Chapter 1: For everything a Reason

A year and a half; that was how long I'd been in soul society. It felt longer. That's what it felt like for most people around here. In Rukongai. I lived on the outskirts of district 68. Not the best, not the worst. At least, I'd managed to put together a decent home. I wasn't alone, though. I had a little boy living with me. He was new to Rukongai, only been here six months. He couldn't have been more than 8. He worries me to death. He wanders off for days on end and never tells me where he's going. A lot of the local boys make fun of him. Silver hair and closed eyes. I found him when some boys were throwing rocks at him. So, I had to give them a beat down. Gin and I had been together ever since.

I was inside the house cooking. I was so hungry I couldn't stand it. I heard a shout from ouside.

"Hey, Ma! I got some bread!" Gin said, running inside.

"Good job, sweetheart. Now, go wash up," I said. He left and came back a minute later.

We sat down and started to eat. Gin was unusually quiet. Normally, he'd talk and talk and talk. But tonight, he'd hardly said anything.

"Are you okay? You're awfully quiet tonight. Were those boys picking on you again?"

He shook his head. "It's not that. I haven't seen them in months." He bit his lip, then opened his eyes and looked at me. "I know why we've been so hungry lately."

"We have tape worms?"

He let out a sigh and smiled. "No. We have spiritual energy. I was stealing bread from the 66th district and I heard someone talking about it."

Interesting. Shinigami have spiritual energy. And if you got that, you apply to shinigami school. Becoming a shinigami would definitely improve our lot in life.

"What do you want to do, sweetheart? Do you want to become a shinigami?"

He thought for a minute before nodding. "I do. I'm tired of seeing you struggle to support the both of us. If we go to the school, we can eat as much as we want."

I smiled. "I'll be fine. Now, let's get you to bed. Growing boys need rest."

He nodded and jumped out of his chair. He ran to his little cot and burrowed under the covers. I tucked the covers around him.

"Ma, will sing to me?"

"Of course."

And so they say, lord, for everything a reason

For every ending, a new beginning

Oh so they say, baby, for everything a reason

And so they say, baby, for everything a reason

And those who loved before will be brought back together

Yeah, those who loved before will be brought back together

And so they say, baby, for everything a reason

And so they say, baby, you will be brought

Brought back to me

I saw you leaving, I saw the light go out

I saw you leaving

I saw you leaving

And so they say, lord, for everything a reason

My house is haunted by wrong desire

And on my skin left the scent of indignation

And so they say, baby, for everything a reason

Don't call me back, I had everything I needed

For every lie, honey, the truth lay underneath it

And so they say, baby, for everything a reason

And so they say, baby, you will be brought

Brought back to me

I saw you leaving, I saw the light go out

I saw you leaving

I saw you leaving

Come back to me

Gin had fallen asleep by this point. I kissed his forehead and crawled into my own bed. Sleep took me quickly.

*Dream*

I was lying on my back in a bed that wasn't mine, staring at the ceiling. Something was tickling my left foot. I wiggled it and tried to pull it back. A hand grabbed my ankle. I leaned up onto my elbows.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

It was a man. I'd seen him before in my dreams, but I never knew his name. "What do you think?" he said, cutting sharp, hazel eyes up to me. He went back to kissing the inside of my ankle, but didn't take his eyes off me.

He was thin with chin length, blonde hair. I knew him, otherwise he wouldn't be kissing his way up my calf.

"Mashiro wants you to go shopping with her tomorrow," he said when he reached my knee.

Unbidden, I replied. "I'll be sure to take her to Urahara's for candy. That should drive Kensei into a froth."

He smiled into my inner thigh. "You are such an instigator." He softly bit into the flesh and trailed that wonderful tongue and its ring the rest of the way to my panties. Just as he was pulling the leg to the side, there was a crash on the door.

I heard a girl scream. "Shinji!"

He sighed, then pulled himself up so we were face to face and kissed me softly. He pulled back and said, "I hate being in charge." He got off the bed and started to the door.

"No, you don't. You like bossing people around," I said.

He turned and smiled. "Only with you."

My face turned red and he left smirking.

*Dream end*

I came to in my bed across from Gin. It was morning now. If we were going to do this, it was now or never. And we had a long way to walk. I got Gin up and we packed what little we had. It was mainly just the clothes on our backs. I held Gin's hand as I left the place that had been my home for more years than I could remember.

It took four days to reach the first district and find the school. There were so many people. People who were younger than Gin to people who looked like they should've died already. These people were all here to register for school. We found the registration and the man behind it didn't even look up.

"Names?" he asked. He sounded completely bored. Of course, he'd probably been doing this since seven o'clock in the morning.

"Takahashi Reiko and Gin," I said. Gin didn't know his family name, so I gave him mine. He was as good as my kid, anyway. He did call me 'ma'.

The man handed us our paperwork and motioned us to the right to housing. We would be sharing, as always. We were given our room number, then sent to the right again to receive our uniforms. I took our clothes, and Gin and I went to our room to settle in. Gin was out as soon as he hit his bed. To be fair, it had been a long journey and he was a little kid.

I stayed up for a while thinking about the blonde man from my dreams. No, memories. I had a feeling that's what they really were. Shinji; that's what the girl had called him. Had he been my husband or boyfriend before I died? He must've been. I shook my head. Well, whatever he was, it was over now. I wasn't likely to see him again. I slept and waited for orientation in the morning.

I got Gin up in the morning and went to orientation. We were standing in the square when a man dressed in black entered. He had a bald head with a giant x-shaped scar on his head and a long white beard. I heard a whisper of "Soutaichou". He must've been the leader of the Shinigami. He greeted us and launched into the history of the school, which he'd started over a thousand years ago. A thousand years? How old was this guy? After he was done, all the students were sent to their classes based on our spiritual abilities. Apparently, that's what those bored looking people at registration were for. Not only did they write down our names, but they noted how gifted we were. Gin and I were in the same class. I may have been older, but we were at the same level.

The days seemed to go by in a blur and before I knew it, we'd been there a month. It was going to be a special day. A captain was coming to the school and everyone was buzzing about it. No one knew which squad; all the numbers were being tossed around. Gin and I gathered with the other students outside of the school.

Then, he showed and I felt all the blood drain from my face. I knew him. The serious look on his face. The sharp eyes. The only thing different about him was his slanted bangs. The man of my dreams was in Soul Society. And not only that, he was my superior. As I was about to move backwards in the crowd, he saw me. He paused for a minute and his eyes went wide, face paling three shades. His lieutenant, a tiny, dark haired girl said something and he shook his head before continuing on. The group dispersed after he'd made his way through. I couldn't get out of there fast enough. Gin came after me.

"Ma, what's wrong?"

I smiled. "I'm fine. I just saw someone I thought I knew. Why don't you go hang out with your friends. I'll be fine."

He opened his eyes, frowning. "Are you sure?"

"Positive. Go on. Enjoy the day."

He looked skeptical, but did as I said. I turned and started back to the dorms.

"Rei."

I stopped dead. Only one person ever called me that. I turned and looked at him.

"Are you always so informal, Taichou? Shouldn't you be addressing me as 'Takahashi-san'?"

"As a Taichou, I can address you however I want."

"How rude."

"You know it."

"I don't, actually. I may known you then, but I don't know you now."

"I saw the recognition."

"I saw you in a dream about a month ago. Your name is Shinji and that's all I know, Taichou."

"You were like this, even then. It took me a while to get you to say my name, but I did. And I will again."

"What makes you so sure?"

"When it comes to you, I'm always sure."

"You don't know me."

He smirked. "You're not that hard to figure out."

"So, I've always done things you expect?"

"No, not always. Today, for example. How long have you known, Gin?"

I gave him a suspicious look. "About a year. I'm his adoptive mother."

He started laughing. "Really? The man who killed you in your last life is now your son?"

"Yes," I said and turned to leave.

Strangely, I wasn't mad about Gin killing me. Who he was then, wasn't who he was now. I was more mad at Taichou laughing at the idea that I had adopted. Then, he was in front of me.

"I wasn't done talking to you."

"Well, I'm done talking to you if all you're going to do is laugh at my lifestyle choices."

He was about to say something when the dark haired girl came running around the corner. She looked mad.

"Hirako-Taichou!"

He winced. "Yeah, yeah, I'm coming, Momo-chan."

She crossed her arms. "Not likely. If I don't make you, you'll be too lazy to go!"

I pressed my lips together to keep from laughing. " 'Lewd child'? That's your name?"

He gave me a dirty look. "Be quiet or you'll get punished."

"You can't punish me. I'm still a student."

"And if you don't cut it out, I'll make sure you never graduate."

I widened my eyes in mock fear. He turned and started over to Momo.

"See ya around, Rei!"

"It's Takahashi-san! Don't be so informal!"

My only answer was him laughing. Damn him!

Author's note: Chapter 1 done! Review and let me know what you think! :D