Supernova

By Willow Athena

Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach, or any of its characters, but Rien is definitely mine, as is this story.

Author's Note: A while ago, when I wrote this chapter, I really enjoyed it...still do, actually. Hope you like it too.

Chapter 13 – Gigai

Rien's pursuit of the orange hair had failed. She dejectedly went home that afternoon to sulk. Pulling on her most worn, and comfortable pair of cargo pants, and a shirt she manhandledly tied above her abs, to stave off the summer heat. Her hair felt so long in the heat, somedays almost strangling her in her sleep. But, she hated putting it up, fearing the headache she knew she would encounter if she succumbed and tied the flowing locks. Rien lay half under Kisuke's low dining table – the bulk of her torso slinking under it, while her head emerged out of one end. She was supported by her elbows, and reading one of Kisuke's research files – as was her routine when she was perturbed. Yoruichi had noticed Rien's propensity to fall asleep and relax in the most strange places, sometime dangerous places, like thin window sills, balconies, or the edge of high rooftops. Yoruichi was always afraid she would fall and injure herself, but she never did.

"Why didn't you tell me it would be different?!" Rien accused Yoruichi, not looking up from her file of research. "Men are not all the same, I can't feel for Ishida what I feel – felt for – Why didn't you tell me!" Rien looked upset. Yoruichi had never seen her in this mood, and pondered what the cause could be.

"Did you make love to Ishida last night?" Yoruichi said, shocked.

"No, don't be absurd. I'd never let it get anywhere close to that. I just…kind of…made-out with him." Rien began to turn copper thinking about it.

"Did he suck at it? Looks a little stiff, if you ask me, but that's your type I guess." Yoruichi attempted to dance around the real answer to Rien's questions.

"He didn't suck," Rien defended. "It was wonderful, actually. I wanted more," she admitted to her older sister.

"Then what's the problem?" But Yoruichi already knew the answer to that question.

"I started to delude Byakuya was there – that's how much guilt I felt!" Rien remembered the hallucination of the plainly dressed figure which resembled him. Yoruichi looked worriedly at her little sister. "My kiss with Byakuya was innocent, compared to this kiss with Ishida, but…in that kiss, my heart wanted to leap out of my chest and into his, his touch was like electricity, and it tingled throughout my body…" She shook away the tears filling her eyes. "Why didn't you tell me Yoruichi," Rien pleaded rather than asked.

"The books I'd been reading on love, none of them made any sense until this morning. People can't just fall in love with anyone can they…there's just that one person…" Yoruichi had hoped that Rien was simply infatuated with Byakuya, that she would be able to find love and happiness in the real world – with someone else. Yoruichi knew Rien could never be with Byakuya, even if they both were willing – it would be impossible, countless hurdles to overcome, and pits of fire…

"What you and Kisuke have is special – I'm happy for you both, onee-sa." Rien's voice was calm, empty and resigned.

"Rien…"Yoruichi was filled with concern as she gazed into Rien's, now empty, expression.

"Don't worry, I'm fine – or at least, I'll live." Rien sugar coated her feelings for Yoruichi, so she would not be unhappy, or feel guilty. "Guess I should get another one of Kisuke's research files. Is that okay, Kisuke? I've already made notes in this one," Rien tried to sound as light as she could.

Urahara emerged form the neighbouring room, and into the lounge where they talked. A warm blush covered his face, he was not often caught out when listening to other's conversations. "Your notes, are as always, most appreciated," he continued to blush, as he saw Yoruichi's anger rise.

Rien left, attempting to distract herself with acquiring more knowledge, trying to remember how to breathe in this languid aftermath of pain.

"You shouldn't listen in on other people's conversations," Yoruichi darkly warned, once Rien was out of ear shot.

"I was going to leave, but then I heard her say…"

"You don't think she really saw him, do you?"

"Doubtful. Why would he seek her out? His squad has pressing Seireitei business to handle," Kisuke assured her.

"Right. And, his heart is a cold as ice. He made it very clear that he couldn't care less about her." Yoruichi stated, as anger filled her voice.

After Rien had been so distant during her first four months, Yoruichi had taken it upon herself to speak to Byakuya about his feelings for Rien. Yoruichi had deciphered his thinly disguised attempts to protect Rien, and how he helped with her escape – Yoruichi was one of the few people who truly knew him, before he had become, Kuchiki Byakuya, she knew him while he was still Bya-boo. His reaction to her observations about him and Rien were, to put it mildly – definitive. Yoruichi wondered at the time, if her little-Bya was still in there somewhere, but now, she didn't really care…she knew she would have to hurt him if he continued to hurt her family.

"I've made all the preparations for the party," Kisuke announced, in an attempt to shift Yoruichi's sudden murderous mood, as she paced vowing she would murder Byakuya the next time she saw that look in Rien's eyes.

"Kisuke, I know we wanted to give her the one thing she didn't have – a family…" Yoruichi's voice filled with uncharacteristic uncertainty, "…do you think she thinks of us in that way?"

Kisuke gently touched her cheek, as only a lover could, and let his lips breathe calm into her heart.

Rien had been told to stay out of the attic for a month now, she knew it must be where Kisuke kept his red box of very special, unfinished research. Although Kisuke welcomed her thoughts on most things, he was adamant that those particular research flies were dangerous, and that she should not dabble in anything she had read in them. It had been three months since she had seen them, but something about her kiss with Ishida pulled at her memories of them.

Rien made sure no one was around, and stealthily ran up into the attic. It was surprisingly undusty, even though Tessai-kun and the others were away on holiday. Rien knew Kisuke wasn't cleaning it, it was just a peculiar oddity. She focused her thoughts on the unfinished research files she knew Kisuke had probably hidden up here, somewhere. They proved difficult to locate. Although when she read them, they had not made that much sense to her, now that she had matured, become more intelligent, more human – she knew she would be able to crack them now. In line with her research project, she was eager to peruse though the 'Breath of life' kido healing spell she had encountered in the red files. She had noticed something, peculiar, last night, after her kiss with Ishida – her hands had been completely healed under the plasters which he had applied. She wondered if she had unknowingly scyfened some of his ki and healed herself, or if Ishida had used a kido healing spell she did not recognise…she shook the thought away – Quincy couldn't use daemon magic after all.

Something about the red box of research bounced around her mind, and she was determined to find it. She had searched the whole attic, but had, had no luck. All that was left to rifle through was a big, locked, wardrobe. She finally found the key, carelessly tossed aside. She struggled with it in the lock. One of the doors eventually fell open, and she felt the weight of a body fall on her. She was internally pleased that she had become strong enough not to topple over from the weight of it. The weight still brought her to her knee, as the body lay, lifeless, half draped over her slight form.

Kisuke must keep some gigai's up here too. How careless of its user to not secure it into place, she thought. Renji and Rukia's gigais' were secured in the cubboard downstairs. Why would this one be alone up here? As she tried to lift herself and the gigai up, she noticed something familiar about the imperfect smell and feel of the gigai. In the dimly lit attic, she put her head down and pushed her hands against its chest to get it back to a standing position.

It was upright. Rien's head was down and her breathing was shallow. The clothes it wore looked familiar, she thought, as she continued to push against the gigai's chest, to keep it upright – but she could not place them.

"Rien...Rien…Where are you? Rien, I have a surprise…"

Damn, Kisuke's looking for me. It's probably best if he not find me in here.

She pulled the key out of the door, and got into the dark cupboard with the gigai. She closed the wardrobe door, but could not lock it from the inside – so, she crushed the back of her body into the gigai's, holding both her, and it, up, as she tried to keep the wardrobe door closed.

"Rien?" She heard Kisuke bellow from the attic entrance. As long as she remained silent, she knew he would never find her. They all relied too heavily on being able to sense people's reiatsu's – and, she had none.

The gigai pressed against her was much taller than her 1,65 meter frame, and far more muscular – she thought about the eeriness of the soulless body and shuddered at the thought of its possible expression. She heard Kisuke's footsteps soften as he walked further away from the attic. Rien touched the limp hand. It felt human, like Ichigo's – but Ichigo was not this tall, and he didn't need a gigai.

While the opportunity presented itself, she quickly opened the cupboard door. Holding the gigai secure with her shoulder, she strapped it onto the now half-dark wardrobe. As she stepped out of the wardrobe, and turned to lock the door, she saw it – the beauty of the hands she had touched in the darkness. She was thankful that she could not see its face in the shadows. But, his beautiful, strong hands were unmistakable.

Now she knew why Kisuke had singled this gigai out, had placed it alone in this locked cupboard – so that the chance sight of it would not revive her and kill her in the same moment.

"Rien…Rien," Yoruichi, had also joined the search for her, it seemed. Rien locked the cupboard without a second glance, and stealthily snuck back down.

"Yoruichi?" It was night now. Rien walked into the lounge where all the lights were off, but she sensed Yoruichi's presence. She thought it odd that her older sister would lounge in the dark, but when it came to Yoruichi, this was perhaps one of the least odd things she had done.

"SURPRISE!" A chorus of voices screamed as the disorienting lights were simultaneously turned on. Rien always felt more comfortable in the dark, often almost disappearing into the shadows. She now felt the luminosity of all the extra flashing party lights, sear her retinas, almost blinding her with their scintillating colours. As her eyes adjusted, and her brain unfroze itself from the comatose lights, she saw the large group of people gathered: Ishida; Ichigo; Chad; Inoue; Tatsuki; as well as Jinta and the others. Rien could not understand why the aprty was a surprise, or why there was a party at all. There was a beautifully made banner with her name on it – 'Shihouin Rien', that's all it said.

"You have officially been adopted into the Shihouin family, as of today!" Yoruichi beamed her excessively happy news to Rien.

"But how? There were so many technicalities and hurdles…and the elders were so resistant to the idea." Rien had the same innocent and confused look she had, had the first day she dropped into their lives, and Kisuke was glad to see it had not been completely eradicated by Rien's current morose agony. Although Rien had insisted that she did not mind that she was not officially Yoruichi's sister, Yoruichi would not settle for Rien being anything less than Family.

"I'd like to think it was the way I insisted that 'I am the head of this family – and, what I say goes'…"Yoruichi mockingly gestured. "But, I think it was you who won them over, with your talent, kind-heartedness, and beauty – when they came to interview you here last month." Yoruichi attempted to jog all their memories.

Rien remembered that day for completely different reasons. It was a day of prolonged agony, as Yoruichi and Kisuke pretended they were nothing more than friends to eachother, and the elders of the Shihouin clan pestered Yoruichi about her lack of suitors, and attempted to persuade her to start thinking about marriage. They had warned Rien to be silent about their relationship, a few days before the visit, that she was to say nothing to hint at it, or defend Kisuke in anyway. It was obvious that they disliked Kisuke, and Yoruichi living here, but everyone pretended, though it was blatantly obvious to anyone with eyes, that they loved eachother. Rien had been observantly silent on the isuuse, though she did not understand the politics of what was going on.

"How about we handle one landmine at a time. We don't want to kill the old geezers outright." That was all Yoruichi said in reply to Rien's barrage of questions.

It had worked! Rien now had a family – people to whom she belonged. She had not expected it to evoke such warmth in her, but it was an extremely comforting thought…to no longer be alone in the world. To have people who would have to love and take care of her, no matter what.

"It was probably your beauty that tipped the scales," Yoruichi joked, trying to lighten the significance of the decision. "Shihouin women are the most beautiful and desired in all of Seireitei – you'll fit right in," she added with a laugh.

"Maybe now they'll pester you, for the next two hundred years, about getting married," Yoruichi said, relieved.

An overflow of emotion had filled Rien's lifeless countenance. She didn't know what to say, everything seemed inadequate, and stuck in her throat, which progressively became more dry.

"Now that you're family, they're already trying to get that idiotic exile from Seireitei lifted, so you can visit home," Yoruichi explained.

"The noble Shihouin clan is very powerful," Kisuke added, placing his arm around Rien and squeezing her shoulders.

"Noble?" Rien had not realised that the Shihouin clan was one of the five noble houses which ruled Seireitei. It all made sense to her now. That is why her adoption had taken these 11 months, that's why there was so much resistance – because it was a position of privilege. Not offered lightly, and not to just anyone.

"I just wanted to be Yoruichi's sister. I don't want to be noble – I'm not noble, I'm just me." She unconsciously slouched from the new weight she felt fall on her. "Kisuke, this will always be my home – here, with you and Yoruichi!" Rien cried almost uncontrollably into his shoulder. He comfortingly placed his hand on her head, as she sobbed in time with the rain outside.

"It's okay. Calm down, or you'll cause a storm," he cryptically soothed. "Don't you understand – nobility has lots of power, Soul Society will find it far more difficult to pursue you now. Your family will fight for you, and soon you will be free to do as you wish." He felt her sobs lighten to nothingness on his shoulder, though the wet fabric now clung to him. "Maybe Yoruichi and I will be able to sleep easier at night, knowing no one is after you." Rien doubted they'd be using nay of that time to sleep.

"But this does come with a heavy price," Yoruichi darkly began. "Like me, you have to be princess to the Shihouin house." Rien saw Kisuke lace his free hand with Yoruichi's. "And, sometimes…the price can be too steep." Kisuke squeezed her hand. Rien saw Tessai wipe a few tears with a party napkin – he obviously knew Kisuke and Yoruichi's full story. Rien vowed to extract it from him later.

"Can we eat now?!" Ichigo interrupted, trying to lighten the conversation. It was a party, after all, he thought, and he felt there was no point in dwelling about the past or future. "I'm starving," he moaned. Rukia and Renji's absence at this party had raised Ichigo's suspicions, but he didn't know what to make of the gaping hole they left. " What do you say, princess Rien?" He teased, as the older brother she knew him to be – never letting her head be filled with too much narcissism. He and Renji had done all the possible things, to earn themselves that title. Rien thought herself lucky, to have two older brothers, and it seemed she was one of the only things these two friends could agree on these days. They were fiercely protective, insanely annoying, and always there for her. They had even gone so far as to warn Ishida that they would break his arms and legs if he ever touched Rein – which Ishida didn't dignify with a response. Though, today, he looked partially guilty to Ichigo, who could not fathom why the expression was plastered on his face.

The image of the gigai bothered Rein as she struggled to sleep. It was supposed to be such a happy night, but the familiarity of the gigai's clothes pulled at the edges of Rien's preconscious awareness. Rien noted the dissonance between the perfect copy of the hands' real likeness, and the ordinary, imperfect feel of its human touch. It felt nothing like his hand. Smelled nothing like his body. She decided, after much tossing and turning, to never visit that cursed attic again.

As Rien labouruously drifted into sleep – the dream began. She had been startled out of it – alone, and in her own room. "He was here – in the real world," she sleepily slurred. "I felt him! It wasn't my imagination. It's just like in the beginning of my dream…he was in the real world."

"What are you talking about?" Until now, she hadn't noticed Ishida hirenkyaku into her room – in his full Quincy battle outfit. It was probably still early, Rien thought, and obviously Ishida's night to patrol Karakura Town. She noticed the Quincy cross sparkle, dangling on the bracelet on his wrist. Having him in her room now, felt…awkward. She remembered all the times she had absently played with the battle accessory, though he never said anything to deter her, his expression always read 'this is not a toy'.

"Didn't anyone ever teach you to knock?" Rien was a little startled by his presence, and still navigating how to be friends in the aftermath of the previous night.

"You never do," he playfully threw back, a warmth entering his voice.

"Don't you understand – if the dream is real, then…Byakuya is going to die as soon as he finds that Espada with the scythes." Rien erratically rambled her incoherent hypothesis to Ishida. If she was somehow connected to him, if the dream were real…he would die if she did nothing to stop it. It was the most unpalatable thought she had ever had, a world in which he did not exist, the thought had driven her incoherent. She quickly searched though the gift bags full of presents from the party, and happened upon Inoue's gift. Inoue had given her a long black halter neck dress, though Rien suspected Ishida had helped her pick it out. Rien decided that she would need to change if she was going to leave the house, and that her butterfly pyjamas would not be appropriate, considering her goal. Ishida turned around, as Rien unabashedly began undressing, and slipping into the long black dress.

"It's just a dream," Ishida said, still facing the wall. "Why would you think it was real?" He tried logic with her, but he had little hope of this convincing her.

"Byakuya's gigai – its wearing the same clothes as in the beginning of my dream. Why would I dream about him in those exact clothes? And, in the real world of all places. Maybe it's a premonition…Whatever it is, I know I'm supposed to help." Rien put her long black boots on.

Rien's shunpo was fast, but Ishida's hirenkyaku was quicker, and he easily followed her. She was in the training basement now, and had somehow effortlessly opened the senkai, though it required skill she did not posses.

It activated.

"Where do you think you're going?" Ishida firmly grabbed her arm, almost bruisingly, as she struggled with him.

"I wouldn't be able to forgive myself…if I let him die. You must understand what that would do to me" Rien's eyes were a mixture of agony and hope – hope that she may be able to save him, and agony that she was too late. Perhaps she was too late, perhaps that's why Renji and Rukia had been absent for so long.

"Maybe you should speak to Urahara about this," he tired to reason with the obviously irrational girl, but the agony in her eyes made him reflexively loosen his grip on her. "The execution order still stands, if you go now, they'll kill you. Wait a few days until it lifts." Everything he said was true, but his only intention was to buy him some time until Urahara and Yoruichi arrived.

"If I wait, I know it will be too late," she pleaded slipping out of his grasp and running into the senkai.

Ishida had no time to think, no time to wait. He shot an arrow in after her and followed, afraid of the recklessness he knew her capable of. Even knowing the agony he would be in as the senkai changed his body into spirit particles, he knew he needed to protect her. As the gate encased him, and the agony began, Ishida wondered why Rien had seemed so sure. Was Rien that desperate to see Byakuya? Why wouldn't she just wait, he wondered.

As Ishida toppled onto he ground next to Rien, he vaguely saw her complete the senkai lock spell he had once seen Urahara perform. He knew it would take Urahara a while to surmise what she had done and break the lock, but he feared it would be too late to stop Rien's plan…whatever that was.

Rien was tactically brilliant, as always, Ishida thought.

Author's Note

I hope you're on the edge of your seat….

If you wanna know if I'm gonna update soon etc, just check out my profile, and I'll leave a message about when updates, etc can be expected.