Hello.

Nothing really to comment on here. Just that this will just be a short one-shot. A break from my Naruto fiction: Dispassionate Understatement I’d greatly appreciate it if you would comment on it. Please and Thank You!

Warning: If you are religious you may find this offending. I’m not sure, but everybody is different. You have been warned.

To Cross the Line

Yoruichi’s light steps surprisingly bellowed throughout the church hall. It had been a while since she had stepped into one of the 13 Churches.

She looked up towards the wall at the end of the hall. It had a big scroll floating down that said, “The Sixth Church: Senbonzakura”

Her steps echoed louder as she got up to the front. She kneeled before the pedestal, closed her eyes and folded her hands to pray.

“Pray to what?” She thought to herself. “To God? If there is a god.”

Back in her day, she used to be one of the nuns in one of the 13 Churches. Until he swept her over. “He?” you may ask.

Yes, him. Urahara Kisuke.

She wasn’t sure if she should blame him. Was it really his fault? He told her, and pestered her if there really was a god.

And every time she would answer with confidence, “Of course there is!”

“But how would you know?” he’d always asked back.

And every time she would reply with a frown. “Those who have not seen, yet still believe, are- - “

Every time he would finish her off and say something like this, “- - blessed. Yes I know the recitation of Messiah.” And then he would say, “But how can you be sure?”

They’re conversations would always be about god and his realism. But one day, when he said, “But how can you be sure?” she bravely spoke back.

“How are you sure that he’s not really above the heavens?”

And on that day he said, “They’re are theories.” And out of his robes, like he knew today was the day she’d talk back, he pulled out 3 books and threw it on the cold stone floor before her.

“The Da Vinci Code, The Book Against God, and God is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything”

On that day, she thought she had done a sin for accepting those books. She remembered she thought, “Were those books even allowed in a church like this?” But she accepted them anyways.

She read them secretly in the hours where she was supposed to sleep. Working at the church had heavy schedules. And she read them quickly. She was definitely intrigued by The Da Vinci Code.

And of course now, she believes that theory.

But Kisuke had gotten himself into a lot of trouble for going up against the 13 Churches so boldly. His rebellion led many people of the church puzzled and confused. His words made sense, but there beliefs have always been with the church. It caused a big hassle, and the 13 Priests had trouble calming them down.

And because of his rebellion, Kisuke got himself hunted down. He was still alive, but back then, everybody chased him down. He went into hiding. And if she were to believe, her greatest sin would be helping him escape.

But everything is fine now, because Kisuke had once aided the church with rebellious peasants, who wanted more freedom. And the church forgave him. All was well, although, not many know where he lies in the present day.

However, now she has her doubts on Kisuke and his beliefs. She wonders at night if his words were just delusions. And if they were, she had done what she feared most.

Betray God.

It would be the biggest disaster. She opened her eyes. “Those who have not seen, yet still believe, are blessed.” She recited quietly to herself.

A voice cut in. “Ah.. I see you still remember the recitative from Messiah.”

She looked towards the source of the voice. “Byakuya..” she whispered to herself, slightly surprised. But then it became obvious to her. “Of course, this was his church.” She thought to herself.

“So how does it feel to cross the line?” he asked her.

“Cross the line? What do you mean?”

“Betray God.” He stared intensely at her.

She glared at him. She didn’t know why, she just did. She thought for a moment and decided to tell him what she really felt. Afterall, it was Byakuya. “It feels... Good. Feels... free. Easier to run. Not knowing what might be out there, over the line, but you’re just gonna have to take a chance. It feels.. Exhilarating not knowing what might come at you, and the adrenaline rushing to your head... it’s amazi- -“

He cut her off. “I didn’t ask how it was to be free. I already know that. But I guess, if you can pay for your sins, you can still pass for judgment day.” He smirked smugly.

Yoruichi knew it was his way of saying, “The pupil has surpassed his master.” Which was partly true.

Back in the day, Yoruichi taught Byakuya from the famous Kuchiki Clan the recititatives, and testimonies from the Bible, and many songs. Though she was younger then him, she had more education towards the matter. And if she had stayed with the church, she would be at the same level as he was. A priest. But of course, at a different church. And if he wasn’t from the Kuchiki Clan, surely she would be the priest at the 6th Church. Gender differences no longer mattered at the time.

The 6th Church was special though. 6, being the number of the “Devil’s Number”, it had a reputation to be the Church of Betrayal. But that was just a rumor.

When Yoruichi was a little girl, she made a promise to herself to be the priest that would make a new reputation for the 6th Church, but instead, she betrayed it.

“I have no intention of forgetting it.” She glared at him.

He gave his expression-less stare. “Are you here to pay for your sins against God?”

There was a moment of silence, but Yoruichi never stopped staring at him. “I dont know.” She said quietly.

“If you did, you can pass at judgment day, and work at the church again. God will forgive you.” He said in an expression-less tone, that matched his stare.

Kisuke’s words from all those years ago still echoed in her head. She decided to ask the exact same question as he did. “How are you so sure there really is a God?” She could see the disappointment in his face.

“As you have recited, Those who have not seen, yet still believe, are blessed.”

“Yes, I know. But how can you be sure?”

His stare intensified on her. He waited a moment before answering.“A gut feeling.”

Yoruichi was speechless for a moment. Just a moment. “So what you’re saying is that all this stuff about God, all these theories about God, are only backed up by “Your Gut Feeling?”

He nodded.

“Then you’ve been fooling all those people! All those people that sit here every week, hoping and believing, are only hoping and believing your “Gut feeling”?! Those Sundays where they could be doing something really important, are wasted on you! All those people who pray half of their lives are praying to your “Gut Feeling”! This isn’t right! This is trickery!” She protested loudly. She was angry. How could he do something like this!? The Kuchiki Byakuya she knew was honest, and never tricked anybody. “Is your gut feeling that good?”

He nodded again.

“How can you be sure?”

“I know.. because of the feeling. The feeling whenever I must pass judgment for people’s sins, the feeling between right or wrong, the feeling that tells me to spend as much time as possible on Sundays to tell the people that “Everything is okay, God is loving.” And the feeling to pass judgment on you for crossing the line.”

“So you think your gut feeling is what God wants you to do.”

“Yes.”

“That’s the stupidest thing I have ever heard.” She smirked.

“And how are you so sure about that?”

And just like Kisuke did, she pulled out a book from her bag. She handed him The Da Vinci code.

He took it, and when he realized what book it was he dropped it. He looked at her and slapped her in the face. “How dare you bring a book like that in this church!” He looked at her enraged.

Yoruichi rubbed her face. It was gonna leave a nasty bruise. But then she saw him pick up the book as it was slimy and was about to throw it at the glowing torches. He was going to burn it. She stopped him by tugging the book towards her. He however did not let go.

“No, not the book!” That copy was a special copy. It was the copy that Kisuke had given her. She never went anywhere without it. It was like something she depended on for confidence.

“Things like this should not exist. Let me burn it for you to repay your sins.” He said bitterly.

“And what is telling you to do this? Your gut feeling?”

“Yes.” He hissed, still not letting go of the book.

“Well that’s stupid.”

He looked at her slightly disgusted at what she said. “Do you think it’s stupid to relieve everybody by reassuring them every week that God will let them pass on judgment day? Do you think it’s stupid that God is watching us right now? And do you think it’s stupid that a man is trying to save a woman he once loved so she can pass judgment day with him?”

Yoruichi’s eyes went wide, and she dropped the book. It fell on the floor. “What?”

“You heard it. So get out of my church!” he barked at her and stalked away.

Yoruichi stood there for a few seconds. She realized what he said. She decided to go after him.

“Byakuya! Wait!” she ran after him, but he walked too fast down the corridor. When she got to the same hall, he was gone. “Byakuya and his dignity.” She cursed quietly to herself.

Yoruichi went back the grand hall. She slowly walked towards the book. “All this over God...” she whispered to herself.

After a few moments, a familiar voice came back. “When you tell somebody to wait and they wait, you’re supposed to go after them.”

Yoruichi looked up. “Byakuya..”

“Well.. What did you want?”

“I...” At that moment, Yoruichi found herself unable to speak.

“You what?” he said coldly.

“I.. umm...”

“Spit it out, or I’m leaving.”

“...”

She could hear his echoey steps walking away and she did something she never thought she would ever do.

Byakuya felt something grab him it was warm. He looked back slightly. Yoruichi was hugging his back figure.

“Don’t go..” She whispered into his robes.

All her life she had needed to depend on somebody. She looked like she was a very independent woman, but in truth, she needed to lean on somebody for support to get through with life. First it was the previous priest of the 6th Church. Than it was Kisuke. He gave her his book so she could be confident and so she could always feel he was around, and now it was Byakuya. Or she hoped it would be Byakuya. Just knowing their presence was still there, comforted her. She looked up to them as a role model.

He turned around and embraced her also. “I’m not going anywhere.”

She whispered to him. “Is your gut feeling telling you to do this too?”

He did a slight nod into her shoulder.

They stood there for a few moments. Both weren’t sure for how long, but it felt like an eternity. A pleasant eternity.

He gently let go of her. “Now.. Are you ready to cross the line once more?”

She paused to think a bit. “If God wills it.” She said softly.

She took the book, and walked towards the torch glowing softly with Byakuya right close to her. She took a deep breath. She wasn’t very sure if this was the right thing to do. She suddenly felt Byakuya’s hand embrace hers. She looked up at him to see him nod supportably at her.

And as she held her breath, she bravely tossed the book into the fire of the torch, and it gobbled it up as if it was swallowing it.

The fire was reflecting in her eyes. And then she felt something warm on her cheek. It was the man she knew she secretly loved kissing her there. She didn’t make any movements, but they both knew she enjoyed it.

And between gentle pecks, he whispered to her, “Good job, crossing the line.”

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Ahh.. please dont kill me.. I wrote half-way through this and I had NO idea how to end it off... I feel bad cause she betrayed Kisuke kind of. Blah...

And I know.. characters are OOC.. except Urahara.. but ughh.. makes me mad kind of.. I wrote this like an amateur...

Oh well.. this was only a break from Dispassionate Understatement which EVERYBODY should read. Please and ThankS YouS..

Feedback and Reviews will be Greatly Appreciated.

-smellysoap