Rangiku poked the unmoving form of Shirou. No response. Another poke.

"Stop that." Gin sighed as he snatched her hand away from Shirou. "We don't know how he will react when he wakes up."

"I know that," she said even as she returned to poking at Shirou's still face with her free hand. "That doesn't mean I'm getting my revenge for all the troubles he's given us." She smiled fondly as Shirou's visage grew troubled. "Hehe," She giggled aloud. "He looks cute when troubled."

The grip on her arm grew strong. "…What."

She turned back to see Gin's signature smile looking down on her. "What," he repeated as the grip tightened even more. "Did you just say?" Uh oh. The smile was beginning to look too nice.

"Nothing." She said a little bit too quickly. "Just that he seems to be troubled." She turned her gaze back to the redhead's face. Shirou's expression was now more akin to confusion and surprise. She wondered what could possibly get the brave hero to become as confused as he was now. Did he not know what an asauchi did? "Maybe he doesn't have a clue."

Gin faced her at that. "What do you mean?"

She looked down at the naked steel on Shirou's lap. The steel that had once been Mai's. The steel that was a reminder to her. A reminder of her mistakes. A reminder of things forgotten, and things to come.

She looked away. "Nothing." She dusted off her lap as she stood up.

"Just thinking about stuff."

Gin gave her an unreadable look. He opened his mouth. "Ran-"

And suddenly Shirou woke up.

Gin grabbed her hand as he backpedaled. One hand on his zanpakuto, he got ready for any reaction from the wandering swordsman.

"Hey-" she protested at the sharp tug on her arm. "Ow- don't do that!"

"Be ready." Gin's curt voice cut through her protests. "He could be dangerous."

She rolled her eyes at his urgency. "It's just Shirou. He wouldn't hurt us." She mumbled as she tugged her arm away from Gin's grip. She turned back to give Shirou her full attention. The redhead seemed to be processing something as he closed his golden eyes. Shirou slowly raised his arm, so that the blade he was gripping was parallel to the ground. He slowly rotated the sword, as if he was opening a lock with a key. And as she started to grow nervous, he opened his mouth and muttered-

"Release," His eyes were now open, and she shivered at the inhuman golden glow. "And install. Arturia Pendragon."

A golden light. No, that wasn't nearly enough to explain the explosion of light. It was silent and loud at the same time. It was an explosion of reiatsu, as the golden light threatened to overturn the entire plaza they were in. And as the golden light began to slowly disperse, she saw him. Or rather-

"Her?" She blurted out at the definitely female person standing where Shirou once stood. Even as the girl opened her eyes, and took in her surroundings, Rangiku stood tongue-tied at the sight of her friend(?). The girl was a gorgeous blonde with red streaks mixed in her hair. Her hair, in the form of a bun was an odd sight to bear, if only because of the odd colors. Her eyes, a mix of brown and green, seemed to be almost kingly. It reminded her of power. Of authority.

Of… of the Captain Commander.

Rangiku shivered at the thought. She was wearing what seemed to be a dress of blues and reds, and although she was relatively flat, Rangiku couldn't deny the female bulge on Shirou's chest. As she struggled to take in the new form of her friend, she noticed the sword or more importantly. That sheathe.

"Woah." A feminine Shirou(?) voiced out. "This feels weird."

Both Gin and Rangiku took a step back at (his? her?) voice. A wary look in their eyes, they unsheathed their zanpakutos. They had definitely not expected this.

Over in the plaza, the girl observed her arms and dress. She seemed almost confused.

"This… is weird." She said. "I didn't expect us to be merging in body as well."

Merging? Rangiku shook her head in confusion. "Um." She began as the girl turned to give her her(?) attention. "Are you… Shirou?"

A moment of silence drifted in the wind. The girl in question seemed to give her question some thought. And as the wind blew and the leaves fluttered in the air, Rangiku realized for the first time that-

She was hot.

And as Rangiku began to question her sexuality internally, the girl finally gave an answer.

"Yes and no?"

Rangiku and Gin exchanged worried glances. She didn't know who she was? That was worrying. If Shirou was beginning to forget himself… this would spell trouble in the Gotei 13. They would no longer believe in trying to deal with him peacefully. A zanpakuto spirit that affected the user's mentality… it was too dangerous.

Rangiku gulped as Shirou seemed to notice the sheath and sword on her hip. Shirou's gaze turned ridiculous and Rangiku was sure she would have laughed had it not been for the atmosphere. Even so, she giggled at his incredulous expression.

"What's wrong?" She asked. "Isn't that just your sword?"

Shirou stopped moving. He seemed to freeze as his eyes locked to the sheathe.

Was something wrong? Wasn't that the sheathe he had used to heal Ghina from the disease? Was there something different to the sheathe? She glanced at the sheathe Shirou couldn't take his eyes off of. It seemed completely normal. Although, it was hard to call that sheathe anything but abnormal, it seemed completely the same as it was before. Well, other than the fact that it clearly held a sword.

She studied the handle. It was of European make? Wait. She turned confused. What's European?

"It's," Shirou breathed out, voice straining to get out the words. "real."

Real? What did he mean? Was the one he had made before not real? Did he think he was hallucinating? Was his zanpakuto affecting his memories or brain structure? What was happening?

Rangiku shook her head. No, it didn't matter what was happening. She had come here for a job. One that she would complete.

She walked up to Shirou who still couldn't take his eyes off the sheathe.

She could feel Gin's glare at the back of her head, but she took a deep breath and shouldered forward.

"Shirou." She began nervously. As Shirou turned to give those strange eyes her attention, she gulped.

"Soul Society will not allow you to be a vigilante." She gulped again as Shirou's eyes narrowed. "And you cannot do anything alone. Why not join us? You have my word that it's the better choice."

Shirou closed her eyes. A completely stoic face covered his expression, and pressure not there before mounted. A regal, royal voice answered her.

"He is not alone. He has many with him." And with growing nervousness, she realized that she was no longer talking to Shirou. The atmosphere no longer felt as if she was talking to the vigilante hero. It felt like… she was in a courtyard, being judged by her king.

"What did you do to him?" She questioned the being within Shirou. "Return him here at once. That is his choice to make, not yours."

"No matter what he thinks, we will always be looking out for him." Shirou responded. "There is nothing more important to us than him. After all," The atmosphere got lighter. "We are his soul." Shirou responded with a smile.

"…" Rangiku had nothing to respond to that.

"Well how about you visit us?" A voice rang out.

Rangiku turned back to give Gin a glance. He had remained silently observing Shirou for the majority of the occasion, but he seemed to have made a decision.

"If you visit us you can see what we're like." Gin continued. "We are not the bad guys, and we hope you can see that."

Shirou turned contemplative at that. Rangiku could see the gears turning in Shirou's head, obviously weighing the pros and the cons. Shirou turned back and gave a glance to the villagers who had taken the chance to hide and watch what they were up to. The villagers seemed to be… scared.

Rangiku shook her head. People will always be afraid of the unknown.

"Ok."

"It's fine if you don't- buhwha" Rangiku floundered as she struggled to give an answer. "What?!"

Shirou turned to give her an amused glance. "I said ok." He put the sheathe back on her hip, and Shirou began to glow once more. She covered her eyes with her arm as the massive light overtook the plaza once more. After the light receded, she was greeted to the sight of the Wandering Swordsman.

"I'll see what you guys are." Shirou continued with a serious tone. "Heroes… or death gods."

She gulped again as she gave Gin a nervous glance.

"And if we aren't heroes?"

Shirou didn't respond.

Rangiku shook her head, nervousness growing inside.

Was this the right choice?

"Is this the right choice?" Shirou silently asked Arturia. He hadn't wanted to do this… but Arturia had taken the choice out of his hands.

"Don't worry, Shirou." She replied. "Even if they turn out to be what we suspect them to be, it is of no problem. You have us. They wouldn't stand a chance against the full power of a heroic spirit." She suddenly grumbled. "Even if that heroic spirit is that damn archer."

"Damn archer?" Shirou asked as he continued to follow Rangiku and Gin silently. Rangiku had taken to explain the Gotei 13's hierarchy system to him, and he listened closely to glean any needed information. "What archer?"

No reply was given.

"Arturia?" He asked internally as he nodded at Rangiku's question.

"…"

"Arturia? You ok there?"

"It's nothing."

That didn't sound like nothing. "You sure?"

"Yes."

She didn't speak up again.

He sighed as he returned his focus to Rangiku.

"-and then we have the seated officers, which are basically rankings for how important you are in the division." She continued, oblivious to his loss of focus. "I'm an 8th seat."

Shirou nodded silently. So, she was an 8th seat? She didn't seem to dangerous, maybe he was worrying too much about the power level of the Shinigami.

"Well?"

"Hm?" Shirou turned to find Rangiku looking expectantly at him. "What is it?"

Rangiku looked at him in disbelief. "Sigh." Sighing audibly, Rangiku slumped as Gin gave a small snicker. Was he supposed to answer something there? Did he miss a part of the conversation? He shook his head as Rangiku slapped Gin on the shoulder. Women. He would never understand them.

"Nothing." Rangiku replied at Shirou's questioning look. "Let's hear less from me, and more from you!" Rangiku turned to Shirou with a beaming smile. "Will you introduce yourself, oh mister hero?"

Shirou blinked. "Oh." He began as he gathered his thoughts. "I'm Emiya Shirou." As Rangiku nodded excitedly he fell silent. "Uh-" he began once more. "I save people." There, that seemed accurate. He nodded to himself, satisfied at his answer.

Silence befell the group. Rangiku seemed to be waiting for something, and Shirou turned away from her shining eyes.

"That's pretty much it."

Silence reigned. Rangiku's smile slowly morphed from excited to stunned. Gin just smiled from the back.

He was creepy. Too silent and too smart. He strangely reminded him of Kotomine.

He would keep an eye open.

"You don't have any hobbies?" Rangiku asked as she tried again to keep the conversation rolling. "Anything you like to do?"

Shirou pondered on the answer. "I like to save people."

SLAP. Shirou turned to face Rangiku, who had taken to slapping her own face. He gave a questioning glance to Gin as he wondered what was happening. Gin just gave him a creepy grin.

Yep. Kotomine senses.

He shook his head.

Shinigami were weird.

Shirou was weird.

Rangiku sighed as she massaged her temples. Shirou was too focused on his ideal of saving people. It was all he would think about. Any question about anything ultimately returned back to, "I save people." Needless to say-

It was driving her crazy.

"PLEASE." She almost shouted as Shirou jumped at the sudden sound. "DO YOU HAVE ANY OTHER THING TO SAY OTHER THAN SAVE PEOPLE."

He seemed to ponder on the answer.

"PLEASE." Rangiku cried, begging for anything different. It was hard to get to know someone, who apparently only did one thing for his entire life.

"Ah," Shirou began as if just remembering something. "I was searching for a while."

THANK THE GODS. Finally, something.

"What were you searching for?" She prompted as Shirou turned his attention to the setting sun.

"I was looking for a woman." He stopped as he regarded the sunset. "I found her."

"Great!" Rangiku replied as she finally had something to talk about. "Where is she?"

Shirou pointed at himself. "Right here." He smiled fondly. "She was right here."

"…" Rangiku took a second to gather her thoughts. If the woman he was looking for was in himself… did that mean she was dead?

She studied his face. It seemed pleasantly peaceful. She shook her head. Not dead then. What did he mean?

Her thoughts drifted to his shikai's form. He was a woman in that form, right? Was… was he turning into the woman? Or worse… was he himself the woman? Was that why he seemed confused as to who he was? Oh god… was he a transsexual? Did he want to be female? How did that work in a place with souls? What did that mean in a place of souls?

As Rangiku gripped her head in despair and confusion, Shirou turned back to the sunset. With his beloved Saber at his side, everything seemed right again. He didn't have any worries anymore. He could now stick to his goal of saving everyone. He nodded to himself as he resolved himself to work harder.

Rangiku watching from the side took a step backwards. This guy…

(S)He was dangerous.

AN: New chapter! Thanks for all the encouragement! I've been kinda busy playing osu! so im late. :D

Madlord23: Sorta.

YouCanGuessWho: Thanks! Ill be sure to research more.

Amphidsf: Currently I'm planning on Shirou not having too many heroes. Or at least, even if he does they won't be likely to help him. After all, some spirits are more selfish than others.

tl34lt12: Hmm... that's interesting.

T-B-R: Probably not. Maybe for shit and giggles.

logron: Indeed! :D