Alas! The next Chapter! Well, whatcha waiting for? Read on! ^_^

In the morning, I changed into my black kimono and headed for the Captain's chambers. I wondered where the lieutenant was. I hadn't seen her for some days. I entered the office and waved at the captain, who was signing papers.

"Good morning, Tosh!" I smiled at him, as I walked up to his desk.

He looked at me and then quickly focused his eyes on his papers again, "Lieutenant Abarai was looking for you," he retorted bluntly without looking up from his work.

"Renji?" I asked enthusiastically. It was always fun to be around him! Especially with a bar nearby.

"Yes, Hikari. Hurry up so you can help me with the paperwork," he sounded irritated, so I just nodded and flash-stepped away.

…

I was was walking down the sixth division when I spotted Renji and walked towards him.

"Yo, Renji!" I waved and shouted. He turned around and smirked.

"Yeah? Wazzup?" he said casually.

"Well? Don't 'Wazzup' me! What did you want?" I gave him a look, but he didn't take the hint. Boys.

"Me?" he quirked an eyebrow and smiled, "Why would a handsome guy like me want anything to do with you?" his smiled grew evilly and I punched his arm.

"Yeah? Where is this 'Mih" of which you speak of? The only guy I see here is nowhere near good-looking. In fact, I think that's not the only thing he hasn't been near of in a while," I replied, playing along, with one had fanning my nose.

He smiled and said, "Well, do ya wanna train or not?" he put one hand on his hips and ruffled my hair with the other.

"Stop that! Of course I wanna train!" I pushed his hand away and looked up at him. His bright red hair stuck out of his ponytail like a pineapple.

"Amaya!" Someone called from behind me. I turned and saw Rukia running this way.

"Oh! Hey, Rukia! What's wrong?" she stopped and panted, holding up her hand as in gimme-a-minute.

"Hi! Remember how you told Captain Ukitake you'd deliver his paperwork to Hitsugaya Taicho?" she said as she recovered. Well, why couldn't she do it? I'm busy!

"Yeah."

"Well, I was assigned on a mission, and you know the tenth division well, so I need you to deliver… Oh! Renji! I didn't see you there! Hi!" she got distracted as she spotted Renji.

"Rukia! Long time no see!" he replied, smiling.

They started chatting, so I flash-stepped to the thirteenth division to get the pile of paperwork. I'd forgotten about that!

"Oh Captain Ukkitaaaake!" I sang as I entered his office.

"Huh? Oh! Amaya! Nice to see you again. Would you be so nice as to take these to your Captain?" he said as he got up and handed me a HUGE amount of papers.

"Uh… Fine by me… I've just got to get these papers to cooperate-UFF!" I almost dropped everything to the floor. They were heavy!

"Thank you," he got back to work and left me there, struggling with the pile. "Oh, and tell your Captain we will be holding a meeting in a few days."

…

Of course, I flash-stepped to the Captain's office, because if I tried to take even one step with the papers in my arms I would fall face-fist to the floor. I put the huge amount of papers on the couch. So much for training.

"I'm back, Tosh! Ukkitake gave me some papers!" I declared as I put them on his desk.

"Here. Help me with these formats," he said, irritated, not looking up from his work.

I sighed. Oh, boy. "Fine," I said as I grabbed the big stack of papers.

I started signing, and after a while, I had most of the pile done. But then I found this weird document that apparently the Captain himself had to sign.

"Hey, Tosh," I said, standing up.

"Stop calling me Tosh!" he yelled, looking at me fiercely.

"Whatever. The point is, I think you have to do this paper yourself," I handed him the paper, and he started reading it out loud.

"… All captains must… And the new law decides…" he kept mumbling, as I tried to keep up.

I couldn't see the format very clearly, so I leaned closer to Toshiro. I was in front of him so I wouldn't block the light he was using to read it. Just then, Rangiku crashed inside the room, pushing me forward, and making my lips and the Captain's touch. A KISS? Aw, crap!

I pulled away as fast as I could, blushing fiercely. What? Whaaaa? WHAAAAAAAAAAAAT? No... Had that really just happened? Had I really just given my first kiss to my captain? I saw Toshiro blush too, and his mouth slightly opened, looking shocked, same as me.

"CAPTAIN! HAVE YOU GOTTEN YOURSELF A GIRLFRIEND? THAT IS SO CUTE!" Rangiku yelled, jumping up and down.

"Hikari," Toshiro said, looking embarrassed. "MATSUMOTO!" he screamed, glaring at the orange-haired woman with fierce eyes.

"Uhh…" was all I could manage to say. Pathetic, right?

"Hikari… Get back to work," he said bluntly.

I nodded and did as he said, still blushing.

"Matsumoto, you've got a lot of paperwork you must do. I expect it done by tomorrow afternoon," he said, avoiding my gaze.

"Aww! That's not fair!" she whined in protest. It's more than fair! You should be doing all of it! I thought, still mad at her for the whole… kissing thing. "Whaaa? Amaya? Wha happened to your hand are you okay?"

Facepalm.

I side peeked at Toshiro, and he looked at me back. We both blushed again, and he frowned and got back to work. I tried, but I just couldn't concentrate.

"I have to get some air," I said, awkwardly. He just nodded, and I was off.

"Hey! No fair! Why does she get to go outside?" I heard Rangiku argue.

"She's actually been working all this time," he answered, and that's the last thing I heard before I flash-stepped into the second garden of the division.

"Okay. Okay. I've got to calm down," I said, as I tried to calm my blazing cheeks.

I got up, and started walking around the garden, not aware of a little boy walking right into me.

"Ow!" he said, as we crashed into one another.

"Sorry! I should have looked where I was going," I said, helping him get up.

"That's alright," he answered, "I'm pretty clumsy."

"What's your name?" I asked him, still not knowing everyone around Soul Society.

"Hanatoro Yamada," he said, bowing, and I giggled.

"Hi! I'm Amaya Hikari. Nice to meet you," I said, smiling and extending my right hand.

"Oh! You're that new girl," he said, taking it and smiling back. And then he noticed my hand.

Don't say it. Don't say it! "Uh… Do you need healing in your arm, Miss Hikari?"

I smiled, "No, thanks. I'm fine."

"I heard the new girl had a bandaged hand. That's you, right?" he looked up at me. What a way to recognize me!

"Yep. I guess I'm pretty well known."

"Of course! Few have become a shinigami before going to the academy! That is amazing!" he started, getting excited.

"Huh…" I said, embarrassed, rubbing the back of my head. I suddenly remembered I had to get back to signing paperwork.

"I have to go. I'll try to talk to you later, okay?" I told him, as I started to walk away.

"Sure! Goodbye, Miss Hikari," he waved, making me feel important.

The next day, I asked Hisagi if he could train me again. Of course, he asked about my left hand, getting a sharp retort in return. He was with some of his friends I recognized from when I first met Hisagi, but some others I'd never seen before.

"Who's this?" said the perviest-looking one of the bunch.

"Oh, she's just a friend," Hisagi explained. His friends started whistling and I blushed. "Shut up! It's not like that!" he tried, but they ignored him.

"So, where'd you find this hot chick?" said another one of his friends, like I wasn't there.

"This hot chick is about to beat your ass if you don't stop talking like I'm not here!" I said, crossing my arms in front of my chest. This was getting old.

The guy looked alarmed for a second, but then he just smiled even wider.

"I like a girl with attitude," he said, standing up and walking towards me.

"Ugh. I gotta go," Hisagi said, uninterested. "I'll help you with your training later, okay Amaya?" he asked me, looking back.

"Sure…" I said, as the guy and his pervy friends closed me into a circle.

"What a beautiful desert flower," one of them said, as he grabbed me by the hips and pulled me closer. I wasn't about to get picked on by a bunch of lame-o drunk guys, so I pulled away from him and started walking away.

"Hey! We're not done with you yet!" one of the guys said, reaching out to take my hand, and pulling it so I would be face-to-face with him. "Yes… You'll do very nicely. Just look at her!" he said, and I instantly slapped him across the face.

His nose started bleeding, and I hadn't realized how I almost broke it. Too bad. He asked for it. The guys started getting all mad and shoving me around. I reached for my zanpakuto, but one of the guys took my hand before I could even touch it. Then, one of the biggest guys, grabbed me by the hips again and pulled me so close to his face I could practically smell his breath. And then he kissed me. He kissed me.

At first I was too shocked to do anything about it, but then I came to, and I started pulling away frantically, but he had a very tight grip. Yuck! Now I really wanted to get out of there. I started punching him, but he just grabbed my hand and held it tight. This was getting ugly, and I couldn't do anything. That did it. I pulled away with a lot of effort and practically punched him in the nose. He fell to the floor, but I think it hurt me more than it hurt him.

"Why, you little!" one of his friend said, and grabbed my wrist again.

All of the guys started touching my hair and touching my face. It was disturbing, but I couldn't get free.

"Get away from me, you BASTARDS!" I yelled, but no one was around to help me. Then, one of the guys actually started pulling my face to his again. I punched him, of course, but my hand was red and swollen from punching the other guy, so it did little effect.

"Hikari!" I heard someone yell. I looked up to see my captain surprisedly dodging a guy that lunged at him, the one that had kissed me.

"Captain-" I didn't get to finish, because one of the guys punched him, sending him up five feet in the air.

One guy unsheathed his zanpakuto, and so did I. Toshiro quickly got up, and punching a guy so hard he left him unconscious on the floor.

"Slice, Blaze and Blind," I started, ready to reveal my shikai. Yeah, my zanpakuto is light. As in, it turns into a double sword joined by the tip, where lightning sparks up at the middle and then shoots out, or simply surrounds my sword and makes its blade sharper by ten times.

"No! You should never release you zanpakuto to members of any other squad!" Toshiro called, trying to over power the big guy.

I punched another guy with my good hand and then hurried over to punch another. Toshiro had already knocked out three of them. Wow. For a guy so small, he sure was strong.

After a while, they were all on the floor, with no serious injuries. Toshiro had a cut on his shoulder where one of the goons had got him with his zanpakuto.

"Hey, are you alright?" I asked him, noticing he had some blood on his face.

"Of course," he sounded a bit offended. "How's your hand?"

"Uhh… I think I broke it," I said, embarrassed he had had to go through all that just to help me. But of course that was no challenge. I mean, he's a CAPTAIN.

"You better get that checked up," he said, taking it to see it better. "Go to the fourth squad, I'll get Matsumoto to finish your paperwork."

Now I felt guilty. Plus, if I went to the fourth squad, they would ask about my left hand. NAWT gonna happen. "No, Tosh, that's alright. I can still sign papers," I said, not wanting to give Rangiku all my work.

He looked, surprised, at my hand. "Alright. Come back to the division when you're done," he said, ready to flash-step back to his office.

"Wait!" I called back at him, "Don't you want to get your shoulder checked too?" I thought his wound looked pretty bad.

"I'm fine," he answered, not looking back. Then he flash-stepped away.

...

Hisagi helped me train like he promised, after a good, long apology for leaving me all alone with his drunk, pervy friends. I accepted the apology and enjoyed it while it lasted. I know, I know. It had been 'Captain to the rescue!' and that was so cliché, but I really did need the help, and thankfully, he had been walking around, looking for the lieutenant.

So Hisagi and I were walking to the training area, where Rukia was practicing kido. I was so happy to see her, I practically skipped my way to the arena.

"Amaya! Are you here to train too?" she asked me, pausing from her work.

"Yeah! Hisagi's gonna help me with some techniques he says I could use. Plus, I need to get my spiritual pressure under control," I explained, smiling embarrassed.

"Okay… Practice some kido while I go get the gear," Hisagi said, turning around.

"Alright!" I said, grinnig at the possibility of training with Rukia.

"So, let's start!" she said, ready to shokaho or something.

We practiced for a while, and I admired her determination.

"Hey, you're not half bad!" she said, smiling.

"Thanks! Oh… Hisagi's back!" I said, and ran to catch up to him.

"Okay. Get your Zanpakuto out," he told me, just as he did the same.

I did, and my riatsu instantly rose. Hisagi looked pleasantly surprised, and I smiled manically. This was going to be fun.

He lunged at me, and I blocked his attack with the side of my sword. I could see Rukia watching us from the other side of the field, her bakudo forgotten. Great, just what I need. More pressure. But I didn't have time to think of any more sarcastic comments, because Hisagi lunged again, this time coming at me from the side. I turned and blocked, but his sword still managed to cut my arm a little. I whirled around, so I could get him when he flash-stepped away. He was predictable. So I found an opening, and slashed, taking him by surprise, and cutting him in the stomach. He flash-stepped away, and he touched his wound. He looked a bit shocked, but luckily, I hadn't cut him too deep, I didn't want to hurt him. But what I did want was for him to know I was taking this seriously, and so should he.

More seriously, he tried again, coming from above now, yelling, "I want you to release your zanpakuto," and he slashed, but I moved just in time.

"Reap, Kazeshini," I heard him mutter, and I knew I was in trouble.

"Slice, blaze and blind, Inazuma," I said too, and my sword instantly transformed. My left hand started glowing, and I got ready to fight. Oh, yeah. My bankai sign glows each time I reveal my shikai… Or bankai. Anyway, my zanpakuto started generating light at the middle, and first I made it stay on my sword, so Hisagi's zanpakuto wouldn't get past it. Then, after he slashed, I whipped the lightning thing I had around, and cut him on the shoulder. This time, the wound was a little deep, and a lot of blood started coming out. Hisagi held it with a pained expression on his face.

"Oh my! I'm sorry! You okay?" I asked, seeing more blood flow from his wound.

"I'm fine, this is nothing. What's with your… Uh, hand?" he said as he got in his fighting stance again.

"Oh. Just ignore it."

I threw myself at him, planning on using my zanpakuto to cut his back and send him off balance. But he expected that. AW, CRAP was all I thought before I felt his zanpakuto on my back. I instantly felt warm, wet blood ooze from my wound, and I had to kneel to prevent from falling over.

"I think I over did it," I heard him mutter to himself.

"No, I'm fine," I said, getting up. I wasn't about to give him the satisfaction of seeing me act all mushy and girly.

So I slashed again, and I got his cheeks, but he also got my side. Mine was deeper. Pull yourself together! I was being beaten by a lieutenant. I wonder if I even had a chance. But then I remembered how strong my zanpakuto had been when I first got it, so I closed my eyes and tried to picture my inner world, like before. Soon, I was on a stone floor. Marble. And all around me there were painting on the walls of storms. Man! This place seems like it goes on forever! I thought, admiring my surroundings.

"Hey, there!" I heard a boy's voice yell from somewhere above me. Its was… a little kid? He had kind of white/ yellow glowing spiky hair. Really spiky hair. He was grinning with his eyes closed, and he was bandaged all over. His arms where bandaged, his legs were bandaged, and the only thing not bandaged was his face. His bandages were just like mine! Well, except his weren't pink. He was wearing some average cargo pants and a polo shirt. I just couldn't believe it.

"You're my zanpakuto?" I yelled in frustration. What was this little runt doing here anyway?

"Yep!" he yelled back, doing a flip and landing in front of me. "Come on! I'm awesome! You should be grateful you got me," he said, snickering.

"I don't have time for this, kid," I said, even though he was barely younger than I was. I flicked my finger at his face, and he held his forehead, visually trying to be strong and not admit it hurt.

"Hey! Watch it!" he said, rubbing his forehead.

"So… What now?" I asked, looking around.

"Well, even though it seems we're taking forever in here, outside it's just a second. You see, I have to lend you my strength, since you're practically helpless without it," he said with a smug look on his face. I noticed he still hadn't opened his eyes.

"So, what's wrong with your eyes?" I asked him, getting curious.

"Oh… I can't open them," he said flatly.

"Geez. Thanks for explaining," I told him, and he continued.

"When I open my eyes, I absorb my enemie's riatsu. You should already know that. You can use this ability in bankai," he said with a 'duh' tone.

"I can? Well whaddaya know?" I replied.

"So, you've got to learn my name, and I will lend you my strength," he explained, smiling brightly again.

"I already know your name, Inazuma," I rolled my eyes in frustration.

"I mean, you have to seek my power. Call it from within you," he said, with a deep, "frightening" voice.

"What? How do I do that?"

He looked up in thought for a minute. "I don't know," he said, and his grin grew even wider.

"Well, thanks for all the help," I muttered, and he kept smiling.

"I will lend you my power, but you must learn how to do it on your own," he said, getting serious. For such a small guy he could look scary when he wanted to.

"Um… Thanks?" I said, not knowing what just had happened.

"MAY THE FORCE BE WITH YOU," he yelled.

"Worry, you must not," i called back with a smirk.

He laughed and leaped at me, sort of merging with me or something. I was instantly taken back to the fight with Hisagi, where he was leaping, ready to strike. Feeling stupid but confident in a way, I lunged at him and cut him deeply in the shoulder, then turned around to block his attack and cut his cheek. He seemed taken back, but then he recovered and attacked again. I must be crazy to be doing this, I thought, hearing the annoying little laughter of Inazuma inside my head.

"Use bankai! Use bankai!" it was saying, but there was no way I was showing my bankai to anyone yet.

"Aaagh!" Hisagi yelled, jumping at me from behind. I turned and blocked his attack with my sword, the kicked him to the floor and put Inazuma to his throat.

"I win!" I giggled, helping him get up.

He looked at me with surprise, and I pleasantly accepted it. I could hear Rukia cheering from the other side of the field. She flash-stepped to stand beside me.

"That was so cool, Amaya!" she said, high-fiving me.

"Thanks, but did you see Hisagi? He was so strong! No wonder he's a leutenant!" I said, turning around to gaze at where Hisagi was dusting his pants. "He was obviously holding back," i pouted.

"Amaya, that was excellent. Let's do it again tomorrow," Hisagi said, walking up to me.

"Alright!"

I thought I heard a voice inside my head snicker proudly, and I told it shut up, you.

Well, that's the third one ^_^ In case you're wondering (and you probably aren't), the photo of Inazuma will be out in a little. Use yo imagination in the mean time!