I was floating during a starless night onto a dark lake. I felt the soothing water onto my skin. Suddenly, a thunder roared onto the sky. I had probably missed the lightning. Soon enough, several drops of water touched my skin. I grunted. They brought a feeling of discomfort and sadness. "Get up, master." It was Arashi's voice, but not inside my head like I was used to. I looked towards the source of the voice and I saw it. The silhouette of a man.

I had long since guessed that my zanpakutou was male thanks to his voice. As a lightning flew through the sky, I saw him completely. He was tall, like 1,90 or something. His face was calm and strong, like he had once been a restless warrior but had now succumbed to me (yeah, sure). His straight light blue hair was tied in a high ponytail. His eyes were also a pale blue. It was just my luck. I had this weird phobia of people with light blue eyes. His clothes were yellow. His blouse was sleeveless and many belts surrounded his chest, some forming X-shapes, but apparently random. His trousers were pretty plain, like these hunting pants or whatever they were called. His boots were also yellow. Another lightning surged through the sky and I saw that he had a huge X-shaped scar on his face, the center between his eyes.

I gulped, wondering what he wanted as I stood up.

"Why are there so many storms all the time?" he asked simply. His calm voice made me relax as always.

I sighed. "Because I'm me. I get all worked up over nothing."

"Why?" he pressed.

"Because I'm weak." I mumbled.

The lighting surged towards the earth. I gasped as it hit Arashi. Then I saw that it had charged into his hand, forming a sword. A raw sword. Incomplete. He put it into the water underneath us and it formed my Shikai. "In order to master my power you need to learn to find your calm." Arashi stated. Then he was on me.

I barely had time to unsheathe my sword and block. He was strong. It reminded me of Shinji when I had pissed him off... but this guy was supposed to be a part of me. I was supposed to beat him and claim his power as mine... Or what? I died? No, that was for Inner Hollows. What happened when I lost against my own zanpakutou? I had forgotten. Our blades kept clashing. Arashi pushed me away, then shot a bolt towards me. I dodged, remembering that blocking wasn't an option. I tried to summon a water barrier around him. He escaped all too easily. I could barely keep up with him. 'What happened, dammit? What happens when his sword pierces my...body.' Then I finally remembered Ichigo's training to master the Final Getsuga Tenshou...

Arashi shunpoed towards me, aiming for a direct stab. I didn't block. His sword pierced my body. I gasped, but felt no pain or discomfort. Arashi smiled. "So you've figured it."

I returned it. "Why?"

He closed his eyes. "I've had enough of all these storms without knowing their reason. Allow me to be of more aid in the future."

I nodded, my hand touching his sword. I was feeling calm, as if it was taking away all my worries and troubles. "Of course."

My eyes closed and I slowly returned to the real world.

I woke up in my bed. Looking out through the window, I figured it was afternoon already. My body felt a little sore, but it was manageable. The bed was too soft. I got up and went into the kitchen. Hirako was nowhere to be seen. The bathroom was empty as well. I went out, hoping to see someone familiar. I specifically avoided the 5th's ground in fear of meeting Aizen. Remembering an old promise, I paid a visit to the Kuchiki mansion.

As I entered, I couldn't help but wonder whether the invitation hadn't been a mere formality and I was an intruder. As I was about to turn around and go home, Ginrei saw me and smiled. "Oh, I see you came to honor my invitation, Nakataka-san. What took you so long?"

I blushed, a little embarrassed. "My training schedule is pretty tiring and I had a free day today. I wasn't all that strong when I came here."

He nodded. "Byakuya, I've found you a new playmate!"

Several minutes later, I was sparring with said heir. He was really fast and much stronger than I had expected him to be. Our wooden swords clashed against each other. He had this poker face I was used to and I couldn't help but stick my tongue out at him, which annoyed him. Defeating him afterwards was all too easy. Ginrei came towards us and scolded him. "You get offended too easy, Byakuya. Learn to hold your temper."

"Yes, grandpa."

I ruffled his hair. "You could have won, baka."

A vein popped on his forehead. "A serious enemy wouldn't do that." he argued.

"Oh, really?" Yoruichi asked, stealing his hairpin. The two started arguing and left.

Ginrei sighed. "He could use some calm."

I smiled. "I like him more like this to be honest."

The elder looked at me questioningly. I didn't explain myself, but chose to take my leave. He told me to come back when I had the time. I smiled warmly and silently hoped I would be in his division.

~~Shopping~~~

"You need to buy this." Lisa said. Her eyes held a low warning. I gulped. I didn't particularly like the blouse she was holding. It held nothing special and it made me look childish. Even more childish than I already was. I had a feeling it even made me look rather fat. I stepped backwards. "Koizumi."

"I…I don't think this is too good for me." I said shyly.

"Nonsense."

Eventually she forced several clothes on me and I had to buy them. I felt bad as we got home. I felt as if I had wasted Shinji's money. Lisa left soon and he obviously wanted to know what I had bought. I gulped, standing down next to him on the couch and pulled out the clothes. Shinji scanned them, then turned towards me. "Lisa made you buy most of those?"

I looked away. "Not really." At his frown, I gave in. The last thing I needed was to upset him. "Yes. Most of them. I chose this." I showed him a dark blue dress, waiting for his approval. His eyes glinted strangely as he suggested that I should try it on in front of him. Several moments later, I came out of our room dressed in it and spun around, presenting my clothing. It didn't have a too complicated model. It came wrapped around my waist and breasts like a second skin, which emphasized my body. It barely covered anything above my breasts and under my waist there was a big, darker blue ribbon on the right side, which looked like a flower. My back was bare. The dress stopped right above my knees and I blushed lightly as I saw my protector scan me carefully, no emotions displayed at first.

Shinji then smiled appreciatively. "Good choice." He walked towards me and his hands spanned my back. I felt really uncomfortable being touched like that and shivered. He chuckled. "Why did you want this if you don't want anyone touching your back?"

I shrugged, sliding away from him. "I like the way it makes me look."

He nodded. "I see. I don't understand why Lisa made you choose her style. Yours is quite nice." He then went through the clothes she had made me buy. "Oh, I see it now. You like more sophisticated stuff and you need casual clothes right now."

"Huh?"

He showed me a blouse. "Casual clothes. For walking around."

I nodded. It made sense. "Yeah, that may be it. I usually have a hard time choosing normal stuff."

Shinji rolled his eyes with a chuckle. "Baby." I stuck my tongue at him. "Just proving my point."

~Period~

It was supposed to be just another day I spent training, nothing new, no problems whatsoever. Yeah, right. God is always trolling.

After being in Soul Society for eight months I had reached the conclusion that I would get no period (a happy conclusion, to be honest). It made sense, after all. They were souls, they didn't have kids, women couldn't conceive so... happy me. Sure, I hadn't asked anyone about it in order to be sure, but how would they know if it didn't exist in Soul Society? Wrong logic.

The familiar pain in my lower stomach was the first thing I noticed in the morning. 'Oh, please no!' I stood up, overall panicking, and rushed to the bathroom. Off went my pajama pants, then my underwear, which was dirty with the usual 'it's that time of the month! Congrats! You aren't pregnant!' stuff. I blushed crimson red as I thought about what I could tell Shinji. It was embarrassing! I couldn't just scream 'Shinji, I got my period so bring me some buffers!' So I screamed the second thing that came to my mind. "Shinji!" He came to the door, not opening it. "Call Lisa or Yoruichi. I... I have a girl's emergency."

I sensed him walk away to fulfill my request. I was hugging my stomach to keep it warm. Coldness only brought more pain. My body could lose heat so easily during that first day...

Lisa knocked on the door after a while, then entered. "Hi. Looks like you could use one of those."

I blushed as I saw the object in her hand. "I'm a virgin..." I stated. What she had brought was a rather invasive option. I had always used the riskier ones, which weren't 100% sure to prevent my underwear from getting some small red spots.

Lisa rolled her eyes. "That's a myth. The small ones don't steal your chastity or anything. Just put it in."

I gulped and shyly obeyed. It was uncomfortable at first, but then I stopped feeling the ball of synthetic cotton inside my body. Lisa scanned me as I got dressed. "You know..." she said slowly (not in shyness, but rather to punctuate/increase the importance of her words) "Shinji is a man."

I pulled my pants on, gulping. "Which means?"

She sighed. "He's not a boy who needs to be told the bees and birds. Trust me, he could have helped you. He's had many girlfriends, do you think they never told him more than the bare necessity?"

I blushed. I hadn't really thought about that. "It would have been embarrassing..."

She rolled her eyes. "He came to me blushing and said that you had a girl emergency, your first period in this world probably."

I nearly choked.

"Anyway, do you know how long it takes?" I shook my head. "A month."

My eyes widened. "What?"

"At least two weeks, but that's the absolute minimum. We get our periods once a year for a month. How was it like in your world?"

I shrugged. "A week each month."

She chuckled. "We get less. Do the maths."

I nodded. "Seems fair."

"Anyway, I sent Shinji to a walk while you clean your clothes. If the pain is too much, go to the 4th. Gotta go babysit that idiot captain of mine. Bye."

I watched her leave, then cleaned my clothes, ignoring the pain. Then I did my morning routine and went straight back to bed. I was never hungry during my first day, especially in the morning. As the day passed and I got used to the pain, I would start starving, but, right then, all I needed to do was snuggle into something warm. Anything. I curled into a small ball, bringing my knees to my chest. Not enough. My feet were frozen. Before I decided which position to take, the door opened and Shinji walked in. He had his hands in his pockets, scanning me. "Hey." I stood up and returned the greeting. He was sitting in the middle of the room, apparently unsure what to do. His voice was strained when he spoke again. "How are you feeling?"

I pulled the blanket tight around me. "Cold. Can you please make me some tea?"

He nodded and left the door open on his way to the 'kitchen'. Shivering, I moved onto his couch, the blanket still around me. I guess I was overreacting, but I needed him to understand that training was out of question. That, and playing victim was fun.

Shinji gave me the cup of tea and our hands touched as he handed it to me. His eyes widened. "Are you ok? You're freezing."

I balanced the cup in my lap and nodded. "Yeah. It's normal." I took a gulp of the hot tea, feeling it go down my throat, to my stomach. I sighed in content, the heat spreading slightly.

I felt a hand on my leg, just above my knee. I looked at Shinji questioningly. 'I know we started calling each other familiarly, but this is kinda pushing it.' I tensed. He rolled his eyes. "Chill, kido. I ain't no pedo." His hand moved lower, to my ankles and freezing feet. He felt so warm to me. He held my feet with both hands, warming them up. "Arigato." I muttered, blushing lightly.

He chuckled. "Anytime, kido. Remember, it's my job to look after you."

I gulped. He had changed his expression after I had told him that 'take care of' sounded cold and made me feel like a burden. I finished the cup of tea and he took it to the sink. As Shinji returned and sat back down, I climbed into his lap and snuggled to his warmth, sighing in content. He chuckled, but wrapped his arms around me nonetheless. "I guess no training today." he said absent mindedly. I frowned and gently pushed him. He laughed. "Thought so."

"Don't be such a meanie." I pouted, pushing my cold nose into his neck. He hissed in annoyance, but didn't pull back. I could smell him like that. It was a weird smell. Not interesting, sweet or whatever his girlfriends had told him. It was just plain weird. I sniffed, trying to remember something similar I had encountered before. Old books? Close, but not really. A little sweeter, muskier, nicer, but not really to my taste. I simply shrugged it off, thinking that he was the first man I had ever sniffed.

We stood like that for a while in complete silence. I didn't dare break it. Shinji, however, didn't have that kind of issues and started humming. "What song is this?" I asked him.

He shrugged. "I forgot its name."

"Sing it." I asked of him and he complied. His voice wasn't bad at all, but not particularly beautiful either. I didn't recognize the lyrics, but the rhythm was so nice, so gentle and alluring that I closed my eyes, sighing in content. Shinji slowly rubbed my back and my breathing eventually evened. No, I wasn't asleep. I was somewhere in between. "She fell asleep." he whispered, maybe to his zanpakuto. He never talked to Sakanade in public, only thoughts, but it was obviously easier to speak. I had seen him do it several times. "Yeah, I will."

Then there was a knock on the door and Shinji moved to let me sleep on the couch, then opened. "Yo, Hirako, we're going out later. Wanna come?"

"Shush. Koizumi's asleep. Yes, I'll come, but keep silent."

Kensei didn't reply immediately, but, when he eventually did, I was long since asleep.

~Abs ~

Shinji scanned himself in the mirror, completely ignoring me. I was lounged on his couch, trying to understand what he was trying to do. "Why are you always spending more time than me checking yourself out in the mirror?" I asked and I wasn't exaggerating. I had a pretty tomboyish personality in spite of whatever feminity my mother had managed to give me. Violence was ok. Bruises were cool. Makeup was cool. Sport was great. Gussying up was weird. On the other hand, Shinji, although he looked like he couldn't care less what people thought of him, was actually pretty careful to always look good. His clothes were clean, neat and fell perfect on his slim body, but he still looked like the wind could take him with it.

He turned towards me with a confident grin. "Girls like guys who look good." he said. Then, as if realizing I was one as well. "Doncha?"

I shrugged. "Depends on taste. To be honest, you look weak as fuck in those."

He frowned at my usage of cuss words. Although he was no better, he was still trying to make me at least a little ladylike. Or maybe his pride was affected. "Weak?" Yeah, definitely the pride part.

I nodded. "Yeah, as in thin. Bony. You don't have that much muscle to begin with, these robes only point that out."

I guess that had been a low blow to his masculine pride. That was the only thing that could actually justify his next action, which was removing his upper clothing. "I sure as hell do have muscles." he stated.

I scanned his chest and abs unblinking. And yes, he had something to show off. I was trying to keep my poker face on, like I always did, not giving him the smallest of clues that he had actually been my favorite Bleach character. And yes, his ego could always use some deflating and I had always hated overly self-confident people. "You're still bony." I stated and, before he could defend himself, I stood up and poked him in his stomach. He tensed. "You can leave your robes parted like Kensei, y'know? It would actually show something quite nice, after all...and maybe, who knows, girls will like it?"

Shinji grinned. "Toldja."

I poked him again and he pulled back rather too fast. 'Ticklish, huh?' "You still look thin with those things."

He rolled his eyes and I tried to tickle him, which worked. Too well. "Stop that!" he said, crouching as he chuckled.

"No, no. Be a Taicho and tame the wild Hollow attacking you!" I yelled, dodging as he tried to push me away. I jumped behind him and he turned around before I had the chance to attack again. He stepped backwards, falling onto his couch with me on top of him as he was holding my wrists which he had caught during our fall. We were both laughing. I was trying to escape his grip, but failing miserably. He was a lot stronger than me. Holding my wrists with one hand, he used the other to return the earlier favor. I'm not that ticklish, but I usually dodged successfully those who tried me. Not this time. I laughed so hard I thought I would choke and die laughing, a pretty cool death if you ask me. Eventually, he let me go and I instantly stood up, ready to defend myself. Shinji chuckled and got up as well, retrieving his clothes. He stopped in front of me, grinning. "Do you want to enjoy the view more?"

I didn't answer right away. It was my first time being so close to a topless person of the opposite sex. Sure, I had been to the beach before, but only with my parents and female friends. I touched his chest with childlike curiosity, feeling the muscle under my palm. Moving it to his left, I could even feel his pulse. My hand travelled lower, to his stomach, which, as I had previously stated, was really hard and well-toned. I didn't exactly know how to call it. Attractive, maybe? I wasn't sure. I had nothing to compare him with. Maybe some others I had accidentally seen, but none that close. He chuckled. "Now if I asked you to return the favor..."

I blushed. He was right, or so I thought in that moment. My hands shyly gripped my robes, ready to lift them over my head. He stopped me. "Geez, I was just joking, kid." Shinji put on his clothes. "You're a girl, ok? Only strip in front of your husband or lover."

I nodded, still blushing. "I..."

He turned towards the mirror, leaving his front robes slightly more parted. "Like this?"

It took me a few moments to get what he had said. "No." I parted them more, revealing his abs. "Like this. But only after training or something, to point out that you're usually careful."

Shinji grinned, ruffling my hair. "Smart girl."

I pouted at the petting, as per usual. And, as per usual, he didn't give a frozen fuck.