Hey fellas, hope everyone had a good week. Feeling better now, so that's in the past. Yet, I missed another milestone in our story, a 300K word milestone! I'm actually surprised we've hit it so quickly to be honest, lol. I guess my original plan for 450K is well within reach, huh?

Anyway, on to 'Spades's Corner'…

Thanks for the well-wishes bro, greatly appreciated. I have to agree, Kubo could have gone a little in-depth in regards to the normal activities the Captain's are required to do. Just because you're in charge of a squad, it don't mean you only lead the squad, lol. And come on, did you really think I would have him and Lilynette be in the story and not include his usual napping fiascos? Lmao.

1: Likely not, besides Hinata and the others already mentioned.

2: After this, at least one. Besides that, I can't really say as I don't want to play it out too much, like I did with my TBA series.

3: No, definitely no. And I'm still not too sure as to whether or not I will include them.

4: I can't say too much about the time skips as I can only recall one major one (two years), and a couple of small ones (couple days or months).

5: Honestly, I forgot all about that, lol. I gotta go back and look at it again…

Well, I guess it's on to the show ladies and gents.

(I DO NOT OWN BLEACH; ITS CHARACTORS, NAMES, LOCATIONS, OR STORY! THAT HONOR BELONGS SOLELY TO TITE KUBO AND HIS TEAM! ONLY THE OC, AND RANDOM NAMES NOT MENTIONED IN THE BOOKS OR ANIME ARE MY OWN!)


Chapter 22

(Confessions)

Urahara Shop, The Next Morning

Waking up before anyone else did, as was normal for him, Timothy found that he was still a bit sore from his Bankai training. He could move around easily enough with minimal pain, but if he moved his body too much, then he could feel the sting of the recovering muscles.

Even so, he still intended to do some of his morning training; though both of his zanpakutō spirits were very adamant when telling him that he still needed more rest. He protested just as firmly at first, but it only turned into a spree of bickering and insults.

Needless to say, Kitsune won the argument.

Defeated, Timothy was sitting down at the dining room table with a small pot of tea that he had made for himself, and Nel when she woke up; considering that she normally woke up around an hour or so after he did. The hot tea was a very welcome comfort as it soothed his muscles.

Holding the cup in his hand and resting the said hand in his lap, he leaned his head back to rest against the wall and closed his eyes. As he rested there, taking slow and calming breaths, he could feel the tightness, almost literally, melting away; and it was a very wonderful feeling.

But his relaxation didn't last as long as he would have preferred, seeing that Kitsune chose this moment to materialize into a sitting position next to him. He half opened his eyes and turned his head enough to see her reaching over and pouring herself some tea as well.

"I told you that you were still a bit too sore." She stated, then took a sip.

He rolled his head back and shut his eyes with a low moan. "Please, don't start your stupid games this morning." He whined.

She glanced at him with an offended look. "I'm not, I was only making a statement, Tim. I 'can' be serious at times, you know." She pointed out. "So, what you got planned for the day with Nel?" she asked with a, surprisingly, straight face.

Her partner sighed and took a sip himself before answering. "No idea. It's been twelve years since we were alive, and as you've seen, things have changed, 'a lot'." He then returned his head to rest on the wall. "I guess go get something to eat, wander around for a bit and try some things out, maybe even go see a movie."

Kitsune nodded and set her cup down. "I wonder if John Candy is still making movies."

His eyes shot open and he looked at her. "I never even thought about that! We have 'got' to look into that!" he stated in shock.

She rolled her eyes with a chuckle. "You and that stupid actor. I mean, he is funny, granted, but he's not 'that' funny. In my opinion, Rick Moranis was better."

He slapped a hand on the table, then pointed at her with a glare. "Don't you 'dare' insult John Candy!" he demanded, then dropped his finger and crossed his arms as he tilted his head. "But, I will agree that Moranis was very funny. We'll have to check up on him too and see what he's come out with. I wonder if Kisuke might be able to help us with that."

Kitsune then started snickering, causing him to raise a brow. "We should go haunt him, that would be a good one." She joked.

His other brow rose as well, then he scratched his chin in thought. "That's not a bad idea. We could actually 'see' the guy in person. Him, and Candy."

"I'm afraid that won't be possible, Tim." I voice said from the hallway.

Timothy and Kitsune both looked to see Kisuke walk into the room as he yawned. "Morning, Kisuke." Kitsune greeted as Timothy nodded.

"Morning." The shop owner returned as he sat down.

Kitsune poured a cup of tea and gently passed it to the man. "What do you mean by that, Kisuke?" she inquired as he took a sip.

The man let out a relaxed sigh, then his face turned a bit grim. "I'm sorry to say that mister Candy died seven years ago, my friends." He informed in a low tone.

Both of their eyes went wide in shock. "What?! You're kidding!" she stated.

Kisuke gently shook his head. "I'm afraid not. He passed away in 1994, from what, they assumed, was a heart attack."

Timothy ran a hand through his hair, then rubbed the back of his head. "…Wow. Just…wow." He said in a low voice, earning a nod from his partner.

"Yeah. Sorry, Tim." she offered, getting a nod back.

He then dropped his hand and crossed his arms back with a heavy sigh. "Damn…he wasn't even 'that' old yet. What, mid-forties? I assume he was still working as an actor when he died, right?" he inquired.

Kisuke nodded. "I don't follow the film industry that much, but from what I have heard, I believe so. If you want, I can get some copies of the films he made." He offered.

Timothy quickly nodded. "Yes, please."

She then looked at the shop owner. "As long as you include ones with Rick Moranis." She said in a firm voice, earning a scoff from Timothy. She quickly turned to him in a growl. "Shut up, you damn film Nazi!" she hissed.

He then returned the glare. "Film Nazi?! I didn't say anything! You're the one whose obsessed with Rick Moranis! You'd marry him if you could!" he pointed out.

She growled again. "I would not…" she stopped rant and thought for a second. "…Okay, maybe I would…But still, you don't have to hate on him!"

"I didn't 'hate' on him, only your stupid obsession with him! Damn vixen!"

Kisuke held up his closed fan and waved it at them. "Now now, I'll gladly get those videos for you two. Just calm down. It's much too early for you two to be starting any arguments." He said in a soothing manner.

Timothy scoffed as he returned to resting his head against the wall, while Kitsune crossed her arms with a huff. The man chuckled as he lowered his hand, then finished his tea and poured some more.

It was at this moment that Nel walked into the room. Waving at the three occupants at the table as she walked by, she took a seat next to Timothy as Kitsune slid a cup of tea across the table to her.

"Thank you." She said, then took a sip.

"Morning miss Nel." Kisuke greeted as he opened his fan and began waving at himself.

She set her cup down and let out a deep breath. "Morning Kisuke, Kit, Tim." she returned, earning nods from the pair. "You're not training this morning, Tim?" she inquired.

Timothy glared at his partner with annoyance. "…No, cause I'm too 'weak' to train today." He mocked.

Kitsune slammed her fist on the table. "I 'never' said that! I said you needed to rest!" she corrected.

He slapped a hand to his face and dragged it down with a moan. "There has got to be some higher being that just simply 'hates' me." He whined.

Nel looked at him with a concerned, yet amused smile. "Bad morning?"

The Lieutenant glared at the former Espada. "What gave it away?" he hissed.

The Arrancar laughed while Kisuke chuckled. "Anyway…" the shop owner intervened. "…why don't you two go ahead and head out. You can get some breakfast at one of the restaurants." He stated.

Timothy sighed and shook his head. "I am really starting to hate you, Kisuke." He said, then finished his tea, as did Nel and Kitsune.

The spirit turned to the owner and waved. "See ya later, Kisuke." She said, earning a nod before vanishing back into Timothy's inner world.

Timothy then stood up with a heavy sigh, prompting Nel to stand up as well, and turned to the former Captain. "We should be back sometime later this afternoon. Need anything?" he inquired.

Kisuke waved him off with his empty hand. "No, you two go have some fun. And stay outta trouble." He teased, earning a scoff from the younger man.

"Shut up, Kisuke." He said, then turned to Nel. "Ready to go?"

She bobbed her head gently, then waved at Urahara. "See you later, Kisuke."

The man returned the gesture, then turned to Timothy. "Oh, if you should happen to run into Captain Hitsugaya, or anyone else from the team, I simply sent you two out on a few errands. Just in case they ask." He advised.

Timothy nodded, then waved as he turned and walked to the door with Nel right behind. Kisuke watched them as the pair walked out of the shop and closed the door behind them, a wide grin forming on his face the instant the door snapped shut.

"Well, it's in her hands now. Right, Yoruichi?" he asked as he turned his head towards the hallway.

The said golden-eyed woman was standing in the hallway and leaning against the wall with an equally wide grin on her own. Shifting her weight, she got off the wall and walked to the table to sit down across from her long-time friend and 'accomplice'.

"That it is, Kisuke. Let's just hope she doesn't screw this up." She answered as she poured some tea.

"I think you're giving miss Nel to little credit." The man stated in an amused tone.

"Not at all." She returned and took a sip, holding the cup in the air near her head afterwards. "I actually have faith in the girl. It's Kit that I'm worried about." She clarified.

Kisuke gave her a calculating look behind his fan. "Are you referring that she might say something, or the fact the she used to be Tim's wife?" he inquired.

Yoruichi took another sip and thought about it a moment.

"Hmm…I guess you could say both, but mainly the first one. I think that Tim and Nel being alone together will drive her to want to tease them, ruining the whole thing." She said in a concerned voice.

"I don't think that will be a problem. After what happened the other day when Nel disappeared, and with how furious Tim was, I doubt she'll do anything." He assured, then continued waving his fan.

Yoruichi looked towards the front door with a raised brow. "I guess you do have a point, Kisuke. Now that I think about it, Kit's the one who's probably going to endure the most torture with having to keep quiet." She finished in a chuckle.

"Don't worry, Yoruichi. I have my money on miss Nel." He affirmed.

She looked at him with a grin. "Too bad we're rooting for the same thing, otherwise I'd take that bet." She joked, then continued sipping her tea.

Karakura Town City Center, 20 Minutes Later

"Soooo…what should we do first?" Nel inquired with a slightly confused voice as she looked around with shock.

Although she had been in the main part of the city before after Yoruichi and Kit's excessive teasing, she didn't really pay any attention to what was around her, due to the mood that she had been in. But now that she took the time to look around, she found herself a bit overwhelmed by everything around her.

Dozens among dozens of multiple sized cars, trucks and vans passed by them every minute, and the sidewalks were nearly flooded to the limit with humans bobbing and weaving around each other in order to get where they were going.

As she looked up, the sky was nearly consumed with the numerous, medium-sized skyscrapers. When she looked left or right, she could see store after store on both sides of the street. In each of the windows for the said stores were just as numerous neon signs that either said they were open or were advertising something.

And that was what confused here the most. Once they entered the entertainment district of the city, besides a few private companies, that was literally all they saw were stores and businesses. Not one single living residence except a couple buildings that looked to be 'temporary' residences.

'Just where do all these people live?' she wondered.

Timothy chuckled lightly with a small smile at her behavior. Although he was about as shocked as she was, mainly with the newer technology and such, he still found it a little amusing how a warrior like her, someone that the soul society adamantly believes to be exceptionally dangerous, could look like a deer frozen in front of a pair of headlights.

"First, we find something to eat. Then we'll look around a bit." He answered in a calm voice. "Any particular type of food you prefer?"

She looked at him and shrugged her shoulders. "Not really. In Las Noches, we were served meals from many different cultures." She informed.

He rose a brow. "Really? So…you don't have a favorite food then?"

The woman held her chin and hummed in thought a moment. "A favorite…I guess the food I liked the best would be what some of the other Espada called 'Thai'. It was a bit spicy, but it was good."

Timothy scratched his chin. "Uh…I'm not sure there's any Thai places open this early, but we can ask around. You ever had any American cuisines?"

Nel nodded with a smile. "I've had pancakes and waffles before, and I've been told those were American."

He tilted his head and thought about that. "Actually, those really aren't a strictly 'American' breakfasts. Everybody makes those, but every country does it their own way in making them. I've heard Belgian waffles are the best, but I've never had em. Wanna go for a traditional breakfast this morning, then we'll see if we can find a Thai place for lunch?" he offered as looked back at her.

She nodded again. "That's fine, thanks."

The pair continued their walk for another five or so minutes until they came upon a standard looking restaurant. It did have an outside pavilion with tables and chairs for outdoor eating, but considering that they might be spotted by Captain Hitsugaya and the others, Timothy opted to eat inside instead.

Once they had taken a seat, in a nice 4-person booth towards the back, a waitress walked up with a set of menus and gave one to each of them. Taking out a pen and notepad, she inquired what they would like for drinks.

Timothy went with a coffee and orange juice, while Nel asked for tea. Taking a moment to write it down, the waiter gave the pair a swift bow before leaving them to get their drinks.

He didn't even bother to look at the menu, knowing what he already wanted; but Nel was looking the 2-page article over very slowly. Timothy watched with an amused grin as Nel's eyes widened and she began to drool at the many pictures of different breakfast orders that simply looked immaculate.

Two minutes later, the waitress returned with their drinks and inquired if they were ready to order. Nel didn't hear her, or even register that she was there as she was still stuck on the first page of her menu.

Timothy shook his head. "I think it might be a few more minutes before we're ready, ma'am." He stated.

She smiled and bowed. "Please let me know when you are ready." She said, then left them alone.

He turned back to Nel and propped his head up on the table as he kept watching his friend nearly drown herself in her own drool. But after a few minutes more, he started chuckling.

"You plan on burning a hole through the menu with that stare, Nel? And do I need to buy a boat for the lake you're trying to fill with your drooling?" he teased.

Nel flinched, shutting her mouth with a snap and wiping away the drool with the back of her hand as she glared at him with a blush.

"N…No! I just…Everything looks so good. I don't know what to get." She defended…poorly.

Timothy lightly laughed. "How bout this, just close your eyes, then without looking, place your finger somewhere on the menu. Wherever your finger lands, that's what you order. At least, that's what 'I' used to do when I didn't know what I wanted." He suggested.

"But…what if I want something more than what my finger lands on?" she inquired in voice with a hint of concern.

He simply tossed a shoulder. "Then do a custom order. You don't 'have' to order what the menu says. You could have both pancakes 'and' waffles together if you wanted. The menu is basically just to show you what the house special orders are."

She rose a brow. "So…I could order whatever I wanted together?"

"Yeah. Just don't order too much. Sometimes these orders can turn out to be much bigger than you thought, leaving you with lots of leftovers. I don't know about you, but I'd prefer to not have to carry leftovers around all day." He advised.

She waved him off gently with a chuckle. "Don't worry, I won't." he affirmed.

Gesturing to the waitress, she walked back over to the pair and began receiving their orders. Timothy went with a simple scrambled eggs and pancake platter, while Nel ordered eggs, and a couple pancakes and waffles.

The waitress bowed, telling them their orders would be ready in a moment, then left. Timothy took a sip of his coffee as Nel drank some of her tea. Neither of them spoke at first, an eerie silence looming over the table; driving Kitsune, almost literally, up a wall.

After a few moments, Nel looked back at Timothy sheepishly while she twiddled her thumbs under the table.

"So, can I…ask you something, Tim?" she began.

"Sure." He returned, taking another sip.

She gave him a curious look. "Before my…training…with Gamuza, Kisuke said something about how my situation was similar to yours. I know that Kit…was your wife…" she said, then dropped her head for a second before looking back. "…but he also said that what I did was also similar to what you did. What exactly does he mean by that?" she inquired.

His face dropped, then he sighed heavily. "It's…difficult to explain, Nel."

Nel dropped her head again. "I'm sorry…I didn't mean…"

Timothy waved her off. "It's not that, Nel. It's just exactly how I said it, it really is a bit hard to explain. To put it the easiest way to understand, when you and I first met in that park against that hollow, Kit…wasn't 'my' zanpakutō."

She raised her head back with a confused face. "What do you mean? I thought Aizen…already did that…or whatever it was to her before then."

He nodded slowly. "He did, but at that time, she was 'only' a zanpakutō spirit. But, she didn't have an inner world, if that makes sense."

The Arrancar shook her head, keeping her confused expression. Timothy then and propped his head in his hand as he rubbed his temples.

"Alright, give me a sec to try and find a better way to explain…Basically, a soul reaper and his or her zanpakutō spirit 'both' share an inner world. If I'm not mistaken, you do the same thing with Gamuza, right?" he inquired, getting a nod. "Ok, so you understand that part. The problem Kit had, was that she didn't have an inner world to live in. Her and I were bound together somehow, complements of the Hōgyoku, but she did not share my inner world. Still with me?"

She gave him another nod. "Alright. To put it simple…Kit was dying in that state." He said in a low voice.

Her eyes shot wide. "Wait…what do you mean Kit was dying?! Is that even possible?!"

Timothy nodded. "If a soul reaper dies, their zanpakutō spirit dies along with them. Essentially, that's what happened in her case. Kisuke could explain this much better than me. But anyway, because she didn't have an inner world to support her soul, she was steadily getting weaker and weaker as time went on. Eventually, she would have simply faded away. Now we come to what Kisuke was talking about." He stopped and crossed his arms with a deep breath.

"In order for her to live, Kisuke had me place her in my inner world; made her a part of me and essentially making her my true zanpakutō. Now, let me ask 'you' something, Nel" he stopped, getting an interested look from her. "What do 'you' mean that your situation was similar to mine in regards to what you did? What exactly was your 'training' about?" he asked in a serious manner.

She tucked her head in in shame and looked away. "Um…" she started, but couldn't finish.

"I ain't gonna get mad, Nel; I just want to know what you went through is all. From the way you said it, and if Kisuke was comparing it to what 'I' went through, then it had to have been a bad experience. I'm asking out of concern is all, Nel." He assured.

Nel looked back at him and nodded gently. "It was. Gamuza thought that…I abandoned her." She admitted.

He rose a brow. "She did? Why? Last time I checked, you were worried to death about not being able to talk to her or sense her."

Her head dropped down to stare at her lap. "I was worried. I really…thought I lost her forever. When Kisuke told me to release my Resurrección, I tried to, but she didn't respond. My heart dropped, and I thought that she was gone forever. I guess…in a way…I 'did' abandon her. I…accepted the fact that…she was gone."

Timothy nodded in understanding. "I see what you're saying, and I can understand why Gamuza would be upset. So…what exactly did you do? Did you manage to get her back, your hollow powers?"

Nel nodded back. "I did. Kisuke said that somehow, while her and I were still bonded to each other, our connection was broken. He had me use some kind of device to force her out, and I had to end up fighting her."

He tilted his head in surprise. "You had to fight Gamuza? You own powers?"

"Yes, if you want to call it that. In the end, there was nothing I could do against her. It wasn't until she threatened to…" she lowered her head a bit and sniffed. "…to kill you, that I risked everything to stop her."

Timothy's eyes narrowed at her. "What do you mean 'everything'? And why would Gamuza want to kill me? What did I do to her?" he asked in a firm voice. She turned her head away, just enough that he could see a stray tear run halfway down her cheek. "Nel, answer me. What were you going to do?" he demanded in a calm voice.

"I…I told her that…she'd have to kill me…before she would ever touch you." She said in a loud whisper.

"…Why? Why would she want to kill me, Nel? I can't see anything that I've done that would leave her wanting to kill me." He pointed out.

She looked back at him, her eyes red with tears. "Because she thinks that I 'abandoned' Aizen for you."

His eyes widened in mild shock. "Huh?"

Nel nodded firmly. "I've told you about my aspect of death, right Tim?"

"If I remember, I believe you said it was Loyalty, right?" he said.

She nodded with a hum. "Yes, and Gamuza believed that I went against my aspect, against my loyalty, for you. She saw 'you' as the problem. She felt that, by killing you, I would go back to Aizen."

He scoffed lightly. "I'm pretty sure I already know the answer, so I won't ask. But Aizen turned on 'you', put you two in that state. So perhaps you can explain how the hell it could possibly be 'my' fault with what happened. It's just not adding up, Nel." He said in a slightly elevated tone.

"Because Tim…" she almost yelled, but caught herself and took a breath. "Because, she thinks I had doubts about Aizen after he showed the Espada what he did to you and Kit. She thought that I turned against Aizen because I felt sorry for you. Because I…" She stopped and turned her head.

Timothy slightly rose a brow. "…Because…?" he pressed gently.

"Because…she thought that…I had feelings for you." She said in a whisper, surprising him.

He watched her in silence for a moment, then sighed heavily as he slumped in his seat. "Christ…why is everyone making all these assumptions about feelings? So, let me see if I understand this correctly; Gamuza wanted to kill me because 'I' was the reason you 'abandoned'…" he said with an air quote. "…Aizen, the guy who tried to 'kill' you? Because she thought you had feelings for me? Am I understanding this right?" he inquired, getting a sheepish nod back.

Timothy moaned as he cradled his head in his arms on the table. Another long moment of silence fell on the pair, before Timothy turned his head to the side, looking towards the front door. He watched as people walked by going about their business for a moment before he sighed.

"Ever since we met…since we met Kisuke and Yoruichi, you and I have both been…bombarded with hints and remarks about feelings for each other." He started in a weak voice, getting her attention. "Kit even annoyed you to the point where you simply vanished one day, all because they are, for some reason or another, adamant that we 'do' have feelings for each other."

He sighed again as he sat up straight with his head leaned back and eyes closed. "I admit…I am as dense as they come when it comes to feelings for one another. It's just…something that never seems to click in my head for some reason. For three or four years while we were still in high school, Kit had feelings for me and I never once noticed it. She even told me that she was practically 'presenting herself' to me purposely just to get my attention." He said with a chuckle.

"I've always been blind to those kind of things. I just couldn't help it. Maybe I'm…still blind." He said solemnly.

Nel gave him a concerned look. "Tim?"

He sighed heavily and lowered his head to her. "Yoruichi and Kisuke seem like the kind of people that just like to screw with others for the fun of it. Hell, Kit's worse than them most of the time. But…now you're telling me that your own hollow spirit, or whatever she is, is essentially saying the same thing? Even wanting to kill me because of it? I…I have to admit Nel, it really is leaving me to wonder something that…that I'm almost afraid to ask."

She kept her concerned face, but now with a bit of worry behind it. That worry grew even more when Timothy leaned forward to rest on his crossed arms on the table; giving her a firm, but calm look.

"Nel…I'm an idiot in these matters, so I have to ask…" He paused and lowered his head a bit. "…Do you…really have…feelings for me? Any at all?" he asked in a whisper.

Nel's eyes widened and her fists clenched as her face turned pink. "W…What?" she choked out.

He looked back at her calmly. "Is what Yoruichi, Kisuke, and Kit been hounding the hell out of us for true? Do you feel anything for me? I'm not asking to make fun of you or anything Nel, I really…need to know." He pressed harder.

Her face morphed to red, but a moment later she lowered her head. "Does it matter?" she asked in sadness.

Timothy tilted his head. "What do you mean, Nel?" he followed in concern.

She turned her eyes to him and he was surprised to see them filled with sadness. "I don't want to have feelings for you, Tim. You know as well as I, that the soul society would never allow it. I don't want you to end up ruining your own life because of me, an Arrancar…a hollow. But…from what Kisuke tells me, it wouldn't matter anyway; because if you had the slightest amount of feelings for me, you'd do anything for me…even leave the soul society for me."

She then turned back away, and Timothy saw a tear run down her face again. "I don't want that, Tim. I don't want you to lose everything just for me. After…everything you've been through…you and Kit…you deserve to be happy. To live what's left of your life happy. But like I said…it doesn't matter what I do. Just by looking at you, I can see that what Kisuke said was true. That you really would do 'anything' for me if you did have feelings for me."

The woman turned back to the table and clutched her head in her hands, her fingers grabbing loose strands on her hair tightly. "At first…I thought that I was feeling my aspect, Loyalty, towards you. That I was loyal to you, and I am, Tim." She dropped her hands to the table and looked at him with tearful eyes. "After all the help you have given me, everything you are risking to help me, I can't help but feel that I should be loyal to you." She admitted, then looked to the side.

"But as the days went on…it didn't feel the same. It didn't feel…like loyalty. It felt…closer, like I had to be around you, wanted to be around you. I didn't think anything of it at first, that all of Yoruichi and Kit's teasing was just that, teasing. But the more I thought about it, the less stupid it sounded, and the more sense it made. I know Kit told you about what I said…that I…didn't know what these feelings were." His expression fell, but he nodded.

"Even now, I'm still unsure if what I'm feeling is what you would call 'love' or whatever. I…I do feel 'something', like a longing to be with you…" she said as she turned red again. "…but I don't know what to do about it."

Timothy leaned back and crossed his arms with a heavy breath. "Kisuke didn't send you out here with me to get better acquainted with human life…did he?" he questioned. Nel lowered, then shook her head. "I thought not. I'm going to venture a guess that Yoruichi and Kit talked you into this, right? Try to get closer to me?"

She closed her eyes. "…Yes. But…please don't be mad at them, Tim; they're only…trying to help." She stated.

"I know…I just…I just wish they would mind their own business, is all." He admitted.

"If I did that, then it would have taken centuries and a damn kiss before you figured it out, stupid." Kitsune mocked.

"Shut your damn mouth, vixen." He hissed back in a whisper, getting Nel's attention with a raised brow.

"Tim?"

He looked at her, the growled. "It's Kit, she's being her usual self again."

Her face fell. "I…don't think I wanna know." She stated.

"No, she's just pointing out the obvious that I could have gone the rest of the day without is all. I hate the fact that she can hear everything we're saying. And if you 'ever' want to come out again, you'll keep your damn mouth shut and not say anything to Yoruichi, Kit." He warned.

When she said nothing further, knowing that doing so would really piss him off, he turned back to Nel. "Going back to what you were saying Nel, Kisuke was right." He stated, causing her to raise a brow again. "If I did have feelings for you, and viewed you as someone special to me, I 'would' do anything for you…just like I did with Kit when we were alive. I've never cared that much about myself Nel; even if people insulted me, I didn't care. But if someone I really cared about was at risk, I really would do anything to protect them. It's just simply who I am." He stated, then interlaced his fingers on the table as he leaned on his arms.

"I value my friends more than anything, Nel; but loved ones I value more. If the two of us did end up together, I wouldn't think twice about leaving the soul society. Sure, I do have some good friends there, and I would be upset to have to leave them. But the fact is, is that I would gladly do it for someone that I loved." He paused and reached out to rest a hand on top of hers, surprising her and getting her to look at him with wide eyes.

"I feel something for you Nel, I really do. I feel that I do care for you more than the others, on a deeper level, so to say. But at this particular moment, I can't say with certainty that I love you yet. You say that you are unsure about these feelings, but if I had to guess, I would say that you are the same way; that you really do care for me deeply, but don't fully 'love' me yet." His grip on her hand tightened a bit.

"Honestly Nel…" he started, then lowered his head to look at her hand in his. "…I'm not against looking more into these feelings, and seeing where it could possibly go." He said before looking back to her. "But, that's only if you want to do the same, Nel. If you don't feel comfortable looking into this further, I'll understand, and we can simply let it go and remain as close friends." He stated.

He gave her hand another gentle squeeze, then let go and leaned back to rest his hands in his lap with a sigh. Nel looked down at her hand that he held, then used her other hand to grab her wrist and sighed well.

"I…I don't want to hurt you, Tim." she said a sad voice.

"Nel, look at me." He instructed, causing her to do so. "You ain't gonna hurt me regardless of what you do. Essentially, my 'fate', as it were, was already sealed the moment I decided to help you and protect you from the soul society. And knowing Kisuke and Yoruichi, I'm sure they have both said the same thing to you. So, don't worry about me, Nel." He said calmly.

It was at this time that the waitress came back with their orders. Setting their plates down in front of them and taking a second to refill his coffee and her tea, she then bowed and told them to enjoy their meal before leaving the pair alone.

"I'll let you take however long you need to think on what you want to do about it, then you can tell me when you're ready. Either way Nel, I won't be mad or upset with whatever you decide. Now, with that outta the way, let's dig in so we can get back to looking around and getting you better acquainted with the human world, alright?" he offered as he grabbed his silverware.

She nodded, then smiled a bit cheerfully. "I'd like that." She returned.

"And don't worry, I'll make sure Kit keeps her trap shut about this." He stated further.

Her smile then fell. "Please do." She pleaded with a moan.

"…I hate you." Kitsune growled.

"Keep quiet, damn witch." He hissed back in a whisper.

"I am not a witch! Take it back, or I 'will' tell Yoruichi! And I might even 'exaggerate' a little when I tell her!" she threatened back.

He stopped from putting food in his mouth, holding the fork in front of him when she did. "You do that, and you will 'never' come out again! And 'that'. Is. A. Promise!" he growled, causing Nel to widen her eyes.

"Do…I even want to know?" she reluctantly asked.

Timothy looked at her with pity. "No Nel…you don't." he confirmed, now causing her to whine in worry.

"Maybe…I should have let Gamuza kill me." She commented.

He closed his eyes with a sigh as he lowered his fork back down to the plate. "Is it too late for her to do me in as well?"

"No…it's not. I'm still willing to kill him, if that's what he wants." Gamuza stated in her mind with a malicious grin.

Nel's face dropped again. "…She said no…and that scares me."

Timothy rose a brow at her. "So, you can speak with her again?" he inquired, getting a nod back. "If that's the case…do you think she'd be willing to kill a perverted vixen?"

"Hey!" Kitsune yelled back.

"Pfft…You seriously have feelings for someone who gets tortured by his 'own' zanpakutō? I mean, seriously! How can someone be so damn weak that they get put down by their own spirit? There is no way that his zanpakutō spirit can be 'that' bad." Gamuza mocked.

Nel's expression turned to pity. "…You have no idea, Gamuza."

Timothy narrowed his eyes at her. "What?" he demanded calmly.

"Gamuza thinks that you're weak for being bullied by your own zanpakutō spirit, and that she couldn't possibly be that bad." She informed.

He now gave her an angry stare. "Can she hear me?" he inquired, getting a nod. "Alright then, you listen here, 'Gamuza', if you think you can do a better job at handling her, Be. My. Guest!"

In Nel's inner world, Gamuza rose a brow at the statement. "…Is that brat challenging me?! If only I could materialize like those stupid zanpakutō spirits can, I'd gladly take him up on his offer! That 'vixen' he's crying about can't possibly be as horrible as he states!"

"Gamuza…you do not want to go there." Nel stated, then began eating.

"…Still doesn't believe you?" he inquired.

A simple glare from Nel was his only answer. He let out a heavy sigh as he shook his head before he began eating as well.


After spending a little over an hour eating in relative peace, and Timothy paid for their meal, the pair left the restaurant, where Timothy insisted that Nel lead the way to whatever interested her. At first, they stopped inside a few random stores, the ones that had the most prominent neon signs that easily caught the Arrancar's attention, and simply browsed around.

Nel was, at least discreetly, hammering Timothy with a seemingly endless supply of questions; from what a particular item was, what an item did, why, it just didn't stop. Timothy did the best he could to answer her questions, but a vast majority of the items she was asking about were new to even him.

He was trying his hardest not to laugh at the woman's childlike antics as she moved from one place to another in rapid succession, looking at everything the living world had to offer. But where he had tried, Kitsune had failed; as she, Timothy was willing to wager, was rolling on the ground of his inner world as she nearly died from laughing.

But Nel's antics only got worse the instant that they walked into a nearby book store. The moment they entered the door, her jaw dropped, and her eyes nearly fell from her head. It didn't take a genius to discern that the woman must have liked to read. But that was fine, as he also enjoyed reading himself.

The term 'kid in a candy store' held nothing to what Nel was showing in that place. She was quick to snatch his wrist and very nearly pull the arm of the faux body from its socket as she dragged him off to the nearest shelf.

Not even bothering to look at the title, she grabbed the first book she could and began reading the back to get a brief understanding of what it was about. With a hum and a shrug of the shoulder a few seconds later, she put the book back, then grabbed the one next to it.

Book after book, spending only a moment to read the backs, she browsed through the first shelf, picking two that interested her. Before Timothy knew it, she was already working on the next shelf and repeating the process.

Timothy snorted with amusement as he set down the books she handed him on top of a table and sat down in a chair next to it to wait on her. It was now, painfully, obvious that he was going to be there for a while.

Leaning back into the chair and folding his hands in his lap as he crossed his legs, he let out a deep breath before closing his eyes to relax a bit while she continued on her determined task of browsing.

He never even noticed himself drifting off into slumber, until it was nearly two hours later that he was leaning against the table with his head propped up on a fist, sound asleep and lightly snoring.

A light tap on his shoulder was his wakeup, as he snorted from surprise and slowly opened his eyes to see Nel staring at him with a bit of concern. He blinked a few times to clear some of the sleep from his eyes.

"Nel?" he started, then lightly shook his head. He let out a yawn as he stretched his arms out wide and flexed his back. "Sorry…must have dozed off, Nel." He said as he relaxed again.

She tiled her head at him. "I'm sorry if I tired you out, Tim." she offered.

He simply waved her off with a smile. "You're fine, I guess my body is still a bit tired from the training the other day is all. You all done, Nel?" he inquired.

The woman smiled back and nodded as she gestured to the table next to them. "Mm hm, I found a few that looked interesting." She answered.

"Uh…Tim…" Kitsune started in a hesitant voice.

Timothy calmly looked over to the…

"What the hell?!" he nearly yelled.

What had started out as a couple books when he dozed off, somehow turned into nearly an entire flipping library. There was no way he could tell exactly how many books were stacked on top of the table without getting up and manually counting them, but he could tell by quick glance that it 'had' to be at least two dozen; and some of them were quite thick.

She looked at him with a bit of shock. "Is…that enough?" she inquired.

He quickly looked back at her. "Enough?! Are you trying to open your own freaking library?! How long do you think it'll take you to read all that, Nel?!"

She raised her head and touched a finger to her chin in thought. "Hmmm…A few weeks…maybe a month." She answered in a sure tone.

His jaw dropped, but he quickly recovered and gave her a serious glare. "Nel…" he called, getting her attention back. "…I am 'not' buying 'that' many damn books! The best I'll give you is half!" he stated.

Nel then stomped her foot. "Half?! That's not fair! At that rate, they wouldn't last two weeks!" she complained with her fists to her side.

He narrowed his gaze at her. "Half." He restated in a growl.

She growled back, then held up three fingers. "Three fourths!" she demanded.

"One third! Afterall, 'I'm' the one who's paying, Nel. Or do 'you' have any money that can be used here?" he returned, causing her to flinch.

The woman quickly held up her hands in surrender. "Ok ok! Half!" she said, getting a firm nod back from him.

"Good, so go pick out what you want, and we'll leave." He said in a calmer voice.

She crossed her arms with a huff and walked over to her 'collection' of books, taking her time to carefully pick out which ones she wanted and which ones she had to 'sacrifice'. After roughly ten minutes of 'careful consideration', she finally managed to reduce her selection to only about twelve or thirteen books.

Taking a few minutes more to return her 'discarded' pile back to their respective places, the pair grabbed the ones she picked and walked over to the register. As they did, he glanced over to see that she still had a displeased look on her face. When she noticed that he was looking at her, she quickly turned away with a huff, earning a scoff and head shake from him.

"For goodness sakes, Nel…if you 'really' like reading 'that' much, we can look around and find out where the library is. That way, you can read all the books you want. But seriously, you can't expect me to buy the whole damn store, can you?" he asked, trying to placate her.

She glanced back at him with interest. "They have a library here in the world of the living?" she asked in surprise.

He nodded with a small smile. "Yes, they do. I'll buy these for you, but if you want anything else, get it from the library. I'm sure Kisuke can help you out with a library card, or whatever they use nowadays to borrow books."

Her face then lit up as she returned the smile. "I would love that!" she affirmed as they arrived at the register.

Needless to say, the cashier was a bit surprised with the stack of books that the pair had brought to him, but he simply shrugged his shoulders and began scanning the articles. Timothy was expecting the bill to be a little high, but his jaw nearly detached form his head when the man told him the total price.

"That will be twenty-two thousand, nine-hundred and eighty-eight yen, sir." the man said with a bit of shock.

Timothy slowly turned his head over to Nel, who had turned a bit red from embarrassment and was rubbing the back of her head sheepishly.

"You owe me for this, Nel." He hissed, then pulled out his wallet and, very reluctantly, handed the cashier his card that allowed him to access his squad's mission budget. "The Captain is going to murder my ass for this." He mumbled.

Timothy watched as the man swiped the card through a small device, and he swiftly put a hand to his face and dragged it down with a moan. This only caused Nel to become more embarrassed as she took a single step to the side.

Taking the card back from the man, and grabbing the two bags filled with books, the pair 'finally' left the shop with Nel leading and Timothy following reluctantly behind; a dark aura of heavy depression and sadness hovering over him.

Kitsune was laughing while 'Johnny' simply shook his head. "She has got you soooo beat, Tim!" she teased.

"I agree." 'Johnny' added.

"Not…a fucking…word!" he hissed back as him and Nel walked out onto the street.

4 Hours Later

Orihime and Rangiku walked side by side through the main district of the city, out to do some 'much needed' shopping. After Orihime came home from school, the busty Lieutenant hounded the poor teen over and over to go shopping with her.

Needless to say, she didn't need all that much convincing. The two women were just simply too much alike in many aspects. Both had the same 'killer' body that tended to leave men drooling, both were excessively chipper and caring, both had their own 'unique' tastes in foods…

And 'both' had the excessive urge to shop for clothes.

Taking only a few minutes to change out of her school uniform and to take care of a few household things, the two women quickly left the apartment to go about their activities.

Rangiku had initially asked Captain Hitsugaya if he wanted to go with them, but as Rangiku expected, he was going to have nothing to do with they had planned. In fact, he loathed the idea of his Lieutenant going out and making a fool of herself just to buy an endless supply of fashion articles to add to her ever-growing collection.

He simply couldn't understand how the woman could waste literally 'all' of her earnings on such useless things. It wasn't as if she couldn't wear the clothes in the soul society, but such events where she 'could' wear them were far and few in between. But as long as she didn't use the squad's mission budget to pay for her 'shopping sprees', like she had done before, he didn't care.

The pair rounded a corner and could now see the large shopping center, where they would likely be for the next several hours, and Orihime's face lit up in surprise when she happened to notice Timothy and Nel walking towards them.

Rangiku noticed the sudden change in expression on the teen's face, so she looked in the direction she was looking and smiled when she noticed the pair as well. She smiled brightly and waved out to them.

"Tim! Nel!" she hollered out, getting their attention.

Nel smiled and waved back as Timothy nodded, seeing as how his hands were full with the two bags of books, plus a few other items that they purchased. Orihime waved back as well as the two pairs walked up to each other and stopped.

"Hi, miss Matsumoto, Orihime." Nel greeted.

"Hi, Nel!" Orihime returned, as Rangiku slapped a hand onto the Arrancar's shoulder.

"Oh, come on Nel, you can just call me Rangiku. We're friends, aren't we?" the woman insisted.

Nel cowered a little. "Um…I guess? I'm sorry, but I really don't know you that well to be honest." She admitted.

Rangiku laughed at her. "So? That doesn't mean we 'can't' be friends! So, what are you two up to?" she inquired.

Timothy's face fell, and he stared at his companion. "…Shopping." He answered in a low tone, causing Nel to laugh sheepishly.

The busty Lieutenant's eyes widened. "Really? If that's the case, why don't you join us, Nel? You look like you could use some extra clothes." She pointed out.

He turned to her with wide eyes, figuring out exactly what she was saying. "Oh God no! The books were enough! I doubt I can handle a God-awful amount of damn clothes!" he whined.

A chop to the top of his head, sending him down to the pavement, silenced him. "Oh, be quiet, Tim. How can you take a woman out shopping and 'not' take her out to buy some clothes? It's sacrilegious." Rangiku stated in a serious tone.

"R…Rangiku!" Orihime fretted.

The woman waved her off proudly. "Oh, he'll be fine. So, what do you say, Nel? Care to join us?" she inquired. Before Nel could possibly answer, the woman swiftly grabbed her wrist and began dragging her back towards the shopping center. "What am I saying, of course you'll join us! Don't worry, Nel, we'll find you some wonderful looking clothes!" she stated as she continued to drag the poor woman off.

Orihime offered Timothy a hand to help him back to his feet as he moaned. "I just 'know' that there is someone that outright hates me." He whined as he took her hand and returned to his feet.

"Don't worry Tim, at least she doesn't suspect anything about her." Orihime pointed out.

Timothy then froze. The thought about Nel being in such close proximity to the Lieutenant now worried him beyond comparison.

"Oh shit! If she finds out about Nel, she's done for!" he stated in a panicked voice.

Orihime held up her hands to calm him down. "It's alright Tim, as long as she doesn't say anything, this could help to reduce any suspicion they may have against her. And once Rangiku sees that she's not a bad person for herself, she may be less inclined to fight against her if they do find out." She offered.

He looked back at the woman, still being pulled behind the busty Lieutenant, and began to sweat. "You have a point, Orihime…but I still don't like it. It's gonna take all three of us to make sure nothing happens that could cause the woman to suspect her."

The teen nodded. "I'll help however I can, Tim. Nel's my friend too, and I don't want to see her hurt anymore that you do. So how is your date going?" she inquired, then immediately gasped and slapped a hand over her mouth at her mistake, turning red with embarrassment.

Timothy looked at her with disbelief. "So…you're in on that too?" he questioned in a moan.

Orihime's eyes widened further. "Y…You know?!" she asked in shock.

"I figured 'something' was up, knowing Kisuke and Yoruichi; but to be honest, I never expected you to be a part of it, Orihime. And before you ask, yes, we did have a little discussion between each other. And that is how it will stay for now, between 'us'. So, don't bother asking how it went, and don't even think of asking that damn vixen in my head about it either. We'll tell you guys when, and only when, we decide we are ready for you to know. Fair?" he insisted.

She lowered her hands a bit and nodded. "I'm…I'm sorry, Tim. I didn't…"

He held a hand up, stopping her. "Don't worry about it, Orihime. 'You' were actually trying to help, but Yoruichi and Kit are the ones who like to make fun about it. So, I do mean it when I say thanks for the help, but I'd also like to ask that you step down and let me and Nel deal with it. I'd prefer if you didn't get dragged into Yoruichi's stupid games."

Orihime nodded quickly. "I won't say anything anymore, Tim. I just…I hope we didn't…ruin anything between you two."

Timothy sighed heavily. "I'll at least give you this much, Orihime. Me and Nel are…discussing, for lack of a better term, our 'relationship' at the moment. But promise me you'll keep from saying anything to Yoruichi or Kisuke about it, please?" he pleaded.

She nodded firmly with a smile. "I won't I promise." She said just as firmly.

He smiled and nodded back. "Thanks. Now, let's get going and catch back up with those two. Somehow…I have a 'really' bad feeling about leaving Nel with that woman." He said in a whine.

Orihime chuckled at him. "She's not that bad, Tim. She's just a little…excited?" she offered.

The man gave her a serious look. "That' is one hell of an understatement, Orihime." He said, then turned and began walking with the teen next to him.

1 Hour Later

It was at this moment, that Timothy promised himself that he would 'never' complain to Nel about her unhealthy obsession with books. To put the current situation he faced into comparison, the book store was absolutely 'nothing' when it came to Nel and clothes!

Although she was very hesitant at trying on different clothes at first, that hesitance very quickly evaporated, and she turned out to be just as bad as the busty Lieutenant. While all Nel saw was 'a few' different sets of clothes to try on, all Timothy could see was a monstrous bill at the end of the day.

He was sitting on a bench outside one of the dressing rooms that Nel was occupying with his head down and his face buried in his hands, the dark and depressing aura once again hovering all over his body.

Orihime was sitting next to him, trying, and failing, at comforting him; while Rangiku stood inside the changing room with Nel to help her out.

"I'm dead…I am soooo dead." He moaned into his hands. "The Captain is going to damn well kill me…I know it." He added, then dropped his head further and grabbed tufts of hair with his hands tightly.

The teen started rubbing his back with a smile. "Doesn't the soul society pay you, Tim?" she inquired.

He lifted his head just enough to turn and look at her. "I haven't been payed yet, so I'm forced to use the squad's mission finances for now. What the hell do you think they're going to say once they see that I spent a God-awful amount of money for women's clothes?! Clothes! The mission budget for clothes!" he hissed, then returned his head to his hands.

"Aaannnnd…We're ready!" Rangiku announced as she opened the door to the dressing room.

Orihime's eyes widened in surprise, but Timothy didn't even look up; having not heard the woman because he was lost in worry. The teen turned back to him and tapped his shoulder, getting his attention again.

He looked at her with worry and despair in his eyes, but when she pointed in front of her, he turned to where she was pointing, and the worry and despair simply vanished as his eyes went wide in shock.

Standing in front of him was Nel…and he couldn't even begin to describe to himself what he thought at that moment. Even Kitsune had her jaw dropped at the sight in front of them, leaving her, for the first time in decades, speechless.

Nel was wearing faded, skintight, blue jeans that showed off her wide hips and her toned thighs. It was one of the designs where the fabric had purposely-made wear holes on the knees and other random spots; allowing him to see patches of her slightly tanned skin. The waist of the jeans only went up high enough to be level with her hipbone.

As for footwear, Rangiku picked out a pair of snug fit, almost knee-high length, flat heel women's boots that were a very deep brown, almost black in color. Around her waist, she had a narrow, and somewhat thin, red leather belt that was a bit too long; leaving the excess part to hang halfway down her right thigh.

If her lower garments weren't bad enough to almost causing him to burst a blood vessel, the upper articles of clothing threatened to cause him to simply pass out. With a color almost matching the belt around her waist, the shirt she was wearing was, with it being the only word he could possibly think of, perfect.

It was a high cut, red shirt that only came down to where her abdominal muscles began; leaving her flat, yet toned stomach exposed. It was a button-up style that, for his mercy lest he pass out, was fully done up all the way to her collar except for that one annoying top button that no one uses.

Luckily, the shirt was big enough that her rather large chest wasn't threatening to cause the buttons to rip off and turn into projectiles; giving just enough space that a few loose wrinkles in the fabric could be seen. But the sleeves were another matter. They held onto her arms tightly, and only went down her arms to the halfway point of her forearm.

To add the metaphorical 'cherry to the icing', she also had a sleeveless, flat black, and shining leather vest over top of the shirt; offsetting, yet somehow, also blending the shirt and jeans together. As she turned around to give him the full view, he could see a dark-red, reflective design on the back in the side-view of a jousting knight.

As Nel stood there showing the clothes off to him, Timothy's worries just simply melted away into nothingness. If anyone were to ask him why he was upset before, he more than likely wouldn't even remember even 'being' upset before, much less 'why'.

"What…the 'hell'…did you do to her?!" he choked out, causing the woman to turn away and blush. "Are you sure…that's even Nel?!" he questioned in disbelief.

Rangiku scoffed at him while Nel tucked her head in. "Of course, it's her! What the hell kind of a question is that?!" she demanded.

"Do…Do you…not like it, Tim?" Nel asked, making the, now red faced, Lieutenant freeze.

"Like it?! Hell no! I damn well 'love' it! It's freaking amazing!" he corrected firmly.

He didn't want to admit what he thought about her now, fearing embarrassment; but he was so shocked by the outcome that his brain simply ceased all logical functions. He sure as hell wasn't going to admit what he thought about the clothes beforehand.

At the time when he saw Rangiku pick the different articles of clothing out, he had made a mental picture of what it would look like and thought that the poor woman would look like a clown. But now that he was seeing the final result in front of him, he was desperately wishing he could go back and beat the living hell out of himself for doing so.

He then realized that, while Rangiku could be an airhead and too cheerful for her own good, the woman 'clearly' knew how to make one hell of a fashion statement. He simply couldn't believe that the woman standing in front of him was the same former Quinto Espada that he knew. She looked more like a normal, caring woman than a dangerous warrior.

Nel glanced back at him shyly. "You…really love it?" she inquired.

The only answer Timothy could manage was a vigorous nodding of his head with saucer wide eyes. His embarrassment and antics caused Rangiku and Orihime to laugh while Nel turned away and offered a barely noticeable smile.

"Thank you…Tim." she said in a whisper, too low for him to hear above the other two women's laughter.

Fortunately for them both, Rangiku chose that time to rush Nel back inside the dressing room, peeking her head out the door.

"Don't you two go away! We still have plenty more things to try out!" she informed, then closed to door with a snap.

Timothy sweat dropped at her statement. "…If I have to see Nel in any more clothes like that, I think I might end up in the hospital from a heart attack." He said with a moan.

Orihime chuckled. "Yes, she was very pretty, Tim. I'm glad you two are at least trying to work something out between you two."

He side glanced her in annoyance. "Please don't start, Orihime. I'm surprised Kit hasn't said anything perverted yet." He informed.

Somehow, and in some way that he could even begin to understand how it was possible, Rangiku opened the dressing room door and already had Nel in another outfit. And when Timothy looked up and saw what she was wearing now, it proved to be too much for him to handle.

"Holy…" he started. "…Shit!" Kitsune finished.

A small line of blood ran down from his nose as his eyes rolled into the back of his head and he fell backwards off the bench onto the floor, out cold. Orihime and Nel both gasped in shock and ran over to him, with Nel grabbing his shoulders and trying to shake him awake again.

"Tim! Can you hear me?!" she asked in a panic.

Rangiku merely scoffed with a wave of her hand. "Pfft, he'll be fine, Nel. Your hot body in those clothes simply proved to be too much for his male mind to handle. Just leave him there and he'll come to eventually. Now come on, we still have more clothes for you to try out."

Nel kept switching her glances between Timothy and Rangiku, but eventually, with much encouragement from the large chested Lieutenant, reluctantly left him on the floor with his feet still on top of the bench and returned to the dressing room while Orihime kept an eye on him.

Timothy's Inner World

Timothy shot up into a sitting position on the grassy field where he normally landed when he entered his inner world. His eyes were wide in shock as he brushed a hand through his hair. He was even more shocked when he saw Kitsune standing in front of him with a similar expression.

"What the hell are you looking at me like that for?! You look just as shocked as 'I' am!" he yelled at her.

"Only because I am at a loss for any words to describe what I saw. Even 'I' have to admit that she looked very impressive. If you two don't make something happen between you, I'll 'never' forgive you." Kitsune threatened, causing him to flinch.

He gave her an evil glare. "Shut your damn mouth, vixen! What happens between me and Nel is 'our' business! I don't even like the fact you can see and hear everything that goes on!"

She returned the stare and crossed her arms. "Ok then smartass, who do you think looks better: me when we were alive, or Nel?" she challenged.

His eyes widened. "Oh, you did 'not' just go there! I am 'not' getting pulled into that one! Especially when you 'know' I could care less what a person looks like, but rather who they are inside! So, don't even 'try' to play the guilt game with me!" he hissed as he stood up.

"But you 'are' willing to admit that Nel did look amazing, right?" she inquired with a raised brow.

He sighed heavily. "Yes…I'll admit that she was beautiful and, as you said, amazing." He affirmed.

"Better than me?" she pressed further with a grin, her hands now on her hips.

Timothy pointed at her threateningly. "I told you, I'm not going to be fooled into playing your stupid games, Kit. So, drop it. And why are you acting like this? Shouldn't you like…be 'against' me having any feelings for others, being my former wife and all?"

Her expression fell quickly to a mix of sorrow and annoyance, then she crossed her arms again. "Are we seriously going to go through this again?" she inquired.

He matched her expression, but instead of sadness there was anger. "And you're going to stand there and tell me that this…my feelings for Nel, doesn't bother you?"

She sighed heavily. "I'll admit that it does bother me a bit, seeing you two together. But you should be fully aware that something like that is only natural, seeing that you and I belonged to each other in the past. It's not exactly something that I can help, Tim." she pointed out.

He sighed and tilted his head with closed eyes. "I know, and I do feel the same way as well. It…" He paused and took a deep breath before continuing. "It feels like I'm cheating on you. I know that you and 'Johnny' told me that you are no longer my wife…but it still hurts, Kit." Her face saddened when she saw tears well up in his eyes. "I still can't accept the fact that what we had is gone…It's not like you passed away…" He paused again as he thought about that. "…Ok, technically you 'did'…but you know what I'm getting at. Anyway, it's not like you're no longer around, or we separated from each other and I can just…move on."

He sighed heavily again and sat back down with Kitsune lowering her arms to her sides. "You're still here with me, Kit…and we both 'still' have residual feelings for each other. And don't even bother trying to deny it, I can see it in your eyes." He pointed out with a firm stare.

Her shoulders slumped a bit. "Yeah…I do. But we 'have' to face reality, Tim. There is 'nothing' that can fix this. I'm stuck like this for the rest of our lives." She said, causing him to drop his head.

But he was surprised a moment later when he felt a pair of hands on his shoulders, then he looked up to see his partner on her knees in front of him, resting her hands on his shoulders with a small smile.

"But I'm ok with that, Tim. We can't live like we used to…we can't 'love' each other like we used to…" She paused and cupped his chin in her hand as tears came to her eyes. "…But at least I still have you, in one way or another. I can't be your partner in love, but at least I can be your partner in combat. I know it hurts Tim, because trust me…it hurts me as well, but we both have to accept the fact that our relationship as lovers is over; replaced by a relationship as partners." She said with a warming, yet painful smile.

He clenched his teeth as tears ran down his cheeks. "I…I can't. I can't Kit…it hurts too much. I can't let you go." he said in a sad voice.

With the hand she used to hold his chin she gently slapped the side of his head. "You're not, stupid. I'm a part of you now…literally. The fact is…the feelings I have for you may never go away…I will likely always love you the way I did, and I'm sure it'll be the same for you. But we can't be together like we used to, that much 'is' certain." She then rested her hand against his cheek, where he placed his own over top of hers.

"I can't deny it Tim, it's going to hurt seeing you with someone else; be it Nel, or any other woman. But it would be very selfish of me to keep you away from a happy life because I want something that will never happen." She moved her hand with his to hold it with both of hers between them. "And you don't have to worry about hurting Nel about still having feelings for me, Tim. She's a good person, and I can see that she would understand what you have to go through. And I seriously doubt that she would hold it against you either."

She clutched his hand a bit tighter. "I'll admit that I've been going a little overboard with my teasing of her, but you know that's just who I am. It's one of my faults, and I can't deny it. But you should know full well that I don't mean any harm in it. I like Nel, and I have 'nothing' against her. In fact…" She used a hand to raise his head back to her. "…if I could choose 'anyone' to take my place in your heart Tim, it 'would' be Nel. She's a bit clueless on certain things, and easy as hell to tease…" She paused and held his cheeks with both hands.

"…but she is kind and caring…loyal and protective. If 'anyone' deserves you Tim, it's her. I am not forcing you, or even pushing you to try and get closer with her; I'm only telling you where I stand in all this. It hurts Tim, and always will; but I 'will' support you and her being together. No matter what happens Tim, I will always fight for what you want. You gave me 'everything' you could have possibly managed, and more, when we were alive; and now it's time I did the same for you."

She gave him a couple light taps on his cheek as she chuckled, before standing back up and holding out a hand to him. "Now, I think it's time you woke up and see what else Nel has to surprise us with." She offered with a smile.

He smiled back and accepted the hand, allowing her to pull him up to his feet. When he was back up, he then rested his hands on her shoulders.

"I'm sorry for everything, Kit. And I'm sorry that I can't help you with the pain you're feeling." He said solemnly as he rested a hand on her cheek.

She placed a hand over his and smiled wider. "Don't be, none of this is your fault, Tim. And I don't want you to 'ever' think otherwise. What happened, happened. All we can do now, is live out the rest of our lives as partners."

He sniffed, but nodded as he dropped his hands to his sides. "Would it be weird to ask you for a hug at least?" he inquired.

Before he knew what happened, she swiftly slapped him hard on the cheek, throwing his head to the side.

"You fucking idiot!" she hissed, as she rested her fists on her hips with an angry glare.

He looked at her with shock as he nurtured his red cheek with a hand. He nearly flinched when her face quickly shifted back into a smile, then she lurched forward and wrapped her arms around him tightly.

"I'm your partner, stupid. You can 'always' have a hug from me." She asserted firmly.

He scoffed, but wrapped his arms around her as well, resting a hand on the back of her head. "Thank you…Kit." He said in a whisper.

The spirit smiled, then nodded. "Anytime, Tim." she returned.

Embracing for a moment longer, they reluctantly released each other and stared into each other's eyes. "Ready to start life again…'partner'?" he inquired.

She snickered at him, then held out her hand with a toothy, and maddening grin. "I 'greatly' look forward to what life has for us to deal with, 'partner'." She affirmed.

He scoffed again and shook his head as he took her hand and gave it a firm shake. "Well then…let's kick life in the ass, shall we?"

The spirit snickered again. "Yes, let's."

She then snatched her hand away and palmed him in the face, pushing him back and out of his inner world.

Real World, Present

He back into being with a small headache and a blurry vision. A small moan from him alerted the orange-haired teen next to him of his return to the living world.

Orihime was at his side in an instant with worry in her eyes. "Tim! Are you ok?!" she inquired quickly.

He lifted his head and, with her help, slowly got back up into a sitting position before rubbing the back of his head where it had impacted the ground earlier from falling off the bench.

"Yeah…I think so…I just 'hate' it when she does that." He said, earning a chuckle from the young woman.

"I'm so glad. You had me a little worried there." She stated.

He turned to her with an annoyed expression. "You try being a man, then seeing something like that and 'not' pass out." He challenged, causing her to laugh.

"Okay, ready for the next one, Orihime?" Rangiku asked through the door.

Timothy's eyes shot wide open. "Oh no." he mumbled, then very reluctantly turned the face the dressing room door as it opened.

This time, Nel was wearing a tight, white t-shirt with knee-high socks and tennis shoes, and a navy-blue skirt; one of the shortest, if not 'the' shortest, skirts that he had ever seen in his life.

If a skirt that short wasn't bad enough when standing at full height, still being on the floor after recovering from a state of unconsciousness only made it so much worse. He could swear on his 'afterlife' life, that just the smallest breath of wind, or a move in the wrong direction would grant him the perfect view of her underwear.

But, again, unfortunately for him, that was exactly what she did; not yet realizing that he was awake and on the ground. She turned her body to the side just fast enough that he 'was' granted a view that any man will kill for.

And, yet again, it proved to be too much. Before anyone knew it, they all heard a loud thumping sound as his head collided on the ground after his eyes shot back and sent him straight back into the world of unconsciousness.

"Tim!" Nel yelled.

Timothy's Inner World

Like the last time, he was forced into his inner world from an event that, he had to admit, was 'not' unpleasant. He shot up to a sitting position with a loud gasp, but this time he quickly clutched his chest as his heart rate threatened to cause his heart to explode.

A moaning sound next to him caused him to swiftly look over and see Kitsune lying sprawled out on the ground. If that wasn't bad enough of a shock, seeing a trail of blood running from her nose really took the cake.

"What the hell happened to you?!" he demanded.

She slowly rolled her head to the side and he froze when she looked at him with wide eyes. "I retract my previous statement, Tim! If this is an example of what our new life is going to offer, 'we're' the ones whose asses are going to be kicked!" she stated.

His jaw dropped. "What the hell are you talking about?! How the fuck can you think that way about another woman?!" he yelled in the upmost confusion.

The spirit gave him an evil glare as she growled. "Tim…the one lesson you have 'yet' to learn about the world of women, is that 'no one', not even another 'woman', is immune to the God-given, and God-damned beauty 'of' a woman! What that damn Arrancar was wearing was something 'beyond' the realm of the possibility of comparison!" she hissed back.

She then turned her body and raised it to lean on her arm as she bared her teeth and growled at him. "If that damn woman keeps this up, I seriously think I'll start regretting 'ever' becoming your partner!"

Timothy leaned away from her and swallowed hard as he saw that she meant every word she said. "Sadly…I might have to agree with you on that, Kit. I still can't believe that you could have thoughts like that for another woman." He admitted.

"Damn it! I told you that it can't be helped! There is not one living being in this world that is immune to the allure of a damn woman!" Kitsune then pointed her finger firmly on the ground. "You are staying 'here' until she is done! If I see anymore of that, if 'either' of us sees anymore, we'll both probably end up dying!" she asserted with no room for any argument.

He quickly nodded his head. "Trust me, I whole heartedly agree!" he said in a just as firm voice.

But he then thought about something, before snickering to himself and causing the spirit to narrow her gaze at him in a dangerous manner.

"What the hell is so funny?" she demanded.

Timothy looked at his partner with one of 'her' toothy grins; and that scared the spirit. "I think Nel has found a way to pay you back for all the teasing you've been doing to her." He stated, causing the woman to swallow hard as she started to sweat. His grin then grew wider. "Come to think of it…I think I'll give that information to Nel 'and' Yoruichi. One can only wonder what would become of that." He said with his chin in his hand.

The spirit was starting to go into panic mode. "Y…You wouldn't dare! You wouldn't 'dare' submit me to such torture! 'Us' to such torture! You wouldn't!" she stated with worry.

He slowly, oh so slowly, turned to her with a grin so wide, it was a wonder his face didn't split in half. "Oh? Wouldn't I?" he said in a tone that Kitsune could swear would give Yoruichi a run for her money. "I'll admit, that I 'too' would suffer from such acts from Nel; but as long as I get to see 'you' squirm from it, it is 'worth' it!"

She quickly rolled over onto her hands and knees and crawled over to him, reaching out and grabbing the collars of his shirt. She then looked him closely in the eyes with worry and pity in her own.

"Y…You wouldn't do that to me…you own partner!" she stated again.

Now he had her 'exactly' where he wanted her, she just needed a little extra push. "I don't know, Kit…after what you did to Nel, forcing her to leave in sadness the other day, I'm more inclined 'to' tell them." He threatened, causing her blood to freeze.

"That's not fair! I said I was sorry about that! You can't use that against me, especially since I already 'paid' for it! Now you're just being cruel, Tim!" she yelled as tears came to her eyes and she shook him vigorously.

"Hmm…I'd be willing to keep it a secret…for a price." He said as he side-glanced her, causing her to squirm in her seat.

"Uh….and what…could that be?" she inquired cautiously, letting him go.

He smiled, then turned to the side. "Oh 'Johnny'." He called out in a sing-song voice.

As soon as he did, his other spirit came into being a few yards away in a sitting position. "You called?" he said in his low and slow voice.

"Perfect, you can be a witness to this." Timothy said to the spirit, then turned back to Kitsune. "Here's the deal, Kit: I'll keep my mouth shut, but 'you' have to keep 'your' mouth shut about what me and Nel discussed this morning at breakfast." He offered.

"Deal!" she quickly answered and held out her hand.

But Timothy simply held up a finger. "And'…you have to stop being annoying to 'Johnny'…"

"Deal!" she yelled louder, but Timothy wasn't done.

"…'And'!...you are forbidden from teasing Nel!"

She quickly stood up and backed away from him with a gasp. "T…That's not fair!" she bellowed with her fists tightly clenched at her sides.

Timothy simply held his hands, palms up and shrugged his shoulders. "Fine then, I guess you and I are going to end up suffering for a loooonnnng time, Kit." He said with a smile.

Kitsune flinched with wide eyes. She stared at him with the most hateful stare she could manage.

For the first time in the, almost, three decades that they knew each other, he, Timothy Durn, had 'finally' managed to back 'her' into a corner with absolutely no way that she could possibly turn the tables back onto him. And he did so with one hell of a damn bite!

"F…Fine! Deal!" she hissed, then walked up and tried to take his hand.

But he pulled it back at the last second, scaring her. "I mean it, Kit: one word, comment, tease, 'anything', the deal's off, and I'll tell Nel and Yoruichi your secret before you can say your own name! Understood?" he asked, then presented his hand to her again.

She growled as she bared her teeth again, but took his hand. "I hate you!" she said, then quickly snatched her hand away, and faded away into hiding.

Timothy then thrusted his fists into the air and yelled. "Yes! I've finally won! Finally!" he said, then fell onto his back with a 'very' pleased grin on his face.

"I cannot…thank you…enough…You have…saved me…from so much…pain…and suffering." 'Johnny' said in a…relaxed tone?

The Lieutenant smiled at the spirit's words. "You're welcome, but now we watch and see how much she values her sanity. Which reminds me…" he paused and looked at his 'other third'. "…Did Nel's…appearance…not affect you?" he inquired with a raised brow.

"Not in…the manner…you are thinking." The spirit informed firmly.

Timothy's other brow rose as well in shock. "You lie! There is no way that that amount of beauty didn't faze you!" he insisted. The spirit didn't respond, but merely stared at him. "Ok…maaaybe not." He corrected, then turned away to look at the sky. "So…is she done yet?" he inquired.

'Johnny' rose a skeptical brow at him. "Do you…honestly believe…that those women…are even…'close'…to done?" he questioned.

Timothy flinched at the man's answer, then sweat dropped. "…Good point. I guess I'll be stuck here for a while." He moaned.

The spirit closed his eye and lowered his head a bit. "Make…yourself…comfortable." He insisted.

"…No choice." He commented in an emotionless tone.

Real World, 2 Hours Later

Once the women had finished trying out clothes, and Kitsune deemed it was safe, she 'allowed' Timothy to return to the living, feeling worse than he did before. It surely didn't help that when he did wake up, he noticed that the women had laid him down on the bench from before…and his head was in Nel's lap.

He looked up…or straight considering his 'unique' position, at Nel with wide eyes. As his senses started coming back to him, he now noticed that she was also raking her fingers through his hair.

'What the hell is she doing?!' he mentally panicked.

The panic didn't last long though, because the gentle, and calming motions of her nails along his scalp were threatening to send him right back out of wakefulness. And he was very quickly losing the battle to remain awake as he gave out an involuntary sigh, thankfully alerting the woman above him to his consciousness.

"Tim? Are you ok?" she asked with a bit of worry as she stopped rubbing his head.

Although he had to admit that he enjoyed her gentle massage on his scalp, her stopping was just what he needed to regain control of his senses. He looked at him with a slightly confused face.

"Why were you doing that, Nel?" he inquired.

She thought about his question for a second, but it quickly dawned on her what he was talking about. She swiftly, and carefully, removed her hand and turned her head away with pinkish cheeks.

"S…Sorry, Tim. At first, I was rubbing the spot where your head hit the floor to ease the pain. But…when I started to rub it away, it…" She then turned a bit more red. "…sounded like…you were enjoying it. So, I kept going to help you relax." She admitted.

Now that he thought about it, he wasn't feeling any pain on the back of his head where he should. Granted, it did sting a little at the exact spot that made contact with the floor, but it didn't outright hurt. He then figured that her rubbing and massaging actually helped to reduce the swelling, and he was thankful.

He offered her a small smile. "Thanks, Nel. Where are Orihime and Rangiku?" he inquired, wondering why the busty Lieutenant wasn't making any comments about his and Nel's current 'situation'.

"They left about ten or fifteen minutes ago. I told them that you and I had some business matters to take care of for the shop, and that we would be leaving when you woke up. Rangiku's a nice person, and I think I like her, but I still don't trust her fully yet." He stated with a similar smile.

He hummed in agreeance and closed his eyes. "Yeah, I can't argue with you on that, Nel. And that was good thinking, using 'shop business' as an excuse."

She nodded, then looked out into the passing patrons of the store that they were still sitting in. They needed to get up and take care of purchasing the, very surprisingly, small amount of clothes that she picked out; managing to stay with only two sets of the dozens the Lieutenant forced her to try out.

But the problem was that 'neither' of them really wanted to move. Timothy was feeling so calm and relaxed where he was at, especially since Nel started massaging his scalp again. And Nel…she really wasn't sure exactly what she was feeling.

If simply being somewhere around Timothy made her feel weird, having him laying down, with his head in 'her' lap, only made that odd feeling so much worse. But not in a bad way; not in the slightest way did she feel bad about the way the two of them were sitting together.

No, for some reason that she couldn't explain, even though Yoruichi and Kit had pestered her endlessly about it and told her numerous times what it was, she found herself feeling…happy…content. She simply didn't care if they sat there, the way they were, for the rest of the day.

For the next thirty minutes almost, that was exactly what they did; and they both actually enjoyed it. But it was already mid, almost late afternoon, and they still had a few things they wanted to do before heading back. Timothy was still awake, but he was surely not in a state that one could call 'fully aware'.

"Nel…" he called in a low, and very weak voice.

She continued her rubbing as she sighed, knowing what he was going to say. "Yes?" she answered.

He reached up with his hand and placed it over top of her massaging one to stop her actions before opening his eyes to look at her warmly. "We should get going." He informed.

The woman sighed again, but nodded. "I know." She acknowledged, but made no attempt to move. "Tim…" she started in a low voice.

"Yeah?" he returned, and was a bit surprised when she twisted her hand around in his grip and returned the hold.

"While we've been sitting here, I've been thinking…about what you said." She admitted.

He closed his eyes again with a sigh as he held her hand a little firmer. "I'm listening."

She continued to watch the random people walking by for a moment, before she took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

"I'm still…a little lost on…what these feelings are. It's something that…is very difficult for me to understand entirely. But…I do know that they mean a lot between two people…that it's something very important."

He began to worry when she paused and gripped his hand tighter, feeling the trembling nerves through the skin. He then flinched when something small, warm, and wet landed on his cheek. He was shocked to see that she was crying, and the object that had hit his cheek was a tear that fell from her face.

"And…I do want to understand them. I've lived my entire life, as far as I can possibly remember, as a being that knew nothing but emptiness. I thought that…when I became an Arrancar…that I was whole again. That, for once in my life, I was…complete." She paused to wipe away the tears from her face with the back of her free hand. "At least I thought I was." She added in a lower voice that he barely caught.

The man sighed heavily and closed his eyes again. "But now you have these 'feelings', and you somehow feel like something's missing again?" he offered.

She lowered her head a moment, then nodded. "Yes. I hate feeling this way, Tim. I despise it. I am an Arrancar, one of the strongest hollows in Hueco Mundo…but I feel so weak right now. I feel so…pathetic. I just want to feel whole again, to fill the void inside my soul. I still think the way humans show feelings for each other is a bit weird, but if these feelings are truly what's missing inside me, then I want to experience them."

She turned her head to look at him with sorrowful eyes that were still producing tears. "And…I think…I want to experience them…with you, Tim. If you are willing…if it really doesn't matter what we do…then I would like to…to possibly have a relationship. Would…Are you really willing…to have that with me…a hollow?" she asked in a broken voice.

He looked at her closely, and it pained him to see her shoulder shaking as she tried to fight a losing battle, to keep from completely losing it. He pulled her hand down and rested their, still embraced, hands on top of his chest.

Taking a second to consider his next action, he then took a deep breath. "Nel…I'm sorry, and…I hope you can forgive me." He said.

She lowered her head more and closed her eyes, suddenly feeling rejected and worthless. But those thoughts were quickly shattered when the man below her quickly put a hand behind her head and pulled it down; her lips colliding with his.

She opened her eyes wide in complete and utter shock at what he was doing, but quickly closed them back and returned the kiss as she rested her free hand over his cheek. Their embraced hands swiftly readjusted themselves to where their fingers were now interlaced with each other.

As the two of them sat there, their lips still connected, Nel finally felt nearly all of the feelings of emptiness simply fall away. But they quickly threatened to come back when Timothy pulled away, breaking the kiss, and pulled her forehead to rest against his.

The woman didn't understand why, but for some reason, she already found herself missing the strange action that they had just been performing. The odd action of joining their mouths together to show affection. But what began to worry her, was that she wasn't only missing it, she wanted something more from it.

"Nel…" Timothy started in a low voice.

She flinched when, for a reason she couldn't understand, she heard his voice and it made her feel warm inside. Only a minute ago, when he spoke last, nothing changed; it was just simply his voice. But now, after what they just did, his voice was somehow affecting her; like she couldn't get enough of hearing it.

"Yes?" she answered in her still broken voice.

He moved his hand from behind her head to rest it on her cheek and smiled. "I don't care what you are. Human…soul reaper…hollow…it don't matter to me. All I care about, is 'who' you are 'inside'. You may be an Arrancar Nel, but that's not what I see inside. Inside, I see a kind, and caring woman; one who simply had a horrible life in the past, and only wants to make it better. If you really want to pursue these feelings Nel, then so am I."

She snapped her eyes shut and clenched her teeth as her shoulders shook. Moving his free hand back around, and swiftly breaking the hold she had on the other, he gently pulled her into a hug; smiling warmly when he felt her do the same, but almost in a death grip.

He then heard her sniff loudly. "Thank you…Tim." she said in a weak voice.

Timothy smiled even more and started rubbing her back gently in large circles. "I'm glad I could help, Nel. So glad." He returned.

The two off them remained there for a short while longer, neither one willing to break from the other's embrace.


"Ah! They kissed! And who knew that Kit had a 'soft spot' for women? Oh, I wonder where that little surprise is gonna go from here, he he. Oh, the joys of secrets and cliff hangers, lol.

Anyway, a whole chapter designated to Tim and Nel's growing relationship, and there will be a bit more in next week's chapter as well. Hope everyone enjoyed and I'll see ya'll next week.

Laters.