Well, here it is: the first installment of one of the three final long-term fanfics I'm writing. I hope you like it. Keep in mind this is an OCxOC story, but the cannon characters of Bleach still play a very active role, as you will see in chapter 1. Anywho, I hope you enjoy it. Feedback is always appreciated.

Prologue: A Glimpse

A hurried successions of chopping noises broke through the largely silent apartment. Other than these light sounds, there was only the chirping of the birds outside, and the light breathing of the white-haired boy on the couch just over two yards away. He did not stir for anything, not even the hissing of the frying pan as a few drops of miso broth hit the heated surface, nor the small cry of pain the cook let out as a cloud of steam engulfed his wrists. The culinary artist, aware of the sleeping youth, naturally checked to see if the kitchen noises had awakened him. When he saw they had not, he shook his head in amusement.

"Works like a charm" he sang softly to himself as he continued preparing the meal. One might wonder how the young man was so accomplished in the kitchen when he wore such large leather bands on both his wrists, for they did nothing to stall his progress. However, that wonder might get lost in the simple smell of his cooking, which was enough to draw a third member of the household into the open.

"Morning" the chef said cheerily as the newcomer, this one female, stifled a yawn. When he noticed the dark circles under her eyes, he raised a pierced eyebrow in inquiry. "Did you forget to take your meds?"

The girl shook her head. "I need to refill the prescription" she replied. "At any rate, it's only Saturday, and I don't have work today. Loosing a little sleep doesn't matter in the long… run…"

She trailed off when she saw the white-haired boy on the couch still deep in the confines of his dreamland. This time, it was her turn to raise an eyebrow; more so, however, at the papers scattered across the coffee table than at the sleeping boy only a foot away. After breathing was seemed to be a sigh of aggravation, she turned on the youth in the kitchen.

"You didn't."

He grinned broadly. "I did."

"You know what it does to him."

Now he laughed. "Sure, but he was so stressed about his damn paper that I felt it necessary to give him a push." He lifted a mug from the counter and raised it to his now clearly exasperated female friend. "Easy, it was only a little."

"Well, even a little is enough to send him haywire" she replied, picking up one of the papers and shaking her head when she saw the matrix of complex equations on it. "How long after he finished his paper did he keep going?"

"A few hours…" At a glare from the girl, he became more specific. "I think he passed out around two."

Another sigh left her lips. "Akira, he can't have caffeine" she said. "The doctor made it clear he can't get hyper like that." She fixed him with an incredulous look. "Honestly, you of all people should know better."

"Kai, it was only half caffeinated" Akira said, adopting a somehow playful-yet-placating tone. "He's not going to die from one shot; not after the surgery."

Kai crossed her arms. "Just because he's been doing better doesn't mean you can unleash all of your pranks on him at once…" She threw her hands up. "You know what? Forget it. Haru will take care of you when he wakes up."

"I hope so."

"Seducing him will only make it worse."

"Indeed it will."

"You're unbelievable." Kai left the room then, only to return in her day-time wear minutes later. By that time, Akira had also finished preparing breakfast, and he had laid it out neatly on the table. Haru, meanwhile, remained peacefully sprawled on the couch.

The pair ate, partaking in unimportant conversation that eventually turned back to the white-haired youth and his suggested lack of caffeine consumption. This time, however, the conversation took on a more serious tone.

"He can fight now" Akira said, sipping his coffee as he gazed at the mop of white peaking over the armrest. "He's also filled out a lot since the post-op recovery period ended.

Kai nodded. "He won't be as active as the two of us, I would imagine" she said with a slight frown. "Regardless of his past illness, I don't think he ever was cut out for front line fighting."

"True." He topped off her cup. "I think it's for the best, though. It'll be easier for him to move on." He looked over at her, smiling in sad understanding. "We're not going to be able to drop out just like that."

"No, I don't think we will" she admitted.

There was a pause, then Akira asked, "have you decided what you want to do after school?"

A smile, one of quiet joy, passed over her lips. "Yes."

"And?"

"I want to go to audition for the conservatory" she told him. "I think I have a career in music, and I want to study all I can."

Akira grinned. "It'll be hard work, but I think you'll be able to go far with that attitude." He looked back over at Haru. "Wonder what Sleeping Beauty plans to do" he mused. "He's so damn smart, way above humble artists like ourselves. He could have graduated long before now if he wanted to."

"I suppose so," Kai agreed. "but I'm glad he stayed." She hesitated, as if steeling herself to speak, then jumped to a seemingly different subject. "Kira?"

"Hmm?" He perked up a bit at his pet-name.

"Do you think Shishou would be alright with this? With us just… quitting? I mean, he must have had something planned for us after we graduated, right? There was no way he'd just let us live like this: fighting Hollows day after day, without any goals for the future."

Sorrow crept into his gaze then. "I don't know, Kai. I think he would want us to act as we deem appropriate." He folded his hand over his own. "I also think he'd rather we didn't dwell on this right now."

Haru's groan stopped Kai before she could say anything more. The boy jolted upright, crystal blue eyes blazing as he took in his surroundings. A moment later, the sapphire orbs turned themselves on a very disconcerted Akira.

"I'm going to kill you."

"Now, now" Akira stood, laughing shakily. "You don't want to aggravate your condition, Haru. Remember what the doctor said."

"I WILL AFTER I SHOVE MY FOOT UP YOUR ASS!"

Kai sighed once again as the two of them began their game of chase. While they were racing around the apartment like elementary school children, she took the opportunity to inspect the paper she had picked up earlier. Her eyes went wide when she scanned it, but then she set it down, shaking her head incredulously and hiding a small smile as she did do. As she left the apartment to head to the pharmacy where she would refill her prescription, she couldn't help but laugh to herself.

"He calculated his own IQ" she said to herself. "One-sixty-nine… I don't know what to think of it."