I hopped of the last steps of the stairs onto the ground. I made my way along with the rest of the passengers to the inside of the airport.

A smile was on my face as I stepped more determined.

I had my cell phone in my hand and turned it on. I was busy looking around to find Hina. She told me she would be holding a sign with my name on it while jumping up and down.

"DULCE!" I heard a female voice call out to me. I turned around and saw her.

She was their, wearing black capris and a white shirt. Her hair in its usual pony tail. Her eyes gleaming with tears.

"HINA!" I yelled as I ran towards her. We collided in a hug and she screamed. We were laughing and I instantly felt connected to her. I was so happy I could finally talk to her in person.

She let go of me put kept her hands on my shoulders.

"Let me have a look at you, Dulce-chan!" she said in English.

I chuckled. "I haven't changed that much since that last picture I sent you, Hina." I said in Japanese.

Her eyes widened. "YOUR ACCENT IS PERFECT!" she screamed at me in Japanese.

I could only grin.

"Arigato"

She grinned with pride. She jumped next to me and held my hand, tugging me to my left.

"Come on, Dulce. My uncle is waiting for us by the luggage pick up."

"Okay. Lead the way."

Even before we arrived at the luggage pick up, I could see her uncle.

He was taller than most people. He had a big smile on his face, waving eagerly at us.

"Ah, Hina-chan! You never told me your friend was so pretty!" he said.

Hina put her hands on her hips and glared at her uncle. "UNCLE! DON'T HIT ON MY FRIEND! THAT'S SO WEIRD!"

I couldn't help but laugh. "Arigato, Kurosaki-san."

"Aw! And she's polite too." I smiled as I looked for my bags. I brought 6 bags with me. I looked for red roll on bags.

"Are those your bags, Dulce?" Hina asked me, pointing at my bags.

I gawked at her. "How the hell did you know!"

She half smirked. "I remembered your favorite color was red."

Hina's uncle got them all out of the rotating stage.

He got two of them and handed us the rest.

"We better get going, it'll be a long ride back home." he said as he began to lead us out.

Hina was jumping with happiness.

"Oh, Dulce, I can't wait till we get home. I'm going to show you all my things and then we get to stay up all night and talk and catch up. And the best part is you'll go to school with me!" she beamed.

"I can't wait. Although the school part is kinda scary."

We stopped next to a dark blue car. Isshin opened the trunk and put the bags in.

"Don't you worry about school, Dulce-chan! You'll have Hina and my son, Ichigo, there with you! Plus, all their cute little friends!"

I tried not to laugh since I thought it would look disrespectful but I couldn't help it. He was just so full of energy.

"Arigato, Kurosaki-san! I feel better now."

He just smiled.

I and Hina seated ourselves in the backseat.

"So, how did Jason and Maria feel about you coming here?" Hina asked me. Her hazel eyes intent on me.

"They were both really happy for the opportunity I got. They knew I shouldn't pass it."

She smiled. "They sound so nice! I really wish I could meet them!"

I laughed. "They feel the same way. Jason said he wishes he could meet you so he could flirt with you. You know he kept the picture you sent me from when you went to the park?"

"What? Why?"

"'Cause he said you looked "effin hot."

"He sounds so weird"

"He is, but he's mostly normal. Except when he meets a girl he likes."

This was how the rest of the ride went. We filled each other in on what had been going on with us.

We stopped for a bit to grab a bite to eat and then headed off again.

As we entered Karakura Town, Hina and Isshin pointed out all the popular places there was.

They pointed at the river that ran throw the town. They pointed at my new high school.

They pointed at other peoples' houses. It seems like I got things mixed up. Orihime and Tatsuki were all going to be a grade up from us since they were older by a year.

"Dulce, now that you're here, I don't have to be alone in all my classes!"

"Yeah. It's cool that we ended up having the same classes."

"I know, right! It's super weird, too. It's as if someone arranged it all so me and you could have the same classes."

I laughed awkwardly. "Yeah, weird."

Mr. Kurosaki brought us out of our conversation. "Oh, Hina and Dulce-chaaaaaaaan! We're at your home!"

I turned to look out the window and saw my new home.

It was nice and cozy looking. With crème colored walls and a red roof. It looked to have two stories. There was a small front yard and from the side there was a door and a fence, I'm guessing they led to the back yard.

Hina squealed next to my ear making me jump. She sure was energetic. "Do you like it, Dulce?"

I choked up a bit. I looked at Mr. Kurosaki and Hina. They were both beaming at me.

I couldn't help but beam back.

"Hell yeah!"

They both laughed as we all got out of the car.

"Girls," Mr. Kurosaki started as he lifted my bags off the trunk, "I hope you come to dinner tomorrow. It'll be a sort of welcome to Dulce, to make her feel more at home."

"Sure, Uncle! We'll be there! Thank you again for taking me to the airport to pick up Dulce."

"Yes, thank you Kurosaki-san."

We waved goodbye as Mr. Kurosaki drove away. Hina ushered me in the house. Inside was even better.

It was just my style, modern and cozy. There was a TV; there was a huge couch and a love seat in the medium sized living room. The kitchen was connected with the living room and it gave off a clean, metallic glow. I saw the stairs leading to the upstairs on my right.

Hina and I proceeded to take off our shoes and put slippers on.

She turned to me. Her hazel eyes connected with mine and she hugged me again. "Dulce, I am really glad you're here." She whispered at me.

I was taken back. She was so open. She let go right when I was about to squeeze back.

She grinned. "Okay! Let's get you settled! Come on, Help me carry your bags, they're heavy!" she said as she tried to move three bags at once.

"Uh, Hina, maybe we should take two at a time."

"Nonsense! I can carry these! I know I can!"

I sighed as I walked past her up the stairs. I looked both ways and to my right was Hina's room.

How did I know?

I saw it on Google.

No, just kidding. She wrote to me once that she painted her door room a light purple to match her room.

I went left and stopped at a dark brown door. I opened it slowly and was met with hospital white walls. The room was medium sized. There was a bed, a dresser with a mirror and a night stand next to my bed. The bed was bare with only a thin cover on top. It sat horizontally in the room

I could tell it hadn't been used in a while.

There was a window on the right side of my bed with light blue curtains. I was interrupted when Hina stumbled into the room. She somehow succeeded in carrying all three bags in. although, I think she may have done permanent damage to her back.

She wiped the invisible sweat from her forehead and beamed at me proudly.

"Told ya I could carry them."

I scoffed. "Yeah, but let's hope you lifted the bags with your knees or else your backs gonna be killing you later."

She just waved her hand. "Tch. Suuuure. Anyways, do you like your new room? I know it looks bare now but I'll take you shopping next week to buy things for it. It looks creepy all bare and shit."

I gave her a troubled look. "Listen, Hina. I would like to pay you rent for takin-"

She gave me a 'stop' sign.

"Dulce, I already told you, you don't have to pay me rent. It doesn't matter."

"At least let us split everything. That'll be fairer, right?"

She stuck her lower lip out in concentration. "Hmm, okay. But only on things we both need."

"Deal."

She stretched a bit then headed for the door. "I'll make us dinner while you put your things away. Go take a bath, relax for a while in here and I'll call you when the foods ready. I'll bring your other bag up in a sec."

I checked the time on my phone. It was almost 5:00. I debated over calling my parents now or after I take a bath.

On one hand, I'm feeling super effin' jetlagged and on the other they're probably worried about me.

I finally decided that 25 more minutes wondering wouldn't kill them so I rummaged throw my bags until I found my pjs. They were a pair of roomy grey sweats and an old white long sleeve.

I got my undergarments and socks and went to the bathroom. Hina had a bathtub and a shower.

After I undressed I stepped in the shower, preferring it over the bathtub and turned the water on.

As I was washing and rinsing myself, I thought of my day.

It seemed to be going okay. Me and Hina were getting along. I was becoming more comfortable and beginning to act more like myself.

Tomorrow I would meet my partner which surprisingly didn't worry me. I'm sure he was nice.

After my shower, I changed and headed downstairs. It smelled delicious.

Hina flashed me a smile when I walked in the kitchen.

"Nice pjs" she snickered at me.

"Don't hate." She just shook her head at me. "You and your L.A talk."

I grinned cheekily.

I took a seat at the table. "So, what'cha make?"

"Well, earlier today I went out and bought the ingredients to make your favorite dish: chicken alfredo!"

"What the hell? We're in Japan! How did you find the ingredients?"

She gave me a look. "We have markets with different ingredients too, you know."

I rolled my eyes. "Thanks Hina, I mean it." "Of course you do."

As we ate, we conversed. Every five minutes I kept thanking her for all she has done for me. And she kept waving it off. When we finished eating she ordered me to go get some sleep. That tomorrow we would go out and buy me my school things since I didn't bring any. After we got my things we would head off to Kurosaki's house.

I called my parents once I was in my room. I told them I would report to the Order once every week and all that crap.

I kicked my bags to the side and settled in my bed.

Tomorrow was going to be a very important day. Tomorrow will be the first physical liaison between the Warriors and Shinigami. The meeting had to go perfect. We had to make it work.

At that moment, I promised myself that I would make it work. That I would do anything to get along with my partner even if he's the most horrible person I have ever met.

I will do my duty as a Warrior.

My eyes closed and I was swept away by dreams about what tomorrow would bring.