Hi! Claire again! This chapter was sorta tough. When I sat down, though, the words somehow managed to flow out of me. I hope you like this chapter. It deserves love.
Heather crawled over beside Allie and nudged her to wake her up. "Allie! Wake up!"
Allie's sleep riddled eyes drifted open. "Ugh… What happened? Did I sleep in a weird position or…?" She stopped as she noticed where they were.
Heather nodded. "Yeah. I know. I'm glad I'm not alone, at least. I do believe we're not in Texas anymore."
Allie sat up, letting the Wizard of Oz reference slip by. "Where do you think we are?" She asked.
"Well, judging by the style of the room, I'd say we're somewhere in Japan. Normally, I'd be psyched, but we don't seem to entirely be ourselves, do we?" Heather looked at Allie, again noticing the subtle differences in her appearance that she just couldn't put her finger on.
Allie nodded. "True. We almost seem to look like ourselves, though. There's also the injuries. I know I've never sustained wounds like these."
Heather was about to comment when there was a knock on the door. "Hello? I'm coming in…" The door slid open and a man with dusty blonde hair under a green striped hat walked in, his eyes doused in shadow.
Heather turned to face him, not really knowing what to say. "Um… Hi."
"How are you feeling?" He asked.
Heather looked to Allie, who shrugged. "Sore, but alive… What exactly happened?" she asked, trying to get a grasp on their situation.
The man sat in front of them. "You were both attacked by a hollow with significantly advanced speed. Are you sure you remember nothing of it?"
Heather bit her lip, looking back again to Allie.
Allie sighed. "The truth is, we don't even know who you are."
The man laughed. "Of course you don't! Sorry, I haven't introduced myself yet. I'm Kisuke Urahara."
Heather had to stop herself from showing the surprise she was feeling right now. Finally the pieces she'd been given in this exchange had come together. She would have to wait, though, until she and Allie were alone, to discuss it.
Just as Heather was quelling her inner fangirl, a very familiar substitute soul reaper poked his head in.
"Hey, Hat-and-clogs, are they doing okay or what? Don't think that I left them here for your purposes, I just don't have room at my house." Ichigo looked at the two of them, his eyes settling on Heather. "Are you okay? Your face is red."
Heather looked away. "I… I'm fine."
Allie snickered a bit, and Heather whipped around to face her, trying to convey her thoughts through her eyes.
Urahara stood up, "Well, seeing as you both are conscious, but not yet up to strength, feel free to stay until you feel fit. If you need me, feel free to find me." Heather watched as he walked out. Ichigo locked eyes with her again before following Urahara out.
As soon as the door shut, Heather looked back to Allie. "Don't you say a word."
"Don't worry, I won't. I'll leave you to be a fangirl for a while." She said, smiling.
Heather rolled her eyes. "Oh, boo. Anyway, what do you think we should do? I don't think it'll be easy keeping a secret. Plus, I think we could get help getting back if we were more up-front about it."
"Go back? I would think you'd like to stay here. It seems like this kind of thing is like a dream come true for you." Allie said.
"Not really. I mean, who hasn't dreamed of entering the world of their favorite book series or video game? But truthfully, I'd rather it stay in the books." Heather sighed. "But back to the issue, should we just tell them?"
"It seems like it'd be for the best, as long as we know we can trust whoever we tell." Allie said. "We wouldn't want to become experiments."
Heather laughed. "That rules out the Squad 12 captain. We should really make sure to stay away from him."
"That reminds me. I'm guessing that we're soul reapers? I mean, he was saying that we got wounded fighting hollows." Allie surmised, looking around. "Ah. I figured so." She reached to the side of the blankets and picked up a sheathed katana. "This must be my Zanpakutou."
Heather went back to the other group of blankets and rummaged around, unearthing her own Zanpakutou. The sheath was an electric blue, with what looked like a crack down the center. Crystals filled the jagged opening, giving it a very mysterious feel. Attached to the sheath was a long cloth that Heather could only assume was for attaching the sword to her back.
As she marveled at the blade, Heather noticed that she had an amazing sense of familiarity. She could tell this was her sword, a piece of her. It felt like more of an instinct than a feeling. Then again, Heather thought, I am a soul reaper. It only makes sense.