Karakura Town

Tamotsu Toshiyuki awoke five minutes before his alarm. "Another dream," he said. He often dreamed. He was an artist, and he gained inspiration from his dreams. He often painted landscapes. Forests, rivers and valleys, sometimes the city. But lately, the dreams were different. He dreamed of people. Samurai, as far as he could tell. But something was different. He never used to dream of this. Not until after he met Rangiku Matsumoto.

It had been fifteen months since he met her, running into her blindly as he turned a corner. He could never forget that face. So beautiful and kind with hair like gold. She had treated him to a dinner of coconut shrimp with a friend of hers, Inoue Orihime. Though he thought of her often, Tamotsu could never think of Rangiku in a romantic sense. Kindred spirits, close friends, but he could never think of her as anything else.

The buzzing sounded, Tamotsu reached over and slapped the top of the alarm clock. He then reset the alarm and slowly got up. After washing, he prepared a meager breakfast of toast and orange juice. He would have preferred more, but that was all he could afford in order to keep up on rent for his studio apartment. That, and the majority of his income was made from, and spent on, his paintings.

Tamotsu was a great painter, his works sold relatively well. But for the past fifteen months, with his new works, his landscapes never sold as well. He kept imagining all these characters, always in such detail. He couldn't explain why.

"Oh, well," Tamotsu said as he sat down in front of a blank canvas. "As long as it pays the bills." Then Tamotsu began to paint.

Seireitei

Rangiku Matsumoto sat at the desk, smiling and humming happily as she organized a pile of papers into a neat stack. She normally hated paperwork and would do anything to avoid it. But if she did that, she would have to avoid her Captain, Toshiro Hitsugaya. Although she was the one who coaxed him to join Soul Society, he quickly rose to outrank her and become Captain. A strict follower of the rules, Hitsugaya wanted everything in order. The reason Rangiku willingly did the work today was so that he would have no reason to keep her there.

Rangiku looked up and waved cheerily as Hitsugaya entered. "Hi there, Captain," she said.

"Hello Matsumoto," Hitsugaya said. He always had a habit for calling people by their last name as a sign of respect and position, as well as showing formality. "You seem unusually happy today."

"Oh, I just got done with your paperwork."

"You?" Hitsugaya asked, a look of genuine surprise on his face. "You willingly did paperwork? That's unusual."

"Yep. All caught up. Now you don't have any excuses to keep me here. I'm gonna go to the World of the Living for a while okay?"

"You've been going there a lot lately. Any particular reason?"

Rangiku began walking to the door. "Not really, no. I just like going there."

"A lot more than you usually do. What's going on?" Hitsugaya stepped in front of Rangiku to keep her from advancing to the door.

"Oh, Captain," Rangiku said, almost flirtatiously waving her hand at him. "Nothing's going on. You worry too much." She moved her way past her Captain and continued to the door of his office.

"Matsumoto! If you're going there, you have to respond to any calls that come up, do you understand?" Rangiku was already past the door, but she still responded with her non-chalant manner. "What is with her?"

Rangiku walked cheerily along the path to the Senkaimon, the gateway to the World of the Living. A black swallowtail, her Jigokucho, flying at her side. She was happy, about to make another visit to her friend Tamotsu Toshiyuki. He used to be a Shinigami, over twenty five years had passed since he died in her arms. She had never felt so close to anyone, despite the fact they had only known each other a few years. Although his death was devastating to her, she was overjoyed to see that he had been reincarnated in the World of the Living. Though a mere human now, she still enjoyed his company more than anything. And she would do almost anything, including her Captain's paperwork, for the chance to see him again.

Two Kido Corps officers stood at the Senkaimon, a large red doorway which led to another dimension, a gateway between worlds. They saluted Rangiku as she approached, then tapped the ground with their staffs. The doorway opened, a brilliant white light flooded out. Rangiku approached the light, her Jigokucho staying by her side.

It wasn't enjoyable going through all those papers, she thought as the intensity of the light increased. But it was worth it to see him again.

Rangiku continued into the ever-increasing light. In front of her, another doorway appeared. It was a different design, like the thin wooden sliding doors of traditional Japan. They slid open and the landscape appeared before her. It was Karakura Town, the sun had been up only a couple of hours. She stepped onto the soft grass and took in the air. She always enjoyed visiting the World of the Living, always something new to see. Especially at the malls. So many styles and fashions, and at much lower prices than in Soul Society.

But Rangiku wasn't here for the malls and fashion trends today. She was here to see her friend. He wouldn't be able to see her in her current form, as most humans are unable to see things in the Spiritual Realm. She would need her Gigai, the artificial bodies Souls used to interact in the other Realm. And ever since there were rumors of a store display that came to life, since she often left her Gigai to model the latest models at the store, she had to keep it at the shop of Kisuke Urahara.

Rangiku began running towards the shop, the breeze ruffling through her black uniform and causing her pink scarf to flow behind her. Urahara's shop was in another district from where she emerged, but it didn't bother her. She would soon see her friend again, and she had a feeling this visit would be a lot more memorable