Look at this. I'm updating again. Want to know why? Because of my two most loyal readers. So, this chapter is dedicated to my dear friend—you know who you are—and im ur misconception for always reading and reviewing. You're both amazing. Thank you so much for feedback and love. This is for you:

"Getsuga Tensho!"

Ichigo's attack destroyed another of the hollows.

"Good job, Ichigo."

Ichigo looked to Kisuke as the other walked up behind him.

"What the hell's going on with these hollows, Kisuke?"

"I'm not sure." He said, his typical smile and laid-back attitude gone.

Ichigo frowned. "If many more come through like this, we'll have some serious trouble."

Kisuke had to agree with him. It had already gotten bad enough that he, Isshin, and Ryuken were joining in on the battles. The former captain and the quincy working together was truly a sight, but Kisuke-and the others-would prefer if things would go back to being peaceful enough that they didn't have to.

Before either man could speak again, two more hollows appeared. Both were small and on all fours.

"Seems like they'll be fast." Kisuke commented, readying his zanpaktou.

"Yeah." Ichigo frowned as he took a similar fighting stance.

They watched as both hollows were destroyed by a large white dog.

"Uh…" Ichigo glanced at Kisuke in time to see the other's equally shocked expression.

"Hey!" Kodochi called from atop a building across the street. "I thought you guys may want a break."

Kodochi joined them and called her zanpaktou back.

"It's good to see you again." Ichigo smiled.

"You too. And you can thank Mr. Urahara here for it."

Kisuke, feeling more himself and able to lazily smile at the new situation, laughed. "I'm a little surprised that they agreed to send you."

"Captain Kuchiki said that I could be spared for a while since Captain Kurotsuchi's had more luck with early detection for these kinds of hollows."

"Good." Ichigo said, stretching his neck. "Maybe that means I can take a night off and study for my exams."

"Don't count on it." Kisuke muttered.

Kodochi laughed at their antics. She hadn't realized how much she had missed Karakura Town or the people she had befriended there.

"How bad has it gotten?" Kodochi asked.

Ichigo sighed. "Well, I haven't slept or studied for a few weeks now, so...bad."

She smiled. "Hopefully, I can help with that." She really had missed the world of the living.

"Too bad I'll have to leave them behind, too."

"Maybe you won't, Kodochi."

"What makes you say that, Touga?"

"Perhaps they can help you hide from the soul society when the time comes."

"I'll think about it."

She knew not to argue with the demon. He had only recently stopped harassing her about Shuhei.

"So, how long do we have you?" Kisuke asked.

"I guess until we can figure out how best to deal with hollows who hide their spirit energy, fight in packs, and seem to be hunting on a higher level than they should be." Kodochi shrugged. "On the bright side, I don't sense any others right now." She looked at Ichigo. "You can get some studying done now."

He groaned. "Between school and hollows, when am I supposed to sleep?"

"Speaking of sleep," Kisuke interjected, "Kodochi, your gigai is at the shop. I can call up Ichigo's father to make sure it's okay for you to stay there again if you want me to."

"Don't worry about it." Ichigo smiled. "I'm sure the old man is fine with it, and I have a key. We can go get your gigai, and my body, and I'll just let you in."

"Sounds like a plan." She smiled and followed them toward the shop.

"So, what have I missed in the time I've been gone?" Kodochi asked, breaking the silence as Ichigo walked her to his family's home.

"Karin's team has entered some kind of regional tournament. She's pretty excited. Tatsuki won the martial arts thing she entered last week; she's already looking for another one. Yuzu has been trying new recipes for a while, so I'll be seeing you at supper while you're here."

Kodochi laughed. "I can't believe you come by so your little sister can cook for you."

"You've had her cooking; wouldn't you?"

"Point taken."

"What about you?"

"What about me?"

"Something's different. You've gotten a lot stronger, but something seems to be bothering you."

Kodochi glanced at Ichigo to see him watching her. 'Guess I can try it. I mean, considering his teacher and father...' "Your instincts about what others are going through scare me, Ichigo." She sighed heavily. "Listen, you know how your dad and Kisuke had to leave the soul society but weren't really enemies of the soul society?"

"Yeah."

"I may have to leave soon, too."

"What?" Ichigo stopped walking and stared at her. "Why? What's going on?"

Kodochi looked back at him and smiled sadly. "I can't tell you that right now, Ichigo." She looked down at the sidewalk and closed her eyes tight. Now or never. "But I'm going to have to leave the soul society soon—there's no other choice. I was wondering if, when I do, you could help me find a place to hide…"

"Kodochi…"

"I'd never ask you to let me stay here in Karakura; your family is here and you need to look out for them…"

"Kodochi…"

"But if you could maybe just…"

"KODOCHI!"

She stopped rambling and looked up to see Ichigo standing directly in front of her. His eyes were soft, and she immediately felt like he was looking at her with pity, but then she changed her mind. It wasn't pity. It was understanding.

"You're my friend, Kodochi. Whatever you need, you've got. Just remember, you've got people you can trust to help you."

Kodochi couldn't help the small smile. "Yeah, people keep saying that."

"Maybe you should listen to them."

The rest of the night was spent having dinner with Ichigo and his family; they were excited to have her over again, and she was happy to be there. Ichigo said nothing else about the request she had made, so Kodochi didn't either. The next morning, she had breakfast with Karin and Yuzu before heading out to patrol/see the town.

"Kodochi?"

She looked up from her soul phone. "Oh, uh…" she had to think for a minute before their names came back to her. "Orihime and Uryu, right?" They nodded and she smiled.

"It's been a while." Orihime said. "Are the others here with you?"

"No, not this time. It's just me."

"I suppose you're here because of the increase in hollows that we can't easily detect." Uryu said.

"Yeah. Kisuke thought it would be a good idea." 'I still don't love how much he seems to be suspicious of me, but it's sad that his people are gone.'

'You could bond with him over it.' Touga chimed in with sarcasm.

'You've been quiet lately; I was starting to wonder if you had found your own way out of my head.'

'Of course not, Kodochi. I'll be here until you no longer need me.'

Kodochi wouldn't admit it to him or herself that she didn't really want to lose him. He had been her friend, guide, and teacher for so long that she wasn't sure how she would handle not having his voice in her head anymore.

"I'm glad." Orihime smiled. "Maybe this time, we can spend some time together. I didn't really see you much the last time you were here, and I'd really like to get to know you. We could go to lunch. Or maybe I could cook."

"That sounds amazing!" Kodochi interjected, having heard of Orihime's cooking and seeing the immediate panic in Uryu's eyes. "I'll definitely let you know as soon as I have some free time!"

"Yay!"

"Why did you want to come again?" Renji asked as he and Shuhei walked through the 78th district.

"I guess I just felt like it." Shuhei responded dismissively.

"You know that you're not at all believable, right?"

He sighed. "Look, I just want to figure out what's going on with her."

Renji said nothing, but he had a feeling there was far more to what Shuhei was saying. The other lieutenant had been acting strangely for a while—especially when Kodochi was the topic of conversation.

"Excuse me?"

Renji and Shuhei both turned to the small voice behind them to see an elderly woman standing and watching them. Her dress was plain. It may have been white at some point, but it was too ragged and dirty to be sure. She didn't have shoes, but she did have a surprisingly well-crafted walking stick.

"Yeah?" Renji asked abruptly, never the one for subtlety.

"You've been asking about Kodochi Nakamura, correct?" Her voice shook as she spoke, as if the effort was nearly too much for old vocal cords to handle.

"Yes. Do you know her?" Shuhei took the lead from Renji immediately.

"I did." She said and moved between them to continue in the direction they had been going. "I can show you where she lived."

The lieutenants looked at one another for a moment before following her. They reached the edge of the little settlement on the eastern side of the district after about 10 minutes of silent walking. It was easily one of the smallest "villages" to be found in the area, one of the highest populated, and one that soul reapers rarely patrolled. It was the perfect place for anyone who couldn't follow the rules. Nobody was here to stop them.

"This is where she lived."

Renji and Shuhei stared at the small building. It was mostly overgrown with vegetation.

"Nobody here has seen her in seven years, but they all refuse to touch this place. I don't know if it's because they're afraid or if it's out of respect." Her voice was sad, but she moved to the door and pushed it open.

The three of them walked in to see what was left of Kodochi's life.

"She really lived here?" Shuhei asked in shock.

The place was small and dirty. Abandoned for seven years or not, there was no way it had ever been very nice. There was a small, broken chair; a shockingly large table that didn't fit with the rest of the room; a small chest, which had two drawers in it; a broken mirror, its shards laying around its base; and what had been a sheet in a corner where Kodochi must have slept.

"There's no bed or cushion." Renji commented as he moved to the drawers. Inside were home-made arrows and a single set of clothes that were hardly rags anymore.

"She did live here." The old woman said. "She wanted to live close to forest so that she could go and get herbs to mix for us. She was a talented young woman. As for the lack of basics…" She sighed and cleared her throat. "There were few of us who had anything to sleep on in those days. Anytime Kodochi had the material to make something, she gave it away. She even made my cane here." She held tighter to the carved wood as if she wanted to protect it.

"She took care of the people around here." Renji said. He found himself wondering if she had always protected others. Who was she when she was alive, and how long had it been since she had died?

"As much as she could, yes." Her voice started to tremble like she was holding in tears. "That's what she was doing the night she disappeared."

"What do you mean she disappeared?" Shuhei asked, looking away from the single room that Kodochi had used as a home. He hated this place the minute he saw it. She deserved better.

"I had been telling her for years that she needed to leave this place. She was too smart to stay here, but she wanted to look after us. That night, though, I think she was finally going to leave this all behind. I saw her run out of this place and toward the forest. But she stopped."

"Why?" Renji asked, moving back to the door with the others, though it was only a few steps.

"A boy." She had to wipe a tear from her cheek and clear her throat again. "He stood up to a group of men who tried to steal the blanket that Kodochi had made him. They were going to beat him. They would have killed him, but she stopped them. She killed one and the others ran after her into the forest. None of them came back."

"Can you point us in the direction they went?" Renji asked.

"They went that way." She said, pointing deep into the forest. It looked like it, too, had become somewhat overgrown. It was like the only thing stopping it from taking over the rest of the village was Kodochi's house.

"Are you talking about Kodochi?"

A young man walked over to stand with the woman.

"Yeah, kid. Why do you ask?"

"Is she alive?" He asked, ignoring Renji.

"Shuu, you have to be more polite!" The old woman scolded.

"She's alive." Shuhei said. "Why do you ask?"

Shuu's eyes grew wide and he started crying, though he was also smiling bigger than anyone Renji or Shuhei had ever seen.

"I'm so happy!" He said, wiping his eyes. "I thought maybe they had killed her." He sniffed and looked at the two soul reapers. "Will you thank her for saving me?"

"Yeah, we will." Renji said, though the likelihood of them ever telling Kodochi that they met the boy she had saved was pretty low since they were in the middle of investigating her.

"We'll be leaving now, but I have one more question." Shuhei said, turning to their guide. "You said that people may be afraid of coming here. Why would they be?" He asked and pointed to the house.

"For a few years after she disappeared, bandits and ruffians who went into this forest would not come out. Sometimes we would hear screaming, but nobody ever saw anything."

"Some thought that Kodochi's spirit had merged with the forest and that she was still protecting us. Others thought she was some kind of witch and had cursed the area." Shuu said. "Now, they don't even come out this far. If you're ever afraid of anyone around here, you just have to go into her house or the trees. Nobody will follow you."

Shuhei and Renji thanked the others and made their way into Kodochi forest—the name that the Eastern 78th district residents had chosen.

"You heard what the kid said, right?" Renji asked.

"Yeah." Shuhei couldn't say anything else. His mind kept flashing to when he had watched Kodochi place her hands on a boulder and it turn to dust.

"So, we're all in agreement?" Shunsui asked.

He, Jushiro, Toshiro, Kensei, and Byakuya had met for lunch and to discuss Kodochi.

"We need to know more about her. If there is anything to this witch theory, we'll have to be careful going forward." Toshiro said. He didn't want to think that there was a real possibility that Kodochi was a witch because he, as well as the others, knew what the consequences would be. He didn't believe that she would do anything to harm the soul society, but that didn't change the law.

"Agreed." Byakuya said. "Lieutenant Abarai is investigating her past now."

"I think it was a good idea to keep the number of people who know about this theory limited." Jushiro said before sipping his tea. "The five of us and our lieutenants are more than enough for the time being."

"Yeah, but Shuhei volunteered to go with Renji." Kensei said, leaning back and frowning. "That damn stupid boy is so in love with her that I can't get him to work anymore. If she is…"

"We can't worry about it right now." Jushiro said. "We need to focus on gathering information and then take that information and make our final conclusions when we have everything." He coughed into a tissue to hide the blood from the others. "Looking too far ahead right now will just cause unnecessary stress."

"Right." Shunsui said. "Let's get over to the 12th to run some theories through Kurotsuchi and just wait for the lieutenants and his tests to come through."