Bleach is owned by Tito Kubo, however my OC's are my own.

Apricot Parfait

Ch.5 Strawberry, Meet Apricot

"Good work today, Anju", Kisuke praised as he walked towards her. She was sitting on a large flat rock chugging a water bottle. "Either you're getting stronger, or I'm getting out of shape… or maybe both". Kisuke chuckled as he gingerly tucked Benihime in her sealed form under his left arm. He picked up his bucket hat, dusting it off and fluffing it before putting it back on his head. Anju had been particularly feisty today and decided that she would knock it off to see if her flash step improved.

During one of her training sessions with Kensei, he had her tie a tire around her waist and run around the underground training field as a form of resistance training. Mashiro, who was standing next to Kensei. decided that she wanted sit in it thinking it'd be like an amusement park ride that she saw on tv. Kensei face palmed as the neon green haired woman jumped in the tire and began woo-hooing and screaming like she was on a roller coaster. Anju sweat dropped but smiled not turning around to see what exactly Mashiro was doing lest she lose her focus. At the sight, Kensei put both hands over his face. His irritation meter was steadily raising to half-full at watching the easily excitable woman crash his training session. Knowing that if he told her to knock it off it would only encourage her, he decided to ignore the immature woman, continuing to provide feedback and instruction when Anju came up on one of his obstacle challenges. Maybe Mashiro would be knocked off the tire, thought. To his displeasure, she had stayed on the whole time. The bumpy rocks he'd put down to make Anju get better at adjusting her speed had only served to make her scream louder and ask Anju to do it again. Why did he even hope anymore...

"Thanks, Kisuke", Anju said before going back to chugging more water. Catching her breath she continued. "Ah. I feel like I did a triathlon". Dark purple reiatsu gently fizzled around the few scratches that she got during training.

Kisuke stared before continuing. "I've noticed that you've gotten more efficient with using kido in conjunction with zanjutsu".

"That's because you're such a good teacher".

(Flashback)

"And that's how you perform Jugeki Byakurai". Kisuke finished as Anju stared in amazement at the hole in the large boulder that he'd just shot the kido spell through.

"We'll start slow. Since this is a kaizo kido it may be tricky in the beginning due to it not being as straight forward as a normal kido, but since you've already mastered Byakurai, you've got the basics down enough that I'm confident you'll be able to master this form as well".

"Anju gathered her reiatsu to her right index finger visualizing a solid beam of light shooting forward. She focused on the boulder in front of her and fired the spell. While her kido did not make as large of a hole as Kisuke's, nor was it as clean as his, he thought it was a good first attempt for someone who had just learned it.

Looking at the aftermath of her attempt, the cogs in Anju's head were spinning. "I'm going to try this again, I think the trick will be to find the balance between making my reiatsu dense enough so that it gives the beam shape but allows it to travel without being weighed down before reaching the target. I can tell Byakurai is lighter and due to it firing a bigger beam it's good for targets that are farther away, but Jugeki Byakurai is faster and more potent. It'll be a useful technique to have in my arsenal for close combat".

From his position next to Anju, Kisuke's eyes widened before they softened going back to the neutral face he had previously as he watched Anju fire a slightly improved second attempt. "Her analytical skills are improving as well. At the rate she's going, she could even be on par with Reo's skill in a hundred years or so", he thought.

By her fourth try, Kisuke deemed Anju proficient but reminded her that with practice, she would eventually master this kido technique.

(Flashback end)

Making their way up the ladder to the store front, Anju put the lid to the basement back before heading inside to take a much needed shower. Afterwards she would take care of the delivery runs for the day.

Kisuke decided he would manage the store front. About twenty minutes later a customer came in.

"Welcome"!

It was an early afternoon on Saturday when Anju finished her last delivery.

"Well that was easy". Just then her stomach growled causing her deadpan. She was about to be teased.

"Gah ha ha! What was that"?

"I guess I didn't eat enough during lunch", Anju sweat dropped.

Putting on her helmet, she made her way to a nearby diner she'd sometimes go to with Shinji.

"So, this is a human restaurant", Rukia looked around like she was in a fancy museum.

Sliding into a booth, Ichigo sat down with Rukia sitting opposite of him. Intrigued by the knick-knacks on the table, the soul reaper masquerading as a highschool student began touching and observing them. Restaurants in Soul Society didn't have salt or pepper shakers, sugar caddies, ketchup, or fake flowers in vases. It was all quite unusual.

Ichigo's eyes were closed. His elbows were upright on the table with his chin resting on top of his folded hands. As Rukia continued her inspection, she grabbed a packet from the sugar caddy and began reading the label. She'd never heard of Sweet n'Low. A bulge formed on Ichigo's forehead. "Would you stop that"? "You're acting like you've never been to a restaurant before".

"I have", Rukia beamed as she stopped inspecting the various condiments on the table. She gave Ichigo what he dubbed as her "not really, but sort of look". The look she gave when she didn't actually have an experience, but thought her real experience with the subject matter was a close substitute. "It was in Soul Society, but all restaurants should be the same right?". Wrong.

"How should I know? I've never been to Soul Society". The spikey haired teen sputtered as he moved from his original position to stretch out and put his hands in his pants pockets.

Before Rukia could explain the superior differences between restaurants in Soul Society vs what little she saw of restaurants in the human world, a waitress brought two menus and napkin wrapped silverware giving a rundown on the day's special. Excusing herself to give the two high schoolers a moment to look at the menu, she disappeared behind a door with an "employees only" sign.

Rukia was fascinated by the laminated yellow menu with pink trim. Turning it back and forth as she silently read the items some of which she'd heard from Anju about, but most were totally foreign to her. "This place sure does have some unusual items". Pausing at a line in the middle of the menu, she asked "What's a bur-ger?"

"It's a sandwich".

"Ah~" Rukia said in wonderment. "Is it good"?

"It's not bad. It comes with fries and a drink", Ichigo explained as he figured out what he wanted to order.

He hadn't of even wanted to come to the diner in the first place, but his dad caught him eating breakfast with Yuzu and Karin, stating that since Summer was officially here, he needed to go out and have some fun making the most of his youth while he could before the soul crushing corporate world made him a hollow husk of himself. Handing him some cash, "goat face" as Karin called him, told him to take his third daughter out somewhere nice, but warned him not to get too caught up in the steamy passions of youth making Isshin's eyes light up with his own flames of passion. Running to the poster of his late wife Masaki, he told the poster that their boy was gonna become a man soon asking if she was watching from high up in heaven. Having heard enough, Ichigo threw a condiment bottle of soy sauce at his head telling him that he'd take Rukia out, but there would be no steamy passion or whatever, so stop imagining things. Hearing this, Isshin gave Ichigo a thumbs up from his crumpled position on the floor a large red bump had formed on his forehead, but the smile on his face indicated that he wasn't in pain. Karin face palmed at the ridiculous state of their dad. How their mom could ever be with a man like him was beyond her understanding. He was such a dork sometimes.

"I've never heard of such a thing. I'll try it"! Rukia was excited to try something so unusual sounding. She'd been living with Ichigo for nearly a month now, and had developed a sort of fondness for what the human world could offer.

"I guess Anju was right. This world is more interesting than I originally thought. Still not as cool as Soul Society though".

The bell on the door handle jingled as a woman wearing a white tank top and the pants portion of her motorcycle pant set walked in.

Making her way to the booth the two teens were at, Anju waved at Rukia pretending to have only noticed her when she got into the restaurant. In reality, when Anju was a couple of stop lights away, she sensed Rukia's and Ichigo's reiryoku thinking it would be a perfect opportunity to satiate her curiosity about the boy and check on Rukia. Afterall, it was only natural that she eventually meet this boy given that everyone but her has met him. The night four of the shoten's inhabitants came home from the live filming of the special edition Don Kanoji episode, Jinta recollected to her about how wimpy he thought the orange haired teen was during a match of Street Fighter on the family PS2. Anju just chuckled not bothering to tell Jinta that based on the boy's reiatsu output, he likely wasn't wimpy at all just untrained.

"Hello , Rukia", Anju said as she stopped in front of the booth.

"Oh Anju, what brings you here"?

Ichigo quirked a brow noting how quick Rukia went from looking like an awkward tourist to someone who happened to stumble upon a good friend of theirs.

Ichigo smirked lightly thinking that maybe his dad had the right idea telling him to take Rukia out to eat, and if it cheered her up to be in this diner, then maybe she'd feel better about whatever was bothering her. The last couple of days, he noticed that she'd been unusually down from her normal quirky self, but every time he'd ask, she'd tell him not to worry about it which irritated him. Why wasn't she letting him help her? After everything they've been through didn't she know that she could trust him?

Ichigo had long since admitted to himself that, while he wasn't sure about her in the beginning. At some point in between accepting his new life as a soul reaper and getting used to her antics, he'd come to terms with the fact that Rukia was likely going to be a permanent resident in his closet and sure enough, he also realized that he saw her as a friend and not just some annoyance that had randomly appeared in his room one night. His thoughts on Kon, on the other hand, were less palatable.

"This Anju must be a good friend of hers", thought Ichigo watching the interaction between the two girls. "Rukia looks genuinely happy".

While the two chatted away, Ichigo did his best to be discreet about the fact that he was observing the unknown woman. She appeared to be between the ages of eighteen to twenty-two long shiny hair that rested on her low back and looked like spun strands of silver, clear skin, light bright blue eyes, a shapely well-endowed figure, was tall, had none of Rukia's awkwardness… Ichigo's eyes glanced back to the soul reaper sitting across from him, chatting away and paying him no mind. Stealing another look at the blue-eyed woman. He had one thought on his mind. "She's the opposite of Rukia. I wonder how they know each other"?

"Oh, where are my manners. Hello, my name is Anju Mitsukoji. I'm a friend of Rukia's and when I saw she was here, I just had to say "hello". It's nice to meet you…" Anju waited for the orange haired boy to introduce himself.

"I'm Ichigo. Ichigo Kurosaki".

"So, tell me Rukia". Anju started blushing giving off the appearance of someone who was going to ask a question that they weren't sure how to. "Are you on a date?", Anju put both hands on her cheeks, blushing like the thought of it was romantic and cute. Even letting out a "kyah~" sound as she shook from side to side.

Ichigo choked on his own spit as Rukia laughed clutching her stomach. Tears forming in the inner corners of her eyes.

Anju knew good and well that Ichigo was not Rukia's boyfriend, but she just couldn't resist teasing the boy. Teenage boys were so easy to fluster.

Wiping the corner of her eyes and collecting herself, Rukia was the first to respond as Ichigo was still thumping his chest.

"Ha ha ha. Oh my, no. His dad gave him some money for food, so we decided to try this diner. I'm going to order a burger".

"I see, I apologize for assuming".

"It's alright. It happens", Ichigo said while giving one last thump to his chest.

"I just thought that Rukia had blossomed and was now experiencing the passions of youth".

Ichigo started choking again. Did this woman somehow know his dad? And what was with older people and their fixation on the passions of youth? Was the adult world really that horrible that grownups only survived it by reminiscing about long past memories? Maybe he should listen to his dad, and focus more on enjoying his summer break. He was only fifteen, but his teachers made it seem like his high school years would pass by in a blur, then before he knew it he'd be walking across the stage at his college graduation, and getting married and having two kids, and then his kids would go to high school, and walk across the graduation stage at college, and get married and repeat the process. Slapping his cheeks he shook his head trying to clear his brain. He'd gotten a bit carried away there. All he had to do was enjoy his summer break. Nothing else.

Coming out of his head, Ichigo heard Rukia laughing at what Anju had just said.

"Passions of youth? My, Anju, you sound just like Mr. Kurosaki. Doesn't she Ichigo".

"Uh... yeah". "Why does it sound like these two are making me the butt of the joke"...

Gasping, an idea entered Rukia's head, "Why don't you eat with us". Rukia turned to Ichigo, "You don't mind. Rght, Ichigo?" Rukia gave him what appeared to be a pleading smile, but upon seeing it turn tight, Ichigo knew all too well that if he refused, she would kick his knee under the table until he complied.

Looking at Anju who had turned her attention to him, Ichigo decided that it wouldn't be a bad idea to get to know her since she was a friend of Rukia's. Plus, he was curious about their relationship. He couldn't sense any reiatsu from her so he assumed she was human, but that brought up another question. Did Anju know that Rukia was a soul reaper? If so could she see her when she was out of her gigai? No, that couldn't be right. According to Rukia, humans with no to very low spiritual energy couldn't sense spirits no matter how hard they tried, so did that mean that Anju met Rukia when she was in her gigai? But wouldn't Rukia tell her that she was a soul reaper like she told me? Something was off here.

"Sure why not". He rested one of his hands on the table and used the other one to prop his chin. Looking out the window, he half listened as the two girls chatted away again. Something about if Rukia liked the matcha pocky Anju had slipped her, and that next week the shop would start selling iced drinks once she set up the cooling case. Did Anju work at a convenience store or something?

The waitress came back and asked if Anju needed to see a menu. "I'm ok, I've been here before, so I'm familiar with the menu. Is everyone ready to order?", she asked the table.

A burger plate with fries and soda for Rukia, a club sandwich and water for Anju, and another burger plate with fries and soda but with bacon for Ichigo.

The waitress collected the menus before leaving to input the orders.

Rukia began telling Ichigo about the latest news she'd heard about Don Kanoji, stating that he was planning to film another live episode in Karakura Town after his ratings skyrocketed from the hospital episode he did. Ichigo just groaned. As the two chatted away, the energy in Anju shifted.

"There's that feeling again. It somehow feels giddy this time".

(On a skyscraper in the distance, a cloaked figure stood watching the three diners)

"My, it looks like they all made contact earlier than expected". With a sinister grin, the cloaked figure disappeared having seen all that they needed to.

(Back at the diner)

Anju felt the figure leave

"Well that was quick"

"Anju? um, Anju…"?

Coming out of her inner world, Anju came up with a quick excuse as she realized that Ichigo had been calling her name. "Sorry, I tend to space out when I'm hungry. What were you saying"?

Ichigo blinked. "Oh, I was asking if you're a student".

"Oh, no. I graduated college earlier this month".

"You already graduated college?", Ichigo said surprised, "but, you look so young".

"That's because I am". I'm twenty years old and I was the youngest to graduate in my class at Karakura University".

"You must be really smart to graduate so early. What did you major in"?

"I majored in tech science and chemistry".

"A double major? You must be loaded to be able to afford that", said Ichigo as he tried to calculate how Anju could have graduated so fast when the average college grad age for a single major is twenty-two.

Chuckling at Ichigo's assumptions, Anju decided that telling him some more details wouldn't hurt. "I graduated early because I was able to take college courses in high school. I could have skipped a grade or two earlier, but I think part of the school experience is staying with peers your own age and growing together. I've heard it can be rather awkward when a younger person takes classes with older people. Makes them feel inferior, ya'know? So, I decided to take a different route". Anju paused to take a sip of her water.

"Which is"?

"I took college level courses at night when I was in high school".

Ichigo couldn't believe that someone would want to go to school after school. "This girl must not have friends or a life". He thought. "Then how were you able to afford your education"?

Sadly, I'm not rich, but Karakura University was generous in granting me a full ride due to my academic achievements. Now that I'm no longer in school, I'm currently taking a gap year so that I can live my life away from academics for a bit, but do I plan to apply for grad school by the end of this year so that I can attend sometime next Fall".

Despite Ichigo's previous thought, he still found it admirable that someone could be so dedicated even if he wasn't particularly enthusiastic about the subject matter.

"It sounds like a lot of work", he concluded.

"It can be, but once you get into the groove of things it's not that bad".

"Do you have any grad photos?", Ichigo inquired. Although not studious, he once saw a poster for Karakura University when he went to the arcade with Keigo and Mizuiro and thought it looked fancy, so he was curious what a graduation for such a nice looking university would look like. It must've been fancy.

"I don't right now. The photos along with my diploma should be coming sometime next month, so I should have something to show you by then". That was a lie. Kisuke took a bunch of photos of Anju in her cap and gown with her and Ururu, her and Jinta, her and Tessai, and her and himself, several with all of them, then a bunch more at the actual graduation, and made sure to send the over two hundred photos to everyone in the group chat the night they came home from Hiroki. The chat had random intervals of everyone gushing about how pretty she looked and how proud they were, and how Kisuke needs to update his wardrobe. It wasn't until her phone dinged non-stop due to a pissing contest regarding what each recipient did to help her on her university journey that she silenced her notifications. Don't get Anju wrong. She liked her ragtag family, but she was exhausted and just wanted to sleep after such a long day.

The waitress brought their food, and the trio ate.

"This is actually pretty good", Rukia concluded taking another bite of her burger.

"I'm glad you like it". Ichigo put some fries in his mouth and took a sip of soda.

Anju took a bite of her sandwich and smiled to herself. "Looks like you've made a friend, Rukia".

After the check was paid for, the group said their goodbyes.

"It was nice seeing you again, Rukia, and it was nice to meet you, Ichigo. I hope we can do this again sometime soon". The trio were currently in front of Anju's motorcycle as she started putting on her gear.

"You have a bike?", Ichigo looked at the columbian blue colored motorcycle. He had ridden a bicycle before, but as he grew up he found that he preferred to walk wherever he went.

Giving a small smile, Anju finished putting on her jacket and grabbed her gloves. "Yes, it belonged to my father before he passed".

Ichigo momentarily froze. "So her too, huh".

(Flashback)

Vroom vroom

Running out the shoten, a girl no more than four years old ran to the just parked motorcycle. The rider took off his helmet revealing dark slate colored hair as he shook out his helmet hair.

"Papa!", the girl outstretched her hands as the man swung his leg over the bike. Picking her up, he gave several pecks to her cheek and tickled her belly".

"And how is my little Ju Ju"?

"Tee hee hee, A ha ha. That tickles daddy. I'm fine. I helped Tessai make breakfast"! The child beamed. Her light blue eyes sparkled as she began recounting how Tessai showed her how to wash rice and let her push the buttons on the rice cooker.

"Honey, you're home." A woman with black hair and the same light blue eyes as the little girl came outside the shoten. Her husband walked till he was standing in front of her. Still holding his child, the man shifted her to one arm and with the other hugged the woman. The woman wrapped her arms around him and both embraced their child. Anju giggled some more as she was snuggled between her parents.

(Flashback end)

"I'll be going now. Take care you two". With a rev of her engine, Anju rode down the street.

Rukia and Ichigo waved her off.

"Aside from that comment about passionate youth, Anju seems nice".

"I'm glad you think so, Ichigo".

"Thanks for taking me to that restaurant. I feel better".

Rukia and Ichigo rounded a corner as they made their way back to his house.

"I'm glad I could help".

"Rukia…". Ichigo paused, contemplating if he should ask his question or not.

"Yes, Ichigo"?

"How do you know Anju"?

Smiling as she closed her eyes at past memories that were making their way to the surface. Rukia let out a content breath before opening her eyes.

"That's a long story, and I'm not sure Anju would like me to tell it to you without her being present".

Ichigo's eyes flinched as he wondered what circumstances could have brought the two girls together.

"Alright then."

The two continued towards the Kurosaki residence in silence.

"Are you sure that's what you saw"? questioned a voice. The figure was looking at several computer monitors with his back turned as the voice behind him continued.

"Oh, absolutely. All three of them were eating and appeared to be chatting away".

"Sir, what is our next move? You've already given the order to Captain Kuchiki, and Lieutenant Abarai to retrieve Rukia Kuchiki from the world of the living", stated a third voice who was taking notes on their latest experiment.

"For right now, Rukia Kuchiki is our priority. We'll deal with the boy and girl at a later time", said the voice with a dark smile on his face. Everything was falling into place.

Next chapter we kick up the drama.