Guess who is back to finish this story! I know it's been yet another year since I have made any sort of contribution to this... but I have decided that I am going to finish this story. I hate leaving things unfinished... and there are still a few of you here waiting for the conclusion, so I promise to give that to you.

HOWEVER, I have made one significant change. I have given the name "Yoko" to the main character. All previous chapters have had the named placed, and will continue to do so. I hope you guys are all right with that.

Secondly, I want to give a big shout out to you guys who have supported me all these years: Dreamstar14, keybladeXshadow, Scarlett Foxie, GreenDragon03, NeroAutore, and Korikarasu. Thank you guys SO much for all that you have done. I hope that you will be satisfied with how everything will turn out... there's still a few chapters until the conclusion and I will do my best to wrap it up neatly, ASAP without long hiatus'.

Your eyebrow wiggled anxiously as a look of confusion shrouded your face. The boy with the red pineapple haircut gave you a doltish smile as he waved at you. At first a bit of frustration clouded your mind, it certainly felt like you were constantly being followed or watched by all of Hitsugaya's subordinates.

First it was Matsumoto randomly popping into the shrine whenever you were working; acting as though she was a customer or something. Grandpa did seem to really enjoy her company, though... You shuddered at the thought of your grandfather being a creepy old man.

Then you kept running into that bald guy and the pretty boy after school. Strangely enough, they always seemed to be around Keigo, too. And even stranger, they managed to completely drain the life out of Keigo; he was so quiet and well-mannered when they were around. You wondered if they scared him or something.

Sadly, you hadn't seen Orihime or Rukia in awhile. They seemed to have disappeared for the last couple of weeks. Just like Ichigo. Maybe they were busy training, themselves.

But now, pineapple boy Renji is here, waving at you, as you're trying to pick up a few things for Grandpa at the grocery store.

And the worst part about of all this: You have barely seen Hitsugaya at all this week! You have seen his comrades more than you have seen him! That's what made you grumpier than anything else. You felt a little bit lonely. You knew he was probably busy with all that Shinigami business, but you thought he should at least try to make some time for his girlfriend.

"Yoko, right?" he said as he walked up to you. You noticed he was carrying a couple of strange items in a plastic basket; lots of candy, condiments, and bizarre vegetables.

You nodded, "yup. Renji, right? Long time no see."

"Hey, you remembered my name!" He said happily.

You sweat-dropped; he seemed to be a bit overly happy about the fact. You weren't quite sure how you should respond so instead you just smiled.

"You okay? You seem less lively than the first time we met."

"Oh, sorry. I-I guess I just got a lot on my mind," you smiled, trying to cover up your frustration.

"Do you need to talk about it?"

You hesitated at first, but you were feeling so down in the dumps you surprisingly opened up to him, "Actually, yes! You know what, I've been feeling really neglected! I haven't seen Toushi very much this week, and it's starting to bug me!"

Renji's eyes went wide at first, but then he quickly burst into an explosion of laughter, barely able to contain the items from falling out of his basket. This caused you to feel a little foolish for telling him your feelings.

"What's so funny?!" You grumbled.

Renji composed himself, "Nothing. It's just... does he really let you get away with calling him that?"

You blinked, "calling him what?"

"You know... Toushi," he mocked your voice in a sing-song type of way and continued to chuckle.

You took offence to this, "You got a problem with it, buddy?"

Renji continued to muffle his laughter, "No, not at all. I'm just really surprised that he lets you call him that."

"He doesn't seem to mind it." You crossed your arms, and said matter of fact. Renji just continued to smile a big goofy grin at the thought of it. You sighed and shook your head.

"Do you know where he has been?"

"He's been busy with his training..." Renji begun, but was not able to elaborate before his pocket started to hum a little tune. He grabbed his flip-open cell phone and began to read a message. "Hey, Yoko. Sorry to cut this short, but I've gotta go. Don't worry about your Toushi~" He resounded in that same singsong voice.

You hastily collided your palm with your forehead and let out an audible sigh, "you're so immature, Renji!"

When you removed your hand, you noticed the basket of his weird goods was set down on the cold tile of the market's floor; Renji nowhere in sight. The fact that he didn't even bother to pay for the strange array of goods made you feel a bit suspicious; especially with all the "coincidental" occurrences of running into his Shinigami friends.

You had paid for the vegetable's for your grandpa's famous radish soup, and started on your trek back to the shrine; still feeling a bit huffy that you think Hitsugaya might be trying to spy on you or something. What ever for? You thought to yourself.

It wasn't until you got to the stone steps of the Shinto shrine that you began to notice something wasn't right. You hurriedly ran to the top, and called out for your grandfather. That familiar feeling of pressurized air overtook you, forcing you to drop your groceries, and fall to your knees. It had to be an Arrancar again... Why would they be here. You heard footsteps clack towards you, but the air was too heavy to lift your head to see.

"Trash", you heard an unfamiliar voice say. This was not the same man as before.

Hitsugaya was holding his Zanpakutou, while sitting in a meditating position, along with Matsumoto, when his cellular began beeping wildly. It could only mean one thing – Espada level Arrancar had breached the real world. Toushirou looked towards Rangiku, and they both immediately left their Gigai, preparing for a battle.

"Captain!" Rangiku shouted, her words drenched in anxiety, "It's location! It's with..."

Hitsugaya's eyes widened and he felt his heart began to beat madly in his chest. It was with Yoko. Again. He couldn't sense the Reiatsu of anyone else nearby you. You were in trouble; he had to get to you. The two death god's began rapidly flash stepping towards the location.

Toushirou made it, just as the heavy Espada Reiatsu dispersed. He scanned the area, to see you, kneeling with your elbows on the ground and your hair enveloping your face. He flash stepped towards you, and immediately grabbed your wrists, jolting you violently. He began calling loudly "Yoko! Yoko, what happened, are you all right?"

At that moment, Madarame, Ayasegawa, and Abarai had also arrived to the scene. Matsumoto was scanning the area, but was unable to find any apparent damage to the surroundings.

Finally, you took a deep breath in, letting your lungs fill with air. You lifted your head, and turned towards Hitsugaya's uneasy gaze. You weren't able to speak, but tears filled your eyes and began to intensely spill. Hitsugaya threw your body into his chest, and you sobbed loudly. Rangiku ran over to check you over, but could see no wounds, or other deformities.

Ichigo arrived to the scene next, "Toushirou!" he screamed, looking at you "What happened? Is she hurt!?"

Rangiku looked at him with wide eyes, "She appears fine. I'm not sure what happened..."

"Yoko, please... what happened?" Toushirou begged you, while running his hands through your hair. You only continued to weep. Ichigo knelt beside you two, afraid to touch you, as if you would break. He glanced towards Hitsugaya, who seemed just as pained as he was. Ichigo felt his blood begin to boil. He could not depend on Hitsugaya to protect you.

Toushirou scooped you up into his arms, and brought you inside the small house next to the shrine. Ichigo and Rangiku immediately following behind. Your grandfather was quietly sleeping in an armchair, with a pipe limply hanging from his mouth. Hitsugaya was relieved to at least see that your grandpa was unharmed, but then he continued to wonder what had upset you so. He entered your room, laid you down onto your bed, and placed your head gently into his lap, where he continued to try to console you.

Ichigo repeated himself, "Toushirou. What happened?"

Hitsugaya shook his head, "I don't know... She was alone when we arrived..."

Ichigo was unhappy with the answer he received, "There was an Espada here, Toushirou..."

Hitsugaya's shattered eyes limply peered over to meet Ichigo's. Ichigo finally saw the real pain that he was feeling, and bit his tongue. Realizing that Toushirou was just as clueless as he was. Rangiku lightly tapped Ichigo's arm, and motioned her head towards the doorway to give the two some privacy. Ichigo hesitantly obliged.

Awhile after Rangiku and Ichigo had left, your sobs hushed. Only a hiccup or two remained. Toushirou continued to tenderly hush you and gently caress the tears from your soiled cheeks. In a meek voice, you finally spoke, "...Toushirou?" Your words sounded as though you did not know he was with you.

"Yoko..." he spoke softly, "Are you okay?"

"I'm.. fine." You finally told him.

"What happened...?"

"Nothing..."

"What?" He looked at you with disbelief. There is no way that nothing happened. Squad 12's detection was never wrong. There was an Espada here, and everyone knew it, "You're lying... Please tell me what happened."

You shook your head.

"Nothing happened, Toushirou".

There was a light tap at the paper door, and Ichigo popped his head into the room, "Toushirou... your squad would like to talk with you.."

Hitsugaya sighed, and gingerly lifted your head from his lap.

"Ichigo, is that you?" You said, lifting your palm towards his direction. Ichigo shared a brief gaze with Hitsugaya's hurt eyes, before he went to you. He took your hand and knelt beside your bed. Hitsugaya felt all sorts of emotions that he was unaware he had; jealousy, anger, hurt... confusion. He quietly left the room.

Hitsugaya regrouped with his team. Rangiku's eyes were soaked with worry.

"Abarai... why weren't you with her? You were supposed to be watching over her right now," Hitsugaya asked, flatly.

"There was a Hollow call... I had to take care of it."

"But you know that the Arrancar are after her! You knew you had to be there!" his voice raised.

"Captain!" Rangiku interjected, "We can't ignore our duty. You know that!"

Toushirou bit his tongue. He was letting his heart dictate his orders. He let his face fall into his hands.

"Captain Hitsugaya," Yumichika began, "There were no signs of harm done to the girl, was there?"

He sighed, "No. She's perfectly fine. She's claiming that nothing happened. But I don't understand."

"She was having an emotional break-down, Captain. Something happened." Rangiku reminded.

"I know that..."

"I can't help but feel suspicious. It's not like the Espada couldn't have killed her. She's a human. She's weak." Ikkaku declared, "there's got to be some connection."

"Yoko would never lie to me!" Hitsugaya stated bluntly. He then remembered Yoko's words, Nothing happened, Toushirou. He didn't know what to believe. The others remained silent to his outburst.

"Captain... I think you need to limit your contact with this girl..." Rangiku said, causing Hitsugaya's eyes to go wide and paint his face with shock. She quickly added, "Just until we figure out what's going on. We need to make sure she's not somehow involved with Aizen... We discussed the situation with headquarters, and that's the ruling".

"You... you told headquarters about Yoko?"

Matsumoto wavered, and then slowly nodded.

Hitsugaya face melted into panic. He would have to face the consequences if they had discovered his affair with a human.

"Nothing personal was reported, Captain." Renji brazenly stated. Toushirou's heart skipped a beat. They all knew. They all knew about his relations with a human.

"However, we all need to obey that command," Yumichika reminded, "Which includes you."

Hitsugaya returned to his once stoic self. Straightened his posture, and his eyes appeared emotionless, "Understood".