Chapter 1

My onii-chan is out tonight. Earlier he came running through our door and rushed into his room. Daddy was worried so he almost kicked the door down, but Ichigo opened the door and left before my father could ask him questions.

Now, Daddy's being depressed and is pleading Karin to give him a hug, but she just slaps his face, scoffs and locks herself in her bedroom.

"Will you leave your daddy, Yuzu?" Dad's making a sad face so I better not disappoint him.

"I would never do that. Who would look after the house if I'm gone?" Dad's smile is somewhat over-exaggerated, so I look away in shame. What if I…?

Karin's having a soccer game today but since she didn't want me to go I'm walking through the streets, alone. Ichigo hasn't appeared since he left yesterday, and Dad's being lazy and hyper since Onii-chan left.

Sigh. There are countless people walking and shopping in the streets, since today is a holiday. Couples stand out from the multitude, smiling and laughing. I can see girls and boys holding hands and flirting with each other. I wonder sometimes, has Onii-chan found a girl yet? What about Karin?

"Nee, little girl, would you like to try out costumes for free?" In front of me stood a man with a clown costume, smiling a friendly smile. My face must have showed some kind of confusion since he laughed. "Today's offer at Ren's Master of Disguise Shop! Kids get to try costumes and they can get one for free. Any that's of your liking."

"Honto ni?! I will." I walked eagerly into the shop and my eyes were of full wonder. The shop couldn't be more colorful; green and purple walls, with silly drawings pasted on them, and toys everywhere for decoration. Stall after stall filled with costumes of anything you could imagine; from a nail polish costume to an Allen Walker one.

Two hours passed and I was still trying them on. I hadn't noticed that the shop was full of kids with their moms, and since that made me unhappy, I left without getting one. At the entrance door, a woman screamed and dropped her bags from fear. People inside the store looked at the woman through the windows, trying to figure out why she screamed.

"What is that thing?!" A man on the other side of the street was looking upward to the sky with a wide-eyed face. Immediately I took a step forward and followed the man's gaze. In the sky, coming through the clouds, was an incredibly huge hollow. His piercing screech terrified the people in the streets, and chaos started. Full panic was forming now; each person ran to a different location but everyone with the same terrified feeling.

My hands covered my mouth, forcing back a scream, as the hollow, feeling the chaos, started diving through the clouds at an amazing speed that one wouldn't expect from an enormous creature. The hollow looked like he was diving straight at me, so I ran. I didn't know to where I was running but I certainly could care less. At a point, I knew he was after me so I started to get afraid. I thought about my family—Ichigo, Karin, Daddy and Mom—and I wondered if I'd done something wrong in life. Something inside me knew I wasn't getting out of it; the hollow would catch me and it was almost certain that he wouldn't pity me.

I'm sorry Ichigo…

"Hey, girlie, you can't escape him." A pack of grey wolves were running on each side and behind me. This took me off guard and I screamed. I almost stopped running, but I thought better and didn't. Tears threatened to spill out however.

"W-who are y-you?"

"My name's Stark. All these ferocious wolves running around you are part of me. We are one."

At that moment the hollow touched ground, and the space around it, exploded. The force lifted me in the air and threw me against a park bench, ten meters away. My body hurt all over and I was afraid because I couldn't stand. I searched with my eyes the place, but all I could make out was the dust in the air because of the impact and a huge shadow lifting from the dust curtain. I prayed that the hollow wouldn't find me in all the dirt and mess.

"Why don't you hide? He can see you, and he wants to eat you."

"W-why does h-he w-want me?"

"Because you have some unusual spiritual pressure for a human and it's driving him mad. But I…" His voice was the only thing I could make out of him, and I didn't know where it was coming from—I think from all sides. "I want you because you're Ichigo's little sister, aren't you?"

"H-how did you k-know?"

"I have my ways… Yuzu." At that, a hand gripped my shoulder and I slapped it away. "You need me now, little girl. Why don't you let me help you?"

"I don't know you, okay?! Ichigo! Ichigo!" I started yelling frantically.

"He won't come. He's out with his friends trying to defeat us. He won't come for you."

"H-how do you know! Ichigo will save me."

An arm lifted me from the ground by my sweater, and trapped me against something hard.

"I'm the only one that can save you, dummy. But, since I'm not your friend, you'll pay me later for the help."

He had pressed me against his body and, through the dust veil, he had some kind of weapon in his hand. When the sound of a gunshot reached my ears, I knew it had to be some kind of pistol.

"Let me go."

"Not for anything in the world."

And with that said, a second bullet sprang from the gun and made an impact on the hollow's body. The hollow made an even more piercing screech, and with that he was gone.

Stark's body loosened a little but he never let me go. I still couldn't see his face, but I knew he was staring down at me. I couldn't stand being watched like that so I blushed.

"Take me home." I said, still looking at the ground where I could make out his black boots.

"You're staying with me at Las Noches. You're not leaving my sight," tears formed in my eyes and started to spill.

My head shot upwards, trying to see if he was joking but something weird happened. I felt dizzy and then there was darkness.