book shelves. "It can't be so important that you want to keep it a secret."

"It's not really a secret, but it would be rude to spread it like a rumor. Don't you think?" Izumeki cocked her head to the left, looking at the author's last name of one of the books, deciding on where to put the heavy book in her hand.

"I guess, but I still want to know what you guys were talking about." Kibichi retorted.

"Well… I don't really think it could hurt anybody. But promise you won't say anything."

"Promise!" Kibichi leaned on a desk, getting closer so she could hear better.

"He basically just looked really upset, so I asked him what was wrong. He Just went on and on about his past… He said he had practically fallen in love with Rukia." Izumeki stopped. Admitting the words herself felt like jabbing a sword through her heart. Izumeki set down the book.

"Really?" Kibichi looked shocked. "I'm so sorry!"

She shook her head. Izumeki was stronger than that. She may like him, but she was fine with letting him go, no matter how much she really liked him. "No, it's fine. He said he wanted to give up on her. He saw her and Ichigo together. Not like that, but close enough." She set the book on the shelf, placing it between two novels.

"Sound's intense." Kibichi backed away from her position on the desk, to a more comfortable one on the couch. "Did he say anything else?"

Izumeki shook her head, her hair swishing back and forth, "No. That's about when you knocked on the door."

Something caught her eye at that moment. It was a book, not one of hers. Why didn't she notice it before? She pointed to it, "Is this yours?"

Kibichi looked at it, taking on a slightly confused look. "No… I haven't seen that book before. What's the title?"

Izumeki took it down, flipping it over in her hand. It wasn't very thick, only about half an inch, leather binding and the spine read the title in gold letterings, "Flowers and Their Meanings" She opened it, reading the intro. "This is very strange"

"It is." Kibichi launched herself from the couch, strutting over to look over Izumeki's shoulder. "It's not where you would have put it either."

Izumeki frowned, "No, it's not." She looked over the pictures of the different types of flowers in the book, reading only some of them. "A bouquet of full bloom roses means gratitude, but a single one means 'I love you'?"

"I guess." She looked at the clock, "I gotta go. Hana's expecting me home."

"Mmkay. See ya later" Izumeki smiled at Kibichi, setting the book down. "Tell Hana I say hi! "

"kaykay" Kibichi turned and left, walking out the door with a small wave.

As soon as Kibichi was gone, Izumeki picked up the flower book again and, with a sense of foreboding, looked it over again. Each flower had its own picture taking up half of the page and a description of the flower. Each flower was very majestic and beautiful in its own way, but one flower caught her eye. Someone had circled the picture and description of the red carnation with a thick black marker. Izumeki eyed the beautiful flower, and its red petals and the way they opened up to look like a fuzzy red ball. Slowly, Izumeki began to read the meaning of the flower. "Admiration, my heart aches for you…" She looked at it again, "Why would this be circled?" Closing the book with a thunk, she got up, setting the book down on the table. Hoping to get her mind off of the book and her conversation with Renji, she made another cup of tea. This time, she made a large cup of green tea, grabs a book and settles down on her sofa to have a nice read.

Feeling better and refreshed, Renji felt it was appropriate to thank Izumeki somehow. He thought flowers would be nice, but a little too gushy for his tastes. Izumeki might appreciate it a lot, but would she think f him any less? He didn't really want to risk that. She might be the key to getting over Rukia, finally. Still, he stood at the flower shop gazing at some of the flowers, wondering which would be the best to say "Thank you!"

"If you're trying to get a bouquet for Izumeki, go for the red roses" Renji turned, not expecting anyone to know what he was doing. It was Kibichi, standing with her arms crossed eyeing Renji with skeptical eyes.

"Don't red roses mean love? I only want thanks."

"Not a bouquet." She smiled, though it was a bit like a smirk. "a single full bloom rose is saying 'I love you' a bouquet says 'hey, thanks!'. It's in a book Izumeki found." She explained.

Renji looked back at the flowers, wondering if he really should get the roses "Thanks. Are you sure?" He picked up a bouquet, looking for the price.

"I'm so sure I'm deodorant." Renji gave her a quizzical look. "Just get it."

"Sure sure." Renji sounded irritated, and he was. Who was this girl to push him to do something? But he knew she was right. He bought the bouquet, writing a simple message on a card saying "thank you for listening when you could have turned me away" and set off, Kibichi staying behind, looking at other flowers.

Now that he bought them, he was unsure that he actually wanted to give them to her. He walked down the street, bouquet in hand, back to Izumeki's house. He didn't want to talk to her, but just leave the bouquet there and go home. So that's just precisely what he did.

Quietly, Renji walked up to Izumeki's door and positioned the bouquet as perfectly as possible and knocked on the door, taking off as fast as he could. Renji hid, hoping he wouldn't be seen by her. He watched as she opened the door, looking around. He chanted to himself, "look down, look down, look down…" as she looked. She finally did, smiling at the roses, and reading the card. It only took her a second to read the card, but she looked at it like she was confused. But despite that, she smiled again, looking around to see if she can spot him. For a split second, Renji thought she spotted him, but she walked back inside, taking the roses with her. Renji felt an odd relief sweep over him, like he finally could breathe, but why, and from what? Who knows?

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Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy! btw... Please review, and rate and such. I really appreciate it. haha