CH. 7 'A hard woman to find' OR 'And you are?'

Rinami shuffled around the apartment, bored. They'd been here for a little over a week and she was already painfully tired of it. It felt like it had been months. The first couple of days had been okay, she'd spent most of it in bed with Sukuna. Lots of sex, eating, drinking, and more sex had made those days pass by fairly uneventfully but quickly. Now however, he'd returned to whatever 'business' had kept him so busy as Aizen, prior. This business consisted of being away from the apartment for long stretches of time, or lengthy meetings held on the balcony or rooftop.

Their penthouse had a ridiculously large balcony that opened up from their living room and overlooked the city. It also had a rooftop pool that Rinami assumed she'd never get to use. She was deathly afraid of heights and though she could usually squash it down and deal with it, something about the unfettered open space of the rooftop so wantonly high above the rest of the city absolutely terrified her. She'd peeked her head up when she'd first explored the place and hadn't bothered to try it again since. If Sukuna held any meetings in their apartment it was typically in one of those two places with Uraume. Rinamie assumed that he saved the super private meetings for the rooftop where he knew she dared not tread.

She grunted at the thought of Uraume. The woman hated her. Not that she really cared, Rinami had no love for her either. Uraume was the only one that came to their apartment, though Rinami was absolutely certain she wasn't the only one working under Sukuna. She supposed he just trusted her that much. For some reason, that idea made Rinami dislike the androgynous, white-haired woman with her adolescent-like appearance, that much more.

Either way, that's where most of Sukuna's time went. And while his time was there. Her time was….here. At least when he'd been super busy as Aizen, she'd had her work in the Elite Force to keep herself occupied. She'd never really noticed quite how much he was gone when she was gone a lot herself. Now that she was forced to stay here and wait however…She was painfully aware of just how absent he really had been.

Pouting, she looked around the apartment in dismay. It was beautiful, no doubt about that. Whatever Yakuza he'd stolen it from must have been pretty loaded. Still, a beautiful penthouse apartment with just her to enjoy it was just as it sounded. Lonely. She'd gladly trade it in for something worn down and ugly if it meant she could fill it with company and not just art.

Sucking her teeth, she wafted over to the gourmet kitchen. Sukuna had been making sure it was stocked, so she'd been spending a lot of time cooking and trying new recipes. Still she missed even the simple pleasure of going to grab groceries. As she scanned the contents of the fridge, she realized that even that was fairly light. He hadn't gotten any new groceries in a while. Not to mention he only got cooking ingredients, but she really missed her junk food.

Slamming the fridge door, Rinami twirled around back towards the living area, new thoughts racing through her mind. Sukuna had been pretty frank about her not leaving the apartment and not contacting anybody. But….She hadn't seen him since almost this time yesterday…There wasn't really any good food to cook….AND she really had a hankering for some prawn chips and a Ramune….

As she curled up on the couch she began to run though a few safe scenarios that could possibly work for making just a quick run to a grocery store, or maybe even just a convenience store. Something small and quick that couldn't cause any trouble. Of course, only assuming that Sukuna didn't make it back anytime soon that was…. Biting her thumb nail, Rinami began to game plan some possible ways that she could get in and out while avoiding detection from any outside sources. Just as a backup plan. She told herself.

*8*8*8*

Three hours later when Sukuna still hadn't returned home, Rinami found herself walking the streets of Tokyo for the first time in nearly two weeks. She was dressed casually, with her dark auburn red hair pulled back under a cap. She was sure she wouldn't stand out as she walked about 14 blocks away before she caught a train to a different neighborhood. Rinami had thought this out. She would just make a quick trip to a convenience store for some of her favorite goodies, but it wouldn't be smart to do it too close to the neighborhood, the current one, or where her old hotel was. She was using yen only and would go to a congested area in a different direction from the school as well. Quick and easy. She continued to blend in with the others out walking around as she quietly slipped into the first store she came across.

Inside the store she moved at a normal, but still steady pace. She already knew what she wanted, so keeping a low-profile she swiftly grabbed her items and headed to the register. Handing the cashier her money, she grabbed her bag and flashed him a huge smile that mirrored the freedom she felt from finally having the opportunity for a quasi-normal experience again. She turned to exit, determined to be just as cautious on her return home, so that Sukuna wouldn't have anything to be angry about later, and maybe she could even convince him to let her make this a regular occurrence.

"Hey Rin, you sure are a hard woman to find."

Gojo smiled broadly at her and Rinami felt the ice cold travel from the top of her head down through her body. She couldn't form words, let alone a coherent thought. Not Gojo. Anyone else but him. As far as she knew, no one knew any specific details of her disappearance yet, they just knew she was gone. If worst came to worst, Sukuna disguised as Aizen could very likely fool any of the other sorcerers but there was no way it would deceive Gojo. So what story would she come up with now? Why was he here? How had he found her? And why on earth did it have to be him?

"Don't look so shocked. You did a pretty good job of hiding, but this is me we're talking about. I'm sure you knew I'd find you". He reached up and lifted his blindfold up on one side of his forehead, assessing her with a crystal blue eye.

Rinami took a shaky step back. Her hands reaching out to grasp at something that wasn't there. "B-but how? H-how d-did you-"

Gojo leaned back against the store's wall, crossing his ankles and arms. He grinned at Rinami, but she wasn't fooled. He put on a jovial expression but it wasn't reaching his eyes. While Gojo was speaking lightly, under it all, he was really very serious.

"I think the question you mean is 'why?' Why Rin?"

Why? She hadn't expected to get caught. At least not yet. She didn't want to lie, but she also didn't have a 'why' to give him.

"I..I-I…Aizen.." Oh god. What was she saying? Absently she put a hand to her temple, briefly closing her eyes to steady herself.

"Aizen? Your mysterious fiancé? I'm pretty sure Mei Mei said that was his name, right?"

Rinami could only stare. She didn't trust herself to try to speak again. As she was trying to sort her thoughts out over the ringing in her ears, she could barely hear Gojo still talking in the back ground:

"….lovers spat?….. on't tell me….you elope..….hone call… text…. sure… contacted some...…"

His words weren't resonating - she couldn't focus. She wanted to bolt, but how stupid would that be? She wouldn't make it two steps. As she faced Gojo unblinking, tears welled in her eyes until they silently spilled over and down her cheeks. Slowly she began to shake her head back and forth. From the corner of her eyes she could see additional people approaching. Glancing sideways she saw Nanami and Mei Mei joining them. Not Nanami too…

Her shoulders slumped. This was it. She would be branded as a traitor and taken to the council for their orders. She'd already known her time with Sukuna wasn't going to last forever. She hadn't expected this to be so short-lived though.

"Ah, yes Aizen!" Mei Mei walked over, her purple eyes aglow. "Nanami and I just had the pleasure of meeting him outside." Mei Mei obviously felt like she'd accomplished something special, but Rinami was more focused on the echoing of Mei Mei's words inside her head. She snapped up, eyes wide and her mouth in a wide 'O' of shock as she swiftly turned to face her, her head whipping between Mei Mei and Nanami trying to gauge the truth behind her words. Aizen? Was Sukuna actually here? What was he thinking?

"Whoa! He is huh? Well, guess there's no better time than the present for an introduction!" Gojo looked towards the door and lifted himself away from the wall.

'No! Stop!' It's what Rinami wanted to scream out, but instead, she stood rooted in place, her throat blocked and barely croaking out a sound at all as Gojo spun on his heel and turned towards the door that MeiMei and Nanami had entered from. Rinami felt like her chest had been seized in a steel vice. This had to be nightmare.

A few moments later Gojo reappeared, scratching his head. "I didn't see anyone out there…"

Rinami was now shaking uncontrollably. She'd tried to keep her composure as best she could up to this point but now it was all unraveling. Suddenly she felt a hand at her elbow steadying her. Still shaking like a leaf she hesitantly looked to see who it belonged to, and found herself staring into the warm brown eyes of Aizen Kibutsuji. Shit. No no no no no no. She was going to be sick, she knew it. As the floor began swimming beneath her, she felt his grip firmly on her upper arm, hauling her back upright as his cheery voice rang out. "Hi, I'm Ami's fiancé Kibutsuji Aizen, and you are?"