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Left Behind But Not Forgotten	By : Polymer Category: Bleach > Het - Male/Female Views: 5127 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: Tite Kubo and Shonen Jump own Bleach, I don't. I make no money from the writing of this fanfiction story.

Chapter List
- 30
- 31
“You don’t always look up at the stars did you?” murmured Tatsuki, stretched out panting with her head resting on something firm yet supportive of her head.
“Mmm, I do have an appreciation for their natural remote beauty, but there are other more immediate concerns that took my attention...” clarified her companion and now husband. His voice seemed to resonate through her head.
“Didn’t you as a kid?” Tatsuki murmured to him.
“As a child yes, and I have from time to time looked up when I was on a trip in an area unaffected by ambient light pollution. But to assume I never did is incorrect, Tatsuki,” he replied.
Sighing her spouse reached down to brush fingers through her hair that had grown long in the back and draped over his white jacket and blue shirt like a swirling comets tail. She angled her head to look up at him, glasses gleaming in the moonlight. Both of them lay under a sky riddled with thousands of points of light.
“I’m surprised you were so eager to say yes to doing this then,” she murmured softly.
A slender arm sheathed in a white coat pulled her to reposition her head to rest on his chest, directly over the left side so she could hear his heartbeat. Through glasses shimmering in the light of the stars he regarded her with narrow blue eyes she could just make out. “Because you asked me. And also because it is a welcome refuge from idiotic interruptions such as shinigami, hollows, and other concerns.”
Glancing across at their side she looked at the shadow cast by the now emptied picnic basket that they would both put the dishes and other items back into. “You realize you just blew it mentioning them?”
“I am aware yes, but just mentioning such things won’t make me consider them any more then minor annoyances when I can focus on more important concerns…” he said in a low voice she could almost describe as soft.
Automatically his hand moved over her abdomen, which she realized was beginning to curve noticeably. That trip to a store was annoying as hell, but she knew it had to be done. Even though Orihime reassured her that Uryuu could make better maternity clothes. Tatsuki hated to turn her friend down but she said no because she was sick of any additional tension.

Therefore, she had gone with her Aunt Ikumi, and she had promptly mentioned the words ‘baby shower’. Tatsuki felt some relief in this but she felt suddenly… old.
“This is stupid,” she mumbled.
“What is?” asked her husband, stopping his hand where it was.
“How is it I feel so darn old when I’m only one year older than…”s he trailed off.
“Ridiculous. Do not think in terms of physical age. Have I not already…” he began.
“I don’t mean that. Don’t start with that speech again,” she grumbled, wrinkling her brow at him.
“Then what sort of an answer would you have me give to such a ridiculous statement then, dear?” he asked.
“Something more philosophical maybe?” she tossed back at him, running a hand over his tie.
Ryuuken made a short irritated noise and turned his gaze up at the sky for a minute. However, his hand still brushed through her hair enjoying its texture. “Look at the stars as I am.”
“That’s why we’re here isn’t it, dear?” she asked.
“Indeed, but therein lies the answer you requested. I may not be an expert in matters astronomical,” Ryuuken began, clearing his throat. “But I do recall from a physics class in university about time being relative.”
“You’re going to give me an example from Einstein?” she said, with a smirk. “I know about that whole thing about light taking a long time to reach earth from the stars…”
“What I mean is that it should remind you that if your friend went to that star there… Spica…” he said as he pointed up to one.
“How do you know which star is which? All I can find is the big dipper…”
“Arc to Arcturus, spike to Spica,” Ryuuken said as he traced his finger along an imaginary arc.
“If you were going to Spica, then you would only have a trip of a few years. But your friends back on earth would be much older.”
“I’ve heard that before,” Tatsuki sighed, listening to his heartbeat. “But it doesn’t answer my statement.”
“I’m not finished,” Ryuuken clicked his tongue. “What I mean is that you would have also possibly gained GREAT knowledge that the others back on earth despite their advanced age may not possess. And that experience ages you.”
Feeling his arm pulling her closer to his slender body, Tatsuki’s eyes widened a bit. She then threw her arm around him and hugged him tightly, pulling herself up to bend down and give him a kiss. One that he accepted without hesitation especially when she tangled her fingers in his white hair and felt his tongue slide past her lips.
When she broke it, panting she muttered, “So you’re saying that the experiences I went through made me more mature beyond my years? But Orihime and the others…”
“People in any war or conflict do so,” Ryuuken said firmly. “And those that suffered on both sides through it were forced to live in compressed time. Just like you and your friends were forced to face life choices at a much younger age.”
“And some adults can be stubborn and annoying as kids,” Tatsuke said wrinkling her nose at him.
“My dear wife, is something else bothering you?” Ryuuken asked cupping her cheek as he shifted her to the side so her belly was not pressed between them.
“People still giving me crap about my decision… being with you,” she mumbled.
“If there is a concern, you should give me their names and allow me to deal with them,” Ryuuken muttered as his glasses gleamed brightly in the light of the rising moon. It was as clear a threat as Tatsuki could make with her fists. He could use his social standing as a respected doctor to pull strings and cause trouble just as she could use her fists to fight.
“Why is it you’re the only guy I think it’s sexy when you get all protective of me?” she asked.
“Because perhaps I respect your strength as a woman, and also have put you in touch with your feminine side? That a woman can be strong and elegant at the same time?” Ryuuken suggested.
“You take me more seriously than anyone has, other than Ichigo,” she murmured, marveling at how soft his hair felt. She wore a pair of slacks and a loose comfortable shirt that gathered just under the breasts and fit easily over her rounding stomach.
“You are the woman I have chosen to marry,” Ryuuken clarified. “Not out of social obligation but out of great love and admiration.”
Tatsuki curled up to him, feeling the warmth of his body. Ironic from such a cold and stern man she found such warmth. At a distance, stars were remote points of light. Up close, they were life-giving sources of heat. A sun could be very different then a star, but both were the same. Ryuuken gladly pulled her into the next kiss, lying on his side so the blanket he threw over both of them against the night breeze did not faze either.
“Hey,” Tatsuki muttered, breaking the kiss.
“Mmm?” her husband asked, feeling her tugging a bit on his hair.
Tatsuki glared at him, breaking his view of the sky. “You’re holding out on me! You knew exactly how to find that star Spica!”
“I merely said I was not an expert on matters astronomical. That does not mean I did not have some more then superficial knowledge of it, my dear,” Ryuuken clarified.
“That’s not an answer, smarta… I mean smart alek,” Tatsuki stopped herself, not liking to curse around her husband who rarely did so.
“You know what I was talking about, because you didn’t give me a puzzled look when I talked about relative time. So you have some knowledge of physics yourself,” he countered.
“It’s common knowledge if you pay attention in school. Besides, I’m not too bad at math and general science. I just decided sports medicine was more my thing,” Tatsuki replied.
“A good many gym teachers are math teachers,” Ryuuken smirked.
Just then, he tensed and moved Tatsuki away from him. She saw him sit up, and then felt him guide her to sit up also. She muttered, “Ryuuken?”
“I suggest strongly we leave. Our stargazing picnic has been compromised,” he said with a stern voice, helping her to her feet. She pulled her coat around her, grumbling under her breath because she then sensed a pressure around them. Ryuuken and she picked up the blanket and basket in some attempt to ignore it before walking back towards the car he’d driven out and packed the items in the trunk.
Before either could leave Ryuuken stood in front, pushing her behind him. A particular look of anger and frustration filled his face before she saw two people rushing towards them. One of them was her aunt Ikumi, the other was the being who carried her in his arms bridal style before setting her down.
“Tatsuki chan, don’t run away! I need to talk to you!” she called out.
“What the… what are you doing?” Tatsuki stammered out as Ryuuken held an arm out to stop her from stepping forward.
“You idiot, what do you think you’re doing?” Ryuuken shouted as he glared at the man rubbing the back of his neck.
“Of all the…” Tatsuki trailed off, feeling a bit faint. “No wonder… but… WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?”
“I wondered that myself,” Ikumi said sternly, hands on her hips. “And I’m sorry to interrupt whatever you’ve got going on here, but…”
“Kurosaki, you’d better have a good explanation,” mumbled Ryuuken. A silver energy seemed to crackle around him.
“I do, if you promise not to shoot at me!” Isshin yelled waving his arms.
“Okay, the first guy to start this pissing contest gets flattened!” shouted Ikumi as she stepped in front of Isshin.
“Agreed!” Tatsuki shouted, as she dodged around Ryuuken and pushed at him.
Both men looked at each other in mutual nervousness at the similarity of the two women. “I mainly came to talk to Tatsuki, my niece, and find out if she knew where Ichigo was…”
“Why should we be concerned about that?” asked Ryuuken. “Tatsuki, your delicate condition…”
“I’m pregnant, not sick,” grumbled Tatsuki, glaring at the doctor behind her who was trying to move her behind him.
“You’re preggers? Congratulations, you sly dog!” Isshin cried as he came over to Ryuuken. Promptly a glowing arrow shimmered inches from his nose as Ryuuken faced him having formed a bow in a split second.
“Children, both of them,” mumbled Ikumi, rolling her eyes. Tatsuki nodded slowly. That and the odd blush on her aunt’s face made her wonder.
She pointed to Isshin and mumbled, “Did you and him…”
“I’ll tell you later. That’s not important now. We need to find Ichigo, and Isshin san here said he’d find you or a friend of his who could sniff him out,” said she.
“If you wish for such a thing, go ask my son,” said Ryuuken, pushing his glasses up as he dispelled his bow.
“Please, I need your help,” Isshin said vehemently. “I… I… please Ryuuken…”
“Ask my son. He’s the one who flaunts his abilities. I have no concern to the fate of the dead…”
“Ichigo’s alive, you cold blooded jerk,” Ikumi said angrily, reaching to try to grab his coat but Ryuuken dodged it. “And he’s my employee!”
“Ryuuken, don’t be an ass,” said Tatsuki. “Please… besides you said Uryuu didn’t have the talent for such things and you do! Are you going to let your son show you up?”
Grumbling Ryuuken pushed up his glasses and muttered, “That is a cheap shot appealing to my pride, but since you insist upon it, I shall. Under one condition.”
“What’s that?” asked Tatsuki.
“That you and your aunt go back to my apartment or hers and wait for Kurosaki and myself to track him down,” said Ryuuken. Tatsuki glared at him but Ikumi shook her head.
“He’s right. You’re pregnant and he’s the father, and I’m your aunt. I don’t’ want you doing anything to risk losing the baby. Especially since, it’s your first. We can go to the Kurosaki clinic and wait,” she suggested.
Ryuuken passed over the keys to his car. “You may use this. I shall be back to the clinic as soon as I’ve located Ichigo.”
“Thank you!” Isshin said in tears as he hugged Ryuuken, who promptly shoved him off so he fell face down in the dirt.
“Get a hold of yourself, Kurosaki,” grumbled Ryuuken. He then moved over to kiss his wife goodbye before turning to leave with the shinigami Kurosaki. Giving Ikummi a peck to the cheek, Isshin smiled at her.
“Later,” he whispered. He then kissed Tatsuki’s cheek. “Congratulations! Can I be the godfather?”
“I… I sure…” mumbled Tatsuki as she and Ikumi went to the car and watched both of them vanish into the night. Overhead the stars remained the same as ever, but Tatsuki felt they were a metaphor now more than ever.
Remote, but not unreachable, and unpredictable. They appeared only as they did when their light first left. Any of them could be going nova or winking out before they’d know it in many years.
- 30
- 31
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Left Behind But Not Forgotten