Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach. I do however own all of the OC's in the story, unless stated otherwise.
AN: Thank you all for 500 views! I honestly wasn't expecting that many this far in, but I guess that means my writing is better than I thought! Not that I thought it was any good in the first place. Enjoy! R&R!
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Chapter 10: Caught
"Dammit Shinji! That one really hurt!"
"Suck it up Hiroto. You can still only use your mask for a minute and a half before it breaks. For a fight with an extremely powerful arrancar, like Vacio, you need to be able to hold it for ten minutes at bare minimum. You still have a long ways to go my friend before you will be more useful than useless with that mask on."
"Oh just quit blabbering already! Come on, let's go again." You stand up shakily, pushing on your zanpakuto to steady yourself.
"I think we should take a break. I know we have a lot of training to do, but it will be pointless if you kill yourself from exhaustion. Meet back here in an hour and we will have another go."
You nod at him, breathing to heavily to form words anymore, and turn around to head back up to the store for some water.
Trying to flash step ahead, you manage to make it 25 feet before collapsing. Was it just you, or is flash stepping now impossible.
Picking yourself up off the ground, you attempt to do it again. The results are the same. Man this really sucks. picking yourself up off your face once again, you finish the trek to the ladder by walking.
After what seemed like an eternity, you finally reached the top of the ladder. Pulling yourself to your feet, you slowly make your way to the kitchen. Opening the fridge, you grab a cold water bottle and make your way to the living area so you can relax.
You spot Yuyu resting on one of the couches, and take a seat opposite of her. Downing the water, you immediately feel refreshed and ready to start training some more, but decide against going back to the training area. You can still hardly stand, and Shinji was right, you don't need to kill yourself during training.
The quiet of the room, only interrupted by Yuyu's faint breathing, gives you time to think.
Your mind is still blown over the discovery made while fighting that arrancar. Yuyu is still alive. It always had seemed like a fantasy, to have Yuyu return, but there she is, on the couch opposite of yours, resting peacefully while your brain feels like it is going to explode any moment now from information overload.
She looks so peaceful, sleeping there under the sheets. Quite unlike the last time you saw her, bleeding and dead with tears staining her face.
This now brings up even more questions Does she still love you? If she does, will she expect you to ditch Soi Fon? If you don't, how will she react? Will she be angry? Sad? Kami forbid, depressed? Too many questions are left unanswered for your liking. However, the only way you will get those answers is if you talk to Yuyu yourself, but she is sleeping. You can't disturb her, she needs and deserves the rest.
You decide to just talk to her when she wakes up. She'll be rested and you will have more time to think.
You sit there for about a half hour before deciding to get another water. Standing up, you make your way to the hallway. You hear a cough behind you. Turning around, you see Yuyu shaking beneath her covers. Foregoing the water, you turn back and walk to Yuyu. Pushing her up, you sit down on the couch and rest her head on your lap.
"Shh. It's ok." You stroke her hair, trying to soothe her. The trembling stops and she curls on closer to you.
"Hiro..." She mumbles your name in her sleep.
"I'm here now, it's ok."
"Hiro... I love you..." Your heart stops. You feel like you were hit by another Shinimasu. So she does still love you... now your question is answered.
"Yuyu, wake up." You shake her gently. Her eyes flutter briefly before she opens them fully. Letting out a great yawn, she sits up.
"Morning Sunshine." She turns around at the sound of your voice. When she sees you, her face lights up with a huge smile.
"Hiro!" She quickly wraps you in a hug. "It's so good to see you again!"
You return the hug. "Same here Yuyu. I'm really glad you are ok. I was so worried. After the hollow attack when we were kids..."
Her smile drops into a more somber look. "Yeah... I know I made you worry .. But everything is ok now! I'm alive and your alive. That's all that matters." She gives you another genuine smile.
"Yeah, that is good. Are your wounds healed?"
She lifts her shirt slightly and inspects her stomach. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure their all healed up. I've been known to heal quickly."
"That's good... Hey Yuyu? There are a few things you should know about though..."
"Like what?"
"Well you know how we always talked about... getting married."
Her face blossoms with color and she looks at her feet. "Yeah. I remember that."
"I'm... I'm seeing someone..."
"You... have a girlfriend?"
"Yeah..."
Her expression is heartbreaking. She looks about ready to cry. "I'm happy for you."
Her reaction takes you aback. "You are?"
"Yeah... if your happy t-then I-I'm happy t-too." The tears flow free. She breaks down and starts sobbing uncontrollably. You try to comfort her the best you can, bit you can only do so much.
"I-I thought w-we were going t-to b-be together f-forever. Just l-like we p-promised each other." You pull her into your shoulder.
"Yuyu I'm so sorry. I thought you were dead. If I knew you were still alive, things might have been different. This doesn't change the fact that I love you. I still do love you. I always will... but not in the way you love me... I'm sorry... I... I love Soi Fon. I want to stay with her."
Her crying quiets down. She looks up to you with her tear stained face. "Y-You still love me?"
"Of course I do. We have shared so much together. There is no way I-" You are abruptly cut off when she presses her lips against yours. Your heart stops yet again. You have to stop this. This is wrong, you have a girlfriend. This needs to end now... so why aren't you stopping it?
You push her back onto the couch so she is laying on her back. You lean over her and lock your lips with hers.
The thought never crossed your mind that someone else might be watching. Someone who is shocked at what she sees. Someone who leaves before she is caught. Someone who has tears of her own to wipe away.
...
"No." You push Yuyu away from yourself, breaking the kiss. "Yuyu this is wrong. I have a girlfriend. I can't be kissing you."
"I'm sorry Hiro. When you said you loved me..." She stumbles over her words, and starts to cry again.
"Hey, it's ok. Don't cry."
"But it's not ok!" You are taken aback by the tone of her voice. "It's not! I love you! I want to be with you! Why can't you see that!?"
"I do see it dammit!" You yell back at her, frightening her into silence. "I understand! This isn't just hard on you, it's hard on me too! Do you really think I want to break my best friends heart!?"
At this point, Ichigo, Urahara, Yoruichi, and Shinji had made there way to the living area, trying to find the source of the commotion.
"This isn't just about our relationship, it's about Soi Fon as well! Look, I've said it once and I'll say it again, I love you, and nothing is going to change that. But I love Soi Fon too. More than a friend. She is someone who I want to spend the rest of my life with. I don't love you in the same manner."
The onlookers are staring, wide eyed with varying degrees of astonishment. You turn away from Yuyu and walk towards the group. Before leaving you turn back to face her.
"If you can't accept that... then I don't want you in my life." Everyone can see the tears rolling down your cheeks as you turn back and walk out of the room.
...
-Soi Fon POV-
"Y-You still love me?" Yuyu asks Hiroto after he confesses his love for her. Granted he said it's just like love for a sibling, you still feel a twinge of jealousy when he says it.
"Of course I do. We have shared so much together. There is no way I-" You can't believe it. She is kissing him! What the hell is wrong with her? Hiroto said he had a girlfriend! Wait... why isn't he fighting back? Is he... No!? He... he can't be.
Your eyes fill with tears, blurring your vision, but not so much so that you can't see Hiroto pushing her back onto the couch, once again locking lips.
You need to get some air. The atmosphere in here is suffocating you. You run away, bursting through the door to the store, and flash step in a random direction. You let your tears flow free. How could he? How could he do something like that to you? You love him.
"Maybe it's because he doesn't love you?" Suzumebachi's voice rings out in your head. "He just doesn't have the same strong feelings for you that he does with his childhood friend."
"I won't accept that. We have an amazing connection. He wouldn't just use me and them dump me. Would he?"
You can't accept it, you just can't. There has to be some reason for why he was kissing Yuyu.
"What's his favorite color?"
"What?"
"I said, what is his favorite color?"
"Well he never told me-"
"What is his favorite book?"
"How should I know-"
"How old is he?"
"I don't know!? What's with all... the... questions. It hits you. You never asked. You know nothing about him.
"You don't have an amazing connection. You don't even have a bad connection. You just have no connection. Nothing. You don't take an interest in him. Its no wonder he would be kissing another girl. He probably thinks that you don't even care about him... For all I know, you might have lost him already, but if you really do love him like you say you do, I would hurry your butt back over there and beg for his forgiveness. This might be your last chance to get him to stay." With that, your zanpakuto falls silent, ending your conversation.
She's right. I need to go and fight for him. You turn around and flash step back in the direction of the store, praying to Kami that you aren't too late.
...
Arriving at the store, out of breathe and panting heavily, you find the man you are looking for sitting on the roof. You jump up to the roof and walk over to him.
"Hiroto?" You ask quietly and timidly, afraid of how he might act. He looks up at you. What you see though completely blows your mind and shatters your heart. His face is streaked with tears.
"Hiroto what's wrong!?" You have never seen him cry before. Its as unnerving as it is depressing. For a member of the 11th division to cry...
"I'm a terrible person Soi."
You look at him incredulously. "Your not a terrible person Hiroto."
"Yes I am. If you knew what I had done."
"You mean the kiss?" He visibly flinches at your words and looks quickly back down at his feet. He doesn't say anything.
"Hiroto it's ok." He looks back up at you, confusion written on his face. "I won't say that I'm not mad, because I am. I'm not going to say that it doesn't hurt me, because it does. I will, however, say this. I love you. I want you to be happy. If... if I don't make you happy... then I'm happy that you found someone who can."
"Soi, I-"
"Not another word." You cut him off before he can say anything else. "I just want you to tell me one thing. Who do you honestly want to be with?"
He is silent for a few moments. In those moments you experience fear, anger, and sorrow. You really do want him to be happy. You want him to not be forced into a relationship that's one sided. But you want him to stay with you.
"Soi."
"Yeah?"
"I made my decision the day you came to see me crying."
You swear that your face was going to split from the smile you were giving him right now. You can feel tears well up in your eyes.
"Soi... I... I love you."
Your tears come bursting out. You wrap in a firm embrace. "I love you too, Hiroto." He returns the embrace with equal fervor.
"I'm so sorry Soi. I wasn't thinking. I should have pushed her away from the start."
"Hiroto, I forgive you." You pull him I'm even closer, tightening your hold.
"I promise Soi."
"Promise what?"
"That I won't ever leave you." You smile into his chest. That's something you could definitely agree on.
"I promise too."
...
-Hiroto POV-
You pull away from your embrace with Soi Fon. You still feel absolutely terrible about what happened with Yuyu, but she forgave you. You weren't expecting her to accept your apology, but hopefully this can better your relationship.
You feel drops hit your face. Rain? You look up and see dark grey clouds rolling into Karakura Town.
"Let's head back inside. It's going to start raining amy minute, plus I need to get back to training with Shinji."
"Okay." She smiles at you and stands up jumping off the roof. You smile and follow suit, landing on the ground and walking towards the stores entrance.
Upon entering the shopkeepers abode, you run into a very silent, and completely terrified, group.
"Uh, is everything okay?" Yoruichi is the first to answer you.
"Hiroto, you have been summoned by the Head Captain to the next captains meeting. Shinji was just notified."
You look at her, eyes wide. "What!? But how? How does he know I'm here?"
It was Shinji's turn to answer your question. "I'm not sure, but he does. This can't be a good thing. You left the soul society without permission. He might be calling you in for abandonment of your duties, or possibly abandonment of the soul society, which is basically treason. The punishment for that..."
The group falls silent once again.
"When is the next captains meeting?" If it was possible for them to grow even more silent, they did. No one looks like they want to speak.
"In an hour." You look over at Soi Fon who is trembling visibly. "We have to leave now if we want to make it in time.
"Then let's go." Everyone looks at you like your crazy. "What? If I don't go then I'll definitely be pursued for treason. For all we know, I'm going to get assigned some stupid cleaning duties for leaving without notice. I'll take my chance in the soul society. At least there I'll have one." With your mind made up you look to Urahara. "Can you open the Senkaimon?"
"Yeah." His normally cheerful demeanor had disappeared. His movements were rigid and forced. Raising his cane into the air, he mumbles something quietly to himself. After a moment you see the familiar doors of the Senkaimon appear, and open, before you.
"Let's hope that this ends well... for your sake." Urahara and Yoruichi mumble their goodbyes, the former giving you a handshake while the latter wraps you in a tight hug.
"You better come by and visit when this is over." She mumbles into your shoulder. You give her a light smile.
"Of course I will." You pull away and walk to the Senkaimon, Shinji and Soi Fon already waiting for you.
"Well, let's go earn me cleaning duty."
...
Jumping out of the Senkaimon after your run. The cleaner just had to come by when you stepped inside. You take a moment yo look at your surroundings. Your back in the courtyard where you first left the soil society for the world of the living.
Taking a deep breath, you start your walk towards the 1st division with Shinji and Soi Fon in tow.
Walking down the streets of the seireitei was more eventful than you would have liked. Many people stopped and stared, completely dumbfounded by what they were seeing. Most started whispering to each other. You see that! It's Hiroto! I thought he was dead? Why are there two captains with him? Are they an escort? For the remainder of you journey, the streets were filled with whispers.
Closing in on the now visible 1st division, Shinji grabs your shoulder in a comforting manner.
"Hey, it will be okay. The Head Captain might be stubborn, but it's not like he can't be reasoned with. If you are accused, we can back you up."
You smile gratefully. Knowing you have the support of two captains eases your mind. You then feel something warm slide into your hand. You turn to your right, and see Soi Fon, now walking beside you, holding your hand.
"Soi?"
"Hiroto... This might be the last few minutes we have together... I want to spend it with you, not walking behind you."
"Don't worry. I'm not going to go anywhere."
She just tightens her grip on your hand, foregoing a response. You continue the walk in silence.
...
"This is it." You look at the large set of doors before you, the 1st division insignia shining proudly on them. "Whatever happens, I'm glad that you guys are willing to stand with me."
"Of course we would Hiroto. Now just wait out here until the Head Captain calls you in. Just be honest and you should be fine. It doesn't start for another five minutes, so I'll let you guys talk alone. Everyone else is waiting inside." Shinji opens the door slightly and steps inside, closing it behind him.
Soi Fon grabs your hands with her own and looks up at you.
"Hiroto... I love you."
"I love you too Soi." You pull her in for a passionate kiss. After a minute, you break the kiss. Pulling Soi Fon away from you, you cup her face with you hands and stroke her cheek with your thumb.
"I'm going to be alright. After this is all said and done, the meeting and Vacio, I'm going to take you on a date."
She blushes slightly at this. "Where?"
"I love taking walks, so you can choose what we do, as long as it ends with a walk."
"That sounds nice." She smiles up at you. Damn that smile of hers. It melts your heart each time you see it.
Funny how that works. Her smile melts your heart, but you don't have it anymore. She does. She is your heart.
"You need to head inside now. No point in having us both get in trouble."
She chuckles at your words. "Yeah, I guess your right." She reaches for you and plants one last kiss on your lips. "I'll be waiting for that date Mr. Arinori."
You smile at her. "As will I... Mrs. Arinori." Her expression is priceless. Her face puts Renji's hair to shame. She turns around and walks towards the door. Giving you one last look, she slips inside quickly, leaving you alone with nothing to do but wait.