A/N: Here's another Chapter! Though late. Thank you anon for my first review!


Previously:

"Wait up! ow. I'm right, ow, behind you! Ow..." I limp after him, but he doesn't slow down.

If anything, he speeds up.

That dick!


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Chapter 11: How she is

Urahara draws benehime against me, ready to learn and teach as much as he can before it's my turn to enter the lion's den.

He stands static, but the tightness in his muscles is unbecoming of this occasion. This should be exciting! We're going to figure out what my Nekomata form is capable of! What I am capable of!

We should greet the task with wide arms and bright smiles, not whatever it is he's doing...I barely notice my tail betray the secrecy of my thoughts with its mischievous sway.

He just looks so serious.

step.

I can almost see him activate his every fighter's instinct, that is, if his eyes aren't lying to me. A grin is birthed upon my lips. It's almost cute how heavy he's taking the situation. I continue walking, my face only further accentuating my amusement.

I just feel so alive and excited now that I know what I am, what I've become.

Something in me seems to reach into him, pulling the tenseness out his shoulders and stretching his smooth features into a look of enthusiasm. He joins me, walking around an undetermined center, chasing after each other. We are both predators and prey, stalking each other with no intentions of catching up or of being caught.

There we go!

A chuckle barely rumbles from his lips, and my ears take it as a blessing.

"Are you prepared for this, little Shiro?" he speaks to me.

"I donno," I shrug, a goofy grin in place.

He seems to struggle with something inwardly, but in the end he simply sighs in content reluctance.

"Well, are you going to pull your weapons or what?" his eyes glances down at my hips where two girth-y daggers rest.

"Gimme a sec," I shush him. "Jinta pointed out to me that our training sessions are boring, and I have to agree, even though he's a jerk. So! Let's make it more fun!" Emerald orbs look to the faux sky above.

"We go for points, three strikes is a point, and for each point, you get to make a request!" I finish.

He raises a thin brow of bleached gold. The smirk upon his lips is unique, and he scratches the stubble of his chin.

"Alright, rules accepted," he dives for me, and my thrilled giggle surprises even me. I dodge his blows, attempting to minimize his score and maximize my own.

He comes, showing his prowess and composure and how little I stack up in comparison. He rushes me despite my speed and calculates probabilities to keep up with my moves and we clash. It takes both my daggers to even think about keeping Benehime at bay, but she's a bad bitch who refuses to recognize a nameless equal.

STRIKE! STRIKE STRIKE!

"Well now, it seems like that's my point," he presses into my stance, attempting to crush me below his halted sword.

He's right

Before I know it he's won his first request, but not without me making progress towards my own.

TING!

I throw him off, going for his rear but he meets me there."Well, go ahead," I dare him. What will he request first? With his curious tendencies he'll probably ask of my origins, which will allow me to answer in sincere ignorance and cause him to waist a point!

He gives me the goofiest grin, his teeth showing and eyes shimmering with life.

"What's the most embarrassing thing you've ever done?"

I raise a brow.

Can't say I was expecting that.

"Don't you think that's a bit of a soft ball? I mean you may never get another point..."I taunt, attempting to sway him into his desires, but his grin merely doubles in size.

He lifts an index finger at me, nailing me with his gaze from on top his shoulder, "Nah ah ah. My point, my rules!" his tone bounces.

Darn.

Ah well.

"That is a hard one. It has to be something that was embarrassing in hindsight though," I warn him. When people don't pay attention to anything you do, you don't really know what you're doing is bad. I ponder during my combative choreography. It's funny how after my transformation how natural dancing is during battle.

I was literally born to do it I guess.

Now, as for this question.

What is the most embarrassing thing I've done?

"Ha! My point!" I proclaim when I finally get my last two hits to score me one.

"Yes, but you still have to answer mine," he removes his supportive hand from behind the blade he was forcing on me. flk! he flicks my forehead and the redness of my cheeks burns for my failure to stop such a simple attack.

I take his feet from underneath him.

"When I was old enough and bras started appearing inside my wardrobe I thought they were jackets, so I wore them outside my clothes for months until I saw a new episode of my favorite show explain what it was and how to wear it," I admit. Even now I shake my head at my innocent idiocy.

What was I thinking!?

Grey eyes snap open wide before Urahara falls back from his charge, he palms his forehead at my responds and releases a robust laughter that challenges the booms of thunder.

A grin breaks out on my face.

I did it! I made someone happy!

I scrape to a halt, he'd been pushing me back, but he let my momentum carry me when he registered my words.

"That's amazing," he voice calms to his lower octaves.

"My turn!" I get in his face, dagger in mouth and freed hand balled in a prepared fist. He catches my strikes with his palms, and makes sure to keep my legs on the ground where he he can see them.

I snap my head upward, flinging my dagger from jaw. I bring my legs back into the equations, planting them in his chest and separating us.

"You know? Before I didn't really see the dancer in you, but I gotta say, the way you recover from attacks says it all," he notes, muttering beneath his breath, but my feline ears pick it up easily.

I land, tail swinging about my crouched form.

"Hmm.." Emeralds narrow at a certain piece of his outfit, "Take off your hat," I order. His smirk is accompanied by surprised eyes. and he reaches for the green and white article. dusting it off and setting it tidy-like on a nearby rock formation.

"Careful little Shiro, you're starting a dangerous game," he warns, a brow raising suggestively.

I would have rolled my eyes if I were any good at it.

"Shut it. It's just a hat. I just wanted to see what was behind door number one," I grin. I approach him, and he meets the meat of my thigh with his forearm. his almost white blonde locks are freed of their prison, allowing them to sway viciously with every movement he makes.

And those eyes are fully awakened.

We struggle a while longer, and the longer we go, the more we take attention from our strikes and put them into our answers. We devolve into aggressive chatting where the points barely matter but questions and requests are still made.

"Why do you dress in black?" he inquires.

"Cause I look damn good in it," I laugh, "Why are you always in green?"

"Because I look damn good in it,"

"How do you feel about being half demon?" he digs a bit deeper and i raise a white brow.

"Honestly? I was terrified at first, but now if feels like I've got something back that I didn't know I was missing. I feel more alive, more real," I explain truthfully. We clash between our words, but it barely matters now. "What is your biggest regret?" I nearly whisper, uncertain if I am able to even touch this topic.

I expect him to shut down, to cut off all the beautiful colors spewing into the air around, to shun me and my audacity, but he does not. Instead he spews more of his reds into atmosphere around us, and he opens up like a rose way past blooming season; beyond ready and eager to do so.

"Not being able to return the visords back to normal," he speaks openly.

The what?

"If you could, what would you change about yourself?" he lowers his weapon, and my tail flicks uncomfortably side to side.

"I would change the fact that I'm such a shitty person," the words barely press past brown lips.

"Who are the vizards?" I look at him.

...

He allows his sight to stretch far beyond the walls around us.

"A group of soul reapers that were sacrificed for the sake of another's sick curiosity," he shrugs absentmindedly. "They're not dead, but their identities as they know they were taken from them and they were forced out the soul society,"

"They were made into hollowed soul reapers," he adds, almost as if the little tidbit doesn't matter much.

My eyes widen.

Excuse the fuck out of him?

How can he just say that!

"What is your biggest regret, little Shiro?" his sober tone makes it seem as if he plans to place punishment upon me for my unspoken sins.

I feel the memory squirm around in my gut. It makes it way from my stomach's very pit to my lips, but it is sure to make its accent slow and painful.

"Once when I was a hormonal teen confused by everything, well... more confused about everything, I snapped. I couldn't take it anymore... The slippery stares that seemed to be forgetting me even as I stood right in front of them. The parting crowds like I was infectious. The countless days of waking up in the middle of the night crying because my dreams felt like they were taunting me," I grimace. I'm talking too much again.

"I was breaking. I wanted someone to remember me, no matter how or what for. So when some random classmate bumped into me and gave me this dazed blink, I shattered. I broke into a million pieces and... and I hurt him. just kept crying and hitting him and crying and scratching and breaking him the way he did me. It was such a big deal, and I was almost expelled, but the next day it was like it never happened..." I narrow my eyes into the distance.

How many times has the memory pestered me?

I've been trying to forget it just like everyone else had, but I couldn't.

Drip!

"Shit!" I cuss, rubbing at my salty eyes. Why am I crying?! I'm not the one who was torn to shreds by some crazy girl..

"Sorry," I mutter, my voice staying stronger than my tear ducts that refused to clog up.

THT!THT!

My tail thumps violently against the ground, and if my hands weren't busy I would have grabbed the little fucker and stifled it.

!

I barely feel the warm pressure upon my head.

"..." Urahara says nothing. Not even when I look up to him with glossy greens.

"Sorry. I'm just a terrible person," I reiterate, my tone unhindered by my emotions."I mean like, you're only supposed to cry in public if it's physical pain right?" I laugh a little but the way it dies into sob startles me.

I jerk away from Urahara's comfort. He needs to stop! If he keeps doing that I'll think it's ok. Ok to hurt someone and have the nerve to be hurt. It's never ok to hurt people. no matter the reason! He should know that, and know that what I did was wrong.

So why?

Why is he wrapping his arms around me? Why is he drawing my back into his warmth and pinning my thrashing limb between us, calming it into a stillness. Why is he resting his chin upon my head?

"It's not ok that you hurt someone," his words rumble against me, and I attempt to swallow my anguish, because he's right.

"But it is ok that you regret it so deeply and that you're hurting,"

That's it.

It's ok.

I scream to the painted sky, my heart pumping my emotions so freely through my veins and for the first time; I accept them. I accept the hurt, the pain, the regret. the happiness, the sadness, the loneliness and anger.

Why didn't anyone want me?

Why couldn't at least one person want me...?

My screeches dwindle to ragged breaths, and it is then that the tight grip of the ex-shinigami begins to loosen.

"Sorry, Hormonal teen coming through!" I joke, but I'm deeply aware of how terrible it is.

He doesn't say anything, only gives that goofy grin of his like it's the best joke he's heard in a while.

I finally calm myself.

ok. I'm tired of focusing on me, time for someone else to be in the hot spot!

"You know, you look really happy when you're doing soul reaper stuff... Why did you leave the Soul Society?" My eyes find him.

"I didn't leave. I was banished," he speaks, tone aloof.

A frown contorts my features.

"What the? What for?!"I squint suspiciously.

"Framed for what happened to the Vizards," he continues to add information nonchalantly.

"What? That's fucked up! Wait, Does that mean the Lunatic that really did it is still in the Soul Society!?" Worry constricts around my mind.

Ichigo and the others went off to face a maniac like that?

I need to hurry up and get there.

"How soon will I be able to get to the soul society?" I perk up.

"Well, because we've trained so much in the past month, this will be our only day training before I work on opening the gate. Luckily I had a feeling you'd awaken soon, so it should be ready tomorrow!" he informs me.

"Are you ok?" I turn my attention back on the blonde, admiring the way his hair disobeys him. It falls into his eyes, mingling with his lashes till he tangles his hands into the mess and pulls the locks to the side of his head.

"Of course I am, little Shiro!" he swings his blood princess to rest delicately upon his shoulders.

"I think you're lying and that you really hurting from being taken away from... yourself, I dunno," I shrug when I can't find the proper wording.

"It was over 100 year ago, I would say I'm just about over it," he sheaths his sword.

"I would say that you're lying and you're really bad at it. Not as bad as Uryu, but bad. At least when it comes to this." I hug him, "Come on! Bring it in buddy!"

I hear a chuckle in the his chest.

"To think an old man like me can still get such beautiful girls to touch him!" he boasts, and the words make me snatch away like he's acid.

I hiss at him, and it feels weird, the part of my throat it comes from, "Way to ruin it!" My ears flatten and my tail flickers about.

Those grey eyes dance about my figure, seeming to note my changes the most.

"Ok... should I pack anything? did Ichigo and them pack anything?" I mutter to myself, but Urahara makes his way back to his hat slapping any dust off it and placing it back where it belongs.

"Nah, you'll be in soul form. Things like dirt, sweat, and stuff don't stick to your soul as persistently as it does in the world of the living,"

It doesn't? I mean... I guess I have noticed that when I do stuff as a soul I seem to stay fresher for longer.

"What about food?" I peer up at him.

"You'll be entering in the Rukon district. It may not be easy to come across food since most there don't need it. But because you'll need to replenish your spiritual pressure, you may need a snack or three," he takes out his fan, sweeping the air around him.

"Oh! I wonder what I should bring..." I ponder a moment later. "Ah.. I'll think about it more later... Oh man, my throat is feelin' it from that screaming..." I attempt to clear it, but it doesn't help much.

I look up to the green clad male.

"You're tall," I murmur, suddenly realizing just how much I have to cran my neck to look at him.

He regains that cheeky grin as he stares back at me and my heart betrays me with its flutter.

I thought we agreed to drop the feelings!

"...I'mma go..." I jab my thumbs toward the exit.

Walking backwards, I keep my eyes on the most annoying person in existence right now. I bump into a lot of shit walking this way, but I keep it up until he's out of sight and even then I climb up the latter backwards, jump into my body, and walk out the shop facing behind me.

When I'm at my door, I finally turn around to face it and... is that another seal?

I run my fingers over the paper.

Huh...guess my home is a safe haven once again.

I enter the home and start cleaning up.

It's something about knowing I'm going on a long trip that activates my cleaning craving. I guess I just want to return to a tidy home or something. I'm not sure. Whatever it is, it makes me do the dishes I've been neglecting, mop the floors, vaccum, do laundry. All of it.

"Maybe it's my way of calming my nerves?" I ask the sheets as I tuck them around the mattress.

I'm up cleaning til 11 that night, and once it's all done, I begin cleaning the most important thing: me.

I had already scrubbed the tub clean, so I simply ran deliciously hot water in it. As the tub filled, I dipped into my room to snag my three favorite essential oils because I'm bougie like that. cramping the three little bottles in the space between my forearm and my ribs, I picked them out and add like 3 drops of each.

"First peppermint, then Lavender, and finally Tea tree!" I only took baths like this on occasions, since oils are expensive, and why not spoil my body since I'm leaving it for a while?

Once the room fills with the fresh fragrance and the tub fills with bubbles and water, I shut the faucet off and disrobe. The heat burns in that seductive way, melting my muscle to jelly, and I gladly collapse into the water.

Damn this feels amazing. Every time I do this, I wonder why I don't do it more often. The oil begins to tingle and I feel like the richest lady in existence. This is going to be my last proper cleansing in a while. I doubt there are public showers and baths in the soul society for intruders to use.

Wow... I am not looking forward to potential weeks of wash-ups in whatever water source I can find.

Yeah I'm staying in this farewell bath for at least an hour...

the steam lightens my head bit by bit and my fingers begin to prune, but I'm staying in a while longer.

What pj's should I leave my body in?

Hmmm

I have a lot of comfy sets, but only the comfiest will due.

...

Will I sweat even though I'm not in my body? I don't want to come home to a funky body...

So I know I'll choose a summer set... something that breathes, so no satin.. fleece would be way to hot...

Oh! What about a simple tank-top and shorts cotton set? The red one with "Throw me a bone" on the top and skeletons on the shorts. That's a good pick.

Attire decided, I exit my liquid bed and step onto the bathmat while I dry off enough to avoid dripping everywhere. Geez that was amazing, I almost feel too relaxed, like if I had to fight right now my muscles wouldn't be able to tense to their seasoned hardness.

That's a hot bath for ya, the true villain.

Huh... You know, people always speculate that sleeping on a cloud would be like a pile of the softest cotton, but wouldn't it be more accurate for it to be more akin to a bath? Though I suppose it'd be more like a cold one instead of a hot one...

Are there hot clouds?

Before heading to bed I open up my laptop to check on the last video I uploaded to the channel. It's still bringing in some good revenue... that's good. Looking at the comments reveals a lot of excitement for the anniversary piece. Some are worried I'll start uploading a lot less frequently and something bounces around my insides at the fears.

I usually up my frequency during the summer but it seems like that wont be happening this time. The anniversary is in a week and my logical mind doubts I'll make the dead line.

No Location. No solidified choreography. No partner. No Nothing

I haven't made an ounce of progress... so I can't even rush it when I get back.

. .tap.

My fingers fell like they symbolize my anxiety as they drum away.

I really don't want to let them down...but lives are literally at steak.

I snap the device shut.

"I really don't need this right now," I place it on the bed besides me and curl up beneath the plush black.

"I wish they got service in the Soul society, then I could at least text them.. see how they're doing..."

My eyes peer over the mounds of cover at the black and silver masterpiece Uryu forged for me.

a smile develops.

Tomorrow, I am going to go to the Soul Society, find my friends, kick ass, save Rukia and tell her how fucking lucky she is... to have their love.

How lucky we are.


A/n: Thanks for reading

Reviews ore appreciated.

Sorry about the delay

Might upload again tonight

Bye