Lilinette sat on the roof of the building, kicking her heels idly as the breeze played with her hair.

"Starrk…" She whispered, almost feeling his comforting presence beside her. Like, if she turned her head, he would be there, smiling at her. But when she actually did there was nothing. Nothing but empty stone and the aching void inside her soul. "…I hate you so much." She rubbed her face, wishing with all her heart that Starrk hadn't been so stupid. Why was she still here? It must have been his fault. "You promised me we'd always have each other and you lied." He'd left her all alone.

"Lilinette-chan?" That voice made her twitch. She didn't want THAT GUY bothering her! Why did he always seem to follow her around? "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine!" She snapped back but that didn't deter him. He sat down right beside her and she wanted to push him off the roof. She knew better than to try, though. She wouldn't get far. "What d'you want old fart?" He had to be old as dirt with that white hair. Although he was pretty ageless aside from that. The other guy, the Soutaichou, now he really was older than dirt.

"That's not nice! Did you want a candy?" He asked and she shook her head. She really didn't. "Come on, it will make you feel better." He cajoled and she sighed before taking the foil wrapped treat and slowly opening the wrapper.

"Really won't." She said before popping it into her mouth. It did sweeten her mood a bit, not that she'd admit it. He was looking at her sympathetically and she avoided his eyes. What good did his sympathy do, anyway? Starrk would still be gone. "I can almost hear him sometimes, you know." Lilinette suddenly said. She didn't like this guy but then, she didn't like anyone here. Being surrounded by shinigami really sucked. "But I know it's just my imagination." Her mind supplying herself with the things Starrk would have said. She knew it wasn't real. He was gone.

"I'm sorry Lilinette. But you have to move on." He said compassionately. Lilinette just snarled at him.

"Move on? We were the same person! We were together forever and ever! How the hell am I supposed to move on?!" And where was there to move to? She hated this place and hated most of the people in it. Which was fair enough since no one liked her, either. It was weird… Lilinette was realizing that while she'd given Starrk the kick in the pants he needed to talk to people, he'd done something for her, too. He'd held her back, made her behave and be nice. Without Starrk to remind her when she was being a brat, well, she just didn't get along. "Just lemmee alone." She muttered, feeling miserable. Why had this happened to them? There was a warm hand on her shoulder before the taichou left. Lilinette just looked away, remembering the past and vaguely wishing that she was dead, too.

Then she and Starrk could be together again.

Lili… nette…? Starrk's voice again, sounding like he'd just roused out of a sleep. Lilinette grimaced, rubbing her head as she ate some food. She wasn't sure what it was, exactly, but it tasted okay and the girl at the mess hall had given her a plate of it when she'd asked.

She was hanging out around Ukitake's Division again, mostly because she had nothing better to do. A lot of the other Divisions would run her off, and there was nothing she could do about it. Reaching up, she fingered the reiatsu limiter around her neck. It wasn't very powerful, but it didn't need to be. She wasn't powerful either.

"Shut up. You're not real." She said firmly to the ghost of her other half. Then she twitched as the voice in her head replied, still sounding totally out of it.

I'm… not…? She just sighed at herself and kept eating. It was really stupid how she kept hearing him. She needed to stop that or face the fact that she was really going crazy. Lilinette?

"What?! Just shut up you stupid ghost!" She snapped. There was a long silence and she was just starting to think it had gone away before that stubborn voice spoke again.

I'm not a ghost. I don't think? Am I inside your body? The voice sounded… scared? Lilinette blinked, her food suddenly forgotten. This was different. Usually the Starrk voice she heard was saying the things he used to say, telling her to be nicer or that he wanted to sleep. This… didn't make sense. Oh kami what are you eating? That's disgusting!

"Huh? What is?" She thought the food tasted… wait. Who cared about that?! "Oh my god Starrk are you really in there?" Had SHE somehow absorbed HIM? If she had then – "All this time you were sleeping?! You lazy bastard! Get out here so I can kick you!" He deserved a good arse kicking for worrying her!

I don't think I can? I'm so confused. What am I? He definitely sounded scared and Lilinette frowned. Had she absorbed him somehow? But that didn't make a lot of sense. He was the stronger of the two. Of course, he was a dumbass and might have somehow been trying to shield her…

"Hey, if you're here do we still have our power?" She suddenly asked. The limiter around her neck wasn't that strong. Maybe…? "Try to raise it Starrk! Do it now! Prove to me you're real!" He was a lazy bastard but that would get him moving.

Sure enough, blue power flared around her. It kept building and building until the collar cracked and fell apart. Lilinette gasped as she felt all the power… and it was in HER hands. Not Starrk's! Suddenly, she knew the truth. Starrk was the subordinate one now. HE was HER zanpakuto and her face split in a grin as she felt the energy coursing through her.

Uh, Lilinette? Can you try to manifest me? Starrk was sounding really alarmed. He could be such a chickenshit sometimes… Lilinette laughed gleefully.

"Oh yeah, you're going to manifest! We're going to kick shinigami ass! Come on Starrk!" They'd probably already sensed that power flare anyway.

No! Lilinette, why should we do that? The war's over and they've been keeping you safe! Starrk protested and she snarled at him even as she used sonido.

"They've been MEAN to me! I'm going to show them – woah!" Her sonido was a lot faster now. She almost tripped and fell but caught herself as she nearly exploded into the practice yard. And the white haired jerk was there! "HEY OLD FART! I'm here for a rematch!" She said with a fiendish grin. He turned to look at her with a frown.

"Lilinette-chan, that's not nice." He said reprovingly as some of the shinigami laughed. That put her teeth on edge. They never took her seriously! Well, she was going to show them!

"I'll show you not nice you old geezer! I've got Starrk back! KICK ABOUT, LOS LOBOS!" She called on her power and it worked. It surrounded her in blue energy and even knocked down some of the weaklings around the taichou. He was staring at her, his brown eyes wide. When it was done, Lilinette grinned as she felt the weight of guns in her hands. Pausing, she looked herself over.

She was wearing a really cute little outfit. Tights that fit her like a glove and a top that reminded her of a tournament fencer's. All white with black lines, of course. She still had the black bandoliers on her back, for summoning the wolves, and a belt of grey fur. Two holsters for her guns. Lilinette grinned as she looked at the guns. Those had been her, but now they were Starrk!

"Lilinette, why are we doing this?" Starrk appealed to her and she snarled at his tinny voice. The taichou's eyes widened further as he heard it. "We're surrounded by shinigami! Even if we win, we'll have lost!"

"Shut it!" Starrk was just being a coward again. She was getting her revenge on this guy! There was something she had to do first though. "Now let's see…" She holstered one of the guns and began to fiddle with Starrk's butt, exactly the way the bastard had always done to her. There was a loud scream.

"LILINETTE! Oh kami stop it! Stop it stop it stop it!" He appealed to her and she giggled.

"What d'you have to say?" She said in a sing song tone and he whimpered. That was awesome!

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry I touched your butt! OH PLEASE KAMI STOP DOING THAT TO ME!" He said and she giggled before finally stopping and pulling out her second gun. He was still whimpering but she ignored it. It was time to fight! And the taichou had his swords out although he was looking pretty torn. Didn't want to fight a kid? Well, too bad!

"Alright!" She pointed the gun at him and pulled the trigger. Bastard would – what? "What are you DOING?" Nothing had happened.

"I – I don't know what I'm doing!" The gun protested and she smacked him against her head. "OW! Lilinette!"

"It's not HARD Starrk! You just fire!" Really, what was his problem? She'd done this all the time! "You know how to make a cero!"

"B-But, it's different! It's… not the same! I don't know how! I'm trying, I swear!" He sounded like he was panicking. He was such a dumbass! She scowled at him. "Do it again, I think I have this…" She pulled the trigger again and a… flower popped out? "No, not that one – "

"Stop this! Little children should not be playing with guns." The white haired jerk said and was he SMILING at them? Did he think this was funny? She was going to kill him!

"Maybe if I – " Lilinette had had enough. She wacked Starrk against her forehead again –

And the biggest cero she'd EVER seen erupted from the gun. It went straight up and actually punched a hole in the dome thingy they had over Soul Society. She'd never seen THAT before, and there had even been a few uprisings and stuff since she'd come. She was knocked on her butt by the force of the blast and just gaped at it for a moment. Then she grinned. That was awesome!

"Okay Starrk, you got it! Do it again!" She pointed her gun at the taichou and saw he'd gone over to shikai. She knew what that did! "AW NO FAIR!" And the guy in pink was there too! He was looking at them with a puzzled smile and he hadn't even drawn his swords!

"Did you think he would just stand there and let you shoot him?" Starrk asked which made her want to smack him. She held back, though. She had a better idea.

"Well screw it then! Wolf pack time! Come on Starrk!" She didn't really know how to call them up though. It took her a moment of puzzling but that part wasn't too hard… she forced her power through the bandoliers and it took the form of a single spirit wolf. "Hey, multiply! You need more than that!" It was up to Starrk to do the multiplication and control of the wolves

"I – I don't know how!" The wolf said and Lilinette groaned. Why was he so stupid?!

"You just split yourself! Come on, you've done it before!" He'd split himself to make her, hadn't he? Why didn't he know this? But it looked like he did. That got him moving and he split into two, then three, then four. "Now go get him and blow up!"

"…How do I blow up?" The wolf asked and Lilinette wanted to kill him. What WAS this?

"You just do! Blowing stuff up isn't hard!" How was she supposed to explain it? She'd just DONE it! It was like breathing, it happened!

Then it happened. All four of the wolves exploded. But they hadn't done the whole MOVING part and Lilinette screamed as she was knocked away, the guns falling out of her hands. Her audience was highly amused.

"Ah, what fun! I believe we could sell tickets to the show." Shunsui glanced around, amused. Sure enough, all the low ranked shinigami were watching and a lot of them were snickering. "I find myself feeling less than threatened." He added just before going to scoop up the guns. He swiftly took then and shunpo'd back to Juushiro's side.

"I really didn't want to be doing this." Starrk's voice was very clear and they both examined the guns curiously. "I'm so sorry."

"It's alright. We've both dealt with children having temper tantrums before." Juushiro assured him as Lilinette was managing to sit back up.

"I'm NOT A KID! And I'm not having a temper tantrum! HEY! Give me Starrk back!" She demanded and the gun spoke immediately.

"Please don't give me back." Starrk wasn't sure about the shinigami but he was absolutely sure of one thing. He didn't want to be in Lilinette's hands. She appeared to have lost her mind.

"Don't worry, Espada-san. You're safe with me." Shunsui assured him before tucking the guns into his belt. That enraged the little girl beyond measure.

"GIVE HIM BACK!" She launched into a powerful sonido. Shunsui was able to dodge, though, and Lilinette wasn't able to stop. She had completely misjudged her speed and ran into a post, completely demolishing it. "OW!"

"She's not used to my speed… it's not that easy, is it, controlling a power you've never had before?!" Starrk called to her as she extricated herself from the wreckage. Then someone far more powerful arrived.

"Shunsui, Juushiro. What is going on here?" Yamamoto rumbled as he looked over the practice yard. Juushiro smiled as Shunsui chuckled.

"Ah, well. It seems that Coyote Starrk has returned! However, he is now Lilinette Gingerbuck's zanpakuto." He said cheerfully as Yamamoto's gaze fell on the girl. She was cursing and went at him again, determined to get her guns back. He neatly sidestepped and this time she took out a wall. "However, they seem to be unable to control their abilities. It's really quite amusing."

"I'm really very sorry about this. I'm sure you've been treating her well. She holds grudges forever…" The guns said, trying to make peace. Unfortunately, Lilinette heard him.

"NO! They've been, been making me do stuff! And say please and sorry! And be nice to these stupid shinigami! And eat my vegetables! I HATE vegetables! And they treat me like a little kid!" She screamed and there was a brief silence from the guns.

"So, basically, they've been doing everything I would have done?" The weapons asked as Juushiro shook his head and Shunsui smiled. Yamamoto just watched, his hand on his staff. Lilinette's single eye started to tear up.

"But they're NOT YOU! They don't have any right! And they're shinigami and I don't want to be here!" She appealed to her other half and, surprisingly perhaps, Starrk suddenly lost his temper.

"Not me? Since I woke up you haven't been listening to me at all! You've done nothing but abuse me and bully me! When did I ever treat you like this? You know, even if he gave me back to you I wouldn't help you! I'm done! Stop it, Lilinette!" He said very firmly and her eye kept tearing up. "They're right. You're just a child having a tantrum!"

"I'M NOT A KID AND I'M NOT HAVING A TANTRUM! WAAAAAH!" The sudden burst of crying put the lie to that. Juushiro sighed and went to her side, kneeling down beside her.

"Lilinette-chan, you're behaving very badly." He said firmly to the crying child arrancar. She ignored him in favor of more crying. "You need to apologize to Starrk-san." She had her hands over her head and was trying to ignore him. "That isn't going to help, Lilinette-chan." He had brothers and sisters and knew how to deal with children. "Now, say you're sorry and we'll give him back."

"S-S-Sorry." She sniffled and Shunsui lifted his eyebrows.

"Juushiro, are you sure?" Despite the comedy sketch effect, they still had immense power. He could feel it, coiling in both the guns and the girl.

"I won't do anything." Starrk said quickly and he did sound sincere. Against his better judgement, Shunsui handed over the guns. Lilinette immediately cuddled them to her chest.

"I'm s-s-sorry Starrk. I didn't mean to hurt you. Y-You gave up everything to save me. I'm sorry." She said, tears falling down her face as the guns sighed softly.

"It's alright Lilinette. But you need to calm down. Seeking revenge won't help." Starrk's voice was so gentle, so sad. "We failed and now we're here. We just have to make the best of it. Now seal back up, please? You're worrying everyone." Lilinette sniffed and nodded. There was a soft swirl of power and the guns in her hands vanished, her clothing returning to what it should be.

But something else happened, something unexpected. A ball of blue light slid out of her and quickly grew large, before solidifying. The shinigami watched as it took a solid form… a tall, lanky man with chestnut hair and confused grey eyes.

"STARRK!" Lilinette leapt at him and he was knocked down as the little girl filled his arms. "You're back, you're really back I love you I love you I love you…" She was sobbing wildly as her other half held her, smiling. All the shinigami watched the reunion and couldn't help but feel a bit touched.

Maybe now that she had her other half back, Lilinette would finally be happy again.