Does Man Make The Monster?

by Millie M. Banshee

Powerless after the Winter War Ichigo felt something missing in his life so he joined the CCG as a ghoul investigator. One day after tagging along on a mission he shouldn't have even be on, he witnesses the killing Mrs. Fueguchi and her sacrifice to save her daughter. The incident awoke more than just old memories of his past. Now Ichigo must make a choice if he wants to survive.

30. Dirty Deeds

Does Man Make The Monster?

Chapter 28

Dirty Deeds

(A/N Yes, I have another chapter up. Basically before the shit hit the fan I was going to post two chapters back to back to make up for lost time. This was the second one I was working on when my uncle passed. To get my mind of off things I finished it up and posted it.)

SOUNDS/sounds

Thoughts

---

(Last Time)

"None of you laugh, okay…? I'm not use to any of this…"

"You picked out the design you wanted."

"I know I did. Just don't… None of you laugh."

She finally creeped down the stairs, one slow step at a time. First her feet came into view and soon the rest of her. Yoshimura, Touka, and Yomo just watched unmoving as "Akane" stop at the last step and stood just behind Yoruichi. She fiddled with the hem of her navy blue sweater shirt and kept her eyes glued to the floor.

"No way," Touka gave a gasping whisper as she stood motionless with her uncle and manager.

As far as the body shape was concerned she was the exact same but there were several glaring differences that could not be missed. First most notable difference was her hair. It was now a lovely black and a fluffy mound of small, super tight curls that fell down to just below her shoulders. Her skin tone was a slightly different shade, being a little fairer than before and her face had a nice little band of freckles running across her nose and cheeks. Touka took more notice of Akane's eyes, which she now had two of. They were no longer a dark green but pale with a good hint of blue, making them a muted aqua color. She was dressed in a simple navy blue turtleneck sweater, light blue jeans, and a pair of black ankle boots.

No one said a word as they just studied the woman in front of them. She was a totally different person as far as the body was concerned but her voice and mannerisms were the exact same. Her new freckled cheeks were starting to glow a bright peony pink from the ghouls' silent, awkward staring.

"D-don't just stare… Wh-wh-what do you th-think…?" she stuttered, not daring to look up at them.

---

Akane's face was growing pinker the longer they remained unspeaking and unblinking. She thought it would look cute. Now she was having second thoughts but she was stuck with the design now. She decided on it. She heard someone walk up to her and Yoruichi moved to the side. She assumed it was Yoshimura until she saw shoes that belonged to the female wait staff. Crap! Why did it have to be her to walk up? She slowly looked up at Touka and the two locked eyes.

Akane had requested that Touka stay behind for some reason. She really didn't know why she just wanted the ghoul there. Touka had been involved with her in past and maybe she just wanted to let Touka see that she was no longer disfigured because of her.

"Your eye…? It's…" Touka choked out as she pointed at Akane's face. Akane awkwardly covered it. "How? I mean… You don't even smell like you… It's like you have a whole new…"

She turned to look at Urahara as he perked an eyebrow at her. It couldn't be…? Is that what the boy meant by old, damage goods? Akane was stuffed in that package. Or at least her old, damaged body was. She whipped back around and stared wide-eyed at the "new Akane" from head to foot and back up again. She felt her heart race a little as everything started to settle in.

"Holy shit… You really… You have a whole new body all together," Touka choked out clamping a hand over her mouth and Akane meekly nodded. "How?! I don't understand! I mean that's totally impossible, right?! People don't just acquire brand new bodies!"

"Technically, I'm also impossible if you think about it," Yoruichi piped up with a grin. "Trust me this isn't anything compared to other things out there. This is the milder side."

"Milder?" Yomo answered in his niece's place and pointed at Akane. "How is that mild? You somehow stuffed her into a new body and now her original one is being hauled off like trash."

"Don't get ahead of yourself. She agreed to this and we delivered," Urahara responded quickly. "We're going to use her old body as a means to close her case. If the CCG has her body as proof of her passing they will never look for her again. She can live in obscurity; just one of the many faces in the crowd."

"That still doesn't excuse you what you did," Yomo almost snapped. "Did you have to…? Did you have to kill her to…?"

"That is an awfully strong word, kill," Urahara huffed. "I merely cut the link to one and hooked her to another."

"So you did…" Yomo took a couple steps towards Urahara.

Akane was turning pinker by the moment and she started to feel tears build in her eyes. This really was a bad idea after all. She went from pulling on the hem of her shirt to hugging herself. She just wanted to fade out of the picture at this point.

"I'll say this again, Yomo, this was an agreement. The transfer was clean and completely pain free," Urahara bucked up a little to the ghoul. "She agreed completely to this and even designed her own body to remain in. I've designed it in such that it will…"

"Excuse me. You designed it? You mean to tell us you can just create bodies?" Yoshimura gasped a little, looking at Urahara.

Urahara just gave a couple gentle nods in was actually possible? Yoshimura just studied Akane a little more now as did the other ghouls. Akane was in a manufactured body? That was thing. It looked completely human and even smelt like one. If they could actually do such things just what were they really capable of?

Yomo still didn't seem too keen on the idea and even Yoshimura wasn't exactly on board. It was highly unconventional and the men looked at this from a morally correct standpoint. To rip someone from one body and put them in the other just wasn't right. A person is born with one life and one body. This just seemed to go against the laws of nature. There had to some of rules that prevented this, right?

"I'm wearing one so is Yoruichi and Hitsugaya," Urahara pointed at himself and the others. "There are more things in heaven and earth, gentlemen, than are dreamt of in your philosophy."

The ghouls turned their attention to the others people listed off. They too, were in these false bodies? Yomo's dark eyes slowly looked over at Yoruichi with a rather scrutinizing stare. So was that how she could go from human to cat in puff of smoke?

"I what you're going to ask and No, I can do that regardless," she sighed, crossing her arms. "It's a special something I came up with that on my own."

"It's best not to think and dwell on it," Toshiro stated, catching Yomo's attention. "What we do usually remains in shadow, silent and unseen. And as you've witness it should remain as such."

Yoshimura took a step forward, running a head over his nicely placed hair.

"You know, Kurosaki said the same thing you did about there being more things in heaven and earth. That was at our first meeting," Yoshimura stated, looking over at Urahara, a small mournful look on his face.

"Great minds think alike," Urahara grinned, widely and in a smug way. "He was my favorite pupal, after all."

"Your ego is showing," Uryu muttered just over whisper.

"You were doing well remaining silent."

"I wasn't explicitly told to be."

"I technically wasn't either!" Orihime piped up.

"Excuse me," Akane muttered and turned back towards the steps.

She was feeling more and more awkward by the moment. She had unintentionally started a argument and she was very uncomfortable just standing there and have to talk about her like she wasn't there. Grant it had shifted some but… She needed to leave the area and let them squabble without her watching it unfold in front of her. She moved up two steps when she felt a hand grab her wrist. She turned expecting it to be Yoruichi but instead it was Touka. What did she want?

"Let go," Akane ordered harshly, trying to pull Touka's hand off her.

"Don't you dare run away," Touka grumbled, giving a small tug and pulled Akane off the steps. "Don't you dare hide like some coward."

"Let go," Akane finally jerked her arm out of Touka's grip. "I'm tired of being gawked it and argued over. Urahara's right! I wanted this if that settles things for everyone!"

"You wanted it? Then own it," Touka snapped at her and pushed her in the shoulder. "Do have any idea what I would give to have this option?! If I could start over completely I would embrace it whole-heartily. I wouldn't act like some bashful, cowardly child."

Akane could do nothing but stare at an agitated Touka. She needed to own it and to not act like a bashful child? She wanted to contest that but Touka was spot on. She was embarrassed about being in her new body and she wasn't exactly embracing this chance. Touka being a wanted ghoul would have jumped on it in a heartbeat to make a better life for herself. Akane turned away from ghoul the and look back down at the floor.

"You know I'm right, admit it! You're acting ungrateful!"

Akane snapped her head back up and glared at the teen.

"Shut your mouth! I'm not ungrateful, not even once."

"Could have fooled me! At least you had a choice to enter a new life! A friend of mine… He didn't have that luxury. It was forced on him and I… I knew it was terrifying for him as I watched him go through it. I wasn't exactly helpful at first and I didn't think highly of him until it was too late," Touka let out a along huffy breath. "What I'm trying to get at is that... It would just be easier to accept it than to deny it. It was hard at first for him, too, but he still carried on with his life and adjusted. There is absolutely no damn reason for you act like this. You agreed to this and I would give anything right now to be your shoes. Don't waste this opportunity."

Akane just stared at her slack jawed and completely dumbfounded to hear that come from Touka's mouth. Was this a lecture or some sort of peptalk? Why would Touka do such a thing condering this was the ghoul that once tried to end her life. They had little communication from the start so this was indeed a surprise. Did Touak actually mean what she said about being her shoes?

"I mean what I said so don't just stare at me like the moron that you are," Touka snapped.

That broke Akane's mild stupor.

"Why you…! I don't need you name calling and lecturing me," Akane bit back. "I'm having a bad enough time right now!

"Ha! Please, you've got a perfectly clean slate and you're having a hard time? I've already told I would do anything to be in your shoes! Honestly, I don't like this whiney side of you! What happened to that bitchy hot head that tried to kill me? Where the hell did she go, huh?! Did that part of get stuffed in that package, too?"

Touka swung her arm around pointed at the large package on Urahara's shoulder before giving the ex-investigator small shove into the doorframe . Akane just stared in shock at the ghoul that just pushed her. Oh, hell no! Akane stepped away from the door and returned the hard push back to Touka. Touka caught herself and pushed Akanke again. Akane was nearly knocked the floor. Okay, that's it! She went in for a punch.

"Stop!" Orihime exclaimed a bright orange, rectangular shield appeared between them. "Please, don't fight! There is absolutely no need for this."

"Yes, I agree. Let's not damage the goods right off the factory floor, ladies, thank you," Urahara spoke up.

"Then you keep your hands off me," Akane pointed an accusing finger at Touka through the shield.

"I will when you decided to stop acting like a crybaby," Touka returned the same accusing finger.

Orihime let out a long sigh. She didn't want to do this but she wanted it all to stop. The fighting between them was utter nonsense and not helping anything.

"Sorry about this," Orihime said, swinging her shield left and then right, knocking both of them to the floor. "But yelling and pushing each other isn't going to help anyone. It only causes more problems that take longer to fix. Can you please drop this fight of yours? I've seen enough of it lately and I'm tired of it!"

Touka looked up at Orihime and then glared back at Akane. Lucky bitch. How did she get this chance and no one else? No, doubt the former investigator was going to squander it somehow. Being Ichigo's partner was clearly a huge perk. Touka grumbled a small obscenity and rubbed the back of her neck. What a pain in the ass.

"You're just going to waste it acting this way," Touka got to her feet and brushed off the back of her skirt.

"I'm not going to waste anything," Akane quickly got to her feet. "I've just got to… I've got to get use to everything! Like your friend, right? It took him a while, too, didn't it? I'm not just going to slip into this new life in one night!"

"I don't expect you to but I want you to get out of this whiney phase. This isn't you and frankly I don't like it," Touka huffed as Akane snorted at her in response.

Yoshimura lightly cleared his throat he had been rather quiet through the argument, wanting to see where this would actually lead. It was quite amusing to be honest. Touka just wanted to see Akane act like Kaneki when first found out he had been turned into a ghoul. Touka had found no use in the young man at that time and greatly disliked him. Yoshimura surmised that she didn't want see Akane act the same way and was giving her own strange verion of incouragement. All attention was put on him and he lightly grinned

"Hayashi, the young man she is referring to once worked here and he didn't arrive here in the best of ways. His life was flipped upside down much like yours and we had to set him back on his feet. Perhaps, to a degree, we babied him a little, which didn't help. He ended up in trouble, he got hurt badly, and we're still dealing with the aftermath," Yoshimura said with a long sigh. "You, however, are quite the opposite of him. You're not nearly as sensitive or as trusting. And you certainly don't take gall from anyone. What I believe Touka is trying to say is that she wants to see you succeed. You have a chance to leave all your problems behind and completly start over. All you have to do make a new path and stay on it."

Touka clicked her tongue a little bit and gave Yoshimura a dirty sideways glance. The old ghoul grinned a little wider getting the better of her. She just didn't want to see that idiot squander her second chance. She didn't like seeing Akane act like she was to be pitied or something. When she first arrived Akane was trying to do everything to get away from them. She never once acted like she was weak and gave them hell for quite some time before calmed down.

Touka turned her irate glare from Yoshimura back to Akane who was just giving her a rather unsure look. She did not like seeing that woman act all bashful. It made her want to puke. She much more preferd bitch Akane over whatever she was right now. Touka scoffed at the look she was getting.

"What? Don't just give me that dumb stare. Aren't you going to say anything?" Touka asked in a biting tone, stomping back up to her. "You look like you want to. Well?"

Akane did want to say something but she wasn't sure how to go about it. She just stared at the ghoul whose face was far too close for comfort. Touka wasn't backing down and she wanted to know the words hiding in Akane's mouth. Akane lightly bit her lip trying to bring the words up into her mouth. It would be best to just simply say it. It needed to be said a while ago and to several people.

"Th-thank you…" Akane mumbled just over a whisper.

Touka stepped back a little surprised to hear that pass over Akane's lips. It wasn't much of a thank you to be honest but she needed to say it and mean it. Yoshimura and Yomo did a lot for her by taking care of her all this time and keeping her safe. Of course that also included Ishida and his friends for giving her a second chance like this. They truly didn't have to do a damn thing. She cast her eyes back to the tile floor feeling awkward.

"Thank you… All of you…" she tugged at the hem of shirt again, her face turning pink again.

The air fell into an awkward silence for a moment or two. The argument came to an odd head and it just fell apart. Hadn't Yoshimura put his own spin on things it would most likely still be going on. Akane pulled harder on the hem of sher sweater the longer it remained quiet.

"You wanna stretch it out?" Touka spoke up suddenly, popping Akane's hand to make her stop pulling. "Stop that!"

"Don't hit me," Akane bit out.

"Weeell… What was nice while it lasted," Urahara sighed, adjusting the body on his shoulder a little better. "I hope none of you mind but I've got to wrap up things here. Yoruichi, you still coming with me?"

"Of course," she nodded and started to walk over to him.

"Hold it."

Uryu reached out and grabbed the back of her coat as she walked by. She turned to look at him as he let go of her. He pushed up his glasses and gave Yoruichi a bit of a glare.

"One of you needs to clear this up for me. You never actually need to be to help upstairs but I have the aching fell I'm not here just for company's sake," Uryu spoke in a low tone. "I know how you and Urahara operate and you have this amazing ability of omitting things until the last second, thinking it's a great joke. So, I'd like it if you'd just get to the punchline and be done with it."

Yoruichi looked over at Urahara and the man just shrugged. Well, so much for that.

"Someone doesn't have a sense of humor," Urahara grumbled.

"Someone is tired and hungry. I have both work and school tomorrow," Uryu stated bluntly. "I just want to know what I'm here for."

"Well, since you asked ever so nicely I'll tell you," Yoruichi grinned and reaching out straightening the collar on Uryu's coat. "Are you ready for it?"

"Yes, just get on with it."

Yoruichi turned and raced over to Akane and pushed her to stand by Uryu. Confused aqua eyes met irritated sapphire. Uryu snapped his head back over to Yoruichi, who was just grinning from ear to ear. There wasn't a chance in hell what Akane would be staying with him.

"Absolutely not! She can't stay with me," Uryu snapped. "I can't afford another person! I'm struggling right now as it is! I'm sunk if she stays with me."

"I don't remember this being brought up either when we were upstairs," Akane added, looking between them.

"You can't stay here forever," Yoruichi said, patting Akane's shoulders. "You need to spread your wings some and getting out of here will be the best thing for you."

"But why with me? The management at my apartment will think something is going on," Uryu exclaimed. "Both husband and wife are nothing but nosey busy-bodies."

Toshiro cleared his throat loudly to get their attention. He had a solution for Uryu having to take care of Akane. It wouldn't be fair to just hand her over without some sort of support. It was decided around lunch time what was to become of the poor woman when everything was said and done with Anteiku. It really wasn't fair to just spring this on them but Toshiro wasn't just going to leave them without a safety net.

"My apologies, Ishida, this was something that was decided upon last minute," Toshiro opened his coat and pulled out a couple of thick white envelopes.

"If anyone one should have told me anything it should have been you. I honestly can't support her," Uryu said only to have an envelope shoved in his face. "What's this?"

"It should help assist with her upkeep. You shouldn't have a problem," Toshiro answered as Uryu looked at the envelope before he took it.

Uryu opened the envelope and he paused, wide eyed at the sight of money; a whole lot of money. He lightly thumbed through it but he didn't dare pull it out. Just how much was in there? He would have to count it out when he returned to the apartment.

"That should cover any expenses until she can get her footing, correct?" Toshiro asked, looking between the two.

"Th-that will cover everything and then some," Uryu closed the envelope and looked over at Akane. "So, I do snore a little."

"Just like that? You're not going to argue anymore?" Akane asked a little confused until Uryu let her have a small peek inside the envelope. "I can put with your snoring if you can deal with me watching wresting."

"I don't have a TV service."

"We will soon."

"We'll see…"

"Please…?"

"You can wait."

Toshiro then turned around to face Yoshimura and held out the last envelope.

"This belongs to you. It's yours for the expenses of taking care of her all this time," Toshiro stated as Yoshimura just stared at the boy captain and the presented item. "I wasn't expecting her to fall into your hands when she was freed. I thank you for that and I want you to take this as compensation for any monetary losses you might have suffered."

Yoshimura took the offered item and flipped open the flap. His breath caught in his throat a little. There was a lot of money in there. No doubt Ishida's envelope also contained a good sum as well. Yomo looked over Yoshimura's shoulder a little impressed. Where did this brat get money like that?

"Are you sure, young man?" Yoshimura asked, looking down at the boy. "This is a rather handsome amount you've handed me. I won't accept it if…"

"Don't worry about it. I'll make it back soon enough. I just cashed out a small amount of my Squad's shareholdings," Toshiro said, looking at a surprised Yoshimura.

"So you had stock here all this time but you couldn't use it to rent a few rooms all those years ago?" Uryu asked as Toshiro snort.

"None of us even stayed with you, so don't even start. Matsumoto and I helped Orihime out with expenses while we stayed with her," Toshiro stated and Orihime nodded.

"They sure did. They weren't really a burden," Orihime added with a grin. "It was the right amount to keep everything comfortable. Besides I lived alone and I really enjoyed their company. It was nice."

"Quick question. How old do you have to be to invest?" Touka asked, looking at Toshiro.

"You have to be 18," Yomo answered.

"Then how did you…?" Touka's voice faded, her eye narrowing on Toshiro.

"I sit in a very high place and I have accountants that do everything," Toshiro answered, flatly. "Trust me if I walked in I would be shown the front door."

"Because you're 8," Yomo stated.

Toshiro's face scrunched up a bit at being called 8. He was start look more like 9 now but that wasn't the point.

"I'm not 8. I'm not 7 or 9. I'm well into my double digits," Toshiro corrected him and Yomo looked like he wanted to say something. "Yes, I'm telling the truth, and remember, she turns into a cat."

Yomo looked at Toshiro as the captain pointed at Yoruichi. At this point it was just best to accept it as fact. Like the brat said, it was best not to dwell on it.

"Hitsugaya, we're going to head out," Urahara said as Yoruichi hurried over to him. "You and Orihime can head on back if you want. It's getting close to that time anyway. Take care, everyone."

Toshiro found a clock on the wall. Yeah, it was about time he headed on back to Soul Society. Yoruichi and Urahara could handle the rest. He was just be happy to get it finished and done with. Now he could focus on that idiot and trying to get him out of that hole he just dug deeper. Yoruichi opened the door and had a brief look outside.

"It's good… C'mon," she said as Urahara walked out onto the sidewalk. "I hope everything goes well, Hayashi, and remember all of your new 'papers' are upstairs so don't lose them. If you have questions have Uryu call us and we'll see what we can do, okay?"

"Yes, I will," Akane gave a stiff head nod.

"Oh, yes, one more thing…" Urahara stuck his head back in the door. "Kirishima?"

"Yes?" Touka drawled.

"Don't you find Akane's hair a right nice color?" he hummed at Touka's head snapped to look at Akane.

"D-don't you dare!" Akane snapped, turning a little more red than pink this time.

"Behave, Kisuke, don't start anything more tonight," Yoruichi grabbed Urahara's face and push him back out the café and closed the door.

Touka perked an eyebrow at Akane as she scooted behind Uryu. Touka quickly marched over and Uryu moved out the way. Touka isolated a small lock of her hair and studied before looking at the color of Akane's. It was black like hers but with the faintest purple undertone. Touka went to open her mouth but Akane spoke first.

"I like the color, okay? I just said I wanted it similar to your hair color, that's all," Akane stated bluntly. "They're the ones that made it the exact same, thinking they were being cute."

"You like my hair?" Touka asked, twisting a small lock of her own hair.

"Just the color. Other than that your hair is much too thin," Akane snorted and cross her arms.

"Thin, huh?" Touka growled. "At least my hair doesn't look like a torn up spring mattress!"

"You're just jealous!"

"Not over those curls, sweety! Trying putting a brush through that mop-top and see how it goes!"

"At least I have something on my head! I'm sure you need extensions!"

"HEEY!" Orihime yelled, stepping between them. "I've got a great idea, everyone! Why don't we all agree that everyone has really pretty hair and be happy with that, okay? Besides, I'm the winner so problem solved, see?"

Orihime pulled off the wig and its cap and shook out her long hair. Touka snorted and back off. It wasn't worth it. Akane looked her up and down. Without that wig on she felt she had seen Orihime before but couldn't place where. It might be best not to know.

"I totally win so why don't we just drop it," Orihime grinned, brushing her fingers through her long locks. "I mean, look at this lovely color and how long it is! Look at it!"

She shoved a little of her hair in Touka's face. That was one way to diffuse a bomb. Toshiro had to give points to Orihime for her quick thinking. Urahara was in a right rambunctious mood this evening. Toshiro really didn't like that. The mad scientist was up to something. Whether it was something in the Living World or back in Soul Society he didn't know. Hopefully, it wasn't something detrimental.

"Fine. I'm done anyway," Touka snorted and started to walk off. "Yoshimura, is there anything else I need to do? I need to get back to Hinami. It's late and I haven't called."

"I suppose it can wait until tomorrow," Yoshimura answered as Touka continued to the back to change out of her work clothes.

Uryu lightly tapped Akane's shoulder.

"Hey, I'll help you get your things," Uryu said heading towards the steps. "We need to get home, too."

"Oh, right," Akane said following right him.

"I have some boxes if you need them," Yoshimura asked.

"That would helpful, thank you," Uryu answered.

Yoshimura followed them up the stairs and out of sight. That left only Yomo, Toshiro, and Orihime on the café floor. Orihime rolled her long hair back up and struggled getting the wig cap back on. She turned to Yomo as gave him an awkward grin.

"Can you help?" she asked and he just nodded.

They got her hair in place and the cap pulled back over it. He even tucked a few pieces that wanted to slip out. Once in place she put the wig back on and flipped the dark locks out of her face. He helped to get it situated better on her head.

"Feel okay?" he asked, pulling his hand back from her head.

"Feels fine, thank you very much," Orihime hummed.

"You about ready, Inoue?" Toshiro asked, looking up at her.

"Yes, I'd just like to say goodbye to Uryu first," she answered, turning to look at the stairs. "I don't know when I'll see him again. I just wish we could visit Chad, too. Oh, and Tatsuki."

"That's not going to be possible."

"I know it's not. I just miss a lot of things…"

"We'll get it straightened out somehow," Toshiro assured her. "Don't worry about it too much."

"I've always been a worry-wort," she gave him a weak grin. "I can't help it."

"What happened that got you in trouble, if you don't mind?" Yomo asked, looking at the pair.

"May I tell him?" Orihime asked.

"Keep it simple and to the point," Toshiro ordered.

"Okay. So, the truth is we got in trouble at the raid. I was confronted by two investigators. One of which fingered out I didn't belong and because of me I think Ichigo's family got in trouble, too." Orihime said, tilting her head to look at the floor. "Urahara basically smuggled all of us out of town and we've been staying with Hitsugaya ever since. Only Uryu and Chad got off as they weren't at the raid. Uryu got off because his dad vouched for him and Chad's boss fabricated a lie making it sound that Chad remained at his work. The guy's a bit shady, so all Chad had to do was slip him some money."

Yomo let out a long breath. So they got caught? He remembered that Akane had told them the same thing. It was believed that Ichigo had been discovered helping them. It certainly didn't help that she was discovered. Orihime was most likely traced through something like social media. There were still a few inconsistencies cropping up but then again there was a lot of missed communication. Everyone was hearing tidbits here and there and stories were mixed. There was wasn't any proper communication going on it looked like.

"Kurosaki had slipped us some information before he killed himself. It was believed that he was found out. They went after Hayashi and then went after his family. I'm sure you being there at the raid didn't help," Yomo said, looking down at her.

"Probably not. Shiro ended up getting me out of there last second before I could be arrested," Orihime sighed. "But that's what happened. The CCG showed up in town and we went into hiding."

A second later Touka walked out dressed in her street clothes and her schoolbag in hand. She walked over to them to basically say her good byes for the night. She really needed to get back to Hinami and do her homework. She stayed much longer than she should have and in hindsight she should have worked on some of it while she waited with her uncle and Yoshimura. It was going to be a late night.

"I wanted to wish you all a good night," she said, looking at the small group.

"Good night, Kirishima, right?" Orihime asked and Touka nodded. "It was nice meeting you again."

"Same," Touka mumbled. "I need to head on out. Maybe I'll see you later at some point."

She tossed her bag over her shoulder and started towards the front door. She wanted to be gone by the time the others came back downstairs. She didn't want to see Akane again if she could help it. At least now she wouldn't be hogging the break room anymore. She wouldn't have to take her breaks outside.

Just before she reached the door she heard Yoshimura, Uryu, and Akane walk back downstairs. Just her luck. She stopped and turned to face them with a small aggravated sigh. Best to say goodbye to them or Yomo might give her a small lecture. She picked up her tired feet and walked back over. She didn't have to drag it out.

Uryu was carrying one large box and Akane had one much smaller box. The bigger box no doubt contained the hand-me-down clothes from Kaya and the small box contained her toiletries, puzzle books, and a few other miscellaneous items. Well, it looked Akane was all ready to leave the building.

"Hey, I'm going home. I'll be here tomorrow at regular time," Touka stated looking at Yoshimura.

"I will see you then," Yoshimura nodded. "I do want to talk to you when you arrive back tomorrow."

"Yes, sir. Bye, everyone," Touka turned quickly on her heel and walked right back to the door.

She wasted no time opening the door and walking out. She closed it back and hurried down the sidewalk happy to be out of there and heading home. It really was going to be nice to have Akane gone. She wouldn't have to tiptoe around so much. She drew in one long breath of cool air ready to get her homework done and jump into bed.

"We need to get going, too, Inoue," Toshiro said, looking up at Orihime.

"Oh, right. I wanted to tell you goodbye and goodnight, Uryu," Orihime said, giving him an awkward hug given the box in his arms. "I'm going to miss you so much."

"Same with you, Orihime. Tell everyone hello for me," Uryu said as she let go of him. "Hopefully, things will clear up and you and the others can come back."

"I hope so. It hasn't been so great lately," she moped. "I don't need to get into but…"

"Shiro acted like Shiro and got in trouble," Toshiro filled in with a very low tone to his voice.

"Oh," was all Uryu could get out of his mouth.

"Yes. I'll give you more details later or Shihoin will," Toshiro lightly turned towards Akane. "Hayashi, remember our agreement?"

"Yes, sir, I'll keep it in mind," she said.

"See that you do. I may or may not see any of you later but I wish you all a goodnight," he bowed to the group and Orihime followed his actions. "I'll keep in touch, Ishida."

"I wouldn't expect anything less," Uryu answered.

"Let's head home, Inoue," Toshiro said, turning toward the door.

"Bye! Be safe everyone," Orihime gave one last wave as Toshiro walked out the door with her dead behind him.

She closed the door and they were gone. Uryu let out a long sigh. It wasn't much of a visit but at least he got to see them. He looked over at Akane as she stared at the door. This was it. It would be her first time out of the café in weeks and she could walk around without the fear of being caught. She still looked very nervous to be doing this.

"Hey, you ready?" he asked, lightly nudging her with his elbow.

"Oh, uh, yes," she said a little startled. "Yes, I'm ready to go."

"Thank you for taking care of her until we could get to her," Uryu said, looking at Yomo and Yoshimura. "I'll make sure she gets back on her feet."

"I have no doubt that you will, Ishida," Yoshimura smiled at them. "Hayashi, it will feel a bit empty here after all this time. You are more than free to drop by at any time."

"Oh, yes, I'll uh… Stop by once in a while…" she starting to feel a little awkward again.

"I hope to see you when you do," Yoshimura said the same smile. "I won't hold you up. Please take care and be safe getting home."

"You take care as well. Well, let's get going," Uryu said, starting towards the door. "Good night, Yomo."

"Good night," the ghoul responded flatly. "Be careful, Hayashi."

"I'm going to," she said, walking by him. "Bye."

He just nodded at her as she continued towards the entrance. She suddenly stopped midstep and she turned to face them again. How stupid to forget such a thing.

"Oh! I nearly forgot… It's going to take some time getting used to but my name is now Fujimoto Moriko," she gave a weak smile.

"Fujimoto Moriko," Yoshimura repeated. "It's a right pretty name."

"Urahara insisted I change it to something that's vastly different from my real name."

"It is quite different from Hayashi Akane. So, you know what to call me when… We see each other again."

"I'll be sure to remember your name, Fujimoto."

"Thank you," she have one last quickly bow and jointed Uryu at the door.

She opened it and let him out first before she closed it. The cold air hit her hard as she looked around the artificially lit street. So, this was it. She could be anyone and do anything. She was just one of the faces in the crowd now. She let out a shaky breath as she studied the street around her. No one was even batting at eye at her. Thanks to Uryu and his friends she actually succeeded hiding in plain sight. She could walk right by that bastard Arima and he would never have a clue.

Hopefully, this would be the start of something new like it was planned out to be. She had a new lease on life and needed to take full advantage of it, just like that idiot Touka said. She just had to remember what Hitsugaya told her as well as per the conditions of receiving the new body. One of course was to keep her nose out of any CCG affairs and of course ghoul activity. She could visit Yoshimura and the others but she couldn't get fully involved with them again. It was for her safety as she wasn't getting another chance. Of course Hitsugaya had quite a few more rules but those were the two biggest that stood out and he stressed them the most. She had a new life and she didn't need to get caught in her old life drama.

"This way," Uryu said, turning to his left. "We need to catch the bus. I don't want to miss it and wait for another."

"I'm coming," she snapped out of her thoughts and followed him up the sidewalk towards a bus stop. "It's feels weird to be outside after all this time and looking like this. It doesn't feel natural."

"You'll get used to it. Like they said, it'll take time. The main thing is that you're safe now. No one can hurt you."

"I know, but it still feels really weird. I was stuck in there for a month pretty much. At some point I need to get in contact with my father."

"Let the 'incident' happen first and give it some time like they told you. You don't need to jump the gun. You need to let them close the case and then you can make full contact with him. You're just going to have to bear with it until then."

"I know that. I just want it over and done with so I can see my father again. I miss him so much."

"Yeah…" Uryu let out a long breath. "Let's pick up our feet a little more."

"Okay, lead the way."

---

Yoshimura started making a couple cups of coffee for Yomo and himself. Yomo was upstairs cleaning up a bit and putting things back in their original places. It was finally over. After all those weeks Akane was finally gone and they could all breathe a sigh of relief. They didn't have to worry about Anteiku coming under CCG fire for now. Yomo turned off the light to the room before he headed back downstairs. Yoshimura picked up both cups of freshly made coffee and started around the bar back to the table.

"I'm sure I know what you want to talk about," Yoshimura said, setting down the cups as Yomo walked over and sat down. "I don't usually see you getting so upset. You really didn't like them messing with life and death."

"I sensed you weren't too fond of it either," Yomo stated as Yoshimura sat across from him. "Why didn't you speak up?"

"I found it easier to keep my mouth shut on this. Just this once. Like Hitsugaya stated, they operate in shadow and should remain as such," Yoshimura said, looking down at his cup of coffee. "I wanted to voice my own concerns, of course. Believe me, I didn't like knowing they could rip one soul from one body and then place it in another. The ethics dealing with that wasn't something I really sided with either."

"Do you really believe that they can fabricate human bodies when they feel like it?" Yomo asked and Yoshimura shrugged.

"Well, Shihoin, Urahara, and Hitsugaya, each claimed to be wearing one. Even though they smelt different from each other, they had the same base undertone scent. That now includes Hayashi. Did you pick up on that?"

"Somewhat. If they are wearing those false bodies would that mean…" Yomo voice faded off realizing what had been standing in front of him. "Those three… Are…"

"Yes, perhaps, they themselves are shadows. If you think about it Kurosaki, Ishida, and Inoue might be a form of mediator between this reality and to the next. They exist in that gray area. Given how Kurosaki showed Fueguchi how to enter and exit Hetare, we really shouldn't think of what transpired as any different."

"That's you're reasoning?" Yomo snapped. "They basically killed her in order to achieve it. Ryoko had already passed when Ichigo showed her how."

"I understand that. Like I said I'm not happy about the process either as I don't believe anyone should mess with such a fragile cycle but it's done and over with. They concealed themselves from us during the transfer for that reason," Yoshimura tilted his head back to look at the space above him. "If we heard everything that was going on we would have disrupted them and most likely we would have made a mess of things. However, I have a feeling that unlike Fueguchi, Hayashi can't leave that body at will. It is now her permanent vessel and she will exist in that body until her time ends."

Yomo looked down at his cup of steaming coffee. It made sense but that didn't mean he was just going to accept it. He never liked this from the start. When Kurosaki stepped into the café the world around them transformed into something else. The moment he presented Ryoko in the cockatiel he unlocked a door to those "shadows." And those existing in the unseen darkness started to come into the light. Yomo didn't like it. Who or whatever they were, they clearly were not meant to really be in this world. He hated to admit it but this whole time they were getting glimpses of what existed on "the other side." It was a bone chilling realization. Not to mention the power they at their disposal and what they could possibly do.

"Like I said I didn't care much for it either but I can't think of a better way to get the CCG off her back. Once the CCG has her body in custody the case on her will be closed and a loose end tried off," Yoshimura turned his back down, picked up his cup, and took a sip. "As long as she keeps to herself and away from any CCG activity she should be fine. I think she knows better than to interfere with such matters. Besides… If you think about it… Kurosaki might have had his hand in this the entire time. If we're deal with what comes after this life and I'm pretty sure he's been pulling some strings."

Yomo just stared at Yoshimura and his knowing grin. It never really dawned on him to think of that. It made a good bit more sense when it was looked at it from that perspective. Why else would she have been freed and then doted on by Ichigo's friends? That carrot top was still around but was acting like the backseat driver. Like everyone else he was hiding in "the shadows."

"When did you come to this conclusion?" Yomo asked and Yoshimura shrugged a bit.

"I'm not really quite sure. But I can't see why they would give her so much attention otherwise. If that particular group was on the run at that time they couldn't stop to help her. I don't know who else could have sent those men. Besides, that blade she had once belonged to her partner and it was just handed to her by those two mystery men."

"True. Do you think she's put any of those pieces together?"

"If she has figured it out she's played it off very well. Even if Kurosaki is behind a lot of things it doesn't change the fact that he did jump and ended his life. What ailed and caused him to do that I don't know but perhaps it put a stop on it."

"Another thing… Do you really think he got caught and did that to also cover for us, too?" Yomo grabbed the handle of his mug.

"To be quite honest, the more I try to dig into the truth the more convoluted it becomes. I doubt we'll ever get the full story from them. It might be just as well that we leave it alone," Yoshimura let out a long breath and lightly shook his head. "The deeper we get into that world the more I worry about finding something we shouldn't. We need to let them just slide back into their 'shadows' and let them be. Hopefully, they're finished here and we won't have to see them again anytime soon."

"I would greatly appreciate it. I witnessed way more than I care to," Yomo picked up his cup and took a sip before setting it back down. "I don't want to see more of it."

"We both are going to end up there one day ourselves," Yoshimura pointed out.

"Then I'll deal with it when it happens. Just not now."

"Hm. The one thing I can happily take away from this is that ghouls and humans are no different in death. Our souls are equal. It's a bit of a comfort to me knowing that. It also doesn't hurt that there really is some place to go after our time here. It's not the end."

Yomo didn't open his mouth to that. Souls were equal in death? That would be something Yoshimura would like. Perhaps, that wasn't so bad. It was life that caused problems. If souls are no different, why were ghouls created in this world in the first place? Once again, perhaps it was one of those things better left alone. Yomo respected the dead and would pray for them when he collected them. He just felt that the dead should remain as such and never return. It was wrong to mess with the order of such things. If Shihoin and her friends never returned he would be very grateful. Life would hopefully settle back down and go back to normal with the exception of Ryoko. He slowly warmed up to the notion of her sliding in and out of Hetare. She had been very helpful to Anteiku recently and it would be shame to lose her again. That was his only take away from this.

---

Urahara and Yoruichi found a small secluded alley way to set up everything. Urahara set up barrier before they got to work. It had to make it look real especially for a coroner. They unwrapped the body and got to work. The wrap Akane's body was in had kept it relatively warm. They had already undressed her, which made things easier. They covered the body in all manner of yuck like some of the sludge found in dumpers, old food stains, dirt, and a little bit of oil in the hair to make it looked unwashed. They even made sure to put dirt under her nails and made them look little rough. They made makeshift bandages out of piece of dirty cloth to cover her bruised arm and a couple other stubborn wounds that seemed to refuse to heal all the way.

They also had some clothes to dress her up in to make it look like she had been on the street for some time. They were torn, scuffed, and covered in all manner of smelly grime. They put on dirty some socks, overly large sized worn out shoes, men's pants, a couple of old T-shirts, and a tattered coat that was actually a size too small. Everything had to be mix-matched to make it look like she had to scrounge around for clothes to keep warm.

The body looked the part and now for the final step. Urahara pulled out a soul pill and put it in her mouth. A second later the body came to life but didn't do much but stare at them. The body had no doubt lost a bit of heat during that time. Just to be on the safe side they were going to use the artificial soul to warm her body back up. They wanted everything to look fresh. Only way to do that was to make sure the body temp would correlate properly with the age of the wounds.

"This is more work than I thought it would be," Yoruichi sighed, leaning her back against the wall of a building.

"Well, we have to make it look completely believable. The only thing we really can't change is the weight of the body. That's going to be the only discrepancy. Hopefully, they come up with some theory that maybe she had found some help somewhere for a little while," Urahara said, pulling out a long sharp piece of broken glass from a pouch. He made sure to wear gloves so that only her prints would be put on it. "This should close the case nicely and now it's just up to her father to keep this ruse going it. He might know the truth but I can still imagine it will be hard on him nonetheless."

"Do you think she'll follow the rules Hitsugaya gave her?" Yoruichi asked and Urahara just shrugged.

"It'll be her choice and hers alone," Urahara said, looking at the motionless, staring body. "We did all this work I'd hate for her screw it up."

"Kisuke, be honestly with me on this. I didn't personally see you and Tessai work on her gigai," Yoruichi said, looking over at him. "But like Hitsugaya, I don't trust you not to have tampered with it in some form or fashion."

"What? Of course not! Now why would I do such a thing?!" he overly acted looking shocked.

"Kisuke…" she drawled.

"It's nothing major. She won't gain any powers, she won't be able to see into our world, or anything like that. I think even she needs to stay out of it. We've done enough in this world as it is. Even human government has seen us now. We just need to vanish for a good long while so that the trail goes cold."

"That still didn't answer my question. What did you do?"

"It's just a safety net so to speak. I just did a couple minor physical enhancements and nowhere near being super human. I just gave her the ability to run a little faster than she once did and bumped up her strength by 8%. So if she does get cornered she has a much better chance of getting out of the situation."

"Is that all you did?"

"That's it. I said no powers. I just gave her a better chance at surviving. I don't want to see our hard work go to waste anytime soon. If she knows better, she will follow the captain's instructions and keep her nose out of things."

"With luck, Uryu will keep her in line for as long as he can," Yoruichi pushed off the wall and walked over to him. "You think the body's warm enough yet?"

"We've waited quite a bit now so I think we're good," Urahara crouched down and present to the chunk of glass to the awaiting body. "Take this."

The mod soul reached out her hand and grabbed it. Her fingers were cut a little on one of the edges.

"Yoruichi, go on a head and make the anonymous tip while I finish up here," he said, looking over his shoulder at her.

"I'm on it," she answered as she pulled out a prepaid cell phone and dialed the number for the police.

It only rang once before an emergence operator picked up the line. Yoruichi quickly put her well practice acting skills into practice. She frantically exclaimed that she had found a dead body in a secluded area. She gave the street she was on and where to find it. She hung up the phone and looked down seeing the job was done. Urahara removed the soul pill and replaced it back into a tiny pouch.

"Well, that's that," Urahara said, looking down at the body and the blood that pooled some on the cement. "Let's gather our things and get out of here."

Yoruichi and Urahara hastily grabbed their things as distance sirens started to blare. They picked up the last of their items and Urahara tore down the barrier. They ducked away into another area that would give them a good view of the situation. The police arrived rather fast. Three police cars pulled over and the officers got out. They hurried on back into the dark area and just out of sight.

An ambulance and a couple more cop cars showed up just a few minutes later. Urahara wrapped everything in the large case they had put the body. He told Yoruichi he was going on back to the house. He told Ryoko when to show up. Yoruichi just wanted to make sure things went as planned. She decided to stay and keep an eye on how things were progressing. She quickly transformed into the cat and darted back across the street. Urahara grabbed her clothes before slowly he slipped away from the scene.

Yoruichi listened on what was being said. The police were already in contact with the CCG about finding her body. Of course it wouldn't take long. A pair of investigators showed up on foot that just happened to have followed the police just out of curiosity. It wasn't much longer before several more members of the CCG showed up in their vehicles. That whole area of the street was blocked off from traffic. A crowed of curious people huddled around the blockades, trying to see what was going on.

Yoruichi walked around a little bit listening to different conversations. She got kicked a couple of times in hopes of shooing her away from the scene. That wasn't going to let that happen. She just went from group to group listening in. It seemed their stunt had worked. She watched as the coroner showed up and checked for any vitals. She was pounced dead of course and she was quickly lifted up and placed into the black body bag. She was placed onto a gurney and pushed over to the awaiting ambulance. It looked like everything went according to plan.

She suddenly felt someone walk up behind her. She expected to get shooed away again but instead she was picked up and held like a baby in one arm. The man's free hand gently rubbed her chin. She looked up at the old investigator with sunken cheeks and large eyes. Given the description Ichigo gave her this had to be Mado. Great, what did he want with her?

"My, aren't we a good cat," he said, moving his hand to rubbing her chest. "You must have an owner to be this calm. You know, curiosity killed the cat and this really is no place for you."

"Um, sir?" a tall man with odd eyebrows looked at the cat in Mado's arms. "Where did you find a cat?"

"She was just sitting here watching everything," he said, turning to look at his partner. "I saw her nosing around a couple of times. My daughter owns one; a right grumpy looking thing."

"Your daughter?" he looked highly confused.

"I don't talk about her much but she's currently in the academy. She should be graduating soon," Mado said, scratching Yoruichi's chin again. "I need to introduce you two sometime."

"Uhh… Okay," he mumbled, scratching the back of his head.

"You mind taking her and putting her out of the way, Amon?" he flipped Yoruichi upright and handed her over to Amon.

He just held onto her from up under her front legs and looked at her not quite sure what do with her. He could put her outside on the blockades but she may just get back in. She had a very pretty set of amber eyes he noticed. Yoruichi mewed at him.

"Don't try and look cute," he said, looking down at her. "You don't need to be in the way. Let's see where to put you…"

Amon hadn't gotten far when he crossed paths with Arima and his partner Hirako.

"Why are you toting around a cat, Amon?" Arima looked at the black ball of fuzz as Amon came to a stop.

"She's been getting into things and I'm trying to get her out of our way, sir," Amon said, setting the cat proper in his arms.

Yoruichi turned his amber gaze over to Hirako. He just looked at her with a dull expression. Slowly his eyebrows drew close together and his eyes narrowed. He felt like he had seen this cat before. It was the eyes that got him the most. He rubbed the back of his head trying to figure it out. Something clicked and he opened his mouth to say something but quickly shut it. It would sound totally outlandish. He remembered the black cat outside the window, watching them back in Karakura town. Yet here was another black cat also watching them. It just had be a coincident, right? Hirako still had a nagging feeling for some reason that he had seen this particular cat. It was just by chance another black cat showed up. He lightly shook his head and finally decided it had to be a coincidentce. It was impossible for it to be the same cat.

"Do what you need to and hurry back. The media is starting to swarm us. You don't want to get mixed up with them," Amon said, reaching out a lightly scratched the top of her head.

"Yes, sir," Amon said and hurried on his way.

Amon managed to squeak by the growing crowd and found a quiet location to drop off the cat. She was a right pretty cat with her rich black fur and amber eyes. She obviously belonged to someone to be this friendly and to look this good.

"Down you go. Now you just need to stay here, okay?" he said, setting her down and gave her one more good scratch on the top of her head. "Better yet, why don't you just go on home? You don't need to get hurt."

She rubbed up against his leg and he sighed.

"Are you flirting with me? You really are cute," he stepped back and started to walk away. "Now just stay over here and out of the way. Not that you understand me or anything…"

When Amon heard that Akane had been located he didn't know what to expect. He and Mado hurried over but they were surprised to discover she had taken her own life. They arrived just before the coroner got there to verify her death. He just stood perfectly still and did nothing but stare at her. He didn't know what to do and how he should feel about it. He was just numb. That was the best way he could describe it. He kind of half hoped those two that helped her escape had taken care of her. Clearly they just freed her and then left her alone. It was a miracle she hadn't frozen to death well before now.

He most likely let everything out when I was back home and away from everyone. He still believed that she didn't have a part in what happened. He didn't care what anyone said but he knew better than to voice his opinion. But now it didn't even matter. It was all over. At least the case should be closed and their duties would return to normal. Unlike Ichigo they got a body to verify that she was indeed dead. Once the CCG was done with their examination of her she would just be handed over to her father to handle the funeral arrangements. If she died in the line of duty the CCG would have paid for the funeral but she was nothing to them now. She would just be handed over her to father with nothing.

Amon hurried on back to the scene. It was pretty much over with by now. She was already on her way to the morgue. It was mostly just crowd control and clean up going on now. What little evidence they could find was collected just to rule out other scenarios. He walked back at Mado who was just staring at the now empty spot while it was being cleaned to remove the blood.

"A bit of a shame it ended like up this," Mado said, turning to look at Amon. "Though if she was found alive you'd know where she'd end back up at. Perhaps, it's just as well."

"That's a really negative outlook," Amon stated and Mado shrugged.

"You know I'm right. Now, how she managed to evade us this long I have no idea. She's been out here a month," Mado sighed and straightened his trench coat better on his shoulders. "At least we got to her before a ghoul did. Be thankful for that much. I still never pegged her as the type to do such a thing."

"Well, she did," Amon muttered under his breath.

Mado sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. Amon seemed indifferent to the matter but Mado knew better. Despite what Akane was labeled as Mado knew Amon really didn't believe any of it. He really set off an avalanche by presenting his evidence and the damage was only growing. It was eating at him some especially after the discovery of Akane. There was nothing that could be done about it now. This only closed her part of the case but no doubt the CCG will continue to go after Ichigo, his family, and friends. If Ichigo and his group stay intelligent, they will no doubt stay out of this city.

"I think it's about time we leave here and head back to the office," Mado said, patting Amon's shoulder. "It's out of our hands now and besides it's cold. I know it just turned into spring but the night still has a bite to it."

"Yes, sir… Do you want me to drive?" Amon asked, following behind his partner.

"No, I think I will. You seem a bit out of it. It would be best I do the driving," Mado said as Amon fished out the car keys from his pocket and handed over to Mado. "Thank you."

Amon looked over his shoulder at the spot one last time before turning to face forward again. It was over with. It was best to leave it and let others handle it. They were there basically to satisfy their own curiosity. He turned his head slightly to see that black cat again sitting on top of a police car. So she was back? She just couldn't keep her nose out things is seemed. That sounded all too familiar.

"Curiosity killed the cat," Amon mumbled at just barely a whisper.

---

Ryoko sat anxiously on the floor while Orihime stood over her using Shun Shun Rikka to help heal the wounds that had been inflicted on her by Mado. When Ryoko arrived she was surprised to see Orihime there before Urahara and Yoruichi. Orihime had explained that she told Toshiro that she wanted to stay just a little longer. He agreed but she had to return with the odd pair. Urahara wanted Orihime to stay for obvious reason. What Toshiro didn't know didn't hurt anyone.

Ryoko hadn't told anyone about this. She wanted it to be surprise for Yoshimura, Touka, and Yomo. Even Kaneki. More importantly she was doing this so she could continue her life with her daughter. Urahara explained to her that all of this was very illegal. Toshiro allowed what they did to Akane but even that was still very shady business. Doing something naughty made her feel guilty and excited at the same time. She tried everything in life to keep her nose clean so this was certainly something she normally wouldn't do.

"All right, my dear, it's ready. Now, I did some tinkering on this gigai. Of course, you're going to go back with your friends and family so that means you'll be dealing with ghouls. Therefor, it's only fair I make it to where you have a good advantage around them," he said, turning to look at Ryoko as he slowly laid the gigai flat on a clean blanket. "Your body will have increased strength comparable to a ghoul's along with their speed. The gigai will be little a more resilient than a human's body but not nearly as tough of a ghoul's. You won't have the regenerative ability either. Keep that in mind. You can still leave this body when you need to. You're not tied to it but the longer you remain in it the longer your chain will last. If you decided you don't wish to leave your body ever again, get in contact with me and I'll adjust it so that it's permanent."

"So, you're saying I can fully live again if I want to?" she asked as Orihime recalled her Shun Shun Rikka.

"Absolutely. You can wait for when you feel the time is right or I can attach you now if you want," Urahara explained. "Whatever you choose to do."

"I'd like the first option… A-at least for now. It'll give me a little more time to keep helping. If I was in a regular body all the time I couldn't do it," she said getting to her feet.

"Then I'll leave you as is. Step on over here," he motioned her to come closer.

She hesitated a little. This was actually happening. She would be able to interact with people after all this time. It was going to be amazing to hold her baby again. Of course that was if she ever got up the courage and not scare he daughter to death. That was her biggest fear. She didn't want to scare her daughter so much she might not…

"Hey, you okay?" Orihime asked. "Just go on over. I've seen how people get in their gigai like a hundred times by now. It's not hard to get into."

"Getting out of one can be a bit tricky but I have a solution for that, too," he beckoned her again and she slowly closed the distance. "First and foremost you need to align yourself with it and then you'll just slide right in. It's best to start with your bottom first since you're new to it."

Ryoko swallowed a knot in her throat as she took one step over the gigai. She slowly lowered down with Urahara's help and moved her hips so they were more even with gigai's.

"Now just sit down and lay back," he told her.

Okay, this was it. She slowly sat down and watched as she basically just melded with the gigai. She leaned back slowly and it was like the gigai just swallowed her whole and kept her perfectly aligned; her shoulders, head, hands, and feet all just fell perfectly into place. She drew in a sharp intake of air at the very last possible mement. She felt her chest rise and fall for her first time in months. She was actually breathing! She reached up and put a hand over her heart feeling the living giving muscle beating rapidly in her excitement. She opened her eyes and sat up quickly nearly clunking heads Urahara. She looked down on her hands and wiggled her toes. Everything was working and the body was start to warm up rather fast.

"Ta-da. That wasn't so bad," Urahara said, holding out his hand. "It might feel a little awkward but it'll go away once you grow accustom to it."

She took his hand and with his help stood up straight. She could actually the feel the cold on her bare feet. She reached up and pulled her blond hair around to the front and lightly played with it. Being blond was going to be interesting and I was nice to look down and not be soaked in blood. She was completely clean and nothing hurt.

"What do you think?" he asked as she moved her legs up and down a little.

"It's… It's… It's great! It's perfect," she exclaimed, turning around and tackle hugged Urahara, nearly knocking him over. "Thank you so very much!"

"Whoa! Yes, yes, glad I could help," he exclaimed holding onto his hat before it fell off.

"It's like a dream I never thought would happen," she stepped away from and looked down at her body again. "I can't believe this is real!"

"It is very real," he answered, fixing his clothes. "Welcome, back to the Living World."

"Fueguchi, this is for you," Orihime reached behind an old box and pulled out a small duffle bag. "I'm sure you don't want to be walking around Tokyo in just a terry robe. It's only two outfits. It was supposed to have gone to Hayashi when she was to hide here. With a little luck they may just fit you, too."

She took the bag and unzipped it. There were two long sleeve shirts; one was solid medium purple and the other shirt was white with a pink and yellow abstract print. One long skirt that was just pale yellow and the other was a pair of black jeans. There was a pack of brand new socks, new underwear, and a sports bra.

"There's also a pair of boots and a good heavy coat," Orihime held up the next few items.

The boots were about mid-calf height. They were white with a black fur trim and still in the box. The waist coat wrapped around and fastened with large black buttons and a tie around the waist. It was a deep gray and made from wool. It looked like it still had the store tag on it. Clearly all of it was brand new.

"You can go into the next room and change," Urahara pointed to the next room behind the wall.

Ryoko just nodded and hurried out the door and just around the corner. When she took off the robe she realized just how cold it was and that there had been absolutely nothing under it. She tried her hardest not to think about. She opened the pack panties and put one on. She slipped on the bra was just a little big. She grabbed the yellow skirt and the abstract skirt. Ah, now this felt great to actually wear something and not see blood everywhere. The skirt, she noticed, was pleated at the bottom. She walked back into the room fully dressed with the exception of her socks. She didn't want them to collect dirt.

"Wow, don't you look pretty?" Urahara said, looking at her standing in the door. "They fit okay?"

"They're okay but beggars can't be choosers," she walked back over to the blanket.

"That's great that they fit. Here are the boots and coat," Orihime hurried over. "I hope they fit, too."

Ryoko brushed off her feet and put on the socks. They felt good on her chilled feet. Orihime handed her the boots and the waist coat. She slid the boots on before she stood and slipped the coat over her shoulders. She flipped her blond hair out and closed her coat. That felt so much better. The boots surprisingly enough were the best things that fit her.

"This coat is so warm," she said, light pulling at the lapel. "It's been so long since I've actually felt something like this."

"Being just a basic plus soul a lot of your senses are numbed down," Urahara said, bending and shook out the blanket. "So it's a bit of a shock to have them come back all at once."

"Is that how you feel things when you're not in a gigai?" she asked and Urahara shook his head.

"I'm not a plus soul but a Shinigami. To put it bluntly we're a far more advanced soul so, our senses are just as good as any living person's. If need be we can even interact with Real World items very easily and without a gigai."

"Though to a normal person's eyes a flying object might be rather frightening to witness," Orihime pointed out. "But it's funny to watch."

"So normal souls like me couldn't do something like that?" she asked, putting her hands in her pocket only to pull out leather gloves. "Nice."

"The only time a soul like you might be able to interact with such items is if that the item was designed for spirit for whatever reason or if you start to become negative."

"You mean… Like a Hollow?"

"Demi-hollows usually can and full fledge Hollows definitely can. They even kill the living to feed, if that tells you anything."

"Ichigo explained them to me before and the dangers they cause for everyone."

"Then you understand quite a bit?" he asked and she nodded. "That's good. Be careful. In that gigai they'll still recognize that you're not a true living person. They'll see you as easier pickings."

"I've be dodging them like crazy every now and then," she said, fiddling with a lock of blond hair.

"The Hollows here are actually well managed despite the enormous size of this city. Trust me, it could be a lot worse and they come a lot worse than the bottom feeders you see."

"You… Mean like Ichigo…?"

"No, he's not like…! Well… He is and isn't like them," Orihime quickly blurted out before shying away some. "He really only looks one even though… He does shares some of traits like making Ceros and such. But the main thing is that he still has a human heart. He doesn't have the hole you see with Hollows. That's where he's different from them. There was only once I ever saw him turn into a full Hollow and he was not himself. Not in the slightest. He scared me and he hurt Uryu. He did a lot of bad things during a fight with another Hollow like him. Right now he only has the body of one and that's really it. He's not missing his heart."

Ryoko just stared at her not quite sure what to say. Ichigo had once been…? She couldn't imagine him doing anything to harm Orihime and Uryu. After spending all that time with him she couldn't see him hurt his friends. He still had his heart? She didn't see a hole that night when his father arrived to pick him up. So if he really still had his heart then, yes, he wouldn't really be like a Hollow.

"Fueguchi, and not sound rude to you, Orihime, but yes, there are Hollows like him out there. However, they tend to never appear in this world. They stay in their own world, so to see one will be highly unlikely and a real cause for concern," Urahara cut in. "True Vasto Lorde are extremely rare. Ichigo is a very special and unusual case as you've witnessed. You might witness a Gillian and I'm stressing might. The one I hope you never have to see an Arrancar."

"Arrancar?" she blinked looking really confused.

"Hollows that have gained the power and the appearance of Shinigami. Their leader is currently sitting in prison but there are a few that were never actually finished off," Urahara said, finding a seat in a camping chair. "They really haven't made a noise so chances are, like the Vasto Lorde, you might never see them. If you do… Run to Uryu as fast as you can. The shinigami in town will also be hunting them down and if it gets bad enough one or two Shinigami my level might be called in."

"You're level is… Captain?" Ryoko asked not quite sure.

"Yes, I may not look it but I was once. Right now I don't seem too terribly strong but I could basically crush you by just being in my presents should I slip. The gigai helps a good bit to keep that in check," Urahara said, pointing to the other chairs. "Ladies, you can sit. No point just standing there."

"Oh, right," Orihime unfold a chair and sat down.

Ryoko did the same with her own chair. So, now what? Urahara and Inoue must be waiting for Shihoin to return before they left. However, where was she to go tonight? Would they take her back to Anteiku? It seemed logical. Hetare was with Kaneki currently in a cage, sleeping no doubt.

"When all of you will leave where will I go?" she asked, looking between the pair.

"Hm, well, I suppose you have a choice… I was leaving that up to you," Urahara said, rubbing his chin. "You can stay at Anteiku like you have been or if by sheer luck he allows it you can stay with Uryu as well."

"Oh, no, I couldn't impose. He's taking care of Hayashi right now. I don't want to be an added burden," she quickly shook her head. "But then… I'm sure Yoshimura and Yomo have closed up by now."

"Then I'm sure Uryu could afford you one more person tonight at least," Orihime pointed out. "He can say no of course but if you're just sort of dropped on him he just deals with it."

"I don't want him to just deal with me," she said, feeling awkward.

"It's just one night," Orihime pointed. "After Ichigo moved Tokyo we crashed at Uryu's place a couple of random times instead. The first time Uryu was too tired to say anything to his dad. Dr. Ishida wasn't… Well, he didn't like the unexpected company. Next time Uryu told him and Dr. Ishida permitted it. Permitting meaning that we had to keep to ourselves, don't mooch anything, and leave in the morning. He's not very friendly."

"It's a miracle Uryu turned out the way he did but he was raised more by his grandfather," Urahara sighed, and leaned back. "So, that's good thing."

"What about his mother?" Ryoko asked and the pair shrugged.

"He really doesn't talk about her. We know that she died when he was still small but that's all he says," Orihime sighed and rubbed her cold hands together. "If he was left solely to his dad Uryu never would have learned to be a Quincey. Dr. Ishida saw no use in it."

"So, his father really doesn't know how to use that power?" Ryoko asked and Urahara shook his.

"Actually, Ryuken could knock his son clear out the water," Urahara snorted. "Trust me, Ryuken is a very well trained. It's just that he didn't see any point in Uryu learning it. Again it's one of those things we are left in the dark about. Family matters and such."

"Despite that, Uryu is still very powerful! He fought against several Arrancar back in high school during the Winter War," Orihime added happy.

"What war?" Ryoko looked, highly confused.

Urahara took in a long breath and let it back out. Ichigo might not have brought that up.

"We were in a war around 10 years ago. It's a Spirit World war so you wouldn't have heard about and it didn't happen in Tokyo," Urahara said in a serious tone. "Aizen Sosuke was a former captain, that murdered our government and decided to go the usual bad guy cliché routes. You know, overthrow the ruling party and bring the world to its knees. Blah, blah, blah… Long story short he used Hollows as his army. He's the reason we have Arrancar in the first place. Poor Orihime here was kidnapped and Soul Society stupidly believed she was helping him."

Orihime looked a little embarrassed by that.

"Of course Ichigo and the others didn't believe that. They came after me right away to save me," Orihime said, lightly touching a hair pin. "I don't think I was of too much help but I did what I could. It took a long time to beat Aizen and we all suffered something for it. Ichigo used the last of his Shinigami powers to bring Aizen down."

"He really gave everything he had that day. I used a special kido spell to finish the job and lock Azien away to be taken back Soul Society for sentencing. Aizen is currently in prison and will remain as such for over 20,000 years," Urahara said and rubbed the handle of his cane with this thumb. "Ichigo lost all of his power there in that fight and we thought that was the end of it. Clearly his Hollow went dormant instead. We've surmised that the parallels between what happened to you and his mother's death must have been what awoke that power. It was a lot more genetic than we first thought, which made him into what you now know."

"H-how is he? None of you have actually talked about how he is now, just what he did in the past," Ryoko asked. "Is something wrong?"

"He's in some hot water right now. Our new government has gotten a little out of control. They started off popular but it's only gotten worse with time and poor Ichigo it taking the brunt of it," Urahara grumbled with a bit of anger in throat. "Despite everything Ichigo did for Soul Society they can't see him as being nothing more than Hollow. Given Ichigo's kind nature they know he will do what they say if he think any of us will be put in trouble or hurt. They called him the 'Hero of the Winter War' but that doesn't mean anything. He'll tell you to your face. He's just a glorified prisoner and nothing more."

"Then why did all of you go there?!" Ryoko asked flabbergasted. "I thought it was meant to a safe haven for all of you."

"We were all duped including Captain Hitsugaya and to an extent Head Captain Yamamoto. Ichigo was put a trial when we arrived. That was bad enough and that should have been the first clue to leave right then," Urahara said, pinching the bridge of his nose. "He's been walking on eggshells, thin ice, and so on ever since. Now because he had an argument with his overseer he's in two months isolation and food restrictions."

"What?!" Ryoko exclaimed, getting to her feet. "How? What was it about?"

"Don't really know. The captain was one only in on the arguments. He didn't really say what though, but being a captain he can't really blab either," Urahara stated. "It's sad. Ichigo went from intruder, to alley, to hero, and then straight to villain. They're going to exploit him, I fear. They're going to make him work from them and hold us over his head as incentive. Right now they are just trying to get him to submit so he'll be easier to control."

"That's not fair," Ryoko snapped.

"Of course it's not but… All the government sees is a threat they could turn around and weaponize. Everyone in the original 13 Court Guard Squad will tell you that Ichigo is the farthest thing from an enemy," Urahara said also getting to his feet and walked over to the busted window. "There's a captain that's an absolute loose cannon but he's free to do as he pleases and yet, poor Ichigo can't do a damn thing without the threat of getting into trouble"

"But they are scared of Zaraki-taichou," Orihime pointed out.

"They are, yes, but that madman also has no restraints. There is no controlling him so they do everything to keep him happy more or less," Urahara corrected her. "He's the one person they dare not…"

Urahara stopped dead and realized what they had been sitting on this entire time. Kenpachi didn't take shit from anyone and got away with damn near everything. Urahara had heard rumors that Kenpachi was already rather peeved with the new government from the start. Hitsugaya and a few other captains fell into that category as well. No one liked the new Central 46. Especially, not Kenpachi and his men; they could be itching for a fight. Urahara rubbed his chin hard as he pondered the idea. Perhaps, it was time to turn things inside out.

"Um, Urahara, is something wrong?" Orihime asked as he turned to face her.

"On the contrary, I think I just figured something out," he mused suddenly a little happy than she should be. "Yes, it'll take a little time but I think I know of a way to get things flowing in our favor again."

"A-and that would be?" Ryoko asked nervously.

"What do people do when they don't like their overbearing, controlling, and lying government?" Urahara asked, crossing his arms.

"They rebel," Ryoko answered and Urahara gave a wide grinned. "Huh? Y-you're not serious, right?"

Orihime looked just a shocked and a bit of fear hit her.

"That will really get him into trouble," Orihime got to her feet and hurried over to Urahara. "They have guards on him at all times. They'll hurt him!"

"Orihime, the only reason he'd been taking all this crap is because he doesn't want his actions to hurt us," he said, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Do you honestly believe that Ichigo is actually being beaten by them? If we fight back he will, too. Central 46 is using us as a scare tactic against him. We need show him there is nothing to fear and to put Central 46 back in its place."

(A/N So, this is it for now. 31 pages long. Not bad. I've got things gearing up for what's to happen with Ichigo. I hope that makes people happy. Anyway… I'm taking one of my uncle's cats and he named her the Mechanic. Well, she's hopefully going to be mine after testing (I don't want my other cats to get sick) and I decided to change her name to Winry, the Mechanic. We have like 4 others that need to be rehomed and all the strays are sadly going to have to go with animal control. No one else lives there and we can't afford all those cats and it's just not safe drawing in the coyotes and raccoons that could of course be carrying the ever popular rabies. It's sad but it has to be done as the trailer has to be demolished and the lot completely cleared.

(As for what I wanted to tell you about last time… At Christmas my dad and uncle let drop this secret. Most people usually say or yeah, I met this singer, actor, author, or so on once. My dad actually knew Buddy Hackett, not well but knew him. Again most people might know him as the seagull, Scuttle. One of my uncle's ex-wives had been childhood friends with the actor. So when he was over in the area of course my dad hung with him a little. He told me once he woke up one night to find a drunk Buddy messing around with one of his shot guns. He had to tell Buddy it was loaded and to put it down. I knew Buddy had a nasty mouth on him but Dad really let me know just how bad it was. Dad also said between my uncle's ex-wife and Buddy trying to cook they would wipe out the entire kitchen. And this was the voice of Scuttle, everyone. Now keep all that in mind while he explains what a fork is to Ariel.)

Millie M. Banshee