Being with You

XIV

Ah this chapter is a liiitttleeee bit longer than usual XD and it's nice and peaceful! I hope you guys like it. And the character you're about to meet is not exactly an OC but I guess she's my character that I made up while writing it. Special character for this chapter only! Enjoy ~
*\(^o^)/*

"What, couldn't you tell?" The woman asked with a smirk.

Suddenly Ichigo and I tensed up and I could feel myself almost faint but luckily Ichigo caught me in time...

"This reiatsu..." I whispered.

Ichigo helped me stand as we started to get accustomed to the strong reiatsu coming from this woman.

"Who are you..." Ichigo said, sternly and took a step towards her, ready to draw his zanpakutou.

She just smiled and stared at us and looked up at the sky.
"The stars are shining bright tonight," she started, "I really do like couples..."

"What are you trying to say. How come we couldn't sense your reiatsu before?" I began to get annoyed by her talking.

This woman wasn't normal but I couldn't exactly tell what her intentions were.

"I'm getting there, I'm getting there. Listen, I'm just an average shinigami now, trying to live as a human. But frankly, those gigais are tight and sometimes I need to loosen up a bit," she sighed and spread her arms out, "Ask away,"

I studied her face for a moment and now that her make-up was gone, she looked somewhat familiar...

"Who were you in Soul Society?" I asked. Ichigo shifted next to me. He must've thought she looked familiar as well.

"A very very long time ago," she laughed a bit after she said that, "I was the vice captain of the first division," she smiled and rested a hand on her hip.

"Vice captain...first division?" I murmured to myself trying to remember down the line of vice captains. But...

"Oh believe me, I was there long before they taught the kids about Soul Society's history,"

I was still processing how she could be a shinigami and a former vice captain for that matter. I could see Ichigo raise his eyebrows in suspicion. But it was true, her reiatsu was strong,

"Tell us your story then," he said and folded his arms.

She stared at us for a moment as if assessing if we were worthy of hearing her story. She seemed like the judgmental type...

"Well if you really want to know," she started, "First I should tell you that I'm not a threat to you two, and the rest of the world of course," she nodded her head, almost like she was agreeing with herself.

"How can we trust that you're not a threat, especially since you kept a hollow here all these years just for, what you call, entertainment?" I asked sternly.

I honestly didn't want to get involved in this situation, but, being a shinigami, it was our job. Spending more time with Ichigo as a "normal" couple would have to wait a bit longer.

"I'm getting to that part!" She beamed and pointed her finger up, "When I was vice captain, everyone loved me, of course, because I was powerful. Everyone looked up to me and knew I would one day succeed the captain. But I really didn't want to be what they wanted me to, because my real dream was to become rich in the human world! And look at where I am now," she said as she gestured to the hotel down the mountain.

"You...rich? In the human world? What was wrong with being a good shinigami?" Ichigo stepped forward.

"Ichigo..." I said and put my arm out to stop him from getting any closer to the woman, "Tell us your name," I said, turning towards her.

"Kaiji, Reina," she replied.

The name didn't sound familiar to me... I suppose the familiarity was just because she was another Shinigami

"I promise you that I'm telling the truth. But you know sometimes I have to get out of that cramped human body, so going up here to fight the hollow really gave me the work out I needed," she said with a smirk, "You see, I made a deal with that hollow. Since its tentacles grow back, I would only cut its tentacles, nothing more, no harm no foul,"

"Ok, we don't care about your past anymore. What are you going to do now that we killed your hollow?" Ichigo said.

Reina looked down at the still unconscious humans laying on the ground and turned back to us,
"I guess I'll have to find some other entertainment. I do love seeing couples help each other..." Her voice trailed off.

Ichigo and I exchanged looks. Maybe she was telling the truth...Perhaps she was just a lonely shinigami that needed something to help her cope.

"Reina," I said hesitantly,

She looked up and her eyes became softer.

"I really am just trying to keep myself interested...If there were any hollows that came up here I would kill them before anyone noticed. I can protect the people here," she said desperately.

"We know," I replied, my tone more relaxed. Ichigo, next to me, seemed to understand as well.

"It's really a nice hotel you have here," Ichigo said and sighed.

She smiled genuinely this time,
"I think I'll go back to Soul Society for a while, see how much it's changed," she said.

"Of course. It's changed quite a bit," I smiled and looked up at Ichigo. He put his arm around me and we watched as she opened the gates to Soul Society (sekaimon).

"I haven't used these gates in so long...thank you," she waved and went through the gates where hell butterflies flittered around before they closed, leaving Ichigo and I standing under the stars in this summer night.