[A/N] Well I got this out faster than I thought I would, but I just felt like I had to finish it XD Thanks Zion Hitokiri, Sexy-Midnight-Fox, and Fanficssuck (Btw your name confuses the fuck out of me for obvious reasons XD) for reviewing!


Rora ran through the forest as fast as she could. She could here the men behind her chuckling devilishly and yelling as they chased her.

"Stop chasing me...leave me alone!"

She had been running from them for hours and they showed no signs of stopping, but neither did she. She wouldn't allow her body to give in to it's exhaustion, she couldn't afford to.

The men behind her were dangerous, nomads of a sort who would travel from district to district plundering and pillaging innocent soul's homes. They came to the current district she had been staying in and fulfilled their reputation, looting and destroying anything in their path. Rora however was clueless to their identities, but even if she did she wouldn't have changed her actions...well...she may have been more smarter about it, but the past is the past.

~Hours Before~

The group of men walked into the bar Rora was currently sitting in as if they hadn't a care in the world. The men didn't order drinks, they took them. They pushed the owner around, badgered the rest of the men, and even put their hands on the women.

She was sickened by the scene in front of her, but she knew she couldn't get involved. All she had on her was a hunting knife and she could only do so much damage with that against seven or eight men. It felt wrong to just leave the bar with all of the innocent people being harassed, but she told herself that she couldn't help any even if she tried. She chugged the rest of her sake before reluctantly walking towards the door.

"Hey girly! Where are you going?" One of the men caught her trying to leave and lazily slung an arm around her shoulders, making her scowl. He brought his face closer to hers, but did not bother to lower his voice, "You getting scared of the big bad men?"

"Okay one, you're in my personal space so it would be of your best interest to back the fuck up," The annoyance she was feeling came out in her tone as she scowled and glanced at the man, "Two, pipe the fuck down! That's my ear you're spitting in."

"Oh, feisty! I like that in a woman!" He smirked before being quickly interrupted by her.

"Three, I am definitely not scared of you inbred men who prey on innocent souls and smell like ass. Now, I'm going to give you three...eh...you know what? I'm going to be gracious and give you four seconds to get your filthy hands off of me."

He lost his smirk, beginning to get irritated and angry with the woman, "Oh? And what are you going to do if I don't?"

"I will kill you," She wore a straight face, being serious with the man. She knew how it was in the lowest districts of the low, and if you hesitated for one minute you would be eaten alive, "I never have liked to take someone's life even if they are rotten to the core, but if I have to pick between you and me, it's you that's going to get the short end of the stick buddy."

"You're a cocky little bitch aren't you?" He grew furious with her and grabbed her hair to make her face him.

"One..." She growled as he began cursing at her and pulling her hair harder, "Two..."

"Shut up!" He threw her on to a table and put a hand around her neck. She cringed back, trying to get away from his grasp.

"...three..."

Hearing her choke out the number made him even more enraged. He grabbed a bottle and broke it before holding the nice sharp edges to her face, "It's about to be you who's dead!"

"Four..." She brought up her legs and kicked him away by his gut, forcing him to release her neck and go stumbling back wards. He quickly tried to strike back by swinging the bottle out towards her face, but she ducked and moved to his side catching him off guard.

His eyes grew wide and he let out a yelp as she drove the knife into his heart. She had to make the quick decision, and she shocked herself as well. It was an instinct, it was how she had to survive after all. She sighed and shook her head, "I told you I would kill you...I guess some men don't listen.."

The whole room turned and stared at the seen in shock. The man's comrades watched horrified as he fell to his knees and the woman who had killed him pulled out the bloody knife from his flesh.

"What? I did warn him..." She looked at the crowd and shrugged. She didn't show any signs of enjoying the kill, but she didn't show any remorse either. It was something she had grown numb to during her time moving to lower districts. The 76th district of the North Rukongai was where she was now, having to move from the 65th district to get away from...another one of her problems.

How long it had been since the 65th district was unknown to her, but it felt like forever with Renji no longer there.

She looked around at everyone staring at her, and she started to feel like she needed to hide...she wanted to hide. She backed up to the door as the plunderers faces went from shocked to furious, and in a matter of seconds they charged towards her chasing her out of the door. One of them caught her by the shoulder, but she quickly jabbed his hand with the knife and punched him in the face before continuing on into the woods.

Oh the trouble she attracted to herself...lady luck had never been on her side.

~Present~

Rora knew she couldn't run any longer, her bones were aching along with her muscles from the strain. She stopped and looked around frantically until she found a tree she could climb. She had gained a good distance, but they could catch up any second. She climbed the limbs with quick pace until she reached a limb high and discrete enough for her to hide.

She tried to calm her hard panting as she hunched into the corner between the trunk and the limb. She didn't want to be loud and get her cover blown, especially in the position she was in. She held the knife in front of her and looked around down below as the group began walking her way.

"Where the hell did she go?"

"She couldn't have gone too far, we were right on her tail back there!"

"Boss what do you think?"

A man with dark black hair styled as a short mohawk stepped up to the men and took off his shaded glasses, "What do I think? I think you should stop talking and just find her! Where's Doka and Teddy?"

"Behind ya!" A burly man answered with another man standing beside him, "Her trail ends here sir..."

With the Doka's words the men began looking around and spreading out. Some more men came into the forest as back up and the man named as Teddy began filling them in, "She took one of our men's life today...but do not kill her no matter how much you want to. We want her alive...she doesn't deserve to die yet."

Rora leaned her head against the tree's trunk and started praying to a higher being. There were too many, and she could never take on that many angry men at once. She watched them look and look, and a couple began to climb trees making her silently freak out. She couldn't move her spot, nor could she make a move for one of them.

She was stuck, and she knew it.

"This would be a great time for you to show up you stupid red head...I need you.."

Suddenly a man shouted from a different tree top and pointed towards her direction, making them all look at her

"Oh, am I going to have fun playing with you!" The man known as the boss grinned wildly as his men began to climb up the tree she was on, "Go catch our little birdy men!"

"Go to hell!" She growled at him, trying to hide her panic. She looked around for a way out, but she could see no escape. The men began grabbing for her feet and she just began to climb higher away from them. She was feeling helpless, a feeling she was sick of having.

Helplessness was all she felt, she wasn't strong enough, she could only think of how Renji would've handled the situation. No matter how scared or unarmed he was he would take them all on. He seemed so fearless, and she admired that about him. They continued to follow her until she could climb no further, and she could only try and kick them off.

"Leave me alone!" She began to yell, overwhelmed from the situation, "Get away! Fuck off and leave me alo-"

She stopped abruptly and she felt dizzy. She stumbled, but caught herself and leaned agains the tree trunk as she began to hear an echo.

"Be calm...you must stay calm..."

She heard the voice over the noise of the men grabbing at her, but she couldn't tell where it was coming from,

"Who...who are you?"

"My name is..."

"Your name is what?!"

She could hear the voice's frown in it's tone, "You didn't hear me? That's a shame...I said my name is..."

"Ugh! I'm not hearing it! Where are you?" She asked as a picture flashed in front of her eyes. It was only there for a split second, so she only made out a human shaped figure.

"I'm with you, you just don't know it yet...try to focus! I'm trying to help you, but I can't until you are ready to hear my name."

"You're making no sense!" She yelled out into the open as a man smirked and pulled her from the limb.

"Got you!" She kicked and punched the man holding onto her trying to break free. He finally had to let her go to stop her from hitting him, but it caused her to go plummeting through the air until she landed on the ground...hard

Her ears were ringing, and all she heard was a crack when she fell. Her eyesight was blurry and unfocused, but she could make out the men beginning to surround her, with one bending down towards her face.

"Looks like you're down for the count little lady! You took a nasty fall there!" He grinned and peered out of his shades at her. She only groaned and turned her head before she lost consciousness. He chuckled and stood up straight before ordering the men to pick her up carefully and bring her back to their camp.

"If she's lucky she won't wake up."

"But if we're lucky she will," Teddy smirked evilly at his boss, "Me and Doka call dibs...well, after you of course boss."


Renji sat at his desk doing his paper work. It had been a boring day and nothing happened, but he had this eery feeling. He couldn't quite pin point what it was, but he knew that it wasn't anything good.

"Renji," Byakuya shut the door behind him as he walked into Renji's office, startling the red head.

"Captain," Renji nodded and let out a breath.

"I gave you work to do, yet I find you staring off into space. Is something wrong, Renji?" He asked with the same expression he always had.

"I'm sorry Captain...there's just a lot on my mind."

"Is it about that woman?" Byakuya looked out the window before closing his eyes, "You were supposed to eliminate the threat Renji, not take in homeless women you find to be attractive."

"That's not it Captain!" He jumped up from his seat, but quickly calmed down and took a breath, "She isn't a threat, nor am I just wanting to take her in. The Soul Society can benefit from her being on our side! She has so much potential."

"Potential isn't always what makes a person fit to be in the Seireitei. She hasn't even been able to call out a zanpakuto correct?"

"Yes, but she just needs practice and some time," He sighed and looked at his captain, "Her reiatsu is so strong, she just doesn't know how to use her strength yet!"

"Then enroll her into the Academy, you did it when you lived in the Rukongai with Rukia correct?" The black haired man looked at him back, seeing his determined face.

"Then give me time Captain Kuchiki! I need to go back out there and find her!"

Byakuya kept a straight face and walked to the door. As he was about to walk out, he stopped and spoke, "It is up to you...what you do Renji...but if I come back here to find the work on your desk incomplete, I will make sure your rank drops by 20."

"Thank you sir!" Renji bowed until his captain had left, then quickly began the work on his desk.

His was determined to get back to her as soon as he could, but little did he know what trouble she had gotten herself into this time.

Just when they got close to seeing each other again, they were going to be pulled back apart. She wanted him to save her, and he wished the same thing, but could it happen? Rora's mind would go in circles until she would awake, but would she wake up? Did she want to?

The men holding her hostage would not stop until she was bloody on the floor and she knew that...but she had to fight back...she had to be strong...

"Be strong...the red headed Shinigami told you to..."


[A/N] Thanks for reading! I hope I did Byakuya okay...I feel like I see him too blah XD