You will see Romanized Japanese in here. Here's a list of key terms:

Also, I should mention:

I am actually taking Japanese. I don't really like to romanize this language because how it's romanized varies on who you ask. Any and all nitpicks will be directed back to Google Translate, because that's who I spellchecked this stuff with. KThnks.

Hai: Yes

Ita: It hurts!

Ie: No

Mou: Jeeze!

Ohayo: 'Morning!

Youkata: Thank Goodness

Yoshi! Right! Or Alright!

Ano: Um….

Uhn: An affirmative acknowledgement

Gaijin: It's a term for foreigners, but sometimes it is used as a derogatory term for Anglo-saxons. Much like the Mexican word "Gringo"

Sama : An honorific used to address someone who is higher in social order than you are.

Chapter 1

Inoue Orihime fumbled with the lock on the door of her small apartment, her school books held firmly between her knees, her hair pins bit between her teeth. She was running late, and her key was sticking in the lock again. She let out a muffled, frustrated groan. This was like those dreams that you had during the middle of summer break, where you just couldn't seem to get to class on the first day of the new semester, and then arrived when school had already ended.

Panicking just a little, Orihime gave her key a firm jerk, and heard a zipping sound as it slid out of the lock with absolutely no resistance at all. She back peddled, her books falling down from between her knees, and jammed her back against the railing that lined the second story walk-way leading to her home. Eyes wide, she reflexively gripped the railing, almost pitching over backwards to the concrete below.

She straightened herself, trying to calm her hammering heart. That was really close!

"Ita-ta-ta!" She exclaimed as she rubbed the bruise forming on her back where she had crashed into the railing.

"Hiiiime!" Came a familiar voice. "C'mon or we'll be late! I can't wait out here all day, you know!"

"Coming, Tatsuki!" Orihime responded, turning about to see her friend poking her head around the bottom of the stairs.

Thankful that Tatsuki didn't see her nearly fall to her death, Orihime went to take her hairpins out of her mouth to put them on her collar, above her heart, but they were gone.

"Iiiieee…." She groaned looking around on the walkway when a twin sparkle caught her eye. "HA!" Came the triumphant sound as she picked both hair pins up and quickly slid them onto the edge of the collar of her school uniform.

"Hime!"

"Right! Sorry!" Orihime grabbed her bags and started to run, rushing down the stairs, as she looked at her watch.

"Tatsuki, hurry! We'll miss meeting Kurosaki-kun, Uryuu, and Sado!"

Tatsuki gaped after Orihime and then picked up into a light jog to catch up to her ginger haired friend. Me hurry? Who's she kidding? Mouuu….

After coming about the road, Orihime saw a familiar shock of orange hair, her heart leapt. Tasuki couldn't help but smile as she watched Orihime's eyes light up, and a smile like sunshine wash over her face. Tatsuki wasn't even sure if Orihime noticed Sado and Ishida walking on either side of him.

"Kurosaki-kun! Ohayo!" She called. "Sado-kun! Ishida-Kun! Ohayo!"

All three boys stopped, and turned. Sado lifted a hand in a silent greeting as Orihime ran up to them, Tatsuki close behind, Uryuu had a small smile as he greeted her.

And Ichigo, with the usual flat expression said "Yo, Inoue. Tatsuki."

Orihime felt her heart flutter a little as he looked down at her. It was a new term after winter break. Ichigo had regained his Shinigami powers, and he seemed so much lighter than he had before. Some of the worry lines that had formed in his scowl had eased, like he was comfortable in his own skin again.

His reiatsu, still partially unchecked, emanated from him in a calm flow. Youkata, thought Orihime, he's finally himself again.

Even with the inevitable hollow attacks, she felt that this term was going to be great. They were all finally together again. Well, not that they had ever been apart, it was just….different. The four of them shared a certain camaraderie now, no more secrets or half-truths kept from Ichigo in an attempt to spare his feelings. They were a team again.

"Yoshi!" Shouted Orihime, stopping in her tracks, fist clenched in a determined manner. Her eyes were uplifted to the sky, shining brightly with her newfound enthusiasm. "We're an unbeatable team!"

The group halted, turning to give blank, confused stares at the redheaded girl. Ichigo and Uryuu looked particularly perplexed.

"Ano….Hime?" Tatsuki questioned.

Blinking Orihime looked at the group, feeling her cheeks redden, she raised her hands in front of her, palms out, waving them back and forth.

"Ano….you see…..I….well….."She stammered.

Tatsuki laughed and ruffled Orihime's hair.

"Its okay, Hime! We're happy, too!"

Orihime relaxed, laughing with Tatsuki, silently thanking her closest friend for being able to understand her train of thought without her having to explain the awkward details. She saw Ichigo shrug and turn back around to start walking in his easy stride again. She sped up her pace to walk beside him, smiling as she started to strike up conversation about the science fiction movie she had watched last night.

Yep, this was going to be a wonderful start to the term!

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A tall, wiry young woman followed the group of five from a distance, sizing each of them up. She kept her reiatsu masked well, not even the Quincy child would have noticed her. However, she was just slightly worried. She stuck out like a sore thumb here. She was tall, about 5'9'', her hair a light honey-brown that was cut to her shoulders. And while her face was that of someone in their late teens, early twenties, her crystalline blue eyes reflected a world weariness that put her on par with a woman nearing her 100th year of life.

Her only saving grace was that she was a long distance away from the group. So much so, that even her keen hearing couldn't pick up their conversation. But she didn't need to hear them, all she had to do was watch them. The biggest problem would be the tall redheaded boy. She could sense a fair amount of reiatsu emanating from him, and she sensed that there was far more than what she felt. It was like there was a dam holding back a monstrous body of water, and it was cracked, only allowing a fraction to slip out.

Yes, he would make her mission much, much harder.

The spikey black haired girl was no threat on terms of reiatsu, but Anlanah could tell that she was a strong fighter. No match for her of course, but formidable enough that she wouldn't want to get on her bad side, lest she wreck her own cover. Ah…and the Quincy was a big problem, too. Not as much as the redhead, but if he was anything like Ryuuken, she'd have to be cautious. The giant wouldn't be much of an issue. Anna's pride was her speed. No one moved faster. And on someone as big as that? She could out maneuver him, no sweat.

Her eyes fell and softened just a little on her target. Inoue Orihime. Anna risked reaching out just a little to feel the girl's reiatsu, just to verify who she was. Sure enough, it was a gentle and warm feeling, and powerful in its own right. She watched curiously as the ginger haired girl laughed at something the redheaded boy said. Ah, how she reminded her of Areen. Young, full of life, and optimistic to a fault. She didn't want to take the girl. But given the current state of things, it was that, or watch her home die.

Anna sighed, removing her gaze from the group and only just now noticing how the Japanese students all around her stared at her and walked hurriedly by when she made eye-contact.

Yes, the obviously British woman stuck out like a damned sore thumb.

As Anlanah shifted her gaze back ahead of her, out of the corner of her eye, she caught the Quincy looking at her out of the corner of his eye. She looked directly at him, deciding to stare instead of look away. Better to make it look like she assumed he was staring at her like everyone else, than make him think she didn't want to be noticed. She was sure. There was no possible way he could have felt that small fluctuation in reiatsu when she was verifying her target.

He turned away quickly under her intense and challenging gaze, and she smiled slightly to herself.

So much like his father.

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Ishida Uryuu felt something like a cold hand reaching out to Orihime. He felt a subtle presence behind them, then almost as quickly as it came, it was gone. He shifted his gaze backward and caught sight of a tall, beautiful gaijin woman. The thought crossed his mind that she may be the source of the strange reiatsu he'd felt.

Until that was, she looked at him. He nearly stopped walking when her eyes met his. They were the lightest, most vibrant, and unnatural blue he'd ever seen. And they were piercing, haughty, and challenging. Like she was saying "go on, stare, I'll take an eyeball as payment".

Uryuu looked away quickly, feeling his ears turn a little red. He wouldn't put the possibility aside, but on his probability list, she was pretty low.

How many people stared you down when they were staking you out?

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Kurosaki Ichigo sat on a desk in the classroom after school. Tatsuki had practice, Sado had work, and Uryuu said he had to go take care of something.

And it was Orihime's turn to clean. Normally Ichigo wouldn't have stayed late, but the other person that was supposed to clean had asked Orihime to take care of it herself. Orihime being the person she was, said she could take care of it herself. It was only by chance that Ichigo had still been sitting at his desk when it happened. It made his blood boil a little. She was always letting people take advantage of her. He couldn't be angry at her, but that didn't stop him from being vexed with the people who tread all over her.

"Inoue, give me a broom." Ichigo said, holding out his hand.

Orihime shook her head. "No! I can't trouble you that way, Kurosaki-kun. I'll be fine. You can go home."

"No way, if you won't let me help you clean, at least let me walk you home." Ichigo responded firmly.

"Mouuu," Orihime pouted, adorably, Ichigo noted. "Hai, hai, Kurosaki-kun." She had learned that refusing Ichigo of that request was a bad plan by now. After the Winter War she was rarely left alone, in part, she was sure it was Ichigo's doing by being over-protective.

She would have been right about that. Ichigo was being over-protective. But a huge part of that was because of what he'd realized after the war was over. He could never let her be taken away again, not as long as he breathed.

Yet part of him was still unsure why that was. When Tsukishima had altered her memories…that was a hard moment. He hadn't had much time to think about it when it happened because Sado was trying to punch his face in, but he had thought about it later. When she was still unconscious at Urahara's shop. The memory of the tortured look on her face had torn him apart all over again. It was worse than when she had cried in Hueco Mundo. In fact, thinking about it now made him clench his fist and feel that murderous rage again.

"Kurosaki-kun?" Ventured Orihime. Ichigo looked up at her suddenly, whipping the rage from his face and calming his reiatsu immediately.

"Sorry, Inoue, just spaced out."

"Uhn! I did that earlier today! I was thinking about how if I was an actress I'd do all my own stunts!" She proudly proclaimed.

"Huh?"

"I was even thinking about how, instead of having to put me into cybernetic make-up, that they could just turn me into a complete cyborg! And I'd have laser vision, jet packs, and super strength!" The auburn headed girl fantasized out loud. Ichigo couldn't help but let a small smile creep across his lips.

"So instead of Orihime, you'd be Cyhime." He said, playing along. "And fly around as a vigilante." Orihime looked at him with wide, starry eyes, a bright smile on her face.

"Oh! Kurosaki-kun, you always come up with the BEST ideas!"

"Do I really? I think your imagination may be a little more wild than mine, Inoue."

"Oh! I almost forgot! I have to finish cleaning!" As she turned around, Ichigo chuckled softly. He stood, and reached out a hand to ruffle her hair.

He froze before he let it get near her.

What the fuck was he doing?

It was a good thing her back was turned because she didn't see him reach for her, nor did she see him pull his hand away. Fuck, why is she always so goddamn cute? He thought. If she's not careful, I really will end up doing something that I shouldn't someday.

"By the way, Kurosaki-kun, what did you think of the new transfer student?" Orihime inquired, looking at Ichigo over her shoulder. "Isn't she beautiful?"

Ichigo hadn't been paying that much attention to the new transfer, but it was still hard to miss her entirely. She was an amazon in height, slim and coltish, and definitely British from her accent when speaking Japanese.

But it was her eyes that made him notice her.

They were the eyes of a killer.

"Yeah, I guess. I don't really think gaijin are all that attractive." He replied. Orihime gasped.

"Kurosaki-kun!" She scolded. "You shouldn't say derogatory words like that! It's mean!"

"Hai, hai, Inoue-sama." Ichigo replied mockingly.

And he couldn't help but revel a little in the high blush that lit Orihime's face.

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Anlanah was on the other side of the school and she still felt it like he was standing right next to her. That black and twisted reiatsu, he was pissed about something.

Pull a handle on yourself, boy, before you attract something dangerous. Anlanah thought.

She had taken the time, as soon as she was introduced to the class, to memorize the roster. The redheaded boy was Ichigo, the Quincy was Uryuu, the Giant was Sado, and the firecracker with spiky black hair was Tasuki. There were others, but those five were the only ones she'd cared about.

And it was Ichigo that was in a rage at the moment. Then, suddenly, it was gone. She reached out tentatively again, felt that he had calmed himself, felt the Inoue girl's reiatsu close to him.

I bloody hate teenagers, Anna thought. They were so damn fickle.

But it wasn't hard to notice, Inoue Orihime simply adored Kurosaki Ichigo. Anna smiled sadly as she ascended the stairs of the rec center building. Kurosaki Ichigo was obviously in love with the young woman, too. Anna could tell. Neither had confessed to the other, but it was there. She was old enough to be able to see it no matter how hard either one tried to hide it. The boy, Ichigo, reminded her of her lost husband. Brave, stubborn, a little dense, but protective. She could see, Kurosaki Ichigo was more protective of Inoue Orihime than any other one of his friends.

Which was why he would be a problem.

Anna opened the door to the roof of the rec center. She would use this spot to scope the area for Hollows, just to make sure that idiot boy hadn't attracted a ton of them. She didn't want any loss of life, at least no more than what would probably be deemed necessary.

"I thought that was you, Anlanah." Came a familiar voice. Anna froze, the light from going inside to outside temporarily blinding her. But she didn't need to see to know who it was.

"Ryuuken?"

Whew! First chapter out of the way. I'm exhausted. May take me about a week to crack another chapter out. Let me know what you think! Constructive criticism is always appreciated! Thanks for reading!