Kim

It was probably one in the morning when I heard something screeching outside my window. Rolling out of bed and grabbing my dagger I always kept hidden behind the nightstand I went to the window and peered out. My body instinctively moved on its own out of habit from years of being forced through drills of combat. Easing just a little as I peered through the windowpane and scoured the area for what could have made such a sound, something shot through the yard and dove into the shrubs.
"Oh no you don't." My dagger in hand and throwing on some pants and a sweatshirt, I ran outside to examine the field and find what intruded on our property. "If you're a spy I recommend coming out now before I find you." Pacing the yard and listening to every sound out here. My ears were tuning in on something in the closest shrubbery and I walked slowly towards the area. "I'm giving you one last warning…come out quietly, no one gets hurt. Try something, you'll be sorry."
If something has taught me over the years, it would be this situation. My first time ever coming into contact with Kasumi to be her bodyguard and saving her countless times from kidnappers made me strong. I trusted no one without a full background check—save for Grimmjow and Renji who had no background—and I failed when it came to Zen and Kyoya.
*High pitched screeching*
Covering my ears and biting my lower lip to the sound nearly bursting my eardrums, I squinted through blurry eyes to find the source and found something monstrous coming out of the shrubs and looking at me.
"What…are you?!" Alarmed, leaping back and feeling my ears near bursting, I looked at the monster before me and readied my dagger. It was hideous. A large toad-like creature with bulging eyes and a strange fixated mask for a face, it leered at me with drool seeping from its mouth.
*Screeching louder*
Wincing to the sound and trying not to back down, my ears were too sensitive to it and I crumpled.

"KIM!"

Barely hearing my name and managing to see who it was, Renji came to the rescue and had a sword in hand. It wasn't one of Kasumi's either.

"R-Renji?" Sitting up and holding down my ears from the monsters persistent screeching, Renji grimaced to the sound and faced the monster head on. "W-wait!" Reaching out to stop him as he leapt at the thing, he swung his sword at it swiftly without sound and I watched as the monster began to dissolve into thin air?

"Are you hurt anywhere?!" Running towards me, dropping his blade and checking me all over, I was stunned stupid from what I just witnessed. "Kim, speak to me, are you hurt?!"

"…what the hell was that?" Shaken, not knowing what that thing was, he seemed to know of it and didn't say anything. "WHAT WAS THAT THING?!" I yelled.

"That was a Hollow." His entire expression turned sour.

"A what," snapping and taking hold of his shirt, he seemed a little too mellow for killing such a monster. That, and the fact he knew what it was and killed it first try.

"A Hollow…eater of souls…" he took hold of my hand that grabbed him and apologized. "I never thought they would come this far at all since there is hardly any reishi here…we may have brought its attention here because of Grimmjow and I."

"And you just killed it with one swing with that sword of yours. How is that even possible," I wanted answers and he wasn't willing to give it to me freely. "Renji I'm warning you right now that I am still skeptical of you both. Neither of you have backgrounds in any database I've searched through and you just appeared from thin air. Kasumi may have just accepted it but deep down I've been trying to figure you two out since day one." Everything surfacing, my inner fire burning with rage to who they were grew more profound.

"Your very protective of Kasumi…"

"That's what I was brought up to do." Narrowing my eyes and feeling my inner evil coming forth to strike him down and have him tell me everything he knew, he didn't even flinch to my dagger at his throat. "You will tell me everything or I'll—"

"I'll tell you." He stopped me and sat upright. Still wary and holding my dagger at the ready to strike, he sighed and only paused for a short while to explain.
"We're—Grimmjow and I—we're not human like we've said. I'm a Soul Reaper, he's an Espada. You could say we're spirits in a way with vastly different ideals and living. I was once human whose soul was brought back into the Soul Society. He was brought up in Hueco Mundo…not entirely sure as what and how, but he was raised in an environment where reishi is—"

"You're not making any sense to me at all. You telling me that you're a dead guy," not thinking for a moment he was serious about this claim, he only looked at my eyes without trying to hide anything. "…you're serious…" unbelievable, but I did lower my dagger and stared at him. "How are you even alive—no, how are you visible then? You a zombie type of person or a ghost?"

"Neither…I'm a spirit. Surprisingly enough you two—and everyone here—could see us to begin with. Back in Karakura town no one can see or hear us at all. This place is truly a wonder."

"This sounds so crazy…all of it sounds like you belong in the looney bin."

"I bet it does. But I'm not lying to you Kim. There's no need to lie to you. Just know that Grimmjow and I will never think of bringing harm to you two, not even for a second."

"…so that Hollow that you killed was a fluke? Something that followed you guys here?"

"Yeah. There's not enough reishi here to sustain our powers, so we thought perhaps the Hollow just don't exist here. I was wrong to assume such a thing."

"Well…thanks are in order for taking care of that thing…so thank you. But just so you know I am not so forgiving for trying to pull any fast—" he hugged me from out of the blue and shut me up. Not knowing how to take it and trying to pry him off, he seemed relieved?

"I'm just glad I got to you in time…" whispering in my ear and hugging tighter, I was at a loss for words but just stayed still until he was done. "I'm going to take a patrol around the area to make sure that was the only one. You should go back to sleep."

"…."

"Kim?"

"Fine…" not another word from me and just heading back inside, my thoughts trailed to how he held me and the secured feeling I felt when he did that. Not sure what I wanted any longer and just going back to bed, I kept the feeling in the back of my mind and lulled myself into sleep.

Kasumi
Time to Hit the Road

Bags were packed, schedule taken care of, house armed, tank full in the car, everything was set for the trip to Karakura Town. Though I wasn't sure how a day would go inside the same car for the entire trip, so there's going to be a rest stop at a cabin about half-way before reaching the town.

"Kasumi," Kim held the basket full of lunches she's been working on all morning and beamed. "I have all the road trip snacks we could think of and our lunches—oh!" She hurriedly went back into the house and grabbed another bag. "I almost forgot the drinks!"

"Hehe, you make it sound like we'll be gone for weeks rather than a few days."

"Well should we stay for a week or two? I have everything taken care of on my end with Mrs. Hitachiin."

"Yeah…" thinking how the company would be without me there and having Mori and Honey take care of things, probably a small vacation wouldn't hurt. "That actually sounds pretty good. And anything we forget here I can just buy there."

"YAY!" Giddy as she ran back to the car and put the remaining luggage in, the boys were off in the distance out of earshot and speaking pretty seriously from the look on their expressions. Not sure what could make them look so gloomy, I got into the car and turned it on and waited for them to get in.
"Kasumi," Kim hopped into the front seat, "are we stopping anywhere for any sightseeing?"

"I have a few stops from here to there, and we'll be staying at a cabin for the night before reaching the town."

"Sounds fun! Can't wait to see the what we have in store."

"Me neither, how long has it been?"

"Mm…9 years, maybe? It's been a long time since we've done much of anything other than work."

I thought of the places we would visit and recalled only a few having been with my parents. A little nostalgic thinking about them, but nothing really memorable as I barely could make out their faces in my memory and such. But as the boys got into the car and pulling out of the cobbled driveway, once the gates closed and the security system engaged, all was set and done and we were on the road.

O~O~O

Never have I ever wanted to punch someone to shut up. The guys were so eager to get this trip done to return home, and here they are whining after only been in the car for 9 hours!

"I thought cars are faster than this…" Grimmjow complained.

"It's a little suffocating than I thought it be…" Renji added. Both were irritating the hell out of me and I wanted to punch them out cold so they would be quiet the rest of the way.

"Both of you are acting like children! Can't you wait a little longer till we reach a rest stop?" Kim snapped.

"A rest stop? You mean we have to get back into the car and keep doing this?" Renji was struck with realization and groaned. "I wish the senkaimon was working…this is torture."

"Yeah, kind of the point in a day's trip. Multiple stops and getting back on the road again." They both groaned and wanted out of the car. I kept my mouth shut and hands firmly on the wheel when I pulled over the nearest exit and to a rest stop. After parking the car I immediately got out and stormed off to the restroom and simmered down.

I get it…I do…they don't do cars on a daily basis…but for the life of me can't they stop complaining? Looking into the mirror and seeing the frustration in my face show, slapping my cheeks to regain momentum again and to get to the first sightseeing area was a must. "I can make it. Just another hour or so and we'll be near the place I rented out for the night."
Could I even last that long without strangling them?
"I need patience…"