(Rae&Sev)

[Artificial Sugar]

Hoizu looked over as Ichigo yelled at Keigo. She stood and began to follow him towards the other bleachers when she spotted Uryu sitting next to the Shinigami they'd helped the other day. Blinking for a moment, she began to feel a little dizzy as she remembered she'd told him she wasn't feeling well and wouldn't be able to make it that day. She'd totally lied to him, and now here he was, catching her in that lie. She felt like a horrible person, but she just couldn't face him after what had happened the other night. Wobbling slightly, she tripped on the last bleacher and fell into Keigo, who in turn fell right onto the dirt. Sitting on top of him, Hoizu felt her face heat up and she pushed herself up and off of him, waving her hands in front of herself, trying to make him realize she hadn't meant anything perverted by what had just happened.


Of course, Keigo, being the idiot he was, stood and grinned, giving her a look. "Hoizu, I didn't know you felt that way about me!" He called out, rather loudly, in her opinion. Growling, Hoizu flung her purse at him, hitting him in the head. "You idiot! I just tripped!" She turned away and stomped off, feeling quite embarrassed and ridiculous. She should never have agreed to go to a movie with Keigo. Now he was going to think all kinds of crazy things about her, and Uryu probably would, too. That was all she needed.


Sighing loudly, Hoizu leaned against a nearby tree, watching the group speak among themselves, looking as if they were having fun. Feeling a stinging, she looked down and saw her knee was bleeding. Feeling defeated, she rummaged around in her purse until she found a tissue and began to dab at the blood, sighing because her leggings were ripped and bloody now. It seemed that this day was just meant to be total shit. She didn't know why, but it was happening that way.


As she stood back up, Hoizu felt a jolt in her leg and froze, gasping loudly at the pain. She'd totally forgotten about her injury, and after both tripping, falling, and now moving upwards too fast, it seemed she'd irritated her injury again. Slowly lowering herself to the ground, she stretched her leg out, wincing at the jolt of pain that shot up it, into her hip. Looking towards the crowd, she found herself watching Uryu and Rei, trying to see if there was any sign of flirtation, and then realizing she shouldn't care. Turning away, she crossed her arms and let out a 'hmph' sound, feeling very much in a bad mood.

Renji managed to get everything to the bleachers with no problems, though he did, admittedly, let it all fall to the ground when they arrived. Of course, this earned him a swift kick to the face from Ichigo, who seemed to think that Renji didn't care about their things. Of course he didn't. After arguring for a while, Renji reluctantly began to help Ichigo set everything up, before spotting the Quincy approaching. As Ichigo yelled at another one of his idiot friends, Renji watched Uryu approach and take a seat next to Rei. He wondered why he wasn't sitting next to his usual friend, Hoizu or whatever her name was. Renji had seen them together constantly, practically inseparable.


After setting everything up to Ichigo's specifications, Renji joined Rei and Uryu, taking a seat on her other side. She looked pretty cute in her dress, though Renji would never admit that out loud. He looked down at her when she began tugging at his sleeve. Her whining voice was annoying, but she looked cute when she begged, so he let her do it for a few moments before he laughed. Keigo had just begun to join them, and Hoizu had tripped and fallen on top of him. Of course, the stupid boy had probably said something perverted, which earned him a smack from Hoizu.


"Yeah, Quincy, you'd better go after your friend. She was bleeding--- aaaaand she just slumped to the ground over there. She might be dying." Renji grinned and turned his attention back to Rei.


"You might like soccer, you know. If you actually watched." He shrugged, not being interested in the sport himself. He'd never been one for any Human sports, but he was there because he had no choice. Telling Rei to pay attention was a total hypocritical move, but Renji didn't care. "Oh, we should go get some snacks." He said happily, remembering that these things had snacks available. Kicking Ichigo in the back, Renji held out a hand.


"Give me some money so I can buy snacks."


Ichigo turned and glared at Renji, standing and smacking him in the head. "You could at least say please!" He yelled out, as Renji stood and glared right back at him. "I don't have to say please! I'm at this soccer game, aren't I?"


The two of them continued arguing until Ichigo finally threw some money at Renji, requesting his own snacks.


Renji turned to Rei, smiling.


"Let's go~"

 

[P U R I T Y]

Uryu had witnessed the entire exchange, scowling gravely at Hoizu's clumsiness. Whether or not she wanted to lie about preoccupations was one thing, but she couldn't fake yesterday's injury, and it was only a matter of time with how careless she was being that it'd be irritated again. He sighed as she fell, relieved that Keigo had broken it to a degree, unenthused by her reaction to whatever he'd said down there. That's why she needed him - to keep her from being irresponsible towards her own health.


But her deception indicated that, for whatever reason, she didn't want him around. So Uryu ignored the fall, her slight, uneasy wobble and the dramatic slide down the tree - against every carefully crafted instinct, he refused to acknowledge her suffering. At least right away.


She might be dying-


"She's not dying," He seethed.


"Maybe not medically, but with the way she's sitting in plain view with her little leg stretched out and the helpless vibes, she's dying for you to come over," Rei said it all in a monotonous tone, as if she were predicting the next scene of a sitcom.


"For the love of - Fine," Pushing off from the bleachers, not detesting his lack of actual interest in the shinigamis, Ishida left his whole supposed purpose for coming and approached the tree his childhood friend was nestled under. He'd snatched a water bottle along the way.


"If you wanted to spend time with Keigo, you could have just said so," He said bluntly, getting down on one knee and gesturing for her to turn her leg towards him best she could. He held up the water bottle and let the slightly cold liquid drizzle over it, prodding at it with a bit of cloth he had stored in his spare sewing kit, hidden in his back pocket.

Rei laughed genuinely along with what Renji said about the girl dying, for a moment they seemed like the most apathetic individuals in this realm. But his lack of concern for the human made her feel oddly comfortable with him, cause that's what it was like back home in the Seireitei - no one fretted over this realm so specifically, over little things like scraped knees and one sided affections (which was so obviously an issue between the Quincy's, Rei didn't need to know them to see that). She felt her shoulders fall and the corners of her lips quirk up more naturally.


You might like soccer, you know. If you actually watched


"Absolutely not, you know just as well as I do it's a waste of time," She ran the hem of her skirt between her fingers, listening to Renji and Ichigo duel it out for some snacks. They reminded her of Ikakku and Yumi, both of which were loud mouthed, over aggressive and entirely ego centric - but she'd come to find the soul society deathly silent when lacking their presence, she had an unspoken fondness for their angsty bond. The blonde and lieutenant had the same relationship going on, which intrigued her - how was he so close with... a human? Temp reaper or not, he wasn't everlasting, in fact he was just a boy. Renji hadn't been a boy for hundreds of years, what could they have in common?


Renji seemed enthused enough about grabbing snacks, and offered his nicest smile yet, even inviting her to tag along with him this time. She hopped down from her seat without any kind of attitude, fingers lightly gripping the edge of his sleeve so she could follow him through the very small audience gathered at the snack bar whilst the teams took a breather. There were too many individuals, it made her uncomfortable - they were all so carefree and absent minded, so unaware and vulnerable. "I don't know how you stand it here, Renji," She mumbled, eyes wandering for a while before she caught sight of something fluffy on a cone, jutting out from the aromatic snack bar. It was colored like her hair, and smelled sickeningly sweet - kids passed by taking bites out of the texture, like a concentrated cloud -


"What in the world is that?" She asked outloud, ignoring the odd stares of people who so obviously knew what they were eating. "Renji, I want that," She told him, finger dead set on what she'd come to find was cotton candy. The cones were disappearing fast, and the short line before them made her rock back and forth on her heels, lips pressed, brows furrowed in the same concentration as when she was fighting a hollow. "I really want one of those... fluffy... snacks."

 

[Artificial Sugar]

Hoizu looked up in surprise when Uryu approached her. He was holding a water bottle. Turning her leg to the side as best as she was able, she angled it towards him as directed. When he poured the water over her knee and dabbed at it with him cloth, Hoizu sighed. "I didn't want to. He text me after I text you, and I decided to be nice." She looked away from her knee, wondering how she'd managed to get into such an awkward position. It seemed she was always getting herself into these situations, and she never knew how. Looking up at Uryu, Hoizu found herself blushing, studying his face as he concentrated on her knee.


He was always so refined and handsome, she'd always thought so. But until last night, she'd never thought it meant anything other than just being best friends. People thought their friends were good looking all the time, even if it was just in a platonic way. But it appeared that she was no longer able to think of him in a platonic way, no matter how much she wanted to. Every time she looked at him, her heart sped up and she blushed.


"Uryu..." She said quietly, picking at her nails- a bad habit she'd had since childhood. "I.. I wanted to hang out with you today, I always do.." She sighed and closed her eyes, clearing her throat. "But after last night, I couldn't. I--- I'm so embarrassed. I'm scared, too. I'm scared that I like you." As she said the last sentence, she opened her eyes and met his with hers, cheeks burning with embarrassment.

Watching the two Quincy together made Renji cringe. They were so obviously romantically interested in each other, yet they both seemed to be hiding it, avoiding it. The girl especially. He didn't know much about Humans, but they seemed to make everything extra difficult. He didn't understand why they would avoid it fi they both liked each other. Wasn't that what Humans wanted? Renji turned to Rei and shrugged, knowing she was right about soccer. He didn't like it, and found it a waste of time, too, but he didn't want to fight with Ichigo anymore. The Strawberry blonde had a damn lot of energy.


Leading the way to the snacks, Renji smiled when he felt Rei gripping his sleeve. It was pretty crowded, so he figured she was uncomfortable. He felt a little bad for her, but not enough to take her back to Ichigo's house. It was good for her to be uncomfortable, it would make her tougher. He led the way to the snack shack, as they called it-- what a stupid name-- and stood in line, as was required. As he watched people getting their snacks and leaving, he heard Rei speaking about the fluffy brightly colored substance that the children were eating.


"They're called cotton candy." He told her, squinting to read the sign. It seemed they were selling fast.


Renji, despite his attitude towards Rei, wanted to get her one of the fluffy snacks, and was determined to do it. As the line got shorter, he saw that there was only one left, and he wondered if they made more, or if it was literally the last one.


The old man in front of them took his time ordering, so much so that Renji was getting impatient. By the time the old man was finally done, Renji was about ready to just leave. Grumbling as he got to the counter, he asked for the last cotton candy, three sodas, one popcorn, one corndog, and one takoyaki. He'd ordered for himself, Ichigo, Rei, and Orihime, who had asked for a popcorn. Ichigo was treating most everyone, it seemed, but not Keigo. Never Keigo.


After grabbing their snacks and paying, Renji handed Rei her cotton candy, snatching a piece of it off the top and popping it into his mouth. It melted instantly, and his eyes went wide with surprise. "Woah. What the Hell is this stuff?" He asked, looking at it like it was magic or something.

 

[P U R I T Y]

I'm scared, too.


"Scared of what?" He found her stutters ridiculous, after all he'd done for her last night she was scared of him? What was he missing? The following elaboration shut his thoughts up immediately, closing one chapter, yet immediately opening the next. I'm scared that I like you.


"So you spent the day with Keigo?" The male had to laugh, tossing aside the rag with drying blood, setting aside the water bottle, though he found it a little difficult to close the space between them. It'd all been in good theory last night, what could come of a simple kiss and, worse, what he could lose because of what might have been an accident. Although a new relationship was set in front of them, ready for exploration, he felt apprehension as she did - he didn't like not knowing and with Hoizu, not only was he always on edge or fighting to be kept out of the dark, he didn't have any control over all the directions this could go, and the avenues following that.


She was waiting for an answer though, so with a bit of a crawl which landed him right beside her, he let out a rather dramatic exhale. "That's all? Cause I was thinking that I felt the same way," He said it rather causally, remaining stiff despite the slight warmth that washed over him. The confession was tactfully placed, and felt like a growing, relieved pressure. "It's only natural." Though that last part was absolute bull, you could see it in his cheeks and the unnecessary fixing of his glasses - bad habit, cover up for intense emotions.

Rei watched him take the first bite with wide eyes, lighting up at the sight of his satisfaction. She plucked the next piece, but before anything she examined it, attempting to keep up with his pace, one hand clutching his sleeve still. Though with the other she rubbed little, pastel colored crystals between her fingers, rough against her skin, though they seemed to melt individually and tasted indescribably sweet - and the fluff on the top of the cone she held, it was hard to imagine this was a food and not honestly a cloud plucked from the sky. She finally let the first piece melt on her tongue like a sugary salve, a little chirp of satisfaction emitting from her sugar coated lips - this fluffy snack, cotton candy, was a miracle in the wake of such a desolate realm. "Sweetened cotton. I don't have the slightest clue how to describe this to Rangiku."


She joined him back on the bleachers, nestling down by his side, engaged in her candy, unaware of the looming presence sitting on the bleacher behind her. Her interest was very briefly piqued by a whistle blown on the field, mostly out of annoyance for the ear piercing sound, and in that very short moment she'd felt her cone grow lighter by a miniscule amount. Looking to her cone, she noticed half of it was missing, and when she tilted her head back, she met a pair of warm brown eyes and a friendly smile, following by an amiable greeting, "...Hi. I'm Chad."


Her eyes flickered from her cotton candy to the oversized, tan individual perched behind her. She started to shout, to scream, to fight for justice - when he stood up to stretch, she realized she didn't stand a chance, and looking around, no one would advocate for her. "...Hi Chad." She whimpered, turning back around and drooping her head, "This world is cruel."

 

[Artificial Sugar]

Hoizu looked at Uryu, cheeks flushed from embarrassment and a little bit of rage. "Not like, for that reason! I don't even like Keigo. I just wanted something to do to keep my mind off everything." She shrugged, crossing her arms like a petulant child. She was glad that Uryu at least hadn't rejected her. He seemed to be relieved, almost, which made her feel better. Of course she was still terrified of what telling him meant. Obviously she wasn't going to lose him, but what were they going to do? She couldn't imagine being a couple with Uryu, but she couldn't deny her feelings, either. It was a whole big issue that they would have to figure out.


When Uryu crawled to be closer to her, Hoizu found herself heating up, unable to get the damn blush on her cheeks to go away. Her heart sped up as he spoke again. That's all? Cause I was thinking that I felt the same way. So, he liked her, too. Smiling shyly, she laughed quietly, feeling even more relieved. He liked her, too! That meant it wouldn't have to be awkwardly one sided. She wanted to cry with relief, but held herself back.


"Riiight." Hoizu responded, thinking that it did usually seem natural for childhood friends to fall for each other. But even so, she didn't think it would happen to them in a million years.


"So now that we've had this awkward romantic moment... Do you think you can carry me home?" She asked, looking up at him with her usual puppy-dog face that she reserved for him only. She was hurt, after all, and she didn't really feel like sitting around with everyone while her leg was throbbing. "You can come back and enjoy the game when I'm home, if you want." She told him, not wanting him to feel like he had to stay with her.

Renji, unlike Rei, had not taken the time to investigate the fluffy substance before shoving it in his mouth. He honestly could have been offered poison, and would have done the same thing, probably. He was more concerned with taste than texture or anything else worth noting. He was never the patient type, so it was a good thing he'd never been offered poison, so far. Though he wouldn't put it past Ichigo. Watching Rei examine the fluff and then taste it made him smile, though. She looked so happy that he couldn't help but feel happy, too. Her face looked so cute when she was actually happy, and he found himself blushing slightly. Totally unlike him. "Maybe you can take some back with you." He told her, nodding happily.


As they sat back down on the bleachers, Renji noticed that the two Quincy seemed to finally be telling ech other about their feelings, so he didn't believe that Uryu would be returning. Turning to the side, he spotted Chad, and nodded to him. The kid was giant, and kind of intimidating, despite his gentle nature. Even Renji didn't want to mess with him.


Renji let out a loud laugh when Rei muttered to herself. "Aw, come on. Admit it, you're having fun!" Renji said, slapping her back roughly. Handing the food and sodas off to everyone, he noticed Keigo looking at Ichigo with a sad face, asking where his snack was.


"Go get your own. I'm not made of money." Keigo began to cry, leading Ichigo to push him off the bleachers. Luckily he was only on the first one, so it wasn't a serious injury.


Renji turned back to the game, totally confused as to what was happening, or what the point of soccer was.


Pulling another piece of the cotton candy off of Rei's stick, he popped it in his mouth, grinning happily at the sensation.

 

[P U R I T Y]

"I only attended this game 'cause you blew me off, I never cared for soccer," He didn't intend to sound harsh, Uryu was just stating facts - as if he'd like to stay here and listen to overly aggressive tweens pelt each other and excuse it as an attempt to win the game. Though just leaving abruptly was rude, he knew even someone like Ichigo would take offense to that - his usual outbursts were mostly just his nature, but vanishing without a word - with a girl no less- there was a code against that. With a click of his tongue, he gestured for her to wait a moment, not that she really had a choice. Approaching the bleachers, he told Orihimie to let the strawberry blonde know he was departing - that would keep him out of hot water long enough to at least get Hoizu home.


"Oh, okay! We'll miss you!" The ginger called, waving goodbye as the male scooped up Hoizu and started back down the street, the first of many leading to her house. Admittedly, he was grinning on the inside, a little hurt still over the morning's course - but with the confession they'd had, even if he wasn't saying much on the topic, he was honored to be her choice - relived it wasn't Keigo, more importantly. It was better they were back together - in every sense, cause the world just seemed to be off balance in every aspect when he wasn't inhaling her scent, synced with her spirit energy, or catering to those puppy dog eyes she thought still had an effect on him. Cute as they were, he'd decided a long time ago that regardless of her attitude, he'd cave - that's why bouncing back was so natural, why he didn't scold her much or react over dramatically, just being back in their natural groove mattered.

"Orihime! You're looking as lovely as ever!" Keigo bounced back faster than a toddler, eyes sparkling as the naïve ginger gave him her heavily divided attention. "Do you ever play sports?" He grumbled, "I'd love to see you in a cheer leader outfit, those little skirts-"


"Oh, no, I'm not sporty like Tatski! I once took on a menacing robot attacking Kurakara though, I had these little fairies helping me out, they were so amazing!"


"Wow, Hime! That's... That's really... Something!" He tried to reciprocate her enthusiasm, equally as brain dead, though that sounded far fetched even to him.


"Who's that waste of oxygen?" Rei asked aloud, earning a stifled chuckle from Chad behind her.


"One of our classmates, he acts on hormones and boyish antics, most women hate him. He's never failed to hit on one."


"Hit?"


"Flirt with," He told her.


"He hasn't paid me any mind," She said with hinted, bruised ego. "Chad, right? Introduce me."


Without hesitation he waved Keigo over, the brunette reluctantly switched his attention to their section on the bleachers, brows furrowed and slightly glistening underneath the sun. "Eh? Sato? What's up?"


"This is Rei," He enlightened, but offered no more information, and seemed to leave the conversation almost immediately, attention shifted to Karin's game, which few were actually watching.


"Oh, hey," The brunette looked off with disinterested, earning Rei's wide eyes mirroring offense.


"Hey? That's it? Why don't I get gushed over like everyone else full of estrogen??"


"Wha--- Well, y-you're... um... I just figured you were dating Ichigo's uncle," He pointed to Renji, brows connected, eyes clueless.


"SEE WHAT SHARING FLUFFY STUFF MAKES PEOPLE THINK?" Rei barked at Renji suddenly, whacking him on the head with the left over cotton candy cone.


"Besides you just seem... so unapproachable... and intimidating... And just cold-"


"I AM NOT INTIMIDATING," She threw her cone at him, satisfied with the way it jabbed his eye, ignoring his slight tears and crossing her arms over her chest. Guys had the same response when she was cast in Rangiku's shadow - she was so beautiful and approachable, whilst Rei was like... like Renji.


"WELL YOU'RE NOT VERY ATTRACTIVE EITHER!" He screamed, cried and ran off to lick his wounds.


"You.. You stupid... boy," She huffed, pretending as though everything he had shouted hadn't effected her too much, snatching Renji's drink and angrily sucking it down.

 

[Artificial Sugar]

Hoizu watched silently as Uryu told the group he was leaving. She felt a small twinge of triumph that he'd picked her over them. She knew he would, always, no matter what-- but even so, it still felt good. As he made his way back to her and scooped her up, Hoizu wrapped an arm around his shoulder to hold herself still. Uryu was much stronger than he looked, but even so, she was glad she didn't weigh a lot. She'd gone on a diet recently, and had lost about ten pounds. Not much, but enough to make her feel that perhaps she wasn't weighing him down as much as she would have.


She felt much better now that she'd told Uryu about her feelings. She didn't like spending the day away from him, even if she was feeling awkward. Honestly, since he shared her feelings, it seemed that their kiss last night hadn't been a mistake at all, and Hoizu was even slightly glad for it.


As they reached her house, she handed Uryu the key and let him unlock the door. Once inside, she had him put her down and help her upstairs to the bathroom. This time, she gathered her own clothes and made it to the shower. She just wanted to wash her knee off and change into something more comfortable. After washing up quickly, she changed into a pair of black shorts and a dark grey baggy sweater. Exiting the bathroom, she made it back to her room with Uryu's help, and took a seat on her bed with a sigh. "Well, what do you want to do now? I can't do anything fun."

Renji watched, curious to see what would happen when Rei spoke to Keigo. He did seem to be interested in pretty much any girl that looked halfway decent, but when Rei began to speak to him, he was completely uninterested. Renji found this surprising, considering he thought Rei was pretty, at the very least. He figured Keigo would, too. But when Keigo called him "Ichigo's Uncle" Renji let out a loud laugh and covered his mouth, holding back more laughter. Looking at Rei when she hit him in the head with the cotton candy, Renji frowned and stuck his tongue out at her, not really caring what sharing the cotton candy made people think. He just liked the flavor.


Renji let out a sound of protest when Rei grabbed his drink and began to suck it down. Snatching it back, he looked at it for a moment before sighing and handing it back to her. "Just take it. I don't want it now. It's contaminated." He made a disgusted face, holding it to her like it really was contaminated.


"Maybe that's part of the reason Keigo doesn't find you attractive. You're too rough and mean." Renji told her, smirking as he shrugged. He didn't mind her attitude, but guys like Keigo seemed to like soft, sweet girls. The total opposite of Rei. "Hey, we should leave now while Ichigo is distracted." He told Rei quietly, seeing that Keigo and Ichigo were fighting about something.

 

[P U R I T Y]

"Guess we could order take out this time, maybe put in another movie. I think a comedy might be better this time around," He offered, pushing off from beside her on the bed, and approaching her shelves stacked with films and literature. There was hardly anything not associated with horror, from exorcisms to cheap, paranormal investigation documentaries - Uryu wanted to cringe, but refrained. Pulling his phone from his pocket, he dialed up the nearest pizza place, slipping it between his shoulder and jawline whilst he rummaged through the poor selection of humor associated movies she had.


As the number dialed, his thoughts threatened to go back to their little confession in the soccer park, his face pricked with warmth as his mind went over her words repeatedly, though the meaning was blunt, no hidden clues or indications he had to worry about. Not having something to overanalyze in such an intimate situation was unsettling for him, in fact he was so lost in the moment, putting it on repeat to at last evaluate his own reaction - he wasn't even properly reading the titles on the dvd cases, he'd been staring at the same one until the service on the other end of the phone answered.


"Karakura pizza delivery service, what can we do for you?"


"Uh..." Trying to recollect his thoughts, Uryu walked away from the bookshelf, taking a moment to stare out of Hoizu's bedroom window, "Cheeze pizza, and a liter of coke."


And five orders of buffalo wings-


"And five orders of - What?" His head snapped to the side, only to be immediately greeted with Ichigo's boyish grin, his lean figure somehow perfectly balanced on the window seal, glass wide open - how could Uryu no have noticed the sudden change in environment? He hadn't even picked up on his spirit energy! Did his childhood friend have that great of an effect on him? "I-Ichigo! What the hell are you doing here?"


"Don't keep him waiting, idiot! Five orders, spicy," He deflected the question, hopped down and held his arms out - simultaneously there was an ear piercing shriek that ripped through the air, and from outside flew in Orihime at full speed, instead of gracefully landing in Ichigo's arms, however, she knocked him down. "Oh! Kurosaki-kun! I'm so sorry! So, so, so, so, so-"


"-Hey, it's fine," He seemed totally dazed on the floor, sprawled out with a forming bump on his forehead where they'd collided.


Chad hoisted himself up next with ease, landing on the bedroom floor with a thud, offering an amiable wave to both Quincies.


Uryu grimaced, speaking into the phone with a disheartened tone. "...And five orders of buffalo wings - you know what, go ahead and make that three large pizzas, half with pineapple, three leaders of soda, and some desert. Surprise me. Oh the address is..."


"Hi, Hoizu! I love your sweater, it's so cute!" Orihime plopped down beside the young woman, offering a bright smile, and gently hugging her side as if they'd been best friends for years. She was so happy to be in her home! She'd never visited this house before - she'd never been invited, in all honesty - but if Ichigo said it was okay... Then it must be!


Last to arrive were Rei and Renji, who'd made several attempts to get out of both the finishing soccer game, and the trip here - to no avail, they were both bribed with a hearty dinner and shelter for the night if they came. True, they could have gone to Urahara's shop instead, but it was more of a circus there, and they'd probably be put to greater works with only rice as pay. That was how Renji's experience went, anyways. Rei had every intention of just leaving, especially after all of Keigo and the lieutenants encouraging remarks, but had received yet another oddly placed text demanding she stay here due to an increase in atmospheric disturbance.