).(

-Use Bleach When Required-

Roku: Memories

The weak fall, but the strong will remain and never go under.

- Anne Frank

"Ukitake-san!"

A young man, with short white hair turned in the hall of the Shin'ō Academy. His keen olive eyes crinkled up in a smile when he saw a familiar figure hurrying up to him. Her waist length azure hair pulled back into a ponytail. Her small frame covered by a red hakama and white kosode.

"I did it, I finally did it!" the girl called happily, grinning as she stopped just a few feet away from him.

"Did what?" Ukitake inquired.

"I finally—"

"Finally accepted my date proposal," a new, cool voice interrupted. The tall boy, with short brown hair and dark eyes slid closer to the girl, wrapping his arm around her shoulder.

"Uh, Kyoraku-kun…" Ukitake said wearily, seeing the angry look on the girls face as her sapphire eyes narrowed into slits.

"Bakudō #1: Sai!" Her index and middle finger pointed at Kyoraku as suddenly the boy was restrained with his arms clamped behind his back. He lost his balance and tumbled back onto the floor, hitting his head comically and whining.

"Sanae-chan…" Kyoraku whined helplessly.

Sanae stood proudly over him, placing her hands on her hips, "I managed to finally learn how to use the Kidō spell without an incantation. First one in my year."

Ukitake laughed behind his hand as his other one patted Sanae on her shoulder, "Well done, Sanae-chan. You'll be a Kidō specialist in no time."

"Yeah right, after she's done blowing up half the academy…" Kyoraku grumbled on the floor.

Sanae heard him, narrowing her eyes at him once more and leaning down closer to his face, "What was that, Shunsui?"

"Uh—nothing! Have I mentioned how beautiful your eyes are when you're angr—gack!" Sanae had stomped down on Kyoraku's stomach with her foot.

"I've told you a million times to stop flirting with me. It's not going to work!"

"One day you'll see that we're meant to be—ah! Please, ok I'll stop!" Kyoraku flinched as Sanae retracted her foot from stomping on him again.

Ukitake stood behind them laughing to himself.

Sanae's eyes opened slowly. She stared at the ceiling for a few seconds, trying to remember what she had just dreamed about.

A dream? No…a memory…

It was barely past dawn, her room was still dark but the sunlight had started to trickle in her room. Sanae sat up on her futon, her blanket falling away from her chest. She sighed, thinking back on her memory. It had been a long time since she had thought about her friends, the ones she had left behind after she had fled Soul Society. It brought a heavy feeling to her chest just thinking about them, about all the laughs they shared together. What would they say to her if they saw her again? Would they miss her? Did they even remember her after all this time? She knew that they would've long forgotten her by now. She was a murderer, and a wanted criminal no less.

X

It was late afternoon and Sanae found herself sitting on the grass by the river that ran through Karakura town. The bridge was to her left; she could see cars and pedestrians crossing it lazily. She picked at the grass by her legs absentmindedly, letting it lift off the palm of her hand from the wind that blew around her. Her eyes stared down at the river, the water glistening in the light of the setting sun.

All day she had been brooding about her dream. It had put her in a sour mood, she had even snapped at poor Ururu this morning for accidently hitting her with the broom. She had decided to spend the day away from the Urahara store, hoping that the fresh air would do her some good.

"So you are still here."

Sanae turned, wondering if the voice that had spoken was talking to her. She was surprised to see Ichigo approaching her. A little further back Rukia stood, watching intently.

"What?" Sanae asked dumbly. Realizing that he had been talking to her.

Ichigo stood a few feet away; hands shoved into his jean pockets. "You haven't been at school in a week. Someone said you had gone back to Osaka."

Her eyebrows rose as she shook her head, "No, I'm still here. I've just been…" She sighed. She met Ichigo's tawny gaze once more and once again felt the familiar connection with him. It felt like she was talking with someone she had known a long time. It was the feeling of familiarity. With that feeling flowing through her, she felt the need to explain why she had been gone.

"It was the anniversary of my friends death last week." She stated. Well, actually twenty-four of them, but I can't tell you that. She was surprised though, when Ichigo's expression turned into understanding.

He sighed heavily, "It was the anniversary of my mothers death last week too."

Sanae felt her mouth drop open slightly. She watched as Ichigo glanced over his shoulder at Rukia who was still standing up on the path. He waved her off; she gave him a pointed look saying that she wouldn't be far off in case a Hollow showed up. Then Ichigo took a seat next to her on the grass. "She died on the seventeenth. I was nine at the time."

"I'm sorry, it must be hard." Sanae said sympathetically, glancing over at him.

Ichigo nodded, "It was hard on my sisters the most. They never had many memories of her, I do. Sometimes I think they're the lucky ones."

Sanae looked out to the river, squinting her eyes slightly at the reflection on the water, "Can I ask how she died?" She thought she had asked the wrong question, as Ichigo didn't reply. He was silent for a long time, a frown on his face as he stared at a spot on the riverbank by the water.

"A Hollow killed her."

Sanae gasped, "A Hollow?"

Ichigo nodded, "I only found out last week that it was a Hollow. When I was nine, my mother and I were walking along the path up there. I saw what I thought was a child falling into the water over there." Ichigo pointed to the exact spot he had been staring at. Sanae turned to face him with wide eyes, not believing her ears. "I ran over to her to try and help…next thing I knew my mother was dead. For six years I've been thinking it was my fault, that I was the one to blame for her death. Now that I know…it doesn't make it any easier but I think I can finally start to understand more."

Sanae crossed her arms over her stomach. She understood Ichigo perfectly. She knew how he felt. She herself was to blame for the murder of her friends, knowing that you were the cause of the death of another. It was a horrible feeling, and she wouldn't wish it upon anyone.

"How did you find out it was a Hollow?"

Ichigo's eyes hardened, "It attacked my sisters at the cemetery. We were visiting her grave."

"Did you…uh—kill it?" Sanae asked hesitantly.

"No." Sanae noticed that he clenched his fists. "I wounded it, but it's still out there."

"I'll help you." Sanae said suddenly. She hadn't meant to say it; the words had come spilling out of her mouth before she could stop them. Sanae realized that she would probably never be able to forgive herself for what happened all those years ago. And she would never find out the reason why she couldn't remember, but helping someone else; it wasn't much but at least she could do something right with her life.

"I mean," she cleared her throat nervously; her cheeks blushing faintly at her own bold statement. "If you'd like help that is. I know I'm not that useful and I don't wield a huge sword." Sanae turned away from him, not wanting to see the reaction on his face from her stupid statement.

"Thanks." She glanced over at him, shocked at his words. Ichigo was staring at her out of the corner of his eye, a smirk on his lips. Sanae returned his smirk with her own one.

The next morning Sanae readied herself for school. She had decided to return back to Karakura High School, partly because she wanted to stay around Ichigo and figure out this weird connection. The other part was because she somewhat enjoyed going there. She had made friends with Orihime and Tatsuki, and even Ichigo in a way. It was a nice feeling to belong somewhere again. She knew in the long run she would eventually have to leave again, she always did. It was just the way of things. Sooner or later a Shinigami would come for Rukia, if one hadn't already and Sanae would be forced to flee incase they recognized her. She would leave everyone behind…again.

Sanae stared at her reflection in the small mirror hanging on her bedroom wall. Her sapphire eyes, so out of place in Karakura, stared back at her. She could see the loneliness and sadness in her eyes. Her fingers picked out a few strands of brown hair, holding them lightly. For a second she saw azure locks in the mirror, and then they changed back into chocolate brown. Sanae sighed weakly, letting her hair fall against her shoulder as she shrugged on the grey jacket and fetched her brown leather bag from the corner of the room.

"Ohayo! Sanae-san!" Urahara greeted her cheerfully at the front of the shop. Sanae tied up her brown shoes.

"Morning." She muttered to him.

"Finally going back?" Urahara asked.

Sanae lifted an eyebrow; "I thought that would be obvious seeing as I'm wearing the uniform, boke."

Urahara chuckled, "Yes you're back to normal. You're no fun when you sulk. I take it that talk with Kurosaki-kun yesterday is the reason why you're returning."

It took a few moments for Sanae to process what he had said. When she figured it out she rounded on the shop owner, "You were spying on me!" she got up close to him, her finger pointed at him and an angry look on her face.

Urahara whipped out his fan seemingly from nowhere and waved it, "I was just concerned that you were going to run away again."

"I don't—" Sanae stopped herself. She knew that if she finished that sentence she would be telling a lie. "I'm not going anywhere," she corrected herself with a glare.

"You know," Urahara said, his tone changing. "A member of the Onmitsukidō was here last week. I thought they were going to take Kuchiki-san back, but it seems they left her alone."

"What are you getting at, Urahara?" Sanae asked impatiently.

Urahara gave her a serious look, "If you continue to be around Kurosaki-kun there is a chance you will run into someone who recognizes you sooner or later. What will you do if that happens?"

Sanae gave Urahara a weak smile, "I'll do what I always do…survive."

X

Sanae was walking along the sidewalk, glancing around at the early morning pedestrians who were walking to work. Sanae turned towards the abandoned hospital that she cut through everyday to get to the high school, but she was blocked from entering by yellow caution signs. She then noticed the dozens of workers running around the front of the hospital with lights, cables and cameras. She wondered what the hell was going on.

"Sorry, kid." A male worked said to her, stopping to talk to her while juggling a large light over his shoulder. "The grounds are closed."

Sanae pulled a face, "But this is the quickest way to get to school. Can't you just let me through, please?" Sanae whined, clasping her hands together and giving the worker her best puppy dog eyes. It always seemed to work on Urahara.

"Sorry." The worker shook his head and hurried off.

Sanae glared at his back as she had half a mind to quickly dash over the barrier, but then she didn't really want to get in trouble with the police. She could just imagine Urahara's face. With a sigh Sanae turned on her heel and backtracked out of the hospital grounds. It wasn't really the end of the world that she now had to take the long way to school, it just meant that she had to walk an extra ten minutes.

Sanae turned down a familiar street, both sides had residential houses and as she came to the middle of the street a familiar medical clinic came into view. She unknowingly slowed her pace as she heard the front door of the house open at the exact moment she passed by.

"See you later, Yuzu, Karin." Ichigo called over his shoulder. The orange haired boy shrugged on his bag and closed the door behind him. He yawned tiredly and then noticed Sanae staring at him.

"Ohayo, Kurosaki-kun," Sanae greeted pleasantly.

Ichigo waved lazily and opened up his front gate, "Don't you usually walk the other way to school?" asked Ichigo.

"There's some weird thing happening at the hospital I cut through. Looks like a TV show—or something." Sanae explained as they began a casual pace towards the school. Ichigo nodded in understanding, rubbing at his eyes again. He did indeed look like he had just woken up.

"You don't mind walking with me?" Sanae inquired, turning to glance at him.

Ichigo frowned down at her, adjusting his grey school jacket, "Why would I have a problem with it?"

Sanae looked away, uneasy about the glare on his face. "Just asking…" She muttered quietly.

They walked in comfortable silence to school, neither having anything to say to each other and both were fine with the quietness between them. Inside the school Ichigo opened up the classroom door, only to be greeted by an exuberant Orihime as she crossed her arms over her chest and cried, "Bohaha!"

Ichigo deadpanned at the display. Sanae looked at her curiously, "What are you doing?" She asked.

Orihime gasped, reaching for Sanae as she pulled her closer, "Kagawa-chan! You don't know about Don Kanonji?"

"Apparently not…" Sanae mumbled as Orihime attempted to execute another 'Bohaha' but Tatsuki intercepted her. Sanae walked with Tatsuki and Orihime to their desks. Sanae placed her bag on the table as Tatsuki leaned against the desk casually.

"Are you feeling better?" Tatsuki asked her with concern.

Sanae furrowed her brows for a second, not understanding why Tatsuki would ask her that. Then she remembered that she had indeed been absent from school for a week. "Oh, yeah. I don't know what happened, just got very sick all of a sudden." Sanae said with a smile.

Orihime grinned at her, "I wish I would've known where you lived, Kagawa-chan. I wanted to bring you some of my homemade leek and bean casserole!"

Sanae grimaced slightly, "Oh how nice of you, Inoue-san." Sanae didn't miss the cheeky smirk Tatsuki had on her face.

"So you never saw Don Kanonji back in Osaka?" Tatsuki asked, changing the subject before Orihime had the idea to bring some of that casserole to school for Sanae.

"No," Sanae said with a shrug and a shake of her head. "Who is he?"

"He's a pretty popular spirit medium, he has his own show." Tatsuki explained, not sounding very excited at the fact.

"Every Wednesday night!" Orihime added with a grin.

Tatsuki nodded, "He's hosting his show here tonight in Karakura. It seems everyone's going from town."

"Are you going to come, Kagawa-chan? You can meet Tatsuki-chan and I there." Orihime asked hopefully.

Sanae looked between them, "Oh—sure. Sounds like fun." Sanae said with a cheerful smile.

X

At quarter to seven that night Sanae shrugged on her black hoodie and tied her brown hair up in a ponytail. She left her room and could hear Urahara talking with Tessai at the front of the store as Sanae put on her sneakers.

"Going out, Sanae-sama?" Tessai asked politely, bending down to her as Sanae glanced up at the tall man.

"Yeah, meeting up with friends from school." Sanae explained as she stood back up after putting her shoes on.

Urahara suddenly appeared from behind Tessai, "I thought I was your friend!" He said in mock hurt.

Sanae glared at him, "I can have other friends, Urahara."

Urahara quickly turned his fan around and flapped it teasingly, "Yes but I'm your best friend." Urahara pointed to the black katakana on the fan that spelt out 'Sanae's best friend.'

Sanae rolled her eyes at his childish antics; "I'll see you guys later." She waved goodbye to both of the men and left the Urahara Store. Sanae shoved her hands into the large pocket of her hoodie as she walked the short mile to the abandoned hospital.

When she arrived Sanae wasn't surprised to see a horde of people crowding around the area. She started scanning the crowd for any sign of Tatsuki or Orihime. At the very last second she spotted the long bright hair or Orihime. Sanae hurried over to them. Orihime spotted her and waved, "Kagawa-chan! You made it!"

"I told you I'd come," Sanae said with a smile as she stopped next to Tatsuki, "And you know, you can call me Sanae."

Orihime beamed at her, "Ok, Sanae-chan."

Sanae returned her smile as she glanced around, trying to spot the man hosting the show, "So when's it supposed to begin?"

Just as she said it, lights suddenly lit up at one corner of the grounds as two television presenters started introducing the show. Orihime looked excited at the show beginning as Sanae moved back so that she was on the other side of Tatsuki. All around her there was a quiet buzz from the residents of Karakura, all excited to see Don Kanonji live. There was a loud noise from above that sounded like a helicopter as the crowd craned their necks back just as a figure leapt from the vehicle.

"Please tell me that's not him, is it?" Sanae said as she watched the man spread open his cape like a bat and release a parachute.

"Afraid so," Tatsuki said with a sigh.

Kanonji landed on the stage and started talking about what was going to be happening as the crowd started doing 'Bohaha', which Sanae realized was what Orihime had done that morning in school. Sanae flicked her blue gaze to the chestnut haired girl and saw that she was indeed doing it along with the crowd, while Tatsuki and her exchanged blank looks.

A loud wail echoed around the area as Sanae glanced up worriedly. From the sound of the cry, it was more than likely an Earth-bound spirit. Sanae could see from her spot that a cameraman had gone near the doors to the hospital. No doubt awakening the spirit. Sanae cast a worried look towards the ominous building.

"Do you hear that?" Tatsuki suddenly asked Sanae.

Sanae plastered on a pleasant smile, "Hear what?" she replied. Sanae watched as Tatsuki and Orihime exchanged worried looks at hearing the wail. Sanae was intrigued that both girls could hear the spirits cry; it just meant that they were more spiritually aware then most people. Sanae would have to keep an eye on them.

Sanae could now see the demi-Hollow forming in front of Don Kanonji who seemed to have no idea that the spirit even existed. Sanae was relieved at that fact when she heard a weird noise from behind. She ignored it.

"Psst. Sanae-san!"

Sanae's eyes widened in shock, she recognized that voice. Sanae spun around on her heel, holding back her loud curse as she spotted Urahara waving at her from the back of the crowd with his fan. He looked positively pleased with himself as Sanae spun back to Tatsuki and Orihime.

"I'll be right back!" She said quickly, darting through the thin crowd and making her way to Urahara's side. "What are you doing here?" She hissed at him, noticing Tessai at his side.

Urahara grinned down at her, "Oh, Sanae-san, didn't you miss me a little bit?" Sanae lashed out and grabbed onto the collar of his coat, pulling him roughly down to her level.

"Urahara." Sanae said his name threateningly. "Kurosaki Ichigo and Kuchiki Rukia do not know that I know you. They are both currently here, and if they see me with you there are going to be a lot of questions that I cannot answer. Now tell me, what are you doing here?" Sanae released him as Urahara waved his fan in front of his face.

"You're so scary when you're angry." Sanae gave him another glare. "Fine, fine. Tessai and I sensed the Earth-bound Spirit."

Sanae crossed her arms over her chest and stared at him questioningly, "And you felt the need to come down for that?"

"Of course." Urahara said, holding his thumbs up to her.

There was a commotion from the stage when a piercing cry echoed throughout the area. Sanae flinched from the wail as she turned and saw Don Kanonji shoving his stupid 'spirit stick' right into the Demi-Hollow's chest hole.

"Oh, well isn't that a predicament…" Urahara mused, tapping his chin thoughtfully.

Sanae lashed out with her words, "Urahara!" she yelled at him. Urahara tilted to the side and crinkled up the side of his face nearest to Sanae. "Now is not the time to be making jokes!"

Urahara suddenly pointed to something at the front of the crowd, "Indeed." A smirk crossed his face as Sanae turned her head to where he was pointing. What she saw had her groaning. Ichigo and Rukia were both being tackled by security guards. Urahara moved off, tossing a grin over his shoulder at Sanae, "Bye-bye, Sanae-san!"

"Do you realize what you have done?" Kagine-sensei bellowed at his students. The group of unruly teenagers stood in the principles office. Some looked annoyed, others were afraid and a few were disinterested. It was the day after the Don Kanonji show, and even though no one had gotten hurt with the Hollow going on a rampage, they were all still in trouble. Particularly Ichigo and Rukia.

"Look at this!" Kagine-sensei used the remote and turned on the large television at the back of the room. Ichigo watched with a hard frown as he saw himself getting tackled by security guards. The next scene was Rukia also being restrained. Kagine-sensei paused the video and started blabbering on about how they were a disgrace to the school. It was then something in the video caught Ichigo's eye. A person was standing in the frame of Rukia's scene, and Ichigo swore that the person was Sanae. He knew that she had gone with Orihime and Tatsuki to the event, but he could clearly see the two friends standing on the other side of the shot. His eyes shot back to Sanae, she had her arms crossed and seemed to be yelling at someone off screen. Who could she possibly be talking to, to elicit that reaction from her? He didn't have time to ponder the question as suddenly Kagine-sensei was screaming at him once more about his behavior.

X

"Hey, Yuzu…" Ichigo peered into his younger sisters room to find her reading on her bed. The young girl set down her book on her bed. "You said you recorded that show last night even though you went, right?"

Yuzu nodded, "Uh-huh. Its downstairs, why?"

Ichigo shrugged, "No reason." Yuzu went back to reading as Ichigo shut her door behind him and headed back downstairs. It was quiet and empty, Karin was at soccer training and his old man had gone to see a client. Ichigo turned on the television and found the recording for the show. He flicked through it quickly, getting to the part he needed. His narrowed eyes searched the screen until they settled on Sanae in the background. He paused the video and then slowly began playing it frame by frame. His eyes widened when he saw a familiar person standing next to Sanae and it was clear to Ichigo that there was no mistaking it, from the expression on both of their faces.

"She knows geta-bōshi!"

A/N:

I just want to clarify that 'geta-bōshi' is the Japanese version of Ichigo's nickname for Urahara which is 'sandal-hat'. I watch all my anime in Japanese with English subs so my stories will incorporate Japanese names that the characters use.

Anyway I am so sorry this took a while for me to come out with. I am still here and thinking about this story but I was spending my time tweaking plot points and whatnots for this story while working on my other fic and another one that I have on wattpad. I only work on those ones more because I have a bit more reception but I do love this story and have huge plans for it. Anyway so we saw a little into Sanae's past and a bit more on her feelings towards Ichigo, I wonder whatever they could be! You'll find out soon!

REPLIES

Nixxon Mysterio - Yep she has a pas, and not a very nice one I'll tell you that! You'll find out soon about her and why those people died, but not yet ;) I love writing banter between them, it's so funny to me and so easy to write as in those types of situations they both have the same personality which is hilarious xD Thank you so much hope you enjoyed! See you next time

ukitakeitalialover041757 - Thank you!