i won't even try to make ammends for my serious lack of updating because i know none of you can probably stomach them at this point. but things have been hectic with school and work, but i finally managed to complete the next chapter. next 2 chapters actually. 17 and 18 started out as one huge chapter but i didn't like how it flowed all together so i separated it =] so now you get two brand spankin new chapters to read because i love you all sooooooo much

but like always R&R pleeeeeeeeeeease! i wanna know what you think even if its just "yes" lol enjoy!

shout outs to the newbies: xpaperlovex, Annnnnnnnja, 3, derpdederpders1, NIGHTANGEL21, XxLeopardPrintxX, ammercado190, animefreakv23, the beast, fanfictionlovewriter809, and Random Chick

^thank y'all for the reviews, favorites, alerts, and everything else you clicked =]

disclaimer: i do not own bleach or any of its characters or locations mentioned in the manga or anime. i just own this story line and the OCs

Chapter 17

"Well, in my defense, I had no idea that was his wife," Emiko said, straightening her skirt out over her legs. Isamu glanced at her, an actual expression of surprise on his usually stoic face. "She's gotten so…well, plump! She was barely recognizable!" Emiko threw her hands up in frustration and I couldn't help but laugh. I had never heard her speak in such a way about anyone before, and I never expected it to be so comical. She acted so much like a child sometimes you could almost forget about the gray streaks in her hair and the wrinkles around her eyes.

We were on our way home from the annual Ume Blossom Banquet. It was held by the Floral Society, a large network of botanists, florists, scientists and other vegetation lovers from all over Japan. Emiko and Isamu had belonged to it for years and had to practically drag me with them. They couldn't wait to introduce me to all their friends and while I was honored that my presence gave them such happiness, I hated having so many eyes on me at one time.

"You do realize that you called her a cow," I leaned forward from the back seat. "To her face." Emiko moaned.

"That was a slip of the tongue! I didn't mean to, you know…say it out loud!" Isamu and I began to laugh. I had always known Emiko was a pistol, but seeing her interacting with her peers earlier was something else entirely. She was like the finale of a fireworks show; she just kept exploding all over the place with energy. Isamu and I had always told her she had to think before she spoke, but Emiko's mind moved too quickly for a filter.

As I leaned back into the seat, a gleam caught my eye. The gold bangles on Emiko's wrist clinked together and brilliantly reflected the setting sun. Without thinking I reached up and traced a finger along the delicate golden chain encircling my neck, coming to rest on a thin horizontal lightning bolt that sat against my skin.

Blushing a bit, I thought back to the night it was given to me. It was a few days before Christmas and I had just left the Urahara Shop. All my friends and I had gathered there for a celebration since everyone had plans later that week. It was a fun night of food, being together, and betting on whether Tessai, Urahara, or Renji could drink the most sake without passing out.

I was on my way home when I was stopped in the yard by Renji who, after stumbling over to me, became very nervous and started shuffling his feet. When I asked him what was wrong, he pulled a small box out of his coat pocket and thrust it at me. Inside was a thin gold necklace with a lightning bolt charm.

When I lived in Hidori, my mother never had a steady job; she was always jumping around from grocery store to boutique to florist. We never really had money to buy each other gifts for holidays, but my mother had always taught me that each day was a gift and I was a happy enough kid that I didn't need presents. Just spending time together became our gifts, because I certainly knew that there were some kids who lived every day without parents at all. But suddenly, like everything else that had changed since I came to Karakura Town, here was a carefully wrapped box with a bow shoved in my face. Literally.

As Emiko and Isamu chattered in the front seat, or rather Emiko chattered at Isamu, I got lost in my thoughts of Renji. It was beginning to become a frequent, and annoying, habit. My face began to heat up as I thought of that night under the snow when Renji had given me the necklace.

"I saw it and it reminded me of you, that's all," he had said. I couldn't tell if he was blushing from embarrassment or the sake, but his cheeks were tinted pink. So was the tip of his nose. The car suddenly felt very small and warm, and I needed to get out. We were driving over the bridge that spanned the Karasu River, a body of water that ran through the western part of town, and as soon as we touched down on land again I asked Isamu to pull over.

"Everything alright, hun?" Emiko asked, turning around to face me as I pulled on my jacket.

"Everything's fine," I said, reassuring them both with a smile that probably looked as fake as it felt. "I just feel like going for a walk by the river, that's all." Emiko smiled back, but I could see a twinge of suspicion in her eyes. As soon as Isamu pulled up next to the sidewalk, I opened the door and stepped down onto the pavement. Before I shut the door, I stuck my head back inside. "I won't be too long, I promise!"

As they drove away, I waved, wondering if they had noticed how far away I had been lately. They probably think they've done something wrong…. I'd have to be sure to let them know that wasn't the case when I got home. I let out a sigh. Walking over to the wall that lined this side of the bridge, I found a spot where it began to slant lower and lower into the ground. Leaning against the stone, I began to slip off my heels, relishing in the freedom my poor feet felt. It was safe to say I wasn't really one for dressing up. In my past experiences I have found that dresses only slowed you down, so I tried to avoid wearing them.

However, the banquet meant a lot to Emiko and Isamu, and Emiko was so excited to take me shopping for something to wear that she nearly jumped out of the moving car when we pulled up outside a boutique in town the day before. There really was no possible way I could have refused her.

I swung my legs over the wall and jumped down to the grassy, sloping hill below that led down to the river. The air was crisp and the ground was still hard from winter's brutal winds, but it felt good to be enveloped in the breeze. The pale green dress I wore under my jacket swirled a bit in the breeze and a lock of hair slipped out of the clip holding some of it back off my face. Reaching up, I pulled it out, letting all the tendrils loose to fly wherever they wanted.

Carefully, I made my way down to the riverbank. The sun was lowering in the sky, changing the clouds to a light pink. The color reflected off the water and I stopped to watch the ripples of pink, orange, and blue flow to the shore before disappearing. I walked to the edge of the water and knelt down to look at my reflection. For a moment it was my face that swam before me, but then as a ripple flowed by, the image changed.

Where my face should have been, another's looked back at me. A woman's face, with long black hair that seemed endless and that flowed with the water. She grinned evilly at me and I stumbled back. Blinking a few times, I rubbed my eyes a bit, wondering what had just happened. Slowly, I crawled back to the edge of the water. Taking a deep breath, I began to cautiously lean forward, inch by inch. As soon as my eyes peeked over the edge, I let out the air my lungs had been holding. My face was staring back at me, bewildered yet relieved at the same time.

I've seen that face before, I thought, sitting back on my heels. Several times, actually. All starting with that one night at the Urahara Shop months ago…. I reached forward and was about to stick my hand in the water to see if anything was beneath the surface when something further down the bank caught my attention.

Standing up, I brushed off my dress and grabbed my shoes off the ground where I had dropped them. Renji was sitting at the edge of the water. "Stop it," I said to myself, trying to ignore the small skip my heart felt as I realized it was him. His legs were stretched out before him and he was leaning back on his hands. I walked over to him, watching as he stared out over the water and wondering what he could be thinking about. On its own, my hand reached for the lightning bolt charm around my neck.

As I approached him, he made no attempt to even acknowledge my presence, so I simply sat down next to him, tucking the skirt of my dress under me as I did.

"You'll get your dress dirty," he said as I settled down.

"A little dirt never killed anyone. Besides, Emiko just bought that new washing detergent with 'extra strength'. I'm sure she'd be happy to fight some stains." I stretched out my legs and leaned back on my hands, copying him. Tilting my head back, I closed my eyes and let the cold breeze wash over my skin.

"Aren't you cold?" Renji asked. I opened one eye and saw that he was finally looking at me.

"Aren't you," I asked back. He was wearing jeans and tan work boots which could be warm enough, but he only wore a green, sleeveless, puffy vest over his long sleeved white Henley shirt. There was no way he was warm enough. But, neither was I. We were just too stubborn to admit it to each other.

"I didn't think you were a 'dress' type of girl," Renji said, chuckling a bit. Crossing my arms across my chest I turned away from him, annoyed at the way he was making fun of me.

"I'm not. I did it for Emiko."

"Sure, sure, princess," Renji laughed again.

"Maybe you don't really know what kind of a girl I am after all," I spat at him, realizing I sounded like the child he was always referring to me as. Renji was silent. No laughing, no teasing. Nothing. I fought the urge to turn around and look at him and was just about to break when I heard him speak.

"I guess I don't." He said the words so quietly I couldn't help but face him. He looked troubled, his eyebrows arching down and towards each other, his forehead wrinkling in contemplation. I looked into his eyes which seemed far away, and were again gazing out at the water and wondered what was making him act so weird.

"You okay?" I asked. Again, he didn't react, but he did speak.

"There's a river like this back home," he gestured toward the water. "Well, not really 'home' but, where I grew up."

"In the Soul Society?" I asked. Renji nodded.

"Why not 'home'?" A dark look crossed his face at my question.

"When you're an orphan living on the streets of one of the poorest districts with no promise of food, shelter, or protection, you can't really call it home." I didn't say anything. I had no idea Renji had been an orphan. Guess we weren't so different after all. "I was alone as far back as I can remember," he continued, laying down onto his back and crossing his arms behind his head. A particularly cold gust of wind flew past us and I pulled my knees to my chest.

"That's horrible," I said, trying to ignore the spasm of pain I felt inside as my mother's face came to mind.

"It actually wasn't. A lot of kids didn't have parents so we all lived together in abandoned houses. We took care of each other like a family does, we protected each other. That's where I met Rukia."

"You've known each other that long?" Renji nodded. "Do you miss it?" I asked without thinking.

"No." There was no hesitation in his voice at all and he answered so quickly I knew it was the truth. "I don't miss it one bit. But I do miss the way things used to be. Back then it was so simple." I nodded, understanding. Renji came to the river to get away from things because it reminded him of his past, before he became a Soul Reaper. After experiencing the powers for myself, I could understand what a burden it could place on a person. To wield that much power, to be able to see the things we see, to know the absolute existence of an afterlife that continues just like the existence we lead already…and to hold responsibility for so many lives, it could all drive you crazy if you didn't somehow keep yourself in check.

I stood up and walked to the edge of the water, felling the earth beginning to give beneath my feet, a sign that spring was on its way. After listening to Renji talk about the river and the past, I was flooded with memories of my own past. Of summers spent by the river that ran through Hidori, of the warm sun and the screaming children running through the streets knowing nothing of pain and loss and reality, only the small blissfully ignorant worlds they lived in.

While it wasn't the warmest day, it wasn't the coldest either, so I slowly inched my feet into the shallows on the bank of the river. The water was cold, but felt good on my feet that were still sore from walking around all day in the torture devices fashion experts called "high heels". The sand was soft under the flow of the water, and instantly covered my feet.

As I stood there, I could feel myself sliding deeper into the sand and it becoming harder to pull my feet back out. It was almost as if the sand was pulling me down into the water. My struggle to extract myself apparently became distracting enough for Renji to sit up and pay attention.

"What are you doing?"

"I can't get out," I told him, giving one particularly hard tug on my leg and setting myself off balance. I wobbled back and forth a bit before falling forward into the water. My knees hit the sand and the bottom half of my dress was instantly soaked. "Oh, come on!" I could hear Renji chuckling smugly behind me and reminded myself to smack him when I got out of the water. I could hear him get up and felt his hands take hold of my arms and pull. But I didn't budge this time. He helped me to at least stand straight up and then stepped back.

"What did you do?" he asked, crossing his arms.

"I didn't do anything," I snapped at him. I bent down and tried digging through the sand that was covering my feet. At first I thought I was making progress, but then, with every handful, more sand began to settle on top of me and soon it was beginning to reach up leg. Frantically, I tried brushing it away, suddenly conscious of a small voice in my subconscious and a bad feeling in my gut. This isn't normal. This isn't good. Get out of the water. Something's here.

"Easy there, we'll get you out," Renji said, still unaware of the sinister change in the atmosphere. I ignored him, wondering if I should try using quick step to get out. Maybe the spirit energy behind that ability would be enough to wrench me out of the sand. Before I could even try however, two columns of sand shot straight up and enveloped my arms, dragging them down below the surface as well. I was trapped, on all fours, and unable to free myself. Needless to say, the panic started to set in.

"Renji!" I said, my voice rising in pitch and urgency, "Get me out of the water! Get me out!" I was thrashing around and the fear in my voice must have snapped Renji out of his cockiness because he came to kneel in front of me in the shallow water.

"Relax, relax! I'll get you out I promise." I shook my head. He still didn't get it.

"Something's here," I whispered to him, finally realizing what I was feeling. That ripple beneath my consciousness, the darting in and out of recognition. "A Shadow." Renji's face became serious.

The ground shook a bit and then stopped. We both watched as several ripples of water scurried past us to disappear against the shore. Then, the ground shook again. And again. And again. And harder. And harder. The water was beginning to become choppy. Small waves started crashing right where we were fumbling around. I kept getting hit head on and couldn't even wipe the water out of my eyes to focus on what I was doing. I tried wiping my face off on my shoulder but it was no use, my jacket was drenched with the rest of my body.

The more Renji and I struggled, the more violent the waves became until suddenly…

"Whoa!" I watched as a particularly nasty wave collided with Renji's body and sent him flying back onto the shore.

"Renji!" I pulled even harder against the sand, wondering if I should try to let some lightning loose to free myself. Looking down, I gasped in surprise. That face was looking back at me again, grinning from ear to ear and shaking with silent laughter. I could feel my eyes widen as I suddenly recognized the woman I had been seeing. She had been with my father when I first met him at the Urahara Shop.

"I'm fine!" Renji called from behind me.

"Stay back." I could hear Renji begin to question my command when a cold laugh floated through the air. Not taking my eyes off the woman in the water, I saw her mouth move and knew it was her voice we heard.

"Are you sure about that, dear? It seems you need a big strong man to help you out of this predicament," she drawled. I could hear splashing behind me as Renji lumbered forward. The sudden disturbance caused the woman's face to vanish, replaced by Renji's reflection. He was wearing his shihakushō, and Zabimaru was unsheathed and in his hands. "Let Sayuri go! And come out and fight us where we can see you, you coward!" He pointed Zabimaru down at the surface of the water, and the woman laughed again.

"If you insist, boy." The sky suddenly became dark. Looking up, I watched as dark clouds started to swirl together, casting shadows on everything below. The water too became even rougher and I started to fear I was going to drown when suddenly, the sand that was holding me prisoner retreated. Standing up quickly, I watched as the water swirled and thrashed like during a storm. Renji grabbed my arm and we started backing up slowly until we were on the grass again.

A whirlpool had begun out in the center of the river, and with each second a column of water was rising higher and higher toward the stormy sky. At the top, a figure emerged. It was a young woman, with long black hair. She wore a blue circlet around her forehead that matched her dress. A beautiful gown, it sat off her shoulders and was secured around her waist by a white sash tied in a large bow at her back. The skirt of her dress seemed to twist around her, fading into the water itself. She was beautiful, even if she had tried to drown me.

"Is this better? Of course, seeing me won't do you much good. You're just puny little ants compared to me," she said. Even her voice flowed like water and sounded as pretty as she looked, but Renji didn't notice or didn't care.

He charged at the column of water, his feet skimming the top of the river as if it were solid ground. I watched as he launched himself forward and Zabimaru split into its usual sections. It sliced through the air and through the water column, but came out just the same on the other side. He had done no damage at all. The water simply absorbed his attack, and Renji stood there dumbfounded.

"Renji, look out!" I screamed as a large stream of water shot out from one side of the woman's column. It smacked right into Renji's chest and pushed him back the way he had come. Suddenly, another sprouted from the column and crashed into him so hard, he was launched into the air. But the woman wasn't done yet. I watched in horror as the first watery stream wound up and then swatted Renji like he was a fly back onto the ground at the shore of the river.

I ran over to where he landed. Kneeling down, I grabbed two handfuls of his robes and pulled hard to roll him from his stomach to his back. His eyes were closed and I instantly feared the worst. Leaning over him, I placed my ear next to his mouth that was slightly agape. The second I felt warm air wash over my skin, I let out the deep breath I had been holding. I let my head fall forward until my forehead was resting against Renji's chest.

"Idiot," I whispered, and I felt his chest heave a bit, as if he was laughing. Slowly, he sat up.

"Looks like it won't be so easy taking her down," he muttered. "Hey, you," he turned his head and called to someone behind us. I turned also and watched as an exact replica of Renji came running toward us: his gigai, now inhabited by a mod soul. "Take Sayuri and get her away from here." The mod soul reached down and grabbed my arm, but I shoved him back, hard.

"No way!" I shouted. "I'm not going anywhere!"

"I need to know you're safe before I can fight her," Renji said, a tone of annoyance in his voice.

"It's not your fight to begin with," I said quietly. Renji looked at me from where he was sitting and said nothing. I kept my face serious, and I made myself keep eye contact with him so he knew I was serious. There was no way I was going to let him get his ass kicked by this chick just to feed his stupid ego. And there was truth in what I said…the Shadows were after me to begin with….

"You're so annoying, you know that?" Renji grumbled, standing up. "Well, maybe if we both come at her we can find her weak point. Then we'll have her," he said, massaging the back of his neck.

"We could try…but I don't know if just chopping at the water will do anything. Your zanpakutō went right through it," I told him, thinking back to his attack. Renji looked up at the swirling mass of water. Suddenly, he grinned.

"Fine. Then we go after her. Distract her for me, and I'll get in there and-"

"Save the day? Aye aye, captain," I mocked, rolling my eyes and saluting him. "Just don't get your ass handed to you, got it?" Renji flash stepped and was gone, probably to a more hidden vantage point nearby. I closed my eyes and focused on gathering my spirit energy in the core of my body. I could feel it heat up and then spread to my arms and legs. Closing my eyes, I held onto that ball of energy and light until my whole body felt charged. Then, when I felt full to the brim, I released it.