"So... You're a shinigami," Miuu says curiously, staring at the newcomer.

"And you come from a place called the Soul Society," Ichigo continues as he crosses his arms over his chest.

"And you want to get rid of ghosts?" says Miuu. "Well, I guess that's believable."

"Along with flying pigs and the tooth fairy!" the redhead shouts, comically flipping a table much to Miuu's distress. She scurries off to fix it while the dark-clothed woman speaks again.

"You can see ghosts, yet you refuse to believe in shinigami?" she asks, confusion written across her face.

"Well, sure, but I've always seen ghosts," Ichigo argues. "I've never seen a shinigami before. I have no reason to believe in them."

Miuu frowns, taking her seat again. "Now, Ichigo, be reasonable, I'm sure-" She's cut off by the redhead speaking again.

"Dad couldn't see you, so obviously you're a ghost," he reasons, placing a hand on the back of the woman's head. He continues speaking, but Miuu doesn't listen. She instead rolls her eyes and wanders off, muttering to herself about stupid teenage boys who didn't know how to be respectful and this that and the other. Maybe getting some ice cream would help her keep her cool. She hears some sort of thunk from inside of his room, but pays no attention to it, moving back downstairs to raid his freezer.

When she comes down, she sees Yuzu, taking care of the last of the dishes. The teen blinks at her. "Yuzu-chan, why are you doing that now?" she asks. "It's late. You have school tomorrow. You should go to bed."

"Ah, no, it's okay!" the girl insists with a smile. "I always take care of them. If I don't, no one else will."

"Well, tonight you have the night off." Miuu smiles back at her. Go to bed, or go read, or do something to relax. I'll take care of them. You feed me enough that I should do something." The brunette tries to argue for a moment, but Miuu insists, going so far as to taking the sponge and dishes out of her hands before knocking her gently aside. Yuzu bids her a goodnight before wandering off with her newfound free time.

The easy task is mindless enough that she can think about other things. The homework she had due soon, her clubs, the few days until her swordfighting competition. She should really be practicing, but hanging out with Ichigo was more fun. Maybe she could convince him to come with her to practice every now and then. It could be nice to do things that were actually productive.

The dishes are done soon enough and Miuu turns to wash off her hands and open the freezer. Ohhhh, there's the chocolate, and creamsicle bars- No. No way. They got cookies'n'creme. No one else ate cookies'n'creme ice cream. She was the only one who liked it in their house. They had gotten it just for her, and if that wasn't the sweetest thing ever, she didn't know what was.

The blonde was turning to grab a bowl and a spoon when she heard a noise outside. Funny, most cars didn't come past this way. But that didn't exactly sound like a car, then, either. So what was it? Curious, Miuu stepped closer, looking out the window.

She was close enough that when the entire wall exploded inwards, she had nowhere to turn.

It wasn't the wood or glass or anything that hurt. Not even hitting her head against the hardwood floor was very painful. What hurt most about this was the great, pressing force against her chest. Miuu couldn't breathe, could feel the blood dripping down her face. She managed to creak open her eyes to try and see what had happened, and what she saw made her heart stop.

A monster. That's what it was, that's all it could be. A great, hulking monster, black and white, pupil-less eyes staring her down. It licked it's lips- no, wait, it didn't have lips, it's disgustingly long tongue simply ran over it's overlarge teeth. She couldn't stop the scream that built in her throat, eyes going wide at the sight. Not right. It's not right, it's not-

She hears a thumping behind her and she's lifted, still in shock, trying to make sense of things. This shouldn't be happening. This couldn't be happening, this was-

Miuu turns and vaguely sees Ichigo, his expression mirroring hers. She tries to call to him, tell him to run, but the hand around her tightens; she can feel at least one rib break as she cries out weakly. He calls her own name and she can hear him bolt to her, despite her half-heard protests. Miuu goes up, then to the side- her body is released and she's flying, falling, she can't tell, until she hits something solid. Ichigo. It has to be. No one else feels like that, calloused hands and rough clothing and that unmistakable heat that emanates from his very being. Her mind is swimming and she can only vaguely hear Ichigo and the shinigami talking, can't even figure out what they're saying. It's too much for her. Despite her best efforts, she can't hold herself together any longer.


It's dark.

Well, half dark. The top half. The bottom half is white, pure white. Uneven footing making it hard to walk, even hard to stand.

Miuu knows this place. She doesn't want to know this place. It makes her head hurt and her heart ache. Like there's an empty place in her chest. It's something she hasn't felt in a long time. She had almost forgotten it.

Guess some things never change.


The battle had finished. Rukia lay next to the two humans, staring at them. Such strange creatures they were. She only looks up when she hears the sound of footsteps across the pavement. Dark eyes look up at the newcomer, brows furrowing.

Kisuke Urahara stood closeby, hat pulled low over his eyes, fan covering his face, as per usual. "My, my," he murmurs, looking down at the two bodies. "You certainly have gotten yourself into a mess, haven't you?"

"What of it?" Rukia demands.

Green eyes flick up to meet hers. Though he hadn't been addressing her, he responds with, "Don't worry, Kuchiki-san. I'll take care of it."


Ohhhh. Spooky things are happening. Suspense. Wow.

I feel like I'm making things obvious. But maybe that's just because I know my own plot. Hrm. Let me know your thoughts.

Reviews are awesome.

-Jack