Ichigo woke suddenly, struggling to draw a breath from underneath the pillow that was pressed to his face. He grappled, for a moment, with the hands on the other side of the pillow before they disappeared and the pressure on his nose and mouth was relieved. He sat up, gasping for breath, and noticed that Rukia was sitting cross-legged at the end of his bed, smiling sweetly at him.

"What the hell, Rukia," Ichigo raged, "I could have suffocated!"

"Oh, good morning, Ichigo! Did you sleep well? Because, if so, we have some important things to discuss…" Rukia chimed cheerfully, "Like the sudden appearance of that siren with the outrageous reiatsu!"

"Rukia, didn't you already call headquarters," Ichigo grumbled, rolling his eyes. "They told us to wait while they did some investigating, right?"

"…"

"Then, let's just do exactly that," Ichigo yelled once more. Really… it was far too early to have to deal with Rukia and her crazy preoccupations.

"But, it's strange, Ichigo," Rukia began, "When was the last time we got to sleep through the entire night?"

"Ummmm…"

"Exactly," Rukia continued without waiting for a real answer. "Nothing! Not a single alert last night, but this morning…" Rukia held up her phone for Ichigo to see. On the screen was a text message indicating that there had been numerous hollow killed and 'cleansed' during the night.

"I don't know wha…" Ichigo began, scratching his head.

"Don't you understand?! We didn't get a single alert or fight a single hollow… And yet, this morning, Seireitei has confirmation of numerous hollow found destroyed within our perimeter," Rukia concluded, watching for Ichigo's reaction.

"Rukia," Ichigo began in an exasperated tone, "I think you may be overreacting." Ichigo paused for a moment, waiting for the vein bulging in Rukia's forehead to subside. When she didn't lash out at him, he took it as a sign that it was safe to continue. "There are plenty of explanations for why we weren't called on last night… for starters, maybe that afro-headed freak is finally pulling his weight around here," Ichigo said in a huff.

"Not likely, Ichigo," Rukia replied, with a small smile. Ichigo smiled, too, glad that Rukia might finally relent and stop pestering him about Niniana. Niniana… how had he remembered that name after only one encounter? Ichigo wasn't sure, but he did know that that name, and it's owner, had drifted in and out of his dreams all night. But, Ichigo's musings were cut short at that moment by a large, fluffy slipper colliding with his temple. "And don't think I've given up on that harpy yet," Rukia was yelling again.

"Huh?" was Ichigo's only response. Shit… he thought as rolled out of bed and sprang out the door to avoid the sudden barrage of small items that were thrown at him from around the room… Rukia did not appreciate being ignored…

*****

Niniana knew she was exceedingly early for the school day, but she wasn't taking any chances. She wasn't sure when Ichigo would arrive at school, so she had shown up extra early to be sure that she was there as soon as he appeared.

Niniana had wanted to spend the evening investigating, or rather watching, the intriguing boy. Instead, she had spent the entire night chasing after and eradicating numerous hollow. What little time she had spent watching the boy, was done between hollow and from rooftops outside his window. She chuckled and smiled softly to herself as she slowly shook her head. She honestly couldn't understand her fascination with the boy… So he had an abnormally large amount of reiatsu… There was just something more about this one, and Niniana was determined to discover what that 'something' was.

The past few hours had been surprisingly quiet and hollow-free, and Niniana was more than willing to revel in these few, transient moments of peace. She knew that this brief reprieve was anything but luck; indeed, she could feel another radiant source of reiatsu hard at work. And, although this source rivaled Ichigo's own, Niniana could tell that another party was inviting her to come and investigate. Later… For now, Niniana was content to rest and wait for Ichigo.

*****

Ichigo continued to ignore Rukia as they walked to school that morning. He was still nursing his head, and his pride, in the aftermath of Rukia's outburst earlier that morning. He had known she had quite the arm, so his first instinct had been to run out of the house and down the street, where he had thought himself to be out of her range. As it turned out, Rukia was an incredibly accurate shot, even over long distances. From his window on the second floor, she had launched a single running shoe at Ichigo, who was unable to duck in time to avoid the foot-apparel-turned-rocket that collided, with amazing force, with his forehead.

As for Rukia, she was still gloating. At least she's stopped pestering me, for now.

He realized, however, that his reprieve was destined to be short-lived. Turning the corner of the wall surrounding the main school building, they were immediately met with a strange sight.

The entire student body had congregated in front of the school's entrance. They were standing idly by in small groups, whispering conspiratorially to one another. Every few moments, someone would branch off from one group to scurry to another. The source of their excitement seemed to centered around something in the small picnic area in front of the school.

Ichigo and Rukia joined the fray, pushing and elbowing their way through the crowd to search for Sado or Orihime or Ishida - any familiar face. Somehow, they found their way to the center of the jostling crowd and, somehow, Ichigo managed to glimpse the center of attention over the heads of the last few people in front of him.

Lounging in the grass, she didn't seem to notice the uproar she'd caused with her presence alone. Excited whispers drifted through the crowd. Those who had not seen her the day before, jostled frantically to catch even a glimpse of Karakura High's newest student. Ichigo could barely make her out through the students and picnic tables and bikes, but there was no doubt in his mind who the cause of this pandemonium was.

Tired of waiting and being shoved, Ichigo pushed through the last rows of people ahead of him and broke into the empty space between her and the crowd. It seemed as if he'd passed some invisible barrier because, as soon as he broke ranks, a tantalizing hush fell over the throbbing mob in a wave. She still had not noticed, it seemed, because she made no indication that she was aware of the shift in the mood or the sudden tension in the air.

Ichigo could see her fully, now. She was laying face-up in the grass, her feet crossed daintily at the ankles. Long legs were once again encased in dark blue-jeans and traveled for miles before meeting with her hip. The rest of her could not be seen, save the wide pool of silver that was her hair stretched out across the ground, because of something white she held to her chest.

*****

She was entirely unaware of her audience; the furry bundle in her arms wriggled tirelessly as she scratched between pointed ears. The creature's obvious contentment, made clear in the form of loud purring, was music to her ears.

Astareal had shown up quite unexpectedly… One moment she was observing the clouds as they flit across the sky, threading tufts of grass through her fingers, and watching the morning light filter down through the tree's last leaves; her thoughts preoccupied with a certain orange-haired student… then, a coy mewl alerted her to the presence of another so close to her own person that the small creature was able to lean forward and nuzzle its tiny, pink nose against her forearm.

She's leapt up in pleasant surprise and gathered the furry bundle into her arms. Cooing sweet and tender nothings to her tiny companion, she didn't at all notice the slow trickle of students that had begun to arrive and were pausing to stare curiously at her. She spun wildly with the bundle held tightly against her chest before plopping to the ground in a crumpled heap. Students gasped worriedly until she moved again, rolling around and yelping. She sat up with the tiny being clinging to her finger by its minuscule, razor-sharp, needle-like teeth.

She rattled it gently, but the fur ball held on tight. More highly-amused than pained or irritated, Niniana couldn't help but laugh raucously at the creature's ridiculous antics. She hugged her hand, little menace still attached, close to her body and chuckled light-heartedly.

More student were stopping to stare dazedly at the strange, affectionate display, now, but Niniana couldn't bring herself to care enough to stop. Once they realized where she was, they would stare regardless of how average she appeared… she might as well rejoice in her friend's sudden appearance. And so, she continued to loll and sprawl in the grass, both girl and critter content to ignore the pestering crowd that formed.

Back in the moment, she laughed, suddenly and joyously, as the tiny bundle lost itself in its satisfaction and slumped drunkenly to the side. She righted it with a prod and continued with her gentle ministrations. Until…

"Ichigo!"

Her mind snapped to attention and she rose gracefully into a sitting position, moving with the fluidity of running water. She didn't even have to search the crowd in front of her for her quarry. His flaming hair and flagrant reiatsu caught her attention immediately. A sudden swoop of elation caught her by surprise and caused her breathing to hitch and her heart to pound. Tingling with joy and excitement, a slow smile appeared on her face.

*****

Her fingers moved aimlessly over the tiny bundle she held and Ichigo was immediately reminded of their similar movement over her desk the prior day… Shaking his head, he tried to force the startlingly clear images from his mind. Instead, he tried to focus on the sudden silence all around him. It seemed that the crowd had taken to watching him instead, anxious to see what he would do, now that he had broached the invisible wall between the restless crowd and the object of their sudden obsession.

He stirred nervously; he wanted to go to her - to interact on any level with her, as they had the day before - but not with the entire school watching. He hovered enigmatically between her and them for long moments, shifting awkwardly from foot-to-foot.

But, then something caught his attention. A tinkling. A soft exclamation. A gentle chuckle. Not much more than a drawn-out sigh. His head turned to face her, but she was still preoccupied with the lump on her chest, poking at it with the sweetest look of mirth on her face. His heart skipped a beat and he couldn't stop his feet from twitching forward of their own accord.

"Ichigo!"

The cry caught him off guard and he nearly fell to the ground from shock as the blood drained from his face. Orihime was waving at him frantically from across the yard. She sat atop Chad's shoulders, for height, and was trying desperately to catch Ichigo's attention. He waved half-heartedly in her direction before turning back to the place she had been.

Blue. Blue locked onto amber and stared with an intensity that refused to let him go.

Warmth blossomed in his chest, suddenly. Tendrils of hot, tingling sensation spread throughout his entire body, working their way through his veins to reach every part of him, from the top of his head to the tips of his toes.

Something had changed in the crowd behind him; there was a new commotion and the horde of students was moving, en masse. But Ichigo couldn't bring himself to care… not with those eyes on him. Something had changed in her, as well, but Ichigo couldn't quite place it… Then, there was a harsh voice in his ear, jarring him from his reverie. A teacher, perhaps one he'd had before, was yelling for him to "quit daydreaming" and "get to class". Ichigo shook his head, dazedly, and mumbled a hasty and half-hearted apology as the man stormed away.

Turning back to the picnic area, Ichigo was stunned to find her already striding away, a small smile playing at the corners of her mouth. A smile! That was what had changed! She had been smiling when they locked gazes; and, this time, hers had not been one of mischief or cunning, but a truly radiant and joyous smile. The thought caused Ichigo's heart to flutter wildly as he turned and made his way to the front steps, somehow unable to catch up to her before she disappeared down some random, deserted hallway.

*****