R was writing.

She sometimes wrote when there was too much going on in her mind. They weren't proper writings, but they weren't babbles either. She wrote abstract words in weird shapes and random directions. It helped her lose focus on what she was actually writing and took that particular worry out of her head.

She had also subconsciously ended up writing some predictions which came true, which helped her save her mum on a couple of occasions from minor injuries.

Yes, she was a psychic. In the WOL. In the WOL, psychics were worth mentioning, because the rest of the population either denied that extra human power existed, or never saw someone who was special that way. R herself wasn't born that way. She still believed that the whole lightning incident was scientific. In her mind, it was like using a defibrillator to kick-start a heart that was slowing down. Since humans are susceptible to electricity, there was a good chance that her numbed perceptive senses were given a reboot by the lightning. The eye colour, she couldn't explain, but the rest could make sense. Psychic ability was the precursor to human evolution.

Which was why this whole Soul Society situation baffled her. If she looked deep within herself, she wanted to make sense of things that happened, even though she kept telling herself she believed in magic. This situation however, went beyond explanation. She was reflecting deeply on her dreaminess, in the midst of a fictional world which was falling apart because their magic wasn't enough to sustain their survival.

She recalled all of this while wondering why a week and a day had passed, and with no update on the plan of the Gotei 13, much less Urahara. Should she have forced her way out along with Ichigo and gang? But if she did, who knew where she would end up? Their Tokyo housed a Karakura, which did not exist in her world.

Suddenly, she heard shuffling outside. "Hollow! Squad 6, make preparations to attack!" "Akiyama is caught!" "What the hell was he thinking, running after that thing?!" "Hurry, let's finish it!" The panic-stricken voices rushed past her room, as she started to feel the reiatsu of the hollow. The roar was deafening. It struck a fear in her, and she closed her eyes to shut out the noise. She could picture the vile thing, drooling, its head that of an insect. Was she psychically streaming its image? Was there really a cockroach hollow out there, stabbing the powerless Shinigami with its feelers? Was there really that stench of death and blood? Where the hell is Byakuya San?! She thought, distressed. Even Renji wasn't around.

There was immense pressure on her body. She felt a huge burden, a weight crushing her from the inside out. She could not move a finger. Her thoughts were passing by bullet quick. She squeezed her eyes tighter and was surprised to feel the wetness coming out of them. Go away, she whispered in her head. Go away, go away go away GO AWAY! Unknowingly, she had verbalized her thought, screamed it out.

The mirror in her room exploded. She turned in shock to see the middle gone, and her frightened face was reflected back to her in bits and remaining pieces. And in those bits and pieces, she saw herself, for the first time since she had gained her abilities, completely surrounded by a pulsating violet aura.

She looked at her hand. It was throbbing with that heavy aura. As she clenched her fist, the pressure built in the center of her forehead pulling her down into a deep abyss. Stop, she pleaded in her head. Please, stop! The mirror exploded again, and her surroundings started vibrating. She felt she wasn't going to hold on much longer before caving to the heaviness, when suddenly, everything came to a standstill. The heavy pressure vanished. The floor beneath her stopped vibrating. She slowly realised that something was pressed to her face. Looking up, she saw through her tear stained eyes, Byakuya San, reiatsu full-on, frown on his face, and finally concern in his eyes.

"Have some tea, you are still shaking."

R looked at Byakuya San's outstretched arm, containing steaming houjicha. The fragrance was discernible. This was her favourite out of all Japanese teas. Its fragrance and taste were unique because the tea leaves had been specially roasted before being brewed.

"No, I'm good, thank you," she said, pulling her blanket closer. It smelled great, but she was afraid she'd heave, considering her head was still spinning and she could still smell the stench of the hollow, in her head.

"I wasn't asking you, I was telling you to have it." He never broke his stare from her.

Why did this sound so familiar? She looked right back at him, and said, "I don't want to go merlion* on you, Byakuya San." His confused expression told her that her joke had died. She sighed. "I'm still feeling queasy because I was pretty sure I could smell the hollow, the death surrounding it and all that blood."

"Survival comes first. Forget the smell, if it meant you can survive, you should be able to eat that hollow too, flesh and blood and… stench." His eyes gleamed. With… mischief?

Forced to face unsavoury images in her head, R widened her eyes, about to hurl. "Quick, have this to push it down," he ordered, stuffing the cup into her hands. She downed the near boiling tea in desperation, and screamed in pain. What a manipulative brat!

"What was that about!" she shouted. "Do you want me to come and vomit on you while you're sleeping?"

"You'd never be able to. I can sense you from miles away." His tone changed as he said this. She cocked her head to one side, trying to figure out the implication of that change. He was looking out of the window, not wanting to give anything away.

Byakuya looked out the window, so R wouldn't sense it. He sounded like… like he did when he spoke to Hisana. His own tenderness had escaped him without him realizing it. Why? Who was this woman, and why would she bring out that long dead side of him?

He had sensed her wildly fluctuating reiatsu and practically flown to her side. She had sat there, clutching her heart, glowing in that beautiful violet that was basically crushing her. He had done the first and only thing that came to his mind: balance out that power with his own. However, rushing to hold her against his chest was not an action that came from his mind. It came from his instinct. It came from somewhere deeper.

Seeing his expression growing troubled, R felt that she might be upsetting him for some unknown reason. But she knew well enough from the anime, how his mood swings were like his Senbonzakura: swaying, flying with the wind, you could never tell when he would huff away.

"What happened to the hollow?" She asked, changing the topic. "Did you take care of it?"

He realized that he had completely forgotten about the hollow after sensing her troubled reiatsu. He looked away, half ashamed and half worried, that he would put her first above his Shinigami duties.

"I didn't, but someone must have, as—"

"Nii Sama!" Rukia rushed in, clad in her Shinigami uniform, panting. "I rushed here after finding out that a hollow had dared attack Squad 6 straight! I thought you had finished it off, but when I got here, I was surrounded by Shinigami scared out of their wits. Apparently, the hollow had exploded right in front of their eyes. There are still some violet flames burning around the area where it happened."

"Nii Sama, what's going on?" Rukia asked, keeping her wary eyes on R. "Who killed the hollow? Why was there a hollow within Squad 6 grounds in the first place?"

But R did not even notice Rukia's stare. She looked down at her hands, feeling something, and saw, in horror, that the violet pressure had started again, dancing on her palm as flames. She caught Byakuya's eyes, who was just as stumped. Rukia followed their looks to R's hands and gasped, as the pressure rose up flame reaching the ceiling, in their middle.

AN:
Merlion: One of Singapore's landmarks, which is actually a fountain. Water comes out the merlion's mouth, prompting Singaporeans to take digs at it, calling it the 'eternal vomit'.