InuYasha Fan Fiction / Crossover Fan Fiction / Bleach Fan Fiction ❯ ��:♫ HOUKIBOSHI ♫:�� ❯ Bleanuyasha 02 ( Chapter 2 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Terms:

Teichou - Captain (I couldn't get myself to calling them “Captain Aizen”, it just sounds… so wrong… sweats. So I'm calling them “Aizen-teichou”, etc, okay?)

Chikuso - Damn it

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- BLEANUYASHAâ„¢ 2 -

“Tell me why I let you talk me into coming here again.” She scowled as she pulled on her outfit. This was ridiculous; she should never have agreed to do this even if Cosplaying was a really, really HUGE thing in Japan right now. Almost everywhere you turn, you see kids of all ages wearing costumes from their favorite animÃ©. These people didn't need to wait for Halloween; they donned their costumes whenever a convention was organized. It had a huge cult following, but she wasn't really interested in it. Her brother had whined and begged for her to come with him on this particular one though, thus explaining the predicament that she was in right now.

Souta was wearing what looked like a white military uniform of some sort, decorated with blue trimmings, complete a red shirt tucked neatly inside his matching white pants. There was a funny-looking patch on his left sleeve which was an Orb logo, he explained. What “Orb” was supposed to be she didn't know exactly, but she had a mental image of a ball in her head. He was supposed to be some guy named Kira Yamato, he had patiently explained to her. A superb Gundam pilot, he added. At her blank-eyed look, he went into detail what Gundams were and listed the list of credentials that his hero, this Kira, had. She listened with one ear and the information leaked out of the other. What he was saying sounded totally unbelievable.

Her brother used emotional blackmail into making her feel bad about not spending time with her anymore, and she found herself caving. She didn't want to go to this convention. She didn't even watch animÃ©. Her teenage years have been spent mostly in the Sengoku Jidai and there were no television sets or electricity there. She didn't like putting on a costume as well. One of the reasons why she retained her school uniform to travel around Japan's countryside in the feudal era was so she would feel normal. She certainly didn't feel normal now. Since she didn't have time to get a costume custom made for her like Souta did, she settled on wearing her traditional miko garb. Technically, it really was a costume, wasn't it? She was going to wring Souta's neck when they got home; she couldn't believe she agreed to this nonsense. The bow and quiver strapped to her back, completing the miko look, were a welcome addition though. She felt at home again. The weight of the `weapons' were familiar to her, soothing even.

The modern girl wearing traditional miko garb felt her costume was tame compared to the others. A lot of people were dressed in orange jumpsuits completed with yellow wigs that, she guessed, were supposed to make them look like blondes. The sea of yellow and orange was almost blinding, her eyes hurt from just looking at it. Orange was such a gaudy color. She can't recall ever owning any piece of orange clothing in her entire life and was thankful for the fact, seeing how these people looked here now.

Her little brother looked really ecstatic, going from one booth to another and taking pictures with other people in costumes as soon as they arrived. He went off to reenact some scenes from a bunch of other people who looked similar to him costume-wise and she found herself wandering around the convention alone, not really having a destination in mind. She giggled at the irony that she almost willingly wore the traditional miko clothing now that she was back in the modern era while she had adamantly refused to do so before in the time when such attire was deemed proper for someone like her. She even fondly recalled that convention they had in school, long ago. Inuyasha had fit in perfectly amongst the crowd with his Tessaiga and red kimono perfectly because lots of people were dressed in costumes as well. Ah, those were the days.

At least her little brother was having a lot of fun, if his inattention to her were any indication. She didn't mind, she liked seeing her brother happy. It was tough for him too, in a way he also lost contact with the only person he felt had been like the older brother he never had. Kagome knew that she could never fill that role for him.

Stepping outside, she found a quiet spot and sat on a bench. Next time, she should be the one who gets to pick what gathering they go to. It was only fair, after all. There should be a Cherry Blossoms festival soon.

The young miko was lost in her thoughts until a shiver ran through the back of her head straight to her spine. It was bone-chilling and terrifying; it was as if someone's heart died and there was a huge gaping hole in their chest. It was painfully overwhelming to someone like her; a miko who was honed to be sensitive to the feelings of those around her. She could normally block these feelings out; she wondered why she couldn't right now. Looking around, she decided to investigate. Maybe someone just got dumped nearby, nursing a terribly broken heart.

Cautiously approaching where the presence of the heartbreak seemed the strongest, she peeked around the corner of the building to take a look and came face to face with a huge youkai. She was so surprised; she stood stock still for a moment. Aside from Mistress Centipede and the Noh Mask, she wasn't aware that there were other youkai in the city. She just assumed that they were already extinct in her time.

Instincts kicked in as the youkai spotted her and let out a blood-curling howl. Kagome wanted to kick its mouth in and tell it to keep quiet or else people will come running and see them. She settled for rolling over to the side instead, as she avoided its attack. The youkai was at least five times her height, with a snake-like body, two hands and was wearing a white mask. There was also a gaping hole in its chest, fueling her curiosity. What type of youkai was this? She had never seen such a species of demon before. She knew that it took a lot to actually kill demons; Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru often punched each other a new hole through their gut during their sibling fights, but never did they look like this monster in front of her right now. Upon closer inspection, she saw that the monster's wound wasn't even bleeding. How weird.

The weird monster lifted its tail again, swinging it around menacingly, reminding Kagome that she didn't have time to study it up close. She needed to purify it out of here before any innocent bystanders got curious and decided to investigate, ending up hurt or demon food. Expert hands reached behind her for an arrow. She considered not using her bow and quiver, but since they were there and she hasn't had the chance to show off her skills anymore lately, she decided why not. She could only use bow and quiver on festivals now, entering in contests. Grandpa would probably frown at her for returning the set back with one arrow short, but he would understand after she told him that it was for a good cause, right? She notched the arrow on her bow gracefully and took aim.

The fight was over in an instant as her streaking blue projectile hit the target. It hit the demon right on the mark, dead center of its mask, cutting its intimidating scream off as it disappeared into sparkly dust. Don't worry, you're going to a better place now, she assured the youkai silently as she stared as the sparkles faded.

Feeling quite proud of herself and resisting the overwhelming urge to flash a victory sign, Kagome dusted her hands off together and gave herself a mental pat in the back for a job well done. No demon was going to run rampant in this city if she had anything to say about it. Her work here was done. She hooked the bow back to her shoulder, turned to walk back to the convention and ran straight into a brick wall.

“Ow,” she said as she lost her balance and started to fall to her bottom. A hand reached out and caught her before she dropped to the ground.

“Watch where you're going, will you?” A grumpy voice snapped from behind the wall as a guy wearing flaming orange hair and a black kimono ran past them. “And hurry up!” He added over his shoulder, not waiting for his companion. Was that a real sword strapped to his back?

“Are you all right?” The orange guy's companion, the wall, asked as he let her arms go after she regained her balance, albeit a little reluctantly. He righted the pair of glasses on top of his nose that had gone askew from their collision. The wall was more than a head taller than her and he probably worked out or something, judging from how her body complained from their unexpected impact. Unlike his companion, his hair was black and it was flat. He was also wearing a white ensemble with a matching cape.

Um, Batman is that you? “I'm alright, sorry I didn't see you.” She mumbled in apology, looking him in the eye. When did Batman start bleaching his clothes?

A slight blush stained the wall's cheeks as he fidgeted with his glasses again. “It was my fault,” he said. Right after he grabbed the girl and skin touched skin, he started to feel strange sensations… and a strange craving to taste something.

Was it just her or was he peering at her like she was some sort of candy? She just shrugged and offered him a smile. “I better be going,” she said. “My brother's probably looking for me by now… and you look like you're in a hurry.” She bowed in apology. “I'm sorry again, gomen nasai!” Backing away slowly from the weird guy, she waved and then sprinted back to where she last saw Souta.

Ishida Uryuu followed her retreating form with curious, appraising eyes until she disappeared amongst the throng of Cosplayers. Well that was odd. The pleasant sensations humming in his veins started to subside a little when the girl left.

“Huh, how weird,” Ichigo said as he reappeared beside him, hefting his Soul Slayer with a trademark frown on his face.

“What's weird?” Ishida asked, taking his eyes off of where the girl dressed in traditional miko garb disappeared to.

“I got there and there was no Hollow.” The frown on his face deepened.

The Quincy quirked a brow at him. “And that is a bad thing because…?”

“I didn't say it was a bad thing!” Ichigo snapped. “I'm just saying it's weird. That's the first time that's happened since your so-called intervention years ago.” Orange hair stared at him some more. “Are you sure you're the last one?”

Ishida bristled. “Sure I'm sure,” he muttered and shook his head. As if his father would actually come to a place like this.

Ichigo shrugged. “Oh well, less work for me so I can't really complain. It's too bad I had to run all the way here for nothing though… Oh hey!” He suddenly exclaimed, pointing at the crowd. “It's that Cosplay convention on TV.” He remembered it from the commercial on TV days ago. “Maybe you should go. You'd win first prize for costume for sure,” he sniggered.

“Shut up,” Ishida said. “This,” he fumed, pointing at his getup, “is not a costume. It's my family's sacred clothing, worn by those who have sworn to protect this world from the Hollows.”

Ichigo waved a hand at him dismissively. “Yeah, yeah, I get it, I get it, sheesh! No need to give me another lecture about your history.” He shifted to the side, adjusting Zangetsu effortlessly. “So you don't want go there then?”

Ishida considered his offer for several seconds. Ichigo braced himself for another `Pride of the Quincy' speech. “I'm kind of interested actually. That girl I ran into… she was very… interesting…” and different, his inner self added.

“Girl, huh? What girl?”

“That girl I ran into, remember? You saw her just several minutes ago.” He replied in a deadpan. Kurosaki's attention span was astounding sometimes.

“Oh her?” He scratched the top of his orange hair, recalling. “Come to think about it, she looked kind of familiar... I wonder who she was dressed up as.”

“She looked like a traditional shrine maiden,” Ishida supplied, looking at the building where an Cosplay convention was held. They didn't come here to join the convention. Not that Ichigo could at his current condition anyway… well, he could, but what was the point of attempting to play dress-up if normal people couldn't even see you? Uryuu was examining his new Quincy garb when they felt the familiar presence of a Hollow in the neighborhood. It wasn't just a normal one, the aura implied that it was a Huge Hollow at least, and he didn't want to waste time changing to his normal clothes as he rushed out with his Death God friend in his complete Quincy ensemble. The Hollow presence had been a strong one, so he decided to go just in case something went wrong. Why it wasn't here anymore was a mystery.

“A shrine maiden?” A bird chirped overhead and the wind blew. Ichigo scratched his orange head.

“Yeah,” he agreed. He wondered which character she was supposed to be portraying. “Say Kurosaki, you didn't feel any strange aura from that girl, did you?”

“Strange?” His brow further furrowed in thought. “I didn't notice anything, why?”

The last of the Quincy Clan shook his head, letting the subject drop. “Nah, forget it. Never mind, it's nothing.” The feelings that swirled inside him when he touched the girl weren't the same as how he had felt for Inoue-san, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. They were almost… well, he didn't know what they were exactly. The contact was brief but his skin tingled all over. It brought him back to when he first bumped shoulders with Ichigo but not quite. The stress was starting to really get to him.

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The weekend ended too soon for everybody and Monday rolled in once again, giving way to Tuesday and then to Wednesday. By Thursday, the lone Shinigami and Quincy were hanging by mere threads unto their sanity.

Hellish was the first word that came to mind, followed by nightmare and insane. As predicted, this week's Hollow situation was worse than last week's. Both were thinking that they were being punished by living hell on earth. They were stuck in a nightmare and if it didn't end soon, they were going to go insane.

Tonight wasn't any different; or early morning, considering that it was already three in the morning. The overworked Shinigami just finished strapping his Soul Slayer on his back before he yawned widely. He was so damn tired that caffeine had lost its kick now. His muscles were straining and he didn't even have to do his daily sit-ups to stay fit anymore. If he hurried, and there were no more Hollow interruptions, he would actually get at least four hours of sleep today, the most he would have for this week. Shuffling his feet, he headed home.

“Hoooo,” said a condescending voice behind him. “Don't tell me the great Kurosaki Ichigo has gotten so soft during the years that he can no longer keep his head up after just one Hollow.”

Turning around with a visible tick in his forehead, he confronted the newcomer. “Temee, what do you think you're saying?” He whirled around and glared. A man with the same black clothes as him and a sword attached to his hip was casually leaning against a lamp post, a smirk playing on his lips. He had flaming red hair that was tied into a neat ponytail on top of his head and he was wearing a dark pair of sunglasses.

“I'm saying that you've gone soft, Ichigo.” He tugged the sunglasses up to his forehead, covering the intricate markings on his skin and revealing his eyes at the same time. “You look really tired. Long day?”

“Why wouldn't I be tired, stupid? I have been fighting more than at least three to five Hollows a day FOR THE PAST SEVERAL MONTHS!” He answered almost hysterically, waving his hands in a fit. “I haven't even seen a single person from the Soul Society help us out! Isn't there supposed to be someone assigned to this area? Your guys have been slacking off!” He marched right up next to Renji and shouted at his face, the veins in his forehead increasing, and he could almost feel his fangs growing. He finally had someone from the Soul Society here and he had a lot to complain about, damn it. He pointed an accusatory finger right in front of the redhead, a centimeter away from his face. “Just because there's a local Death God here doesn't mean that you guys shouldn't do your job anymore!!! And where the hell have you been! It has been months since I've seen you! And where's Rukia!? Have you been treating her right? I swear, if you haven't, I'm going to go to Soul Society again and kick your ass!” He panted from his tirade.

Renji blinked at his finger, unfazed. “Gee honey, I had no idea you missed me that much. I promise I'll try not to go away for too long next time,” the Lieutenant cheekily replied.

“Why you…” Ichigo grabbed a fistful of Renji's haori and shook him hard.

The redhead merely chuckled, used to the temper displayed by his longtime friend. Disengaging himself easily from the grip, he shook his head fondly. “Rukia's doing fine. She's… sorry … she couldn't come here herself, but Kuchiki-teichou had been uncharacteristically overprotective lately,” probably making up for lost time, he added silently. “He wouldn't allow his little sister to take up any missions, making me do them instead. So I have been busy too. Heroes get no rest, didn't you know that?”

Ichigo scoffed. “You're no hero.”

“I just came to invite you…” Renji continued, not taking the bait.

Renji and Rukia have grown even closer during the last five years, their childhood friendship blossoming into something more, and finally culminated to Renji proposing to Rukia. Rukia had agreed to marry him happily, as the love between the two were as clear as crystal, but being a member of the Kuchiki Clan, there were certain protocol that had to be followed.

Even if Renji had long ago achieved the second stage of his Soul Slayer, the Bankai release, he still chose to remain to serve under the 6th Division under Kuchiki Byakuya. Having achieved both Renkai, the first stage of release, and Bankai, which was the second stage, he was more than eligible to try for Captainship after more training. It normally took at least ten years more until one could be experienced enough to vie for a Captainship, but Renji had declined, saying that being a Captain only gave him more work and more things to worry about. He was perfectly happy where he was right now, and he didn't want to part from his current squad. Not yet. Not until he surpassed his current Captain. The grudge wasn't there anymore even if the (one-sided) rivalry still lingered.

The first reason being that after his… slight defection years ago, he and his captain had finally come to a deeper understanding about each other. No one was actually able to tell how the man with the hair noodles ever felt, considering that he hardly ever showed any kind of emotion, but due to the warped almost friendship he had with his captain, Renji did. After years and years of working for him and finally achieving that, the stray dog in him didn't want to let go of that just yet.

The second reason being that working for Kuchiki-teichou meant that he felt closer to Rukia as well. That was the main reason why he worked hard to join the 6th Squad in the first place, if you didn't count the obsession to surpass one of the nobles. After Rukia graduated immediately from the academy and got adopted into the Kuchiki household, Renji trained like there was no tomorrow just so he could make it to one of the Thirteen Guardian Squads of the Court of Pure Souls.

“So you're really getting married?”

The redhead gave him a look, ignoring his question. “It's a really special occasion so the Drifters who managed to make their way into the Court of Pure Souls last time are going to be allowed to enter Soul Society with special escort this time.”

Ichigo's left brow lifted in surprise. Were these the same people who wanted to eliminate them just because they wanted to rescue their friend years go?

Renji continued, he seemed to be in a hurry. He specified more details, the time and place, citing his apartment for the pickup. He extended invitations to all the Ryoka, meaning Chad, Ishida and the others were invited as well. “Don't be late, or else you can't come.”

“Does this mean I have to get a tux?”

“A.. tux?” The red haired Shinigami echoed, confused.

“You know, for the wedding. Or a formal kimono. I don't have either one,” Ichigo thought out loud. What did people wear when they went to the wedding of Death Gods anyway? “I could probably rent one, and Ishida, too. And Chad as well. Inoue probably has a dress ready for such occasions so I don't need to worry about her but I should tell her just to make sure…”

“Just be there.” Renji replied impatiently, breaking Ichigo's one-sided conversation with himself. He wished he had more time to spend talking around like this, but he had duties to attend to. “The escorts will be prompt, so don't be tardy.”

“Duh stupid, they're coming to my apartment so how can I be late?”

Renji glowered at him. “Just be sure to be there! Rukia will be unhappy if you and the others don't show up to the wedding.”

“Yeah, yeah we'll be there,” he assured, waving his hand in assurance. He and the others wouldn't miss this for the world.

“See you in three weeks then,” the Shinigami bid goodbye and then disappeared to the night.

“Hey, wait!” He looked around in search of Renji but the Shinigami was no longer there. He swore loudly. He didn't know what he could get them for a wedding present. Chikuso.

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She should have just stayed home today. Skipped school, laid back and watched TV all day.

She was doing the same routine she had last week for this week, the only difference was that Kagome felt like someone was following her. She looked around looking for signs of anybody suspicious but everyone around her looked like they were minding their own business, milling about normally. There was that familiar gnawing feeling in her chest again, much like that time when she saw that demon in the convention, but it was somehow faint. As if it was stalking her.

Kagome hugged her protected books closer to her ample chest and crossed the road quickly as the light turned green. She felt so weirded out, all she wanted was just to go home and go to bed. Sleep deprivation can cause paranoia sometimes.

It started raining earlier this morning.

What began as a slight drizzle in the early hours was now a full-blown storm. Hard rain the size of mothballs poured from the unforgiving heavens, bruising the mere mortals on the ground. At this rate, she wasn't going to be able to go home until the day after tomorrow. Some streets tended to flood when it rained this hard and traffic was a mess. She could take the train and stand shoulder to shoulder with fellow stragglers like her but she was too far away from the station.

She never did like the drowned cat look.

Why did she not listen to the weatherman for just this once and brought an umbrella? Or a raincoat, a raincoat would have been preferable. Umbrellas broke and got blew away by strong winds, like the one barely passing in front of her right now. Yep, a raincoat would have been preferable. Maybe she should bring one with her all the time, especially during the rainy season. Mhm, that was what she was going to do if she ever survived this unforgiving rain.

It wasn't any consolation that she wasn't the only one who seemed unprepared for this onslaught either. Who would have? Yesterday had been bright and sunny, without a cloud present in the sky. Nobody believed the weatherman when he said that they were having a hurricane on top of a storm the day after that.

A flash of lightning streaked in the sky followed by the distinct rumble of thunder. She, among with third of the people seeking shelter in the bus stop, jumped. Lightning reminded her of Shippou and the Thunder Brothers. If she wasn't so cold, soaked to the bone that she was right now, she would have probably felt the familiar pang of missing her little kit right about now.

She shivered instead.

Skirts were so easy to move in, but they absolutely didn't offer any warmth or protection when she was wet. She was so damn cold, her teeth were chattering. She couldn't feel her toes anymore. There goes a perfectly good pair of sandals, she thought wryly, wriggling her toes. She stared at them, wondering if they were salvageable.

“Kagome-chan?”

Kagome turned to the voice, her eyes widening in surprise as she saw her cousin. Both girls squealed in glee, in the midst of pounding rain and annoyed people waiting for the darn bus to arrive.

“I thought I saw someone familiar.” Her cousin said.

“Are you taller than me now? Oh my, how you've grown!”

“Look who's talking! Is that really you? When was the last time I came to visit?”

“Too long,” Kagome reprimanded, pulling away from the fierce hug. “You have to visit more often. Mama gets really worried about you, you know.”

Kagome didn't have a lot of cousins, thus the few she had she was close to, even though they didn't see each other on a regular basis. The young girl talked to her cousin on the phone a lot whenever she wasn't gallivanting along Feudal Japan in her early teen years, but she, like everybody else, was under the impression that Kagome had been a very sickly child growing up.

“Oh my, you're drenched through,” her cousin observed, brows knitting in disapproval. “We have to get you out of the cold as soon as possible!” Her cousin declared, tugging her out of the bus stop and into the pounding rain.

Kagome tugged back. “Wait, where are we going?” She looked longingly at the meager shelter that the bus stop provided. Already, people were taking up the space that she was just forced to vacate. She tried to get her arm back, but her cousin was stronger than her.

“I have friends who live nearby. I'm sure they wouldn't mind if we took shelter for one night.”

But I don't want to take shelter on some stranger's house, inner Kagome protested. I want to go home! “… Shelter for one night?”

“Someone with delicate health like you should get out of those wet clothes as soon as possible. You can call Auntie and tell her that the roads are flooded and that you've taken refuge with me.”

She was right; the chances of being able to go home in one piece did look slim at the moment… Only people who had a death wish would attempt to brave this weather for further travel. “But…”

“No buts, let's go!” When did she get so bossy? Kagome followed meekly behind the other busty brunette as they braved strong winds and pouring rain two blocks from the bus stop and into an apartment complex. The entrance was soaked, probably due to the tenants coming home totally drenched to the bone.

“Are you sure it's okay for us to do this?”

“Yes I'm sure. I've been friends with these guys since junior high and they're really nice people.”

If you say so…

They managed to wring the excess water out of their clothes near the entrance, so as not to spread it all over the place and possibly create a puddle for someone to slip on. They didn't have to take the elevator, opting to climb the stairs to the second floor instead. Hand in hand they stopped in front of a door and her cousin's knock was answered a few seconds later by a tall, wiry, well-built man wearing glasses.

His eyes widened into saucers at the sight of two very drenched women on his doorstep. He took in one drowned appearance after another and then blinked before recognition graced his features as he turned to his friend. “Inoue-san! What happened to you?”

What was he turning red for?

Kagome sneezed into her left hand, her right still held between Inoue's dainty ones.

“Excuse me.”

“Bless you.” Uryuu ushered them both in and shut the door behind him. They took their soggy shoes off and set them aside near the entrance. Walking into the bathroom, Uryuu produced several fluffy towels and offered them to both girls, trying his hardest to not look below their faces. Their clothes were plastered to their skin, acting like a mold, accentuating every curve in both their bodies. His friend's cousin didn't look anything like her, aside from the both of them being short and well-endowed.

Orihime accepted the towels gratefully from Uryuu and proceeded to pat her cousin dry. “I was on my way home but it was really hard to get any transport. I thought I could stay over at your place at least for the night,” she smiled in apology, “or just until the heavy rain and flooding subside.”

“Of course, Inoue-san,” Uryuu agreed immediately. A real gentleman never turned a lady in need down. “Kurosaki is out for the night and will be back on the weekend so I have the apartment all to myself.” He spared a glance at the stuffed toy lying motionlessly at the couch and then glanced curiously at his friend's companion.

“This is my cousin, Kagome.” Orihime introduced them. “And this is my friend, Ishida-kun.”

Kagome and Uryuu smiled at each other. “I believe we've met before…?” Uryuu prompted.

The young girl had to think for a moment before she nodded in memory. “Bumped into each other is more like it,” she said with a smile.

“It's nice to meet you, Kagome-san.” They shook hands. “I've never met any of Inoue-san's cousins before.”

“Our mothers were sisters,” Orihime explained, rubbing her cousin dry so hard that Kagome's skin was feeling raw.

“I can dry myself, Orihime-chan.” The girl protested, wrestling the second towel from her to no avail.

“Hush Kagome-chan. Let me take care of you,” Orihime ignored Kagome's resistance, picking up her third towel. “Kagome-chan's mama wanted me to live with them after onii-san passed away but I refused to let the apartment go since it made me feel like I was closer to him that way.” She shared as she continued picking Kagome's wet clothes from her skin and inserting a dry towel under to pat her dry.

Uryuu blinked owlishly at the sight of two attractive girls in his living room, clothes wet and one girl's hands under the other's shirt. He brought a hand up to his nose and tilted his head a little bit backwards and upwards, trying his best to will the nosebleed away. That familiar pull wasn't helping much either. His eyes were rapidly starting to glaze over.

“Ishida-kun,” Orihime prodded him for the third time. The boy looked like he was in a slight daze. “Ishida-kun,” she tried again as his eyes regained their focus. “Would you mind horribly if we were to borrow a couple of bathrobes and nightshirts? We didn't come prepared for the impromptu slumber party,” she grinned lopsidedly in apology.

No amount of will-power was going to prevent that nosebleed if he didn't stop the images running rampant through his head. “O-of course, let me go get them for you.” He rushed off to get the said items.

“You don't need to treat me like an invalid, Orihime, I can dry and change myself on my own. I'm a big girl now,” Kagome flushed from the attention that her cousin was giving her. She wasn't a baby anymore, even if her cousin was treating her like one.

“I just don't want you to get sick again, Kagome.” Orihime replied, her voice full of concern. She didn't want her cousin to catch a cold and keel over. The young woman was so delicate, even more delicate than her.

“You should take care of yourself too, you're still wet.” Kagome pointed out and then sneezed again. “Excuse me.”

“Bless you.” Orihime finished with her hair. “See, you're already starting to get sick. What if you get a cold?” She frowned in worry.

Uryuu returned a moment later bearing two fluffy robes and two masculine nightshirts, mumbling an apology. The girls accepted them gratefully, waving his apology aside and giving him an apology of their own for the unexpected intrusion. He repeated that he didn't mind helping a friend out and that he was going to be alone in the apartment until the weekend anyway, Ichigo had gone straight to his family's house from class today, spending the weekend there and coming back on Sunday.

As the girls used the bathroom and changed out of their wet clothes to put it on the washer, he prepared some tea to help warm them down. Orihime looked really concerned for her cousin's health, ignoring the girl's protests about her being fine and her sneezing was not a matter of concern.

“I suppose you're going to tell me that the shivering is normal as well.”

“Well yes it is. It is cold, you know.” The young miko replied indignantly. She wasn't weak. She was a healthy, young woman in her prime and no amount of rain was going to make her sick.

Uryuu turned the thermostat up as the girls used the phone to call the shrine and inform Mama Higurashi. “I'm really sorry about this,” Kagome apologized once again after she hung up the phone. She was terribly embarrassed to intrude upon people she didn't know like this. Her mom had been relieved to know that she was safe, thinking it was a good idea to spend the night with Orihime since the roads were blocked or impassable.

“Don't worry about it,” Uryuu assured her. “I'd do anything to help a friend out.” He looked at Orihime out of the corner of his eyes.

Kagome glanced back and forth between her cousin and her cousin's friend, registering the sparks between them and grinned in recognition. Oh… so that's why! Okay, she understood now.

The three of them moved the conversation to the couch in the living room, the two girls wearing borrowed nightshirts and wrapped up in fuzzy bathrobes. Kagome was bundled up in a warm comforter, feeling like a happy piece of bread inside a toaster. The sneezing and shivering eventually stopped, making her feel like herself again. She listened with half an ear and roamed her eyes around the decent sized apartment.

It was obviously a bachelors' pad. The walls were stark white and the furniture was masculine, save for the cute little stuffed lion beside her. She picked it up and felt the texture. It was really soft and obviously well-taken cared of. There wasn't any rips or tears and it was clean. She snuggled it closer, sniffing it. The lion even smelled clean. She wondered who the owner of it was. The raven-haired girl began to drift off in her comfortable position.

The two friends were talking to each other, catching up on old times and updating each other of what's been going on in their lives. They spoke in hushed tones as they noticed their companion's eyes droop. Orihime thought her cousin looked so cute, wrapped up in a blanket like that, cuddling a stuffed lion close to her chest for comfort.

The word edible, in a non-lecherous way, popped up into Uryuu's mind when Orihime commented on her cousin's appearance, making him wonder why his thoughts were drifting down that lane again. He wasn't attracted to her in a physical way, even if she was as pretty as or probably prettier as her cousin was, but there was that unmistakable pull of something that he couldn't identify.

“Would you like to go to sleep now, Kagome-san?” His voice snapped her out of her light stupor.

“If it isn't much trouble,” she mumbled tiredly. Her eyelids were feeling rather heavy.

The three of them stood up, Orihime taking Kagome's elbow, steadying the drowsy girl on her feet. “Inoue-san will be taking the spare room, and you can sleep in Kurosaki's room for tonight.”

“Won't he mind?” She didn't want to intrude on anyone's private domain.

“I'm sure he won't mind,” Uryuu guessed. What he didn't know won't hurt him, he thought. He wasn't going to be using it anyway so what was the purpose of him giving up his room and sleeping on the couch?

“Kurosaki-kun would probably have given you his room even if he were here, Kagome-chan.” Orihime assured her.

“Okay, I'm taking advantage of his room then,” she tightened the blanket around herself and tightened her grip on the stuffed lion that she found on the couch earlier. It was just too cute to resist and so soft. She hugged her cousin goodnight and went inside her bedroom for tonight. “Thank you again, Ishida-kun.” She closed the door behind her, leaving the two potential lovebirds alone for the night.

The room was sparsely furnished. There was a desk and a chair on one side of the bed. On top of the desk was a computer, several books and school supplies, along with a few framed pictures. She didn't bother turning the light on, going straight for the bed, stuffed lion and all. She shrugged the blanket off and hung it with the robe on the seat, leaving only the nightshirt on.

The bed was large, making her wonder how big and tall the owner of it was. She felt dwarfed by it, lying in the middle like that, so she scooted closer to the right side and snuggled with her new stuffed buddy.

She fell asleep a few minutes later.

Elsewhere in the apartment, the washer buzzed, indicating that its cycle was done. Orihime transferred their clothes to the dryer so they could use it tomorrow and then continued to chat with Uryuu.

Back inside the sleeping girl's room, a look of pure bliss graced the features of the stuffed lion she was cuddling. Kon was in heaven.

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Things were always the same in his world; the solitude, the repeating landscape, the silence. He was used to it from the very beginning and today was just one of those days.

He looked up the sky, contemplating. It hadn't rained for several years now. Not since they forged a deeper understanding of each other. He was glad. He hated the rain. It pelted him from above, drenching his cloak and glasses, drowning him in misery until the heart was stable again. The rain might be something magical for others. It connected the sky to the earth and made it possible for rainbows to appear. It was a life source; it provided you with a way to quench one's thirst. He didn't like it.

He preferred everything calm and peaceful. He liked it when things were normal and in a status quo. The wind blowing at his cloak quietly while silence reigned in the air, this was the life. Some days he would explore around, but most days he just preferred to meditate. Meditating was good. It refreshed his soul. There was nothing like standing on top of a pole while contemplating the meaning of life. He was so in tune with his surroundings.

The clouds continued to pass him by up above of him. It didn't look like it was going to rain anytime soon and he was pleased.

This was the life; solitary, at peace and one with everything around him and footsteps coming nearer. He opened one eye. Were those footsteps he was hearing? Sure enough they were, light and steady. The owner seemed to glide with a lot of poise and grace and a striking female in red and white stood before him not long after. If it was possible for someone to give him shock, he would say that he was feeling surprised right about now. If he wasn't so disciplined, he might admit that he almost fell off his perch.

“Hello.” She greeted in an act of friendship, offering him a smile.

He didn't smile back but inclined his head in greeting instead. Just when did he start getting visitors? “Hello.” Confident that she didn't look or feel menacing, he glided towards her curiously. “I don't believe I have entertained a visitor before.” He towered over her.

She continued smiling serenely.

He blinked.

She approached further, standing right in front of him. “I don't think I have gone visiting before either,” was all she said.

Silence fell between them but it was companionable. The silence reigned as a quiet understanding passed between them, instincts saying that the other wasn't a threat.

“It's not going to rain today,” she said after a while, looking at the sky around them. He looked back at the sky again, nodding in approval at her.

No, it wasn't going to rain today. It hasn't for several years now.

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