A/N: Yay! Another chapter! Wheeee! My dog ate my favorite pair of slippers. I called the store and they said that they don't sell them anymore... D:

Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach or anything else! All I own are my charcters and my imagination!

I'm sorry

For people who don't have homes

I'm sorry

For turning away

I'm sorry

For those who can't

For those who never will be

I'm sorry for you

I'm sorry for me

- Alexis

Edge of Sanity

Orihime's apartment had a new hole in the wall. Let me explain:

It was three in the morning, and I was laying down on my makeshift cot, all nice and cozy. When suddenly, Ikakku started talking to me. Naturally, I told him to buzz off, but what he said next had me wide awake.

"You should find a better place to put your stuff, midget," he whispered in my ear.

My eyes flew open, and he stood there smirking with my clothes in his hands.

"Let's see," he mused. "Shirt...bow...skirt...bra!"

I leapt up in a fraction of a second. He started to say "Everybody, look at this!", but I jumped him. He got up and fled around the apartment, waking everyone up. Rangiku noticed what he had in his hands and laughed. I felt my cheeks burn. So I did the only thing I could do: I delivered a flying blow to the head. Which hit him and caused his head to go through the wall. Hence the hole. And believe me the day gets better after that.

For the first time in my life, I was happy to go to school. After all, it was my second day! Things would be less hectic, right?

Wrong.

The second I set foot in the classroom, I was ambushed.

"My beautiful pixie! Lovely, lovely Ca-"

I cut Keigo off with a kick in the stomach. He sank to the floor saying, "Why, my beautiful darling?!"

I sighed, thinking that the ambush was over. But no! Life couldn't be that nice!

"My boobilicious Ca-" Chizuru cried as Margaret twisted her arm behind her back.

"Uncle!" she gasped.

Tatsuki gave us high fives. "All right!"

I was about to smile when I sensed someone behind me.

"Eh? You're back again huh, M&M?" Ichigo asked, reaching down to grab my head.

I chomped down on his hand and kneed him in the groin. He cried out in pain and fell on the ground.

"What...the hell?!..." he gasped.

Uryu walked up beside me.

"That's what you get for making fun of her. Good job, Miss Makoto."

I nodded. "Anytime. And call me Casey."

He nodded, adjusting his glasses. "Okay...Casey."

Rukia giggled.

"Hi everyone! You sure look pretty today!" she bubbled in a high-pitched voice.

I narrowed my eyes slightly. Two could play at this game.

"Oh, why thank you Ru-ru! You're such a good friend! Like a princess!" I replied, making my voice high and overly happy. I think I overdid it because the room started sparkling.

Molly looked at me like 'Are you okay? Do you need an ambulance? Or mouth to mouth?!'

The bell rang, and I took my seat behind Ichigo. I felt a bit bad about kicking him, but, in my defense, he had it coming to him! As Miss Ochi took roll, I sighed. It's going to be a long day.

Lunch was uneventful. We talked, we ate, Chizuru tried to molest me, Keigo proposed again...just your average high school day. To tell you the truth, the day couldn't end fast enough. When the final bell rang, I leapt out of my seat and gathered my stuff. I was about to leave when Ichigo stepped in front of me.

"Uh... Listen I'm sorry I kept making fun of you!" he mumbled awkwardly.

I grinned. "No harm done. It just gets annoying after a while, you know?"

He shook his head and I sighed. By then everyone was waiting on us. I swallowed what I wanted to say and forced a smile.

"S'okay! C'mon, everyone's waiting on us," I chirped.

As we walked out of the building, I was greeted by a happy bark.

"Aspen!" I cried. He raced towards me at full throttle now that he had his cast off. My little puppy licked my face ecstatically.

"Good boy! Who's my good boy?!" I laughed.

He gave me a warbling bark and I giggled.

"Yes! You are!" I cooed.

Rangiku was about to say something when Keigo tried to tackle her.

"Goddess, you have returned!" he cried.

Rangiku's fist met his face, and she kept smiling.

"... He was only trying to jump you," Ikkaku told her.

"Oh..."

That night Orihime cooked us dinner. We'd managed to avoid her...uh... creative cooking by ordering take out. But it looked like we had no choice now. Well, actually we did: eat it or break her heart. We chose to suck it up and eat it.

"Here you go! Steak with caramel, pepper, wasabi, and banana slices!"

I almost puked, and I saw that Alexis looked a little green too.

Maybe we should've gone with breaking her heart...

She set a very colorful plate of food in front of me and watched my face with bright eyes. I slowly took a bite. It was the best thing I had ever eaten. I must've looked surprised because her face fell.

"You don't... like it?"

I shook my head and smiled. "It's awesome!"

She smiled. "Really?!"

"Yeah!" Molly cried.

"It has great texture," Margaret said.

"And flavor!" Alexis added.

Orihime's face brightened as we finished our plates.

That night, as I curled up with Aspen I made sure to put my clothes next to me.

"Miss Makoto?!"

I snapped out of my trance and looked away from the rainy window.

"Eh?"

"Could you please answer the question?"

I blushed. Damn. I hadn't been listening. Instead I'd been thinking about the past few days. It had been a little more than a week since we had arrived in the Bleach universe, and I had made some great friends. I was closest to Toshiro, who acted cold and annoyed with me, and Ichigo. My heart beat faster. Ichigo. What was I to him? He constantly teased me and always insisted on walking me home, like I was his little sister. I mentally shook my head. The chances of there ever being an us with him or anyone else in this world was impossible. After all, I was only twelve (barely!) and... no matter how much I hated it, I was from a different world! I didn't belong there. If I got too friendly with anyone there, it would just make it harder to go back.

Go back...

Would that ever happen? Did I want it to happen? Why couldn't anything be easy?!

"Shiitake mushrooms," I muttered.

I nearly jumped out of my seat when the teacher cried, "Yes! That is a perfect example of a Basidiomycete!"

Oh. Not what I meant at all, but okay.

Tatsuki had to go to the dojo after school, so it was just Ichigo, Chad, Orihime, Rukia, Uryu, and the other soul reapers walking all of us home. About halfway there, everyone stiffened, and Rukia took out what I assumed was her soul pager. Her eyes widened.

"N-no way...!" Orihime whispered.

Ichigo looked at us sternly. "Stay here!"

We nooded.

As soon as they left, my head started hurting.

"My...head!" Alexis gasped.

"W-what's happening?!"

And suddenly it stopped. When I opened my eyes, I could see nearly invisible figures with chains attatched to their chests.

Spirits.

I saw a figure in a black kimono standing on a light pole.

"No way!" I gasped.

Margaret looked at me seriously. "What?"

"Can...can you all see them?" Alexis asked fearfully.

We nodded.

"The spirits... The soul reapers... Do we have spiritual pressure?" I whispered.

Suddenly, an immense pressure seemed to slam down on me.

Aspen yelped.

"Is that... from a hollow?!" Molly gasped.

I nodded. "P-probably a few Adjutchas...at least!" I panted.

"Guys! It's...coming from the... direction...they went!"

"Not good..." I gasped. "We need... to help them...come on!"

We didn't know how we were going to fight. Even if we had spiritual pressure, it needed to develop to be used safely. Without realizing it, we were about to give away our secret.

We tore through the forest like mad animals. I unleashed Aspen, and he ran beside me. As we ran, the sky seemed to get cloudier. A storm was brewing. Before we even reached the clearing, the scent of blood filled my nose.

As we pushed through the last of the bushes, a limp body was tossed in the air.

Blood.

Screaming.

Those were the last things I realized before my mind went blank.

Oooh the suspense. Heh... I'd like to thank ThePrincessDragon for all of the wonderful ideas! Sadly things are going to get a bit dark after this... well all I can say is...

Remember to race a black cat if you see one because it's probably Yoruichi!