Chapter 8: Picnic and Kisses
After running through the division for a while Rose eventually arrived outside the office of the Taicho and Fukutaicho. The door was painted bright pink with a large gold name plank on which stated that this was the office of the Taicho and Fukutaicho. Slowly, Rose lifted her hand and knocked on the door timidly. There was no answer so she knocked again and little more forcefully.
"Enter" came the strict voice of Nanao.
Slowly Rose opened the door and entered. The office contained two desks, one with a large pile of paper on it while the over one had none, a large well-worn sofa and huge bookshelf.
"Darling Rose!" exclaimed Shunsui who was sitting at his desk (no paperwork) with his feet on the table. Nanao who was sitting at the over table rolled her eyes. Rose blushed and looked at the ground, too ashamed to look Shunsui in the eyes. Her actions the day before had been unacceptable. But apparently Shunsui had decided to forgive and forget if his actions were any indication.
"Captain, Ise Fukutaicho" said Rose with a little bow. Shunsui gestured at Rose to move forwards and to stand in front of his desk.
"Rose, My Nanao-Chan tells me that you have acquired your Zanpakuto" said Shunsui looking at Rose with his dark brown eyes.
"Yes Captain" replied Rose looking at Shunsui's chin.
"May I see it?" asked Shunsui.
Rose did not more but instead stared intently at Shunsui's chin.
"Yare Rose you are gonna have to learn to trust us." Said Shunsui in a calm tone.
Rose still did not move. "I don't sense any malevolent reiatsu…he is trustworthy." Whispered her Rose untied her Zanpakuto and held it in front of her.
"Such a beautiful Zanpakuto, almost as beautiful as my beautiful Rose" said Shunsui while looking at the Zanpakuto.
"Please don't call me that sir and my Zanpakuto in uncomfortable at the attention you are giving her" snapped Rose.
Shunsui lifted his eyebrows at Rose and then turned towards Nanao with a pouty face, "Nanao-Chan why is it that all the women in this room hate my advances?"
"I don't know Sir, but might I suggest you stop. You will probably find that fewer women would despise you if you did" replied Nanao curtly.
"Mean Nanao-Chan" cried Shunsui before turning to face Rose with a semi-serious expression on his face. "I suppose you have not achieved Shikai yet?" he asked.
"Shikai?" asked Rose.
Shunsui looked at Rose for a minute, "You don't know what Shikai is?"
"No Sir?" replied Rose looking at the floor and blushing.
Shunsui sighed, "A Zanpakuto has three stages of release, the first stage is its sealed form and yours is in that form. The second stage is Shikai, to achieve it you need to know the name of your Zanpakuto spirit. The last stage is Bankai, to achieve that you must be able to summon and subjugate your Zanpakuto spirit." explained Shunsui while Rose slowly nodded her head.
"Sir?" asked Rose after a short pause, "Is it possible for a Zanpakuto spirit to disappear?".
Shunsui and Nanao looked at each other before staring at Rose with piercing eyes.
"Why do you ask?" questioned Shunsui with a serious look.
"N-No reason in particular, just morbid curiosity" answered Rose with a slight laugh while trying to re-attach her Zanpakuto to her belt. Shunsui and Nanao exchanged looks.
Shunsui sighed and got up, "Rose it is just a beautiful day outside, why don't we go on a picnic?"
"Sir that would be inappropriate." exclaimed Rose.
"I agree with Rose Bentley. It is slightly…" said Nanao but then stopped when she saw the look that Shunsui was giving her. They had known each other for a very long time and in that time they had learnt to communicate with each other through eye contact. The look that Shunsui was giving Nanao said that he wanted to talk to Rose alone, probably about her question before.
"Nonesense!" exclaimed Shunsui before walked out the office and calling behind him "Come Darling Rose I know a nice place where we can eat and enjoy the sunshine". Rose did not move from her spot. She was unsure whether to move or not.
"Darling Rose…just think of this as a punishment for hitting your superior office." Rose blushed and followed after Shunsui.
After a bit of walking Shunsui and Rose arrived in a large field full of wild flowers and Sakura trees. Rose gasped when she saw the sight, in the distance she could see a large lake a beautiful shade of blue. The rolling hills and wild flowers reminded her of the Scottish highlands and it brought tears to her eyes. Looking behind her, Rose saw that Shunsui had laid out his pink Kimono on the ground and had placed the bento boxes, which they had picked up in the mess hall, and sake onto in. With a small smile Roe approached Shunsui and sat down next to him (a good meter away from him).
"Captain, this place is breath taking" said Rose while looking around the field.
"I know, but its beauty does not compare to yours darling Rose" replied Shunsui while looking at Rose and noting the deep blush spread across her cheek. They sat in comfortable silence for a moment, appreciating the view and the warm weather.
"We should eat" said Shunsui after a while. Rose looked at him and saw that he was leaning back on the trunk of a large sakura tree wearing nothing but his shihakushō. The sigh of Shunsui wearing only his black uniform sucked all the breath out of Rose's lungs and left her breathless. He was too good looking for his own look. Shunsui raised his eyebrow at the sight of Rose gawking at him. Rose pulled her eyes away from Shunsui and reached of one of the bento boxes. To her dismay she saw that the box only came with chop stick and that she was going to have to make a foul of herself in front of Shunsui again with her deplorable table manners.
"It's ok Rose, I will teach you how to use chop sticks" whispered Shunsui right behind Rose's ear. Rose gasped at his closeness while Shunsui chuckled quietly at her reaction.
"Here you hold them like this" murmured Shunsui while placing his hand onto of Rose's and gently showed her how to hold the chop stick. Rose shuddered slightly at Shunsui's closeness, the magnetic pull between then almost unbearable. Rose was confused. Part of her was scared by Shunsui closeness and wanted to run away, while the over part wanted to climb onto of him and ravage him.
"You pick up the food like this…and then you put it in your mouth" murmured Shunsui again while guiding Rose's hand to her mouth. Slowly Rose opened her mouth and took a bit of the food, it was delicious. She shivered again and felt goose bumps rising up her spin at the feel of Shunsui warm breath on her shoulder and large hand on top of hers. She had just met the man a few days ago, yet without any doubt she was attracted to him. She froze when she felt him press a light kiss on her shoulder. Slowly Shunsui laced his arm around Rose waist, holding her tights against him. Rose could feel him holding her closely and panicked. Before Shunsui knew what happening, Rose had leapt up and moved several meters away from Shunsui lounging body, breathing heavily. She could not bear to have his arms wrapped around her so intimately, it reminded her of her past and all the fear it brought with it.
"Rose?" asked Shunsui with a mixture of confusion, hurt and curiosity in his eyes. Rose brought her hand up to her heart and took deep breaths, calming her nerves.
"I'm sorry captain, I was just a little shocked" explained Rose still panting a little.
Shunsui did not look convinced, "I would say that you are more than a little shocked. It's all right Rose I will not hurt you." His voice was soft and soothing which helped calm Rose down. Slowly she walked back to her spot on the blanket and sat down. There was something about Shunsui that reassured her and calmed her. Deep down in what was left of her soul she knew that Shunsui would never hurt her.
"Do you want to talk about it?" asked Shunsui is a quiet voice.
"About what?" whispered Rose. There were so many things that Rose had avoided telling Shunsui about that she was at a little loss.
"Why you do not like to be touched by anybody or accept any compliments" continued Shunsui.
Rose let out a deep breath and stared off into the distance. "I was in a bad relationship with somebody in the past. He hurt me…a lot. So now I cannot trust anybody. He used to call me his beautiful Rose…you can understand why I no longer liked to be called that" she murmured after a pause. Shunsui looked at her with deep eyes that did not reflect what he was feeling. But underneath his calm appearance he was fuming. Some idiot had taken his Rose and had abused her to the point where she could no longer stand to be touched. He hated this unknown person with all his might.
"Did-did he rape you Rose?" asked Shunsui while looking Rose in the eye. All traces of the joker gone, Shunsui was serious.
Rose looked down at her hands, "No, not really…I don't know" murmured Rose without looking Shunsui in the eyes. She feared that if she did she would break down in tears and she did not want to embarrass herself in front of Shunsui. Also she could not tell him that she had been raped, multiply times. She was ashamed of herself and some part of her blamed herself for it. She feared that if she told him he would think of her as a worthless slut, which she thought she was, and that would break her.
"Rose…did he force you to do things that you did not want to do?" asked Shunsui a little more forcefully.
Rose shook her head slightly, "At first I liked it. I was happy because I had a great man in my life who cared for me. But after a while he started to gently coax me into doing things that I did not want to do and suddenly before I knew it I was doing things that I did not want. But I stayed because I loved him and I thought that he loved me. After I moved to London we drifted apart and eventually fell out of touch. It hurt at first but now I am happy that he is gone". Rose continued to look at her hands in her lap afraid that if she looked Shunsui in the eye he would see right through her lie. She had to lie, the truth would have disgusted him and she could not bear the thought of Shunsui hating her.
Shunsui was silent for a moment. He was angry that someone would take advantage of his sweet Rose and then leave her. but in many ways he was glad that Rose had moved on…sort of. He hated the fact that Rose could not bear to be touched by him in certain areas, but he was also happy that she allowed him to kiss her neck. According to him, Rose was getting over her fear of men and coming closer to him, something that he had wanted since first seeing her in the library.
"Is that why you asked about losing your Zanpakuto spirit" asked Shunsui quietly.
"Yes" lied Rose. She could not tell him the truth, which was that she had already lost part of her soul a long time ago and if she did not regain it soon she would lose her Zanpakuto spirit. The image of her broken inner world flashed across her mind.
"As far I can see you are already healing. You can tolerate a bit of male contact which shows that you are less haunted by the past. You are unlikely to loss you soul over a past that you are already healing from. You need to conquer your fear of men and your past in order to control you power. I am guessing that you do not know the name of your Zanpakuto yet and I think overcoming your past is the key to learning it" said Shunsui. Rose smirked, it seemed that everybody was telling her to overcome her past
Rose smiled slightly and looked up at Shunsui who smiled in return. "Thank you sir…it was not easy telling you this but I am glad that I have".
Shunsui smiled, "Thank you for your trust. I will guard it well".
They sat and ate their lunch after that, making small talk about nothing of particular importance. Rose like Shunsui's company. He was a kind and funny man with an intellect that was almost unrivalled. He was interesting and witty and Rose could not help but stay focused on everything he said. The time passed by pleasantly and slowly Shunsui had reclined back until he was lying on the grass and had promptly fallen asleep. Rose watched Shunsui nap for a while, watching is calm face reflect not a care in the world and his muscular chest rise up and down. He really was a sight to behold. Quietly Rose pulled out her study notes, which she had brought along, and started to revise while leaning against the tree trunk behind her. She was so absorbed in her notes that she did not notice Shunsui open his eyes and peer at her from under his hat. Shunsui stared at Rose, stunned by her delicate beauty. She looked breath taking sitting against a tree with the sakura blossoms falling around her. He had been with many women in the past, some he liked while overs were just drunken hook ups. But Rose was different and he could only describe the feeling he had towards her as love. She had somehow managed to worm her way into his stone heart and lit a fire in him that consumed his every being.
The sun shone high above Rose as she looked out over the field. It really was a beautiful location, one which she was likely to return to. A loud buzzing noise close to her brought her attention back to her notes. There sitting a mere inches away from her hand was a large cicada. Rose screamed and flung her notes away from her and scrabbled to climb on the largest and safest thing near her…which was Shunsui. Slowly Rose calmed herself down enough to see that Shunsui was looking at her with an eyebrow raised. In her panic Rose had launched herself across Shunsui's lap and had grabbed his shihakushō collar with both her hands tightly.
"Rose?" asked Shunsui with a hint of laughter in his voice.
"There, there was something, a bug, and I panicked" replied Rose, her voice slightly shaky. Shunsui looked towards her now scattered papers and saw on top of one of them a rather disorientated cicada.
"Darling Rose is scared of harmless bugs" laughed Shunsui.
"I am not scared of bugs" snapped Rose.
"Oh really? Then what was all that about a few seconds ago?"
"It just startled me" blushed Rose.
Shunsui roared with laughter. "It is true" snapped Rose while hitting Shunsui in the chest. Shunsui continued to laugh and Rose could not help it as she laughed along with him. His laughs were infectious.
Slowly they both controlled their laugher and were finally able to realise the position they were both sitting in. Rose gulped and blushed as she realised how close she was to Shunsui. They looked at each other in the eyes. Chocolate meeting dark blue. Slowly, oh so slowly Shunsui dipped his head forwards until his was hovering over Rose, his warm breath brushing against her. He was waiting for her signal for him to continue. His breath was intoxicating and Rose could feel the attraction between them screaming in her ears. With a slight nod of her head she allowed Shunsui to continue with his original plan. Slowly Shunsui covered her lips with his and kissed her gently. He could feel Rose's initial hesitation but seconds later he could feel her hesitant reply. The kiss was slow and sweet but so very satisfying. Slowly Shunsui pulled away and looked Rose deep in the eyes, trying to gauge her response. Rose's eyes were alight with wonder and shone brightly and indicated to Shunsui that she like the kiss. Slowly he descended and kissed her on the lips again. Gently he placed his hands of her cheek and held her in his hands like a delicate rose. He could feel her hands gently lace in his hair and pull him slightly closer to her. She was hesitant and shy in her kiss, unsure of what she was doing and whether Shunsui like it. They kissed gently until they slowly broke apart when breathing became an issue. Rose looked deep into Shunsui's eyes and smiled. His lips were silky smooth and gentle. She could tell that he had held himself back and she was grateful for that as she was still unsure of herself. Even when the kiss had been gently and delicate, Rose could still taste Shunsui, and he tasted good.
The two of them stared into each other's eyes. Nothing else around them matter, the person in front of them was the most important thing at the moment. It was only after a loud beeping sound emanating from Rose's inner pocked did the spell between them break. With a small groan Rose looked at her phone and saw that it was already three in the afternoon. She was late for her zanjutsu class with Maya.
"Crap!" cried out Rose.
"What?" asked Shunsui curiously.
"I have my zanjutsu lesson with Lady Koru now."
"Oh well, you can always miss it" suggested Shunsui.
"No. I am sorry but I have to go to it" said Rose with a slight pout on her face.
"It's ok Rose, it is nice to see you so motivated to control your power" said Shunsui while stroking her cheek with his thumb. Rose leaned forwards and lightly kissed Shunsui on the lips.
"Thank you sir. I had a really good time" whispered Rose in Shunsui's ear. Shunsui kissed Rose lightly on the lips before standing up and helping Rose get to her feet. They gathered their stuff together quickly before leaving. But before they left Shunsui tied a small sakura blossom in Rose's hair and whispered in her ear that the blossom paled next to her. Shunsui (after asking her permission) wrapped his arms around Rose's waist and disappeared in shunpo back to the division.
A light mid-afternoon breeze blow across the small garden outside of Ukitake's office bringing with it a few lose sakura blossoms. Shunsui, Ukitake, Nanao, Unohana, Toushiro and Rangiku all sat around a small table with tea in their hands. They had spent the last hour discussing possible reason for Shadow Crawler to be lurking around in the Soul Society. So far they had not reached any conclusions but they had learnt from the second division that while infiltrating Shadow Crawler's newly abandoned hide out they found a small girl of about seven cowering in a corner covered in blood. The girl had been taken back to the fourth division but had yet to said a word. Unohana claimed that the girl was likely suffering from post-traumatic stress symptom, hence the reason why she would not talk.
"Why does Shadow Crawler need children? What can he do with them?" asked Ukitake to no one in particular.
"I don't know Juu but it is disturbing" answered Shunsui.
"I examined the girl along with Isane and found that the she had several cracked ribs and bruises on her chest. This were likely causes by a beating of some sorts. The girl was had a mark on her upper thigh in the form of the number thirty three. We also found several traces of reiatsu on the girl which are currently being examined by the twelfth division, but Kurotsuchi believes it would take several days to get the results". Explained Unohana in her calm voice.
"Unohana-sensei was this girl…was she raped?" asked Ukitake in a dark tone.
"Yes, she had sever bruising on sex that indicates forceful intercourse" answered Unohana and for a moment her calm demeanour dropped ever so slightly for a brief second. A dark aura hung over everybody after Unohana had mentioned the information.
"So it is clear to say that Shadow Crawler is running an illegal brothel. But why? Why come to the Soul Society? We are missing something here. The children could be used to hide what is really going on with the missing Shinigami" said Toushiro after a long pause.
"Could be. But we still have no proof that the missing Shinigami and children are linked. But now we know that Shadow Crawler is not working alone" replied Shunsui while taking a sip of tea. "Ne Ukitake do you have anything stronger?" he asked his friend.
"Taicho I don't think now is an appropriate time to drink" said Nanao while adjusting her glasses.
"Nanao-Chan we just discovered that there is an illegal child brothel being run in the Soul Society, I think now is a good time to drink" pouted Shunsui. Rangiku smiled a small smile while she watch the two bicker, it was nice that Shunsui tried to raise the depressed mood.
"If Shadow Crawler was running an illegal brothel then he must have been getting customers from the surrounding villages" suggested Nanao while taking a sip of her tea.
"Your right Nanao-Chan" exclaimed Shunsui "we could try interrogating the locals. Maybe they know what is really going on."
"Ok, Rangiku and I will travel to the north district 45 tomorrow and try to gather information on this brothel. It is however unlikely that we will get much information as district 45 is a known Shinigami hating district" suggested Toushiro.
There others nodded and silence descended again. "Taicho, I only just remembered" gasped Nanao, breaking the silent musing of everybody at the table.
"What Nanao-Chan?" asked Shunsui.
"Rose Bentley, in her portfolio it was reported that she also had a strange mark on her upper thigh but in the shape of a six. Could she, Maybe?" asked Nanao.
Shunsui leaned back and rubbed his unshaven chin with his hand while looking at the ceiling. "Hmm, the chances of Rose having been through the same experience as the girl is highly unlikely. Rose is a human while this girl is a soul so the chances of it being that same person is highly unlikely. Plus this child could have gone missing weeks ago while Rose only arrived in the soul society a few days ago. The timing is wrong. But you are right there is a slight correlation, one that must not be over looked. I'll talk to Rose later about her mark and see what she has to say" mused Shunsui.
"In any case if she is related to this incident you will have to be very careful extracting information from her. She might still be hurting from it" said Ukitake while looking at Shunsui.
"Hey! I can be subtle when extracting information" protested Shunsui.
"Taicho we can accuse of many things, but being subtle is not one of them" said Nanao while adjusting her glasses.
"Mean Nanao-Chan!" chuckles emanated from a few of the members round the table.
"Taicho, I think I will go to the library after this and research past Shinigami who were tried and punished for sexual interactions with minors" said Nanao to Shunsui.
"Sure Nanao-Chan just don't overwork yourself".
"I think I will accompany you Ise-san. The process will go a lot faster with the two of us" suggested Ukitake.
"Thank you Ukitake Taicho".
There was silence while people sipped their teas and then silently they stood up and dispersed until there was only Shunsui and Ukitake sitting around the table (Nanao had gone ahead to get started on the research).
"You don't think that Rose is linked to the brothel?" asked Ukitake.
"No Juu…but she was in an abusive relationship in the past. She claims that it was not rape but I think that it was. Many abusive males mark their companions in order to show that they belong to them. Both Rose and the girl being marked could only be coincidental" explained Shunsui in a dark tone.
"It might be coincidental but it would help explain why Shadow Crawler is targeting her. You should still ask her. At the very least it would help eliminate the possibility" explained Ukitake.
Shunsui sighed, "Juu I just don't want to hurt her more. You know what I am talking about. You can see all the hurt in her eyes. I don't want to bring her unnecessary pain."
"But this is the only way to eliminate the possibility of her being linked to the missing children".
Shunsui sighed again. Ukitake was right, this was the only way to prove that she had nothing to do with the children. He just did not want to cause her any more pain, especially after the truly wonderful picnic they had together. The few hours he had spent with her had been like a breath of fresh air and when she had kissed him it was like all the air in his system had disappeared. He longed to see her again and kiss her delicate lips. Shunsui loved her shy kisses as they were so soft and delicate. Rose was unlike any other women he had ever met, shy, delicate but with a deep passion. He wanted to be by her side and never leave ever again. He wanted her, his whole soul begged to be with her again.
"I'll talk to her, but I will not push her" stated Shunsui with a little force. Ukitake raised his eyebrow at Shunsui's firm answer.
"Shunsui how do you know about her past?" inquired after a short pause.
"She told me" answered Shunsui. Ukitake watched with interest as Shunsui's face split into a large smile that lit up his face.
"Shunsui…?" asked Ukitake with a slight note of accusation in his voice.
"I took her out for a picnic today for lunch and we…kissed" said Shunsui a large grin on his face.
"Shunsui! How irresponsible of you!" cried Ukitake with a look of horror on his face.
"What?" asked Shunsui at a loss.
"You can't play with her feelings like that. If she was in an abusive relationship in the past the last thing she needs is you playing with her feelings" explained Ukitake sternly.
"What if I am not playing with her feelings" questioned Shunsui with a serious look on his face.
"Wait? What? Are you saying that you have deeper feelings for this girl?" Shunsui nodded his head at Ukitake's question. Ukitake could only stare at his best friend. This news was shocking.
"Is it that hard to believe?" inquired Shunsui with a small smile on his face. "I love her. My soul longs to be with her, to comfort her and to fight her past demons with her".
Ukitake gulped, "Shunsui…. What do you plan on doing with her?"
"I plan on letting her set the pace and boundaries of the relationship".
"Well I guess good luck in your relationship with her" said Ukitake while lightly slapping Shunsui's shoulder.
"Thanks Juu…I think I am going to need it".
Rose sat on her bed and stared at the ceiling. Maya had been half an hour late for the zanjutsu class and then proceeded to beat the crap out of her. Rose grimaced slightly as she felt her wounds throb. She had been wrong to assume that Maya would warm up to her, she was only after her blood…literally. For some reason Maya hated Rose and everything she stood for and it confused her because she had never done anything to hurt or offend Maya. Maybe it was just Maya's arrogance and pride that made her so intolerant. Rose wondered how and why she had joined the division, let alone because a seated officer in first place. And her thoughts strayed back to Shunsui. He had wafted into her thoughts quite frequently after their picnic. Slowly Rose ran her finger over her lips while remembering what is was like to kiss Shunsui. He had been so careful and gentle with her. The thought of Shunsui unleashing his passionate side and kissing her made Rose's heart skip a beat. Gods! If her heart skipped a beat at the mere thought of him she shuddered to think how it would react once it actually happened. But Rose had heard about Shunsui's past and it made her wonder if she was just another conquest of his. When she had been with him it had not felt like that, but she could not help but worry. The thought of Shunsui leaving her for another prettier girl with less baggage hurt her deeply. In the limited amount of time she had known him he had stolen her heart. She was vulnerable and at his mercy which scared her terribly. The last person who made her feel vulnerable and weak had abused her and not been very merciful. It was for the best that she kept her past from Shunsui otherwise he might leave her and she did not want that.
There was a small knock on the door.
"Come in" said Rose while sitting up on her bed. To her surprise Shunsui walked in and then closed the door behind him. Rose's breath hitched as Shunsui's large body towered over her, taking up a large portion of her small room.
"Darling Rose!" cried out Shunsui. He may be tall, but at the moment he was just an intimidating as Rose's stuffed bunny. "Nanao-Chan gave you a room that is so far away from me."
"I think Ise Fukutaicho did it on purpose" smiled Rose.
"Nanao-Chan is so mean. What did she think I would do…come and visit you in your room?"
"Isn't that what you are currently doing sir?" laughed Rose. Shunsui chuckled and sat down on the edge of her bed. Rose scooted up and sat next to him. Shunsui couldn't resist himself as he leaned forwards slowly, giving Rose enough time to react, and kissed her on the lips. Again the kiss was gentle and he could feel Rose's shy response but suddenly something changed in the nature of the kiss. Rose slowly licked Shunsui's lips and then gently nibbled on it causing him to groan slightly. Gently Shunsui teased Rose's lips open with licks and nips and then slowly inserted his tongue into her mouth. His tongue gently danced with hers make her sigh contently. Rose ran her hands through Shunsui hair and pulled him closer to her making him chuckle. After a long time them broke apart gasping for breath. Shunsui noted happily that Rose's lips were slightly swollen.
She smiled, "well that was pleasant sir" she joked.
"Pleasant? I thought it was more than pleasurable. And please call me Shunsui, sir just sounds wrong" laughed Shunsui.
"Ok Shunsui" smiled Rose.
Shunsui smiled quickly and then looked away from her. She was so happy and he did not want to hurt her. He needed to ask her about the mark on her thigh but he had no idea how to start that conversation without startling her.
"Shunsui…is everything ok?" asked Rose in a worried tone.
"Rose…I need to ask you something…something that is not very pleasant" said Shunsui in a serious tone. Rose nodded her head slowly, allowing him to continue. "As you know I am leading the Shadow Crawler investigation and today we found information concerning him." Shunsui sighed, "We found a little girl today in the hide out Shadow Crawler was using in the Soul Society. She had markings on her upper thigh in the form of the number thirty three. Your portfolio says that you also have a mark on your upper thigh. Could you please tel-". Shunsui stopped talking when he saw the look of horror and fear on Rose's face. "Rose please if you know anything about it-" Shunsui moved his hand forward to hold hers but she slapped him away.
Rose tried to breath. The markings, the number, the location, it was all him. He was back, but he could not be. He died a long time ago so there was no way he could be here. Fear, cold dark fear rose through Rose's body and extinguished her happiness. She had to leave Soul Society and run, run back to her Godfather, he would protect her.
"Rose, please if you know something please tell me I can help you, protect you. Please trust me" whispered Shunsui in a pleading voice.
"NO!" screamed Rose. She had not wanted to scream by the fear inside her was taking control. Screaming out seemed like the only sane thing to do.
"Rose please"
"NO!"
Shunsui sighed, "So you are linked to the small girl". He did not want to think that it could be possible. But the way Rose was acting only confirmed this.
"NO!"
"Then why are you acting like so" asked Shunsui quietly. God he wanted this conversation to end. He could see the pain and fear clearly in her eyes and it hurt him deeply.
"You know nothing Shunsui Kyoraku" spat Rose "see here". She stood up and untied her shihakushō and pulled down her trousers. "There!" she spat, showing Shunsui her faded mark, "He MARKED ME!" she screamed. "My abusive ex marked me so nobody could ever claim me again, not some crazy dead evil spirit, but a living human claimed me like a produce and then used me and made sure nobody else could use me again. ARE YOU HAPPY NOW!?" she screamed.
Shunsui stared at the mark and then looked up into her eyes. There were tears streaming down her face which broke his heart. He had hurt Rose with his questioning and it killed him. Slowly he looked back down at the mark and frowned, hating this mysterious ex even more. The next thing he felt was a sharp smack across this face. Stunned he looked up and saw Rose with her hand raised.
"Rose?" asked Shunsui stunned.
"You are just like the rest of them" Rose spat.
"No". Shunsui was truly at a loss now.
"You look at me like some product. You are just like them, you are just like him. I heard about your past Shunsui Kyoraku. You use women and then leave them when you have finished with them. You are despicable. The way you look at me. Am I not good enough for you? Or were you just hoping for a ONE NIGHT THING" screamed Rose.
Shunsui stared at her shocked, "Rose I-I never thought of you like that. I love you".
"That is exactly what he said" Rose spat.
"But it is true" said Shunsui desperately.
"Do you want to know something…when he fucked me he used to say over my screaming that I should take it and enjoy it" sneered Rose watching the look of horror cross Shunsui face. "The girl and I have nothing in common, but thanks for telling me that there are other sexual dipshits in the Soul Society. I am just happy that I caught on to you before you could claim me like him."
Shunsui stared at Rose with a mixture of shock and confusion. "Rose I never".
"Leave" spat Rose.
"What?"
"I SAID LEAVE!"
"No, Rose let's talk about this…I think there has been a misunderstanding" pleaded Shunsui.
"FINE. I will leave". And with that Rose stormed out of her room leaving a stunned Shunsui rooted to the spot.
Rose stormed down the corridor and around the corner. She had no idea where she was heading but she had to get away from Shunsui. She was fuming and scared. She knew the truth and what was coming and it scared her. She wanted to run, but where? Rose paused and leaned against a shaded wall. At least she did not have to tell Shunsui about her mark on her thigh. She had learned in her past the act of distraction. Her godfather had told her how to avoid having an unwanted conversation. Simply turn to focus of the conversation on to something. Rose smiled, at least that had worked.