InuYasha Fan Fiction / Crossover Fan Fiction / Bleach Fan Fiction ❯ »—:♫ HOUKIBOSHI ♫:—« ❯ Bleanuyasha 03 ( Chapter 3 )

 

 

- BLEANUYASHAâ„¢ 3 -

 

She was being molested in her sleep.

 

She woke up to the feeling of something pressing against her hard into the mattress. The feeling was suffocating and intrusive, it was almost as if someone decided to make her their own personal pillow.

 

The next thing that registered into her sleepy brain was that there was a face buried in the crook of her neck. That, coupled with the feeling of a very hard, very solid, very male someone lying on top of her was enough to jar her awake. Someone was in bed with her, his hands, arms and legs effectively trapping her underneath him, making escape impossible. She was strong, but she found out that she couldn't throw the guy's weight off of her.

 

She didn't mind getting robbed or the house getting ransacked half as much as she would have if they just left her alone. Properties and belongs were replicable, but not broken virtues. Panic welled inside of her and she bucked, trying to throw her assailant off of her prone form to no avail. It was no use, he was at least two or three heads taller than she was, and he was clearly stronger. He was damn heavy, too. She couldn't even see the person's face. The drapes were closed and the room was cast in shadows.

 

His pillow was sure making a lot of noise.

 

It squirmed a lot too.

 

And he wasn't an expert in pillows, but as far as he knew, pillows didn't punch.

 

Nor did they bite.

He opened his eyes reluctantly when it kicked.

 

There was an unfamiliar - a very soft, fragrant but still unfamiliar person sleeping on his bed. He bolted upright. Scrambling away quickly than the speed of light, he fell off the bed in a thump, ending up sprawled on the floor with his legs stuck in the air.

 

“Who the hell are you?!”

 

The girl was now screaming at him, and continued to just scream at him, accusing him of being all kinds of pervert as she threw things at him, aiming for his head. She was making such a loud ruckus, he was certain the neighbors on the fifth floor and their grandchildren would hear her.

 

“Ssssssh… sssshhh!!!” He attempted to pacify her, standing up from his undignified position on the floor. “You'll wake the neighbors up!!!”

 

“Who are you and what are you doing in my room?!” The girl shrieked, fumbling for more stuff to throw at him. Her hands tightened on a soft plushie and that too made its way towards him, but he easily ducked away from it thanks to his fast reflexes.

 

He stood there, a harsh reprimand dying in his throat, at the sight of a half-dressed girl in the middle of his bed. She was wearing a pajama top that was too big for her, but still too short to cover all of her legs, especially since she was sitting like that. It looked like something Ishida would wear. He has seen more skin, hanging out with Yoruichi-san, but skin was skin and he although he knew that he wasn't supposed to be staring like he was right now, his eyes seemed to have a mind of their own. He tore them away from her exposed legs when she threw her last pillow at him and started to reach for things to throw at the table.

 

“Your room? YOUR room?! Who freaking died and gave you rights to MY room!?” Angry hands flailed around, his face red, both from embarrassment and anger.

 

She blinked at him. “Y-your room?” She echoed. “Are you… are you -“ She stammered just as the door opened with a bang and bounced off the doorstop violently.

 

“Kagome-san are you alright?” A disheveled Uryuu came bursting in, his hair sticking out in several places and his glasses were crooked on top of his nose, looking like he was prepared to face a burglar. “I heard you screaming and - and…“ He paused, seeing who was in the room inside of her and taking note of their various states of undress.

 

Ichigo was wearing nothing but a pair of boxers, since he was too tired to even put on a pair of pajamas last night, while Kagome was still wearing a borrowed pajama top.

 

“Oh.” The Quincy squeaked as he pushed his eyeglasses up on the bridge of his nose. The miko scrambled to cover her exposed parts by huddling back under the comforter, thankful for the interruption.

 

“Oh indeed, you idiot!” The orange-haired man walked towards him menacingly. “Are you responsible for this?! Just when did you start bringing girls home?” He fumed. If Ishida was starting to bring girls home with him to the apartment, shouldn't he at least put them in his own bedroom? What did he need to get Ichigo involved for?

 

“I thought you were going to be gone until Sunday…” He yawned into his hand, not the least bit intimidated. It was still raining outside and rain always made him want to sleep in his bed comfortably.

 

The usurped Shinigami glared hot daggers at his friend; it was a miracle that the bespectacled male didn't burst into flames from where he stood, a level twelve skunk glare directed at him. “So you gave my bed away? You're not the only person who lives here you know.”

 

“But you weren't even here… and where were our guests supposed to sleep?”

 

“You could have given them the spare room. Chad's not here anyway.” His ever present scowl deepened.

 

“I did.”

 

“Ohayou,” a sleepy voice from behind him said; a redhead wrapped in a fluffy robe rubbed her eyes sleepily.

 

“Inoue?” Ichigo gaped.

 

“Ohayou, Kurosaki-kun!” She yawned behind her delicate hand. “I hope you don't mind me and my cousin crashing at your place.”

 

He looked from one tousled look to another. “What's going on here?” Were they having some kind of weird orgy going on?

 

The miko on the bed stealthily reached for her bathrobe and put it on while Uryuu explained the situation to his friend. “Well you see, Kurosaki-kun, Inoue and her cousin were in a bit of a bind last night. The rain,” he pointed at the huge amount of water still pelting everything outside, “was half less unforgivable as last night and the streets have been flooded.”

 

Ichigo grunted. He knew that, that was the reason why he was here right now instead of at the clinic. Damn storm. He glanced at the girl who had been sleeping on his bed. Cousin? They didn't even have the same hair color, but who was he to complain, having orange hair compared to his other two siblings?

 

The cousin was smiling at him apprehensively. As she should be, she kicked him so hard that his leg was still throbbing. She rounded the bed and leaned down to pick up the discarded plushie from the floor.

 

“I'm sorry about earlier,” she said as she dusted off the dandelion head and placed him on the desk, trying to avoid looking below his face. The guy seemed oblivious that he wasn't wearing a lot of clothing. “Ishida-kun was kind enough to provide us with some shelter and I didn't mean to intrude upon anybody.”

 

He scowled and then shrugged indifferently. With the way things looked outside right now, they might have to purchase a boat and row home or stay here for another night. He didn't want to waste energy protesting about something that couldn't be helped.

 

They stared at each other for a long moment. Both of them trying to remember why the other looked familiar.

 

“Are you—“

 

“Do we—“

 

“This is—“

 

Ichigo, Kagome and Uryuu said at the same time and then stopped.

 

“Kurosaki-kun, this is my cousin Kagome,” Orihime interjected. “Kagome, this is Ichigo.” She turned around, heading for the kitchen. “Is anybody hungry? I'll go make some breakfast.”

 

“Er, nice to meet you… um, Kurosaki-san…” Kagome didn't know how to address him.

 

“Ichigo,” he corrected her crudely, stomped over to his closet and pulled out a t-shirt to wear. He put it on quickly and turned to her. “Just call me Ichigo.” Heck, she slept in his bed already, so why bother with an honorific?

 

“I think I'll go see what Inoue-san is preparing,” Uryuu said, then turned and headed for the kitchen, leaving the miko and Shinigami alone together.

 

Pitter patter, pitter patter.

 

The rain continued to pound everything outside, an occasional strong wind whistling past them. Kagome wondered if her cousin was still into weird food combinations. She turned to look at her companion who was still half-dressed. Didn't he know that pants had been invented a long time ago? It wasn't the first time that she's seen a half-naked man. She's seen at least two fully naked men, in fact, when Jaken tried to steal the Tessaiga from Inuyasha and she happened upon Miroku and him on the spiked hot springs. She had no reason whatsoever to be embarrassed just because she slept in a strange man's bed, possibly all night, with him. She was a grown woman.

 

She will be turning twenty-one in several months. She was old enough to even live by her own, if only she chose to. Not that she didn't want to or couldn't, but her mom had persuaded her to stay at the shrine since she spent so much time away from them in her teen years. Her beloved mom just wanted to coddle her only daughter just a bit longer until she found a man she wanted to marry and moved out of the shrine permanently. Or at least that's what she said.

 

Highly unlikely to happen, in Kagome's opinion. After spending so much time in the company of an extraordinary monk, a superb hanyou and several demon princes, a girl's standard tended to get set pretty high. Somehow, ordinary people in her era looked so… boring… compared to what she was used to. If Hojo had seemed so unexciting before, he was a bigger snorefest than ever now.

 

She had seen it all, been there, done that and even have the scars for souvenirs. She was supposed to be jaded, damn it. So why did she feel like she was blushing like a schoolgirl right now?

 

“Anou… I'm sorry about earlier. I'm just not used to waking up with a guy,” she explained, trying to apologize for calling him names and trying to maim his manhood earlier. Even in the Feudal Era, she never slept with anyone but Shippou and Kirara in her sleeping bag. Waking up thinking you were being molested was new to her. She also didn't want to make a bad impression with her cousin's friends. It was bad enough that they were imposing themselves on these poor, unfortunate souls.

 

“I didn't mean to call you a pervert,” she added, and immediately regretted her words when his scowl deepened. The guy had been scowling all this time, what was wrong with him? She wished she saw his face earlier, instead of having it pressed against the side of her neck like it was. Did he scowl in his sleep as well? He looked like he had been born with a permanent frown on his face. If he thought that she was going to be intimidated by that, he was dead wrong. He should meet Sesshoumaru to know what a real bone-chilling stare looked like. His intimidation tactics were extremely mild compared to that of her demon friend. Her chin jutted just a little bit higher in defiance at that thought.

 

He continued to scowl at her. Him, a pervert? Why, he was a perfect gentleman! His right brow twitched dangerously, how dare this girl… if she wasn't so… “You did?” he replied in a mild tone, “ I didn't notice.” Because I was too busy trying to keep my head on my shoulders, you crazy woman! “Don't worry about it,” he assured her as one broad shoulder shrugged indifferently.

 

Twitch, twitch.

 

Kagome stared at the twitching brow in fascination. They looked more fascinating than Inuyasha's puppy ears and before she acted on her urge to leap upon him and try to smooth that furrowed brow, she bowed low. “Thank you for lending us shelter, again. I think I'll go see what Orihime is doing and see if I could help out.” she said and then hastily made her exit.

 

The smells coming from the kitchen were curious. The exhaust fan over the stove was working full time as her cousin slaved away over it, cooking something. Uryuu stood beside her, wearing a bemused expression on his pasty face. Kagome approached carefully, wondering what made him look like that.

 

“Can you even… I mean…” Uryuu seemed at a loss for words. ”Are you even supposed to fry peanut butter…?” He asked to no one in particular.

 

Kagome peered over Inoue's shoulder to see that her cousin was indeed frying some goo. Or peanut butter, if she took Uryuu's word for it. He hovered over the pan, looking like he was afraid of the thing Orihime was concocting in it. She didn't blame him; it looked like some kind of monster blob that came to life to eat them all, direct from the sewage.

 

“It's my very own recipe!” The redhead shared enthusiastically, picking up an egg from the counter and adding it her invention. “Let me cook for all of us in exchange for your hospitality, Ishida-kun. You can go sit down at the table and I'll have breakfast ready in a minute, okay?” She poked the glop with her trusty spatula, stirring all her original ingredients together thoroughly.

 

Uryuu was looking a little green around the gills as he sat down on one of the chairs.

 

The miko decided not to laugh at his expense, but she did giggle. “I see you still love to put unusual food combinations together. Isn't peanut butter supposed to go with jelly?”

 

“It goes good with eggs, too.”

 

She wasn't the only one looking at her cousin skeptically. “Um, okay then…”

Despite having a hanyou who preferred to eat instant ramen over good home-cooked meals for a bestfriend for several years, she was actually a really decent cook. The rest of their group absolutely loved her cooking, and even considered it exotic sometimes, and it was all thanks to her mother's culinary skills. One couldn't help but learn how to cook good when you had a great sensei after all.

 

No one protested as the miko helped prepare breakfast as well. Omelets were her specialty; she cooked it for all types of occasions. It also didn't require a genius to fry some bacon and cook some rice. A few minutes later, the cousins had a decent breakfast spread out on the table.

 

Ichigo cautiously poked at it. It looked edible enough, and even Ishida was eating it. He didn't look like he was going to keel over from food poisoning any second now, but then one could never tell until the last second now, could they? Inoue was happily eating her culinary masterpiece alone, not minding in the least bit that the others refused to even look at it for so long, since even looking at it made them a tad bit nauseous. He hadn't planned on eating anything the cousins cooked, being familiar with his high school friend's history of coupling bean paste with cake, but they had earlier backed him into a corner of choosing between the toxic goo and the omelet.

 

He chose the omelet.

 

The bacon looked good, too. Thankfully, the rice looked safe as well.

 

He piled a decent amount of it unto his plate, enough to keep his companions satisfied and hopefully enough to appease the raven-haired girl who seemed critical of his treatment of the dish. What was her problem? He sipped his tea unhurriedly and watched as Ishida devoured most of the food. After several minutes of his friend not collapsing into food poisoning, he succumbed and took a bite.

 

It was delicious. His taste buds were singing hallelujah and he quickly pitched another forkful into his mouth. Who knew Inoue's cousin was such a good cook? He shot Ishida a glare before picking up the pace. The guy had been stuffing his face with it longer than he has, but he was still eating.

 

“This is really good, Kagome-san!” Ishida praised, sucking up to the cook. Kagome beamed at him and offered him another helping, which effectively reduced Ichigo's share. “Don't you think so, Kurosaki?”

 

Ichigo grunted, trying to be as indifferent as possible. He was very nonchalant as he reached for the more and piled them all into his plate before Mr. Gluttony ate it all.

 

“Kagome-chan has always been a good cook,” Orihime piped up proudly. She was now sipping her tea, her weird glob fully consumed.

 

After breakfast was done, the table was cleared and the dishes were washed, the group settled around the television set in the living room, keeping watch of the weather forecast. When Kagome looked out of the window, almost sadly at the rain, Orihime tried to cheer her up by pointing out the bright side of it was that classes were cancelled. Kagome laughed at this and definitely agreed, but it was obvious, with the way that she kept glancing outside, that she was still worried about something.

 

There was that uncertain feeling again. Like someone or something was drawing nearer, aiming for her.

 

“Something wrong, Kagome-san?” Uryuu inquired.

 

Kagome shook her head, “No, nothing's wrong.” She smiled in reassurance. The three friends were staring at her, two out of concern and the other was wearing his usual frown. She noticed the familiar yellow plushie on the couch and picked it up, cuddling it close. In the years she spent carrying Shippou, Kirara, or both in her arms, she felt a sense of absence if she her arms were empty of something soft and cuddly. A funny look replaced the frowning one's expression for a brief second and his mouth opened a little, as if getting ready to say something, before he turned away and resumed watching the television.

 

They would comment once in a while at the programs or talk in between commercials. Uryuu's banter with Ichigo reminded her of her own friends long gone, in a way. Inuyasha didn't frown as much as Orihime's orange-haired friend did, but they looked like they had the same rough exterior to her. Maybe if he stopped frowning her way every so often, she'd actually learn to like the guy.

 

“Kurosaki, do you feel that?”

 

“Not now Ishida,” Ichigo grumbled before he added “It's your turn this time.” It was his day off. It was self-appointed, but he didn't care if anybody gave a damn. He was tired and overworked. He wasn't even supposed to be here right now. He was supposed to be at home, pummeling his dad or something along those lines. And it was still raining for crying out loud. He didn't have a canoe and he didn't feel like taking a swim today either.

 

“But it's your job.” The Quincy reminded and swore that he could hear teeth gritting hard against each other. Neither refused to budge from their positions; neither willing to brave the weather.

 

Kagome listened with half an ear to their conversation. The weird aura was getting stronger by the second and all her senses were on alert. She chewed on her lip nervously, debating between seeking it out or waiting for it and hope that it wasn't her it was looking for. There were no more demons in this era, were there? Oh wait, the weird-looking snake-guy… gotcha.

 

She gave a long mental sigh. If she just waited here, surely it won't come after her, right? It was a long shot, if it was a youkai after her, or the jewel, she might as well confront it head on. Hiding never had been her forte. But… she looked hesitantly at her cousin. If she went outside, Orihime and her friends would be curious for sure. Not to mention that her cousin would probably go with her, putting herself in danger.

 

Kagome stood up and excused herself, heading towards the bathroom just as the argument brewed between the two males. Ichigo was saying something about a day off and Uryuu was scoffing at him, telling him that he had no time to take a day off. The miko was shutting the door just as Ichigo was asking Uryuu who died and made him the boss. She didn't realize that she was still clutching the plushie, so she set him down gently on top of the sink and cautiously opened the window.

 

Rain battered at the opened window but the miko ignored it. She figured she was going to get a little wet from this, but short of going outside with Orihime trailing after her, she had no other option. She let her miko senses flare as she reached out and tried to locate where the negative aura was coming from. Luck was on her side because she felt its aura strike back against hers with a resounding hiss, protesting.

 

When she started out on her journey when she was fifteen, she couldn't even shoot an arrow in a straight line, much less release one that would track an enemy regardless of the corners it had to cut. Things were different now. She didn't need to worry about that, however, since her powers seemed to have sent the beast into a frenzy. It sped towards her window in an alarming rate. Not wishing to have her hosts' bathroom decimated, she quickly put up a barrier, causing the youkai to bounce against it hard. It pulled away with half of its mask purified from the impact. It eerily looked similar to the one she encountered the other day, but this time it had wings that enabled it to fly.

 

“Human, the jewel, you have it,” it told her. “Give it to me,” it demanded, “and I'll make your death quick and painless.” Kagome rolled her eyes, exasperated. If she had a dollar for every time someone told her that, she'd be filthy rich by now. The demon tried to break into her shield again, the impact not even making her flinch one bit. He was big, she gave him that, but their power levels were too far to compare. She almost pitied him, really. “Hand it over or watch your city drown,” it growled at her.

 

Her eyes narrowed. “Don't tell me you're the one responsible for this unnatural rain?” It was a good thing that people were inside their homes, seeking shelter from the rain, or else there would be dozens of bystanders gawking at the picture a flying monstrosity presented right now.

 

It merely cackled at her. “Such power is beyond comprehension for the likes of you, little girl.” It sneered at her. Kagome bristled. So she was inconvenienced today because of this thing? “But if you must know, yes pathetic little human, I'm the one responsible for this magnificent rain. Isn't it just wonderful?” The youkai continued to taunt her as it began a monologue.

 

What it was with bad guys and their monologues she'll never know. Deciding to end it as soon as she could, her shield went down as she prepared for a counter strike. She didn't want her cousin to wonder what was taking her so long. The demon cackled in glee as she notched her spirit arrow. “Foolish girl, give me the jewel!” It said just as the miko released her concentrated holy energy, hitting the center of his mask with her perfect aim, causing him to go up in pretty sparkles.

 

“They really should stop underestimating me,” she muttered and shut the window close. Her clothes were partially wet, but it was nothing to be concerned about. “Is it because I'm a girl?” She continued to ask to no one in particular. Reaching for the towel on the rack, she patted herself as dry as she possibly could, so as not to make anyone worry or suspicious, all the while muttering to herself. The one-sided banter was normal to her. It wasn't like the stuffed bear on the sink could answer her anyway. The girl that looked back at her in the mirror didn't have an answer for her questions either.

 

Having your enemies think you were weak was a definite advantage, but it gets old in time. Naraku had learned it the hard way, underestimating her the first time. Lucky for him, (which meant that it had been unlucky for their ragtag group), he learned quickly and stayed clear of her as much as possible. He was such a fast learner. But then if one's body almost disintegrated just from a single arrow, one had to be an utter moron to continue any kind of unprepared confrontation.

 

Thus explaining all the puppets and detachments sent after them. Not to mention the group of undead warriors and anybody who was prone to the evil hanyou's promises of grandeur and power.

 

Still, it irked her that new enemies would assume she was weak just by looking at her. What did she have to do to earn respect around here? How many times did she have to save the world before she counted as a decent enough opponent and not just some frail little schoolgirl?

 

Come to think about it, inner Kagome paused, why was there suddenly an influx of demons around here lately? Despite her irritation at being underestimated time and time again, she wasn't exactly looking forward to proving just how strong she was and take on whoever challenged her. Wasn't she retired or something?

 

Her days of saving the world were over. The jewel was whole once again, back in her body safe from evil clutches of conniving half-demons. She had fulfilled her duty. The well was closed and her journey was over now, wasn't it? She blew the bangs out of her face in exasperation.

 

Remembering to pick up the plushie from the sink, she opened the bathroom door and came face to face with three curious faces.

 

“Um, are you alright, Kagome-chan?” Orihime asked her.

 

Kagome nodded at her cousin. Why wouldn't she be alright? It only seems like there were more demons in this era than she credited before, and they seemed like they were after the jewel again. Why wouldn't she be alright? Just because she was the jewel now wasn't a cause for concern at all. No, not at all. “I'm alright,” she answered with fake cheer. Why were they looking at her like that?

 

Ichigo brushed past her and into the bathroom, looking around for something.

 

Kagome went to stand beside her cousin, curious.

 

Uryuu joined Ichigo in the bathroom and went straight for the window, looking outside. He didn't fail to notice that there was a small puddle of water on the floor next to the window, as if it was recently opened. The rain finally stopped pouring down like cats and dogs barely a minute ago, right after they felt the Hollow energy spike. They all felt it, making Inoue concerned for her cousin's safety.

 

Since said cousin was still inside the bathroom, they had to wait for her, but they grew concerned. What was odd was that it suddenly vanished right before the rain stopped, almost as if there had been a sending. Another Shinigami perhaps?

 

The confused miko wanted to ask if they were looking for something and if perhaps she could be of help, but hesitated to offer when Ichigo's frown deepened as he walked back towards her. “Kon, did you see something? If you did, tell us now or I'm going to hand you over to Yuzu and let her have her way with you.” He threatened. Kagome was wondering why he was looking at her chest area.

 

“It was her,” Kon replied several seconds later, ratting out what happened in fear of getting handed over to Ichigo's demon sister. He still had chilling nightmares from the time when she dressed him up as a pretty fairy princess.

 

Kagome almost dropped the stuffed animal that she was holding when it talked. “You can speak???” She asked incredulously as she held it within eye-level.

 

Ichigo was immediately suspicious of the girl. She didn't even flinch when the stuffed toy in her arms spoke. There was more than simply what meets the eye with this so-called cousin of Inoue. If she really was her cousin. For all he knew, she could have been some imposter. He was immediately on guard. “Just who are you and what is your purpose?”

 

Kagome bristled at his tone. “What do you mean who am I and what my purpose is? Are you nuts?!”

 

“Are you someone else, pretending to be Inoue's cousin? How do we know you really are cousins?” He shot back at her. Both had extremely volatile tempers, and they flared against each other, just as their kis did, much to the surprise of Orihime and Uryuu. Both friends were used to Ichigo's spirit energy by now but they didn't expect someone not from Soul Society to probably be on equal grounds with him.

 

Uryuu walked back to them, finding nothing suspicious at all. “Tell us what happened, Kon.” He requested gently, trying to pacify both parties.

 

“Well, you see,” Kon began reluctantly, not wanting to give up his position from the girl's arms, but at the same time afraid of Ichigo's threat, “she went into the bathroom and opened the window, looking out. Then this Hollow came and she defeated it,” he said, telling them an extremely watered down version of the event. He didn't mention how his polyester fur had stood on end when a small amount of the girl's aura flared to defeat the monster, nor did he mention that she defeated the thing without much effort at all. Kagome wondered what the heck a Hollow was.

 

The sudden rise in spiritual energy was overwhelming. “I see. And tell me, just how did she manage to do this?”

 

“It looked like Ishida's arrow, but not quite.” He wasn't sure about it but if it wasn't for the fact that it looked like a bow and arrow, he'd say that it was a Soul Slayer. But it wasn't. Soul Slayers were swords, not a bow.

 

“Is that all?” Ichigo's right brow was twitching. Why did he feel like the little piece of shit was hiding something from him?

 

“Yes that's all. What else did you want me to say?” The Modified Soul scoffed indignantly.

 

Ichigo reached over and plucked him from Kagome's arms, shaking him forcefully. Kagome gasped at the rough treatment, feeling like it was Shippou being bullied by a temperamental hanyou all over again.

 

“Stop it, you're hurting him!” She snatched the distressed plushie out of Ichigo's hands and cuddled him protectively. She had a strong urge to sit the guy. If only she had some prayer beads… “Why don't you pick on someone your own size?” She glared at him for more emphasis.

 

Okay that was it. Cousin or no cousin, no one interrupted him when he was pummeling Kon. “Excuse me but I don't see any worthy opponents around here,” he stared angrily back, towering over her.

 

Kagome was more than two heads shorter than he was, but she wasn't going to let such a trivial matter like height intimidate her.

 

Orihime and Uryuu watched fixatedly at the display of tempers. They didn't think it was possible, but there was actually someone out there with a temper to match their friend's. Orihime didn't think it was possible for her cousin to be such person; her sweet, sickly cousin. This was the first massive display of temper her cousin displayed that she was privy to so far. The two of them spent enough time together to get close and get to know each other's characters, but Kagome had never displayed this type of volatility before. Not even when her friends talked about that two-timing boyfriend of hers did she even remotely lose her temper. She was such a sweet girl.

 

The sparks were literally flying between the two. None of the spectators have seen anything like it before. Ichigo's spirit energy was reacting to his temper, flaring out wildly. They have seen what Ichigo was capable of doing before, so they weren't really that surprised.

 

What was surprising was that Kagome's aura was flaring as well, almost as if in response to his. And while Ichigo's looked black, Kagome's ki was a mixture of pink and blue.

 

“I've never seen spirit energy like that before,” Uryuu observed out loud. It was usually just one color, from his experience.

 

“What do you mean spirit energy like that?” The irritated Shinigami asked distractedly. Why wasn't this slip of a girl cowering before his angry glare? In high school, he didn't even have to glare at someone to intimidate them, his constant frown and rough demeanor sent normal people scurrying away from him within seconds. If she wasn't clutching Kon to her like a mother protecting its young or if she wasn't glaring back at him like that, he would probably almost admit to finding her cute. Her blue eyes were fired up with anger, directed at him. Why the heck was she angry at him for!?

 

“Ara, ara. Seems like I'm late for the party,” a voice said, breaking off the staring contest between the two combatants. Mysterious smiling eyes were half-hidden beneath a gaudy striped hat, but Kagome's attention was diverted to the cane and clogs that the man was sporting. “It was the rain, you see,” the newcomer explained for his audience's benefit. He was looking straight at the miko though; undivided attention and all. “Thanks for fixing that, by the way Kagome-san.” He tipped his hat towards the confused girl. Jumping off of the window ledge and into the apartment, he surveyed the humble abode.

 

The occupants were at a loss; all of them wondering what this man was doing, here and now. Kagome was wondering that plus the fact that she didn't know who this man was. She couldn't feel any menacing intent from him, but she didn't let her guard down. How did he know her name?

 

“What the hell are you doing here, old man?” Ichigo demanded rudely.

 

“How do you know my name?” Kagome asked at the same time.

 

Urahara Kisuke made himself at home, plopping on the couch and making himself comfortable. “Oh I know all about you, Kagome-san.” He smiled knowingly.

 

- o - o - o - o - o - o - o - o - o - o - o - o - o - o - o - o - o - o - o - o - o - o - o - o - o - o - o - o - o - o - o - o - o - o - o - o - o -

* ^_^ * ^_^ * ^_^ * * ^_^ * ^_^ * ^_^ * ^_^ * ^_^ * ^_^ * * ^_^ * ^_^ * ^_^ *^_^ * ^_^ * ^_^ * * ^_^ * ^_^ * ^_^ *

- o - o - o - o - o - o - o - o - o - o - o - o - o - o - o - o - o - o - o - o - o - o - o - o - o - o - o - o - o - o - o - o - o - o - o - o - o -

 

There she was again. Long, flowing hair swaying with the wind as it blew by quietly.

 

He didn't bother to question her company today. He wasn't going to balk if she wanted to look at the sky with him. He had things figured out by now, and he didn't have any protests against it.

 

Besides, if things were to go smoothly, he should expect more of these silent cloud-watching activities more often.

 

She looked sideways at him thoughtfully for several moments. He didn't seem to mind. He had a definite sense of security around him. Enemy or foe alike, she doubted if he would flinch from their attention either way. They were so alike in that sense, she guessed. Compared to her, he looked very - for a lack of better word - modern.

 

She insisted on wearing the traditional red and white colors, not because she had no other choice, but because they were familiar. She was updated with the current fashions and such, being able to access her host's memories and knowledge, but she chose to keep her appearance the same.

 

“Your ward has a temper on her,” he observed.

 

“So does yours,” she replied.

 

“What a coincidence,” he said, his eyes telling her that he really didn't believe in coincidences.

 

There are no coincidences in this world, after all. There is only inevitability.

 

- o - o - o - o - o - o - o - o - o - o - o - o - o - o - o - o - o - o - o - o - o - o - o - o - o - o - o - o - o - o - o - o - o - o - o - o - o -

* ^_^ * ^_^ * ^_^ * * ^_^ * ^_^ * ^_^ * ^_^ * ^_^ * ^_^ * * ^_^ * ^_^ * ^_^ *^_^ * ^_^ * ^_^ * * ^_^ * ^_^ * ^_^ *

- o - o - o - o - o - o - o - o - o - o - o - o - o - o - o - o - o - o - o - o - o - o - o - o - o - o - o - o - o - o - o - o - o - o - o - o - o -

 

A/N: I have ALWAYS loved that quote from Touya of Card Captor Sakura.

 

If you don't have an open mind for crossover fics, I suggest you not read this fanfic. In the crossover world, there are just some things that you need to accept - like why the hell Aerith is still alive in Kingdom Hearts when Sephiroth already killed her.

 

I would like to apologize for the lack of updates. I can only type on my computer now, and I've had my priorities elsewhere. The dancing chibis can be found on my journal. Sweats. I've been addicted to Eljay and have spent 99% of my free time doing icons on it. Gomen! Hehe.. Want to find out what happens next? Well… (rides off to safety on top of her trusty Cactuar) Leave a review/suggestion/non-snarky comment that's not weak and I'll tell you. Haha! XP

 

DISCLAIMER for every chapter: Me no own so you no sue.