Author's Notes: I know Jushiro's home isn't that big at least that we've ever seen. But I can't see his private estate being that small when he supports 7 siblings. So I've decided to make his home bigger. And what we see in the show is his private retreat on his estate

Colliding Worlds

Book 8

Forbidden Love – Chapter 5

With a moan, Sasha began to come around, only this time something warm and bright was nearly shining on her face. However, what caught her attention most was the heat drawing her out of the slumber. But how was that possible? Her bedroom window did not face the sunrise and she always kept her curtains and blinds closed when she slept. What was going on? Feeling herself shift, an immediate reaction came out of her, causing another moan. The bed she was in, was not her own. Where the hell was she? The last thing she remembered was…her mind thought a moment before remembering she nearly fell to her death until a strange man caught her before she could hit the roof of a building!

Her eyes flew open suddenly. A Hollow attacked her at her apartment, destroying the exterior wall, which then in turn trashed her home. As her eyes came into focus, the vision before her was something she never seen before. She was looking upon a strange ceiling structured in what appeared to be a traditional style Japanese design. She hadn't seen that in many years.

"Oh good," a voice called softly. "You're wake. You had me worried for a bit there."

Turning to her side she saw Jushiro sitting in a chair beside her, but there was someone else as well, a woman. She wore the same robes as Jushiro, haori included but there was something different about her. Her hair was pulled to forward and braided down her front, completely framing around her face. There was one feature on her that gave Sasha a sense of comfort; her gentle appearance.

"Where am I?" Sasha asked, slightly fearful but knew she was in a safe place.

"Safe here in the Soul Society," the female stranger answered. "Captain Ukitake had you brought here to his private estate after you both were attacked by a Hollow."

Sasha tried to slowly pull herself into a sitting position. Seeing she was having some minor difficulties, Jushiro Jushiro was quick to reach over and help. "Easy now. Falling nearly to your death, can be pretty terrifying."

She gave a short nod. "Yes... who... who saved me?" she looked to Jushiro.

The kind Captain gave a gentle smile, gesturing his hand towards another part of the room. Her eyes followed to the very man who saved her and beside him the other man who helped them.

"He did," Jushiro answered. "He's my long time friend I told you about and his name is Shunsui, Captain of Squad 8. And beside him is Lieutenant Renji Abarai of Squad 6."

"It's a pleasure to meet you Sasha," Shunsui replied. "Though, too bad it wasn't under better circumstances."

Renji nodded, quietly regarding her. He had seen his fair share of humans since meeting Ichigo and his friends. He knew humans could get unpredictable.

"This is just nuts." She lifted her leg from under the sheets, resting her hand on the limb before lowering her head to her arm.

Renji looked to Captain Ukitake. "Captain," he finally said. "I don't mean to be rude or abrupt but why would a Hollow target one person directly on a personal level?"

Not sure how to respond to that, Jushiro looked to Sasha as she lifted her head. "Because," she answered for him. "The Hollow in question is formally my husband who died while in prison, according to his words, and has returned as a monster to hunt me down."

"That doesn't make much sense. Why would someone who died in prison, want you?" asked Renji.

Sasha gawked at him for a moment, still finding it hard to believe the people around her were only spirits where normal humans can't see except for those with high spirit energy. How did he understand the human world?

Seeing her confusion, Jushiro rested his hand against her back in a comforting gesture. "Renji is one of our Soul Reapers who often goes to the World of the Living. He and one of my own subordinates, Rukia."

"I... see..." She took a deep breath before regarding the younger man. She could easily tell he was younger than even Shunsui just by his looks and attitude. "Two years ago, I was the one who put my ex-husband in jail in the first place after having a horrifying marriage, which I really don't want to get into. And I've heard prison is not always the ideal place for criminals who are abusers."

"Fair enough," Renji shrugged, understanding the meaning of her words. He knew he could be a little dense at times, but abuse was abuse no matter how it was depicted. He had seen enough abuse during his childhood days in the Rukon District. "I guess as long as you know and understand the situation, that's what is important. Oh that reminds me, after Captain Ukitake brought you here, I went back to see about the damages and came upon someone who is very frantic about you. Becki... I think is her name."

"Rebecca!" Sasha jerked, nearly falling off the bed if Jushiro hadn't grasped her shoulders, supporting her to the mattress. Normally she would have been resting on a futon, but according to what Rukia told her Captain, many humans now slept on a bed frame. Wanting to keep Sasha as comfortable as possible, Jushiro had a regular bed with a frame brought into his home for her to rest in.

Renji was fast in holding up his hands. "Calm down. She's ok. My friend Ichigo, who is a human like you, spoke with her last night. I was with him at the time. And he said to her you were placed in Public Security Intelligence Agency and would be away for awhile until the situation has been resolved. She did mention something about being under protection. What is that?"

Shunsui chuckled a little. "That's a mouth full."

"I told her," Jushiro replied. "I was with a special group of people who were investigating the incident at the library and the local authorities were not involved in it."

Sasha wanted to jump to her feet but feeling Jushiro's hands secure on her shoulders, she knew it was futile, not after what she witnessed last night with his flash stepping. She leaned back into his hands, a little relieved. Becki knew she was ok, since her apartment was destroyed.

"Take slow easy breaths," Captain Unohana instructed. She had remained quiet until now. "You will have better protection being here."

Sasha did as asked and soon her body began to relax. She looked to the good Captain. "Who are you?"

"My name is Captain Retsu Unohana of Squad 4. We are what you humans call the medical corps," she replied. "I best should be going. I will stop by later and see how you're doing. Captain Ukitake, be sure she does her best to remain calm. I noticed her blood pressure seems to be quite high."

"I will do my best. She is still adjusting to everything that's been told."

"It can be quite overwhelming learning there are people who exist in another world," Retsu replied. She picked up the bag she brought with her and was the first to leave the room, heading back to Squad 4.

Sasha looked to Renji, remembering his question. "To answer your question from earlier, Public Security Intelligence Agency is an espionage group in the Japanese law enforcement that work on special tasks. In some cases people become a high profile case for protection. To ensure their safety, one goes under this protection and hides away so it's hard to find them. Some are given new identities and moved to another place to live. And once you're under this protection, no one is allowed to ask where you are."

"So it's safe to say your friend won't ask anymore questions?" asked Jushiro.

Sasha shook her head. "No. Which probably is the reason your friend, this Ichigo guy, said that to her. You say he's a human Soul Reaper, then he would know the severity of my protection."

"That he does," Renji replied. "Well I best be off and see him, to appraise him of the situation."

"Thank you Renji for giving us that report. Have you seen Rukia?" Jushiro asked.

"I believe she said the Head Captain has asked her to investigate the destruction at the apartment to be sure there's nothing there to link the authorities to the Hollow."

Jushiro nodded. He stopped resting his hand against her shoulders and stood. "Sasha, I'll be out in the other room. Just rest for now."

"How can I rest when I'm in this Soul Society?" she asked.

"Sasha, Jushiro's right. Right now allow yourself time to rest and then later see what our world has to offer. Both Jushiro and I can tell you have many more questions and where you're here, you need to know all you can about our world. In many ways it's not much different than your own," Shunsui offered. "I have to go Jushiro. Nanao is probably looking for me."

"She does care about you very much, but gets upset with you," Jushiro mused.

"See you later, Jushiro." Shunsui waved to his friend, leaving the room.

Jushiro looked back to Sasha to see she leaned back and was now lying on the bed once again. Wanting to let her have some peace, he stepped through the opened door to the room, before sliding it shut, leaving her alone.


After taking some rest as requested by Retsu and even Shunsui and Jushiro, though didn't want to, she got up. Her mind was a bit too wired to rest anymore. She was the type to not ignore the recommendations of the doctor and Retsu did say she was a doctor. She pulled herself off the bed and slowly made her way around the room, heading to the door she saw Jushiro leave out of. As she slid the door and soon found herself in what looked to be an open library with a table and four chairs. Looking up to the left, she could see the opened walls separating the room to the next which had a large opened room with what appeared to be an informal living area.

Noticing two large windows, with a sofa in between, it was plainly obvious it was daylight. But when she last was awake, on Earth, it was midnight. She must have really been out of it if her fainting spell lasted her the entire night. No wonder she had such a concerned group of people she didn't know surrounding her. They were worried since she never woke from her fainting spell. And now it made sense in why Renji said 'last night'.

She made her way over to the large windows, wanting to see the view it bestowed to the room. To her amazement, she could see a pond like river between the house and a beautiful looking garden.

"It's beautiful," she breathed.

"It is, isn't it?" Jushiro came up to stand beside Sasha.

He had entered the room on the intention to see how Sasha was doing. To his surprise, he found her in his living room looking out the big windows of what his property looked like. Seeing her looking at the beauty of his garden, made him smile.

Startled, she spun around, facing him. Evidence he frightened her was written all over her face. He kept his eyes trained on the view outside, not wanting her to feel intimated by the idea he scared her since he was light on his feet. "I apologize for startling you," he said.

"Well... I..." She turned back to the view. "Guess with everything that happened last night, I'm just a bit jumpy. Probably doesn't help that I'm still adjusting over the attack at the library."

"That's quite understandable. I take it then, you're not normally a jumpy person?"

"With being married, I had to force myself to not be so jumpy. Although I did develop a fear of sounds that often reminded me of him. It's why I took to living in an apartment, high up. This way I didn't have to deal with the everyday sounds of being on the ground floor."

"I take it then you lived in a house before?"

"Yes, his. So I got out of there fast when I left him." The topic was upsetting her and she had a feeling he could sense it. Wanting to get off the topic, she moved to something else. "This is really beautiful. I've never seen anything like it before."

Understanding she wanted to change topics, he gave a smile. "It's not as big as some of the nobles who live here in the Seireitei, but I'm not a high nobleman and to me this perfect."

She turned back to him once again. "Noblemen? I'm not sure I understand."

His brown eyes shifted from the garden to regard her. "Here in the Soul Society there are five levels of nobility. I am of the lowest level, also known as fourth class. There was someone above me in which my family were in service of. But they were banished from the Seireitei and since then my family serve no one."

She turned back to the view once more. "And what is the third class then?" She couldn't get over how beautiful his land looked.

"My best friend Shunsui is of the next class up of nobility, the third class. Then there is a second class which include those of the four great noble houses of the Soul Society. Only two serve as part of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads and live in the Seireitei, which are the Kuchiki clan and Shihoin Clan."

"And the first level?" she asked.

"They are the nobles who live outside the Seireitei. And finally we have the Grand Nobles. In your world, you'd probably classify them as royals."

"So higher the nobility the classier the home," she deduced. "You have a beautiful yard. Being in the city, I don't often get to see such beauty."

"I certainly can imagine. I've seen what Karakura town looks like in the daylight and I've yet to see places as wonderful as this other than in parks," he agreed. "Come, I just had my servants make breakfast."

She turned away from the wonderful sight, just as Jushiro began to make his way out of the room. Not wanting to lose her way, she followed him. The two reached the 'tea room', to a door, which led outside to an exterior portion where they walked over a bridge, extending over the river. After getting on the other side, there was a small little house, which housed the kitchen and dining area.

To her surprise, upon walking into the dining area, there was a long table with chairs on either side and end, giving a total of ten. At one end of the table there were two place settings. "You must have a large family," she replied.

He laughed. "Seven actually, but they don't live here anymore. They live on another part of the estate. But they do still come here from time to time," he responded as he took a seat on one side of the table.

She went over to the other and took a seat. "Sometimes I wish I had a large family. Growing up wasn't always ideal for me. As far as I know I'm an only child."

He silently nodded before picking up his chopsticks and began eating his breakfast. Feeling hungry herself, she mimicked what he was doing and too began eating.

While they ate, a nagging question kept gnawing in her mind, but she kept quiet wanting to eat first. When her meal was gone, she lowered her chopsticks and looked at Jushiro. Giving a serious look, she decided to finally end the silence. "So what's going to happen now? I mean you explained you need to protect me and brought me here to keep me safe, but what about my things? I can't simply wear this all the time." She gestured to her sweatshirt and pants.

With a soft smile, he stood, walking over to her side of the table. "No, I suppose not. Come, with me." He held out his hand to her.

Taking his proffered hand, he lifted her up but did not release her. She was a bit shocked when he led her out of the room. They walked back the way they came, going into the main part of the house. He never once released her hand when they reached the living area to a spiral staircase leading to another level. She had been too distracted earlier by the view from the windows to really pay attention to the rest of her surroundings.

Finally he released her hand, taking the lead up the stairs while she silently followed. At the top there was a small hallway with sliding doors at either end. Not stopping, until he reached one of the doors, he slid it open and stepped out of the way for her to enter.

Sasha gasped at what was in the room. There before her was the same furniture as from the room she woke up in. Only difference was the bed was a bit different and so was the bedding. What shocked her the most was seeing three suitcases on her bed and some other odd and ends of her belongings around the room. She turned to him to ask how he managed to bring her things but as she went to open her mouth to speak, he cut her off.

"While you were unconscious, my subordinate, Rukia, took the liberty of gathering some of your things that weren't destroyed," he replied with a smile.

"How did you manage?" she asked suddenly, finding her voice.

"My guess would be, Rukia assumed you would be better off protected here. And since she knows a lot about humans, thought it wise to bring you some things that would be useful for you."

She turned back to the clothes on the bed. "So I might not have everything?"

He shook his head. "No, I'm afraid. Shortly after we returned here, I had Rukia take a small team to your home and assess the situation. We knew it wouldn't be long before the human authorities would learn of the destruction."

He stepped away from her, going over to the bed where he then pulled out a box from behind a bag of clothes. "While trying to gather what they could, they came upon this."

On the box, was written 'old stuff'. She gasped. "My souvenirs!"

"So that's what this is," he mused. "I take it, this is important?"

"It has everything of mine that I've been collecting since I was a little girl. It even has some things that belonged to my grandparents." She stepped over, sliding her hands over the box. "I should thank Rukia then."

"Soon after this was found, Rukia and her team had to vacate. They took what they could. It was at that time when your friend must have arrived."

"Oh..." Sasha's head lowered. Knowing Becki, she no doubt was still worried. "I wish I could tell her I'm ok."

"Perhaps...," he paused. This was a long shot, but it didn't hurt to try. Worse that could happen was it didn't work. "I have an idea."

She looked up. "What sort of idea?"

"One of the Squad Captains is classified as our technical support. His entire Squad is devoted to the art of science and technology. He may have a solution."

"How could that work? She's already been told I'm in protective custody. I can't communicate with anyone."

"Yes, this is true. However, in truth we are not humans, therefore we don't have the same rules. Captain Kurotsuchi of Squad 12 may seem a bit crazy, but he has some good ideas, ideas that have helped us a lot over the years. He might have the ability to somehow allow you a moment to contact your friend. But that is only a theory and one we surely could check out."

"Captain of Squad 12?" she blinked, then remembered a few nights ago when they talked, he told her about how there were 13 Captains of the 13 Court Guard Squad but three of them turned treasonist, leaving only ten Captains left for all 13 Squads.

Seeing the intensity of his stare, she felt herself blushing. Slightly tilting her head away, not wanting him to see her blush. "Thank you," she answered shyly. "For someone who is over 2000 years old, you sure don't look it. You look just a few years or so..." her blushed deepened a bit more. "Older than me." Her heart began to hammer in her chest by the man before her. He was so handsome and knowing he had a lean body under those robes he wore, she suspected he had to be quite sexy if he wasn't wearing so many layers. His robes actually hid his body, preventing her from seeing how sexy he stood out.

Jushiro nodded, noting her sudden shyness. Not wanting to make her feel uncomfortable in his presence, he felt the need to change the subject. "For the duration of your stay, you may stay here. My room is just across the hall."

Sasha looked at her things once again before looking into the face of the man who saved her from her hollowified ex-husband. "Jushiro, you've opened yourself up to me, telling me about your life here in the Soul Society and yet you've hardly heard anything about me. I feel as though I'm using your kindness. Is there anything I can do for you?"

"Keeping you alive is all I need," he answered honestly.

"That goes without saying. All you know about me so far is my horrible marriage. You know nothing of me of life with my grandparents."

"I don't wish to pry. I told you about it, believing it is essential because I'm protecting you and the more you understand about my job, the safer I can keep you. Though I am curious on one thing. Are you a swimmer?"

"A swimmer?" she blinked. "Why do you want to know?"

"Just recently I had a pool installed and I was just wondering..."

Sasha's eyes widened in surprise. "You have a pool?!" she squeaked, cutting him off.

He lightly laughed. "That is good to know. Perhaps later I will show it to you." He stepped closer to her, reaching his hand out to her face.

She lightly gasped as his fingers touched her skin. She stood still as he touched her. "Sorry, there was something in your cheek and I was just getting it off."

Her breath nearly hitched in her throat, trying not to let him to see how his fingers against her cheek was making her knees feel wobbly. His fingers were so gentle. "I love to swim," she breathed out suddenly. "Although, I'm not a very good swimmer, never had anyone to give me proper lessons."

Her words gave the white haired Captain an idea. He had no idea how long Sasha was going to be staying in the Soul Society, but knew he would make her stay as pleasant as possible. Perhaps he could help teach her to swim better. He was an excellent swimmer even though he did suffer with his illness for a very long time.

"Perhaps I can help you with that," he offered, slowly removing his fingers from her cheek and hair, allowing her to breath normally again. "For now, why don't you work on transforming this room into your personal space? I do have to see to my Squad. Perhaps later I can show you around the Seireitei." He then smiled at her. "You showed me your world and the wonderful places people shop, now it's time for me to do the same for you in mine."

"How big is the city?" she asked.

"It would take many days to go from one end to the other on foot," he answered. "The Seireitei has four gates; North, East, South and West. Between each gate, it would take ten days to travel and that is on the outer perimeter. But we use Flash step or Shunpo to get around in seconds."

"Flash step-Shunpo that's what you did last night when we escaped my apartment?"

He nodded. "Yes. Each person has different speeds. Shunsui and I are one of the fastest, though not the top fastest."

Stepping away from him, Sasha reached over to one of the first suitcases and began to unpack the messiness of it. All three suitcases were barely latched as clothes were thrown into it. Silently, Jushiro backed out of the room, giving her privacy. He quietly slid the door closed and made his way back down the spiral stairs where he then left the house and made his way to his squad barracks. He had yet to inform his subordinates of the new updates and situation his men. He also knew the young lady needed time to sort things through and be given time to absorb what happened.


Edited: June 11, 2023