A week went by, and as each day passed, I met more and more Shinigami. Some friendly, some not so friendly, and some that were just down right scared of me. Most of them were unranked Shinigami, but I did meet a couple Taichou and Fukutaichou.

I'd discovered that Kyoraku and Ukitake were freaking awesome. Beside Toushirou, they were my two favorite Taichou. I liked Soi Fon, but she kind of seemed a little bit on edge with me—mad almost. Toushirou said she's really attached to Yoruichi; one would think that she'd like me since we have a mutual friend, but I guess not. Oh well though, the fact that she recognized me as a person was good enough for me.

Since a week had passed, it was time to visit the World of the Living. I was kind of excited because I'd get to pick up a couple things and see the modern world I was more accustomed to.

"Ready?" Rangiku asked.

"You know it!" I grinned.

I looked at the gate in front of us and took a deep breath.

"Let's go," Toushirou said, and all of us in unison went through.

We had to use a special gate because of what I am; it looked like a weird moist cave. Toushirou had previously instructed that we had to run through because of some type of cleaner that swept through. I wanted to see what it looked like, but I figured it'd be better to follow orders.

We ran at a decent pace, and then finally reached a light at the end of the tunnel.

Let me just say that I had no idea it would let us out so far above the ground.

"Shit!" I shrieked as I fell.

Rangiku grabbed me by my wrist and laughed as she pulled me up.

"That was great! The look on your face was priceless, Azumi-chan!"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, laugh it up! It would've been nice to have a little warning!" I pouted.

"One should always be prepared for anything," Toushirou chimed in.

"Oh whatever! You all know I'm not that coordinated!" I replied.

"Oh, we know," Rangiku commented with a chuckle.

I stared at her intensely, and then turned to look at Toushirou, who was smirking.

"Rude." I folded my arms.

"Oh, stop, come on now!" Rangiku patted my back and looped her arm in mine.

"Yeah yeah," I replied, cracking a smile.

We landed on a rooftop nearby, and Toushirou whipped out his phone.

"I don't see anything yet," he stated.

"So, we just wait here?" I asked; he nodded.

There was no moon out tonight, just stars. I sat down on the cold concrete and looked up at them—they really seemed to be glowing tonight. Rangiku sat next to me while Toushirou remained standing. He walked over to the far edge of the roof on his phone, and Rangiku took the opportunity to talk—or should I say whisper—to me.

"So, have you told him how you feel yet?"

The normal breath I took became sharp and short, and made an audible sound. My head snapped at Toushirou's direction—he wasn't looking.

Thank God.

"What kind of question is that?" I harshly whispered.

"A good one," she giggled.

I interlaced my fingers together in a nervous fashion. Rangiku still waiting for my answer nudged me a little bit. I gave her an agitated look, which she must've thought was cute. I shook my head and exhaled my reply.

"Well, I almost said it accidentally," I admitted sheepishly.

"Oh I see," she smirked.

"So when do you plan on really coming out with it?" She asked.

My lips formed a hard line.

"Never. I'm a freak, remember? I can't just have normal relationships like that; you guys—"

Rangiku grabbed my lips and pinched them shut. Needless to say, it definitely caught me off guard—I almost shrieked.

"Don't give me that, Azumi-chan! Love is love; species or race don't matter. Come on, by now you should know that we're all used to weird things. I'm not implying that you specifically are weird; I'm implying that abnormalities are just normal. Sure, there's fuss over you at the moment because they think you're dangerous, but once that's over, you'll blend right in!" She smiled.

"I think it'll work out between the two of you. It'd have to be a secret of course, but who cares!" She giggled.

Although her words meant a lot, I still felt uneasy.

"Yeah, and when Aizen is killed and I return back to the real world? Then what?" I asked.

"Then we'll cross that bridge when we get there, that's what. First of all, we don't even know if you'll age past your current age. You might just have to stay in the Soul Society." She said.

The thought completely took me off guard—she had a point. Hell, I didn't know if I was even alive; it kind of made me feel a lot better about the situation. Living out my years in the Soul Society with Rangiku and Toushirou…that didn't sound bad at all. I grinned.

"See? You need to quit being such a pessimist!" She ruffled my hair. "Now, about you telling Taichou—"

"Telling me what?"

Rangiku and I froze.

My face was completely blank and I slowly turned over to Rangiku and gave her a 'don't-you-freaking-dare' look.

"T-That uh, well, I'll leave it to Azumi-chan to tell you!" Rangiku laughed and scurried away.

I shot her the most evil look I could muster before Toushirou cleared his throat.

"Uh, that you, uh, need a television in your house! Yeah! On our days off we should totally watch movies, but we can't because we don't have a television! You should really consider it!" I squeaked out, trying to convince even myself.

"I'll think about it. Let me know when you actually want to tell me what you really want." He put his hand in his pocket and turned away.

Damn, I was no good at quick comebacks.

I chuckled awkwardly.

"Yeah yeah," I smiled—I was lucky that he wasn't making a fuss about it.

His phone beeped, and he immediately flipped it open.

"There's 3 Hollows nearby," he stated, pushing the buttons on his phone.

"Ready?" He asked me.

"As ready as I'll ever be." I sighed.

We all flash-stepped toward them, and arrived on the scene. There were 2 ghost children being chased by 3 wolf-looking Hollows.

"Matsumoto, get the kids." Toushirou ordered.

"Hai, Taichou!" She responded.

She flash-stepped and swooped up both the kids in one-go. The Hollows tried to follow her, but Toushirou and I intercepted them.

"Shred the sins of the flesh," I chanted.

Immediately Yoru no Shedo complied, and materialized in my hands.

I heard one of the wolves growl, and it immediately jumped at me. I slashed at it in defense, and cut it in the action.

"I'll keep these 2 at bay; that one's yours," Toushirou said before one of them attacked him.

He dodged thankfully, and I exhaled in relief.

I looked at the injured one. I got its leg, and I saw it's blood dripping on the floor. The sight of the blood already had me salivating. It was only then that I realized; could I do this without becoming a full Hollow?

'No, you can't, because you're just a weakling.' Imuza said in my head.

"You, shut up!" I mentally yelled at her.

The wolf broke my mental conversation with a howl, and I nearly shrieked.

Mid-howl, I decided to lunge toward him. He tried to dodge, but because I had two tonfa, he could only escape one. I pinned him to the ground, tonfa up against his neck as he growled and snipped at me. In all honesty, I didn't think it would be this easy to pin him, but I wasn't complaining.

With the close proximity, the scent and sight of the Hollow's blood numbed my other senses. I could feel my fangs protruding, and my vision growing dark.

"I'm not going to let you!" I said aloud to Imuza.

I didn't waste another moment; I bit into the Hollow's shoulder with no remorse.

It seemed strange almost; feeding while not in my Hollow form—but it didn't make it any less euphoric. I could hear Imuza yelling something at me in the background, but I completely tuned her out and enjoyed the meal.

Finally, when the Hollow was out of reiatsu and completely disintegrated, I stood up and wiped my mouth. I looked around, and noticed that my vision was still growing dark. I took it as I needed another one. Suddenly, I felt the familiar bile start to develop in my stomach.

'How dare you feed me that vegan-shit! I told you, I'm a carnivore! I'm not settling for less!' Imuza yelled at me.

"Well tough-freaking luck, you asshole." I managed to say aloud before I coughed up some of my white-liquid Hierro.

"Shit," I cursed.

I scanned the area for Toushirou and finally found him a little ways off. I could already feel Imuza trying to take control; I had to hurry.

I flash-stepped over there as fast and I could, and swiped at one of the Hollow Toushirou was fighting. He didn't seem shocked at my arrival, but it definitely distracted him for the moment.

"Are you through?" He asked before swinging Hyourinmaru at the Hollow in front of him.

"Not yet, I—" I stopped and coughed up more of the armor.

The Hollow took advantage of this and leapt at me; claws out, fangs out.

"Azumi!" Toushirou yelled.

At that moment, I lost all control of myself.

I rose my arm and stopped the Hollow mid-air, but it wasn't me who did it. Then, with little effort, I rose my opposite hand and launched a full-blown Cero at the Hollow; completely killing it.

It was like I was there, but at the same time I wasn't—what the Hell was going on?

"Long time no see, handsome," Imuza said aloud.

Oh shit.

Toushirou looked at me, or should I say my Imuza-possessed body in confusion.

"Here, let me help you out," she smirked.

She flash-stepped to the Hollow and with a single punch, completely killed it.

"Azumi, what are you doing?" Toushirou asked with a serious tone.

"Ew. Don't confuse me with that disgusting brat!" She snorted.

"It's your friendly neighborhood Imuza here; won't you lend me a cup of sugar?" She cackled.

She bent over and let some of the white liquid ooze out of our mouth and spread down over our shoulders. Our mask suddenly appeared, and she positioned it to hang off the corner of our head.

"Come on, play with me," she smirked and got into an offensive stance.

"Imuza, I don't want to fight you; you need to let Azumi go immediately." Toushirou said sternly.

"Not a chance in Hell." She retorted.

"Here I come, handsome!"

Imuza flipped her tonfa outward and attempted a quick spin attack at Toushirou. He dodged, and kept his distance.

"Oh, come on! I don't have cooties!" She laughed.

"You sleep next to this wretched body every night—you shouldn't be afraid! Ne, Shirou-chan?"

She stuck her hand out and a Cero launched straight at Toushirou—thank God he was able to evade it. She coughed up more of the white liquid and it started covering our arms.

"Listen up, you're done! I'm done being controlled! You're going back where you belong!" I mentally yelled at her.

I tried to regain control, but couldn't figure out how. Normally I was in the dark forest, but this time was different. Imuza took over while I wasn't in full Hollow form. The only thing I could think of was just sheer willpower.

She chased after Toushirou as if they were playing a game. Toushirou didn't attack, but I couldn't say the same for Imuza. She was slashing away and launching Ceros left and right. If I didn't do something soon, one was going to eventually hit Toushirou.

"Stop running, honey! Come on, didn't you once say this body was attractive? I thought you had a crush on me? Stop playing with my emotions!" She said as she stopped, cackling at her own sarcasm.

Toushirou stopped for a moment as well, staring at us.

"You guys are such weaklings; love is for the weak! Give me a break! It's sickening watching the two of you pretend you don't have feelings for each other. On top of that, having to feel all the emotions stupid Azumi has whenever you're around is tiring and upsetting. Makes me want to throw up just thinking about it! It's such a shame Azumi is such a moron; I have to be stuck in her stupid body!" Imuza said.

She…just said that...

...to Toushirou.

Like it wasn't a big deal or anything!

Before he could even respond, Imuza called out her Yoru no Shedo, and she materialized next to her.

"Slave, attack this puny punk!" Imuza pointed at Toushirou.

Immediately, the other Yoru dove at Toushirou with her speed, and he narrowly avoided her attack. She came at him again and landed on his forearm. Before she was able to launch the Cero forming in her beak, Toushirou punched her off his arm and flash-stepped away.

"Sit upon the frozen heavens, Hyourinmaru!" Toushirou chanted.

The chain and blade appeared coming from the hilt of his Zanpakuto, and immediately he slashed at the air; sending an ice dragon toward the other Yoru.

The other Yoru allowed the dragon to chase her for a little bit—which was odd considering her speed. The dragon finally began to catch up and she quickly sharp-turned at Toushirou's direction. She finally utilized her speed and dove at Toushirou again. Right before she would've made impact, she pulled herself up, sending the ice dragon after her directly back at Toushirou.

Imuza started laughing at the display. Who knows what she was thinking to be laughing so uncontrollably.

It was a good attempt on the other Yoru's part, but Toushirou was far too smart to let himself be hit by his own attack. He slashed again and released another dragon that completely ripped through the first dragon and then headed straight for Imuza.

Imuza definitely saw it coming, and she definitely could've dodged the attack with her amount of power, but she didn't. She let the ice dragon hit us and wrap itself around us like a snake; still laughing.

"What's so funny?" Toushirou asked, still on guard.

Imuza took deep breaths to help stop her laughter.

"You. You're hilarious. The fact that you're already using your Shikai with such low-level attacks is hilarious. It just proves how weak you really are! The fact that you're trying to act all high-and-mighty like you can beat me literally makes me want to fall over laughing!"

With one quick gesture, Imuza broke free of the Ice dragon and lunged herself at Toushirou. She threw him to the ground—herself on top of him—holding him against the concrete.

"See? Look how easy it was for me to pin you down!" She laughed again.

"Aw man, too good! The only thing that sucks is that this isn't as rewarding as I thought it would be; what a shame," She grinned.

This was bad.

This was very, very bad.

She was about to eat Toushirou!

I needed to regain control and needed to do it quick! Imuza's control hardly had any openings that I could wiggle through. She was like a brick wall I couldn't break through no matter how hard I pounded on it with my fists.

"Your incorrect, Imuza." Toushirou suddenly said.

In an instant, he turned the tables on Imuza and flipped her over so that she was pinned down underneath him.

"It was easy for you to pin me because I let you do so. I've been taking it easy on you as well." He paused, and swiftly head-butted the shit out of Imuza.

"Azumi, get back out here already!" He shouted.

Finally; this was it—a crack in Imuza's defenses!

I had such a hard head to begin with, that it made sense for another hard head to break through.

I immediately took the invitation and squeezed my way though the opening. I could feel myself regaining control.

Imuza pushed Toushirou off and started squirming around, holding her head.

"No! Stop it, Azumi! You're not getting control!" She shouted aloud.

She kept screaming a sickening, voice-shaking scream as she violent jerked around on the ground. After a few more seconds, I was back in control.

I inhaled loudly, and propped myself up on my elbows. I reached up and threw off the mask, then started trying to rip off the Hierro over my arms. It wouldn't come off without bleeding and hurt like Hell.

I needed another Hollow and I needed it fast. If I didn't completely change back, Imuza could easily take control again. She was already yelling and getting louder inside my head.

I looked over at Toushirou, who was just standing there staring right back at me. I looked away, afraid to say anything beside what had to be said.

"Toushirou, I need another Hollow or else Imuza will take over again. Now!"

Although I knew I shouldn't have left on my own, I did anyway. I heard Toushirou shouting at me, but I couldn't afford to have a full-on conversation or to think of a plan. All I knew was that if Imuza took over again tonight, we'd all be up shit creek.

I raised my reiatsu in hopes of luring another hollow. I wasn't running too fast, and I constantly scanned the area to see if there were any.

Finally, in an alley between two buildings; there was a Hollow feasting on a soul.

Without any hesitation, I tackled the Hollow and pinned it to the ground. I used my outward-pointing tonfa to help me separate it's head and shoulder as far as possible without decapitation. I stabbed right into it's neck and sucked the innards out of it.

Once it disintegrated, I took a moment to breath. I didn't even have to look to know that Toushirou was right there watching the whole thing. I ignored him for the time being while I ripped off the rest of my Hierro and let Yoru no Shedo revert to her dormant form.

The scene where Imuza told him about my emotions toward him kept playing back in my head; how in the Hell was I supposed to talk to him now? After Imuza went off and spouted all kinds of nonsense, I felt like there was no going back now. Maybe I could get away with just avoiding it altogether—fat chance.

I dusted myself off and walked over to Toushirou. He was leaning up against the wall with his arms crossed, staring up into the night sky.

"I'm sorry I took off; I felt like Imuza was going to take over again, so I wanted to hurry up and change back. I know it was irresponsible, but I felt like I didn't have a choice. Again, I'm sorry." I said, staring up at him.

"I understand." He said, and I immediately exhaled in relief.

"How are you feeling now?" He asked.

"Much better. I can't hear Imuza in my head at the moment; which is always a good thing. At least I learned that I'm more vulnerable to being taken over when I need to feed or have bloodlust. So I guess this was a good, yet bad learning experience." I explained sheepishly.

There was a brief moment of silence, and I spoke up again.

"Toushirou, I'm sorry that she attacked you. I told you that I wouldn't let her harm you, and here she was, making me break my promise…I'm sorry it took me so long," I said, staring down at the ground.

"You didn't break your promise; she didn't harm me. Don't beat yourself up about what happened; it's in the past." He paused and walked over to me, placing his hand on my shoulder.

"The fact that you were able to overcome her control that quickly was impressive. I told you that you would be able to do it—just take one step at a time, Azumi." He said.

How the Hell did he do it?

He made me feel so much better about this whole situation in less than 10 seconds. He didn't even say that much, but his comforting gesture made me feel like everything would be okay.

I felt a small smile creep up on my face.

"Thank you, your words mean a lot. Without your support—and mind-boggling head-butt—I don't think I would be able to get through all of this. I owe you," I looked up at him.

"No, you don't owe me anything. Is your head okay?" He asked, pushing my bangs away to inspect my forehead.

I couldn't help but blush at the contact.

"Yeah, I'm okay. I'm more worried about your head; you pretty much hit concrete," I shoved him playfully with a hesitant chuckle.

Rangiku showed up at the scene, and walked over to us.

"Is everyone all right? How did it all go?" She asked, switching off between looking at both our faces.

"It went fine—she's already finished. Right?" Toushirou asked me.

"Right; I'm all set to go! Can we stop by my house? I want to check on things." I asked.

I remembered that my house was recently broken into and wanted to see if the place had been completely ransacked or if it was still doing okay.

"Sounds good to me," Rangiku said.

"What happened to the two kids?" I asked.

"I sent them over when you guys were taking too long. I didn't know if you guys wanted to talk to the two kids or not, so I waited for a bit." She explained.

"Oh I see. Well, at least they're safe." I smiled. "I'm ready when you guys are."

We flash-stepped back to the house. It looked the same as ever, but I knew that I had to be careful. There might just be someone lurking about—the same someone that came in to take my things.

Toushirou took out the house key he had and opened the front door.

"Stay here," he ordered.

Rangiku and I nodded as he entered the house. After a few minutes, he came back to the door and let us in.

I looked around at the place, but it almost didn't seem like home. It didn't look lively and warm—only cold and barren. Now that I thought about it, the only reason this place felt like home to begin with was because of the people that stayed with me. With no one occupying it, this was just a house full of hurtful memories.

I walked up the stairs while the two of them stayed down. I walked into my parents room and saw it all still in tact. I walked in and sat on their bed. I hadn't thought about them in a while. I was so preoccupied with everything that was going on that I…

"Oh my God!" I paused to slap myself.

"You freaking moronic piece of shit!" I cursed at myself.

"What's going on?" Toushirou rushed in.

After looking around the room, he exhaled in relief.

"Are you okay?" He asked; I put my face in my hands.

Rangiku came in at that point, and sat on the bed next to me.

"What happened, Azumi-chan?" She asked, putting a hand on my lap.

"I'm pissed off. I've been in the Soul Society this whole time, and I didn't even track down my parents! What an ungrateful piece of shit daughter I turned out to be!" I said angrily.

"Hey, cool down, Azumi-chan; you're not like that at all. Things have gone haywire lately, and we've all been stressed out; you more than anyone. It will take some time before we can track them down, so you have to be patient. It doesn't make you a bad daughter; they are fine, and they will be there when we get back. You shouldn't beat yourself up about it, that isn't what your parents would want." She comforted.

"You may be right, but it doesn't make me any less pissed off—at least not right at this moment." I replied.

"That's our stubborn, Azumi-chan! Use that to your advantage and start looking into it when we get back to the Soul Society, okay?" Rangiku smiled and pinched my cheek.

I furrowed my brows and rubbed my sore cheek. She giggled in response.

"Speaking of which," Toushirou started.

"We should start heading back soon." He stated nonchalantly.

Rangiku patted my lap and stood up.

"Come on, Azumi-chan. Let's get some of your stuff." she smiled down at me.

"Sounds good," I took a deep breath to control myself and got up.

"Don't let me forget my music player, by the way. I don't think I can take another week without my music." I said seriously.

I gathered a few things that I needed—like my makeup and music player for instance—and put them in a small sack I brought with me from the Soul Society. The most important thing I took was another picture I found of just my parents. I put it in one of the nice frames my Mom had, and made sure that it was secured in my bag. I looked at the small cat toy Toushirou won for me at the carnival and smiled. I put it in the bag with my stuff before locking up my room.

I made sure to lock all the windows and all the doors, along with unplugging almost everything. I wondered exactly what was going to happen to this place if I indeed had to stay in the Soul Society indefinitely. I'd be happy to, but it would also be sad leaving this place behind, even if all the memories here are now hurtful.

I met up with Toushirou and Rangiku in the living room, and without another moment to spare, Toushirou called the Soul Society to open up the gate.