I sighed as I messed with the pencil on the counter. I was at work and Suzaku left me in charge while he went to go get some ink we needed. After the first few days of working here, I realized that not many people came by. I wasn't surprised, but I expected just a little bit more.

I lifted my gaze to the windows of the store. I watched people pass by, they were all covered up in layers of clothing in order to keep themselves warm. Snow is constantly falling, keeping ice and snow on the streets. I would be shocked if any water wasn't frozen, especially with the skies looking as grey as concrete. The cloud rarely open up to let any sun by. The sky is just in a constant state of gloominess all day. If it weren't for clocks, I'd have no idea what time it would be. I glanced at the clock.

"If Suzaku doesn't make it here before my shift is over, I'll make him pay over time." I thought as I spun around in the chair. "Maybe I should start bringing sketchbooks." I thought as my spinning came to stop. "... Well, If I had some I would." I thought as I stood up.

I headed towards the back of the store, where a grand piano was on display. I sat down and softly tapped one of the keys. The sound of the note echoing through the store. If it weren't for the fact that I had no money or a place to actually put the piano, I would buy it. No one else seemed interested in buying it anyway. I let my fingers dance the keyboard, playing a simple scale. I sighed and tried to remember all the songs I used to play on piano.

"Jeez, I'm a bit rusty if I don't remember any music." I thought as I let my hands sit on the keys. Then I heard the familiar bell of the door.

"Yeah, I know, I know." Suzaku said as the door closed.

I stood up from my place and made my way back to the front.

"Okay, I promise I'll be home early." He said with a sigh as he sat the plastic bag on the counter, which I assumed held the ink we needed. "Okay, love you too." He said and pulled the phone away from his ear and hung up, a bit of snow falling off him as he moved. He sighed and deadpanned.

I laughed, "I'm guessing that was Euphemia." I said.

"Yeah," He said as he pulled of his jacked and dusted the snow off of it. "She wants me to come home early because of how cold it'll be later on today." He said as he went into his office.

"Aw, you guys are so cute." I teased as he came back out his office. "But you can't blame her. It really is going to be cold today. The lowest it's been this season." I said as I glanced at the clock.

"Yeah, I guess." He said with a sigh. "Anyway, you better leave too." He said. He probably noticed that I was looking at the clock. "I have a car, you don't."

"Haha... right..." I said and rubbed the back of my neck as I grabbed my jacket. "I should invest in one of those." I said as I pulled on my jacket.

He smiled, "Well, I'll see you later, Addie." He said as he waved me off.

"Yeah, take care." I called over my shoulder as I left the store, merging with the crowd of black and grey figures. I felt the stinging of the cold on my face and pulled up the collar of my shirt.

"This is why I was born in the summer." I thought dully as I turned a corner. "Summer needs to come back." I thought. I was then quite roughly pushed to the floor.

"Haru?!" The woman, who had pushed me, yelled desperately as she disappeared in the sea of people.

"Excuse you!" I said as I stood up, dusting the snow off my pants. A few people glared at me, thinking that I was talking to them. I rolled my eyes and decided to keep walking.

I noticed that I've become considerably more snappy, hard headed, dramatic, rebellious, and impatient since I've come back to Karakura Town. It seemed that the only person I wouldn't snap at is Yuki. When I ever I got back to the shop I would enter some pointless argument with either Urahara or Yoruichi. They still weren't approving of the whole job thing, and it's not like I don't understand why it's not approved. They just want to keep me hidden from Soul Society. I know that, but I don't want to do nothing all day! And if I'm not at the shop for a majority of the day, the less chance I'll have of running into people.

"Ugh, I don't even want to go to the shop now." I thought as I decided to keep going straight instead of turning to the right. "Another pointless is all that's waiting for me anyway." I thought as I became a little aggravated. "Honestly, I'm not a kid anymore. I know what I'm doing." I fumed as I angrily walked down the streets.

I ended up successfully keeping myself busy long enough, so that I wouldn't get to the shop. Unfortunately, the temperature started dropping when I realized I was lost.

"Gaaaahhh!" I growled as I pulled my hair. "I'm so flipping useless!" I said and had the urge to slam my face into a pole. I decided against it, since that'd probably just make me pass out in the snow. "This is why I can't have nice things." I mumbled as I headed towards the river that ran through Karakura Town. If I could get there, I could find my way back, hopefully. I sighed in an irritated manner as more snow began to fall. I tried to shrink into my jacket, but I could only stuff so much of myself into it. "Honestly, I should really just get a GPS and a car." I said and glared at a snow flake. "Stupid snow, stupid weather, stupid Bleach universe, stupid life." I grumbled as I went off and listed all the things that I thought were stupid until I reached the river and one of the several bridges the crossed over it. I stood on the sidewalk and looked around for a moment. I still couldn't quite figure out where I was. I sighe and hung my head in defeat.

"I'm so useless." I mumbled and gazed over the river. Some parts of the river seemed to be frozen while others were not. It wouldn't be long before it's all frozen, considering how cold it was going to be. I looked at the river for a little bit longer before I turned my attention away.

"Help me!"

I stopped for a moment and looked around.

"Help me!"

There was a voice being carried by the wind, but I couldn't tell where it was coming from.

"Help me! Someone!"

I looked back in the direction of the river and looked at it a bit more closely. I saw a figure standing in the middle of the ice that I didn't see the first time. I strained my eyes and took a step forward. Of course, me being me, slipped on the snow and rolled down the steep hill like the idiot I am. I had my eyes closed the entire time and hoped that I would stop before I fell into the river. I didn't open my eyes until a few seconds after I stopped rolling. I was right on the edge of the bank, staring into the semi-frozen river. I took in a sharp breath and took no time in jumping to my feet and taking several steps back.

"Help me! Please!"

I looked up and remembered the reason why I fell down the hill. In the center of the lake there was a kid standing on the ice, probably no older than seven. I couldn't quite make out what he looked like, but that didn't really matter.

"Hold on!" I said as I looked around and tried to figure out how he got there. The ice around him was gone or out of his reach. Could it have been that it broke when he reached that point?

"I don't know how to swim!" The kid said as the ice began to break again.

"Uuuhhh!" I panicked as I tried to figure out how to save the kid. Luckily, I was smart enough to have taken lessons in swimming, but I don't that was what I wanted to do. "Don't worry, I'll figure something out! You won't fall!" I said as I debated on whether or not I wanted to leave the kid and ask for help.

"That's too risky." I thought as I watched how far gone the ice was. "If it were to break while I was gone, he'd drown." I looked around and tried to see if there was any ice I could possibly use to step on. There were small islands of ice that drifted on the river, but I'd probably end up breaking them. I looked back at the kid who was clearly terrified.

"Okay, listen!" I said to the kid. "I know this sounds a bit scary, but you have to jump onto the pieces of ice I tell you to." I said and hoped that he would agree. "I'm too big to try and get to you." I explained.

The kid looked at me then at the ice around him. "O-okay!" He said.

I took in a deep breath and hoped that I didn't drown this kid. "Okay, slowly come towards the edge of the ice." I said and motioned him in my direction.

He hesitated for a moment, but slowly inched his way towards me.

"Good, good, you're doing great." I said as I watched him. "Okay, that's good. Now you see that piece of ice to you're right?" I asked as I pointed to one of the bigger pieces near him. "That's the one you need to jump on."

"... I can't do it." The kid replied in a shaky voice.

"Yes, you can." I said. "Come on, if you don't move, the ice you're standing on will break and you'll fall." I warned.

I could tell that he was really having an inner battle with himself about this. I heard some more ice cracking and I grew a little worried.

"Come on, you have to hurry!" I urged.

"I-I can't do it! I'm scared." The kid and took a step back.

"No don't take-"

The ice cracked under his weight and he plummeted into the river, a small yell escaping his mouth before it became silent.

"Nooo!" I said and panicked. I threw my jacket off in haste and hoped that I was making a really dumb mistake. I took in the deepest breath I've ever taken and dived into the river. I was lucky enough to not hit the ice, but the water seemed just as bad. I thought that my body was going into shock because of how cold it was. It stung my body like a horde of angry wasps. I fought to keep my eyes open and swam through the water. Unfortunately, I didn't think of how dark it would be in the water, so I was blindly reaching out in hopes of finding the kid. I went up to the surface for a breath and desperately looked around for any movement in the water.

"H-hey! Are you around here?!" I shouted, praying that maybe on some crazy chance he managed to stay afloat, but no. There was silence. I cursed under my breath and dived in the spot where he fell through the ice. I swam and swam and swam for what seemed like a frozen eternity. Then I felt my fingers brush something. My eyes widen (or well, they would have if I wasn't underwater) I took a hold of an arm and held the kid close to me. I dragged him up to the surface and was glad to fill my lungs with air, even though it did sting a bit since the air was cold. I dragged him out of the river and back onto the ground. I coughed and caught my breath before I began to freak out over the kid. It was obvious that he wasn't breathing. Luckily, I took CPR in my health class. I wasn't certified because no one wanted to take the test and there had to be at least five of us, but I knew how to do it.

I pulled off the kid's soaked jacked and placed my ear directly over his heart. I waited and listened closely, completely blocking out the sound of the cars that passed by. I heard it, it was very faint, but his heart was beating. Just to make sure, I checked his breathing as well, and well, he wasn't breathing. I put my hands over his chest, lacing them together and proceeding with the thirty chest compressions. Then the two rescue breaths and back to the chest compressions. I don't really know how much time passed or how many times I really switched back and forth between the chest compressions, the two rescue breaths, and checking if he was breathing, but it did eventually work. The boy coughed up the water in his lungs, but didn't come back to consciousness. I checked his breathing to make sure it was somewhat steady and luckily it was, but he was freezing.

I grabbed the jacket that I had thrown aside earlier and wrapped it around his figure. I picked him up and broke out in a sprint towards the nearest building. I almost got hit by a few cars, but no accidents happened, so it was all good. The nearest building happened to be a mini-mart type of thing. It was actually empty beside the guy who was at the cash register when I burst in.

"This kid needs help!" I said and caught the attention of the man behind the counter.

"W-what?!" He said and quickly rushed over to me.

I was glad that he wasn't one of those people who were stuck up and wouldn't care if the kid was dying or not.

"What happened? And are you okay? You're soaking wet!" The man said worriedly.

"I'm fine, but he fell into the river and I jumped in after him. He's breathing, but he's really, really, cold." I said. "He was under for a while, so I don't know what to do. I just know CPR." I explained.

"I know a clinic that's down the street from here. It's the Kurosaki Clinic," He said as he looked out the door then over his shoulder.

"... The Kurosaki Clinic..." I thought as my eyes slightly widen.

"I can take you both there." He said. "You're probably his sister, right?"

"No, I just found him while he was standing on the ice." I said. "And this clinic can you take him there, I know you have a store to run, but I don't know my way around this town." I lied, it was true that I didn't completely know my way through the town, but that was the one place I knew how to get to.

"I can do it." He said with no hesitation. "Ayame!" He called over his shoulder.

"Yes, dad?" A girl, around my age, said as she came from the back of the store.

"I'm going to go take these two the clinic down the street. Take care of the shop." He urged.

"Yes, sir!" She said obediently.

"W-wait." I said as I rushed after the man that was already several feet ahead of me. "I think it would be a good idea if I went and searched for his mom!" I said as I caught up to him.

"You're right, but do you think you'll be able to find your way to the clinic?" He asked as we turned a corner.

"I'll just tell her where it is and hopefully she'll know." I replied.

"Alright, sounds good." He said as he picked up the pace. I slowly came to a stop and caught my breath, the air stinging my lungs. It was then that I remembered that I was still wet and freezing to the bone.

"Curses, many, many curses." I said as I ran through the crowds. It was then that I also realized that I didn't know who the kid's mother was. I mentally slapped myself for my stupidity. I ran through the streets making lefts and rights on a whim. I was really starting to feel the weather get to me.

"See, now I'm probably gonna freeze to death and die because I'm dumb." I growled as I turned another corner and ran right into someone.

"Sorry." I mumbled as stood up and prepared to take off again.

"Wait, have you seen my son?!" She asked before I was gone.

I turned on my heels and looked directly at the woman with wide eyes. She resembled the kid I had just saved.

"He's six years old and he has my same hair and eyes." She said and pointed to her blond hair and blue eyes.

"Y-yes!" I said. "I just had a friend of mine take him to the clinic." I said and pointed in the direction I had come from.

"Oh, lord." She said and gasped. "What have I done?!" She said as tears welled up in her eyes.

"He's fine." I reassured her. "He just fell into the water." I said.

"Please take me to him!" She pleaded.

I nodded my head and took off in the direction of the clinic. We ran into so many people, and I was pretty amazed at how she could keep up with me with those heels on. I mean I know I'm a slow runner, but still, those were some pretty tall heels. She was probably some type of business woman or at least she looked like she could be one. When we were just a few blocks away, I heard her cry out in pain. I skidded to a stop and looked back to see her on the floor.

"Are you okay?" I asked as I kneeled down beside her.

"Y-yeah." She said as she stood up. "My heel just broke." She said and discarded her shoes. Although, when she took a step, she nearly collapsed again. She cursed under her breath and glared at her ankle.

"She probably hurt it when her heel broke." I thought. "It's not probably, she did hurt it when it broke. This is why we don't run in heels." I thought with a sigh. I was thinking of just helping her by letting her lean on me while we walked, but she was barefoot. I sighed and secretly hated myself for all my kindness that decided to appear.

"Alright, I know this might sound a bit weird, but I'm going to give you a piggy-back ride to the clinic." I said a little embarrassed.

"W-what?" She said in confusion.

"I know, I know, but you're barefoot know and you wouldn't want to touch the snow, would you?" I asked. "Either way is fine with me." I shrugged. "I was just saying."

She was silent for a moment, but then smiled. "Thank you." She said.
"We might as well hurry up and make sure they take a look at your foot too." I said as I somehow managed to get her on my back. I sped walked down the wasn't as fast as I hoped it would have been, but when someone hurts their ankle and the one helping them is freezing... things don't work out as well as you expect them to.

All the while, my mind was clouded with worry and anxiety. Part of it was for the boy, but the majority was about how those at the Kurosaki Clinic would react. I felt several knots tie in my stomach as we drew nearer and nearer. I felt an impending sense of doom come over me when we turned on the street.

"I'm really sorry for causing you all this trouble." She said as I walked.

"Don't mention it." My voice said, cracking ever so slightly.

"If I had payed more attention to him, none of this would have never happened." She said in a sad voice. "I'm such a horrible mother."

"I'm sure that's not true." I said and tried to distract myself from my worries. "It was probably something that happened on a whim." I said.

"... yeah..." She said as I stopped and looked at the building in front of me, a sense of nostalgia and sadness filling me. I lowered my vision down to the snow covered ground. For a moment everything became fuzzy and I lost feeling in my body. I stumbled a bit, but managed to stay up.

"Are you okay? You can put me down now." The woman said in a worried voice.

"Y-yeah." I said and slowly put her down. "Just tired." I said with a weary smile. "Here." I said and let her put her arm over my shoulders and helped her up to the door. With each step I felt more and more regret. We finally reached the front door and I took in a deep breath as the woman knocked on it, rather harshly at that. It was quiet for a few moment and she was about to knock on it again, but the door opened.

A girl with black hair pulled back into a ponytail and bored brown eyes opened the door. She seemed to be younger than me by a few years or so. I looked at her with wide eyes.

"Karin..." I thought as I looked her over. "She's grown up so much..." I thought as I looked away.

"My son was brought here by this young lady's friend!" The woman said desperately. "He looks just like me, he's only about six years old." She said and began to describe him. "Is he okay?!"

"Yeah, he's fine." Karin reassured. "Come on in. I'll take him to you." She said as she opened the door as we came in.

"Could you also take a look at her ankle?" I said, keeping my gaze on the floor, hoping that my bangs would keep my identity concealed. "She fell on the way here."

"Yeah, and what about you? You're shivering like crazy." She said and touched my arm. "You're freezing!" She said and dragged the two of us into the clinic.

"DAD!" Karin yelled as she led us she led us into a room where the little kid was.

"Haru!" She cried out as she ran to the bed, ignoring her hurt leg. "Oh, Haru!" She cried as she hugged the unconscious boy. "I'm so sorry."

"You come with me." Karin said and dragged me out the room. "Jeez, you're practically ice." She said as she led me into another room.

"DAAADD!" She said even louder.

"Coming!" Her father chimed as he came into the room.

I looked up at the man that entered the room. He hadn't changed much from the last time I saw him. The only thing that really seemed different were the few strands of silver hair that blended in with his black hair.

"Jeez, you're so old." Karin said with a roll of her eyes. "Anyway, this lady is freezing and soaking wet."

The man turned his attention to me and we locked gazes. It was only for a second, but I knew that he recognized me. I looked away in haste and became interested in the pillow on the bed.

"Ah, thank you Karin." He said. "You can go watch tv now."

"Yeah, yeah." Karin said and walked out the room, the door closing behind her.

It was silent, unbearably silent and I could tell that his gaze was on me.

"It's been awhile, hasn't it?"