A/N: Sorry for the delay. Here is chapter two. I'm happy to see the first chapter get received fairly well. Let's hope everyone likes this one too.

Disclaimer: Oh no, my ferbroom just exploded! And yet I still don't own Bleach…

Tatsuki hated it. She hated the monster that was chasing her. She hated the way it looked, the way its presence felt, everything about it. The thing she hated most about it was what it represented. Monsters like it were the reason Orihime was leaving her behind.

It was becoming difficult to keep up. Tatsuki was at her limit, and Chizuru, who was running along side her, was well past hers. Tatsuki knew fighting was hopeless. The only chance she had of surviving this was getting away from the monster.

Unfortunately, it seemed the two of them were not fated to make their escape. Tatsuki heard a scream and turned to see that Chizuru had been snatched up by the evil beast. Her body was suspended in the air by the creature's gigantic tail. She screamed as it wrapped tightly around her body.

Tatsuki scowled as she let the monster's grotesque appearance set in. It was very large but had very short legs. There were six of these legs and two very large crab-like claws. Its body was very bulky, covered with layers of plate like skin. Its face was a pale white and was still and expressionless, as if it was a mask.

"W-what's… h-happening…?" Chizuru struggled to breathe out. Her body fighting to shake as it was constricted. Tatsuki could see the life draining from her.

"Let go of her!" Tatsuki shouted desperately as she ran toward the beast and pounded her fist into its hard shell. She screamed out as an intense pain shook through her hand.

"Go away! Leave us alone!" Tatsuki continued to shout and also continued to punch the armored beast. Soon her hand was covered in her own blood. The fire in her eyes burned uncontrollably despite her physical agony.

"Leave her alone!" Tatsuki delivered another blow to the monster; this one harder than all the rest .The pain she felt was indescribable but she didn't care. The intensity of what she felt in her heart far exceeded the intensity of her pain. Chizuru wasn't the "her" she was speaking of at the moment.

"My, my, what an annoying, stupid human. It amazes me that such a lowly being would be capable of seeing me in the first place." The masked beast said as if its patience was being tested. It began to flail Chizuru about viciously in the air.

"What the fuck are you?! Why do you keep messing everything up?!" Tatsuki bitterly exclaimed as she continued to slam her fist into the beast; she was crying from her pain but didn't seem in the least bit afraid.

"Such weak creatures are beneath me. I honestly see no reason to explain anything to what amounts to little more than a light snack." The monster said as if far superior to its victims. Chizuru continued to scream as the monster crushed her in its tail. Swiftly the monster had raised one of its claws and brought it to the level of Tatsuki's neck.

"T-Tatsuki… look… out!" Chizuru shouted as the beast prepare to clamp down. Hearing the call, Tatsuki, though the creature was faster than her, somehow managed to pull off a timely duck and roll, escaping the monster's clutches with her head still attached.

"Chizuru! You can see it now?!" Tatsuki called out to the other, surprised but grateful.

Chizuru looked down at the strange beast under her and shrieked really loudly. Tatsuki took this as a good answer to her question.

"Ha, it doesn't matter if you can see me. It doesn't mater if all the useless humans of this world can see us. None of your kind can do anything to stop us!" The creature laughed cruelly; its tail grinding further into Chizuru's skin.

Tatsuki didn't like listening to the evil creature but its words made her think. Didn't Orihime and the others fight these things? If that was so, then were they no longer human? Had Orihime given up being a normal human? Tatsuki didn't understand any of it. She didn't like not understanding. She hated it. She hated this monster. She wanted it to die.

The first time Tatsuki had encountered one of these monsters, Ichigo had shown up to protect her and Orihime. The other two times it had been Orihime herself who had shielded her. No one was shielding her now; no one was coming to destroy the beast. Chizuru was pale and looked about dead. She was exhausted and in intense agony herself, knowing full well she would not be able to manage a miracle dodge the next time the monster chose to attack.

Then, rather suddenly, the monster did die. It was cut clean in half by a flash of light and seemed to evaporate. Tatsuki rushed forward to catch Chizuru in her arms as the remains of the monster disappeared around her.

Chizuru gave some hard, bloody coughs as she looked up at Tatsuki. Her school uniform had been effectively shredded by the monster and what remained of it was coated in blood from some gashes left to her stomach. She still smiled as she stared up at the other though, saying in struggled breath from Tatsuki's arms, "Pinning me to the ground and then holding me like this… I'm definitely seeing a different side of you today... Tatsuki…"

"You moron… Don't talk…." Tatsuki said harshly as she leaned Chizuru up against a nearby wall. She stood and looked around, quickly trying to catch sight of their "savior".

Tatsuki had expected to see Ichigo. She had hoped to see Orihime. She had considered the possibility that it might be one of her other classmates, Chad, Ishida, or Rukia. What she saw instead, the man who had come to her aid, was a complete stranger. He wore the same sort of black robe Tatsuki had come to associate with Ichigo but he, a peculiar, effeminate man, was not someone Tatsuki had ever met before. She ran toward him with the same rage she had shown the monster in her eyes.

"Who are you?! What have you done with her?!" Tatsuki shouted as she grabbed the pretty boy by his turtle-neck collar. She clenched her blood-soaked fist inches from his face.

"Ah! What's going on?! I'm not a bad guy…" The strange man said, seeming to be genuinely intimidated.

"Where is Orihime?!" Tatsuki shouted ruthlessly as she continued staring the man down.

"O-Orihime…? Oh… that explains why you can see me… You're Orihime's friend…" The man, despite having the power to effortlessly slay the beast Tatsuki couldn't even scratch was shaking from the raw intensity in the other's voice.

"Just shut up and tell me!" Tatsuki yelled viciously as she pushed the feminine man to a wall. "What the fuck was that thing?! Who are you and Ichigo and Rukia?! What are you all doing with Orihime?!"

"W-we're not really… supposed to give that information to humans…" The man said meekly. Tatsuki looked prepared to punch him but figured actually attacking him might cause him to show his true strength and overpower her.

"What's Orihime then?! Why does she get to know everything while the rest of us get nothing but secrets and lies?!" Tatsuki spat at the man; her anger was really quite impressive, even to herself.

The man's mouth was about to open to say something when a woman's voice came from behind Tatsuki. "Getting beat up by a girl now, are we Yumichika?"

The man freed himself from Tatsuki grip to speak to the woman with a play at helplessness, "I suppose so, Rangiku… You'll protect me, won't you…?" He laughed as he walked toward this other.

Tatsuki turned to look at the woman. She was undeniably beautiful, with a perfect, model-like figure, long, gorgeous strawberry-blonde hair, and an exceptionally large bust. Unfortunately, she was also wearing a black robe, something that immediately made her a target of Tatsuki's scorn.

"Oh my god! Wow, I've never seen a girl so beautiful before!" Apparently Chizuru didn't view the woman with scorn but rather lust, for upon first sight, the terribly injured redhead sprung to her feet with life and swiftly approached the stunning blonde. "What's your name, sexy? Do you have a lover? And if not would I be acceptable?"

The strawberry-blonde laughed at the young girl. She seemed deeply flattered, she purred, "It's Rangiku Matsumoto, but 'sexy' is perfectly fine. I don't have a lover… and I don't know… I'm pretty open about trying new things…"

"Wow! Really?! What I wouldn't give to cares your fine silky hair, lovingly massage your beautiful breasts, and make heated love to every inch of your sexy, sexy body, Rangiku…" Chizuru sighed longingly as she encroached upon the other woman even further .Rangiku blushed and continued to laugh.

"Stop that, Chizuru!" Tatsuki shouted, blushing as well at her friend's behavior. She was now gazing at Rangiku as Chizuru was but it wasn't with lust in her eyes. She repeated her earlier question to the man to this woman, "Where is Orihime?"

"O-Orihime…? Oh so you two are Orihime's friends? That's awesome! Me and her are friends too!" Rangiku said, excitedly shaking Tatsuki's hand.

"What have you done with her?!" Tatsuki shouted, making it perfectly clear she had no intention of becoming friends with this woman.

Rangiku shook her head a little. She spoke with just enough force, not becoming intimidated, "We haven't done anything to her. Orihime's become determined to train and become stronger on her own. That's why she left with Rukia to—"

"Rangiku! Is it really best to tell humans details about us?! I'm not sure Captain Hitsugaya would approve of it." The effeminate man, Yumichika, cut his comrade off.

"Tch! They're Orihime's friends. It probably hurts them a lot not knowing what's happening to Orihime. Besides, they can see us in our spirit forms so that means they're going to find out about it all eventually. I don't see any harm in telling them the basics at least…" Rangiku said reasonably, smiling at the two young girls.

"Maybe so, but don't you think telling them should be left to Orihime? It's not right for us to just interfere in their lives like this. We could just tell Orihime to speak with them when she returns from Soul Society." Yumichika argued.

Rangiku sighed, "I suppose you're right. It'll mean a lot more if Orihime tells the two of you herself then it would hearing it from the two of us. I'll make sure to let her know her friends miss her and want to hear from her."

Tatsuki was about to yell back at the woman about how that wasn't good enough, about how she demanded to know right now. Instead Chizuru spoke politely, "Thank you very much, sexy! I'd be so happy to actually hear the truth from my adorable little Hime."

"Good… I'm sorry there's nothing else we can do." Rangiku said apologetically, "If you want, we can call for someone to treat your injuries."

"No thank you. We'll handle that ourselves." Tatsuki replied curtly, dismissively, as if she wanted the black cloaked figures to leave.

"Alright. I suppose we'll be off then. Ikkaku and the Captain are probably waiting for us by now anyways. " Rangiku said, frowning at the spiky-haired girl's attitude. She turned and left along with Yumichika.

"Bye sexy!" Chizuru called out with a wave as Rangiku disappeared instantly.

"You okay?" Tatsuki asked in a growl as she examined her friend's condition. She was standing fine and seemed cheerful but Chizuru was still bleeding from the wounds to her stomach. Her uniform was very badly torn, allowing her pink cotton bra and panties to be visible to the world. Tatsuki noticed she didn't have too bad a figure really.

"I'm a little weak. I wouldn't have minded waiting for their help." Chizuru sighed lightly as she looked at her own wounds.

"You looked fine." Tatsuki insisted, "And how you kept hitting on that woman was getting annoying."

"I'm sorry. I'll try not to make you jealous again." Chizuru laughed.

"Excuse me? I think that monster must have squeezed all the blood to your brain if you honestly believe you interest me." Tatsuki gave her own short laugh.

"I was talking about Hime. You felt jealous for her. You only want me to hit on Hime, right?"

"What are you talking about? Of course I don't want you to hit on Orihime. I want freaks like you to stay as far the hell away from Orihime as possible!" Tatsuki fought back. In an odd way, she knew Chizuru was right. Chizuru's advances on Orihime had become customary. It felt awkward watching Chizuru go after anyone else.

"Really?" Chizuru said in doubt. She smiled as she said while skipping a bit, "Anyway, we should still probably get treated somewhere. Karakura Hospital isn't too far from here."

"No. We'll just manage on our own." Tatsuki insisted angrily. Uryu Ishida's father was director of that hospital, and Uryu was involved. She didn't want to rely on the help of any of them.

"You sure. Your hand looks pretty banged up. It might be broken." Chizuru persisted, staring at Tatsuki's still bloodied fist. "We could always go to the Kurosaki Clinic instead."

"Hell no!" Tatsuki responded angrily to the suggestion. The idea of crawling to Ichigo's home for help was actually offensive to her. She repeated, "We'll mange on our own."

"Alright then." Chizuru yielded with a nervous laugh. "But I'm not sure I can make it back to my place all bloody and half naked."

"My place is close to where we are now. We can go there first." Tatsuki suggested as she surveyed her surroundings. The path the monster had chased the two of them down had lead her pretty close to her home.

"Alright. Let's go." Chizuru nodded.

The two remained silent for the short distance back to Tatsuki's home. Entering the place Tatsuki had to quickly explain to her parents how her and Chizuru had gotten into a fight with some thugs and needed to rest a bit. They seemed far more concerned over Chizuru's stomach gashes and lack of clothing than their daughters injured hand. Tatsuki could easily decipher what her parents inferred had happened, that she had bloodied her fist stopping attackers from assaulting Chizuru. She felt she didn't deserve the looks of pride her parents gave her.

After their wounds were cleaned and wrapped, Tatsuki lead Chizuru to her room to retrieve an outfit to borrow. Chizuru looked around with great interest at the sparse, somewhat untidy living area.

"Heh, not every day I get invited into another girl's bedroom." Chizuru said casually as she bent to examine Tatsuki's trophy case.

Tatsuki ignored the comment. Instead she merely said, "Here let me get your clothes."

"Sure." Chizuru said as Tatsuki walked over to her closet. Chizuru continued to look around.

Tatsuki next turned around holing an old outfit she didn't care about. She sought out her friend, who now hovered over her desk, examining something new.

"What... are you looking at… now?" Tatsuki asked as she approached the other from behind.

"You have an even better collection of cute Hime pics than I do…" Chizuru said in awe as she salivated over an assortment of photographs Tatsuki had taken over the years.

"Hey! Don't touch those!" Tatsuki shouted as she tried to snatch the pictures from Chizuru's hands. It was easy for Chizuru to bat away Tatsuki's one good hand.

"Aww… look at this one… Hime looks so cute in her junior high uniform…" Chizuru swooned as she gazed at a really old picture of Orihime.

"That was taken right after we met. It was one of the first pictures I took of her…" Tatsuki said nostalgically, smiling as she looked at the younger incarnation of her best friend.

"Oh how cute… what a strange outfit…" Chizuru said as she looked at a picture of Orihime wearing a pirate costume.

"Yeah I remember that one…" Tatsuki gave a reflective laugh.

"These are all cute too…" Chizuru seemed impressed. "It's kinda odd every single picture just has Hime in it though…"

"Someone has to take the pictures…" Tatsuki explained with a blush, remembering that some pictures of herself were probably lying around somewhere nearby as well..

"Oh, isn't this one the cutest…" Chizuru said as she examined a picture of Orihime licking a decadent looking triple scoop of ice cream.

"Yeah…" Tatsuki laughed, remembering how just after that Orihime had dropped her ice cream.

Chizuru examined the next photo in the stack and her eyes went wide. In this picture, Orihime was relaxing under an umbrella on the beach, wearing a clingy one-piece swimsuit. She spoke in an oddly subtle way, "Aww, isn't Hime the sexiest girl ever…"

"Yeah…" Tatsuki agreed just audibly, her mind already lost on her impure thoughts of the long-ago day at the beach.

"Ha! Caught you!" Chizuru said, slapping Tatsuki on the back.

"What the hell!" Tatsuki looked at the girl, unsure of what was happening.

"Most girls don't fawn over how sexy their best friends are like that…" Chizuru said with a smirk.

Tatsuki gasped. Had she actually let that slip? She tried to defend herself, "It isn't like that! I don't have to be interested in women to realize Orihime is a very attractive girl."

"True. But I don't buy it. I've suspected it for awhile, but now I'm certain of it. Me and you are kindred spirits." Chizuru said slyly.

"That's not..." Tatsuki couldn't think of what to say. It was true. She was like Chizuru. They were the same. What point was there in continuing to lie.

"I always knew there was only one reason for a girl like you to go so far to befriend and protect a girl like her." Chizuru smiled deviously.

"So what if I like her?! Does it even matter?!" Tatsuki blushed furiously and spoke with her eyes averted. It was the first time she had eve admitted it aloud, much less to someone else.

"Yes it matters. Now I know that every beating I take is territorial in nature. It makes me respect you more."

"There's no need to respect me. All I've ever done is lied to everyone: to you, to Orihime, and to myself." Tatsuki spoke harshly.

"I don't think your strategy was any worse than mine. Trying to remain innocent and keeping it all inside while letting yourself get as close to her as possible, that has to beat just throwing everything out there blindly like an idiot." Chizuru took a deep sigh.

"I've been hiding from my true feelings forever. I was scared of them and thought they were disgusting. You at least did something about how you felt. All I ever did was just get in your way." Tatsuki said, ashamed of herself.

"You got in my way because you had to, Tatsuki. You had to protect what mattered to you even if you were afraid of it." Chizuru said in a somber fashion.

"Whatever you say, Chizuru. I just don't see how any of that matters now..." Tatsuki's voice sounded dark.

"She'll come back. She'll explain everything. We'll see that all of this, it's really nothing." Chizuru said with a faint smile. Tatsuki had to wonder if she truly even believed the words she was saying.

"But what if instead she tells us she belongs with them now. That we're useless to her now. That she's outgrown us..." the grimness of the black-haired girl's voice made Chizuru's face pale.

"No matter what happens, as I see it we just have to make the best of it." Chizuru cocked a shy smile.

"How exactly do we do that when there are giant monsters popping up all over." Tatsuki laughed bitterly.

"I don't know... All I know is to start... I'm giving up on Hime..." Chizuru's voice was slow and sad.

"What?! Why?! You like her don't you?! Why would you just give up?! Didn't you say none of the other girls really interested you?!" Tatsuki shouted softly completely unsure of why she was angry.

"It's true that I've always liked Hime, but I don't know if it was ever anything more than something sexual. What you and her have is much deeper. If she comes back to us I don't want to get in the way." Chizuru almost whispered.

"I don't think she's coming back, and if she does it won't be for me."

"If that's what you're convinced of why don't you see about finding a new girlfriend as well?"

"I've never... thought about anyone but Orihime before..." Tatsuki spoke gently.

"That's sweet. Hime sure doesn't know what she's passing up. If a girl was as devoted to me as you are her, I know for sure I wouldn't be hiding any secrets from her..." Chizuru said with a smirk as she finally took the outfit from Tatsuki's hands.

"You're really an odd girl, even when you take away the perversion... 'Tatsuki sighed as she stared down at the stack of photos Chizuru had replaced on the desk.

"You don't have anything cuter than this, do you?" Chizuru asked as she examined the clothing Tatsuki had retrieved for her, a simple T-shirt and some old sweat pants.

"Why's it matter? It's just something for you to wear until you get back home!" Tatsuki spoke, annoyance on her lips.

"You're right." Chizuru gave a short laugh. Tatsuki averted her eyes as the other girl stripped off her shredded clothing and pulled on the shirt and pants. Once dressed Chizuru began walking toward the door; she flashed something before Tatsuki's eyes as she asked with a smirk, "You don't mind if I keep a few of these, just as keepsakes?"

Tatsuki noticed then that the bespectacled girl was holding a few of the photos from her desk. A few sexy ones of Orihime on the beach, a few of her when she was younger, a few just of her smiling. One picture however, wasn't of Oirhime at all. Tatsuki blushed as she recognized it.

"Why are you taking that?!" Tatsuki exclaimed her jaw open. In Chizuru's hand was a photograph of not Orihime but Tatsuki, taken from the same beach excursion that had provided all the great Orihime shots. Tatsuki was wearing a fairly revealing two-piece swimsuit.

"You're joking... I'd have to be crazy to pass up a picture this hot." Chizuru laughed as she gazed at the image. Tatsuki looked at her, stunned and confused as to why she hadn't discarded all the pictures of herself long ago.

"Take whatever you want. I don't care..." Tatsuki growled through her continuing blush, glaring at the redhead.

"Cool." Chizuru smiled as she continued toward the door, photos in hand.. " See ya at school Tatsuki!" she said as she opened the door to leave.

"Yeah see ya." Tatsuki said as the other left She wasted little time before lying back on her bed. It was still fairly early but she was exhausted and her hand still hurt like hell. She felt sleep approaching to bring an end to what had been a bizarre day.

A/N: Sorry again for the delay. I had final exams this week so fanfiction unfortunately couldn't be my top priority. Schools done now though, so I should be able to manage regular updates (though as my free-time is now unstructured, I could potentially get distracted). Anyways, second chapter turned out fairly nice I thought. You know I was this close to having Tatsuki yell in Hitsugaya's face instead of Yumichika's. I decided it would be completely out of character for Hitsugaya to become intimidated even if it does mean I had to pass up a chance to have someone yell at him. I hope the "fight" with the hollow was intense and I hope my angst ridden portrayal of Tatsuki is tolerable and I hope serious Chizuru isn't too OOC and I hope you enjoyed the chapter. You can see Chizuru's interests beginning to change a little even though it's Tatsuki POV (I fought with myself over whether to keep it Tatsuki all the way or do the alternating thing, I decided to keep Tatsuki and just have it be Chizuru POV when I inevitably end up doing the third leg of the triangle, Chizuru X Orihime). Wonder where it will all lead. Anyways, reviews are most appreciated.

My poll asking who the favorite Bleach girls were got a bit of extra time due to my delay. 33 of you got votes in. Results were pretty predictable. Yoruichi was at the top with 16/33 votes that's almost half. Rangiku (15 votes) managed to squeeze Soi Fon (14 votes) for the number two spot. Rukia and little Yachiru followed up tying for fourth with 12. Nemu, Hime, Tatsuki, Retsu, Kukaku, Karin and Nanao all had decent showings as well. Most minor characters didn't do so well but oddly enough everyone got at least one vote.

For the new poll, I'm asking about where I could potentially branch out to. Specifically I'm asking if any interest lies in other fandoms I am familiar with (these are only the fandoms I really know well and would actually be interested in maybe writing something for; I'm familiar with lots more series). I realize it's going to be a big no for most of these categories as most aren't completely mainstream but I'm a little curious. There's one option that I'm expecting to actually do fairly well (which is consequently the reason I'm doing this poll in the first place...). Most likely I"m going to stick with Bleach regardless of the results. Review this chapter. It wants you to review it.