...Chapter Eight: Face Your Fears...

The figure in black sprinted for all it was worth past trees and buildings, the park and streets deserted. That immediately raised suspicion. Karakura wasn't as densely populated as Tokyo, but it did have a fair amount of nightlife. The heels of its boots were muffled by the wind it surrounded itself in, but the sharp slap of sandals still carried.

"Stop! We just want to talk!" Like hell you do. "Please, hold up!" the redhead shouted after the figure in black.

Then, it noticed something. Whenever it would attempt to turn down a specific side street, another Soul Reaper would pop out and block its path, causing the figure in black to turn down another or continue straight.

The figure in black was being herded.

As it came to this conclusion, the figure in black nearly face-planted into a brick wall. It growled under its breath and turned back, less than ten feet from the Soul Reapers blocking the exit. The figure in black reached into its jacket pocket, extracting a small orb. The Soul Reapers didn't even notice.

"Now," the bald one sheathed his sword, "who are you?"

The figure in black snorted and brought its hand forward, throwing the orb to the ground. The area was soon blanketed in a thick, blueish fog, and the Soul Reapers began coughing at the cloyingly sweet scent. By the time it dissipated, the one they had been chasing would be gone.

Said figure landed with a noisy thump and a groan of pain, its multicolored lamp casting strange shadows on the bookcase, the titles reflecting the light in several different languages.

"Everything okay up there?" One of its housemates was shouting from the kitchen.

"Yeah! I'm fine!" The figure finally took off its hood, shaking long black and red hair out of its eyes.

Renji slumped into the dining room the next morning, ignoring the loud yammering of Ururu and Jinta in favor of the thought that he had recognized the hunter's voice from the night before. It sounded distinctly female with a hint of a lilting music to it. Like whomever it had been was used to singing or public speaking. But, most of all, he felt he knew the woman's voice. He just couldn't quite place it.

"Renji?" He jumped at the sound of Rukia's voice. He had been staring at his food, and everyone else had already left the table.

"H-hey," he stuttered, "What're you doin' here so early?"

Rukia rolled her violet eyes, "It's almost noon, and you never showed up to school. Sensei sent me to find you, doofus."

Renji snorted at the unflattering nickname. "What's the point now, when there's only three classes left?"

Rukia grinned and plunked down next to her best childhood friend, "I know. But it was an excuse to get out of them, so here I am."

"So here you are," Renji laughed. The pair drifted into a companionable silence, just happy to be in each others presence. It had been quite some time since they had been able to do this, long before Rukia's false arrest, long before Aizen had shown his true colors. It was... nice, if awkward on Renji's part. Rukia didn't even have a clue.

"Sorry for snapping at you yesterday," Renji muttered, the first thing said in about ten minutes.

"Eh, it's fine. It's not often we get treats like that, so not wanting to share is understandable." She snickered, making Renji wonder what she was really thinking.

"Is that so?" he asked with narrowed eyes.

"Especially when it come from your crush!" She was outright laughing at this point.

"What?! Vera's not my crush!" he insisted.

"Oh, really?" Rukia's lips were quirked into a playful half-smile.

"No! I mean, yes, really. I don't like her at all." Renji stuttered, indignant.

"That explains you hanging out with her for several hours, at her house might I add. Alone. Now, doesn't that sound like you have a little crush? She's cute, and definitely punkish enough for you." Rukia had no intention of letting this go.

"That was recon, nothing more." If only Rukia knew the truth. Then she might leave him alone about this.

Rukia gave her friend one last knowing, wolfish smirk, "O~kay, if you're so sure," she practically sang, then turned serious. It never ceased to amaze Renji how quickly she could go from play to business. "On another note, Rangiku told me about last night."

"Did she, now?" Renji trained his expression to a mask of indifference.

"Um-hm, and she said you almost caught Ichigo's stalker."

Renji winced, "Yeah... Almost. She got away."

"She!" Rukia voice rose dramatically and she jumped up. "It's a woman?! How did you find out, did you see her fa-" Rukia was cut off by the sound of a thump out in the shop. The Soul Reapers slowly turned to stare wide-eyed at each other, then sprinted out of the main house to find Andre in the shop, picking up a stack of papers that had been knocked off the main counter.

"Andre?" Rukia called, and the blonde jumped, dropping the papers again. "What are you doing he-"

"Have you seen Vera?" Rukia was cut off for the second time in five minutes. Her mouth hung open at Andre's question and her voice faltered.

"I... I'm sorry, what?"

"Have you two seen Vera?" Andre repeated, panic evident in his voice. "She came home pretty late last night, and I couldn't find her this morning. I've been looking everywhere, but I still can't find her."

Rukia walked up to the frantic man and rested a hand on his arm, "Just stay calm. We'll help you look." Andre sighed nervously and nodded. "Where haven't you gone?"

"Um," he thought for a minute, "The main shopping center and the university. They're the only places that make sense for her to be at."

Rukia smiled calmly, "Then we'll start there." She turned to the bewildered redhead. Since when had she been so mature? "Renji, let's go," she barked out, to which he nodded and brushed past the others, stepping into his shoes at the stoop. Rukia did the same, and Andre was still wearing his.

They hadn't been out long before they passed the park Renji had seen the hunter in. He wasn't really paying attention, and jolted to a stop, running into Andre's back when he caught sight of a flash of long black and red hair.

Vera was on the other side of the vast lawn, playing fetch with a large, dark-furred Husky.

Short chapter is short... Welp, I haven't updated in about a month. Feel free to hate me now.

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach, nor do I own its characters!