Hiyori's gaze flickered between Ichigo and his large sword, which still rested on his shoulder. She took a cautious step back, her tail flicking nervously, as she watched Ichigo in complete shock.

"Hiyori? What the hell?!" Ichigo yelled in surprise, snapping Hiyori back to reality.

"Me?! You just killed an Ayakashi, but that's the job of the gods! What on earth are you wearing? What's with the giant sword? Since when could you leave your body?"

After her spew of questions, Hiyori took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down. Yelling wasn't going to get her any answers. Besides, this is still Ichigo for crying out loud! She could still trust him, even if he is a death god.

Again, though, Hiyori couldn't stop her gaze from moving to Ichigo's sword. It didn't look like a shinki, though none of the weapons of the gods could ever be identified as one unless a god told you, or you saw it transform yourself. Still, this one seemed to radiate power, which was scary enough alone, but being held by Ichigo – who proved to be an excellent fighter – only seemed to increase its power. She knew he wouldn't attack her, but she couldn't help wanting to be cautious.

Ichigo noticed her gaze, and his shocked expression changed to a neutral one. "Sorry," he said, taking his sword off his shoulder and wrapping it in the clothe attached to the hilt, before sticking it to his back. Hiyori wasn't sure how he got it to stay, since there didn't appear to be a sheathe there, but she decided not to ask. They have more important things to discuss.

"How are you a Shinigami?" Hiyori finally asked, taking a few steps closer now that his sword was away. She wondered why he didn't call the shinki's name and let it back to a human form. Then she realized that maybe it wasn't one. The first Shinigami she met didn't seem to have a weapon, though they're form had been blurry. She wasn't quite sure why Ichigo didn't appear that way.

"Technically, I'm a Substitute Shinigami."

That must be why, she thought. "A Substitute?"

"Yeah, I'm human with Shinigami powers," Ichigo explained, before asking, "How did you know I was a Shinigami?"

There was no way Hiyori was going to tell him he smelled like death. Not the decaying corpse death – thank the gods – but like the first Shinigami she met. There scents were similar, though of course Ichigo had his own scent attached to him. No, the death smell attached to him was a peaceful one, it almost felt like it was welcoming you out of this world and into a better one. "I met a Shinigami before. Well, technically I didn't officially meet them, but Yato told me."

"Who?" Ichigo shook his head. "Okay, explain later. We might as well sit down, this is going to take a while. Do you want to go back to your house?"

"Actually I was thinking-" Hiyori interrupted herself, remembering what Yato said. There's an unspoken agreement that Shinigami don't get in our business, and we don't get in theirs. Chaos might happen if we did. "You know what, never mind. My house is good."

Ichigo gave her a curious look but didn't question her. The two began the way back to the Iki household, easily jumping across the rooftops.

Ichigo climbed into his temporary room, and noticed Hiyori's body on the floor. "What...?" he started in confusion.

"Sorry." Hiyori nervously scratched the back of her head. "I saw your Shinigami form from my window. I didn't think it was you so I came in here to see if it was, but when I noticed you weren't breathing, I panicked and chased after you."

Hiyori climbed through the window, closed it behind her, and fell into her body, as Ichigo did the same.

Now that they were both settled, they began to talk. Hiyori explained that after the accident, she gained a habit of slipping out of her body. Before she had no control of when it happened, but recently, she was able to do it when she wanted. She began hanging out with an lesser god named Yato and his shinki named Yukine. Hiyori could tell Ichigo was skeptical about the existence of gods, which she thought was ironic considering he was a type of one. She decided not to tell Ichigo about her losing her memory because of Rabo, the time she was kidnapped by Nora and Kuguha, and the time Heaven killed Ebisu, right in front of her. She had a feeling that news wouldn't make Ichigo happy. She did explain that the reason her family's hospital was having trouble was because of Ayakashi possessing the patients, and the reason they met up at her house instead of where she was thinking of before.

Ichigo told Hiyori about how he met a Shinigami named Rukia that gave him his Shinigami powers, and how he's become an ally of the Soul Society – where spirits of the dead go. Then he explained that Isshin had a feeling Ichigo was needed here, which the reason why Ichigo was here, not because of his fights and stress. That was simply an excuse they had for Hiyori's parents. Though, that didn't mean it was a lie. Ichigo explained that the Soul Society recently – only a month ago – had war against a group of humans called the Quincy, and due to Ichigo's experience in the past, he was tense, alert for any further battles. Upon Hiyori's question, Ichigo also explained that his sword wasn't a shinki, but a zanpakuto, which was basically an extension of a Shinigami's soul in a weapon form.

Hiyori immediately felt guilty after that, knowing that as long as Ichigo was here, Ayakashi wasn't the only evil thing Ichigo may be forced to fight. Fujisaki was an unpredictable variable, she had no way of knowing when he would attack. Hiyori was tempted to not tell Ichigo about him, but knew it was for the best.

"So he's the guy that had the Ayakashi possess that guy?" Ichigo asked.

Hiyori nodded. "Yeah. I'm still not sure why though..."

"I'll ask him tomorrow, then."

"What?! Ichigo, please don't. I don't want to have another incident like at the hospital. I have no idea what Fujisaki will do if you confront him."

Ichigo let out a long sigh, unwillingly agreeing. He refused to let anyone get hurt because of him. "Fine." He silently promised himself that if Fujisaki did decide to confront him, he was going to get a beating that would leave him crying until next year. "You said that gods and Shinigami aren't allowed to interact, right? Do you know why?"

Hiyori shrugged. "I wish I did. To be honest, I'm not sure if Yato or Kofuku know the reason, considering they didn't share it. Maybe Bishamon or Tenjin know. I'm going to ask them tomorrow." She wanted to say he should come too, but she knew it wasn't a good idea. "If they say anything about it being okay, you should come meet my friends."

Ichigo nodded, hoping it would be fine. His protective instincts made him want to meet them to make sure the gods were capable of keeping Hiyori safe. Assuming they really were gods. "After school, I need to talk to a friend anyways. Maybe he can clear things up too."

Hiyori yawned. "I hope you will be able to meet my friends." She stood up. "I think it's time for us to head to bed. Goodnight."

Hiyori went back into her room. Due to already being in her pyjamas, she collapsed into her bed. She wanted to go straight to sleep, but her mind was whirling. She felt like her world had expanded tenfold, now that she understood Shinigami a bit more, and one of her best friends was one too.

She still wasn't sure what to make of Shinigami either. She's met two now, one is her best friend and the other was the one who helped her grandmother move onto the Soul Society. Ichigo was clearly a friends with them, but Hiyori wasn't going to assume that they were all good, not until she's met them and can make the decision herself.

Yawning again, Hiyori snuggled underneath her blanket and closed her eyes. She can think about this more in the morning. She had plenty of time after all.

Shout out to RojoSamurai for giving me some awesome ideas for this story, that I plan to use. They'll certainly keep things interesting in the chapters to come.