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That Dreaded Word	By : Platinumsabr Category: Bleach > Het - Male/Female Views: 11539 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach, or the characters from it. I don't make any money from the writing of this story, but I do enjoy writing it. Any Original Characters are mine however, as is the story itself, and if you see it posted elsewhere pleas

Chapter List
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Half

It was almost a refreshing
feeling, one he hadn�t felt in so long it was like he had forgotten what it was
to be alive. He had dealt with pain before, he and it were well acquainted with
one another, but the overbearing, stinging throb that greeted him when he felt
awareness returning to him was like a breath of fresh, crisp air.

He was alive.

For the first time in
a-hundred-and-fifty years he had let loose, fought with every last reserve of
strength he had left�and survived. Even lacking two critical parts of his
being, he had survived. It was a slim consolation at best, compared to his old
self he would have never allowed himself to be knocked unconscious like that,
but his old self probably wouldn�t have been able to land a hit on a captain
either. He gave a weak grin as he fought to keep the tears in his eyes, but
they were for more than that one reason. The pain assaulted him mercilessly,
and the phantom pain originating from where his right arm should have been was
almost unbearable. Almost. His throat was parched and
the dim light of the room stung his eye, but he was awake, and alive. Weeks ago
he would have cursed himself for such a fate, but the past week had thrown him
an unforeseen circumstance that had made the man buried far beneath his hatred
stir.

The world didn�t want to come
into focus around him, and try as he might true lucidity seemed far out of
reach at the moment. It hurt to breathe, as he figured out rather quickly, but
considering the giant�s hand had been able to completely encompass his torso
that left little to be unexpected, especially since it was that hand�s claws
that had punctured his skin. He tried to move but his muscles simply wouldn�t
respond, and though they stirred, they simply weren�t up to the task of
transporting him, or even his limbs, anywhere. He might have laughed had he
been in any state to do so.

Something clicked in his sluggish
mind and a fresh jolt of adrenaline had his muscles corded tightly against his
skin as his breath hissed through his teeth. He had been treated. Bandages had
been applied, skin had been aided in its healing process, and he knew for
certain that Soi-Fong didn�t know anything other than life-or-death first-aid.
Granted, that would have been what he had needed at the time, but
anything after that would have to be handled by someone else, and if someone
else had helped her then�

He shot upright and groaned
painfully as the room swam around him and his hand went instantly to his
forehead. He leaned heavily against the wall next to his bed as he gasped to
return his body to a sense of normalcy. If the nerve hadn�t been numbed by his
lack of proper air, it was screaming in pain at being moved, and Gwydion�s
entire body felt like an array of switches changing between one and the other
so quickly he didn�t know what was hurting and what wasn�t. How he stayed
conscious he wasn�t quite sure; in fact he may very well have blacked out a few
times during the ordeal and simply couldn�t remember it.

He tried speaking, but even
voicing his pain was impossible. How long he had been out then he had no idea,
but he had to surmise a day at least.

Out of nowhere, he felt a pair of
warm arms wrapped in the softest of cloth embrace him from behind, and he
slumped sideways into the wall gulping in air as his screaming nerves quieted
instantly. He knew speaking was impossible, but he knew who was holding him,
keeping his body at bay, and words weren�t necessary.

It�s been a while, he
thought with a small tinge of grateful amusement as he wiped the sweat from his
forehead. No answer came to him, but a head of silken hair could be felt being
leant against his back, and that was answer enough. It wasn�t like he didn�t
know who it was, only she was capable of something like this. I can�t
remember the last time you came to me when I was awake. I�m sure I can feel you
in my dreams, but this is the first time since that day you�ve shown yourself
to me voluntarily�.

For a little while, silence was
all he heard.

�You used me again in battle,
at long last.�

The soft, majestic voice made his
skin tingle. He had a very good relationship with his zanpakutou, more than
enough to materialize her at will, but Bankai was simply unattainable. She
would kill him within an instant were he to try in the state he as in. Despite
her shrine maiden appearance and motherly nature, she was still a zanpakutou,
and she had her pride. She wouldn�t go easy on him even with one arm and eye
missing, and he knew that. However, in all his effort to die, he had never once
considered her a path to do that. He would never do that to her, and she would
know right away if he considered fighting her as a way to perish rather than
attaining her true power.

I had no choice in the matter.
I wasn�t going to allow that thing to get away with what it did to me.

A laugh reminiscent of the chime
of bells wafted through his ears, and he almost smiled. Being with her like
this, it was almost like the Past. Some artists name their muses,
in his case his muse already had a name.

�So you say. I would be daft
to not assume the bruise to your pride was as much from that unexpected blow as
it was to that blow happening in her presence. Do you care for her?�
It wasn�t like she needed to ask. She was a part of the very core of soul; she
would know what he was feeling better than anyone. In this case however, not
even he knew what he was feeling anymore.

I�I don�t know.

�A kiss is not usually
something one shares with a casual acquaintance. Surely your feelings have
ventured farther for you to attempt something like that? I have not known you
to be one to act without reason.�

Arguing with her was comparable
to walking into an opponent�s outstretched fist. She never spoke without
purpose, and the truth to her words made any rebuttal wither and die. As a part
of his very being, she would only know that truth anyway. It was her method of
delivering that truth that made it hard to swallow.

His hazy mind was gradually
becoming clearer, and he wiped some of his long, sweat-slicked hair behind his
ear as his right shoulder continued to support him against the wall. I
don�t�I don�t know why I did that either. It�s been so long Izanami, how do I
know I�m not just projecting these feelings onto the first person that�

�Understands you?� She
finished warmly.

He ground his teeth together. That�s�tried.

Her grip around him loosened, and
she seemingly glided around him to sit picturesquely in front of him. �You�ve
alienated yourself for so long you don�t even know what it is you�re feeling
anymore. You are not the only one. Listen to her spirit, Gwydion,
it�s just as confused as you are.�

You know I can�t do that
without you.

Her slim, inky eyes sparkled
slightly as the smallest of grins formed on her beautiful face. �You were
not so hesitant to do so before.�

He almost sputtered, but it would
be against his character to do so. I�I had just met up with the captain
of the one division that would enforce judgment had I been found out. I had to
make sure it was nothing but a friendly meeting.

�And look what she found out
for you instead,� the raven-haired woman spoke kindly. Her hair was pooled
around her formally sitting body and she looked no less than the goddess she
was named. �It�s closure, Gwydion. Surely she deserves some trust?�

His violet eyes, one hard and
unfeeling and the other unseeing, glared at her, but she didn�t so much as
flinch. I already told her more than what even the three people I trust most
in this world know! What else can I give her!?

She sighed. �You�re lying to
yourself, and you know it. You were under the supposition that she was there to
kill you, what you told her you would have told to anyone under the same
circumstances. Your requiem has yet to be sung, my child, live while you can.�

As what!?
He spat bitterly. Half a man?

�No,� she crooned gently
as she put her hand on his bandaged chest, over his heart. �As
a man. A flaw of the flesh means nothing to the heart. You remind
me so much of myself, do not make the same mistakes.�

Keep your friends close and
your enemies closer? He replied as wittily as he could with his strange
smile.

Only her benevolent smile
answered him as her eyes trailed over to chair in the corner of the room before
she chuckled and returned her gaze to him. �Ah, but who are your enemies?
Enemies are only what you make them. She is her own person, not just a
position.�

He rolled his eyes skeptically. Are
we talking about the same person here?

She looked over her shoulder, as
if predicting the small sound of footsteps gradually coming closer before
turning back to him and smiling. �That, Gwydion, is for you to decide. Your
body is still in disrepair; my apologies, but I think it best to return.�

He grinned weakly. I would
gladly wait another two centuries if it meant talking with you like this again.
Thank you, Izanami.

Her motherly smile stayed in
place as her eyes closed cutely in happiness. �Now that you have come to
some semblance of your senses, I am more than happy to speak whenever you wish.
I will always be there to help you if you need me, do not be so hesitant to ask
in the future.�

Against his will, a small chuckle
broke out of his lips. But are you talking about you, or people in general?

She put her hands in her
oversized sleeves and smirked, which looked rather odd on her impeccably poised
face. �You do not need me to tell you the answer to that.�

She disappeared just as the door
opened, and he was surprised to see the esteemed Second Division captain in the
doorway before his quieted nerves started howling again. The sudden shock had
him tasting copper, and he could feel the darkness of unconsciousness creeping
in on his vision as she stared at him in shock, likely because he was actually
upright in bed. He could see her lips moving, but could hear nothing, and as
the darkness crept closer and his world started spinning faster, the alarm on
her face could still be clearly seen before she started running from the room.

Heh, you know�she looks
quite�cute�when she�s�surprised�

Unconsciousness claimed him just
as a head of orange hair could be seen following in her returning form.

~~~~~~~~~

Ichigo sighed in exasperation as
he readjusted the blankets over his subordinate�s body after giving him some
more painkillers to help him stay asleep.

�He could have stayed awake long
enough for us to give him some water, jeez.� When he turned back around to
leave, Soi-Fong was still in the doorway.

�Why haven�t you just healed him
completely? I didn�t think you liked to stretch injuries out like this.� Her
cold, calculating tone was harsher than usual, but as usual Ichigo paid it no
mind, neither did he catch the way it was harsher than even her worse day. Had
he, he might have realized something was changing inside the scowling woman.

�If you think it looks bad on the
outside, it looks even worse inside. For extensive injuries we can only do
healing in stages. Aiding the healing process is all well and good, but a
complete recovery from something like this doesn�t happen overnight. Of course,
I was going to wait until he had some water he had ingested himself in him, but
at this point I�ll get right on it. You saw how deep those puncture wounds
were, even with the sharpness of that�creature�s�fingers, he would have had to be
holding him pretty tightly for that to happen. He�s lucky he didn�t have any
ruptured organs, but they were damn close.�

She felt bile rise in the back of
her throat. This was why she hated getting close to people. If he was only
another ant to her, she wouldn�t care about even that degree of injury.
�I�see.�

�Where is it now?�

She knew what he was talking
about without him elaborating. �It� had become a well-known word. �The Twelfth
Division is analyzing it as we speak probably. Anything it can tell us could be
pivotal to figuring out what the hell is happening here,
and maybe even if it�s been happening to the others that have supposedly died
in action.�

�And your
request?� He asked as he readied the materials from his Fourth Division
medical kit.

�Already
approved. I�m guessing nothing would have been done regularly, it�s only
one case, but we had a body to submit. They can�t ignore that. I�ve assigned
five Stealth Ops operatives to every one of your subordinates around the globe
and I�m staying here as a precaution. Your agents don�t know this of course,
but they�re there. If anything happens we�ll know right away, and if they are
really being targeted to be captured like this attack suggests, they�ll alert
us and stop them before it happens.�

Ichigo breathed a sigh of relief.
�That�s good to know.� She rubbed one of her shoulders as she sighed as well and
his eyebrow rose questioningly. �Are you okay? You had a couple of nasty
bruises, but nothing else I could detect. You want some painkillers? I thought I
had them healed though��

Her eyes widened when she
realized what she was doing in the presence of another person. She never
allowed herself to show even the slightest bit of weakness,
and around a trained medic even! He of all people would notice something like
that right away. There was no use lying about it now, but she downplayed it
like she always did. �I�m just a bit sore. When I woke up today it felt like
I�d been fighting Menos� all night.�

Ichigo�s face scrunched up into
his normal scowl of thought. �That�s strange. I�m sure even if you had been,
for someone in your physical shape I can�t see it affecting you too much. If
you want, I can get Yuzu or Karin to check you over after I�m done Gwydion�s
treatment, it wouldn�t take me long to go get one of them.�

Her face remained as it always
was. �Your consideration is noted, but I�ll be fine. Just get to healing your officer, it�d be a shame to keep him bedridden
any longer than necessary.�

Inside her head, the little voice
of her feminine desires whispered, I�m sure you�d like to keep him
bedridden though.

Her lips tingled as the memory of
that kiss assaulted her again, her first kiss. Her body warmed when she
remembered the dream she had last night before she came to her senses and her
fists clenched tightly as she scowled angrily. No I don�t!!

The dream had been very
descriptive though, and very, very imaginative. Only that tiny little voice in
her head could make a dream like that. The damnable clenching in her chest was
becoming very annoying too. She stalked out of the room angrily and Ichigo was
left standing there scratching his head.

�What�d I do?�

~~~~~~~~~

She realized she probably looked
like a petulant child, leaving like she had, but she didn�t care. The worse
thing was she hadn�t even been downplaying her soreness as much as she usually
would. Her entire body ached like she had thrown herself down a couple hundred
flights of stairs and decided to walk back up afterwards. Her muscles, her
bones, and even her breasts felt particularly sensitive. Even when she had
trained until she couldn�t stand anymore she had never felt this overwhelmingly
achy.

Was her body trying to tell her
something?

She shook her head vigorously.
She wouldn�t accept it if that was the case. When she had awoke in the morning
and found her thighs damp after that infuriating, frightening�euphoric,
indescribable dream, the discomfort of her own body
was made known rather hastily.

It wouldn�t have anything to
do with what happened yesterday, would it? She
didn�t mean the battle either. She had dealt with more difficult fights
thousands of times, though arguably the one place Gwydion had managed to hit
had made a particularly nasty purple imprint on her otherwise perfect skin, and
Ichigo had commented on it too. Still, it was no reason for her to be this
sore.

Maybe it was because she had
fallen asleep in the chair beside his bed�

She was worried about him. There
was a pain in her chest that kept getting worse the longer she looked at his
pasty skin, slick with sweat, and when she had seen him awake and upright she
couldn�t describe the relief that flowed through her body, and when he fell
back unconscious that pain had returned with double the force. It was insane!

Why am I so worried about
him!? Why do I care!?! She was forced to stop under the abrupt force of her
chest constricting and it almost brought tears to her eyes. She knew why, even
her body knew why whether her mind wanted to believe it or not. She knew why she
was worried, she knew why she cared. Her sentences had merely been slightly
off. Why do I care�about him?

It hurt to see him as he was,
injured and unconscious. There had only been one person in the world she had
ever cared about, two now: Yoruichi and Kin. They were the only people she
would ever respond to, ever care about in any sense of the word, but he�he�.

He could understand her. He had
experienced pain the likes of which even she couldn�t comprehend without
chopping off her own arm and slicing through one of her eyes. He had been
betrayed emotionally and physically, and he had kept fighting. He had lived on
even though it was the last thing anyone would expect him to do, the last thing
he wanted to do, and she admired him for that.

Shock coursed through her. I�I�admire
him? He had a presence, a force of will that rivaled her strength. He had
gone through even more than she had, but when it came right down to it they
complimented each other simply by being around one another. Though she was
uncomfortable around him because he was a man and that was territory she hadn�t
explored before, she knew why she was comfortable around him at the same time.
He could understand what she had been through, and he had a similar strength
inside of him.

If there was one thing that had
been waning in her, it was her hatred. What did she have left to hate? She and
Yoruichi had mended their relationship long ago, she had a goddaughter in her
mentor�s child, and she had shown every man that had ever looked down on her in
the Second Division her true strength. She had risen to captain ages ago it
seemed, and in this age even that discrimination was all but completely gone. She
was respected, feared, even admired in some cases. Her hatred was dying a slow
and steady death, but since it was what she was most familiar with, it was the
first feeling she felt in most situations.

Now though, unfamiliar feelings
were making themselves known, ones she had no idea how to deal with. She had
known she was being changed over time, she knew she was getting softer than she
was before, but this�this scared her. This wasn�t the camaraderie of the
Association, the sisterhood she had with Yoruichi, or the almost maternal
feelings of protection for Kin. He was a man, and she found herself wanting him
because he was a man�as a woman. She wanted him�as a woman wants
a man, her dream of the night past had made that all too clear. Never before
had her subconscious betrayed her like that, but she had to admit it hadn�t felt all bad�

She nearly hit herself right
there and this time both her chest and her womanhood throbbed. These
feelings were the newest, most unknown of the ones
that had begun showing themselves, but what scared her even more than them was
the one that came before that. Longing. She wanted to
be with him, didn�t want to be away from him. It was everything she had ever
felt for Yoruichi and so much more, and in the smallest corner of the tiniest
part of her mind, she was honest-to-God terrified. While muttering a long string
of colorful words under her breath she retreated to what had been designated
her room and when the door was firmly closed, she allowed herself the luxury of
flopping down on the bed heavily.

That beautiful mask he wore was
so like hers, a charade of anger and indifference forged into a scowl that kept
most anyone from seeing what they were truly going through inside. His hatred
wasn�t like hers anymore, even after so many long years his hatred was still a
raw wound that could never really be dealt with, whereas hers had been closed
long ago and was in the process of disappearing. Even with that being the case,
she could understand it. She could understand him. She knew what it was
like, but he didn�t even have an outlet for it, or any way to close it. Every
loose end had been killed before he even knew there were loose ends to tie up.
His closure had been torn from him, and the only thing he had left to do
was�let it go. So simple, yet so difficult.

She wanted to be there for him,
but she didn�t know how. She wanted to help him, but she didn�t know if he
would let her. This feeling in her chest wasn�t going away, and it wouldn�t
stop telling her to be near him. Something in her was�attracted to him.
She just�wanted to be with him.

God, I must really be tired.
Naturally, she had dealt with worse, but it was only multiplied by the soreness
of her body and the confusion of her mind and soul. For once she just wanted
everything to go away. It took every ounce of willpower she had to hide the
weariness of her body and spirit, and she didn�t want to anymore. She couldn�t
let anyone see what she was feeling, but as far as she was concerned she was
tired, she was sore, and her head and chest were hurting for reasons she didn�t
even know.

Frankly, she was in one hell of a
bad mood, and she wanted to sleep.

She rolled over and was asleep
the moment her head hit the pillow, but once again her dreams were plagued by
visions of a long-haired man with violet eyes.

~~~~~~~~~

How long he had been out he
didn�t know, or care anymore, but the next time he woke up he was feeling
infinitely better than the first time. His eye focused in on the world around
him quickly and reminded him yet again of his deficiency, but after years of
waking up this way the sting of resentment was dull in his heart. Another day
of coping with his left hand and hiding his secret, but he had something to
look forward to as well.

She may come to see him again.

Since he was barely in pain
anymore he eased himself upright and took a few steadying breaths. Someone else
knew now, and he hoped it was only Ichigo. The man had a way of surprising
everyone when it came to reactions, so he didn�t know what to think anymore. It
had happened, so he might as well get over it. He didn�t know what time it was,
but he was too awake to care about something like that right then so he slid
his legs over the side of the bed and willed his stiff muscles to lift his
body.

A glass of water had been left by
his bedside, and though it was lukewarm when he picked it up, to his dry throat
it was the best thing he had ever tasted. His skin was oily with dried sweat
and his hair was practically plastered to his back, so as silently as he could
he wrapped the blanket around his body to hide his prosthetic arm and quietly
made his way to one of the many private bathrooms of his captain�s house and
headquarters.

He hated taking it off for even a
minute, and he hated it being on even more, but he couldn�t really shower
without taking his prosthetic off, and thankfully the flesh under the bandages
on his chest was completely healed. He knew he would have to take it a little
bit easier, but it would be okay to take the bandages off. The gaping imbalance
of his body as he looked in the mirror sickened him, as did the difference
between his two eyes. He really did thank Retsu Ukitake for everything she had
done; an eye-patch was explainable, but not if there were terrible scars
running under it and out onto his face. If he was to be a simple, ordinary
cadet assigned to the Thirteenth Division, he couldn�t very well have war-wounds
harder to explain than even Shuuhei Hisagi�s.

As he stood under the shower and
the water washed away the built-up grime and sweat from his body, his
conversation with his zanpakutou kept returning to him.

What do I feel for her?

He didn�t generally go on
spur-of-the-moment urges, like Izanami had said, but back then she was
just�just�he couldn�t even explain what had made him kiss her. He put his
fingers to his lips and he could almost taste her again, and he wanted to. He
hadn�t wanted to stop then, but she had pushed him away. He couldn�t really
blame her, it went against his entire moral code to do that without warning,
and yet he had. He wanted her. His body wanted her, his mind wouldn�t stop
thinking about her, and his soul longed for that kindred spirit it seemed to
have found in her. She was the only one who could understand his pain, and he
wanted her to so badly he simply wanted to hold on to her and never let her go.
No one understood, no one could understand, but he wanted her to.
He didn�t care if the whole world turned against him, as long as he had just
one person that cared�

He knew why he wanted it to be
her, and not just because she was possibly the only one that could begin to
have an inkling of his life. There was something there, something that made him
want to talk to her, be around her. It was a spark
that had jumped between their bodies the first time she ran into him, and even
now it remained. She wasn�t always the nicest person around, but he had seen
moments, just brief moments, where like him her mask fell away. She was as much
a woman as any other, and�she was beautiful. Underneath that stony scowl and
icy eyes she was a woman that longed for love like everyone else, and it was
that that had called out to the hurting man buried so far beneath his hatred he
was almost forgotten.

Could he bear trying to forge a
relationship again? Could he even try with his body as it was? She had trouble
accepting people regularly, would she even bother trying to go further with
someone like him?

�A flaw of the flesh means
nothing to the heart.�

He smiled faintly as his incredibly
long hair stuck to his face. Izanami really was impossible to argue with. She
knew everything from the start, just like she always did. Just the thought of
pursuing a relationship with the fiery Second Division captain had his blood
flowing again after so many years, and when he realized how aroused he was he
inwardly cursed his body. He could barely remember the last time he had had to
do this.

He cranked up the cold water.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Dressing with one hand was a pain
like no other, but thankfully the Kurosaki�s had at least one fresh kimono in
all of their bathrooms, though that was probably provided by Soul Society.
Still, that didn�t do much for him since he had had his specially made, and as
it was all his clean clothes were at home and he didn�t know where his gigai
was at the moment.

So, dressed only in a pair of
hakama and a clean haori loosely around him like a blanket to hide his right
arm, he left the bathroom. He didn�t care if they might be alarmed at his
sudden departure, but he wanted to get home, away from other people even if she
was among them. He was still thirsty, and hungry, now that he thought about it.
He was much more comfortable at his home; after all, it was hard to prepare
food with his long sleeves, so only then did he wear regular shirts. Here, he
couldn�t, wouldn�t do that.

With all the reiatsu buzzing
around the house it was hard to tell where everyone was, but even with the
giggling coming his way he wasn�t prepared for the sudden appearance of one of
the inhabitants of said house. A little girl barely eight years old came
barreling down the hall, giggling madly, and the
heavy footsteps of what he quickly ascertained to be her mother were following
her. Of course, since she was so preoccupied with looking over her shoulder and
he was otherwise unprepared, she ran headfirst into one of his legs and he lost
his grip on his haori as he quickly knelt down to catch her. As small as she
was, he had barely felt it, but she had been going faster than any human could
have hoped to go at that age.

He sighed in mock exasperation as
he looked at the little girl looking back at him with wide eyes while his hand
almost covered half of her back as he kept her from completely falling. �You
should watch where you�re running, Senna. You could hurt yourself.�

The poor little girl gulped
loudly and nodded as she took in the dark damp hair framing his gorgeously pale
face, but she only looked stunned for all of two seconds before she yelled,
�Pretty!�

And instantly glomped herself to
his neck thereafter.

The childlike honesty and
enthusiasm caught him off-guard and he didn�t know what to do as her mother
came around the corner and skidded to an abrupt halt as she took in the scene
before her. His didn�t want to jar the child whose arms were clasped around his
neck, but when he felt the haori fall from his shoulders it took all he had to
remember it was a child holding on to his neck and he was still holding her,
otherwise he just might have thrown her away from him to grab his crucial
covering. His heart was pumping overtime and humiliation burned at his skin
like acid as he closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths so he could rise
and face the woman in front of him at least somewhat normally.

Tatsuki�s eyes were glued to him
as he stood up easily, the little dark-blue haired Senna still holding happily
onto him like she had found a new favorite toy. He knew with him supporting her
with his left arm as she stayed attached to him like she was,
his prosthetic arm reminiscent of a hand wrapped in a long black glove stood
out like a sore thumb. And there was nothing he could do about it. His scowl
must have been three times harder than normal and he was taking measured
breaths to try and calm himself while she simply stood
there, saying nothing.

�While I have nothing against
children, Tatsuki-san, would you mind removing yours from my person?� He asked
with as much composure as he was able to.

Tatsuki snapped out of her stare
and blushed embarrassedly. �O-Oh, right. Senna, let go
of Gwydion.�

�No!� the little girl cried
instantly as she buried her head into the crook of his neck. �Pretty!�

There was no other option, she
burst out laughing. The situation was anything but to Gwydion, but a small part
of him made his lips curl upwards slightly. It was pretty funny. He sighed in resignation and adjusted his grip
under her. �Never mind. I suppose it won�t kill me to
hold her for a little while.� He shook his head to try and get some of the wet
bangs that had fallen over his face away, and Senna giggled as the damp hair
tickled her. �Now please, just get it over with. I know it�s impossible to
ignore the giant black elephant in the hallway.�

Hesitantly, Tatsuki walked
forward and grabbed his right hand, marveling at how much it felt like the real
thing even though it was nothing more than a decoration on his body. She gulped
as she moved it and it offered no resistance, confirming what her eyes had
already suspected. �I guess that answers that question then,� she said with a
grin as she looked back up to look him in the eyes without fear. �You know, you
look a lot better without that eye-patch, even if I can see why you wear it.

He nearly fell over. �That�that�s
it?�

She cocked her head to the side
confusedly. �You were expecting something more? It�s not like you suddenly
became another person or something. I�ve known you for years now Gwydion, something like this doesn�t make you any less of a
person to me. You�re an excellent warrior, I�ve never doubted that.�

He couldn�t hide his surprise,
and the sudden relief that coursed through him weakened all of his muscles and
buckled his knees. Senna cried out in alarm at the quick change of altitude,
but even collapsing as he was, he still remembered to keep her safe in his one
arm. Tatsuki was as blunt as she always was, but that had been exactly what he
needed to hear.

I�suppose it isn�t so bad that both know now. They are my superior
officers after all, he thought after a while. Ichigo and Tatsuki were more
understanding than people may think, and as long as they didn�t try to give him
any special treatment because of what they now knew he had no problem with them
knowing. He still hated that they knew because of things beyond his control,
but that seemed to be the way his life had been going lately.

�Senna�s a surprisingly good
judge of character you know,� the still slightly tomboyish lieutenant explained
with a smile. �Even if you�re�pretty��
she chuckled, �she must sense something in you to be so friendly right away.�

�Pretty!� the little girl
affirmed exuberantly again.

Gwydion rolled his eyes. �Or she
may just think I�m pretty.�

Tatsuki coughed down another bout
of laughter as she walked forward and grabbed Senna gently. �Come on
sweetheart, let go of Gwydion. Maybe he�ll play with you later,
he�s still recovering right now.�

Aforementioned girl turned her
head out of his neck and looked back at her mother curiously. �Hurt?�

�Mm hmm,� Tatsuki hummed with a
nod of her head, and reluctantly Senna let go and allowed herself
to be carried into her mother�s arms. Gwydion quickly scooped up the fallen
haori and wrapped it around himself again to hide his arm, and he visibly
relaxed after doing so.

As he stood back up, Senna looked
over at him with apologetic eyes. �Sorry, �Dion.�

He gave her his strange
half-smile as he patted her shoulder softly. He couldn�t even care that she
couldn�t pronounce his name properly. �No apology needed. Maybe next time I
come around I�ll play with you.�

Her off-orange eyes lit up
excitedly. �Yay!!�

The sounds of other footsteps
coming down the hall could be heard, and soon Soi-Fong came into their line of
vision. She still seemed rather tired, as they could tell just from looking at
her, but going on what they knew about her, they knew she probably felt even
worse if she was actually showing it.
She seemed to brighten noticeably when she saw the man next to Tatsuki, but
neither of them noticed that.

Tatsuki felt something was off
the moment the other woman was standing in front of her, she just couldn�t
place it.

�Can I borrow your kitchen?� the
captain asked in a voice that belied how tired she looked. �I�m pretty hungry.�

She nodded in something of a
daze. She couldn�t shake the thought that something was different about her�

�That sounds great. Would you
mind if I joined you Captain?� Gwydion asked politely, and if Tatsuki didn�t
know any better, she could have sworn the woman in question blushed for a
nanosecond before she nodded disinterestedly.

�D-Do what you want,� Soi-Fong
said quickly, and beside her, Senna giggled in her mother�s grip.

�Go ahead,
we have plenty to choose from.�

The two nodded and started
walking away, and Tatsuki followed. It was only when they arrived in the
kitchen and she could see the two standing next to each other as they rummaged
for things to make that something clicked. Gwydion was a whole lot bigger than
her, but she knew what was different now.

�Soi-Fong, have you gotten�taller?�

The Second Division captain spun
around to look at her like she was a complete moron. Her muscles hadn�t really
stopped bothering her even after her long nap, and her entire body still felt
sore, but growing pains? She snorted mentally. Her chest did feel kind of
different though�

She walked over to the window by
the sink to see her reflection and stopped dead.

�Oh my God��

~~~~~~~~~~

Author�s Notes: Wow, I am sorry everyone. I guess I pulled a Naruto
and took a break for a week. I had something up last weekend and with my job, I
don�t really have time, or energy, to write after work
and I do all my stuff on the weekends. Well, I�ll see how quickly I can get the
next chapter out to make up for it but I can�t make any promises. There was a
lot more I wanted to get into this chapter but I thought it would make another
chapter so I left it here, LOL! More romance to come, more villainy too, so don�t worry about that.

Again, thank you to all those
that reviewed, I really enjoy seeing that. Of course, I have to give a big
shout-out to Orionshadow. As an author that has plenty of multi-chapter,
well-respected fanfics, I was pretty hyped to see your name in the reviews,
even if it was short. So thank you.

More people seem to be reviewing
constantly and I have to say it�s really encouraging! Thanks Sheastarr and Watcher(again). Rifts, thanks as well! Moonymuch, JHH,
xSTALKERx, I�ve been singing your praises for a long time and I still will! I�m
not always the best at remembering to e-mail so I apologize, but I�m always
happy to get them and I�ll definitely reply!

Thanks for reading and I hope you
enjoyed the chapter!
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That Dreaded Word