Chapter 12

She sighed, shifting her position as she sat. She didn't like this feeling. It felt like she was too covered, like there was clothing all over her, across her face, in her mouth, it was gross. "I don't like this." She frowned and Izuru reached out, laying his arm across her. The feeling was odd, his skin felt different. She leaned over, nuzzling into his chest, causing the young quincy to raise his eyebrows. "Hn..." He looked down, sipping his tea.

"Where is he..." Renji frowned, looking out through the window. Ishida wasn't unaware of Renji's odd behavior and smiled lightly. "So, Abarai, Looks like you're not happy about some of the changes made lately either."

"I'm the Fukutaicho of the third squad. Kira's my Taicho. He's not really even a Taicho!" He huffed and Ishida nodded. "Are you really mad about that stuff?" Ishida's eyes shifted over and Renji frowned. "You've got the wrong idea. I barely know her."

"Then why do you keep looking over at her? Every second they're together you seem more angry."

"Shut up, emo little quincy bitch." He frowned, barely even paying attention to his own words. Ishida knew he'd hit nerves with that.

But the bigger question now remained.

Where had Renji learned the word emo?

"Does it stop feeling like this? Do you get used to it after a while?" Aoi frowned, feeling her own arms. "You do. I've been in mine for over a hundred years. It feels totally normal now."

"After a hundred years anything would feel normal." Ishida rolled his eyes. There was a knock at the door and Ichigo came in. Aoi slightly remembered him. "I think I saw you once."

"You're the Taicho that took out the six Menos Grande yourself! Aoi, right?" Aoi nodded standing and bowing. "I'm now the Fukutaicho for the sixth squad. It's a pleasure to meet you!"

"Likewise. Urahara, I heard that Seireitei had a mission and I'm supposed to be involved?"

"Ichigo!" A beautiful redheaded girl came in and grinned, grasping one of his arms in the same fashion Aoi did with Kira. She smiled up at him. "You know you're not leaving without me!" She smiled and looked into the room. "Hey, Urahara-san! How's business?"

"Good! How's school?"

"I'm second in the class!" She smiled and Urahara smiled back.

"Oh, Orohime, Aoi. Aoi, Orohime." Ichigo did a half assed introduction, but it worked. They smiled and nodded, Orohime looked a little surprised that the girl was curled up with Kira. Aoi closed her eyes, feeling Kira there. She was feeling a little more comfortable...

The next thing she knew she was being shaken awake.

"Hey, you don't want to miss the briefing." Kira smiled at her and she nodded, doing her best to stay awake. "Breathing takes too much effort." She sighed, oblivious to the near choke of the young man with the glasses. "The alternative's not the best, thought." Urahara smiled at her and she nodded, hiding her slight reddening cheeks.

Kira noticed this. He smiled and stood, stretching. "You know, I actually have other things to do today. Aoi, can I talk to you a second before I leave?" She stood, totally confused. "Alright."

The back room was horrific. Disorder and insanity seemed to reign supreme, but Kira didn't seem to notice. "What's up?"

"I just had a thought." She watched wide eyed as he sat, defeated against the back wall.

"We're breaking up." Aoi felt her throat clench. "I want you to date other people I want you to know what it's like to be with someone besides me. When you come back to squad three, if you want, we can get back together, but I want you to be happy. I don't want you to feel that you chose me too fast." He stood and walked out of the room, leaving her there, staring ahead shocked, terrified, feeling so alone...

She turned and ran out of the room after a moment. "Izuru!" She called, feeling tears in her eyes, trying to keep them from falling. He was at the door when she called his name. He turned to her, a sad smile on his face.

She ran up to him, throwing her arms around him. "Izuru, Don't do this!"

"I care about you too much to have you grow to hate me. I want you to know why you'd rather be with me." She sniffed, still trying to keep the tears in check. He reached down, giving her a soft kiss before turning and walking away.

"He's gone..." She just stared, feeling despair wash over her. Hitsugaya walked up behind her, laying his hand on her back. "I heard what happened. He really loves you." She turned to him and shook her head, the tears in the corners of her eyes flinging from her cheeks. "How can you say that?! He just left me! I don't-" She choked back a sob, her hands instinctively going to her cheeks, "I don't want to be alone again..."

"You're not." Matsumoto smiled and Aoi crumpled to the floor, shaking her head.

It seemed too cold, too cruel to do to someone.

She just sat there, crying as his shadow left the road before her.

It was nearly an hour later that they left for the mission. "I apologize. I hadn't meant to delay the mission." She sighed, leaving Ishida sighing. "It's not your fault. What kind of person breaks up with someone like that, Just before a mission?" He spoke softly to her.

He'd actually had a higher opinion of the young man, seeing his determination and ability. The way he thought was impressive, but to do this to someone was harsh.

They ended out in a park off to the side of town. They'd thought that there should be a whole lot of the Menos coming through, but after half an hour they started to lose patience. Aoi sat alone, her arms wrapped around her legs, sighing, trying to keep from crying again.

She felt pathetic as hell as it was.

"I need to do something." Ichigo looked over at her with a frown. ""Be careful. Saying things like that around here, there are lots of perverts." He looked over at Renji who flipped him off. "Dammit, Ichigo! Just because you've got Orohime doesn't mean you can say such things about someone else! If anyone, you're the pervert!" Ichigo jumped to his feet, his fist raised in the air. \

"How am I a pervert?!"

"You kept a girl in your closet for months! What kind of pervert does something like that?!"

"You kept a girl in your closet?!" Aoi looked at him, terrified.

"Are you joking?! I couldn't get her to leave! She's there now! If Byakuya found out that she was here again I'm sure he'd have MY head!"

"Byakuya-Taicho?" Aoi froze.

She remembered the disappointed look on his face when she left. She sighed, standing and brushing off her hakama. She walked over to the swings, drawing the attention of a few of the people there. Hitsugaya walked over, leaning against the poles of the set as Aoi sat, swinging softly. Renji walked over, concerned for once about the girl, sitting on the swings beside her. He kicked off, getting used to the feeling as Aoi looked over at him. "Renji, can you tell me about Byakuya? I don't think he's the type to explain himself, especially to me." Her eyes were dark, but there was a slight upturn to her lip. She was trying her best to be strong, Ishida and Renji both watched as she kicked again, her feet barely leaving the ground.

"He seems cold and dark, but he's not as bad as you would think. After you get used to him he's very... noble." Aoi looked at him, her eyes narrowed. "Noble?"

"That sounds about right." Hitsugaya sighed, rolling his eyes. "He's the head of the Kuchiki family. They're the major of the noblemen in Seireitei. He takes his position and his family name before anything." Aoi nodded.

"He sounds too serious." Aoi sighed. Renji nodded, looking up at the sky during a back swing. "He once made me attend a calligraphy class. I thought I was going to fall asleep..." Renji shook his head, half smiling. "The Fukutaicho of the eleventh squad is a little girl. She gets bored and has a tendency of running around, causing trouble."

"Yashiru." Aoi remembered the little girl.

"Yeah, Byakuya once noticed she was doing odd things, eating flowers and papers and whatever she could get her hands on. He actually ordered a few dozen bakers to make cookies. Every time she came near him he'd offer her a cookie. Each time from a different bakery."

"So, she liked them?" Aoi smiled at the thought of him liking children. It seemed wrong, yet highly amusing. "No. She wouldn't touch any of 'em." Aoi stared.

"He's softer than you'd think. He's gotten harder after his wife passed." Hitsugaya decided to add his thoughts. Aoi looked over, surprised. "What?"

"About fifteen to twenty years ago he was married. His wife fell sick." Aoi looked down at her feet. "He didn't leave her side for a week while she was ill. He didn't leave her side for the day before her funeral either." Aoi was silent.

At least Izuru was still alive. If he'd died... "That's horrible."

"He's not been the same since." Hitsugaya sighed. Aoi nodded.

"He's tougher than hell to defeat." Ichigo grinned. "I think he's still mad that I broke his hair thingy."

"I think he's mad you were keeping his sister in a closet and nearly got her killed so many times." Renji laughed.

"Hey, at least I kicked his ass!" Ichigo grinned. Aoi looked over with a smile. "You defeated Byakuya-Taicho?"

"Yup. I'd do it again too, if he weren't so serious."

"You have horrible grammar." Aoi winced at the word 'weren't'.

"It's normal for here." Renji shrugged, kicking a little higher. Aoi watched as he swung a little higher than her.

She was feeling oddly competitive and swung a little higher, taking her higher. Renji noticed and swung a little higher.

They were both going to the point of being even with the center pole. "I'm gonna go higher!" She laughed, the work of swinging so high almost exhilarating. "I wanna see you try!" He called over and she waited till she was at the high part of her swing, her face down at the ground and held out her hand.

The light blue beam of light shot her into the air. She wasn't expecting there to be so much power behind her hit. Renji shot up after her as her footing slipped off of the air. She started to fall as the sky before her opened, a Menos appearing right under her.

Renji froze, looking up at her with a sigh. "Your cero called them out!"

"What's Cero?"

Renji just stared at her as Ichigo took off at the hollows' head.

Ishida took off as another appeared.

"Senbon Hikari! Senbon Ai!" Aoi called as she neared the closest one, the needles flung into the nearest Menos and she looked over, seeing Renji about to get attacked by one from the back, while trying to take care of the one before him. "Renji! Watch out!" She called over and the Menos before her screamed and shattered.

Unfortunately the Quincy Archer had just released his arrow.

Aoi turned back to her fight, not aware that her yell had already defeated it. She noticed the white light just as it hit her.

"Aoi!" Ishida yelled, running over and caught her as she fell from the sky. She looked at her hip, the skin there red and burned from the hit, a hole right through the bone. She jumped from him and looked around. There had to be thirty Menos. She frowned. "Senbon Hikari!" She screamed, taking off after the next one.

Ishida made sure to keep by her, seeing as she was injured by him, he would have felt guilty if she'd fallen in this battle.

He realized what was happening when the next one exploded. She zipped past him, a sweet song following behind. Ishida's eyes turned, following her as she flew past at the third.

It was nearly an hour after, everyone was getting tired. Aoi had just dispatched her twenty third. She flew forwards, her hands shaking, and hissing at every break, holding her hip. "Aoi!" She turned to see Renji come at her, swinging at a Menos behind her. "How you holding out?!"

"I'll only be able to last a little longer! I'm sorry! Senbon Ai!" She watched as the needles invaded the skin of the Menos and yelled.

"There's only four left! I'll try and get half!" She gasped in air, letting Renji know for the first time her real state. He hadn't noticed her hand on her side, or the blood that was still trickling down her leg. "Wait, you're injured! You sit out!"

"Senbon Hikari!" She called, regrouping her senbon and leaped forwards, blatantly ignoring him.

She had shattered the next before running to the last one. She wasn't sure if she had the power to finish it, but she'd try. She threw her hands forwards, calling with the last of her power. "Senbon Ai!" As long as she could yell, as she could scream, it would be done.

Her vision blurred to the point that she couldn't see the Menos anymore. "No..."

She fell, the Menos immediately after getting Zabimaru through it's torso.

"Aoi!" Renji ran forwards, but he wasn't fast enough. Ishida ran forwards, catching her just before she hit the ground. He laid her down, checking for a pulse and breath before he looked up. Renji was taking out the last of the Menos. He lifted her and looked over at Hitsugaya, who'd stayed out of the fight to keep an eye for more appearances. "I'll take her to Urahara." Hitsugaya nodded and looked down at her. "Take care of her." Ishida nodded, noticing the unusual sweetness in his voice when talking about her. In a second they were gone.

It was only a few minutes later that Ishida kicked open the door. "Urahara-san! I need a little help!" Ururu waved him into a back room and he walked in, laying her down on the futon. Urahara was in shortly. "What happened?"

"I accidentally hit her. She took out most of the Menos herself after, she's lost a lot of blood." Urahara's eyes narrowed as he looked at Ishida. "She took out most of them herself?"

"Yes." Urahara nodded, leaning down and untied the haori, opening it to look at the wound. Ishida looked over his shoulder, examining the burned area.

"Looks painful." Urahara stated before holding his hands over the mark, turning to the door. "Tessai! We have a shinigami, a burn through her lower torso, lost a lot of blood and it looks like she's exhausted herself to passing out." The large man was at the door moments later, a box, a bag and a small pouch in his arms. Urahara turned to the girl, sliding his haori from his arms. "Time to get to work."