Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach. This is fanfiction. If you didn't know this, I wonder how you found this site.

Before you begin: in this universe with an OC, Hisana doesn't exist.

Rukia is Byakuya's sister by birth, and OC is Yoruichi's cousin, although she refers to her as "Nee-chan"* due to them being close and her being younger. The timeline is after Rukia is rescued and Aizen is imprisoned. Think of Far Far Away as an alternate universe that is more focused on interactions and social life instead of different groups trying to take over the world.

This story is fluff with angst chapters, and was my second fanfic I ever wrote. I am in the process of editing this, however the storyline and main events will remain the same-perhaps the writing style will be somewhat different.

Thanks to JustSomeRandomPerson for this correction.

Happy reading!


'Now it is night,' Yokoso says. I roll my eyes at her obvious statement. 'I was talking to myself, stupid,' she snaps.

My zanpakuto has been irritable lately. She hasn't gone out of her sheath for many, many years, except to see the plain walls and dust in Urahara's basement. Not that the basement is small, but anyone would think that a secret training ground would look drastically different than what it was a hundred years ago. Even the sidewalks outside are pale grey, the new concrete fillings long-dried but not yet been turned dark grey and cracked by the rain and Kami knows what humans dump on them.

'Well I can hear you,' I think back, shrugging my shoulders, 'You are in my head afterall.'

'Hmph,' I feel a flash of annoyance filled with hurt, and knows that she has turned her back on me, 'That is probably all I will ever be.'

The cool summer wind blows on the back of my neck, thin tendrils sweeping down my back through the neck opening of my t-shirt. We have had this argument several times since the huge battle in Karakura town, when Nee-chan and Urahara went back to the Soul Society with some teenagers.

We had discussed it once before all that, when Urahara came up to me one afternoon while Nee-chan was out, and Tessai was nonchalantly sweeping the doorstep. He hinted, in the most roundabout way possible, that Aizen's plan with the Soul Society was about to accelerate, and that staying here would mean we would be found out and fully involved. Yokoso had balked at the time, screaming that it would be suicide for me to even think about sticking around and wielding a blade. I, on the other hand, balked at the idea of being found out and seeing everyone again-all those who I had left without an explanation, without a goodbye, and I definitely did not want to speak to him again. Urahara had sighed, and said I was no fun, but told me to think about it. Nee-chan took that moment to enter the room, her cat tail sweeping the ground. After Tessai received a tight hug, I pulled out my Shihoine cloak and flew, far, far away, with Nee-chan's promise of not dying ('No one's faster than me, Tato-chan') and coming to get me when everything was all over.

It was after the battle when Yokoso started bugging me about going back to the Soul Society where Nee-chan and Urahara certaintly were, and join the reunion. We had a bitter argument, where I screamed that it was no use going back, for I could not even wield my own zanpakuto properly, and Yokoso retorting that I was using that to cover up the fact that I was too scared to go back.

Too scared.

Yeah right.

'I'm not scared,' I tell her.

Yokoso smartly avoids responding to that, 'This is not good for you. Hanging onto the past like this will get you no where. Either you face the past, or move on.' I sense her fading away, probably back into my inner world.

'Yokoso,' I smile at nothing in particular, fixing my eye on the bright streetlamps up the street, 'Try to cheer up, okay? Worrying isn't good for you.'

She doesn't respond.

I don't expect her to.

The light breeze keeps me company as I continue on my way home. It is strange, how after a hundred years, I consider Urahara's shabby shop, so very different from the manor I grew up in, home, without the tens of friends that I made. It is as if all those years were wiped away, leaving the important memories blurry, and the little things sharp. I am happy, I think, with Nee-chan, Urahara, Tessai, and the little helpers around. Yokoso is still with me.

And the blank space by my side?

The night air embraces me, and the moon shines, just as bright as his laughter was.

There is a sudden tickle of a giggle lodged in my throat, and a bounce to my step. I start skipping, one hand jammed in my pocket, clutching an indigo box.