Author: Hey again~

Finally, the next chapter is out~ I don't think it's one of my best though; my writing seems a bit off to me ._. And it may be boring ._. Ugh ._. Well at least I know at least one of you readers might be pleased with the major event that happens in this chapter~ And Kurotsuchi's not such a bad guy in my opinion. Or at least that's what I thought until I went and read some of the Bleach chapters again... Anyway, enough of that tangent...

Things to remember while reading: (Unless you don't care and started reading already) Tategamiinu means hyena. Maiodoruryuu, means dancing dragon. And Hitsugaya's zanpakuto is on his back because it would probably drag on the ground if it were at his waist. (I'm just inferring that one though)

Disclaimer: Obviously, Bleach isn't mine. Otherwise I'd put this in the actual anime as a filler. But not the manga. That'd kill it.

Matsumoto, Hitsugaya, Renji, and Nadeshiko all sat under the orange and yellow trees around them, at least a foot apart from each other. Except for Hitsugaya, everyone had an ice cream cone. Matsumoto and Renji had strawberry, Nadeshiko had chocolate, and Hitsugaya had a bag of candy. Renji was the first to notice.

"Hitsugaya-Taicho, I thought you didn't eat candy." He smirked, reaching for his phone so he could take a picture.

"I'm not eating candy," He put another piece in his mouth. "Don't call me 'Hitsugaya-Taicho' while we're in public."

"Yes you are," Renji said slightly louder, pointing to the bag. "That is candy. You're eating it."

"You've never seen me eat it, and all of a sudden you see me eating some. Are you sure you're not hallucinating?"

Renji blinked a few times to make sure he was seeing correctly. After confirming it he got confused. "You are eating it! Right?" He turned to Matsumoto for confirmation.

She looked over to Hitsugaya, who gave her a blank look. "I don't see anything…" She bit a strawberry out of the ice cream scoop. "Are you sure you're okay, Renji?" She turned her head back towards him with a look of concern on her face.

"Maybe it's your gigai." Hitsugaya added, eating another piece.

"I should go get the eyes checked…" Renji stood and ran off in the direction of Urahara's shop.

Nadeshiko looked at Hitsugaya. He was eating candy. She couldn't see the brand under his hand, but it was obvious that whatever he was eating was candy.

Matsumoto walked over to Nadeshiko and knelt down. "Taicho always pretends not to like candy because he thinks it's childish," She whispered. "He eats it every once in a while when he's thinking hard about something, but he never admits it."

"So that's why you denied it when Renji asked?" Nadeshiko whispered back.

"Yup." Matsumoto smiled. "It's one of the nice things I do for him that he actually appreciates. But honestly," She pouted. "He doesn't even acknowledge it with any work breaks or anything. I feel underappreciated."

Nadeshiko glanced at Hitsugaya, who was looking past them. She turned around to look, as did Matsumoto. Kamaro was running towards them, wearing large sunglasses.

"Those look so bad," Matsumoto said when he reached them. "They make you look like you're trying and failing to look like a Mafioso."

Kamaro grabbed the glasses from his face and fell into a sitting position. He panted. "Why'd you guys leave me?"

"We didn't know where you were, since you ran off like that." Matsumoto answered, taking the glasses from his hand and looking them over.

"I went to go buy those apparently ugly sunglasses. It's hot for August."

"Doesn't matter. We got tired of waiting, met Renji, got ice cream, then came here." She handed them back.

"Where did Abarai-san go?"

"He left to get his eyes checked." Hitsugaya said, hiding his bag of sweets.

Kamaro was about to ask why he left, but he chose not to, seeing that what he had to say was more important. Nadeshiko shifted in position so that she was kneeling.

"Do you—"

"I saw—"

Both Kamaro and Nadeshiko snapped their mouths shut. Kamaro smiled slightly, internally laughing at the moment, and motioned for her to speak first.

"You speak first," She said, licking her ice cream.

"No, it's fine, you go ahead."

"No, you say what you were going to say."

"I wanna hear what you were gonna say."

"I forgot."

Kamaro chuckled. "You liar. You have a great memory. There's no way you could forget something you were going to say a minute ago."

"Oh really?" Nadeshiko asked. "Prove it."

Hitsugaya started paying attention, but didn't raise his head.

Kamaro smirked. "When's my birthday?"

"You never told me. How is that supposed to prove my memory, huh?"

"Because you said the specific fact that I didn't tell you. People with average or bad memories would be unsure and say they don't know."

"That's horrible reasoning."

"Yeah, I know. But I can't prove it."

At that, Hitsugaya stopped paying attention to their conversation.

"Then you'll just have to go by my word. I forgot what I was going to say. What were you gonna say?"

"Uh," Kamaro looked down at the sunglasses in his hands. "Oh, that's right." He looked up. "I met a soul with no reiatsu."

"What?" Both Matsumoto and Nadeshiko said in unison. Hitsugaya looked over to the three.

"You better not be kidding, Kamaro," Matsumoto looked at him with a serious face.

Feeling threatened, Kamaro put his hands up defensively. "I'm not, it's true."

Hitsugaya stood up and walked over to them. "What did they look like?"

"It was a girl with reddish-orange hair and she was around this tall compared to me," he held up his hand to represent a height that didn't exceed his shoulder. "She kept saying that she wasn't a soul though…"

Nadeshiko gasped as her eyes widened. "She's—"

"A sleeper," Hitsugaya finished. "The thing we came here for."

"That's right, Hitsugaya," Nadeshiko looked up to him. "You never told us why we were here."

He looked at Matsumoto, annoyed. "I told you to tell everyone three days before we left."

"No you didn't…"

"What do you think I was saying to you while you were eating all that chocolate?"

"I thought you were telling me to stop!"

Hitsugaya gave her a look then gave up on the topic. He sighed. "We're here to investigate these things called sleepers. These beings are souls that became stuck in this world, unable to be sent to soul society. Their reiatsu is literally sleeping inside of them, hence the name. Normally, they wouldn't be a threat, but they've recently been able to temporarily release their sleeping reiatsu and use it as a weapon. This information may be inaccurate though; we're just relying on the information reported by two shinigami who were nearly killed by one of them."

"So," Nadeshiko said. "Are Sara and Sera sleepers?"

Hitsugaya turned to her. "I think they are."

"Who're Sara and Sera?" Matsumoto asked.

"Two possible examples of sleepers. Hanate-san and I met them on the roof of Inoue-san's place. They—"

"You two were on the roof together?" Matsumoto nearly shouted. "How cute!"

"Don't twist it, Matsumoto." Hitsugaya said, turning his face to her, scowling.

"Now that I think about it, you two were in the booth for a long time…" She smiled slyly.

Nadeshiko looked downwards and something changed in Hitsugaya's expression. Kamaro, who had been about to comment on what Matsumoto said, thought it best to keep quiet.

"Did I go too far?" Matsumoto thought when she noticed the change in the atmosphere. "Maybe something did happen…"

Finally, Hitsugaya spoke. "Go tell the rest why we're here, Matsumoto." He walked back to his spot by the tree.

Matsumoto said nothing and stood up. She walked away, regretting having mentioned the photo booth.

"You know what, Odoruryuu?" Nadeshiko thought towards her.

"What, Master? You're going to change your mind and tell Hitsugaya the truth?"

"No, I'm just going to end the awkwardness between us."

"How?"

Kamaro crawled closer to Nadeshiko while this conversation was occurring. Nadeshiko stared at her ice cream cone, tilting it whenever it was about drip on her hand. Kamaro just sat next to her, debating with himself as to whether he should ask what happened. After evaluating how troubled she looked, he decided to, exactly when Odoruryuu asked 'How'.

He put his hand on her shoulder, genuinely concerned. "Hey, Nadeshiko—"

WHACK

A bag of candy that hit him square in the face pushed him down, keeping him from continuing.

Nadeshiko turned her head to look at him, wondering what it was that had passed her and hit Kamaro. He was lying on the ground, small pieces of round candy scattered all over him. The open bag lay on his chest, and he had a piece of the candy in his hand, eying it with a confused expression. Nadeshiko giggled at how strange he looked.

He looked up. "Who threw this?"

Nadeshiko looked over to Hitsugaya, who was sitting idly against a tree. He seemed lost in thought to her, but he still managed to notice her looking and turn to her. Nadeshiko looked away quickly and searched around the area for more people that looked like they could have hit Kamaro with the candy. She saw no one, meaning that only Hitsugaya could have thrown it.

"I don't know," Nadeshiko said, turning to Kamaro.

"Ugh." Kamaro sat up, looking annoyed. "People still throw things?"

Nadeshiko shrugged and looked down at her hand. "No! My ice cream!"

The ice cream had melted and spilled over the side of her hand, seeping between her fingers. She spread them out and looked to see how far the ice cream reached. After inspecting the mess, she stood up. Hitsugaya did the same, pulling something from his pocket.

"Where's a place I can wash this off?" Nadeshiko asked, looking around.

"Didn't you have a napkin?" Kamaro stood up and searched himself for one.

"No…" Nadeshiko trailed off as she tried to lick the still dripping cone. "I didn't think it would melt so fast! It's almost winter!"

"But it's a hot day in almost winter!"

Hitsugaya tapped Nadeshiko's shoulder, holding a handkerchief out to her. "Here, he said as she turned.

"Thanks!" Nadeshiko took it, but stopped before it touched her other hand. "This is a hankie though. Are you sure you want me messing it up?"

"I can wash it."

"I heard chocolate ice cream stains."

"Strawberry does."

"No, I'm pretty sure it's chocolate."

"It's dripping."

"What?"

Hitsugaya motioned with his eyes to her hand.

"Oh no!" She looked down at her hand and wiped it with the handkerchief. The ice cream continued to drip onto her fingers, and on to the handkerchief.

Hitsugaya took the ice cream cone from her. "Idiot, you can't do that with this in your hand." Droplets of ice cream fell form the cone.

"But now it's dripping on your hand!" Nadeshiko giggled, taking the cone back and tossing it into a nearby trash can. She held the handkerchief up to find a clean spot. "Here," she said, holding an unused area out to him. "Use it."

Hitsugaya said nothing and took it back. "I have to wash my hands," he thought to himself, looking down at his now sticky fingers and the handkerchief. "And this too."

"But honestly, Taicho," Nadeshiko said, smiling. "Who still carries around a hankie?"

"Shut up." Hitsugaya folded the cloth and stuffed it in his pocket. "Be glad I had it. And remember it's 'Hitsugaya' while we're here. People would get the wrong idea if they heard you address someone as 'Taicho'."

"Yeah, I keep forgetting that...But I guess the hankie just shows how old you really are."

Hitsugaya smirked. "That doesn't mean much coming from someone who doesn't even know their own age."

"Are you calling me old?" Nadeshiko leaned forward, placing her hands on her hips.

"I said no such thing."

Kamaro looked at this. Their conversation, their reactions to each other's words, how friendly they sounded to him. 'It's not fair', he thought. 'The boundary between taicho and subordinate was nearly, or probably already, broken', he thought.

And soon, he found himself thinking about what the girl said about coming to the Asylum. 'Sure, she's a sleeper, but what if they were like the bounts?', he thought. 'What if they're harmless, and are only dangerous if provoked?', he thought.

"Maybe," he thought, looking at Nadeshiko's smiling face, "She can help me get Nadeshiko to look at me that way."

Hitsugaya looked up at the sky. "We should get back to Orihime's place."

"Yeah, Kamaro agreed, looking up. "It's gonna get dark in about an hour."

"'Kay then, let's go." Nadeshiko turned and started walking.

Kamaro and Hitsugaya followed. As they walked, Hitsugaya remembered the white box Kurotsuchi wanted given to Nadeshiko. He had instructed, 'Don't look inside'. Hitsugaya had followed that, and kept out of it.

"But Hyourinmaru," Hitsugaya started. "He didn't say, 'Don't ever look inside'." He smirked.

"Clever, Master, but you really don't trust her answer?"

"I just want to be sure. I think Kurotsuchi may know something."

"And her word isn't enough?"

"No."

"You're being childish."

"I'm being assertive."

"Says the child."

"The assertive ch—"

Hyourinmaru chuckled.

"Shut up."

It was morning, though the sun was still hiding behind the horizon of the Earth, casting blue-orange colors in the sky. Hitsugaya walked up to the ridge of the roof and sat down, a box in his hand. Not even stopping to see if anyone was watching, he carefully opened it. Inside was a stuffed envelope, a bag of jelly beans, and an unfolded letter. He picked up the letter and began to read it.

Nadeshiko

By the time you read this, you will have reached the end of your memories. I looked into your memory bank while you were asleep in my laboratory. I saw who you were friends with as a child before you met me. I saw what you did to him that caused you to meet me. And I now know why you were crying when I told you your memory was going to be erased.

From what you learned about Hitsugaya Toushiro while you lived through your childhood here…

Hitsugaya was speechless. He felt as if he was near tears, but quickly controlled the urge. Reading the same line over and over again, he leaned closer over the letter, letting his muscles relax and reading the same line another three times.

"I'm glad you're happy, Master."

Hitsugaya didn't reply, but Hyourinmaru didn't mind. Satisfied with his discovery, Hitsugaya began folding the paper again. Then his curiosity hit him. He paused then opened up the letter again.

"Still being nosy, I see."

"I want to know how and why she disappeared. And also why she lied." Hitsugaya skimmed through the top part and read the rest.

From what you learned about Hitsugaya Toushiro while you lived through your childhood, it should have been obvious what his answer would have been. What you did was blind and stupid, child. So what if some children teased you? That serves no reason for running away. You felt strongly towards him, and you ran in fear of a rejection that wouldn't have happened.

Hitsugaya paused after that sentence. He thought about it for a few seconds, ignoring any comments Hyourinmaru made. Nearly emotionless, he considered what Kurotsuchi was implying in that sentence. As far as he could tell, 'felt strongly' can only mean very few things. And when put in a sentence with the word 'rejection', it could only mean one.

He folded up the note carefully and stuck it back in its original place inside the box. Closing the box and readjusting himself upright, he looked up to the sky.

"What's the matter now?" Hyourinmaru asked.

"You're finally choosing to ask instead of swim around my mind and find out yourself? I'm surprised."

Hyourinmaru seemed to fade from Hitsugaya's conscious mind for a few seconds. When he returned, he let out a thoughtful 'hmm'.

"Just go ahead and start."

"You're considering…how would you say it…'You and her'."

"I don't…It wouldn't work."

"But you—"

"I loved her as a friend, not like that."

"It seems like it was more than that."

"It wasn't. And it isn't."

"You say it was love for a friend. You say it never was more. I don't think you know just how much it piled up over time. You spent your childhood days with her, even in the first few days, when I first entered your life, far before you knew of my existence, I saw how much you were enjoying your days with her. I had almost decided to stay hidden in you for a longer period of time, but she soon showed signs of discovering her zanpakuto early. It was obvious that if she continued at her pace, she would be leaving you behind. I saw your reaction to Hinamori leaving and somehow I knew you would be hurt ten times deeper if Nadeshiko left as well. And I was right. Now, why do you think there was such a vast difference in the feeling?"

"Because Nadeshiko was closer to me than Hinamori," Hitsugaya ran his hand through his hair as his expression changed from calm to deeply annoyed.

"Then why didn't you chase after Hinamori?"

"Because she gave me a reason, Hyourinmaru. Nadeshiko left without a word to me because the thought I'd…reject her."

"Would you have done so?"

"At the time…" Hitsugaya looked off to the side. "At the time, probably not. But it's different now. Such a thing would interfere—"

"With what? You know very well that there are relationships taking place in the Seireitei. It's not as if you're considering a living person; there's nothing wrong at all with it."

"My reasons for accepting back then would have been that I knew her well, enjoyed having her around, and that she was cute. Hell, even the height difference wouldn't have bothered e much. Because I guess I did…back then…like her."

"So you finally admit it."

"Yes, I admit it. I really did like her. It hurt so much sitting at home alone wondering if she would come running from some random direction crying again because she got lost. Every day I had to persuade myself that she wasn't lying somewhere dead. In those days I realized just how much she was worth to me. She meant the world to me."

"And that's what caused you to vow to find her."

"Yes, and I see where this is going. I don't' feel the same way I did back then. Feelings fade."

"As well as start up again, Master."

"But they didn't."

"How can you be so sure?"

"When I found her in the river that day, about to drown, the happiness I felt from just finding her and showing myself that she was alive isn't even comparable to what I felt when I just read that letter."

"Keep in mind, that time in the academy when you broke into the record room to go through the files and didn't find hers, you convinced yourself that she was dead."

"I know."

"The feeling may have died with that belief."

"So you're saying my feelings for her have started over?"

"They apparently have. And soon, you'll feel the same as you did when you were younger."

"It took a lot to get to that point."

"Your heart will just be uncovering lost feelings. And it shouldn't take that long; Nadeshiko seems to be a lovable person."

"What makes you say that?"

"From her current relationship with Kurotsuchi, obviously he must favor her enough not to have killed her by now."

"Now that you mention it, that's surprising. She's probably the only person I know who can stand to be alone with him."

Looking down at the street, Hitsugaya could see Kamaro and Nadeshiko leaving, Kamaro with his hands on her shoulders, leading her somewhere. A few steps later, Kamaro swept Nadeshiko off of her feet and carried her. She protested, but eventually submitted to it.

"Now imagine that with Nadeshiko in a wedding dress and Ikezuchi in a suit."

Hitsugaya took another long look at the two, feeling a chilly wind pass. "…I'd rather not." He shivered. "I need a scarf."

"Kamaro."

"Yes, my sweet?"

"Why am I blindfolded now?"

"Because I'm taking you to a beautiful place, my sweet."

"There's really no point if you told me where we're going. And stop calling me your 'sweet'." Nadeshiko raised her hand to tug at the blindfold, but Kamaro caught her before she reached it.

"Please cooperate, Nadeshiko. We're almost there." Kamaro maneuvered her around a corner, through a gate. After leading her into the center of the field, he untied her blindfold.

Nadeshiko looked around, unimpressed, when the blindfold fell from her face. The two were standing in a large field of pink flowers. A few feet from them, there was a pond with water that sparkled in the morning's light. Looking over the length of the field, her eyes passed a patch of bushes to her right, a building that clearly still had green plants living around it, and a small area of trees seeming to act as a wall between the building and the field. She took another look at the flowers in the field around her, and gasped, smiling widely.

"So you noticed," Kamaro said, watching her kneel down and finger the flowers. "This was the only place I could find in this town that had these flowers. And I hope they're the right ones…They're nadeshikos, right?"

Nadeshiko picked one and stood up. "They are! I haven't seen these in ages!" She twirled the flower in her hand.

"Aww, you look just like a happy child. That's cute."

"People always used to say that to me at the academy, you know…"

"That you were cute?"

"No, that I looked like a child. But I remember distinctly that I was at least over sixteen when I died."

"And your voice isn't squeaky at all."

"And I'm pretty sure my height is stunted because of bad sleeping habits."

"Sleeping has to do with growing?"

"It's an old saying – 'Children who sleep well grow well'. I'm not the type to sleep much, so that might explain my height."

"Or you could have just come from a long line of short people."

"That too."

"Or tall midgets."

"Yeah."

"Or gigantic brownies."

"Brownies?"

"Those tiny things. They're like the midget versions of sprites."

"You're saying my family consisted of a snack food and soda?" Nadeshiko giggled, placing her hand over her mouth.

"No!" Kamaro laughed. "The mythological creatures. But it could be the food," he continued jokingly. "Those things don't reach over two feet. And you could be the tallest of them all."

Nadeshiko laughed at the idea of having junk food for ancestors, holding the flower in her hand loosely. Kamaro walked up to her, took a deep breath, and placed his hands firmly on her shoulders. It startled her, causing her to drop the flower.

"I can do this on my own," he thought, looking her in the eyes. "There's no need to endanger ourselves in enemy's territory, even if they're peaceful."

Nadeshiko turned her head away. "Shouldn't we go home now?"

"Sorry, Nadeshiko, but I want to say something before I lose the courage to." He paused, and Nadeshiko looked at him, waiting for him to continue. "I brought you here out of all the other places I could've chosen because first, I thought you'd like the flower that matched your name, and because it's very unlikely that I will be interrupted.

"I know I've been a nuisance to you, but you forgave me each time. I love that about you. You also have a good sense of humor – don't deny it; I've seen you stifle a few laughs – and you, well basically, are my ideal girl. And I wanted, before I mess up any further, to tell you properly that I like you, and I would like to well, uh, date you, if I get a positive answer."

"Kamaro…" Nadeshiko trailed off, not knowing what to say. She knew her answer, and she knew her reason. It was just the fact that Kamaro was being truly serious, without a hint of amusement on his face.

"It's okay if you reject me. This time I'll leave you alone, I promise. But I still wanna be friends, because you're great and… yeah…" Kamaro blushed and turned away, embarrassed.

There was a slight rustle in the nearby bushes.

"I'm sorry Kamaro," Nadeshiko started. "I don't feel the same way." She looked up at him. "And I still want to be friends with you."

"Thank goodness." Kamaro brought her into a hug. 'I thought you'd say something like, 'It's gonna be too awkward', and walk away like in one of those overly dramatic soap operas."

"You watch soaps?" Nadeshiko pulled away from the hug, a teasing smile on her face.

"…No."

"Then how can you make that comparison?"

"Men's intuition."

"That was a line from a soap."

"I heard it from a guy."

"A guy on a soap." Nadeshiko giggled.

"It wasn't –"

Kamaro stopped, looking past Nadeshiko. Walking towards them was the same girl he saw the day before. Against the light of the rising sun, her hair resembled a weak flame. She raised a staff nearly as tall as she was, smiling sweetly.

Nadeshiko, hearing the crunching of the field as Sara walked, turned around, and then gasped, taking a step back.

Kamaro furrowed his brow in confusion. "You're that soul…Why are you here?"

"Please, call me Sara. You actually came! And you brought Nadeshiko with you! This is brilliant!"

"I didn't come here for your help." He pulled Nadeshiko closer to him.

"And apparently you don't need it. How about I make a deal? If both of you come and become one of us, then I'll leave the rest of you 'shinigami' alone. That way, they'll be able to return to wherever they came from and you two can live at the top ranks of our society—She as the princess and you as her prince."

Kamaro put his hand on the back of his head. "Well, see, about that…She chose that white haired kid I was talking about."

"What?" Sara made a face. "You like him over this guy, Nadeshiko-sama?"

Nadeshiko blushed and nodded, reaching into her pocket.

"Hmm," Sara rolled her eyes. "Maybe I'll have to make the deal with him then…Meh," She held out her hand. "Give me Nadeshiko-sama."

"No."

"You're refusing?" She raised the staff.

Nadeshiko jerked out of Kamaro's grasp and tossed a soul candy into his mouth as he tried to speak. She then tossed one into hers and they both left their gigais.

"Go home!" She told them. They understood immediately and ran.

"Thanks," Kamaro said, unsheathing his zanpakuto and taking an opposing stance.

Nadeshiko unsheathed hers as well and stepped forward.

"Please don't raise your blade against me, Nadeshiko-sama." Sara lowered her staff. "I only brought this for emergency purposes."

"I get the feeling you'll be violent if I don't come with you." Nadeshiko took a defensive position.

"You're not?" Sara shot a glare at Kamaro.

"No. I don't remember anything about you guys and I'm very happy with my life as it is."

"But Nadeshiko-sama! Forgive my shouting at you, but you promised to come back from that wretched afterworld and come with us!"

"Why would Soul Society be bad?" Kamaro spoke up. "You've obviously never been there yourself, if you're saying such a thing. It's wonderful! And since Nadeshiko said she likes it there with the rest of us shinigami, then I'm not letting you take her."

"Is that so?" Sara raised her staff again.

"Screech to your heart's delight, Tategamiinu!"

The edge of Kamaro's zanpakuto changed from smooth to ridged, and the sharp edge of the blade became pure black.

Nadeshiko looked up at him. "You're releasing it?"

"It doesn't look like she's going to play. This is just a precaution."

"All right then." She turned back to Sara, who was staring, deeply interested in the change of Kamaro's zanpakuto. "Dance with feet faster than the wind, Maiodoruryuu!"

The edge of Maiodoruryuu became wavy, and the entire blade became thinner.

"So she's prepared to fight too?" Sara pointed the staff towards them, waiting for him to attack. When she saw that he was waiting for her to start, she suddenly pointed the staff at Nadeshiko. She was instantly surrounded by sliver bars of light.

"I'm sorry, Nadeshiko-sama," she said, changing the location of the cage, Nadeshiko inside of it. "Once I defeat your captor, I'll—" She took a quick look at the building in the distance, clenching her teeth. "I have to hurry."

Nadeshiko slashed at the bars, but she didn't even make a scratch. Looking up, she saw that there were bars over her head as well. She attempted to push her zanpakuto in between the bars, but there was an invisible shield of something she thought was similar to kido covering the outside of the cage.

"If it's really kido, I can cut it," She thought, slashing frantically at it. As she did, she could see Kamaro fighting. Sara was beating him badly, and seemed to be immune to whatever Kamaro was hitting her with. She could clearly see him bleeding from his head onto his face, and by the way his left arm was hanging loosely, she could tell that it was no longer usable. Sara delivered another blow to his stomach and he coughed up blood. Nadeshiko slashed at the shield faster.

"Sara!" Sera screamed, running through a mess of bushes. "What are you doing?!"

Sara halted to a stop. "Sera! Don't startle me like that!"

Kamaro collapsed, unable to keep standing from the blood loss. Nadeshiko stared, her eyes widening in panic.

"Sara! Sera!" Nadeshiko yelled, taking a tone of authority. Both twins' attention turned to her. "As your princess, I order you to let me out of here!"

Sera held her hand up, pointing towards the cage, and said something Nadeshiko couldn't hear. After the cage dissolved, Nadeshiko ran to Kamaro. Sera slapped Sara across the face.

"How could you do this?" She yelled. "You made Nadeshiko-sama mad at us! And you probably killed her friend over there! What were you thinking, Sara? Our healers can't do anything for them! You've made it harder for us to take her back with us!"

Sara looked at Sera with saddened eyes. Tears were finding their way around them and rolling down her cheeks.

"Ugh, Sara! Don't look at me that way!" Sera looked to her right, noticing the people approaching.

Nodding, Sara disappeared. Sera followed.

Hitsugaya, Orihime, Yumichika, and Ikkaku all flash-stepped into the area at the same time, seeing Nadeshiko bent over a nearly dead Kamaro, trying her best to help him. She was uninjured, but Kamaro's blood was all over her hands, splattered on one side of her face, and it covered the sharp edge of her zanpakuto, which was still in shikai. The others just stared in surprise at the incriminating scene.

"Why are you guys just standing there?" Nadeshiko shouted in their direction. "Kamaro needs help!"

Nadeshiko sat against the wall of Orihime's guest room, out of her gigai, her knees pulled up to her head. There was a kido barrier placed around the room Nadeshiko was in, due to the immediate suspicion placed on her when the group found the two. Kamaro was in the living room being treated by Orihime. Yumichika and Ikkaku went home as soon as they learned the circumstances

Hitsugaya knocked on the door, removing the barrier. He opened the door and looked at Nadeshiko, noticing that she had her zanpakuto lying on the ground next to her. She glanced up at him, then hid her eyes as he walked over. He set the box that was for Nadeshiko down on the floor next to him.

"I didn't do it, Taicho." Nadeshiko muttered when he stood before her.

"I know you didn't." He looked in the direction of the other room. "His wounds weren't caused by a zanpakuto or kido." He glanced at her, pausing before he spoke again. "What happened?"

"Kamaro took me to a field of nadeshiko flowers. Apparently one of the twins, Sara, called him there, but I'm not sure about that. I think their home is the building behind the field, since Sara looked back to there and noticed her sister coming."

"How did you two come to fighting? I thought they worshipped you."

"When Sara came, she offered to take both of us as sleepers. But we refused and she raised a staff as if she was going to attack. Kamaro and I left our gigais just in case, but she lowered her staff when she saw that we were going to fight back. Or at least, she lowered it because she didn't want to have to fight me. We refused to go with her again, and Kamaro…" Nadeshiko trailed off as her words became muffled.

"I can't hear you."

"Kamaro set himself as if he was going to fight—"

"Are you crying?"

"No."

"Then look up so I can hear you."

Nadeshiko raised her head, a sad expression on her face. "Kamaro set himself to attack, and I expected her to try and attack him only, so I prepared myself to defend him if necessary. But then Sara put me into some sort of cage."

"I assume you tried to escape."

"I did. I attempted to break the bars and the barrier around it, but it didn't show any signs of breaking. I thought it might have been kido of some kind, but if it was, I would have been able to break it."

"How did you get out?"

"When Sera arrived, Sara stopped fighting. I ordered both of them to let me out and I ran over to help Kamaro."

"Why didn't you order Sara to let you out earlier?"

"I didn't think of it then." Nadeshiko looked down.

"How did Ikezuchi's blood get on you and your zanpakuto?"

"When I went over to help him I carelessly placed my zanpakuto in front of me as I knelt down. But I laid it where his blood had spilled without knowing. I only realized it when I moved it away. His blood splattered on my face sometime while I was trying to help him. I did the best I could—I stopped the bleeding in his stomach and left arm, but it didn't look like it was helping." Nadeshiko buried her face in her knees.

"Are you crying now?"

"…No."

"No one thinks it's your fault."

"I could've stopped it."

"He's still alive, you know."

Nadeshiko looked up, surprised. "He is?"

"Yeah."

"I'm glad." Nadeshiko smiled, letting out a relieved sigh.

"I'm not going to lie to you though," Hitsugaya continued as he watched her face fall. "We're not sure he'll survive his wounds."

"Oh," Nadeshiko looked downwards then buried her face in her knees again.

"Are you—"

"I'm not crying."

"Then why are you hiding your face." He crossed his arms.

"I…don't know."

"Stand up; you look pitiful sitting like that."

Nadeshiko stood up, awkward from sitting so long.

They stood across from each other, neither saying anything. Nadeshiko's eyes darted across the room after the first few seconds of staring, but Hitsugaya still looked at her, looking at the changes in her hair, her hands, and her eyes.

"Aside from her hair being a bit longer, she hasn't changed much. I'm glad to see that she's gotten stronger too. Back then, she'd be crying her eyes out over something like this."

Nadeshiko looked at him, blushing from being stared at for so long. "What?"

"Nothing," he lied. "You shouldn't worry about Ikezuchi. He's strong. I'm sure he'll live."

Nadeshiko looked down at the ground and notices a box by Hitsugaya's feet. He noticed her looking at it and picked it up.

"This is from Kurotsuchi-Taicho." Hitsugaya handed her the box.

Taking it carefully so that she wouldn't drop it, Nadeshiko made an upset face. "How rude, he didn't even try to give it to me personally." She opened the box, sitting back down against the wall.

Hitsugaya turned. "I guess you want me to leave…"

"No, it's fine. Stay if you want."

"Then I will."

"Seriously?" Nadeshiko looked up.

"Yes, is there a problem?" Hitsugaya sat down on the ground against the opposite wall, looking towards her.

"No," She said, looking back at the box. "I just thought you'd have better things to do…Paperwork to sign…" She picked up the folded letter and opened it. "…Calls to make…"

"All of my work is excused. And…" Hitsugaya trailed off, understanding what Nadeshiko meant by 'calls' "I've already asked them to prepare for it."

Nadeshiko nodded and began to read Kurotsuchi's letter to her. She skipped the first few paragraphs, but then looked back up at them, confused.

"That's strange…Kurotsuchi already told me this a while ago."

"About what, Master?"

"About Hitsugaya and my stupidity."

"Well, maybe he…wanted to meddle."

"Meddle with what?"

"You'll find out soon, Master!" Odoruryuu giggled.

Nadeshiko glanced at Hitsugaya, who was standing against the opposite wall. She looked at him for a while, and then back to the letter, searching it for traces of his reiatsu. Sure enough, there were.

"Taicho, did you look in the box?"

"No."

"But your reiatsu is on this letter."

"I dropped it and everything spilled out. It probably got on there when I put it back in."

"Oh, okay. If you read it…" Nadeshiko trailed off, mentally slapping herself for saying too much. But Hitsugaya didn't seem to notice.

"I've been meaning to ask," he said, changing the subject. "Why is your zanpakuto on the ground next to you?"

"It's because I'm short."

"And?"

"If I had it on my side while I sat it would look awkward."

"But the way it's tilted should make it slide...oh."

"Yeah, Taicho. It would look awkward." Nadeshiko looked at the position of his zanpakuto, which was sitting on his back. "But wouldn't yours slide upwards?"

"It slides to the side." Hitsugaya pointed out that Hyourinmaru's hilt was right behind his shoulder.

"Oh."

Nadeshiko looked back down to the letter and read onward, pausing at the end to read the very last, very short, paragraph.

But aside from that, there's something I wanted to ask you. I've grown to consider you a daughter, and since we really aren't related by blood, I want it to be official. The papers are in the envelope.

Nadeshiko placed it down, her eyes wide with surprise. Slowly, with feelings of disbelief, she picked up the yellow envelope and pulled out the first few sheets of paper. At the top of the first page, in bold letters, read:

'Soul Society Adoption Form'

Author: Sorry, all you Kamaro lovers out there ._. You're welcome, all you Kamaro haters out there~

Questions~ Just how strong are the sleepers? Are they harmful? Will Kamaro live? What exactly is going on with the sleepers and Nadeshiko? Will there be a fight? Will Yumichika, Renji, and Ikkaku get bigger parts in the story? Is Nadeshiko's new name going to be Kurotsuchi Nadeshiko? Will Ichigo actually show up in this story?

Yes, Kurotsuchi Nadeshiko will be her new name if she fills out the adoption forms and they actually go through the system. Kamaro...like Hitsugaya said, nobody knows. Yumichika, Renji, and Ikkaku...I probably shouldn't have included them in the story at all ._. Ichigo gets too much air time as it is, that camera hogger. As you can see, sleepers are strong. They nearly killed a seated officer! (That's Kamaro, just in case you didn't remember) But keep in mind, they're throwing 'sleeping' reiatsu. I promise, next chapter, you'll know all about Nadeshiko and the sleepers. And later, you'll know whether Kamaro lives (I want him to live, but the story might not~) And later, who knows, maybe I'll give Ikkaku, Yumichika, and Renji something to do. Or I might just give their spots away to Hitsugaya and make him do something that makes people go 'aww' or 'squee' or maybe something that makes people gape at the page and go speechless...Now that I said that, I wanna try it...Meh, maybe later.

Aah~ I'm having poem block _