"Ugh," Makoto exclaimed in disgust as he looked at the brown liquid in his mug. "This is what coffee tastes like? How do people like this stuff?" He took another sip gagging on the liquid as it overwhelmed his taste buds, before looking back into his cup.
"I guess people aren't wrong when they say coffee is an acquired taste," he said as he continued to look into the coffee mug. There was a sudden knock at the door drawing Makoto's attention. "Who could that be?"
Makoto set down the mug on the counter and made his way to the front door. Upon opening it he was surprised to be greeted by the entire Kurosaki family.
"Hello?" Makoto said, as he looked between the different members of the family. While Mr. Kurosaki and Yuzu seemed ecstatic, both Ichigo and Karin looked exasperated with Ichigo's look bordering on irritation.
"Hello Makoto!" Mr. Kurosaki exclaimed, with a big goofy smile plastered on his face. "How are you doing on this fine morning?!"
"Uh…good," he replied hesitantly as he continued scanning their faces for any idea why they were there. "May I ask what you are doing here at my house on this fine morning?"
"They're here to see your girlfriend," Karin said blandly.
"Yeah right…Wait WHAT?!" Makoto exclaimed as he quickly turned his head to look at Karin who proceeded to lean on one of the patio posts.
His gaze then quickly moved to Ichigo who responded with a roll of his eyes. "I tried asking Yuzu and Karin about the question yesterday and unfortunately someone else happened to be listening in on the conversation. Then when I told them the three of us had something we were doing today, they decided to tag along to meet her."
Makoto's eyes bugged out as he felt his face heat up. Of course this had to happen. The last thing he needed was Mr. Kurosaki pestering him about Rukia. How could this possibly get any worse?!
"Is something wrong Makoto?" said a voice behind him.
"Crap" Makoto thought to himself as he silently cursed his life, "Now I'm really dead. Why did you have to come down now?"
"Not at all," he replied quickly, turning to Rukia who stood at the foot of the stairs. On his face a forced smile wondering how he managed to get himself caught in this predicament. "It's just the Kurosakis. Ichigo told them about you and they came over with him to meet you."
"Oh really," she said as she looked at the people beyond him. She quickly smiled before walking up next to Makoto and addressed them. "Hello there. I'm Rukia. It's nice to meet you all."
"Rukia, a beautiful name to match a beautiful girl," Mr. Kurosaki said as tears began to fill his eyes as he hugged Yuzu. "Don't they look perfect together, Yuzu."
While she wasn't as overwhelmed as her father it was quite clear that Yuzu was somewhat emotional as well and that left both Makoto and Rukia staring at them, their faces turning red out of embarrassment.
"T-Thank you?" Rukia said, as she turned to Makoto with a questioning look but Makoto didn't even need to turn to her to know what question she wanted to ask.
"Are they always like this?"
Ichigo brushed his hand through his hair before confirming. "Unfortunately."
"How have you survived this long?" Makoto asked, though this time it was Karin who answered his question.
"Simple. You never do anything to gain his attention in the first place. Now can we hurry up instead of waiting for the neighbors to notice the embarrassment that is currently happening before us," she replied.
"Please do" Makoto thought to himself as he rubbed his face with his right hand. "The last thing I want is to deal with you guys."
"Hurry up with what?" Rukia asked curiously as she looked between the members of the Kurosaki family.
"Ichigo told us that your clothes haven't arrived yet, so I brought over one of my dresses for you to wear for the time being," Yuzu replied as she happily handed a dress to Rukia. "Since Ichigo said we were about the same size I thought it would be better than wearing Tsukiyo-san's clothes which were too big."
"Though it seems you are doing just fine," Ichigo snarked with a smile on his face as they all noticed the clothes she was wearing, causing both Makoto and Rukia to turn bright red.
"For some reason I have an uncomfortable amount of old and small clothes stuffed into my closet," he said as he frantically waved his hands around. "I was lucky to find anything that fits."
"Then why are you freaking out?" Karin asked as she eyed Makoto suspiciously. "You're her boyfriend. It's not weird for you to give her your clothes, especially if they fit."
"Right," Makoto said, his face growing even redder than it was before as he stuffed his hands into his pockets and stared at his feet. He forgot that only Ichigo knew that Rukia wasn't actually his girlfriend and mentally kicked himself for almost exposing it to the rest of the Kurosaki family. But surprisingly Karin just looked at him with a sense of what felt like pity as he fumbled around with his words.
"You're weird," Karin sighed.
"Karin!" Yuzu hissed out and was about to continue had Rukia not interrupted her.
"That's why I love him," she remarked with a smile as she quickly wrapped both of her around his right arm pulling him closer which caused him to turn to her with a shocked look. The selfless act caused Mr. Kurosaki's eyes to tear up.
"Beautiful," he said, "A gesture of kindness to make the one you love feels safe and secure even when he is being actively rejected and ridiculed. Such passionate displays of affection from the both of you! You two are truly perfect for each other."
Makoto felt his face heat up at the antics of Mr. Kurosaki and Rukia. Damn it, why did he teach her how to act better yesterday? Maybe he might have spared himself some of the embarrassment he was feeling right now.
"Alright that's enough," Makoto grumbled out. "You're welcome to come inside until Rukia is ready Ichigo since I'm sure she wants to change before we go."
"Yeah I wouldn't want to be caught dead in those clothes of your's," Ichigo replied with a smirk.
"We'll make sure to get back before dinnertime Mr. Kurosaki," Makoto said, ignoring Ichigo's comment though he was clearly annoyed by it.
"Dinner. I would hope so after all that's the reason I invited you over," Mr. Kurosaki said. "After all, I said when your girlfriend finally came into town that you should come and visit."
"I'm sorry, what?!" Makoto exclaimed. "When did…"
"We would love to come, Mr. Kurosaki," Rukia interrupted Makoto, who turned to her with a horrified look on his face.
"Great! We'll be expecting you!" Mr. Kurosaki said in an overly cheerful voice before turning to Yuzu. "Alright, off to the store."
"Hang on!" Ichigo yelled at his father as he began to walk away. "Are you telling me the whole reason that you decided to walk over here was just to invite them over for dinner!"
"Of course that was the idea," Mr. Kurosaki replied calmly but was still slightly shocked. "Didn't I tell you earlier?"
"I'm shocked it took you this long to figure it out," Karin deadpanned, her eyes rolling at her brother's lack of awareness. "Honestly, why else would he have come? He can't spy on the two of them in their own house."
"My darling daughter, Karin, you truly know just what to…" Isshin began only to be kicked backwards onto the sidewalk by Karin before he could finish.
"Can it! I can't believe you dragged me all the way out here just watch you make a fool of yourself!" she yelled at her father. "For once can you act like the grown up you are?"
Rukia stood there astonished by the small girl and turned to ask Makoto a question but was surprised to see his head bowed in defeat. "Is something wrong?" she asked, as a worried look crossed her face thinking he felt unwell.
"It can't be that bad the second time, right?" Makoto quivered.
"What?" Rukia asked, not sure she heard that correctly.
"Nothing," Makoto muttered to himself, but Ichigo had heard him.
"No it won't be," Ichigo sighed as he ran his hand through his spiky hair which led to a breath of relief from Makoto. "It will be even worse." Damn it. He really needed to stop doing that. Right when he thinks it can't get worse it does. What's next? Is he going to be stuck entertaining Mr. Kurosaki while Rukia is off having fun with Ichigo's sisters?
"Oh Rukia-san, when you come over me and Karin can tell you about some of the stores that we like to get our clothes from," Yuzu commented before walking over to her squabbling sister and father and beginning to diffuse the tension.
He just had to go and think that didn't he. "Rukia, why don't you go get dressed and then we can go," Makoto said brusquely as a vein slowly started popping out of his head. "Ichigo, why don't you come on in until Rukia is ready? I'm sure your family has many things to do to get ready for us to come over so we should leave them to it."
At that mention Isshin once again perked up and started monologuing. "That's right, we have to get ingredients for dinner. Come on girls, let's get going." With that Isshin dashed down the street leaving the rest of the people standing there gawking in the direction he had run off.
"Well I'm going back home then," Karin said before turning on her heel and walking in the opposite direction that her father had run, but Yuzu quickly caught her hand.
"Come on Karin, it's just grocery shopping. What is so bad about that?" the blonde girl questioned.
"I know that if I go then I won't be back home for the next three hours," the black haired twin replied. "Not to mention I want to finish my homework before tonight. That way I'm not tired from having to do it in the middle of the night after Tsukiyo-san leaves like a certain someone was the last time he came over."
"Hey that wasn't my fault," Yuzu pouted with a faint tinge of anger in her voice. "You know it's rude to leave a guest when they come over to do something else. Besides I wasn't expecting him to come over so you can't blame me for that."
Rukia watched the ensuing chaos before turning to Makoto. "Are they al…" he didn't let her finish that sentence as he quickly covered her mouth with his hand.
"Shush!" he loudly whispered. "Don't say anything! He might hear you!"
Rukia's face contorted in confusion at Makoto's statement which was answered by someone yelling from down the street. "Yuzu! Karin! Hurry up! At this rate we'll be the ones late to dinner! Now come on! If we don't hurry the stores will be crowded and we won't be able to get all the food! You don't want our guests to think we're completely crazy."
"On our way," Yuzu yelled to her father, slowly dragging her twin sister behind.
Leaving the three teenagers standing there on the porch. Makoto sighed and removed his hand from Rukia's mouth. He then turned to Rukia and spoke, his voice distant and melancholic "Why did you accept the invitation to dinner?"
"Was I not supposed to?" Rukia said as she raised an eyebrow, "Is it not considered rude to turndown someone when they offer you a meal here in the World of the Living?"
"It isn't if I wanted my girlfriend to settle in before accepting the offer, but now that you accepted I have no choice," Makoto replied with another sigh. "There goes my plans of relaxing at home for the night."
"Then why don't you just stay here?" Rukia complained. "Honestly, if you don't want to, you don't have to."
"Because unfortunately my 'girlfriend' stated 'WE would love to come,'" he said, gesturing to both of them to emphasize his point. "If I don't come then I look bad! And let's not forget that as long as you can't get back to the Soul Society, I am your guardian! So I am kind of forced into doing this! Now go change so that we can get out of here and start Ichigo's training."
"Why should I?" Rukia said grumpily, crossing her arms in front of her.
"Do I need to get the rabbits involved?" Makoto replied coldly.
"You wouldn't dare!" Rukia hissed out, staring him dead in the eyes. The two glared at each other for several seconds before Ichigo finally broke the tension.
"Yeesh. This is what you two are like after one day," he mocked. "Keep this up and the whole neighborhood will know your secret soon."
Makoto turned to him to retort only to finally notice that they were still on the front porch and some of the passersby were starting to take notice of them. He quickly plastered a smile on his face waving at them before pushing both Ichigo and Rukia into the house and slamming the door behind him.
"Why did I sign up for this again?" Makoto said to himself.
"I don't know because you hate yourself?" Ichigo sarcastically replied.
"That was a rhetorical question, Ichigo," Makoto grumbled back.
"Oh so you do hate yourself," he smirked, "I knew you would never take care of her if you were in your right mind." This was followed by a punch from Rukia.
"Stop talking like I'm not in the room," she said, crossing her arms though Makoto could see tears forming in her eyes at what Ichigo had said.
Makoto sighed. "Rukia, just go change. We are burning daylight and if you didn't tell Ichigo that his training was on this day then I would be doing something else entirely. So are we doing this or not.
Rukia grumbled to herself before stomping upstairs to her room. Afterwards Makoto turned to Ichigo saying, "Try not to antagonize her and definitely don't bring me into it if you do."
Ichigo looked at his friend confused as they entered the living room. "Since when are you such a bleeding heart?" he asks, raising an eyebrow.
"I'm not a bleeding heart, Ichigo," Makoto replied in an irritated tone but his face softened quickly after as he continued speaking. "I can tell that Rukia has been through stuff that we don't even understand entirely. And on top of that she blames herself for the fact that she is currently staying here and making my life a living nightmare."
Ichigo looked at his friend in surprise. "Well she did, didn't she? So why are you defending her?"
Makoto sighed once again as he grabbed the coffee mug he had placed on the countertop earlier. "So what if she did? She clearly feels bad for it. Not to mention the fact that she has nearly gotten me killed twice."
"Once again she should," Ichigo replies with an eye roll. "Ever since she showed up our lives have been completely flipped on their head."
"If only you knew how messed up my life is," Makoto thought to himself, bringing the coffee mug to his lips to take another sip. "My life was already in shambles and I was left to pick up the fractured pieces and try to make sense of it."
He gagged again at the taste of the coffee. "How do people drink this stuff? Not to mention get addicted to it? I can barely take a sip without gagging."
"It's coffee. Most people just use it to get themselves through the day," Ichigo remarks. "Whether they like the taste or not is an entirely different story."
"Like the taste of what?" said Rukia as she entered the living room wearing the dress that Yuzu had handed to her. It was a simple black dress that she had paired with a pair of white tennis shoes that Makoto could only assume had come from his closet, yet despite that they seemed to fit her feet well. Well he guessed she would literally be walking a mile in his shoes today, in more than one context.
"I was just admiring the taste of this amazing beverage," Makoto said sarcastically but was shocked to see Rukia's eyes fill with wonder.
"Can I try," she asks, staring at the mug in his hand as if it was calling out to her, while Makoto looked slightly anxious.
"I guess," Makoto replied with a nervous tone, " But before you do…"
It was too late. Rukia had already rushed over and taken the mug from his hand, taking a large swig from the glass. Within half a second she had spat out the contents immediately, covering his face and shirt with the brown liquid.
"What the heck is this stuff?!" Rukia asked in a horrified tone as she looked at the mostly empty mug now. "Are you trying to poison me?!"
Makoto couldn't help himself and began laughing. "I tried to tell you," he laughed out, grabbing a hand towel from the counter and wiping off his face. "I absolutely hate the taste of it but you were so eager to try it that I couldn't tell you before you had taken it from me." Rukia's face became a bright pink and averted her eyes as she apologized to Makoto.
"It's fine Rukia," Makoto said as he continued wiping coffee off his face. "Just know that not everything in the World of the Living tastes as good as the food I make."
"The food you make?" Ichigo says, raising an eyebrow at Makoto. "I guess It's a good thing I brought you to Yuzu to learn to cook."
"Oh, I didn't make anything Yuzu taught me," Makoto said as he dried his hair with the towel. "I just made something easy that I already knew how to make."
Rukia nodded. "It was incredible. I don't usually like spicy food but he managed to drown out the naturally spicy peppers with the saltiness of the pickles and that funky smelling black liquid that he said made it sweeter."
"Black liquid, what was that?" Ichigo asked, "Molasses?"
"Nope. Balsamic vinegar," Makoto replied confidently, which caused Ichigo to look at me starstruck.
"Are you insane," he exclaimed, "How does that make it sweeter? Not to mention how did you know that would work?!"
Makoto just shrugged. "I've made it before and adding it not only lessened the spice but also gave it that required acid and sweetness." Ichigo just stared at his friend in disbelief to which Makoto dropped the towel around his neck crossing his arms. "I told you I'm not horrible at cooking, I just need a little help at times. Now I should probably change so that we can get going."
As Makoto retreated upstairs he was followed by Ichigo's eyes from where he stood. "What the heck is going on? He was yelling at Rukia not more than three minutes ago. Now she just spat coffee all over him and he just laughs it off? How is that even possible?"
________________________________________________________________________________________
Rukia's eyes poured over every word on the page. The words almost jump off of the page as she starts to speak them, her voice filled with emotion and heart. She wasn't herself anymore but the character she was reading, her feelings synonymous with that of the character she was portraying. She poured out her heart as she spoke those words, the very essence of her being there, the fear, the love, she felt it all.
"What are you doing?" Rukia jumped in her seat screaming at Makoto's question. "Why are you screaming?"
"Don't sneak up on me like that," she pouted, slamming the manga she was reading shut.
"Sorry," Makoto said, "I didn't mean to scare you. I was just wondering what you were doing, aside from practicing your acting skills."
"I was studying contemporary language that is until you rudely interrupted me," Rukia huffed out, irritation clear on her face.
Makoto's face scrunched up as if he was in pain. "Well whatever you were reading certainly isn't set in the modern century. And while I admit that studying writing made in past dialects is important, to make it seem like you are really from this time period you need to study language when people are talking or at least read something that has a similar sound to it. Not like you are from the 1400s. Where did you even get that book?"
"From your room," she replied with a smirk, "So if anyone is to blame it's you."
"First you shouldn't go into my room without permission and second I haven't even read all of that," Makoto said as he took the manga and examined the cover. "Between the balance of school, making dinner, and doing homework I rarely had any time to do anything for the past month. I had just started to normalize a schedule when you showed up."
Rukia's face dropped slightly at the mention of her sudden appearance once again and Makoto felt his heart hurt. He didn't mean that in a bad way but it looked like she took it that way despite his constant confirmations that he didn't mind that she showed up. In truth he didn't know how to feel about her appearance. That house was his safe spot away from the world where he knew he couldn't affect anything and that he knew he could be himself, he could laugh or cry, smile or frown and the world would be none the wiser. But now that Rukia was staying with him he couldn't do that. If he let the mask slip she would see, if he cried she would know, he couldn't hide anywhere that this world could not see him.
"Is this a horror story?" Makoto questioned as he skimmed through the pages and their pictures. Rukia looked at him slightly confused, to which he clarified. "This story seems to contain a lot of jumpscares or moments specifically tailored to make you scream and cry. That is what some people would define as a horror story."
"Oh I see," Rukia replied, "Well I find it incredibly intriguing."
"I'll be sure to keep that in mind," Makoto said, handing the book back to Rukia. "Though I'll see if I can find something better in the books on my shelf. There are better stories on those shelves, but I'll see if I can find more."
He sat down on the bench next to her and turned to watch Ichigo as he hit the dozens of balls from the pitching machine that Rukia had given him. "So what are we going to do just wait for Ichigo?" Makoto asked.
"That was my plan," Rukia returned as she looked at the orange haired boy. "That's why I borrowed this from your room." She raised the book as she said that, the pages flopping in the gentle afternoon breeze.
"I wish you had told me that earlier," Makoto groaned, "I would have brought something with me to occupy my time. Maybe some homework or that guitar in my room, work on how to play it better."
"Well now you know for next time," Rukia replies with a smirk.
"Now I know what it's like to be a little kid with nothing to do," Makoto grouched once again, staring up at the clouds. "Hey, why don't you teach me how to use my ability."
"Your ability?" Rukia looked at him stunned, her voice quivering slightly, like a parent would when their child speaks a curse word for the first time. "What ability?"
"My sixth sense or whatever you want to call it," Makoto said, turning to face her while sitting cross-legged on the bench, noticing the tension that seemed to grow in her dissipate almost instantly. "I need to learn so that I can better guide you away from danger, though it seems much more likely that I'm going to lead you towards it rather than away. Plus you did say that once I learn to use it I will be able to even if you leave, and worst case scenario when you do leave I can help Ichigo if we ever feel things get too dire. Though it's gonna be a fat chance he does any of this when you do leave."
Rukia gave a slight chuckle at that. "Yeah. I don't think he would be doing any of this without you being here," she said, a sad smile crossing her face. "In fact I don't think he would have done any of the stuff yesterday if you hadn't spoken up when we were on the roof."
"He would have," Makoto said halfheartedly, looking back at his orange haired friend. "I just reminded him of the risks. He's a good guy at heart, you just need to get past that scowl and you'll find out he cares deeply for others. Had you said it to him he would have done the same, probably with a few less bruises though."
They both laughed quietly to themselves at that comment, watching as Ichigo hit another one of the balls and for some reason started coughing and sneezing. "I wish I could do half of what you can Ichigo," Makoto thought to himself as he fidgeted with the ring on his finger. "I feel useless to you and Rukia. I can see these things but I can't do anything about them. I can't protect anyone because I am powerless. I can only place my life in your hands and hope I survive. I have no control over my life. I have no purpose in this world. All I can do is watch and hope that others will find the strength that I could never have."
His face grew into a bittersweet smile as he looked down at his hands clenching and unclenching them, and these actions didn't go unnoticed by Rukia who sat there next to him.
"Is something wrong?" she asked, turning ever so slightly towards him. Makoto looked up, masking the emotions that had once been there with a cheery smile like he always did when she was around.
"Of course not," he replied happily, the fake smile he wore almost indistinguishable from his normal one, or was it his regular smile that he returned to ignoring the repressed emotions that had just surfaced moments before. "I was just thinking about other books that I know of that you might like. It's limited to mainly those in the other languages but I might be able to find translations of them."
"Of course you were," Rukia sighed, not entirely convinced but playing along nonetheless. "The amount of crazy ideas that run through your head you would know something I might like."
"Creativity is only limited by your imagination," Makoto said back with a smirk. "To write a story you need a vast, immersive, some might even say, overwhelming imagination and while many might have it, to make a truly great story you need even more than that. And the only way to expand it is to read other stories and expand your own imagination through the countless tales that exist in this world, both the good and the bad."
Rukia stared at him like he had spoken some foreign language to her, to which Makoto just sighed. "Just forget I said anything. The point is I was thinking of books that you might like."
"Then why were you making that face?" she asked, placing her hands on her hips and inching her face closer to his.
"What face?" Makoto tried to deny.
"The dark, glum, brooding look that you just had on," Rukia pushed, trying to get more out of him.
"I don't know what you are talking about," Makoto said as he turned away, discomfort clearly etched on his face now.
"Now you are trying to hide it," Rukia pointed out, which Makoto proceeded to deny again, but the look on his face was that of a trapped animal showing Rukia knew she was close. "Is it because I showed up? Because I came out of nowhere all of a sudden and was pushed into a situation that you had no reason to be in and wanted no part of!"
"If I said it was, would you stop bothering me!" Makoto finally snapped, "It's my business and mine alone! I just came over to ask what you were planning on doing and that's it! I can leave at any time! All I wanted was to see if you could try and teach me to better use my Hollow sense! That's it! Now stop trying to butt into my personal affairs!"
They stood there in silence for a moment, staring each other down only this time neither broke. They faced each other with their emotions clear as day on their faces and they both wouldn't give an inch on their statements, leading to an indefinite standstill that they knew had to end but neither wanted to be the one to do it.
Finally Rukia sighed and relaxed her hands. "Fine. I'll teach you," she said in a despondent tone, her voice growing scarily emotionless as compared to her normal tone. "Sit down and we can get started." Makoto knew that her tone could change like this but it was never this drastic. She could add enthusiasm and whenever she talked about the Soul Reaper duties with Ichigo her tone was always serious. But this was completely different from even when he first met her, her tone almost seemed lifeless, lacking any form of vibrance whatsoever and that unnerved him all the more. Had he taken it too far? Sure it was his business but he didn't have to yell at her like that did he?
They sat down across from each other at the picnic table as Makoto continued to ponder these thoughts, only broken out of it when Rukia started speaking once again. "First is a question that I need to ask and you need to answer me honestly," Makoto gulped. While Rukia's voice had gained some of its life back it remained deadly serious, that way she only got when talking about Soul Reapers and their duties.
"What might that be?" Makoto stuttered.
"Every time a Hollow has been nearby you collapse, correct?" Makoto gave a small nod before she continued, "What does it feel like to you when they are nearby?"
Makoto paused for a moment as he tried to figure out how to phrase it. "Well it's kind of hard to explain but I'll give it a try. The first time was different fromthe last two, it started out slight but it grew stronger the closer I got to it. The air seemed to grow heavy and still the closer I ran, a sense of fear and regret began to bubble in my chest as I ran towards what felt like evil and death. It felt like I was going through a panic attack without any fear. I was completely exhausted physically yet mentally I could see and hear even the cracking stones beneath its feet."
"I see," Rukia says with a slight nod. "What about the other two times, when we were at your house and on top of the school?"
"I'm not sure about them," Makoto replied, grabbing his head and shutting his eyes tightly as he tried to recall more details. "While it was more gradual the first time, the other two I was instantly overwhelmed. The heavy air, the sense of fear and regret, it was all there. You saw it. I was right next to you. It felt like…like…AHH!"
He slammed his hands on the table laying his face down in between them utterly defeated. "Damn it," he whimpered quietly, "Why can't I say it? Why can't I understand it enough to tell you what it feels like? I know what it is and yet I can't explain what I'm feeling about them."
Rukia looked at the boy as he lay there on the table. "Stop whining," Rukia said, crossing her arms. "While I will admit your inability to describe it is somewhat lackluster from what I've come to expect from you, the important thing is you can remember what it feels like." Makoto raised his head still looking very much defeated but he didn't stop Rukia as she continued to speak. "Now listen closely because I won't repeat this again." Makoto nodded in confirmation and out of nowhere Rukia pulled out her sketchbook.
"What the…where did that thing come from?!" Makoto yelled checking under the table to see if there was any tape or anything that could have possibly been used to stick it underneath the table.
"Be quiet and pay attention," Rukia yelled, as she slammed the table causing him to jerk up and hit the top of his head on the underside of the very same object. Rukia then flipped to a page with two more poorly drawn rabbits holding swords, one seemingly full of energy while the other looking much more tired while surrounded by fire. "Each being, whether Hollow, human, or Soul Reaper, all have a distinct spiritual energy that sets them apart from each other. This energy is called reriyoku and it is the internal energy that is housed inside a soul at any given point which cannot be sensed. When that energy is released it is converted into reiatsu, which can be used in many different ways such as from shooting fire from the palm of your hand to manipulating light."
"So that is what you were talking about a couple days ago," Makoto said as he looked at the two pictures. "You said something about me raising my reiatsu saying it might have had an effect on me or the Hollow, even going so far as to think that it might have caused me to be able to see you."
"Yes, that is correct though we had disproven that theory when you said you saw the Hollow before that," Rukia stated. "Now do you have any other questions or may I continue?"
"There was one," Makoto responded, "When was it that you drew those pictures because they could probably use a newer rendition to make them a bit better." He was answered with a smack on the head from the sketchbook once more.
"I drew them this morning!" she exclaimed, anger filling her face.
"I retract my statement," Makoto said weakly as he pulled his head off the table. "Please continue your explanation."
Rukia sat down once more flipping to the next page of the sketch book showing three more creatures one of which was the familiar rabbit. "Normally this feeling is imperceptible to a human since they lack the normal spiritual sense needed to interact with Soul Reapers and other spiritual entities. However you and Ichigo are outliers seeing that you are actually capable of seeing us in the first place, and you are especially different since your awareness is heightened to an extreme that you can sense Hollows even from a large distance away."
"Alright, so then why did you need to draw these pictures?" Makoto asked.
"The reason why is because while all beings have spiritual pressure you can usually tell what kind of being the spiritual pressure belongs to just on the feeling of the reiatsu." Rukia retorted. "For example, all three of those Hollows reiatsu were completely different yet you still reacted the same way. Therefore it would stand that other beings would also fall into these categories."
"A bear, a rabbit, and a house cat," Makoto snarked, which earned him another smack on the head from the sketchbook.
"NO! Hollows, Soul Reapers Humans! And for your information that is a dog, moron!" Rukia yelled at him. "Can't you tell by his ears!"
Makoto looked at the picture once more. The one she claimed was a dog had a rounded face and pointy ears that after a second glance did look quite canine-like, however they are not as common to dog-like creatures. But he nonetheless decided to take the high road. "Now that you mention it I can see it a little bit."
This was followed by yet another slap from the sketch book and an even more confusing explanation. "If you are going to lie, at least try to make it believable."
"What do you want me to say? Your drawings are terrible?" This earned him yet another whack on the head.
"Honestly, can you get any more callous?" Rukia scoffed as she looked at Makoto who let his head rest on the table after the furious beatings it took.
"Damned if I do, damned if I don't," Makoto muttered to himself. "Is this how guys always feel when they're dating? I guess it could have been worse. Flynn Rider had a frying pan, I got off easy with a sketchbook."
"What was that?" Rukia glared at him who just quickly jerked his head up.
"Nothing," he stuttered out. Rukia scoffed as she put the sketch pad back into whatever pocket dimension she pulled it out of, and went back to reading the manga that she had 'borrowed' from Makoto, becoming thoroughly engrossed once more.
Makoto sighed as he looked at the back of her head. "I really don't understand her," he thought to himself. "Why is she so concerned about how I feel about her? She doubts that I don't blame her for what happened two nights ago when I tell her the truth, and when I lie it doesn't make it any better. Yet on the other hand, she seems to understand everything about me while I struggle to even find the right words to say."
Makoto groaned, running his hands through his hair. "I need to clear my head. I'm going for a walk," he said to Rukia who gave him a glance and a quick nod before returning her gaze to the manga once more. He sighed. "Have Ichigo text me when you're done working with him and I'll come back so we can head home." She remained silent but he knew that she heard him so he turned around and began walking toward the street.
His steps were slow and heavy, his feet kicking up a small cloud of dust as he walked towards the nearby stairs to the sidewalk. Why did he care so much about what she thought of him now? That was the whole reason he tried to antagonize her yesterday. He would rather her hate him than feel responsible for his situation, yet instead it was him who felt annoyed with her and he felt awful because of it. Why was he so incompetent? Tears started to well up in his eyes as he wished he could go back to his life before he came here, back to the days of constant sickness unsure if he would wake up the next morning. Back then he knew who he was, what he could do. He had others beside him who could shoulder his pain and pick him up if he fell. He had a family he knew that cared about him.
But here it was different. Nothing was fine. He lived alone, he had no one he could trust, no one he could believe in when times got tough. Here he was nothing more than another inhabitant of the city, nothing but a name that he didn't even believe as his own. He wasn't meant to be here, he didn't want to be here! Why did he have to continue to suffer silently?! He wanted to scream, but he couldn't. He didn't want to attract the attention of anyone. He wanted to cry, but he wouldn't. He didn't want anyone to know that he was suffering. He wanted to tell someone but he could never do that, because no one could ever understand the pain he felt or where it came from. So Makoto did the only thing he could do. He forced a half smile onto his face before taking another step forward, burying his pain deep down.
Until he felt them surge in his chest once more. He felt the regrets he had just attempted to bury surge in his chest as the air around him grew heavy. His breathing hitched as he once again tried to remain conscious. He stumbled around barely able to feel his feet before collapsing to his knees as he desperately tried to regain his bearings. "There's only one thing that could make me feel this way. A Hollow," he mumbled out, his words slurring together so much that no one would have been able to understand anyway.
Makoto quickly looked around but could find no visible sign of the creatures. He felt himself start to fall forward, quickly putting out his hands to prevent himself from faceplanting into the dirt. He couldn't faint now he had to stay awake! If he collapsed Rukia and Ichigo wouldn't know where to even begin they might even protect him instead of charging after the Hollow. He needed to get to his feet now!
He summoned all of the remaining strength he had left, placing a foot beneath himself once more and shoved himself backward with all of his might. He felt a surge of accomplishment which diminished almost instantly as he landed on his back, and the fear that had been in his chest began to spread like a poison throughout his entire body as he slowly lost more and more feeling in his limbs and the last strands of his consciousness snapped away.
Then the pain lessened and the air seemed to lighten. His vision slowly began to return along with the rest of his senses. But that overwhelming pressure didn't disappear. In fact he still felt its strength even now, but it was much different. Instead of malice, hate, and death, he felt sorrow, and longing so palpable that he could just reach out and touch it. This being, it was close. Perhaps just down the street! Was this another Soul Reaper that had defeated the Hollow that he had felt. But if that was the case why did this spiritual pressure feel so similar to the Hollow he had just felt? Then just as suddenly as it appeared the mysterious reiatsu vanished once more, leaving him lying on the ground alone to speculate about the mysterious spiritual pressure he had just felt.
"Makoto!" cried a voice as its owner came into his vision. "Are you alright?"
Makoto stared up at the face of the nervous girl, still dazed by the experience he had just undergone. Her head obscured the sun making it look as if she was an angel with a halo of light surrounding her head. She looked beautiful, unlike anyone he had ever seen before, and in this euphoric state his mind stopped working as he finally spoke.
"Am I in heaven?" he asked, his eyes gazing up at the girl as if they were peering directly into her soul. "Because I've never seen an angel as beautiful as you."
Rukia blushed before kicking the top of his head which caused him to wince in pain. "OW~" Makoto whined.
"If you felt that you are most certainly alive," Rukia responded with a devilish smirk, "You deserve that for pretending that a Hollow was around to just say that cheesy line."
"A Hollow? That's right!" Makoto gasps as he quickly gets to his feet, immediately collapsing to his knees again due to lightheadedness. "We gotta go, it wasn't far from here. If we hurry we might be able to catch the Soul Reaper that killed it."
At those words Rukia's face twisted into an expression that very much seemed like horror. "What do you mean by that?!" she asked, trying to hide how frantic she actually was. "You sensed a Soul Reaper defeat a Hollow?!"
"I assume so," Makoto panted before looking up at the worried girl. "I collapsed the second I felt a Hollow, however right before I was about to get knocked unconscious a different presence took its place."
"And what did this presence feel like?" Rukia asks, worry becoming more visible on her face. "Was it similar to Ichigo's or my spiritual pressure?"
"Was what similar to me?" Ichigo asked, walking towards the two of them, his eyes shifting between his worried mentor and panting friend. "And what the heck happened to you. You look half dead."
"I just sensed a Hollow close by not more than a minute ago, but right before I got knocked out it was replaced by a different spiritual pressure," Makoto deadpanned looking back at his friend as he shakily stood back up. "So I think I have every right to look half dead, thank you."
"Wait so there is a Hollow close by?!" Ichigo said dropping the pitching machine and bat he was holding, which caused the balls to spill out.
"Not anymore. Another Soul Reaper already dealt with it," Makoto replied as he flexed his hand.
Ichigo frowned at that. "Another Soul Reaper?" he questioned, while turning to Rukia. "I thought you were the only Soul Reaper in this area?"
"I did too," Rukia said nervously. "Are you sure that it was a Soul Reaper you felt?"
"I'm not sure of anything, Rukia," Makoto replied to her, which only caused her to tense even more than she already was. "I can try to sense your guys' spiritual pressures and compare the two but I'm not sure how reliable that will be. I'm still new to sensing these presences so it might take me a while, especially since your spiritual presence isn't nearly as strong as it was that night."
"Considering we don't have many other choices, I guess we'll have to," Ichigo sighed.
"I'll do my best," Makoto said, "But can I do it some other time. I feel like the Hollow's presence almost killed me as well as incredibly exhausted. But what about you, Ichigo? Did you finish your training?"
"What, you mean hitting the hundred pepper filled balls? Of course I did but I think that you need to rethink your training strategies," Ichigo replied, his tone laced with annoyance.
"You idiot! The pepper ones are the ones that you shouldn't hit!" Rukia yelled at him. At that both Ichigo and Makoto stared at Rukia as if she was speaking some foreign language. Rukia facepalmed, "You just hit them all didn't you?"
"Yeah," Ichigo said with a nervous smirk before adding a final word, "Perfectly."
"You were only supposed to hit the ones with a head drawn on them!" Rukia screamed back before turning to Makoto. "Didn't I tell you to tell him that?"
"I did," Makoto replied as he tried to remember if he had actually remembered to say anything to Ichigo about it.
"How was I supposed to tell the difference?" Ichigo retorted, taking out two balls, the pictures of the two incredibly similar with the only difference being that one of them had eyes while the other didn't. "Your drawings are worse than some of Makoto's farfetched stories."
"Hey my stories aren't that bad," Makoto grumbled, completely ignoring the second half of the statement Ichigo made which earned him a not so amused glare from Rukia. "Not that your drawings are bad, they are actually very good," he added quickly, as his face turned a bright red.
Rukia just rolled her eyes, turning her gaze back to Ichigo. "Listen, the weak point of a Hollow is its head. Sneaking up behind it and slicing it there will defeat it in one blow. That is basic knowledge for all Soul Reapers. That is what this training is for."
"Why do I have to sneak up behind them?" Ichigo asked, "Can't I just keep fighting the same way I have been?"
"Save that naive sentimentality for when you fight humans," Rukia replied, crossing her arms in front of her. "It's a miracle that you have come out of the last few fights unscathed. When you are fighting Hollows the same rules don't apply and if you keep acting naively like that then you will most certainly end up dead."
"But…" Ichigo began before he was interrupted.
"Hello Kurosaki-kun!" yelled a familiar auburn haired girl from behind him causing both Ichigo and Rukia to jump. Makoto chuckled to himself at the reactions of the other two before waving to the girl.
"Inoue-san!" Ichigo said, turning around quickly. His face still somewhat unnerved but appearing much more composed as the scowl he usually wore had returned. Makoto wondered if he would ever get a girlfriend the way he always scowled at everyone.
"What are you doing here?" Ichigo asked Orihime.
"Oh, I was just doing a little shopping for dinner," she said with a smile, holding up a plastic bag filled with groceries for him to see. "I bought onions, celery, bananas, and gelatin."
Both Rukia and Ichigo winced at the…interesting choice of ingredients that Orihime had chosen to use in her dinner. And while he couldn't necessarily comment on Orihime's choices in foods, Makoto couldn't help but wonder what on earth could she be planning to make, and second how it tasted.
"Sounds like an interesting dish," Makoto says, "Tell me if it's any good, maybe I'll try it myself."
"Oh Tsukiyo-san and Kuchiki-san," Orihime says, leaning slightly to look around Ichigo. "I didn't see you there. What are you all doing here?"
"What are we doing? Well…" Ichigo stumbles trying to make up a clever excuse other than that he was training.
"We are actively preparing for the end of the world," Makoto replies with a smile plastered on his face that causes the others to all stare at him like he was crazy, particularly Ichigo and Rukia whose mouths were hanging open.
"The end of the world?" Orihime says as she contemplates the answer you just gave her, eyes shining all the while. "What kind of end? A zombie apocalypse? What about a nuclear wasteland? Or is there some evil creature that is going to eat us all alive?"
"Uh…" Makoto looked to his friends for assistance but they just smirked back at him with a smile that clearly said 'You're on your own'. He should have known Orihime would take that seriously and now he was stuck trying to explain his way out of this on his own. "Well you see there are these evil spirits that roam the world and they prey on the souls of both the living and the dead. These beings have yet to show their faces right now but eventually if we aren't careful it will be us next." Makoto's mouth twists upward in a mischievous grin as Orihime hangs on his every word like it were solid gold. However his ramblings were cut short as Rukia slapped the back of his head causing him to yelp.
"Alright that's enough storytelling out of you," she says crossing her arms once more. "Now who are you?" she asks, turning to face Orihime. Now it was Makoto's turn to gape at her. He knew from the past few days that Rukia could be blunt but this was a whole other level.
"Are you stupid?!" Ichigo yells at her completely stunned. "She was one of the people who came running up when Makoto was unconscious!"
Makoto lets out a deep sigh. "That's Orihime Inoue," he says, returning his facade of the kind boyfriend once more as he places an arm around her shoulders. "She is in the same class as us. Sits in the front rows, any of this ringing a bell? I know I told you about her in my letters."
Rukia was a little taken aback by his actions at first but quickly realized where he was going with this. "Oh Inoue-san!" she replied as if she had just remembered. "That's who you are? Forgive me. It is so nice to finally meet you." She gave a slight curtsy which Orihime returned in kind.
"It's good nice to meet you too Kuchiki-san," Orihime replied with a joyful smile and a curtsy herself. "I'm glad to see you are in high spirits after yesterday, and I'm also glad to know that you are feeling better, Makoto."
Rukia's smile turned into a grimace when the events of yesterday were mentioned but it seems that Ichigo and Orihime didn't notice. The same however could not be said for Makoto who that only made him feel hurt as well. He really needed to make up with Rukia later today and talk about the fight they had.
"Hey Orihime, what happened to your arm? Did you fall down the stairs?" Ichigo asked, causing the attention to be drawn away from its current course and Makoto was grateful for that.
"Oh this?" Orihime said, pointing to the upper part of her left arm which was slightly swollen and colored varying shades of purple and red. "No, that's not it. I was hit."
"By a car?!" Ichigo exclaimed.
"Yeah," Orihime chuckled, "I was out shopping and then WHAM!" She said used her hands to further emphasize the events that the others had not been present for but it only seemed to horrify and infuriate Ichigo further.
"Orihime you shouldn't be joking and laughing," Ichigo reprimanded her, while still carrying a kind and gentle tone. "You could have been hurt really badly. You should be angry or mad at them."
"It's not like they were trying to hit me," Orihime defended, clearly much more forgiving than Ichigo, but then again that was a low bar in itself.
This caused Ichigo to let out a sigh of exasperation. "Did they at least apologize for it?" he questioned.
"No," Orihime replied, a little confused. "They just drove off. Were they supposed to?"
"Orihime!"
"What's wrong?" Rukia whispered to Makoto, confused by the argument that the other two were having.
"Orihime can be a bit of an airhead sometimes," Makoto whispered back with a slight chuckle. "It tends to make her quite accident prone, so stuff like this tends to happen quite often to her. It's one of her many quirks."
"I see," Rukia replied, turning back to the two of them as they argued, her eyes looking her over before coming to rest on a giant black bruise located on the lower part of her left leg and what was even more mysterious it didn't seem to be in a natural shape either.
"Inoue-san," Rukia said, drawing the attention of the two boys to the large mark. "What happened to your leg?"
"Oh this," she said, looking down at her leg. "I got it too when the car hit me moments ago."
Rukia squatted down to examine it, with Makoto coming up behind her to inspect it as well. It definitely wasn't any normal shape at all, seeming to look like someone or something with incredible strength had grabbed her right there and the even weirder part to Makoto he could feel a faint energy coming from the wound.
Both Makoto and Rukia looked at the wound grimly, causing Ichigo and Orihime to grow worried. "Is something wrong, you two?" she asked innocently.
"Does it hurt?" Rukia asked, standing up once more.
"Now that you mention it, it really does," she replied, "It's even worse than my arm actually."
This caused Ichigo to go ballistic yelling at her to go see a doctor which caused her face to turn bright red, but honestly Makoto could care less as he took Rukia's place squatting down to examine the wound. Just from the look it seemed very serious, but she was at least able to walk meaning it was likely not broken, however a fracture was a different story.
"Excuse me for this kind of weird question and I'm sorry if it makes you uncomfortable but do you mind if I touch it?" Makoto asked.
"N–no," she replied once more, her face turning an even deeper shade of red, "T–that's fine."
Makoto nodded and moved his hand closer to the discolored skin, but right before he touched it a familiar feeling overcame him. Regret and fear welled up inside of him and spread from the tips of his fingers to the rest of his body. It was much weaker than before but Makoto was certain of it, this remnant of energy he felt around it was that from a Hollow. No, not just a Hollow, it was the Hollow from earlier.
Makoto jumped back out of breath and panting, his eyes never leaving the bruise as he slowly regained the fragments of his slightly shattered consciousness. Meanwhile the others looked down at them worriedly.
"Tsukiyo-san, are you okay?" Orihime asked with a concerned look.
"W–what?" he said as he tore his gaze from the wound on Orihime's leg and looked at the people surrounding him, all clearly worried about his peculiar behavior. It took a few moments for his mind to finally register the question that had been asked to him before he finally spoke once more.
"O–oh yeah," he said, clearing his throat, and standing up. "I'm fine, but I agree with Ichigo. You should go get that checked out by a doctor. It could be a fracture or something far worse." This comment only caused Orihime's blush to grow even worse, but it soon disappeared and was replaced with a shocked face.
"Oh no," she said, realizing something as she looked at her watch. "It's late. Laugh Hour is going to start soon. I need to get home."
Orihime turned around and started running to the stairs, only for Ichigo's voice to cause her to stop. "Hey, do you want me to walk you home?"
"W–what?! N–no! I'm fine! You don't have to. I wouldn't want to get in the way of what you guys are doing," She stutters back, her face bright red once again.
"Are you sure?" Makoto asks, his tone worried despite it not showing on his face. "We were just finishing up what we were doing anyway. You aren't a hassle I promise." This outburst caused both Ichigo and Rukia to look at him with a confused gaze. He never tried to be pushy when it came to hanging out with other people.
"W–well, I uh…" Orihime stumbled trying to find her voice.
"Ignore him Inoue-san," Rukia interrupted as she walked up next to him. "He is very protective of his friends, so whenever he hears that someone gets injured he tries to help in any way he can."
"Oh I see," Orihime replies with a small chuckle.
"Well if you want to watch that show of yours you should probably get going," Ichigo said, "We'll see you at school tomorrow."
"Y–yeah…tomorrow," she parroted back, her voice growing quieter and a tinge of sadness making its way onto her face, before she turned and started walking down the street. She let out a small sigh when she was finally out of earshot. "Darn it. He asked to walk me home and I refused because he surprised me. Then when Tsukiyo offered for them all to come all I did was stand there without giving an answer. Stupid me. I should have spoken up when Tsukiyo offered. I wonder if he and Rukia had this happen before, and that was his way of trying to clue in Ichigo."
However, back in the park once Orihime was out of eyesight of the others Makoto turned to them saying, "Come on, we have got to follow her." This earned him a confused look from Ichigo and Rukia, though much more from the former than the latter.
"Why on earth do you want to do that?" Ichigo says with a glare.
"Because…" Makoto started only to be interrupted by Rukia.
"Are the two of you close to that Inoue girl?" she asks, causing both of you to turn in her direction waiting for her to further elaborate but she remains silent as she awaits your answer.
Finally Ichigo breaks the silence. "No. Not particularly," he says. "She is best friends with someone in my neighborhood, but beyond school I don't really talk with her that much. Maybe the occasional conversation but nothing more than that."
Rukia nods, shifting her gaze to the other boy. "What about you Makoto?"
"I'm afraid my circumstances are pretty similar to Ichigo's," he says with a grimace, "I haven't lived here nearly as long so my knowledge is only that which I can gather from the very few interactions that I've had with her and her friends. Ichigo would probably know more about her than me."
"I see," Rukia says solemnly. "What about her family? Do you know them?"
"She had a brother. He died three years ago," Ichigo said, causing Rukia's eyes to widen with worry. Fear clearly visible on her face and while she kept her emotions intact enough to fool Ichigo, Makoto was an entirely different story. Why would she react that way to that information? Perhaps she knew her brother, after all the Soul Society is where people go when they pass on and as she is from there maybe the two of them know each other. But if that was the case why is her face twisted in fear? What is she hiding from him and Ichigo?"
"Makoto?" a voice said as a hand was waved in front of his eyes causing him to turn his head in its owner's direction. "Are you okay? You were staring at Rukia and I thought you were about to collapse."
Makoto turned back to look at Rukia who was also looking at him. Should he call her out? He doesn't want to pry but her expressions and emotions have been all over the place since he said that he thought there was another Soul Reaper here in Karakura and they didn't seem all that positive. Now upon hearing about Orihime's dead brother her normally stoic face has faltered once more. Is it possible that the Soul Reaper I felt earlier was Orihime's brother?! But then why did she look so beat up just now? And that wound, there was no doubt in his mind that the lingering reiatsu he felt from it was that of the Hollow he had felt only moments before she showed up. She is hiding something from them and he didn't like it.
"Sorry. I was just lost in thought," Makoto shrugged, "Happens from time to time. Anyways we should probably get headed back to your place, Ichigo. As much as I would like to skip it, I'm not going to be late to a dinner I was invited to."
Makoto then began to start walking in the direction of the steps towards the street, the others exchanging a glance before catching up. As much as Makoto hated being clueless and powerless he didn't want to hurt Rukia anymore than he already had and revealing that he knew she was lying was not the way to do. He still needed to apologize from before and confronting her about it would only drive them further apart right now. Right now all he can do is wait and hope that a time will come where he will get that chance. Until then he will have to hope he can survive long enough that he will get the chance.