I don't know where to begin for this one. I didn't know if I was scared, confused, flabbergasted, hell, I'll just choose 'All of the Above'. The horror and the repulsion of what had happened that night made me want to forget to everything that had happened that night and just curl up into a ball.

It was like being in a SAW movie—there were corpses and spilled guts all over the floor and walls due to the explosive that was stashed inside of the dead girl's body, which had now ceased to exist. There wasn't a single trace of it left, since it had all been blown to smithereens, guts, and blood. Lots and lots of blood; but, being that I just woke up, I was at the point of consciousness where I thought this was just a twisted, demented, bloody nightmare. Oh, how I wish that were the case. If only it weren't for the 150 pound weight on my stomach, I might be able to breathe. But even then, I would have trouble doing so, since there was a fog of grey hovering over us. And by us, I mean me and James, who was subconsciously draped over my legs and waist, and the fact that his head was near my girl part didn't help my body relax one bit.

With all of my strength (or what little I had left), I shoved the man's body off of me, hearing it slightly groan in pain as it rolled off to the side, making me whisper a light apology to him before I got up, realizing the aftermath of the catastrophe that had just happened.

Along with the splattered body parts all over the place, the explosion had set off a small, but manageable, fire on some of the kitchen appliances, which I figured out, was the source of the thick smoke was coming from. But across from me, there was the body of Shinji Hirako, who was alive, but barely breathing. He had a huge burn on the entire left side of his body, and judging by the looks of it, it seemed that his right arm was broken. I couldn't see his face, since it was turned the other way, but I could tell he was in a whole lot of pain.

But then I turned to James, who was also hurt, but not as much as the blonde. He has a small gash on the cheeks, and the entire front of his body got lightly smoked in the detonation. It was then that it hit me—he had jumped in front of me so that he could protect me, and that's why he was on top of me in the first place (no sexual pun intended).

At that moment, I felt something moist and slimy land on my thigh and I looked down, seeing that it was some glob of chunky blood that had probably fallen from the ceiling. But when I looked up, the spot above me was clear, puzzling me as to where this 'thing' came from. It was then that I felt something, like water, dry on the side of my face, and I put a hand where it was, and felt something really sticky and warm between my fingers. I didn't recognize the substance, and I only knew that it had come from the thing on my leg.

Curiosity got the best of me as I hesitantly picked up the amorphous item off of my leg, my fingertips being immediately greeted by a warm, nice thick coat of slime, but that still didn't help me figure out what this thing was, so I had to scrape all of the blood off with the sides of my fingers, only to realize it was a part of the many pieces of the girl's brain that had exploded.

I instantly let out a scream as I flicked it off of my hand and wiped my hand on the back of James's coat. Then, I had just remembered exactly where the piece of brain had fallen from—off of my very own face. Disgusted, I wiped off whatever traces of brain juice were left on my cheek on my arm.

"Is everybody okay in there?" A husky voice hollered from the ballroom.

"No," I shouted. "There are two unconscious bodies on the floor and a piece of brain was on my face!"

"Hold on, I'm sending help right now!"

And literally, within seconds, a rescue team (I guess if you could call them that) composed of five or so hotel staff members barged in through the doors, quickly extinguishing every trace of any surviving fires before tending to the rest of us. Two men went to each man, while the lady only got one. Hmm, sexist much?

"Ma'am, are you alright?"

My ears twitched in the direction of the sound and when I turned, both of my eyes immediately widened at the sight of the man—it was the same one who nearly made me pee in my pants because he had a weapon aimed at me the time I went to TR. I think his name was Dylan, or Dingo, or something like that.

"Omigod, you're the guy from TR who-"

"Ssh!" He whispered, shutting me up with a hand. "You can't talk about that here! You should know that better than anybody!"

"Sahr-mi," I mumbled with his hand still on my mouth as he took it off. "But anyways, I'm fine, thanks for asking. I may be a bloody mess, but nothing a shower can't fix, right?"

"But it'll take more than a quick rinse to clean this place up," The spiky-haired blonde remarked as he helped me off of the ground before taking a look around the kitchen. "Well, damn. God must've been watching over you if nobody got hurt or even killed in such a close-range explosion."

I knew something was watching me, but what, I didn't know.

"Yeah," I agreed, watching the men make off with Shinji as they headed out the door, immediately getting swarmed by the sea of people outside the kitchen's door, but their cries of curiosity, grief, and excitement quickly got muted as the door slammed shut.

I heard some distinct mumbling behind me, and I saw that James was (somewhat) conscious now. Without even thinking, my feet walked over to him as I just watched him let out a couple of grunts of pain as he came to, and immediately upon seeing me, he shot a toothy grin towards my direction as he asked the staff to put him down. After stretching out his arms, he casually made his way over to me, acting as if a human bomb didn't just go off right before our eyes. He just stared me down and his olive eyes refused to look away from my face, making me slightly paranoid; but when I turned to look away, his hand slightly, but forcefully, turned my face to look at him as both of his hands cupped my cheeks, making my face feel like a corpulent blowfish.

"You alright?" The indigo-haired man asked as he slightly lowered his head to look me in the eye with a gaze that was still unwavering. Protective, even.

"I'm not a shard of glass, you know. I may be small, but I'm not going down that easily," I huffed.

"Ah, so, you're saying that you're not as soft and delicate as you look?"

"I am a 'rose' with plenty of thorns to defend myself with, thank you very much."

"Ha, looks that way. Well, I see you're no pansy, seeing that you're entirely covered in blood. Now, come on," He groaned as he swung an arm over my shoulder while leaning on me slightly. "Let's get the hell out of here."

One of my arms held onto the arm that was lying on my back so that he wouldn't fall, and the other one was wrapped around his side, bringing us closer together, but when I did so, I felt something warm and moist. I looked at my hand and saw that it was blood, and a whole lot of it. I then looked up at the man, who was trying to put on a 'tough' cover, but I was just too in shock to say anything.

And with the very first step we took out of the mini-warzone, people swarmed us, from left to right, front and behind, they were all over the place. But I didn't care about that—the fact that this man's blood was gushing out of him like a waterfall and it made me scared for my life. It soon came to the point where James could no longer walk because he had lost too much blood. Like a miracle, the staff had barged in at the right moment with a stretcher in hand and immediately placed him on it. I couldn't help but gawk at him as he was carried off, but he gave me a wink of assurance as he was escorted out of the hotel and to an ambulance.

I followed them all the way to the vehicle, seeing that the crew on board were already tending to him and Shinji's injuries, and they weren't even there for a full minute before gearing up and loading off. I was relieved that the two were on their way to a speedy recovery, but in all honesty, I was a bit sad too. I was a bit disinherited because I might never see Detective Covens again, but I guess this is kinda what a one-night stand feels like.

"Rukia!" A familiar voice cried, its sound breaking me from my momentary spell of depression.

I glanced over my shoulder and saw Nel and Orihime, quickly rushing over to me before each of them gave me a hug of relief.

"Are you okay?" Nell yelled, grabbing me by my arms. "Can you hear me? How many fingers am I holding up? Wait, she can't hear anything if she's deaf! Sweet Mary, she's gone deaf. Oh my God, John is going to-"

"Relax, Nel," I giggled. "I'm okay, really."

But then, that last sentence she said replayed in my mind, triggering a reaction in my emotions.

"Wait, Nel, hold up a sec, I have a question," I scrunched my eyebrows together.

"Ask me anything, sugar pie. I'm just glad you're safe," The teal-haired woman exhaled before giving me another hug. I loved Nel. She was like my older sister, watching out for me.

But I paused, hesitant of what to say and how to approach this situation. "By chance, do you know if John just so happened to be here tonight?"

I waited for a moment before re-asking the question, but all I got in reply was something that sounded like a mix of a barf and a choke. I look over to her, and I see that she's on her knees, and gasping in horror as she held her hands up to her face. They were entirely soaked with the thick, crimson liquid and the puddle of tears that had waterfalled from the corner of her eyes. And when she looked up at me, they widened with shock as he entire body shook, but why, I hadn't the slightest idea.

"What's wrong?" I yell, gripping her by the shoulders, but all she could mange to choke out was 'the blood', and it wasn't until then that I took a good look at myself, realizing at how much of said substance was all over me. But I was still puzzled as to why it was important.

"What about the blood, Nel?" I asked as I bent down to look her in the eye, but she only shrieked as she scrambled away from me, as if there was some kind of monster right in front of her.

"Rukia, I think she's scared of the blood," Orihime chimed. I felt bad for a moment that I had completely forgot about the ginger, but I shrugged it off as I focused at the problem at hand. Once I thought about it, it made sense. Nel would never act like this under normal conditions, and this certainly wasn't one of them.

"Oh my God, I'm so sorry," I apologized to the woman, feeling so horrible once I saw her crying her heart out in fear like a child afraid of the monster in the closet.

"Ya know, I don't think now is such a good time to ask such a question. I mean, you had James, didn't you?" The ginger asked oh-so-innocently as she comforted the sobbing ivy-haired woman. "Is it because you got tired of him like you did with John?"

Oh? What was this?

I narrowed my eyes at her as my eyebrows knitted together in a scowl. "How do you know John? I didn't tell you about him."

And I could tell I got her, because her jaw dropped in surprise, but before she could at least think of a half-decent excuse, Nel's wails had cut her off, and I couldn't even focus, let alone bitch.

"We'll talk about this later," I said in almost a growl as I walked away from the two and down the street, trying to get away from the drama and chaos that was floating around that place. It wasn't until I found a deserted alley where I could escape temporarily and finally be alone.

Leaning against a brick wall, I let out a sigh, trying to let go of some of the stress I had been bottling up, but I just couldn't. It was stuck to me like super-glue, as if it had molded onto my very being. I was just tired of dealing with all of this nonsense and I just wanted to go home. I wanted to just rant and pour out my feeling to my now ex-bestfriend, who now hated my guts. I wanted to go back to the beginning, back when things were normal.

"Now, I have something to ask you."

I remember his face as plain as day. His spiky fiery hair, the slight frown on his lips, and even how he folded up his hands together in a fist as he rested his elbows on the corners of the table.

"Hm?"

"You can choose—between having this 'normal' life or continue your business with Boss and them. You're not in deep enough that you can't get out, but this is once-in-a-lifetime chance to stop yourself from getting into something you may not be able to handle."

"Are you high or just plain stupid? Of course I'll stick with you and everybody else."

Was all of this happening because of that simple question? Something I may not be able to handle? What, like now? Either way, I wanted to forget all of this ever happened, with the mind-reading, and the drama, and the blood, and everything.

And at that moment, I just felt like crying my eyes out because I was tired of all of this—I really couldn't handle it anymore. I was all alone, in a deserted alley, with blood and smeared makeup, and slight traces of entrails from the corpse that had exploded earlier. Some party this was.

I slumped down the wall and broke down as tears ran down my cheeks, burning the very skin it was running on. My entire body felt like mush and I wanted to curl up into a tiny ball like an armadillo and just fast-forward the shitty part of this movie.

"Why are you crying, miss?"

"Because," I sniffed. "This night is officially the worst night of my entire life, that's why!" I shouted, thinking that it was just my mind playing tricks on me, since I must have been delusion and fucked up at the time.

Boy, I wish I was just delusional.

"Is it because of my explosion? If it is, I sure am sorry, I didn't mean to make anybody cry. I didn't have a choice, really."

"What the hell are you talking about?" I asked as I wiped the black glob of black from my mascara off of my eyelashes. "The only person that exploded tonight was…"

And I stopped right there, in the middle of my sentence, both mouth an eyes agape in shock. If I screamed, people would hear and investigate, seeing that it was only a crazy lady yelling at nothing. But the thing in front of me was too real to be nothing.

In front of my very own eyes was the floating, transparent, body of the deceased girl who was now looking back at me with her huge brown eyes. She looked exactly like the girl who had died, with the exception of floating and transparency; but instead of flipping out, I inhaled and exhaled, and then rubbed my eyes slowly as I tried to calm down.

"Relax, Rukia, you've just had a bit too much to drink and your stress is just getting to you," I chanted to myself. "She is only an illusion."

"Well, that's kinda mean! Gosh, I apologize that I got murdered and was made into a human bomb whose piece accidentally landed on you! If I were alive, I'd pay for the dry cleaning of your dress, believe me, I would!"

Okay, this wasn't getting me anywhere. Hearing a ghost offer to pay for laundry services must mean I'm crazy.

"I have got to get out of here," I mumbled to myself as I stood up and started to walk away, but the voices of the girl continued to haunt me.

"Wait!"

Nope, just keep on walking.

"Won't you at least hear me out?"

Don't do it. Just ignore it and it'll go away.

"Please!"

I stopped in my tracks, completely freezing for a moment. I could hear the girl's heavy breathing (didn't know ghosts could breathe), with the slightest hint of a voice cracking at the very end. I turned my head to my right, with my shoulder just covering up my mouth as I had my eyes averted to the ground.

"And why should I listen to a ghost? For all I know, you could just be a figment of my imagination or something," I scoffed.

"I'm begging you ma'am, you're the only hope I have left. I don't have much time to live before my soul gets eaten by the darkness and you're the only one who can help me."

"Oh, and why is that? Huh? What makes you think that I even want to help you out in the first place? Didn't you think for a second that maybe I have problems of my own that I have to deal with?"

"…I thought you would help because you're a kind hearted person who hates seeing people in pain and despair. At least, that's what your heart told me, but boy, was I wrong," She muttered as I heard her footsteps in the air (that's a contradictory all on its own) fade away. I felt horrible for being so cruel and rude.

"Wait!" I shouted.

The footsteps stopped momentarily, and then got quicker and lights as the girl turned to face me.

"I'm sorry for being so mean and spiteful, I didn't mean it. Momo…that's your name, right?"

"Yes, that's sure as eggs is my name. And I accept your apology, Ms. Rukia."

"Wait a minute, how do you know my name?"

"A nice man told me about you before my 'unfortunate incident'."

"Can you tell me who he was?"

"He didn't tell me his name, but I could sense there was something going on between you two, judging from how he talked about you. In a good way, of course. Oh! I do remember one thing!" She jumped with glee.

"What, what?"

"He was tall."

Like that helps any.

"Ooh, and he was kinda cute too! He had blonde hair! No, wait, maybe it was orange. Nah, I think it was brown. Actually, I don't remember. But it was long. Or wait, maybe it was short. I can't remember anything nowadays. My human memories are vanishing like that," She snapped, but her simile wasn't going to help me any, so I gave up on that charade.

"Okay, so Momo, can you tell me exactly how you died?" I asked, trying not to sound as impatient as I was.

"I dunno," She shrugged.

"What do you mean 'I dunno'? Didn't you at least get a look at your killer?"

"Nope, because I had lost consciousness at the time. They must've given me some bad stuff."

"And now your body is split into a billion and one pieces so now we can't run tests or even tell which part is what. The killer must've really thought this out," I mumbled, crossing my arms over my chest.

"But even if it didn't explode," The girl said solemnly. "It would be too late. I don't have a lot of time left, so the tests would be pointless."

"Do you have any idea on who the person could be?" I queried, running out of solutions. I was stuck between a rock and a wall. Here I was, talking to a ghost and trying to pick up the missing puzzle pieces to her death, but it was as if all traces of them had just disappeared. Any possible lead I figured lead me to a dead end, and as the girl went on, the case just got weirder and weirder. It was as if Death himself had done did the deed and it was like trying to grab sand. It slipped right through your fingers.

"Hm…nope."

"Well, call me retarded," I sighed, crouching on my heels, "But I honestly can't crack this case."

"Oh, I didn't ask for you to help find my murderer."

"Eh?"

"I know I can't entrust such a burden to a complete stranger. And, no offense, but you make a horrible detective. Besides," The ghost said as she floated over to the edge of the nearest trashcan and plopped down on it, crossing her leg over her knee. "That's not the task I had in mind for you to do anyway."

"Oh? And just what is this 'task'?" I raise an eyebrow.

"If you complete my wish, then I can move on to the next realm and that way, I'll be that much closer to 'rest in peace', or so they say," She shrugged, and as I took a closer look at her, I realized she was gradually starting to fade away, particle by particle.

"Wait, 'they' who? And how do you know that? You died less than half an hour ago and you already sound like an old geezer preaching to me about 'taking the first step'. Just tell me what I need to do."

"I…bah," Momo let out an exasperated sigh. "I can't…quite explain it. It's like…it's like I can sense some part of me out there, just waiting for me to find it. Like when a metal detector is on the search for that artifact that buried deep, within the Earth's crust. I guess it's kinda like instinct. I mean, you ever have the feeling that maybe things aren't like the movies? Just take a look at me," She motioned over her transparent body. "I'm a wandering soul that is talking to an actual human, and God knows how this is possible. I didn't even believe in ghosts myself. But when I tried to reach for something, my fingers went right through them. And how you can even see and associate with a being like me is beyond me."

In all honesty, I was more curious than the cat that got killed because of its own. I wanted to know about all of these weird and surreal things that were now swirling around me, before I was a meal entirely wrapped up in the web of truth that made my head spin. Even if it didn't make sense, I wanted to know. I had a feeling or instinct inside of me completely raging within me, yelling in complete and utter agreement with the deceased girl once she explained about her senses. But like she said, she was on borrowed time, and she couldn't afford to waste a single second of it.

"But anyways," Momo chimed in, "All I ask is that you deliver this here letter to a dear friend of mine," She mumbled as she got out a wrinkled piece of paper that was folded in half out of her back pocket and into my hands.

"I thought you said things fell right through your hands," I blinked twice, confused.

"I thought so too. But here's my theory: I think that with ghosts or souls or whatever the heck I am, I can't touch normal things. But," She held up her index finger. "I think that special things, like that note there, I can actually hold it as if I'm human again. I think that if something, or maybe even someone has some sentimental value or some kind of 'bond' with a thing like me, that it kinda gives me the human sense of touch, if only for a few moments. I know it's kinda weird and confusing, I don't even know how all the mechanics work myself. I'm a newbie."

"I see," I nod, then changing the subject. "So, who do you want me to give this to anyway?"

"Well you see, there's this guy," Momo giggled as she tapped her fingers together, and I don't even know for sure if my eyes were playing tricks on me or what, but I could've sworn I saw actual color pop to life on her face the second she said his name. A spring kind of red spread over the top of her cheeks, the kind you see when you see fresh cherry blossoms.

It was some kind of…I don't know. I was at a loss for words, seeing a ghost be brought back to life at the thought of a single person. Kind makes you think about how emotions can impact somebody.

"And…I didn't have the chance to say what needed to be said before I left. In that letter, is all that remains of what's left of my human memories. I quickly wrote them down before they disappeared like the rest of them. And like me, they can only last so long before fading into thin air," She lowered her head, averting her line of sight to the ground. "So you need to hurry, before it's gone. I put in all of the essence that I had left for it to last you enough time for you to give it to him."

"But who is he?" I asked, seeing that it was only a mere matter of minutes before she would vanish right before my eyes.

"His name is Toshiro. Toshiro Hitsugaya."

My mind instantly flashed back to the moment where I saw Rangiku and the boy, remembering how upset he was once he saw what had happened in the kitchen. I remembered

But look, I really have to go, so just please, promise me you'll give him the note."

"But why me, of all people?"

"Because," She laughed before fading away into nothingness, "There's a reason why I chose you to fulfill my last wish."

But just what exactly was that reason? And why tonight of all nights? Well, I knew one thing—I wasn't going to get anything done just by standing in a filthy alleyway, so I had to get a move on.

If I made an entrance through the front door, I'd draw attention to myself, looking the way I did, and that was the last thing I needed. I could try the back door, but I was pretty sure that was reserved for employees. The only other way I could think of was…the roof. Great.

So, after climbing a ladder that made me wonder if I saw Jack and the Giant at the top, I finally got to it and saw everything and anything from the view I was at. I was at the edge of the rooftop and I saw the bustling and the rush of the street beneath me, with the yells and honks of the cars and people below. Feeling that I was a bit too close to falling over, I took a couple steps back and saw a ceiling window not far from where I was at and quickly made my way over to it. I noticed that the cover was wide open, which gave me an idea for the letter. But I would have to find the boy first.

I leaned a bit over the window and literally, had an eagle's eye of the entire ballroom. Although there were some things I didn't want to see (and I won't go into detail as to what those were), but it didn't take me long to find the rather short, but lean ivory-haired teen that was still clearly upset. He had his hand over his face as Rangiku was trying to make an attempt to soothe him with words, but it looked like it had no effect. In a sense, they really can't. No matter what anybody says to you, words can't bring a person back. Sure, they can try to help someone try to get over something as devastating as that, but I learned that time really does heal all wounds, especially with something as deep as that.

But I shook it off and focused at the problem at hand: I had to deliver a letter to a person that was some 500 feet below me. This was a toughie. I had no idea how the note in my hands was going to reach all the way down there. I was stuck.

"My, my, what are you doing all the way up here, Rukia?"

I jumped in my skin and let out a shrill shriek, being scared half to death at the sudden voice. After catching my breath for a sec, I turned around, seeing the trail of azure float in the wind as a mess of orange danced along with it on its side. And the face that it belonged to possessed a sinister look to it, and I got a really bad vibe right then. No matter how much I just wanted to amscram outta there, my feet were literally stuck to the ground. But it wasn't me that was scared, but my body instead.

"You a-creepin' and peepin'? I would've never pictured you as the 'stalker' type, my dear," Orihime said sarcastically as she cackled.

"Oh, so I guess the gloves are coming off now?" I titled my head to the side. "Does that mean I can rip out your googly eyes out now? Because they are giving me the heebie-jeebies," I shivered.

"Not if I can't claw you first," She grinned, making the situation even worse.

"Look, I don't know how the hell you think you are, but it'll take more than a psychotic, bipolar bitch to scare me."

"Awh, that's mean. You should be cautious of others' feelings."

"What feelings? You're a cold-hearted bitch!"

"Ow," She pouted as she pointed to her sternum. "That really hurt. It hurt right there."

"Yeah, well," I scoffed. "It isn't going to hurt as much as when my hand slaps the crazy out of you."

"You're horrible at verbal threats, dear," She shook her head.

"Don't change the subject!"

"Hmm, I think I just will. Say, how are you and 'John', hmm? I can imagine you two are just two peas in a pod, eh? Oh, wait, surely you two must've broken up, seeing as how you were nearly all over James this evening. Or, maybe I had too much to drink? Shall we ask some of the people 'round? What about your 'best friend', Nel? I'm sure she's more than welcome to voice her opinion on this."

"Don't bring up their names into the conversation!"

"Why, I'm entitled to freedom of speech, aren't I? So, who are you to tell me what I can and can't say?"

"I'm Rukia Kuchiki, and," I said, taking off my heels and earrings. "I'm going to kick your ass."

"You are a funny one," Orihime nodded as she revealed the hidden knife behind her back, making me think 'Oh, Fuck' in my head. With a blade in hand and a crazed look in the eye, she was starting to convince me that she really was psychotic.

"Who exactly do you think you are? You think you can just pop in out of the blue and pretend to be so innocent to everybody you meet and act like a total sweetheart and try to get every dick you lay your eyes on? You're a really good actress, pulling that shit off."

"Oh, no, honey," I fanned my handover my chest. "You must be mistaking me for you. I'm not fake."

And her mind went something like: imgonnakillher, imgonnakillher, imgonnakillher. How's that for positive?

"But let me ask you something," I swallowed my anxiety as I cocked a hip. "What on God's green Earth did I ever do to you?"

"Are you really going to ask me something as stupid as that?" The ginger cackled, nearly falling over her own heels in her mirth, but gradually gained her cool in a few moments. "You fucked up my life ever since the day you stepped into this world. You took everything I had away from me!"

"I JUST MET YOU TODAY, YOU CRAZY BAT!" I yelled, losing patience.

"That didn't stop you from stealing my man!"

"What man? I'm not dating anybody!"

"Bullshit," She hissed. "I saw, I was there, when you batted your disgusting eyelashes at him. You can't deny what I saw with my own two eyes! Do you think I'm making this shit up?"

You had no idea how badly I wanted to answer that question.

"You…you think I'm crazy, don't you?"

Okay, I see how it was going. She was teasing me now.

"You think I'm fucking psychotic, right?"

"How can I not when a woman I just met is threatening me with a butcher knife?"

"Oh, this thing?" Orihime asked curiously as she twirled it with her finger by the hole that was in the steel. "I completely forgot about my dear old friend. She has met many 'acquaintances' of mine, but it's a shame we couldn't be friends anymore," The woman grinned as she bared a toothy grin, slowly walking towards me with her heels clicking with each step she took.

"And whatever happened to your friends?" I ask, slyly backing up a step with each she progressed with and I thought I was real smooth…until I bumped into the wall, having no place to run and a bloodthirsty maniac was coming at me, ready to butcher me up into a million, tiny, little pieces.

"My friends? Oh, you can meet them…on your way to hell!" She shrieked as she swung down the knife with all her might, nicking a piece of flesh from the corner of my shoulder. Blood gushed out of my limb like a tiny crimson waterfall, but I knew I couldn't just give up. Oh, no, she was going to pay.

"You bitch!" I snarled as I kicked her in the gut, getting a fair amount of distance between us. The dagger fell out of her hands and slid across from us. I took a second to catch my breath, but it hurt to breathe; but I had to suck it up if I was going to live. Nobody said that you wouldn't be unscathed while playing the game of life. Guess I should've read the instructions.

And then, like wolves exchanging glares and bared teeth after both seeing a valuable piece of meat, we both saw the knife that was out in the open, we ran (more like crawled and scrambled) for the blade. In a short moment, I gave thanks that I was rather petite, giving me that advantage of swiftness when it only takes a second to change the outcome between life and death. And I was sure, as sure as I knew my own name, that I was not going to die today. I just couldn't. Especially on a rooftop of all places.

Without a moment of hesitation, I sprawled over to the blade, hearing a low grunting from behind me. I looked over my shoulder, and saw that the ginger had her heel stuck in one of the cracks of the rooftop's tiles. Haha, that's what you get for trying to kill me.

However, I too, was in a rut. Well, more like the hem of my dress got caught by the sharp edge of a metal chimney pipe, causing me to jerk back. Seeing that I was 'stuck', I did what any sensible being that wanted to survive would do—I ripped the dress so that I could move, but it was still attached to the thing, so the entire bottom part of my dress just whoosh, tore off like that, and now, the bottom of my dress was elevated barely beneath my butt cheeks. How's that for taking a few pounds off? One thing was for sure, I could definitely move a lot easier now, but at the cost of my decency. But screw it, I was trying to live.

And there I was, a ragdoll with barely any clothes running for the key to survival. I was too focused on trying to survive that I didn't see the woman come at me from the side and tackle me from the side; and that's when all hell broke loose.

I didn't think twice about leaving this witch with a scar or two to remember me by. I kicked, clawed, punched, bit, you name it; and you bet your money she did the same, though it wasn't as effective, because her massive balloons were her way. We were a rolling bundle of blue and red, with slight tufts of orange flying about. Lots of orange, but no black.

I distinctly remember her cutting the edge of my throat with a sharp nail, and I did the same, albeit to her face, and it was a much deeper wound that made her flinch back.

She yelled in agony for a moment before getting up to strike, but I countered it with a punch to her jaw, and I must say, I was rather pleased when I delivered that blow. It helped relieve some of my built-up 'stress', ya know? But that didn't stop the dungeon dragon from rearing its ugly head and spew fire. But I had no holy sword to plunge through its throat, just a butcher knife. Wait, that was it!

I shoved the pig off of me as I crawled for the blade, but I felt small daggers pierce through the meat of my ankle, and I instinctively let out a shrill cry of pain. I lifted up my heels, hearing the woman grunt and let out a cough, and then I felt something warm and liquidy on my back. I cringed at the thought of her own saliva landing on my skin, but I shrugged it off as I kept trying to kick her off of me, and it wasn't until my heel kissed her chin that she finally let go, and there was such an excruciating paint that followed, I think it was worse than the actual stabbing itself.

Little did I know that pigs could move so quickly and before I knew it, she got to the knife, and held it up like it was a gift from God. Then, she pointed its edge towards me as she leisurely made her way over to me, like a predator ready to pounce and make the kill on an unsuspecting prey. I managed to keep a good amount of distance between us. Until I fell, that is.

Once I looked up, I saw a female version of Freddy Krueger staring me down like their next victim. I tried to get up as fast as I could and back away, but she latched her claws into both of my wrists before I could even stand up. A tiny stream of crimson escaped from the four bloody pores in my wrist, now having matching wounds on each side.

I bit the skin of her hand with my canines and managed to rip some of the tissue off, causing her to back off and giving me some time to get up. I immediately spitted the devil skin out of my mouth before wiping it with my arm. But she wasn't down for the count. Oh no, she came back like Rocky and with her big, bad knife, she managed to back me up against to edge of the ceiling window, and I could tell she was ready to botch me up into I was just a bloody mush.

"Well, it seems like this is where you get off, love," She laughed maniacally as she trailed her finger over the edge of the blade, letting out a gasp (though I couldn't tell if it was of pleasure or agony, or both) as a thick, ebony liquid escaped from the cut. I wasn't really sure if it was really black or just the dimness of the night, but it looked pretty black to me.

While she relished in…whatever it was she was doing, I felt the freezing draft that was coming from the ballroom beneath my head. I looked over just a wee bit over my shoulder and realized that I was only a mere matter of feet away from falling to my doom. My head rested against the edge of the open window while my body was on the ground of the rooftop, and before I even realized it, the woman had grabbed my throat and held me up, nearly choking me as she did so.

"It's kind of sad, really. I actually did like you."

"Then why are you doing this, Orihime?" I yelled, choosing my last words carefully as I tried to pry her man hands off of my neck. "Whatever happened to the nice girl I once knew?"

She let out a short gasp as her eyes widened and gaped at me. I didn't know what was going on, but I could tell that I had unlocked something that was stashed away somewhere in her heart long ago. But the sentimental-ness could only last so long.

Orihime let out a cackle before looking again at me. "Oh, you remind me so much of him. His charisma and very essence must've rubbed off of you. But anyways," The ginger regained herself, losing all signs of 'happiness' that she had. "You wanna know what happened to that girl? Well…she died a long time ago."

And that sentence was enough to confuse me, so I didn't realize into I saw the woman and the sky getting smaller and smaller that I had been pushed through the ceiling window. The whole thing had happened so fast that I forgot about being mad at Orihime, and instead, was worried that I was going to be a splattered mess of blood and guts all over the ballroom floor. I literally saw my life flash before my eyes and it was then until I realized—I had done absolutely nothing with my life. I had nothing to be proud of, much less to remember it. I truly pitied myself. I was living off of my own brother's money, and now I was less than 100 feet to my death. I figured that my life…really didn't mean anything. It wasn't worth living.

So, how come I was still able to think?

I knew I wasn't dead, because I wasn't in heaven nor hell, because it was bright. Too bright, actually; and it was surprisingly comfortable, wherever I was. If this what had been waiting for me after death, then I think I might just enjoy it.

"I think she's coming to," A slight husky voice rumbled. Either he man was speaking through a microphone, or he was really close, because I could hear the booms of his voice near me. It felt as if a speaker was right up next to my ear, sending the vibrations directly to my eardrum.

"Is she alive?" A worried, high-pitched female asked, whose very voice made me cringe.

"Shut up, already," I groaned as I rolled over, but for some reason, I couldn't.

My eyebrows knit together in agitation and it wasn't until I cracked open my eye just a teeny bit that I realized I wasn't dreaming. No, I was far from it. I was still alive, and…in somebody's arms?

The first thing I saw was black, and lots of it. Then, I realized it was actually an elbow that I was staring at, and some weird gold buttons.

"These stupid buttons aren't working," I grumbled as I pushed them, trying to make the elevator (that's what I thought it was, shut up) work.
"Because I'm not a machine, mind you."

The second I heard that, my mouth formed a quick and perfect 'O' as I slowly craned up my neck, grasping then that it was an actual man that was holding me. And this wasn't just any other man. Oh, no. This man was the doctor who was treating my brother. This…was Dr. Damir Milović. As if I wasn't embarrassed enough, those icy blue eyes just had to stare me down like I was some kind of freak. But his face stayed relaxed, and was even a contradiction to his look, so I couldn't tell which one was true. I felt my cheeks flush ten shades of red, but somewhere in that intense scowl of his, was the slightest hint of concern.

I was so embarrassed and nervous, so I just listened instead.

"Are you okay?" The doctor asked in a forced tone.

I simply nod.

"Do you know who you are?" He questioned, though this time, his once harsh expression had softened as he looked at me intently. "And how did you get so many wounds?"

"Y-Yeah, I'm Rukia Kuchiki. But do you mind explaining to me what the hell just hap-"

"You fell," The man cut me off.

"I what?" My eyes widen. "Oh, no, no, no, no, no, I didn't fall. I was pushed, out of a ceiling window by a psychotic-"

"Ahem," The doctor cleared his throat.

"…What? It isn't well-mannered to just interrupt somebody in the middle of their-"

I immediately shut up as he craned his head to my ear, his warm breath making the skin of my earlobe tingle and the tiny hairs on my arms stand up.

"You have a wad of orange in between your breasts. I advise you to take it out to avoid any unwanted attention and odd looks," He whispered.

"Huh?" I mumble to myself as I looked down, seeing that there was, in fact a 'wad of orange' between my boobs. I pulled it out, and shook it off as it fell, but I felt something pointy and thin when I took out the hair too. I was cautious, because women aren't supposed to have things in their bras that they don't know about, but once I pulled it out, I see that it was the note that Momo had given me earlier. My entire focus was refreshed and I had remembered what I was supposed to be doing.

"If you could just let me go," I said, but my timid-ness took over, making my voice sound weak and soft.

"You need to go to the hospital, Ms. Kuchiki. You're losing a lot of blood," He disagreed, and was rather stern about it too. But that didn't stop me from trying.

"You don't understand, I have to deliver something to a very important someone and-"

"I'm sure your boyfriend can wait," Dr. Milović growled slightly.

"I won't hesitate to make a scene if you do not let me go this instant and I will draw attention to us like wildfire. So, unless you don't want people lookin' at ya funny-"

"Here we go," He grunted as he literally, swept me off my feet and put me over his shoulder, and I was kicking and screaming.

"LET ME GO! I demand to be put down!"

"You should really stop moving your legs so much, because your thong is showing."

"Eeep," I piped as I shut them together and froze them, now extremely paranoid and cautious.

"I probably shouldn't have put you on my shoulder, seeing that you have a wound on your back."

"What wound?"

"The one right above your butt?"

"Hm?" I turned around as I hand-searched all over my back for a cut, but I couldn't find one. I then felt something warm and moist, and pull my hand back, seeing that its blood."

"Oh, that," I waved a hand as I wiped the other on the back of the man's shoulders. "That's not my blood."

"Then whose is it?"

"This crazy bitch that tried to kill me tonight. Her name's Orihime. But I left her with a boo-boo or two as a reminder not to mess with me. She's the most craziest person I have ever met. Ever."

The doctor was then quiet, not saying a word after my mini rant. I turn my head to the side to look at him, and he turned his head, looking at me with slight curiosity.

"What?" He asked.

"Did I say something? You just shut up right after I said that."

"Do you hear what you're saying?"

"Yes, and I find no problem with it because it actually happened and no, I'm not crazy or drunk, thank you very much. I was 100…90% sober when this 'incident' occurred," I pointed to his chest, but when my finger bone bounced back in my hand, I let out a hiss, feeling my veins start to swell as even more blood drops from the pores in my skin, and a drop accidentally lands on the Doc's shirt.

It didn't take for him long to notice the stain, and once he saw the source, he halted immediately. By now, we were already out of the hotel and he had set me down on the metal edge of the ambulance's back, and took a closer look at the stabs in my wrist, which he analyzed with the utmost precision.

"What happened here?" The raven-haired man asked, keeping his eyes glued to the skin.

"I told you. It's because of that maniac. She stabbed me in the wrists with her own fingernails. And she nicked me on the shoulder too. It's pretty deep."

"Let me take a look at it," He motioned as moved away my long hair that was covering it up, and his jaw dropped just the slightest bit as he unveiled the wound.

"She did this to you?"

"With a butcher knife," I added.

"Alright, you need to have your wounds dressed up, otherwise, you're going to faint from all of the blood loss," He mumbled as he took off his ebony coat and tossed it right in my face.

"Hey!" I groan.

"You seemed cold," The doctor shrugged as he started to undo the gold buttons of his azure vest before rolling up the sleeves of his long-sleeved ivory collared shirt with a dark green Ralph Lauren logo at his left breast. "Now, give me your wrists," He said as he pushed out all of the excess blood, but surprisingly, he was gentle. Quickly and efficiently did he tend to all of my wounds, and he let me wear his coat, which was so toasty, as we waited for the ambulance staff to get back. We didn't talk much, since there was that air of slight awkwardness, but at the same time, I didn't want to say too much. He was my brother's doctor, after all.

"You seemed to have calmed down," He muttered subtly, but it could still be heard.

"Yeah, I guess I've had enough for one night," I yawned as I rubbed my face, trying to keep myself awake. "Now, if you will excuse me," I mumbled as I hopped off of the edge.

"Leaving so early? I don't imagine I'm that horrible of a person to socialize with."

"Oh, Doctor, it's not-"

"It's Damir," He nodded with a subtle grin.

"Okay, well, I really have to give this letter to someone. But I'll be right back so just hang tight, 'kay?" I gave him a thumbs-up with a forced smile as I speed-walked inside of the hotel, seeing that it was more deserted now. I made my way through the sea of people in search of this 'Toshiro', but all I heard was:

There she is, the girl that fell out of the window!

Look at her dress. She probably stole it out of the dumpster.

Where is Mother Teresa's name are her shoes?

I then saw Rangiku still leaning against the wall, but no boy. As I made my way over to her, she gave me a puzzled look.

"I'm sorry, but you look so familiar," The blonde raised an eyebrow. "Have we-"

"Met? Yes, we have, at TR," I nodded. "But that's not why I'm here. I'm here to deliver this letter to a guy named Toshiro. I saw you hanging earlier with him, so if you could please pass that along as soon as possible, that'd be just great. Kaythanksbye" I turned around as I tried to walk/jog my way out of there.

"Wait!" Rangiku cried out.

"Sorry, I gotta go!" I yelled over my shoulder as I literally started sprinting my way to the ambulance. I knew that if I talked to her, something would slip out, and then there would be an awkward 'atmosphere' between us. Hell, I upgraded that to 'paranoid' because of how I just acted, but I couldn't risk it.

So, everything was done and going fine when I met up with Damir, and I sat with him for a few moments, and to my surprise, he had started to lessen on his hostile side and it was all going good. However, the wound on my back had started to loosen, and the doctor wasted no time in dressing it up again.

But, when this peculiar old man popped out of the blue and started eyeing us, I started to get paranoid. Although the man next to me was only a few centimeters away from me, I would have to agree that it did give off the wrong impression, but once you looked at Damir's face, you could tell he wasn't phased by that kind of stuff. It wasn't until the old man told him to halt that he cringed and slowly turned his head while putting my boo-boo on hold.

Judging by his looks, he had also attended the party, and might've been someone quite wealthy and notorious, seeing as how his silver tux was extremely lavish, but the light teal scarf he had wrapped around his neck kept it simple and clean. His long grey hair, mustache, and aged face really gave off the impression that he was erudite, but he looked like he was still good for another two decades or so. But when I turned to the doctor, he had a questionable scowl on his face, icy irises narrowing at the old man.

"And who do you think you are, trying to stop me from treating my patient?"

"That patient…is my granddaughter. And I'm telling you to release her. I refuse to let her go to a place as filthy and as 'impure' as that. Have you ever stopped to think that people actually die in there?"

"Excuse me if I seem rude, but," I cleared my throat. "I have never met my grandfather, therefore, I haven't the slightest clue what he looks like, therefore, I don't think you're related to me unless you prove to me otherwise. If you don't mind, I'll quiz you and see if you are who you say you are. First question: what's my middle name?"

"You don't have one."

"Correct. Numero dos: What's your son's name?"

"Are you joking? How can I not know Sojun, my own son? Are you really that distrusting of people?"

"Yes."

"…Hisana would be disappointed."

"Don't you ever bring her name up again," I growled. "Grandfather or not, nobody can tread on that soil!" I hissed, and the doctor had to hold me back so I wouldn't scratch out his eyes.

"I see you usually aren't as calm and collected as you seem. What a pity," He sighed. "Anyways, I do believe you're the one who's treating my grandson, Byakuya Kuchiki, right doctor?"

I look up at the man, who was still holding me, but his glare was as unwavering as a statue.

"I don't give away that kind of information, sir. And besides, if those two are your kin, then how come Mr. Kuchiki hasn't had any visits from his family, excluding his sister?"

"Because I was just notified of his little 'incident' today; and I had some business to do in this part of the city anyway, so I was going to pay him a visit."

"Or you were just too lazy to make your way over here," I grumble."

"Ginrei Kuchiki," He extends a hand, but I just scoff, making him retract it. "I apologize for not having a chance to meet you when you were younger-"

"Nobody knew me until a year ago. Don't even start."

In the corner of my eye, I saw the doctor's expression gradually diminish, but there was still a trace of fierceness in his eyes.

"So, doctor," The old man turned to face him. "Is it okay for me to take my kin home?"

"…Only on one condition."

"And that would be?"

"Since I'm treating Byakuya, I might as well treat his kin too."

"And the charge?"

"No charge, since you refuse to let her go to a hospital, a doctor is in need to her situation. I don't think you understand just how much blood she's lost, sir."

"And just how are you going to treat her then, hmm?"

"I can make in-home appointments and treat her there."

"…I suppose I have no other option then."

"I won't be put on drugs or anything, right? I don't want to be loopy and say something stupid or anything," I ask as I looked up at the man, and then, something amazing happened. For once, he was laughing and smiling. I couldn't believe it. Although it may not have been such a big deal to the others, it piqued me greatly.

"Nah," He settled down from his mirth. "Just some painkillers is all. But I will need to dress your wounds on a regular basis, just letting you know."

"That's fine. But you shouldn't worry so much, ya know? You're gonna wear yourself out, Doc."

"Now, come on, let's get going," The old man urged us, but I was still uncomfortable with the elderly male. There was no way in hell I was related to that old bastard. I just didn't believe it.

"I refuse," I crossed my arms over my chest. "I don't believe you're my grandfather and I refuse to go home with you, you old creeper."

"Rukia! Where are your manners? Such behavior is unacceptable!"

"I'm 21 years old! I'm an friggin' adult!"

"Then start acting like one!" The old man hissed, leaving me speechless.

"What would you say…if I didn't know how?" I countered, making both men turn their heads in a mix of curiosity and confusion.

"Excuse me?" Ginrei huffed.

"From the time when I was little, to the time when I left the streets, I had to fend for myself. The only thing I learned how to do is steal, eat, and run. That's how I survived 18 years in the street. I didn't have time for 'manners'. All that mattered was how I was to last the next day. I know you and your aristocratic society full of blowhards and kissups might act proper, but in the end, they're all just like school in July."

"Why are they like school in July?"

"No class," I hissed, almost snarling my lip. But then I regained myself. "But I suppose I'm the same too, now that I think about it. However, I'd rather have no class and be who I am, rather than a fake whore who's with people because of their money. But hey," I put my hands up as I shrugged. "That's just me. Now, if you'll excuse me, sir." I mumbled as I made my way by the two and walked down the sidewalk that never seemed to end as the September air swept through my air. Though in the distinct distance, I could hear my name being called, though I made no effort to turn back.

And with time, I found the voice soon to be fading away, but consequently, I was starting to get colder and colder. After all, I was only was a coat. And the dress didn't even count because it looked like lingerie. But it was getting harder and harder to walk because my legs were failing on me, as well as my lungs. All that I took in was the icy, blistering wind, and it hurt to breathe. I was starting to get drowsier by the second too, and I was just a zombie, sniffling and shivering.

I heard the voices get louder and louder, but all of a sudden, I felt as if the life was sucked out of me as I fell to my knees and soon collapsed from exhaustion. The last thing I remember was the vibrations of quick, heavy footsteps and my name being called over and over again, but it was futile.

The Devil's Spell Had Took Over.

A/N: I had lots of fun with this one. In the end, it turned out a bit longer than I expected, but I think Orihime and Rukia's fight makes up for that;D And this is my Christmas present to you all, if I'm too busy to publish another one before the 25th. DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW, LOVES~