Chapter 6

Closure

Yusuke stared at his calendar. He only had one more week of fulltime work left. He had decided that he would spend his last 2 weeks training and perhaps diving into anything his family had hidden in their notes.

With that decided on, he had another issue: Ingrid. He'd noticed how listless she'd been recently. Spending 3 weeks cooped up inside a house was certainly unpleasant for anyone outgoing. He could see it in her eyes. His Uncle Ryo used to do the same except he was loud about it. He would stomp around, scratch his hands, and growl when he was forced to sit still for too long.

As for Ingrid, she would sigh from time to time and stare out the window. She would even pace between the Living Room, Kitchen, and Dining Room.

Yusuke decided to start glancing through websites to find something that she could enjoy. He recalled her saying that she liked sewing, cooking, and baking. Couldn't there have been something to do?

He was glad to see that there was a festival tomorrow: a baking festival, to be exact. Maybe she might enjoy it? Now, he knew that it was best if Ingrid stayed hidden but what if he could deal with that problem?

After he went shopping, he returned with a bag, excited to see her reaction.

"Hey, Ingrid. You got a minute?" That was a dumb question. Time was all she had here.

"What's up?" Ingrid asked.

"I was thinking of going to a baking festival tomorrow. It's in Streatham. You wanna go?"

Ingrid's eyes lit up.

"Sure." She chuckled.

"Great. We'll go early tomorrow before it gets too busy."

Ingrid's face then deflated a little.

"Wait, but I shouldn't be out and about. I know I said there shouldn't be anyone else pursuing me, but we can't be too careful."

"The bracelet Urahara gave you makes you come off as human. Your disguise and all those people will make it harder for anyone to recognize you too." Yusuke reasoned.

"What about Dragons?"

"Dragons will attack anyone so it shouldn't out you to anyone. Besides, Wing Bind runs a pretty tight ship, so the situation shouldn't go out of control." Yusuke shrugged passively.

"Alright, it's a date." Ingrid smiled.

Yusuke felt as if a gust of wind had just slapped him in the face. He knew she was beautiful but was she always this stunning? No, enchanting was a better word. He quickly shoved the thought aside as he prepped for the next day.

As planned, Ingrid put on her disguise of a wig and contacts and left for Streatham, walking amongst a massive crowd of people feasting on sweets and savory pastries. Yusuke chowed down on a mini chocolate cake whilst Ingrid enjoyed a sweet pretzel.

"You know, people stereotype British cooking to be bad but it's not actually that bad. I'll definitely memorize these recipes." Ingrid remarked.

"Well, I hope you get to open up your bakery. Maybe if I ever visit Germany, I can drop by." Yusuke chuckled.

He didn't see it, but Ingrid looked a little sad when he said that. She quickly resumed her smile when he looked at her to conceal her emotions.

"Come by Berlin. There's tons of good food there." Ingrid snickered.

Yusuke was about to respond before he saw the look on the young lady's face. Her smile melted into shock before she darted behind an alleyway. That was odd. Yusuke didn't sense anything.

"What's wrong?" He chased after her into the alley. "Enemies?"

"Nothing that big. It's just that, well, I saw some people I knew." Ingrid peeked around the corner.

"Friends?" Yusuke asked. Ingrid merely nodded.

"I'd rather they not be seen with me. Who knows what could happen."

"What're they doing here?"

"Probably on vacation. Might've moved here. I don't know. It's been a year since I saw them." Ingrid muttered. She then thumped herself on the head. "I forgot we talked about this trip last year! We were gonna come to England with one of my friend's parents!"

"I know we've gotta be cautious but don't you think it's super suspicious for us to avoid them and peek around corners? Kinda makes us more noticeable if you ask me."

Yusuke's question made Ingrid purse her lips in consideration. To ease her worries, Yusuke walked over to a vendor and bought a nice little black hat for her.

"What's this for?" Ingrid asked when he handed the item to her.

"Reinforcing your disguise." He replied.

Ingrid still looked uncertain.

"Do you wanna talk to them?" Yusuke softly asked.

"Yeah, but I know better than to tempt fate. Let's just pretend I don't know them. Besides, this disguise should keep anyone from noticing me like you said." Ingrid did something that surprised him. She took hold of his hand and led him back onto the street.

They continued to try pastries but Yusuke could see how dampened Ingrid's mood was. She didn't have the gusto that she brought when they first got here.

Yusuke decided to try and lift her spirits up in the few ways he knew how.

"How's this?" Yusuke put on a goofy mask of a tongue sticking out. The vendor chortled when he did so.

"Hm?" She absent-mindedly looked at him.

Yusuke took her to see a musical performance next. It was orchestral, just like how Ingrid liked it. The violinist was going off, fiddling rapidly with her bow in an exciting barrage of melodies.

"What do you think?" He asked her.

"Very nice." Ingrid nodded.

As a last resort, Yusuke brought her to a donut stand that was selling a vast variety of flavors. When they got to it, a band of 4 girls walked over. Ingrid immediately stiffened like a statue, her eyes wide with alertness.

"Caramel-filled donuts…Ingrid would've loved this."

"Just when we had a chance to come here, she disappeared."

"I wonder what happened to her. The cops said that she disappeared after her family's case was closed."

"Poor girl. She wasn't right after that incident."

Ingrid began to shake, something Yusuke noticed. Her hands tightly gripped the straps of her bag as she continued to stare off into the distance.

"I wish she'd said something to us before she disappeared! No note, no warning, nothing!" One of the four snarled.

"I just…I hope she didn't do anything crazy."

"If only that fire hadn't happened. I'm glad she'd been with us or we would've lost her too but now that I think about it, what's happened doesn't make much of a difference, huh? We lost her anyway."

Yusuke was touched to see how much others cared for Ingrid. To see how outraged these girls were, his lingering doubts of Ingrid's character began to dwindle further. He knew the outrage and pain these girls had in their eyes. He'd had that look too. There was no faking all of that.

"Just being here makes me sad because we were all supposed to be here. We'd planned this trip for months. My parents were so excited to bring us along on one of their trips too."

Ingrid couldn't stand it anymore. Her legs and hands were trembling too much to continue supporting her composure. She leaned against Yusuke for support as regret overwhelmed her. Her chest quivered and her lip shuddered. It was agonizing to be so close to her best friends in the world who could only guess the reasons for her disappearance.

"The next time I see her, she's getting a piece of my mind." One of the girls moved to throw away her garbage, only to trip on Ingrid's shoe.

"Ah!" She yelped.

The Quincy moved by instinct. Her hand stopped her friend from falling but that was the one thing she shouldn't have done.

"Sorry!" The girl smiled sheepishly until she caught a glimpse of Ingrid's face. She stared at her like a bird gazing at shiny objects.

Ingrid didn't say a word, merely nodding to regard her before taking Yusuke's hand. She didn't get far until her friends from Germany surrounded them.

"It's you!" One of them gripped her by the shoulders.

Yusuke was unsure of what to do. Should he intervene to keep their cover or allow them to have a moment of truth? He could see how much it hurt Ingrid to hear what her friends thought of her. For an orphan like him, he wished he could've had a moment with his parents. He had so many questions that only they could've answered.

Ingrid still had that chance to clear things up. Her friends had the chance to know the truth and to have their hearts put at ease. He knew allowing her identity to be known could be fatal but that part of him that was so vulnerable, so human, wanted her to have this.

Yusuke stood in place, not allowing Ingrid to lead him away. She looked at him, incredulous. She looked outraged that he wasn't moving. He shook his head as Ingrid's friends closed in.

"I'm sorry but I think you've got the wrong person." Ingrid was as calm as could be but her mask was obvious. To anyone who didn't know her, she could've convinced them. That wasn't working with these four girls.

"Don't lie. I can see it in your eyes. We know you better than that." One of the party interjected.

Ingrid shielded her face with her hat but it was all pointless now. Yusuke decided to whisper to her.

"I never got closure with my parents. You've still got a shot to do that, you know." He gently patted her on the back.

Ingrid was as silent as the night for a whole minute before sighing in defeat.

"Let's talk somewhere more private."

The entire group walked to a nearby café so they could converse.

"Explain." One of the girls, who had red hair in a ponytail draped over her shoulder spoke. She had been the same one who'd almost tripped earlier.

"After my family died in the fire, I ran off. I, uh…I honestly didn't know what to do with myself." Ingrid looked agonized over not being able to tell the real truth. "When I lost my family, I felt like I'd lost everything. I guess I kinda lost it a little bit. I tried to find myself and over the past year, I've just been going here and there."

"That doesn't explain everything. Hell, that doesn't explain anything." Another girl with short brown hair spoke up.

"It's true. I wandered because my whole world collapsed. I didn't know what to do with myself. I didn't want to believe what the cops said and I went looking for the truth. After a whole year, I guess I've just been coming to terms that I was grieving over what happened. I didn't think about where I was going and I didn't care. Nothing mattered until I started to make sense of myself and everything that happened until recently."

"So, you're telling me that you went on a soul-searching journey for a whole year?" A girl with long black hair braided into a bun spoke up. She was clearly seething.

Ingrid only nodded.

The red-headed girl proceeded to slap her across the face. "What kind of bullshit is that? You mean to tell me you did all that and you still couldn't bother to say a word to your best friends?!"

Yusuke was thankful that the noise of the festival drowned out the echo of the slap. He honestly hadn't expected things to escalate.

"I-I…Helga…" Ingrid couldn't respond to the redhead.

"We worried for a year. We thought you'd disappeared, got kidnapped, or killed yourself. This whole time you were alive and you didn't even care enough to tell us you were alive." Helga bit her lip.

"That's not it!" Ingrid leaned forward earnestly. "I got caught up in something, that's all. It's old family business but it's…it's really private. I can't tell you what it is, not now, at least."

"Does it have to do with your family?" The black-haired girl asked.

"Yes, Emma." Ingrid responded.

"Is it illegal or something? Is it something the cops should know?" The brown-haired girl asked.

"No, Agnes. It's not of that sort. It's just that I've sworn not to talk about it to other people. It's also the other half of the reason why I disappeared." Ingrid replied.

The girls all stared at Ingrid, analyzing her body language and eyes.

"And is he involved." Helga glanced at Yusuke.

Ingrid merely nodded.

"He's the one who helped me. Trust me, he's good." Ingrid softly spoke, a small blush crept across her face.

"When will you come home?" A girl with blonde hair spoke up.

"I don't know, Charlotte. At the least, I won't come back till my business is finished. I don't know when that'll be but I'm gonna make sure this all ends first. That's never gonna change."

The quartet had a wide range of satisfied and annoyed expressions.

"What is going on that you can't tell us? Maybe we can help." Emma earnestly said.

"This isn't something you girls can help me with. It's complicated but you're better off not knowing because you'll get in trouble too." Ingrid desperately spoke. It was as if she knew her friends would doggedly question her. 'No' wasn't something they seemed to be used to hearing from her. "Please, I swear I'd tell you if I could but I just can't okay!"

"Does it have to do with your family's talent?" Charlotte asked.

Everyone looked at her in shock.

"What're you talking about?" Emma spoke up.

"My grandma said that your family has some kind of talent. She's superstitious so she said to always be careful around you. She also said that it's better not to know too much about your family." Charlotte explained.

Ingrid only nodded. A moment of solemn silene spread around the room. Yusuke watched with anxious anticipation before a wave of defeat resounded around the table.

"Fine, since you can't tell us, we'll leave it alone for now. Just promise that you'll come see us once it's all over." Helga's tone had softened.

"I swear." Ingrid nodded.

Yusuke was satisfied that the tension was lowering now. Even he knew that the girls needed some privacy now.

"I'll go get us some food and drinks." He got up to go order.

The moment he was gone, the girls reconvened, as if they were in the school cafeteria.

"So, who's he, really? Your boyfriend?"

"No…he's just a friend." Ingrid shot down the implication.

"Really? You look at him kinda different. Don't think I didn't notice how you hugged him before." Emma snickered.

"The Ingrid we know used to flirt but she never touched the boys. You've changed, girl." Charlotte grinned.

"You make it sound like I was some floozy." Ingrid glared at the blonde.

"You were that sensually alluring lady that drove boys crazy just by waving. I wonder what happened to you. Maybe you're already getting it."

Ingrid's brow twitched as a pink hue spread across her face.

"No! We're living together but we're not doing it!" She hissed into a whisper. Her mouth fell agape as she realized what she just confessed.

A chorus of low gasps circled the table.

"You're living with him?! You sure he's not a creep?!" Helga looked genuinely concerned.

"I swear he's not."

"Lots of predators are good at pretending to be 'good' people." Emma skeptically glared at Yusuke's back.

"Should we take him out?" Agnes murmured.

"No! Girls, he's an actual good guy! Look, he took me in after I got into an accident. I was a total stranger that could've been a psycho and he still took the chance. I mean, who in this day and age would do that? He hasn't tried anything yet and you girls know I can take care of myself." Ingrid was so distressed. She'd never had to defend a guy this hard before but what surprised her even more was how much she was blurting out.

"Wow, you must like him to be so defensive. He's not the Edward to your Bella, though, right? I mean, he's not doing the same creepy stuff, right?" Agnes leaned in.

"No, he actually respects my boundaries. He never makes me do things I don't wanna do and doesn't force info outta me. Actually, he's a tiny bit too passive sometimes." Ingrid sighed.

"Oooh, sigh of love." Charlotte giggled.

"It was not a sigh of love. Like I said, he's just a friend!" Ingrid growled.

"Alright, alright, we'll stop joking around. Now, on to a more important issue. Think we can spend today together at least? It's been a whole year, Ingrid." Helga whispered.

Ingrid bit her lip. She had no idea what to say. She knew the more time she spent out, the more risks she was taking. Even so, she couldn't resist the opportunity in front of her.

"I've gotta see…"

"Oh, come on!" Agnes whined.

"Please! We promise we'll stop prying if you spend just the rest of the day with us." Helga pleaded.

Ingrid couldn't stop herself. She nodded reluctantly.

Yusuke returned from the counter carrying a tray of food.

"I wasn't sure what everyone liked so I just got a bunch of different stuff. Enjoy, ladies."

"So, the girls and I wanted to hang out. Think we have anything to worry about?" Ingrid pleaded with all her heart and soul, using her eyes to show just how important this was to her.

Yusuke found it hard to refuse her. It was even harder when her friends followed suit. He gripped the Soul Reaper Badge in his jacket pocket. He prayed to whatever higher power there was that nothing would happen from this. He knew that the longer they stayed out, the more open to danger they were. Even so, Yusuke was no jailer.

He nodded in confirmation to the requests. He felt no ominous forces around. Given he was the better sensor of the two, Ingrid smiled.

"Yes!" A round of applause rang out from the group.

"Just try not to attract too much attention." Yusuke followed up.

"No worries. We can be perfectly chill." Helga casually waved him off.

The rest of the evening was spent laughing, eating, drinking, and joking around. Yusuke had never seen Ingrid enjoy laugh as much as she was doing now. He was a tad bit envious. He had friends at school and work but he had nobody that he could truly consider to be close enough to hang out with.

He could see how much they clung to each other and the way they loved each other's company. They were a band of best friends, maybe even sisters. Yet, the envy in him quickly went away when he saw how happy Ingrid was. He reckoned this was how her life should've continued to be like.

Yusuke hoped that Ingrid could return to all this one day.

"So, does that guy have to follow us?" Helga whispered as he trailed behind them.

"Yeah. I've got some stalkers and I'm still kinda recovering from the accident. Cops are still looking for them so he's just hanging around in case there's trouble." Ingrid sheepishly replied.

Everyone's attention was snatched when fireworks went off in the sky.

"Oh, wow!" Ingrid couldn't remember the last time she'd seen any in-person.

"Let's make a promise." Charlotte spoke up.

"What kind?"

"Let's do this again once your business is done. Doesn't matter if it's a month or years from now. Just promise that you'll see us once everything calms down for you." Agnes could already tell what the others were thinking.

Ingrid looked away but Yusuke could see from behind that she had tears in her eyes. It was unmistakable with how her eyes glimmered in the light.

"Yeah, it's a promise." Ingrid cleared her throat. "I'm gonna get some drinks. Wait here."

The Quincy proceeded to a nearby stand. As soon as she was gone, her quartet of friends turned on Yusuke.

"First off, thanks for helping her. I reckon she's had it really hard the past year with how much she's changed." Charlotte was the one to begin.

"Now then, some warnings. Don't ever hurt her. She's like a sister to us." Agnes sternly said.

"If you make her cry, we'll make you cry so hard that your great-grandkids will have to finish for you." Emma leered at him.

"Most of all, don't ever let her smile fade. We've seen it in her eyes. Ingrid's changed and I get the feeling she's not done. I don't know what's going on or why she's being so secretive that she can't even tell us, but I bet you know the truth. That means you're the only one here that can stick by her. You'd better tell us if something happens." Helga's tone was low and cold; that made her the scariest of all.

Yusuke merely nodded in understanding toward all four girls.

"I promise I'll do whatever I can to help her. We already made an arrangement that she can stay as long as she needs me but before then, yeah, I'll try to be there for her." Yusuke was not someone who made promises he couldn't keep. Thankfully, that was good enough for these ladies.

"Good." Helga stepped back just as Ingrid returned.

"Did I miss something?" She looked back and forth between both parties.

"Nope. Just getting to know each other."

The group of six proceeded to consume their drinks over the length of the fireworks show. By the time it ended, the moment for separation came.

Ingrid and her friends stopped outside the gates of the festival since she and Yusuke were the ones who had to leave.

"This is it." Ingrid softly spoke. She was clearly fighting back a tear or 2.

"Make sure to take care of yourself." Charlotte said.

"Yeah. Remember what we all promised, alright? And if anything happens, you've gotta tell us. We'll come running." Helga whispered.

"We'll wait as long as we have to." Agnes winked.

"You've always got a home with us. Don't ever forget that." Emma was the last to speak before they all hugged one last time.

"Be yourself and stop holding back, Ingrid." Helga whispered.

"Huh?" Ingrid looked confused.

"I can tell that you've changed and maybe not for the better. Don't forget to be true to yourself and maybe not bottle things up so much, huh?" Helga then released her so they could part ways.

And just like that, Yusuke and Ingrid left. As they drove on Yusuke's moped, he could feel that Ingrid was holding onto him rather tightly.

"Thanks, Yusuke."

"For what?" Said young man was genuinely confused.

"If we'd just left like before, I'd never have gotten the chance for closure. I can't tell you how much today meant to me. It was as if I'd never left home. I honestly thought I'd changed too much to be recognizable to them. Today proved I was wrong. So, thanks for being stubborn." Ingrid then giggled.

"You're welcome." Yusuke replied. The mood silenced itself for a while before he decided to mess with Ingrid. There was just something about watching her calm demeanor crumble that was just so entertaining. "So, you were a flirty girl, eh?"

"What?" Ingrid then gasped. "You did hear everything!"

"I mean, you were all kinda loud. I'm surprised nobody recorded that slap and put it on Twitter." Yusuke snorted.

"Look, I just, er, used to like messing with people, alright?!" Ingrid's tone became defensive.

"Hey, I wasn't judging. What you do in your private is your business. Just rent a hotel room if you decide to spend a night with a date."

"Yusuke!" Ingrid snarled with a dark glare.

"Okay, okay! Don't retaliate while I'm driving!" Yusuke yelped when she began pinching his side.

It took 5 minutes for Ingrid to forgive him for his teasing. He was happy to report that the rest of the night was calm. It was the perfect way to cap off the day's events. He had gotten a glimpse of an Ingrid that he didn't know and was able to enjoy some good company to break up his rather solitary private life.

His dreams, however, were a different story.

He wasn't in his inner realm. He was in an endless abyss. The darkness showed no top nor bottom. He was adrift in shadow. He looked around, gaining no clarity nor answers. He turned aside and saw a glowing sphere. It was wreathed in a fiery aura that flashed several different colors with every passing second.

Yusuke felt an alluring pull from the sphere but he was apprehensive at the same time. There was something odd about it, as if it were so mysterious, so beyond reasoning that it was scary.

Yusuke began to notice a strange sound roaming about. It sounded like the whistling of wind that would pass him by, only to circle back around. His skin crawled every time it did.

"What are you?!" Yusuke shouted over to it. He received no answer.

"Awaken…" That was the only discernable word Yusuke heard over the whispering wind. The voice sounded distorted, leaving Yusuke without a clue of what to understand.

Yusuke advanced on the orb but the moment he took a step, black liquid crawled up his leg. It swirled around his limbs like a whirlpool. Yusuke gasped as a chain materialized from his chest. It was like that of a Plus's; a Chain of Fate. The links of the chain sprouted mouths that began gnawing away at itself.

"Encroachment?!" Yusuke knew that there was no way to stop it. Horror raptured his composure. It made no sense. How was he undergoing encroachment when he was alive?

Yusuke continued to gasp and yell in terror as his Chain of Fate crumbled apart to sprout a hole in his torso.

"AAAAH!" Yusuke howled before his world faded to black.

Yusuke awoke in bed, sweat pouring down his entire body. He inspected his chest to see that there was no hole there. He even transformed into his Soul Reaper body; there was still no Hollow Hole or Chain of Fate.

He breathed a sigh of relief.

He was still alive and he was still himself.

Yet, what whispered to him? Was it just a dream reflecting his worries? Was there something truly going on that he didn't know about? Yusuke wasn't sure if he wanted to know anymore.

A knock jolted Yusuke to attention with surprise. He opened the door to reveal Ingrid.

"Are you okay? I heard you mumbling." She looked thoroughly alarmed. Had he truly been that frantic?

"Y-Yeah, just a dream." Yusuke chuckled nervously.

"A dream? Of what?"

"Just a dream of the past." Yusuke lied. He didn't want to worry Ingrid. If he were being truthful, he didn't want her to think he was going crazy. He'd just started to actually get along with her without politeness and pretense. Telling her that he had a nightmare of turning into a Hollow wasn't something he had positive expectations of.

"You wanna talk about it?" Ingrid asked.

"N-No, I'd rather not think about it. Sorry for waking you up. Go back to sleep." Yusuke sheepishly smiled at her as he gently closed his door.

Yusuke climbed back under his sheets but it was all in vain. He couldn't get any sleep at all for the rest of that night. He was too anxious of what other nightmares he would have.