Sorry, this took so long. The prize for Nature's Monthly Lottery for Women was mood swings this time and they made it hard for me to write.

Disclaimer: It's really for the best that I don't own Bleach.


Chapter 7: Choose to Change

The hollow swatted her across the street, a moment after she heard it's howl, not even giving her enough time to react. She landed on her face, skin peeled off her cheek as she skid across the sidewalk. It was a miracle her neck didn't break on impact.

She scrambled to her feet and turned to get a good look at her attacker. It looked like a gorilla with disproportionately large arms. It struck again but this time she was able to dodge it, albeit clumsily. She couldn't fight it on her own.

Ichigo was still fighting Acidwire and wouldn't be able to get to it in time, provided Rukia noticed her denreishinki going off in the fighting. She didn't know whether or not Uryu would come and take care of it in his stead. So, the only real option was to lure it back to Urahara's place.

Except this hollow jumped in front of her every time she started to run. For a thing with such stubby legs it could sure move.

If I could just fight back. She thought as she dodged yet another punch. It's like it's toying with me!

She could make ears bleed with how much she wanted the hollow to feel the pain of its own punch. Use her opponent's strength against it, just like her Judo teacher and pseudo mother, taught her. Lucia.

Power rushed through her like fire in blood, the pendant around her neck glowed, she could barely feel her stinging cheek or her various bruises anymore and she stopped dodging. She didn't need to. She smiled.

The hollow slammed its huge fist against an invisible wall that shimmered on impact before becoming invisible again. A loud cracking sound was heard as the hollow cried in pain and dropped its arm to hang limply, bones within broken.

Diana couldn't help but laugh when the hollow struck again with its other arm. She had to step to the side as it fell forward unable to support its front.

"You are one dumb hollow." She laughed as she felt Jinta and Tessei moving toward her, a little late but whatever. "I'd call you monkey-brain but that would be an insult to monkeys, and I like monkeys!"

The hollow tried to get back up, but Diana got on its back and started jumping up and down, laughing like a child, "It's like a trampoline!"

Her feet shimmered and the hollow slammed back to the ground like it was repeated hit by cannonballs everytime she came down. It continued like this for the minute it took for Jinta and Tessei arrived.

"Goodie! The cavalry has arrived!" She grinned at them as she jumped off. The hollow gave a pained howl. "You're still alive? I thought I had broken your back by now…" she trailed off as her power drained out of her, leaving her ten times more exhausted than when she practiced with the spirit orb.

She could barely hear Jinta finishing off the hollow as her vision faded to black.

-7-

She woke up in Urahara's shop, sore all over and a bandage covered the scrape on her cheek. She was laying on a futon in one of the back rooms that Urahara kept empty for 'guests' like herself.

She was a bit startled when the door opened just enough to let her see it was Ururu looking in on her. Ururu seemed to have caught Diana staring at her, and shut the door quickly. That girl was always so shy.

A minute later Urahara came in bringing tea setting her cup down in front of the futon as she sat up. She wasn't a huge fan of tea, but it would be rude not to drink it.

She took a sip and asked, "So, how long was I out?"

"A few hours, I didn't expect you getting any powers of your own." He said tipping his hat.

"That makes two of us!" She laughed. "Although, I think I'll still be needing that reiatsu gun; my powers don't seem to include anything for a direct attack, unfortunately."

"Are you so sure?"

"Positive, but I'll be sure to demonstrate them for you when I'm no longer sore as hell." She chuckled lightly, "Besides, I'd like to train with someone who knows what they're doing and can help me understand my powers."

"You don't plan on training with Kurosaki-san?"

"Right now, Ichigo isn't all that driven to become stronger, and if what happened to me when I activated my powers happens every time, then I'm just going to wind up beating him to a pulp, which won't help either of us." She explained.

"Tessei mentioned you got a little fight happy."

"I felt like I turned into Deadpool, doing whatever amused me at the time." She paused. "That should probably be disconcerting, but I'm finding that I don't give enough of a damn."

He merely tip his hat to that, "On another topic, I informed your father that you were staying for the night. He was here to check up on you and deliver your school supplies and uniform not to long ago."

"He's no helicopter parent, but he's still there when I really need him." She replied in good humor. "What did you tell him, anyway?"

"Just that Tessei found you fighting some thugs that gave you a good bruising."

"Half-lies are the best lies then." She sipped more of her tea. "Say, since I going to be staying here until school tomorrow, there is something I wanted to try out ever since you told me about your shinigami merchandise…"

-7-

She put what she hoped was the mod soul into her favorite rabbit plush that she carried around in her school bag. Urahara had asked Ururu to go get it so there was a chance she would make a similar mistake to what she made in cannon. Urahara was a bit curious about her little 'experiment', so he stayed to watch.

Lo and behold, the stuffed rabbit came to life saying with a solute, "Greetings! I am… a stuffed animal. 'Early to bed, early to rise.' That's my motto!"

"What do you know? It worked." "I want to keep him." They said at the same time.

"My, my, Fletcher-chan, must you ask for everything that tickles your interest?" Urahara complained lightly.

"But Urahara-san! When I was little, I always wanted little Max to come to life!" She whined back at him with a pout.

"I am glad I made your childhood wish come true." The artificial soul chirped.

"I'd prefer him to be more sarcastic and blood-thirsty, but okay."

"That's an odd choice of personality."

"I was a 4-year old girl that was presented with a stuffed rabbit with a demon's grin and responded with glee, and currently finds having to fight monsters that want to eat my soul interesting and fun. What were you expecting?"

"Something crazier?"

"That makes more sense."

A door opening surprised them. At some point in the conversation Urahara had left the room without either one of them noticing, they did notice his return however.

"Don't mind me.~ I just went to check on something.~" Urahara chirped with his fan in front of his face.

"So, can I keep him, or what?" Diana said cheerily.

Urahara sighed, "Yes, you can keep him, just so long as nobody sees him and you do not, under any circumstances, put him in a human body."

"Why's that? Isn't that what gikongan are supposed to be used?" I didn't make much sense unless it was Kon, the mod soul. She grabbed the animated stuffed animal when he started to slink away.

"Yes, yes, but that isn't a gikongan. It's a kaizo konpaku, an experiment designed to help shinigami with their work, but was banned and almost all of them were destroyed."

Diana gave him a curious look, "Then why do have one in the shop? Surly, you knew what it was?" This was something she wanted to know.

"Future reference?" Urahara shrugged. That earned him a blank look. Sometimes he was just so flaky.

Diana turned back to the mod soul that in another world would be named Kon. "You need a name, so I'll just call you by the name I call this stuffed animal, Max!"

"I don't want to be named after a stuffed animal!"

"Would you prefer Kon?"

"NO! That's dumb!"


Next chapter: Training, Guns, and Hell.