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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
- 7
- 8
- 9
The
Freight Train Hits

He woke up in a cold sweat, his
chest pumping beneath his sweat-soaked blankets as he struggled to attain his
vaunted calm.

G.T. Takumi, or Gwydion Torisuna
rather, sat up heavily as he gripped the remnant of his right arm tightly,
which at the moment was throbbing like it had just been ripped off again.

I haven�t had�that dream�in a
while.

Weeks to be exact. Ever since he
had met her, his dreams had been relatively mild, with the odd exception of the
aforementioned woman showing up every now and then and tormenting his
debilitated body with fantasies he couldn�t remember having once in the past
two centuries.

He laughed weakly when he
remembered the night before. He didn�t know what he had done right in what
lifetime to have caught the eye of the person he had so desperately wanted to
catch, and even now he was still having trouble believing it. His tingling lips
didn�t lie though, and even after the horrible nightmare he had just had he was
able to grin as his damp hair hung over his face.

That nightmare, that awful,
terrible reminiscence of a time long past hadn�t left his mind or his dreams
once, and he had gotten quite used to waking up as he just had. The last two
weeks then had been a welcome reprieve, to say the least, but why, after he was
finally happy again, did he have to have it again?

He knew why.

It was a reminder, a sickening
reminder that he would never be the man he had once been; that he had watched
his team die one after another in a gruesome battle they were unprepared for,
and the only thing that came out of his intervention was the loss of his right
arm and eye. If only one had survived, if just one had made it through even if
it hadn�t been his lover, he would have gladly accepted his sacrifice. But it
was all for naught. Worse yet, he had lived, and he had never been allowed to
forget that every time he woke up to the light of another day and they didn�t.

His memories were like an iron
vault, nothing left what had been stored so perfectly in never-fading quality,
and in his dreams they attacked him without mercy. He hadn�t forgotten the
faces of any of his former team, never. He saw them every night, and every
morning his arm throbbed just like the day it had been torn from his body.

It was terrible that he couldn�t
wake up exuberant that the seemingly perpetually angry and otherwise
emotionless captain of the Second Division, Soi-Fong, had actually agreed to go
out with him.

She had actually agreed!

He couldn�t complain about the
way she had done it either�

He felt like a teenager again,
his young body thrumming with desire just from remembering the inexperienced
kiss she had initiated. She set his body on fire, and as much as it pained him
to admit it, he had never even kissed his deceased lover with the same burning
the assassin garnered so easily. These feelings weren�t new to him, but it had
been so long since he had last felt them they might as well be. The longing
hadn�t changed though, just as he remembered it. He wanted to see her already
and he had just woken up.

Disregarding his prosthetic for
the moment, he pulled himself out of bed and went to take a shower, where he
could wash away the terror of the dream from his body. If only he could do the
same to his mind.

After that, he started the day
the same way he did every day. This was one of the few activities he did
without his fake arm, every day he sat down cross-legged in the middle of his
living room and prayed for his team. Every face, every habit, every quirk, he
went over each one just to make sure he hadn�t forgotten them as he prayed for
their peace and calmed himself from the buzzing world all around him. What had
been a common practice among the Second Division to center themselves had since
become a time of reflection for him, and a habit he hadn�t been able to break even
after leaving the division.

With one last shuddering breath,
he reopened his eyes and wiped the wetness away. No matter how much time
passed, that had never changed. Like it was every day, it was mid-morning by
the time he was done, and after finally coming out of his meditation he was
reminded of his body�s need of food.

The music playing softly in the
background was ever-present except when he was meditating. It helped him relax,
think, and drowned out the noise of the city from his breakfast ritual. Now all
he needed to do was figure out where to take her. It had almost been as
impulsive to ask her out as it was to kiss her, something about her just made
him rash instead of his usual careful self. How else was he to explain telling
his story to the one person more likely to kill him if he was found out than
any other in Soul Society?

But quite honestly, he couldn�t
give the smallest care. She had said yes.

Now there was only that one
problem: what to do. He had only been in one relationship so far, and theirs
was something that had been born almost as much out of necessity as anything
else. When he thought about it though, it wasn�t too much different with her,
in fact, it may even be more important. She wasn�t a lower ranking member like
they had been, she was the captain, and she had seen everything on the
way up to that rank as well.

Is she haunted by what she�s
seen as well? He thought as he lowered his spoon when the thought took him.
For some reason, he didn�t know if that was the case. Even knowing as much as
he did about the Second Division, hers was a fa�ade so perfect it was hard to
figure out what she was thinking at the best of times, unless of course she was
embarrassed or flustered.

Then she simply looked too damn
cute for words.

He almost thought he was
going to turn red when he saw her like that, but�well, then the kiss had come
and he had lost all rational thought for a few minutes. It wasn�t like he could
help it, she was a source of raw, unadulterated emotion when she kissed. She
may not have the experience to add to it, but he did, and she gave more than
experience could ever give. Want. Desire. A spark that just couldn�t be tamed
was deep within her and it called to him like a magnet to metal. Just like the
first time, when her lips touched his, what had been intended to be a soft peck
to convey feelings turned into lightning-soaked ferocity that overrode all of
his carefully placed inhibitions and pressed him closer to her, harder to her.

He couldn�t even describe it, it
had never happened to him before. He wasn�t vain enough to think he had
experienced everything there was to experience in his extremely long lifetime
so far, but this was�different. He felt like a teenager again. Granted, his
body was that of a man barely in his mid-twenties, but it had never burned the
way she made it. He ached to touch her, and yet his throat always became oddly
dry at the same time while his body became unusually warm.

He was almost four-hundred years
old and he felt like a pubescent teenager! It was infuriating!

Infuriating, in an almost
hilarious way. He wanted to laugh at himself. He had had most of these feelings
before, but not nearly as strong. He knew it wasn�t because of desperation, he
had lasted nearly two centuries without any physical contact and had he not met
her he was perfectly sure he could go for another two easily. She had
overwritten his hatred and his self-loathing, she knew the blackest parts of
his life and yet still she agreed to go out with him. What happened from there
was something only God could know right now, but for now he was content to bask
in the reprieve of disappointment and constant hiding.

It was a�different feeling, one
he didn�t mind at all.

He grinned blithely as he dressed
and for once, he completely ignored the eye-patch that had been specifically
crafted for him. He let his long hair hang down his back and down the sides of
his face and the lack of restraint on his face and hair did feel much better
than the alternative. He plugged in his earphones as he turned up his music,
and with another grin he jumped out into the world once more.

He may be ecstatic, but he still
had a job to do.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Yoruichi walked through the doors
of the Kurosaki house and headquarters with a cattish grin gracing her
features.

She couldn�t wait to get every
detail from her spunky Little Bee, and if their talk yesterday had had any
factor in the outcome, she knew her former bodyguard was going to need some new
clothes. After all, she wasn�t about to let Soi-Fong go on a date in the same
clothes she had worn since she had come to this world! Going shopping with her
was going to be a source of entertainment she�d remember for years. The young
woman blushed at every new thing she saw when it came to what she always picked
out for her, and she couldn�t wait to see those reactions again.

Needless to say she was surprised
though. When she finally got up the motivation to move it was just a
little after noon, and to her shock her beloved Little Bee�s reiatsu could
still be felt in the Kurosaki�s household. She was sure that since she had so
inconspicuously chosen not to have Stealth Corps agents on Gwydion, that
she would have taken it upon herself to keep an eye on him, especially after
what Ichigo had called her last night to tell her. Why she was still there then
when she could sense his slowly going through town then was�odd.

It was a confusing case. Why
would they come to him so openly and basically tell him he was a target? It
made no sense, unless they were absolutely sure that no matter what kind of
defenses were made around him that they could still get to him. That
thought made her ill at ease. What was the deal with taking Shinigami anyways?
After being careful for so many years�if the cases were indeed connected like
they seemed to be�why would they reveal themselves so carelessly with what was
basically an open taunt? It made no sense, and that worried her.

She walked into the kitchen area
where the most reiatsu could be felt to see Ichigo and Tatsuki having a late
lunch with Senna, Kin, and Kaien. She wasn�t even in the kitchen with them?
What was going on?

Ichigo smiled lazily with a
mouthful of food as she walked into the room. They had had an open-door policy
with their friends for years, and this was no exception. She could see him get
ready to talk but a quick glare from Tatsuki stopped that in its tracks. She
chuckled under her breath.

�Kitty!� Senna exclaimed happily,
and Yoruichi groaned, albeit with a smile. This had been what she had been
stuck as ever since the little girl had caught her in her cat form.

Note to self: never transform
around kids again.

�Hey guys, where�s Soi?�

Tatsuki smiled amusedly. �Haven�t
seen her all day. We think she�s still asleep.�

Yoruichi almost choked she
laughed so hard. �Still asleep!? There�s no way! In all the years I�ve known
her she�s always been up at the crack of dawn unless she�s sick or too tired to
move!�

Ichigo laughed. �She�s had a
couple of those days already. When Gwydion was injured she barely slept at all!
Can�t have been comfortable sleeping in that chair. Don�t think I�ve ever seen
her like that.�

Again, the former captain of the
Second Division couldn�t help but smile like a cat cornering a mouse. �Is that
so? Poor girl�� Poor she had found out that tidbit of information anyways.

Tatsuki�s eyebrow rose
inquisitively. �Do you know something we don�t?�

�Why Tatsuki,� the purple haired
woman purred, �you�re beginning to sound even more like one of the Association
every day.�

The still tomboyish woman
blushed, muttering something about �bad influences.�

A scream so shrill Kaien and
Senna had their hands clasped to their ears broke through the relatively quiet
afternoon and everyone was instantly in a panic, running towards the source of
the noise. As high-pitched as it was, there was at least one who recognized the
person�s voice underneath.

Yoruichi broke the door open
first�and almost immediately slammed the door closed behind her before anyone
else saw, particularly the men.

�Is everything alright!?�
Ichigo�s voice could be heard muffled through the dividing door.

�Yeah�!� Yoruichi called back
distractedly as she stared at what was before her. �Everything�s�fine��

Everything was more than
fine actually, and the word applied in more than one sense.

Soi-Fong was standing in the
middle of the room, looking at the full-length mirror on the wall in front of
her with her angular eyes wide in shock while clutching a white bed-sheet over
her chest in a white-knuckled grip. Yoruichi had seen the aftereffects of this
particular phenomenon a few times, but never right after it had happened.

Regardless, her breath was taken
away by what she saw.

The bare flesh the thin sheet was
covering was supple and curved, yet even then the definition of her toned
muscles could be seen just under the feminine softness. Her hair�what was out
of the twin braids�had grown exponentially, keeping pace with the years the
body had added overnight. What had once been a more childish face had slimmed,
accentuating her narrow, generally angry steel-grey eyes which were now wide
with fright and awe. Possibly the most noticeable thing even with the covering
being held desperately over her nudity was that unlike before, and even the
growth of yesterday, her chest had grown. Again, it wasn�t like she suddenly
matched the bosom of the bronze-skinned woman standing before her with her
mouth open, but they more than matched the growth of the woman�s body.

And it was growth. Even
from where she was standing, Soi-Fong was now looking Yoruichi Shihouin right
in the eyes, a good six centimeters more than her old height.

The renowned Goddess of Flash was
at an absolute loss for words. �Good Lord in heaven�Little Bee��

Those words drew the gaze of the
woman in question, and Yoruichi�s eyes widened when she saw her beloved
friend�s watery eyes. �Y�Yoruichi-sama��

She was at her side instantly,
hugging the body that collapsed into her arms almost right away. �Whoa there
Soi, everything�s all right. It�s all right�� she cooed as she lowered them
down to sit on the edge of the bed while the black-haired woman sobbed into her
shoulder.

�Alright!?� Soi-Fong cried
hysterically. �L-Look at me! Do I look alright!?�

Despite the situation, Yoruichi
couldn�t help but smile. �Honestly? You look more than alright.�

Soi-Fong pushed away from her and
slammed her hand down on the bed angrily while her other resumed clutching the
sheet covering her modesty. The crack heard soon thereafter made
Yoruichi sweat a bit. �I�I look like a�!!!!�

�Model? Woman? What?� the
Shihouin heiress finished smugly. �Relax, Little Bee. This isn�t the first time
something like this has happened. Remember Toshiro? That only took�what was it?
A week? From what I�ve seen it all depends on the desire and the strength of
the reiatsu of the person that changes. Face it Soi, you�ve been long overdue
for something like this!�

The scowl she was known for
quickly took its rightful place on her face as she swatted some of her now
lengthy hair out of her eyes. �You aren�t in the least bit surprised by this!?�

She laughed. �Surprised? I�m in
shock! I think I�m waiting to faint actually; God, Soi, you look incredible!�

At last, the reaction that should
have happened last night finally happened. She turned a bright red under her
mentor�s words, and the crimson dust looked enthralling on the graceful face.

Yoruichi smiled warmly. �You do
that to Gwydion and he�ll follow you around for life! You�ve got more than a
bit of charm now there girl!�

The scowl quickly turned into a
look of complete panic. �Oh my God, Gwydion! How long have I been asleep!?�

�It�s almost one thirty, why?�

She relaxed almost as quickly as
she had panicked, though her face was still visibly worried. �I said yes,
Yoruichi-sama�I�I want to pursue this. I�want to be special to him.�

The dark-skinned woman�s smile
was wide and triumphant. �You sure don�t mess around, do you? That�s an amazingly
important first step. And of course, I told you he wouldn�t care as long as you
answered.�

Soi-Fong tucked the sheet into
itself to keep it in place and brushed back her hair. �But Yoruichi-sama�his
eyes. I had everything I wanted to say all planned out, and the second I
looked into his eyes I felt like I had been stabbed in the chest! My tongue
wouldn�t work, it felt like all my thoughts just abandoned me! My mind went
blank, I froze!�

As surprised as she was at the
confession, she still patted her shoulder comfortingly. �It�s called empathy,
Little Bee. He was hurting, you just responded to that pain. That�s part of
love, when the person you love hurts, you hurt too.�

She nodded sullenly as her dainty
yet paradoxically powerful fingers reached up to caress her lips. �I didn�t
know what to do�again. One second I was in front of him, trying to
speak, and the next I was�kissing him�and he was kissing me.� She
looked down at nothing in particular worriedly. �I mean, I didn�t care about
anything, not his pain, not my tiredness�I only felt him. Everything
felt stronger, my body felt like it was burning up! Yoruichi-sama�should I be
feeling this way from just a�a�kiss!? Why am I feeling this so strongly!? Why
am I feeling everything so strongly!? Why do I have no control over
this!?�

Even Yoruichi was feeling the
beginnings of a blush rising on her dark neck. Soi-Fong had always been blunt,
that was true. �That�s the thing, Soi. You won�t have any control over
it. Love is something that can�t be controlled, and everything will always
feel stronger when you�re in it. Emotions, senses, everything related to
whatever it is will feel stronger, and it�s easy to forget how fast you�re
moving before you realize how short it�s really been. You just have to be
careful, that�s all.� Soi-Fong chuckled, and Yoruichi arched an eyebrow
confusedly. �What�s wrong?�

For one of the rare instances in
her life, Soi-Fong gave an honest-to-goodness smile to her mentor, and
the expression on the feminine face very nearly gave Yoruichi a heart attack,
even if she was a woman too. �I never thought I�d be getting the sex talk at my
age, that�s all!� And the smile then broke into all-out laughter.

The Goddess of Flash sputtered
momentarily before pushing the woman next to her over like a child without a
rebuttal. �Getting lippy now too, eh Little Bee?�

However, she couldn�t deny that
watching the frosty woman she had known most of her life smile and laugh as she
clutched her sides was a welcome sight, one that made her heart lighter.
Soi-Fong was�happy.

�Come on, we need to get you some
new clothes. There�s no way your other ones will fit now!�

For it being one of the few in
her life, Soi-Fong was having a hard time stopping her laughter, and even when
she got it under control she still snickered every now and then. The flush of
happiness was fresh on her face and Yoruichi had never seen the hard girl look
so feminine, or beautiful before, pronounced all the more by her sudden and
drastic changes.

�I liked those boots though��

�Looks like you�ll get to wear
another pair in then, because I highly doubt their fit after what you�ve gone
through!�

Soi-Fong blushed again, though
she was getting better at hiding it every time. �Yoruichi-sama�what am I
supposed to wear then?�

That stopped the other woman
cold. �Ohh�right. Uh�I can go get some of my spares from home if you�d like.
You seem roughly my height now, maybe Kin might even have some of her clothes
right here actually! She and Kaien do stay here after all.�

�I-I could never!�

Her playful grin returned even stronger.
�That settles it then! I�ll quickly go rummage through her things, I�m sure
you�d look great in a pair of her jeans and one of those spaghetti-strap tops!�

Right as she was trying to
respond, the other woman had already bolted out the door, leaving her in
mid-breath. Soi-Fong dropped her hand from its outstretched position of halting
and sighed heavily, which blew away the hair that had once again fallen out of
place.

�And I need a haircut too,� she
muttered in resignation.

She looked over at herself in the
mirror again and marveled at the picture of grace that she saw reflected back
at her. Though her expression was both confused and proud, the body she saw
sitting picturesquely on the bed with white satin pooled around her as it
defined the thin, curved body beneath it looked spectacular, if she was so bold
to even think it.

A sudden chill shook her scarcely
covered body and she clutched her arms over her breasts at the thought that had
caused it.

�What are you doing to me,
Gwydion Torisuna?� she whispered fearfully. She knew, deep down under all the
lies she may try to put over it, that this wasn�t something she was just
�long overdue for.� She had caused this, some part of her had sparked this, and
she knew, underneath it all�that it was because she had met him.

She knew she was in love, she
couldn�t deny it, and wasn�t going to try to. To do that now would be
pointless, she wasn�t even sure she would be able to convince herself anymore
at this point. What she hadn�t expected though, was the intensity.

�How is it possible to love
someone you barely know so much?� she asked her reflection quietly as she
traced a hand down her grown and defined body in curiosity.

Like most of the ones before it,
it too was a question she already knew the answer to.

It was because no matter how she
looked at it, she did know him. She knew him better than anyone alive
anymore, he had entrusted her with that much. She could oust him at any time
and have certifiable orders to take his life, and yet he just kept giving her more
of his life to evaluate. As a captain of the Gotei Thirteen and of the Special
Ops specifically, she was honor-bound to do so�but she just couldn�t. She
never, ever wanted to see that hurt look in his eyes again, it was worse even
than watching him sweat and flail as he lay in pain-ridden unconsciousness. She
couldn�t betray him, out of all the people in all the worlds, she would never, could
never do that to him. She understood it too intimately to do that. She knew
so much about him, but there was still plenty to learn, the little things, the
things that kept relationships going.

And as she looked at herself in
the mirror, the vibrant image of a captain and woman that she had
become, she was determined to figure those out.

Slowly, carefully, she began
undoing her now grossly undersized braids. They would need to be redone anyways
because of the sudden growth, but it felt like it meant something more this
time. As she lovingly removed the cloth and rings and felt her hair loosen
between her fingers, it felt like she could finally begin to let go of the
unfeeling assassin she had become. Gradually. She could open her heart to
someone new, if only a little for now, and see where it took her, as
frightening a concept as it was.

It was something that had to be
done, even she, as unskilled in the ways of love as she was, knew that. There
was a part of him that was still hurting, a part of him that she didn�t know
would ever stop hurting, but if this was going to work she was going to have to
be able to accept that. She didn�t need to accept that she couldn�t do anything
about it, and she didn�t. His life was quickly and terrifyingly becoming a part
of hers, and out of everyone, she was probably the only one that could do
anything about his pain.

She understood it, and she wanted
to understand more about him.

When she finally accepted that,
warmth spread through her body like a natural hot spring from her heart. The
last braid fell away and she was left looking at a woman covered in obsidian silk,
curled from the rarely-removed braiding. Her scowl wasn�t on her face, and she
was distinctly reminded of the girl from long ago, the one who cradled
Yoruichi�s head in her lap as Sakura�s bloomed all around. She could be happy,
it really was possible, and her skin quivered in excitement at the thought of
it being Gwydion�s head instead.

The door opened again, and
abruptly the thud of clothes hitting the floor could be heard. Once
again, when she looked over she saw Yoruichi standing there, open mouthed.

�What�s the matter?�

Eventually she regained her
composure, and smiled softly at the confused captain. Ignoring the clothes she
had so painstakingly chosen, she sat down beside Soi-Fong and tenderly ran a
hand through the expanse of freed hair. �You look positively beautiful, Little
Bee. I don�t know what else to say, I just can�t get over it.�

Again, the normally steely
captain blushed before smiling embarrassedly at her mentor. �T-Thank you.�

�Now we�ve got work to do! You�ve
got a date tonight, we need to go get you some clothes!�

Soi-Fong gave one last small grin
before replying, �Yes, Ma�am!� and saluting sarcastically.

For the first time, the two fell
into simultaneous laughter.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Shit.

He wasn�t known for his frequent
use of profanity, but even Gwydion had to think something that described his
situation at least a little bit.

One: they had never discussed a
time; two: he still had no idea where to go; and three: what on earth
was he supposed to wear? It didn�t help that two of the three all depended on
the where, and that hadn�t been decided yet either. His selection of clothes
was�limited�in a way. He had many of his special shirts, all in different
colors, and an almost embarrassing selection of everything else, but those
shirts were always parts of it. It had never bothered him before, they were a
necessity to him, but would they be practical at a more formal type of setting?
That ruled out fancy restaurants, though it wasn�t like he made it a point to
go to many of those over his years in the Living World.

He was much more comfortable
cooking for himself, and he was quite proud of his ability to do so without
making the same thing every time.

A lopsided grin slowly appeared
on his face. You know�that could work.

This was going to be their first
�official� date, not to mention the fact that though they had talked a lot
beforehand, there was still much they could talk about. She still had much to
learn about living in the Living World as well, it would be perfect! He didn�t
want her to think he was pitying her for her lack of knowledge in the area, but
he was sure that since it was her, she would take it the way he truly intended.

It was a good way to get to know
each other, a safe way. She was bound to be wary of relationships�he was too
for that matter�he had to make sure she felt comfortable around him. It had
been so long he barely knew what to do anymore when it came to these kinds of
things, but he remembered enough to know that making her feel pressured in any
way was a quick and easy way to destroy anything they had created already.

He dressed with the same amount
of difficultly he always had; he had gotten well used to a certain manner of
dressing and it wasn�t as hard as it once had been. When he looked in the
mirror he thought it was a nice fit for something like tonight. The v-neck of
his robe-sleeved shirt normally showed off the defined muscle connecting his
neck and chest, but tonight it merely showed the white t-shirt he had on
underneath, and the pitch black jeans went well with the black and white shirt.
He had never remembered dressing to be this nerve-wracking before, but he
supposed even men got nervous when trying to look good for their dates. He
slipped on the shoes he had bought specifically for their practicality in the
face of their still-formal appearance, and silently exited his home.

Since it was early winter the sun
was setting earlier than usual, and he enjoyed the walk amidst the changing
colors of the sky and the soft breeze not yet cold enough to bother anyone. He
could feel the stares of the people he walked by, and it was a boost to his
confidence that most of them seemed directed at his body in general, and not
his uncovered right eye. As much as he didn�t want to admit it, he paid closer
attention to the reactions of the women, and breathed a sigh of relief when he
saw the approving glances being thrown his way. At least he knew he had dressed
himself in a way people could appreciate. Hopefully she liked it too.

It felt slightly�off, to be going
to his captain�s house and headquarters to meet his date, but it wasn�t like
Soi-Fong had any other option, and the whole point of the gift to the
orange-haired man had been to house otherwise homeless Shinigami called to duty
there. He had opted out of that particular option, he preferred living alone. The
only thing he was worried about at this point was they had never discussed a time,
but since her reiatsu could be felt from inside the mansion-like house, that
meant she was home at least. It would be rude of him not to allow her time to
get ready being that they had never known when exactly they were going out, so
he knew he would probably be in for a wait.

Like he cared. He was too happy
to care about something as trivial as a wait.

The door looked more menacing
than it usually did for some reason, and he almost laughed at himself. He had
seen things that would make normal people literally die of shock, and yet he
found himself�fearful. He was afraid even in the face of the happiness she gave
him just with a simple answer.

�Now now, that won�t do.�
He nearly jumped Izanami�s interruption was so sudden. �You know what it�s
like to be afraid of connecting with someone, a couple hundred years of
alienating yourself will do that to anyone! Go on, you know she�s probably just
as afraid as you are.�

He almost laughed at that, even
though he knew she was usually right. Her? Afraid?

�She did run away when
you asked her out, did she not? All things considered, you most likely have
more relational experience than she does. If her behavior when we were still
part of her division is any indicator, and out glimpses of her since then��

�I am so stupid.

He could practically feel
Izanami�s motherly grin. �You have to face yourself eventually, my child.
Bad things happen to everyone, it is what makes us stronger. Don�t be afraid,
you still have much to live for. The time will come when you will have to
abandon your fear of yourself, and of others. I�m proud of you, choosing her
was a difficult decision, but if you want this to last, you are now the
one who needs to change.�

Wait, what�?

Her voice vanished the same
instant the door opened in front of him, and he was left looking confusedly at
the opened door.

�I thought I�d do you a favor and
open the door for you,� Yoruichi purred with a laugh. �You�ve been standing
there for a while after all.�

He composed himself quickly and
inclined his head slightly in apology. �I�m sorry. I guess I was�lost in
thought.�

Yoruichi herself almost looked
the same as he quickly noticed, and she was scanning him up and down with her
mischievous golden eyes filled with mirth and approval. When she at last came
back to his eyes, she smiled wickedly at him. �I guess I made the right choice
for her. I�m glad you decided to ditch the eye-patch, you look much better
without it.�

The compliment caught him
off-guard and he nearly sputtered. �T-Thank you�I think. I would dare to assume
you know why I�m here?�

�Gwydion you�re just too cute!�
the speedster crowed as she patted him on the shoulder. �I think that�s the
closest to flustered I�ve ever seen you!�

He coughed into his sleeve to try
and hide the red making its way onto his cheeks. �Please, Princess��

�And how many times have I told
you not to call me that!?� she reprimanded jokingly. �Even Soi learned�well,
kinda��

�I owe you my life, I will never
refer to you as anything else. I suggest you get used to it if we are to
continue meeting so unexpectedly like this.�

At that, her eyes darkened
worriedly. �I just did what I knew was right back then, Gwydion. You don�t owe
me anything.� She scowled momentarily before quickly turning back into the
excited girl that had opened the door initially. �Now don�t dampen the mood!
We�ve been waiting for you to get here!�

With a wry grin, he nodded
acquiescingly. �I apologize for the inconvenience. If she still needs time to
get ready I understand completely.�

A catlike grin answered him as
Yoruichi practically dragged him into the house. �I told you we�ve been waiting,
didn�t I? I knew you�d go for something more casual for a first date!�

He gave a short chuckle. �Should
I feel grateful that despite my mistakes last night everything worked out, or
shamed that I�m so see-through?�

She pulled him into one of the
living areas away from the Kurosaki�s main �house� and slid to a stop.
�Grateful, I would think, wouldn�t you?�

He didn�t hear a word she said,
nothing since he entered the room.

His lips and mouth went dry as
ironically, his palm started sweating. He wouldn�t have stared, that is, if he
could do anything but. She was standing in the middle of the room, looking nervously
his way while she resisted the urge to fidget. He had noticed the changes
yesterday, but they were merely the appetizer obviously.

She was taller, still not as tall
as him, but noticeably taller. She held herself the same as always, straight
and proud, and her soft ebony locks looked slightly longer than they had been
before, though it was styled the same way. The braids looked much longer than
they used to though, but he couldn�t help but notice the absolutely
breathtaking effect her hair had on her face. She had grown, and in that growth
her angular eyes had been made all the more beautiful, framed by dark lashes
and outlined further by the edges of her hair. Her body was nothing short of a
masterpiece, the iron muscles she had trained to perfection somehow preserved
despite the onslaught of development that added to her curves and slimmed what
was left of her pubescent unevenness. She was wearing tight blue jeans that fit
under her sleek leather boots, and though her arms were mostly covered by the
same black fabric she always wore on them, her toned stomach and much of her
back was revealed by the form-fitting black halter top she had on.

God how he wanted to speak, but
any words would fail abysmally in complimenting her beauty. She was a fierce
warrior, and now the woman underneath could be seen more clearly than it could
before.

�I�I don�t look too different for
you�do I?� she asked softly, uncertainty he had never heard before plain in her
voice.

He put his sleeved hand over his
mouth just so she couldn�t see him trying to wet his dry lips while the flowing
sleeve also shielded his Adam�s apple from view when it bobbed nervously. �You
look�.stunning. I�I don�t know what else to say��

She smiled warmly, and heat
exploded through his chest. When she smiled she looked spectacular, even if it
was small. He couldn�t wait for the day when she smiled widely at him, and he
swore he would make it happen even if it took him his entire life.

�What did you have in mind for
today?�

He resisted the urge to
physically shake his head free of her radiance. This�this had to be love. It
couldn�t be anything else. �I was thinking we could go for a walk for a little
while. I could show you around town, and we could look through the shopping
district for ingredients. I thought�maybe we could just make supper together
here later on. There are a few other kitchens here so we wouldn�t be intruding
on the captain and his family.�

Inwardly, the fly on the
wall�Yoruichi, all but forgotten by the other two in the room�smiled and
clapped. Now that�s an interesting idea.

Soi-Fong certainly wasn�t opposed
to the idea, but she couldn�t help but remember the last time she had tried to
cook� �What about what happened last time? You ended up making it all��

His lopsided grin took its place
on his face. �My thoughts exactly. We can talk and spend time together, and I can
show you more about the appliances and cooking. O-Only if you don�t mind of
course!�

She grinned as she saw the
nervousness on his normally calm and composed self. He looked amazing, but
looking at his almost teenage behavior made her feel better about her own
nervousness. She wasn�t alone in this, a fact that had somehow eluded her even
though she knew he was very much like her. �That sounds like�fun,� she said
with another smile. She was so happy even her stony demeanor couldn�t keep the
smiles from her face. �Should we leave?�

He returned her smile gratefully.
�It would be my honor to escort you.�

He held out his arm to her, and
after a brief moment of confusion Soi-Fong realized what he was doing
and�blushing�she put her arm in his and they left the room. �Kinda
old-fashioned, aren�t you?�

He peered down at her with a
small grin. �I am merely a child of my time, Soi-Fong. Though I have tried
adapting to the times, sometimes I just can�t help my nature.�

She chuckled as she continued to
resist shivering in the face of the heat flowing into her body from his arm. He
felt so deliciously warm, and she enjoyed the feeling of her arm entwined with
his very much, almost too much. It might have scared her, but she was too busy
enjoying his company to care. �I didn�t say I didn�t like it.�

A small chortle escaped his lips.
It felt so good to laugh again.

~~~~~~~~

�Wow, they�ve been talking for
hours, aren�t they hungry yet? They�re carrying around all that food�� A
strawberry-blonde asked as she and many others peered from behind a rooftop at
the two people walking companionably down the street together.

�Oh shut it, Rangiku. You�re the
only one that�s hungry!� A black-haired woman shot back quietly.

�But seriously Rukia, should we
really be doing this?� another raven-haired woman queried hesitantly.

�Come on Tatsuki! It�s Little
Bee�s first date! As if we could pass up on this!� Yoruichi beamed.

Indeed, nearly the entire
Shinigami Women�s Association was perched on a nearby building, trying to stay
hidden while trying to see at the same time.

�I�I still don�t know if I
believe it. If I wasn�t seeing it with my own eyes I still don�t think I
would�� Nanao Kyouraku whispered.

�I know. Look at her, she�s
turned red more times than I�ve�well, I didn�t even know she could turn red!�
Isane Hisagi breathed in disbelief.

�She looks happy, doesn�t she?�
Kin said with gentle pride radiating from her voice. She didn�t know if she�d
ever seen her as happy as she was right then.

�She does,� Rukia confirmed
softly. �I was surprised enough when I saw how much she�s changed....but look
at her�she didn�t just grow��

�She fell in love,� Masaki
Kuchiki finished.

�Seems kinda fast, doesn�t it?�
Momo Kira asked timidly.

�It always hits the
impassive ones the hardest,� Tsukiyomi Ishida answered as quietly as
she could as she ran a hand over her short white hair, still slicked back like
it had been for years. It wasn�t like they were afraid of the two having super
hearing or anything like that, but they wanted to be careful nonetheless.

�You would know, right?� Masaki
taunted her sister with a wide grin.

It had the opposite effect. �You
won�t hear me denying it.�

Tatsuki snickered. �Too bad Nemu
isn�t here to add her two cents. I hear the Twelfth Division has been really
busy lately with that body.�

�Can�t be helped I guess. She
nabbed a great looking guy though, that tight chest really works with those
massive sleeves. Look at that hair too! It must go down to his butt!� The Tenth
Division lieutenant appraised.

�You just wanted a reason
to look at his ass.�

The other woman harrumphed
dismissively. �I�m allowed to look. Shiro�s is better.�

Tsukiyomi grinned devilishly. �I�m
sure she�d disagree with you,� she whispered tauntingly as she
motioned to the braided captain walking below.

�Shut up you two! Do you want
them to find out!?� Nanao hissed.

�Are you sure they�ve got no idea
we�re here?� Isane asked tentatively.

�Relax, I�ve got us covered,�
Momo placated easily. �It won�t be our reiatsu that gives us away if anything
does,� she added, throwing a particularly meaningful look at Rangiku, who
simply shrugged.

�Wait, then what�re they doing?�

The two below had stopped moving,
and they could kind of see Gwydion doing something, but what, they didn�t
know.

~~~~~~~~~

Soi-Fong was confused when he
stopped in his tracks. They had all the food they wanted to prepare later, but
it wasn�t like they had any trouble carrying it for long periods of time. She
couldn�t even feel the time pass when she talked with him. He moved the few
bags he was carrying up to his elbow with a couple of jerks and shook his hand
free of his sleeve.

She looked over at him
confusedly, but stopped when she saw how serious his eyes had become. A quick
motion of his hand and she tensed instantly. She knew that sign. It was Second
Division language.

�Stop.�

She discreetly hid her arms in
front of her as she made a few of her own. �What�s wrong?�

Another few signs answered her.
�We�re being followed.�

She bristled. She was the captain
of the Special Ops Second Division, and she hadn�t noticed they were being followed??
�How long?�

He set his jaw. �I don�t know.
Every time I thought it was something it would disappear. It�s been too long
now.�

Her eyes narrowed. So he had had
his suspicions for a while now. �Where?�

He adjusted the bags to make the
movement seem natural. �Above. Behind.�

She put her hand out in a sign
for him to stay still, then closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Carefully,
she locked her hands together in front of her, then made a few rapid
hand-signs. Her reiatsu flared out like sonar, and to her irritation it pricked
a kind of barrier she knew very well, but only if one was specifically looking
for it.

Momo�

~~~~~~~~~~

�I�m getting a bad feeling about
this�� Isane said nervously as she watched the two seemingly standing still on
the road below.

�Lighten up, Isane, we�re fine!�
Rangiku whispered confidently.

Soi-Fong then turned around and
shot what had to be her deadliest glare right at them before turning back
around and walking away with Gwydion in tow.

The entire group turned around
and collectively slumped against the brick edging surrounding the building that
they had been peeking over.

�Whew-boy, I haven�t seen that
one in a while,� Yoruichi said with a nervous chuckle as she wiped her brow.

�We are so dead,� Kin muttered
as she rested her head in one of her palms.

�I think death would be a
welcome alternative to what she wants to do to us��

The whole Association gulped.

~~~~~~~~

Soi-Fong and Gwydion returned to
where she saw currently staying and to one of the few separate kitchens away
from the main one the Kurosaki�s used. It had all the modern necessities, so it
was good enough, and they had all the food they wanted to make.

She had been thoroughly enjoying
herself, learning more about him as she told what little there was to know
about her. Of course, the thought had never crossed her mind that the
Association might have been told about it, or that they might follow them. She
had lost her will to continue walking right then. They could continue this
somewhere she knew they�d be alone.

�I-I�m sorry about that, I really
didn�t know they would follow us!� She explained quickly, and was instantly
relieved by his small grin and laugh.

�It was my fault for being
overcautious. I�ve always had to keep an eye out for things following me, it
was more paranoia than anything else,� he said embarrassedly as he ran his hand
through his hair.

She glared at the floor as her
hands bunched into fists. �You have every right to be overcautious! What if it
hadn�t been them huh? I can�t believe I didn�t sense them following us when you�re
in enough danger as it is!�

He smiled softly as he reached
forward to soothe one of her hands, and it was probably more instinct than
anything else that she instantly pulled away before realizing her mistake and
his intentions.

�I-I�m sorry, I�m new to�all this,� she said as she hesitantly put
her hand forward into his, and instantly shivered from the heat that shot up
her arm. He only wanted to hold her hand, it wasn�t anything huge, but she
still couldn�t help but feel everything he did so acutely, and her heart wouldn�t
stop racing.

�It�s okay. Please, never
hesitate to tell me if I�m making you uncomfortable, that�s the least of my
intentions.�

She chuckled, despite herself. �A
child of your time, right?�

He smirked at the quote. �Very
much so.�

Grudgingly, she pulled her hand
away. She knew he would need his for other things, and she still had something
she needed to do. With a few quick hand gestures a mirror-like orb had
surrounded the kitchen and all of its entrances.

His smirk got wider, and she
swore she could feel her skin heating up. �Was that really necessary?� He said
jokingly as he tapped on the barrier over the doors.

�They�ve seen enough,� she
responded darkly, and he merely laughed again. It wasn�t like he ever held them
back around her, but she still liked hearing his short chuckles like they were
full-out belly laughs.

�Thank you, I had something
similar planned anyway.�

�Why?�

She almost choked when he reached
behind himself and pulled his robe-sleeved shirt off in one fluid motion before
adjusting his hair and the white shirt underneath that had been skewed in the
process. It felt�strange, for him to be revealing his weakness to her so
openly, but at the moment she was too busy taking in the defined muscles
outlined by his shirt to worry too much about that.

�I�m sorry if this is too much,
it isn�t very easy to cook with the sleeve always in the way.�

This time it was her who reached forward and grabbed his
only real hand comfortingly. �Stop apologizing so much. Not everything is your
fault you know.�

She was close to him, oh so very
close, and staring right into his eyes fearlessly. He just didn�t want her to
take anything the wrong way, he wanted nothing to go wrong with this. He could
feel her light breath on his neck and it was sending shocks all through his
body. He had more willpower than this, he knew that! �I�m��

�Don�t say it,� she interrupted with
a knowing grin. He grinned back and nodded. God she could look so damn gorgeous
when she smiled.

He found a small stereo and
wordlessly pulled his music player from his back pocket and plugged it in.
Thankfully he had known about the stereo beforehand, it wasn�t like this was
the first time in the large headquarters. Slowly, the beautiful sound of
classical piano wafted softly through the air.

�Do you always listen to music
when you cook?�

�I listen to music all the time
if I can. I love the piano. When your fingers flow over the keys and their
sound just makes any emotion palpable�it�s wonderful. What kind of music do you
prefer?�

She closed her eyes and allowed
herself to feel the music, the soft notes making even the formerly silent
atmosphere gentle and�dare she even think it?�slightly romantic. She didn�t
know much about musical instruments, but she could appreciate the beauty he
found in the sounds. What would it be
like to be able to play like this? She thought as the music glided up and
down, quickly yet leisurely. It really was quite pretty.

�I�m sure I can come to like lots
of music,� she replied as she reopened her eyes. �I just don�t have a lot of
experience right now.�

�I�ll have to change that.�

She smirked at the challenge. �Go
right ahead.�

They took their time after that,
getting everything prepared as he showed her every step of the way in an easily-understood
manner. He had grabbed some aprons from one of the cupboards and she had
grumpily removed her cloth sleeves, but that was quickly forgotten as he
started showing her how to do everything, and she began wondering how close he
really needed to be to do that.

Not that she was complaining.

He had a scent, a strange, uniquely
masculine scent that she had never come into contact with before. He guided her
hands, sometimes with his own, as they went through the meal preparation, and
by the time everything was on the stove her entire body was tingling in the
presence he exuded. Whenever he turned his head to ask her if he was going to
fast and she made the mistake of turning her head to answer him, their lips
came so close to brushing every time, sometimes completely by mistake. He kept
his distance usually, and it was usually then that she found a reason to get closer, and she knew enough about him to
know that she was seeing red crawling
up his neck, and it wasn�t a figment of her imagination.

When she caught him a few times
nervously wetting his lips it was like an invitation she wanted so badly to
accept, and though he managed to keep his voice calm, she could see the battle
going on in his eyes, or eye, as the case may be. The fierceness of the desire
she found herself experiencing was exactly like Yoruichi had predicted, but
luckily her own nervousness dissuaded anything further. For them both being
well into their centuries, they were surprisingly similar to two teenagers
tentatively getting to know each other.

She was getting more confident in
the kitchen with every passing step, though reading a recipe was something that
might as well be ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics to her. She couldn�t wait for
them to do something like this again, it really was more fun that she had
thought, and she found herself enjoying the shocks her body was going through
the more they happened. Her insides felt like they were trembling, and with
every �accidental� brush his hand made over hers the feelings only grew.

Now, they simply stood there,
waiting for the food to simmer as their eyes found each other. Her breath was
coming surprisingly short, but she noticed he was measuring his breathing as
well. Even with the music in the background, the tension thrumming in the room
was terrifying and electrifying at the same time.

�Can I kiss you?� he whispered as
his face edged closer to hers.

Something was wrong with her
eyelids, because she was sure they were fluttering. �God, yes��

Their lips were so close, and
just as the spark jumped between them once again a roar unlike anything they
had heard but something just once tore through the heated atmosphere.

�Bloody hell!� she hissed.

His paranoia was well deserved it
seemed.

~~~~~~~~~~

Author�s Notes: Hey again! Thanks so much to everyone that
reviewed, and if I could be so bold as to ask for more again, I�ll do so. I
have to thank everyone that keeps reading, rating, and reviewing, you guys are
simply amazing.

On that note, I have to apologize
to xSTALKERx, because I said I�d try to get this out yesterday. Thank you for
brainstorming with me, it was a huge help!

I constantly look to the reviews
for input, and if you haven�t e-mailed me with suggestions or just e-mailed me
period, you can do it anytime! I use every comment all of you make to try and
fit my story better to your likings, but I�ll admit I write mostly for my own
enjoyment so I get a lot out of seeing you guys enjoying my stories when I
enjoy them so much too.

Thank you everyone for continuing
to read my stuff and I hope you enjoyed the chapter!
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That Dreaded Word