[10 years later]

It was spring.

The days were warming up and the plants were bursting with new life. Farmers were preparing their soil for sowing their seeds. Children who were cooped up inside for the majority of the winter months were running outside freely, getting dirty by the mud from the snow water. As the village bustled with new refound life, they entered into the village.

Some of the merchants[if you wanna call them that] were baffled. The closest village is a good four days walk from here to there so why were these young travelers so early? No one really comes through here during the winter season and the travelers mostly come during the summer. Besides, these travelers were far too young to be walking here by themselves.

It was a band of three boys and a girl. Two of the boys bickered constantly but anyone can tell that they were really the best of friends. The girl was a fragile looking thing that just smiled politely at the sight of the two bickering boys, already used to their childishness. But it was the last that rose a few eyebrows.

He wasn't any taller or any stronger looking than the two other boys. It was in his posture that made him different. He walked with boldness, and power. It dared anyone or anything to cross him or his friends.

"Here we are, village number I-don't-even-remember, why not we just stop by the butcher shop and get some real quality meat? I'm starved!" cried Louri.

"We would be able to buy meat if someone didn't lose our money for a lottery ticket!" Ryuu lashed out. Louri whined like a brat.

"And I thought it was the lucky one too! Turned out that old lady swapped my ticket with a loser one!"

"The reason you lost is because you're always a loser!" Louri stuck his tongue out childishly at Ryuu. Agito looked around, trying to find 'Rue'. He never did remember what she looked like, he just knew that when he see's 'Rue' he'll automatically know. Agito felt a tugging at his yukata sleeve and looked behind him. Kikyo never did learn how to talk without stuttering like a shy mouse but she trusted her friends to know what she meant.

"Are you tired?" She nodded numbly. After ten years of walking the whole Soul Society, her stamina had increased but that didn't mean she was invincible.

"Don't worry, we'll stop and rest here for a while before we start walking again. Is there anything you need from the town?" She blushed a soft pink before shaking her head no. Agito nodded in understanding before turning back towards the two boys.

"Will you two shut your mouths? I know you want to suck on something but please don't make it obvious." The boys blushed a bright red, both in embarrassment and fury.

"WE'RE NOT GAY!"

"Denial," Agito shot back. They tried to fight with Agito but it was wasted energy once he was focused on trying to find 'Rue'.

Agito's eyes searched the crowds of people. No one seemed familiar. It's been like this ever since he's visited his first new village back ten years ago. He had no idea who he was looking for or where. But he felt it. He felt the pull, a pull to get him to find this one special person. This person named 'Rue' was very special to him but he couldn't figure out why. Was she a friend? A sibling? A frenemy? 'Rue' couldn't have been a lover, well, not if this 'Rue' is a boy because of some obvious reasons.

"Rue-chan! What are you doing up so early? You're supposed to be in bed!" Agito turned his head around at the voice. An old granny was scurrying over to him with small but speedy steps. She was about a short of he was and had enough wrinkles to resemble a dried apple. When the granny was standing right in front of Agito, she latched on Agito's ear and yanked him away.

"Honestly, you youngins' ain't got no shame in whether you give this old lady a heart attack. I espected you ta be in your bed and where do I find you? Outside in the cold! It ain't right being outside where you can catch the devil!"

"Woman! Will you let go of my ear! I'm not Rue!" The granny stopped and snapped her fingers away from his ear and started twisting his chin which way and that. She hummed in interest.

"Whacho name?" she asked.

"Agito. Ma'am, I've been looking for a 'Rue' for ten years. Will you be kind enough to introduce me to your Rue?" The granny's eyes narrowed but nodded curtly.

"I've got a erkling that my Rue-chan is your Rue. You're a spittin' image of her. Why didja take so long to find her?" She turned away and scuffled down the road, forcing Agito to fastwalk to keep up with the surprisingly fast woman.

"I died ten years ago. I could only remember her name."

"What district did y'all come from?"

"District eighty-one." The old lady turned around with wide eyes.

"You've been searching for this Rue for a long time now haven't cha?" Agito just nodded in agreement. Agito whistled a single high pitched whistle that Louri, Ryuu, and Kikyo learned to listen for. In a matter of minutes, they were right beside him.

"Did you find her? What are you doing stalking the grandma?" the granny huffed in annoyance when she heard that.

"This old granny-"

"I ain' that old!"

"-is the closest lead I have. She knows someone named Rue and she mistaken me for her."

"Would that mean you two would be siblings?" Louri asked.

"Twins you dummy! Agito looks like Rue would lookin' in a mirror." The granny shuffled to an old hut and pushed the door aside with a sweep of her small hands.

"Rue-chan! I got ya' some visitors!" There was only one separate room to go through. Agito gulped audibly before walking into the room. There was only a candle to light up the room. A futon lay on the side of the room and the faint rise and fall of the bedsheets was the only thing that told of a sleeping child underneath the blanket. Quietly, Agito crept to the edge of the bed. He knelt down and pulled the blanket off slowly.

A lock of navy blue hair fell out and touched Agito's hand. He paused a bit before resuming his work. He pulled the blanket off enough to just see her face. Quietly, he called out,

"Rue-chan?"

...

Her eyes fluttered open. Her eyes were unfocused and heavy with sleep but she twisted her head around to look at Agito. At the sight of him, she smiled a smile that would rival that of a baby.

"Hello, Agito-nee." Agito's face lit up. He found her. He found his Rue-chan. Rue tried to sit up but she could only do it with his help. Once she did, there as a gasp at the door and they both looked at the audience they had.

"They were twins!" Louri stated. They appearance were surprisingly similar. Navy blue hair even if Rue-chan's hair was longer. Bright gold eyes that seem to take everything in at once, even if Agito's eyes were the only one that seemed a bit more serious, more hostile. Both of their faces were gaunt from starvation, making it easier to see the same cheekbone, nose, brow, chin, and jawline matching exactly. The only difference between them was the long hair and candy-sweet eyes on Rue, and the short cut, hawkeye look on Agito.

Louri put his hands on his hips in a Superman pose.

"Well, now that the great search for the missing Rue is over. What next?"

"You can stay here with us," Rue offered meekly, still very sleepy.

"NO! TAKEN CARE OF ONE OF Y'ALL IS HARD ENOUGH AS IT IS! Rue-chan, Now that you've found a piece of your family you've been looking for, you've got to git on out of my house! Now git!" The old lady pretty much kicked them all out of her house. Rue clung to Agito's arm. Agito just smiled down at her before turning to the group.

"I don't know what you're gonna do but I'm still gonna walk around this place." Louri, Ryuu, and Kikyo looked at each other before grinning.

"We just happened to be taking the same road as you!" Louri said. Rue giggled sweetly.

"You idiot, all you had to say was we're following you," Ryuu said. Louri shook his fist and they began their bickering ritual.

"Agito, what's their relationship?" Rue asked quietly. Agito smirked before telling her and the whole world.

"Louri and Ryuu are deeply in love with each other and they only way to get their feelings across is through fighting." Ryuu and Louri whipped their heads around and glared at Agito.

"WHY ARE YOU TELLING HER LIES?! WE'RE NOT GAY!!!"

"Denial!" Kikyo giggled lightly and tugged on Rue's yukata. Rue turned around and smiled brightly at the rather shy girl.

"D-d-do y-you want to g-go shopping w-w-with me?" she stuttered out before making a little 'ep' sound and blushing bright red. Rue took her hands in her own and started to pull her towards the shops.

"We'll be back boys!" Rue called out. Agito sighed before smacking both boys in the head.

"Ouch! what did you do that for?" whined Louri.

"We need to get money," Agito simply stated. Ryuu and Louri just nodded before starting their routine.

By the time the girls came back with new spring kimonos, the two boys were already making enough money to feed them meat for weeks. Ryuu was standing on a wooden crate with Lorey just under him. Ryuu acted like a puppetteer while Louri acted perfectly as the puppet. They trained themselves into their routine so they knew exactly what they other was going to do. It was amusing to watch as Louri danced for the crowd as Ryuu seemingly controlled his movements. Sometimes Louri would come out to greet some of the people and they put in more coins just to see that. It was a perfect routine, and by the end of the night, they had enough money to last them for a good month.

"Alright! Let's waste all our money on some lotto tickets and we'll just-" SMACK!

"If you don't mind Louri, give Kikyo the money for now," Ryuu stated. Louri whined before giving the hat full of money to the mouse-like girl. She went up to a store and bought a lotto ticket. When they came back out of the store, they were heavy ladden with money.

"Man Kikyo! It's like your luck never runs out!" Rue said enthusiastically. Kikyo just blushed and giggled in reply.

"I bet I would have been just as lucky as her," muttered Louri.

"Shut up Louri, your luck is as bad as a black cat," stated Agito. Louri crocodile cried into Rue's shoulder.

"Everyone's so mean to me Rue-chan! Make them stop!" She giggled childishly.

"It's okay sweety, you're just special."

"That's another name for stupid people," Ryuu whispered to Agito. Agito just chuckled. Agito led the group to the edge of the forest while Rue stopped just on the outer edge.

"You following?" Asked Ryuu.

"Why can't we sleep in the village inn? Why sleep out here?" She asked.

"We have to outlast our money. We can't waste it for luxurious comforts for a one night stay. And we can't trust people when they open their doors for us cause they could be creepers." Agito said.

"No they're not. They're all nice people," Rue tried to reason.

"Rue-chan, do you know anyone who would be willing to house five orphans?" Rue thought about it before shaking her head no. It's not a secret that most people hate orphans. They especially hate a group of orphans. The adults always think of them as street rats that steal and ruin their business.

Rue followed Agito again into the forest. After some walking, the entered a small clearing about 10 feet in diameter. They settled down their belongings before disappearing back into the forest. Rue was left alone. The forest was strange to her. It made frightening noises that made her skin crawl.

"Agito?" she called out quietly. She wanted her twin back. A night owl hooted and she flinched from the noise.

"Agito-kun, are you out there?" a slight russle of the bushes and she screamed,

"Agito!" a hand latched onto her mouth and Rue's heart jumped in her chest in fright.

"Be quiet Rue-chan, it's just a squirrel." True to his words, a little squirrel darted out of the bushes before scurrying up a tree. Rue turned back to Agito and quietly looked at him. Agito noticed the staring and looked back at her.

"Do your friends know you're a girl?" she asked quietly. Agito blinked before rubbing the back of his, no, HER neck.

"Was I supposed to tell them?" she asked. Rue whacked Agito upside Agito's head.

"Of course you were supposed to tell them!"

"Well, they didn't ask," Agito said sarcastically. Rue just shook her head pitifully.

"You do know that you look like a boy right?" Agito thought about it for a second.

"Nope." Rue fell over in shock.

"You're so clueless Agito-chan! By the way, where are they?"

"Where is who?" Louri spoke while carrying two rabbits in his hands. Ryuu appeared from the darkness beside Agito with a few birds. Rue scrunched up her nose in distaste.

"What's wrong Rue-chan?" Lorey asked politely, even if he had a good idea why.

"I don't like meat. I tried it once and got really sick so I don't eat it," Rue said while shaking her head like a child. Louri laughed openly and even Ryuu chuckled.

"Yep! You're Agito's twin all right! Now I wonder where Kikyo is," Louri questioned out loud.

"Right behind you." Louri screamed like a girl and jumped over the fire, raising his hands to a kungfu position. Kikyo stood there was an apron full of wild edible leaves, berries, fruits, and vegetables. Her face was flushed red in embarrassment at Louri's reaction to her sudden appearance.

"Lost all your pride as a man idiot. Getting scared and screaming like a little girl!" Ryuu rubbed in Louri's face. Agito quietly took the animal's from Lorey and Ryuu and walked away from the clearing. As Louri and Ryuu fought like world leaders, Rue scooted closer to Kikyo who was making a simple stew from what she had.

"Where did Agito go?" Rue smiled at her softly.

"Don't worry, Agito-san just went to clean the animals. He'll come back." Rue just nodded but frowned. Cleaning the animals were to skin them and clean out their insides so people could eat the muscles.

"If Agito is a vegetarian like me, why is she cleaning the animals? Shouldn't Ryuu-san or Louri-san clean them?" Ryuu blushed and giggled.

"Ryuu-kun and Louri-kun don't know how to clean them out. They both ruin their dinners." Rue looked at the two wrestling boys before suddenly, a rock flew from the darkness and hit them both on the forehead.

"Will you two shut up? You're gonna attract hollows!" Agito stepped forward and set the fresh meat besides Kikyo to cook. Louri and Ryuu both shut their traps and start fighting in a different way they found they could right. Rock-Paper-Scissors wars of greatness. Rue giggled sweetly at their childishness. They ate their dinner in silence before climbing up trees to sleep.

~~~

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