I OWN NOTHING BUT THE STORY LINE AND THE CHARACTERS THAT YOU DON'T KNOW FROM THE ANIME/MANGA!

Chapter 9

The Return

Sosuke's words had been true. The days after their first battle were fiercer an harder than she had expected. He didn't go easy on her either. He was serious about trying to make her stronger. As the days went on, she got used to the Sosuke that popped out when they fought; he was completely different on the battle line. Was everyone like this when they fought? Hiromi wasn't but then again, her sister took it easy on her because of her health so the answer to that was unclear.

"I'm still so weak." She sighed, hanging her head. It was their birthday again, having gone through almost a whole year of battle with the Lieutenant of Squad 5. The said Lieutenant was guiding her around the garden behind the Kyoma house. Hiromi was off somewhere else as the rest of the Squad was doing their own thing for the day. Sosuke had taken up being Hitomi's 'shoulder to lean on' when she wanted to move as Hiromi got more involved with Captain Urahara, but Hitomi didn't mind. She liked spending the time with Sosuke; even more now that they were battling.

"Yes," Sosuke wasn't going to lie to her. "But compared to where you were a year ago, have you not gotten better?"

"Yes, but-"

"And your Kido is surprisingly strong." He continued. "At this point you may not be able to do too much with that at the moment, but with the strength you have behind what you can do you shouldn't have to worry about having to use more than one or two. Not until your strength builds up even more."

The sound of pride in Sosuke's voice made Hitomi smile. She paused for a moment and glanced towards the pond before them. She ignored her mother's tombstone, gazing at the one beside it. ~Father~

"Do you think," She began. "The he would be proud of me?" She asked. "I…I never met him. He never knew about me, but still, I-"

Sosuke smiled down at her. "Don't fear. Your father may not be here any longer, but there is no doubt in my mind that he would be proud beyond belief in you. You fight to not waste away. You fight to live. Every father should be proud of their child in doing that."

Hitomi noticed that her eyes were now watering and she turned away, a smile on her face. "I'm hungry," She told the man she held onto. "Let's go get something to eat."

"Yes, I-" Sosuke froze, staring in front of him.

"What is it?" She asked. Her answer was being pushed behind the Lieutenant as he reached for his Zanpakto.

The odd feeling then struck her as she watched a rip-like form cut through in the air before them. The wooden fence seemed to be pulled apart like pieces of tile, revealing four forms standing inside a large black hole. She knew what this was. The Arrancar sisters had performed this in front of her before. The black hole was called a Garganta. It was how Arrancars and Hollows traveled in and out of Hueco Mundo.

The first thing that Hitomi took in was the sight of the man that dropped down out of the black hole. At the height of 6'3' he had long blonde hair and reddish-purple eyes. There was a black tattoo of the number 2 on his left cheek and around his eyes were a bony-like structure, a bright white, which gave his eyes a bird-like look. Dressed in a pair of torn white pants and a matching shirt, it seemed like this man was wearing the opposite of what the Shinigami wore; his collar was popped up as well. There was a sword on his belt and a hole in his throat.

She knew what he was. An Arrancar. There was no doubt about that and her mouth opened before she could even think about it.

"YUMIKO!" Hitomi cried, clutching to Sosuke's arm. "YUMIKO! MIYUKI!"

"Hitomi! Wait! It's all right! It's us!"

At that voice, Hitomi opened her eyes again and finally took in the three others that stood with the Arrancar as the Garganta closed again. "Chisa?" Her voice trembled. "Ayami? Tamiko!" The woman zoomed past Sosuke and threw her arms around the three women. "You're back! Finally! What happened?!"

Chisa Kuchiki, 5'8' with long black hair in a loose braid and slate gray eyes, gave a small smile and hugged her Captain's sister back with one hand. "I see that you're up and moving around more than I remember. Gotten stronger, have you?"

"Yep!" She nodded. "I'm still sick though. Some days I can't even get out of bed."

"Hey, that's better than what it was, right?" Ayami Tekora, 5'8' with long red hair and deep blue eyes, poked the other woman in the cheek. "And look. You're skins gotten so much more color."

"What the hell are you doing here?" At the third voice, Hitomi gave a smile as she turned to Tamiko Curai; 5'4' with long teal hair and black eyes. She was staring at Sosuke who still had a hold of his sword.

"It's okay," Hitomi waved her hands. "He's here with me."

"The Lieutenant of Squad 5?" Chisa asked, tilting her head to the side.

"Yeah, it's a long story," Hitomi smiled. She gave the women another look over and noticed that they were no longer in the Shinigami uniforms, but dressed up in the white clothes that the Arrancar beside them was wearing. She turned to the said Arrancar. "I take it he's with you?"

Ayami gave a nod. "Yeah, this is Raiden Ryuu. He's-"

Before anything else could be said, Hitomi felt a pair of arms grab her and pull her back from the four of them and behind Sosuke as more Soul Reapers from Squad 14 appeared around them, ready for battle.

"Raiden?" A voice popped out. Hitomi watched with a smile as the Arrancar sisters, Kaoru and Kaori lowered this sword. "You're here!"

"Chisa?" Miyuki's grip on Hitomi faded as a grin broke out on her face.

"Ayami!" Ayane dropped her Zanpakto and jumped on her sister immediately.

"Tamiko," Faile sheathed his blade. "About time you got back. I was getting tired of picking up all your work.

"Can it, dick-wad!" The woman growled.

"Oh, ignore him," Manami told her friend. "He's just too high on himself to admit that he was worried about you."

Hitomi watched as the Squad talked and greeted the three women that they hadn't seen in nearly three years. The three Arrancars talked to themselves as well, glad to see eachother again as well.

Sosuke tilted his head to the side for a moment. "Your sister's Squad is…quite strange."

"Yes," Hitomi nodded. "But I love them all anyway."

"And for an Arrancar to help Shinigami…very strange."

Hitomi got a worried feeling and grabbed his arm. "Come on. I'm feeling lightheaded."

"Of course," He led her around the group and headed to her room. As they passed Chisa, Hitomi paused with a confused look on her face.

"Chisa." The Lieutenant turned. "What happened to your Kuchiki symbol?" The necklace that Chisa always wore was gone; she never took it off. Soemthing must have happened to it in Hueco Mundo.

The woman's hand drifted up to her neck for a moment before dropping to her side again. "Must have lost it." She answered before falling silent, thinking about something. Hitomi didn't know what it was, but something about all three of these women had changed.

Watching the group for a moment longer, as Faile and the others introduced the trio to the new members of the Squad, Hitomi finally lifted her hand and carefully watched as the rose formed in her hand. Sosuke watched as well, clear interest on his face. The petals were red and thorns were sticking out of the stem. This was always a sign for her sister to return immediately. She only used this on special occasions and now was one of those times.

"Come," Sosuke told her. He opened the door and led the woman to her bed. He watched as the large smile continued to stay on her face and gave a smile himself. "Can I expect an explanation later?"

She gave a soft laugh. "I suppose; but secrets must remain secret, Sosuke."

"Of course. Don't you trust me?""

"I wonder…" She teased before closing her eyes.

"Hitomi!" They all turned towards the door as the sound of Hiromi's voice traveled through the house as her footsteps pounded towards them.

"Oh boy," they heard Faile's voice come from the outside. "Here she comes."

The door was slid open revealing a very flustered Hiromi with a Kisuke Urahara right behind her.

"Hitomi!" Hiromi moved towards her sister. "What is it? What's wrong?" Hitomi didn't say a word. Instead she lifted a finger and pointed at the door that led outside. Hitomi watched as her sister stepped outside and found what awaited her. "You…you're all back. You're all okay!"

"I apologize, Captain," Chisa began. "On being-" The Lieutenant was cut off as Hiromi dove into her, wrapping her arms around her friend. Chisa gave a soft smile before hugging her back.

Hitomi gave a smile of her own and sighed. "At least they're safe." She told herself.
"These were the ones left behind in Hueco Mundo, weren't they?" Sosuke watched as Raiden moved to Kisuke and began to talk. This was an Arrancar, huh? ~Interesting~ He told himself, rubbing his chin.

"Another of you wish to stay here in the Soul Society?" Kisuke sounded surprised.

"Well, after helping those three women escape…I'm not exactly going to be welcomed back." Raiden sighed, shoving his hands in his pockets.

"It's all right, Kisuke," Faile walked forward and placed an arm on the other man's left shoulders. "I'll keep an eye on him. You just…do your thing." His eyes jolted in through the door, a glare landing on Hitomi.

The sick woman lowered her head. "He still doesn't like me."

Sosuke pulled a frown before moving forward and pulling the door to a close. "Don't worry about him. It doesn't matter if he likes you or not. Not for too much longer."

Hitomi raised a brow in confusion. "What is that supposed to mean?"

Sosuke smiled and placed a hand on her shoulder, pushing her down onto her pillows. "Here, you get some rest tonight. I have some things to do so training shall not take place this evening." She frowned. "Oh, don't give me that." Sosuke leaned down and kissed the top of her forehead. "Rest for you is just as important."

Hitomi felt a blush break out across her face as his lips touched her skin and watched in shock as the Lieutenant left her room. For some reason, she wanted to let a squeal out of her mouth but she stayed silent, not wanting anyone to hear it. Instead she stared at the ceiling above her, Kudja's laughter sending her off into a soft dream.

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