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Bright and early the next morning the Senkaimon was officially ready. Ichigo and the group were gathered around the rather large gate, staring up at in in awe.
I had explained to the group a bit earlier that I wasn't going to be accompanying them back to the World of the Living. Orihime didn't understand at first, so I had to explain why a few more times. Eventually she got that I wasn't going with them, so she wasn't as loud and carefree as she usually was right about now.
However, we did come up with a nice excuse for them to tell others when they asked where I was: I had gone to visit my family and friends overseas, but they had kept me a bit longer than I would have liked. I'd be back in Karakura soon, so hopefully they'd buy that lie.
"This is the official Senkaimon. We have also installed the spiritron converter especially for you." Ukitake-Taicho explained to the group. He smiled at them for a second, before a light seemed to go off above his head. While he waved Ichigo over to him, Rukia and I said our final goodbyes to the others.
"It'll be so weird without you guys around," I noted, sadly smiling up at the three people I considered myself close friends with. Well, only two of them were friends; the other was family.
"No, it'll be weird without you around!" Orihime dejectedly sighed, trying to make me feel bad and guilt me into coming back with them.
Weakly chuckling, I shook my head. "It'll only be for a little bit, Orihime. Maybe a few weeks, a month or two at the most."
The auburn haired princess's lips pulled downwards; was this really the first time I'd seen her frown? I know she worried about everyone, Ichigo especially, but I wouldn't count those looks as true frowns.
Releasing a heavy sigh, I pulled Orihime into a hug. It wasn't often that I hugged people, but this was one of my exceptions.
"P-Please come back soon, Jun-Chan..!" Orihime gushed, sounding like she could be crying as I hugged her. Her body shook with sobs, making me tighten my arms around her. "Soon…"
"I'll try," I murmured. "I'll be back before you know it; causing mischief and being a smart ass like usual."
Quietly chuckling, Orihime broke away from the hug and smiled down at me. "I'll look forward to it then."
"Good." I nodded, grinning up at her. I then turned toward the other two guys, eyeing them down. "I know you two aren't hug type people, so I'll spare the hugs. But I want you two to know that it won't be the same without either of you, too. Like it or not, you've both grown on me."
"Mm," Chad hummed in agreement, nodding his head and making his curly chocolate locks bounce with the movement. "You too."
Ishida slightly nodded, pushing his glasses up a bit and making them glint in the light. "You better come back soon; my Father would be quite upset if he found out that you were going to stay here. I think he liked the idea of you staying in Karakura."
"Really?" I blinked, feeling my eyebrows furrow. "I only had talked to him once…"
"Just come back safely, Kokawa-San." The archer stated, rolling his eyes behind his glasses.
"Thanks, Ishida." I rolled my eyes as well, although a smile shone through on my face; this was probably one of the most civil conversations I'd had with the archer.
"So, you take care of yourself too, Kuchiki-San." Ishida said, turning to face the dark haired Shinigami by my side.
Rukia's violet eyes softened, her eyes roaming the small group. "Yes. Chad, Ishida, and Inoue… Take care, too."
"Ah! I almost forgot!" Orihime exclaimed, her eyes widening as she pulled out a sundress from somewhere behind her. "This is what Ishida-Kun made for Kuchiki-San!"
"Ah?" Rukia blinked, speechless, as the auburn haired woman shoved the white and pale blue sundress into her arms. Looking down at the dress, Rukia's brows furrowed. "Wha-?"
Orihime was face to face with the petite Shinigami. "T…Take good care of it!"
"Huh?" Violet eyes widened at how close the auburn haired woman had gotten and at how strange she was acting; well, stranger than usual. "O…Okay…"
I grinned at the interaction between the two women; at least it looked like Rukia had gained a friend out of all of this, too. She usually takes a long time to open up, seeing as how I learned that the hard way. But we were more alike back then.
My gaze traveled over the group once more, taking in their appearances. Who knew when I'd get to see them again? However, I saw a shock of bright orange hair in my peripheral vision. Turning my gaze towards it, I saw Ichigo motioning for me to come over to him.
"You didn't think I'd let you go without saying a goodbye, did ya?" The strawberry questioned once I got closer, the grin on his face contagious.
Placing a finger to my chin in mock thought, I hummed for a second. "Maybe I did. Maybe I didn't."
"Che," Ichigo scoffed, rolling his eyes before a wicked grin stretched across his lips. His right hand darted out, ruffling my hair once more.
"Ichigo..!" I screeched, wincing a bit at the thought of how wild my hair was going to look. Both of my hands shot up into my hair, circling around his wrist and pulling it down. Grinning as I stared up into those bright cinnamon eyes, I chuckled a bit. "Remember what happened last time you did that?"
The strawberry sputtered for a few seconds, his cheeks darkening to a bright red as his eyes darted around to the others that were watching us from a few feet away. "Y-You wouldn't…"
"Oh, I think I would. It'd be a nice punishment."
"J-Jun…!"
Throwing my head back, I laughed. "It's just too easy to tease you, Ichigo!"
"Shut up!" The strawberry glowered, turning his head to the side to try and hide the blush that was still prominent on his cheeks.
My smile faded after a few seconds of silence. It had finally sunk in my brain that Ichigo would be leaving with the others. It'd be weeks, possibly months, before I'd be able to see him again. That is, if I was allowed to see them again.
"Jun?"
I blinked, feeling my eyes burn a bit.
No, I wasn't going to let myself cry. Shaking my head a bit, I bit my lip as I quickly wrapped my arms around Ichigo's chest, burying my face in the black material of his Shihakusho. "Thank you, Ichigo. For everything."
Ichigo stiffened for a second in my arms, but he soon relaxed in my grasp. His arms wound around me, fully encasing me in a protective embrace; it was the most secure that I'd felt in a long time.
Resting his head atop of my own, he sighed. "Idiot; you don't need to thank me."
Sadly chuckling, I nodded into his chest. He might have thought that I didn't need to thank him, but he was so wrong. I didn't want to think of what my life would be like if Ichigo hadn't wormed his way into it. Rather he knew this or not, he had taken down a large portion of the walls that I had built throughout the years. "Thanks, Ichigo."
The strawberry tightened his grip on me, sighing once more. I felt his lips brush against my forehead as he brought his head back up and broke the embrace. "I thought I said that you didn't need to thank me."
"You're the idiot," I rolled my eyes, bringing my hand up to wipe away the tears that had accumulated in the corners of my eyes. "I don't thank people often, so you should etch this moment into your memory; it probably won't happen again."
Ichigo laughed once, rolling his eyes. However, his gaze soon traveled down to my hand. His right hand reached out and grabbed my left, keeping his grip loose enough for me to lace our fingers together. Looking down at the size difference of our hands, Ichigo's gaze softened. "Come home soon, Jun."
"Don't worry." I breathed, giving his hand a light squeeze. "I'll be home sooner than you think."
"You better be."
Laughing at his words, I rolled my eyes. "I will be, and I don't go back on my words. Remember? Besides, I feel bad hogging you! You haven't even said goodbye to Rukia yet!" I raised my right hand, swiftly colliding it with the back of Ichigo's orange head.
The strawberry winced, his left hang rising to rub the spot. "Ouch! Alright, alright! No need to hit!"
"Then come on; I'm not going to let you go without saying bye to Rukia!"
Laughing, and with our hands still connected, I drug the strawberry towards the rest of the group. I could feel the gaze of the other Shinigami that had come to see them off on us, but I didn't care.
"Rukia! You've got one more goodbye to say!" I shouted, gaining the violet eyed Shinigami's attention.
Smiling at us, Rukia laughed a little bit.
"See ya…Rukia." Ichigo said, a soft smile stretching across his face as he stared down at the petite dark haired woman.
"Yeah…" Rukia nodded, "Thank you, Ichigo."
The Senkaimon opened right then, gaining everyone's attention. Orihime, Chad, and Ishida turned towards the gate, beginning to walk through. Ichigo's cinnamon gaze landed on me for a split second, giving our intertwined hands one last squeeze before his grip loosed. I let him run towards the gate, disappearing into the light.
Rukia approached me, her quiet footsteps going unheard. I only realized she was next to me when she grabbed my hand, her gaze on the closing Senkaimon.
A soft smile was on my face, similar to the smiles on everyone else's face as well. There was a better turn out than I had expected. Many more people had shown up here than the ones that had shown up to Rukia's execution. But that's just how it was; they were seeing the ones that helped save the Soul Society off.
Once the gate was finally shut, Rukia turned towards me. "I have a feeling that we'll see them again very soon."
"I know; I have that feeling, too." I whispered, softly smiling as my gaze traveled upwards to the bright blue sky.
Perhaps all of the darker chapters of my life had passed, leaving me basking in the brighter, happier days. I was content with my life; somewhere, deep inside of me, I knew I wouldn't trade anything for this. I was finally happy with where I was in life. I was happy with myself, mainly.
Even if I could erase those darker chapters in my life, I don't know if I would. Everything always happens for a reason.
For now, I'm going to keep those dark chapters closed; putting a lock around the book and throwing away the key. I'm going to focus on writing out my own future. Looking back on the murky past will only dampen ones outlook on the prospects on the future.
Those were the words I was going to live by:
Don't ever look back.
• • •
○[part one; end!]•
+〘agent of the shinigami arc〙
+〘soul society arc〙
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