Bleach is owned by Tite Kubo, meaning it does not belong to me. I am in no way, shape, and/or form claiming to be the owner/creator of these concepts, though I do claim any characters not apart of the original Bleach storyline (such as Anzu) mine. As such, I would appreciate fellow authors and readers to give credit where credit is due and not steal any of my characters and/or concepts. Thank you, and have a pleasant day.

As soon as I had gotten home, the first thing I did was take a shower. A good, long, hot, painful shower.

And I mean painful.

I'd never gotten a chance to take care of my scratches and burns from the other day, so my body was littered with small injuries that were starting to get a little infected; a few of them were getting red and puffy.

Nothing that wasn't taken care of, though; I scratched them all open again, cleaned out the dirt, soaped them down thoroughly, then rinsed them for a long time in the hot water.

I scrubbed my scalp raw, and not just because there was dirt and dust in my hair.

I could still smell Shinji…

That musky, aftershave-y, spicy smell was all in my hair… And when I had realized that it was Shinji's personal scent, my face had started burning and my head had started to swim.

I'd been on my way back to my house when it had happened and Lisa, who had been walking with me, had apparently caught me swaying and supported me, doing nothing to hide the smirk on her face when she'd seen my face flushed.

"You know, you can thank Rose for what happened." She had drawled after a moment.

I had twitched, "…Thanks."

Whatever. I'd consider finding some way to get back at Rose; for the moment, I just wanted Shinji's scent off of me.

Not that it was bad… No, I actually li—

"NO!" I shocked myself when I punched the wall in front of me, wincing and holding my now injured fist in my hand and frowning, lowering my voice and chastising myself under my breath, "Bad Anzu. No getting attached and no admitting anything."

Like I've said before, admitting things makes it harder to let go later.

And I was definitely going to have to let go later…

Right?

No. Bad Anzu. No questioning facts.

Yes, I was going to have to let go later.

As soon as they got… whatever it was they wanted at Karakura High, Shinji would be gone and we'd probably go back to the old routine, if even that… I mean, would they start shopping at the store again, right?

…I hoped so…

Speaking of the store, things were looking normal for a close-up. The door had still been locked, no graffiti, no signs of forced entry at the keyhole, and when I'd glanced at the register it had looked normal.

I still needed to check the house, though…

Sighing heavily, I finished in the shower and stepped out, wrapping myself tightly in a towel and draping another across my head.

In my room, I rifled around in the closet and found a shirt, a pair of pants and a light jacket.

'That's right…' I thought as I got dressed, pulling on the jacket and glancing out my window, 'Winter is coming soon…' The days were getting shorter, the nights longer, and the mornings were getting chilly…

I sighed again, pulling on fresh socks and clean shoes. This winter was going to be a harsh one… Even if Dad woke up before then he'd been in recovery for a bit. Even if he insisted he could, I wouldn't let him work… Meaning the store would have no one on during my school hours, unless I stopped going to school for a bit and covered his.

I sighed heavily, sitting on the edge of my bed and burying my face in my hands.

I had to think, damn it.

If I close the store during the mornings and afternoons, running it from the usual time I had hours from five in the evening to eight or nine at night… Hell, that wouldn't cover for shit. Most of our customers came midday; if we weren't available they'd go to a different store!

And no matter how much we had in the cash register, the divide was always about the same; one third went to grocers, one third to bills for the store, and one third went to Dad's pocketbook where I divided it between bills and groceries for the house. Anything left was put into savings…

And way more than half of what was in that register came from shoppers who came before the evening shift.

"Shit…" I rasped, clamping my eyes shut and grinding my teeth, pointedly ignoring the burning sensation in the corners of my eyes. 'The store is fucked…'

"Kimura?"

I jumped at the knock on the door, blinking when I remembered I wasn't alone in the house. Lisa had brought me over…

"Kimura?" She knocked again, "…Anzu, is everything alright?"

"Y-Yeah." I rasped, standing and rubbing my hair with the towel one last time before grabbing a brush, "Be right there…"

Lisa waited patiently and quietly, though when I opened the door she blinked, a small frown forming on her face, "Are you alright? You look like you've been crying…"

"Oh, yeah." I nodded, coughing the rasp out of my throat before going on, "Got a bit of soap in my eyes, is all."

She blinked, then nodded slowly, "Alright… Are you packing anything?"

"…You're expecting me to come back with you?" I asked, frowning.

"Yes." Lisa answered flatly, quirking a brow, "Or did you not want us to train you? I can't stay here, Anzu, and the most convenient thing for you to do is stay with us for a while. Besides, with your reiatsu growing and you still unable to properly contain it, you're in constant danger of Hollows."

"Alright, alright." I sighed, pinching the bridge of my nose, "I'm sorry… Just… give me a minute to think about it, okay? I have things here that need to be done."

Lisa nodded, stepping out of the way and letting me pass.

I started back in the store, going around and flipping the lights on to make sure everything was working and to give me a better view. The cooling systems for the drinks and ice-creams and frozen foods were still working, the overhead fans still ran with no clanking, the florescent lights still worked, and, most importantly, the register was untouched.

I let out a short sigh of relief, turning everything back off before heading back into the house.

Lisa looked up from the magazine she was reading, sitting ramrod straight in the chair my Dad usually occupied and blinking, "Everything alright?"

"Yeah." I nodded, sitting on the small sofa by the chair and hitting the play button on the answering machine, flipping through the mail as the voices started.

"You have three new messages and one old message. First message from today at nine am."

"Hello, Miss Kimura, this is Saito, from Karakura High. I'm just calling to inform you that, for the time being, you are allowed one week of excused absences from school. If you need more time, please call back, but do keep in mind that three weeks is the maximum amount of excused absences we can allow you, even considering your situation. Please call us if your situation changes."

I deleted that one.

"Anzu! Sweetie! This is Misaki Kunieda, hon! Listen, I heard about your father, and I want you to call me as soon as you can; I want to know what you're doing while your father is in the hospital. Where you're saying, how you're eating… I'm worried about you, dear… Call us, okay? We're always here for you."

After a pause, I left the message to save to the phone's memory.

"Miss Kimura, this is Director Ishida from Karakura Hospital. I'm assuming you're not home right now so I will try your cellphone as you requested… However, if I do not reach you on that, I was simply calling to inform you that your father's condition is improving. Nurses have observed him experiencing REM cycles, meaning his consciousness is returning. We have yet to see response to vocal stimuli, however when your friend Mr. Hirako came by today—"

That was when I stopped listening. I looked up from the electric bill and turned to Lisa, frowning, "Shinji went to see my Dad?"

Lisa sighed, then nodded, "While you were resting, yes."

I nodded, turning back to the bills and grinding my teeth. There was nothing else I needed to say to Lisa about that; anything further that would need to be said would be said to Shinji, in person.

"…Anzu…?" Lisa began after a moment.

"I'm almost ready." I cut her off, grabbing the bills that needed immediate attention and standing, heading back to my room. I grabbed a bag, shoved a few pairs of pants, a few shirts and several sets of underwear inside. After shoving my Dad's checkbook into my pocket, I grabbed all the sets of keys I needed and shoved them into my pockets, too.

Lisa blinked at me when I finally shut all of the lights off and walked back into the living room to face her. "Have everything you need now?"

"Yeah…" I nodded, shifting, "Hey… I'm sorry you have to take me everywhere, and I really don't want to impose, but can we go see my Dad?"

"Of course." Lisa nodded, smiling slightly and standing.

I smiled back, "Thanks…"

We left the house and I locked everything behind us, glancing back at me and my Father's convenient store/house, wondering just when I'd be able to go back home and just when things would return to normal…

"Hey, Dad." I smiled softly, reaching out and taking the hand that wasn't occupied by a catheter, "How are you?"

He didn't respond, the needles on the monitors he was hooked up to barely changing in their flickering pattern.

Behind me, Ryuken sighed. When I glanced over my shoulder at him, he shook his head, "The appearance of normal REM cycles are a definite improvement, Miss Kimura. However, the only undeniable sign of him truly being cognizant would be his response to outside stimulus. He does respond to physical stimulus and made some attempts at speaking, but he is still in the moderate range insofar as measuring his brain trauma. The fact, though, that he has recovered so much in such a short amount of time is promising…"

"Thanks." I nodded, then shook my head, "No… Director, thank you so much for taking care of my father. I know you have a lot of duties here, an—"

"Think nothing of it." Ryuken cut me off. He paused, glancing at the other side of the bed at Lisa, "…Miss Kimura, may I speak with you for a moment?"

I blinked, glancing over at Lisa, who shrugged. "Yeah…" I nodded, standing, "Sure." I glanced at Lisa again, who waved me off, then turned and followed Ryuken out of the room. He led me to an elevator and then to and office, and goddamn it if that guy isn't a freakin' master of making long, uncomfortable silences.

After sitting down at a large desk in a very impressive room, Ryuken clasped his hands in front of his face and stared at me, waiting until I was sitting to speak, "First, I would like to express my gratitude for what you did in calling and informing me of the danger my son was in…"

"Please, don't thank me for that…" I mumbled weakly, looking at the corner of his desk and rubbing the back of my head, "I should have stayed to help instead of just running off…"

"No." Ryuken snapped harshly, glaring at me when I flinched and met his eyes, "You responded exactly as you should have; the fewer involved in that world the better, and the last thing your family needs is you in a battle you don't belong in."

I winced, looking away. "…You lied to me, sir."

"I did what was necessary to dissuade you, and now I find I must do it again." Ryuken lowered his hands and laid them flat on his desk, meeting my eyes with an even, piercing gaze, "Those… people you are associating with are dangerous. I would strongly encourage that you cut yourself off from them, if not for your sake then for your father's."

I winced again, worrying my lip, "Sir… with all due respect, it's not that easy. They're… teaching me to—"

"I don't need to hear it." Ryuken sighed, "I've already had this talk once with your mother…"

I could practically feel my heart skip a beat, "My… Mom…?"

"Mikazuki was on friendly terms with them, as well." Ryuken informed gravely, his face blank, "I tried to dissuade her from socializing with them, but she refused. Far too soon she was in too deep—"

"I know how it ends, sir." I cut him off, looking away and locking my jaw.

Ryuken paused, then nodded, "Leave them. Go back to your home and wait for your father to recover. Do what your mother should have done and pretend none of what you know of exists. There is nothing to be had in cheap heroics, Anzu."

I sighed, then glanced at him, "…Did my mother ever talk to you about what we can do?"

"…Once." Ryuken admitted, strain starting to show on his face as he clearly forced himself to speak about a topic which he would have much rather never acknowledged, "Your mother had heightened spiritual awareness, Anzu. I don't know why she did, but I know you do because she did, and I would assume your abilities manifest in much the same way hers did. After all, almost everything else about you you inherited from her hereditarily."

I turned to stare at him, my eyes wide, "Mom… could make shields, too?"

Ryuken locked his jaw firmly and this and pursed his lips slightly, clearly feeling he had said to much and deciding he wasn't going to say anything further.

I sighed heavily, looking down at my lap.

"…Miss Kimura, I've said all to you I can and needed to." Ryuken said after a moment, pushing his chair back and standing. "Your… friend is probably waiting for you, and it would be best if you left before the sun starts setting…"

I nodded, standing and turning to leave.

"I would appreciate it if you would seriously consider removing your new 'friends' from your life, Miss Kimura."

After pausing in the doorway, I nodded without looking back and left.

Ryuken's apparent concern for me made me wonder just how well he knew my mother… But I didn't dwell on it.

I just wanted to leave and get back to the warehouse; I had bills to pay and a new schedule to outline.

Because I had a feeling that, for the time being, this was my new monotony… And I needed to get settled in before I flipped.