I'm in uni! Honestly, you guys, university is so AWESOME! Well, I have to study too, but the bits in between are a blast! But, luckily, I've had time to do this! Enjoy!

Chapter 2

Research

"Wh…What the hell is that thing?" Toshiro, for the first time in years, found himself frozen out of pure terror after seeing this monster. He could understand why it was similar to a Hollow, but every inch of his soul knew that this was nothing like a Hollow, even if it did look similar. The body structure, for starters, and the dark colour of the body were just like a Hollow. But, where was the hole in the chest? And why was the white mask only covering the eyes? Not only that, but this beast was drooling from a mouth that looked otherworldly to Toshiro. Not like a Hollow at all. And it's eyes. The eyes that were looking at Ren and Toshiro were soulless and blank, yet they seemed to be expressing a single emotion; rage. Indeed, Toshiro could understand how this monster was mistaken for a Hollow, but Toshiro was staring straight at it, and it was definitely not a Hollow. Then, what was it? Toshiro still wondered this as the monster advanced towards the pair, the saliva making a trail of puddles behind it. He knew he had to do something, even if it was to run, but he couldn't. All that was in his mind was the fear of this beast.

"H…Hey." Ren started, her voice shaking. "This…This wouldn't happen to be a Hollow, would it?" No response. "Well, is it?" Ren looked down at Toshiro, and gasped. His eyes were wide with fear, and his entire body was shaking.

He's scared. Ren thought. Really scared. Then, does that mean this thing isn't a Hollow? Whatever it is… Ren glanced at the monster, whose mouth was gaping and drooling at the two of them, ready to swallow them whole. I have to do something. Slowly, Ren bent down and picked up a rock from the ground. She never broke eye contact with the monster as it growled at her, impatient to eat its meal.

"Hope you like rock!" Ren yelled, throwing it as hard as she could. It was successful, and it lodged itself in the monsters eye. It roared with pain and stood up on its hind legs, clutching the eye. "Oops." Ren muttered. "I guess I'm stronger than I think. Gah, I don't have time for this!" Ren grabbed Toshiro's hand. "Oi, c'mon, we're getting out of here. Eh?" Ren suddenly noticed something strange about the monster. The screams were getting louder, and the body was starting to faintly glow. Quickly, Ren took out her cell phone, and recorded the monster on video. The white glow spread through the entire body, until it was completely covered in white light. Before Ren knew it, the monster dissolved into ashes that drifted away into the wind.

"That was…weird. No, weird is an understatement." Ren said to herself, putting her phone away. "I'll have a look at this video later." Ren then proceeded to grab the shoulders of a still petrified Toshiro. "Hey, earth to soul reaper captain! Come in!"

"Huh?" Toshiro blinked himself out of his trance. "What the…What happened?" Toshiro looked towards where the monster was. "Where did it go?"

"Um…I think I killed it." Ren answered.

"You what?"

"Yeah…I, like, threw a rock into its eye. It was all AAAAARRGGHH! RAWR!" Ren imitated the monster's behaviour, with the stagger and eye-clutching included. "And then it glowed and turned to ashes. I've got a video of it." Ren took out her phone and played the video again, sowing the screen to Toshiro. "Hey, you think people who can't see the monster will just think it's me filming some ghost netball game, or something?"

"So, you can see them?" Toshiro asked.

"Yeah." Ren nodded. "I mean, I can sense when they appear, but this is the first time I've seen one up close and personal, like." Ren put her phone away once again as she spoke.

"Would you mind telling me why I was not informed of this?" Toshiro demanded, extremely furious that Ren hid this from him.

"But what would you do if you knew?" Ren asked simply, without losing her temper in the slightest, which somehow relieved Toshiro. "Freeze like you did just now? You know that you can't fight against them without powers, and I can't fight that well, either. That rock was just out of pure luck. If I told you I could sense them, then you wouldn't have been able to do a thing."

"…" Toshiro looked away. She was right, even though he hated to admit it. In the face of Hollows, Toshiro would have no problem fighting them off, but in his powerless state, he wasn't able to even remotely fight back against that… that… Whatever that monster was, he was powerless to do anything against it, yet Ren was the one who killed it while he was frozen in fear. It was humiliating.

"You're right." Toshiro sighed. "I'm sorry, alright?"

"Nah, you don't need to apologise." Ren shrugged. "We'll just try and figure this all out when we get to my place."

"Hey, you two!"

"Eh?" Ren and Toshiro looked over their shoulders. A woman in her fifties was standing behind them several metres away, and she did not look very happy.

"I've got a bag of clothes unpaid for in my shop! So unless you changed your minds, cash up!"

"He's paying." Ren said, pointing at the unsuspecting Toshiro.

"Hey!"

…

"And that's the jist of it." Ren paused the video she recorded, which was transferred to her computer back in her study, and enlarged to see the clearer details. "The rock got in his eye, it screamed, and then poof!"

"Strange…" Toshiro said thoughtfully. "A rock wouldn't normally kill a Hollow. If these things are similar to Hollows, then a simple rock wouldn't even leave a mark. Are they really that weak?"

"Maybe. Or maybe there are, like, different levels of monsters. Do Hollows have levels?" Ren asked Toshiro.

"Yes, they do. Then, it's possible that the monsters have different…levels." Toshiro folded his arms and wandered away from Ren. "But, how do we know for sure? Are there more of them out there? If so, then we need to find a way to determine their differences in strength. Then again, it could be dangerous. We'll be risking our lives." Toshiro turned around to face Ren, who was still sitting in front of her desk. "Do you know anybody who is a capable fighter?"

"…" Ren raised a finger and pointed at Toshiro, a blank look on her face.

"I mean someone other than me!" Toshiro yelled, a vein throbbing on his head. There was a silence as Ren lowered her finger. Then, she pointed at herself. "And what exactly can you do?" Toshiro asked rudely.

"I'm a purple belt in karate."

"It'll take more than fists to kill a monster."

"But I killed one today."

"That was luck. You said so yourself."

"Well, I do have a reputation of having good luck." Ren stood up and walked up to Toshiro. "Don't worry about it. We're both fighters in our own right, with or without powers." Ren smiled happily. "You can pick up a rounders bat and pretend it's a sword!"

"Rounders?"

"It's a little like baseball. Aaaaanyway…How are we going to keep track of these monsters. Hmmm…." Ren folded her arms and tapped her foot for a few seconds. "Aha!" She snapped her fingers. Quick as a flash, she was at a wooden cupboard and she flung the doors open, throwing out most of its contents. Toshiro had to duck left and right in order to avoid the flying debris.

"Hey, don't forget I'm here, you-" Before Toshiro could finish his sentence, a hole puncher hit him squarely on the head.

"Here it is!" Ren yelled, holding up a digital camera. "The next time one of those monsters shows up, we can use this camera to snap some photos. How does that sound?" No answer. "Hello?" Ren turned around, only to find Toshiro sprawled on the ground, a bump on his head and various clutter surrounding him. "Ah…sorry 'bout that."

"You damn moron!" Toshiro yelled, sitting upright.

"So do we have a plan?" Ren asked, ignoring Toshiro's insult.

"Yeah, yeah, that sounds great. That aside, don't just recklessly throw junk into the air." Toshiro stood up, massaging the bump on his head. "You could hurt someone, mainly me."

"Hey, don't call it junk."

"Ren, dinner's ready. Could you take dinner out the oven?"

"Sure, mom." Ren yelled, already making her way to the door.

"Don't ignore me!" Toshiro yelled.

"I made enough for all three of us, so there's enough for everybody."

"That's a relief, I-" Ren stopped when she exited her study, stunned. "Wait a sec, what did you just say?"

"What is it?" Toshiro asked, looking over Ren's shoulder.

"I said there's enough for all three of us. Also…" Ren's mother emerged from the kitchen, smiling. "After dinner, could you take out the trash, Toshiro?"

"!" Ren and Toshiro did a double take in shock. How did Ren's mother know about Toshiro?

"I'm sorry, but you seem to be misunderstanding something, mom." Ren started, confused.

"What's to misunderstand? Toshiro's adopted father passed away, so he is living with us now. Did you forget that? Ha-ha, you must have been working hard at school to forget that."

"…" Ren and Toshiro looked at each other, still confused.

"Y…Yeah. Silly me, heh heh." Ren gave a small, fake laugh.

"Now, please take the dinner out the oven, unless you like eating burnt food."

"Ah! No I don't!" Ren exclaimed. She turned to look at Toshiro again. "Well… We'd better do as the lady says…" She said with some hesitancy.

"Yeah… Sure…" Toshiro said slowly. As they both made their way into the kitchen, one thing went through both of the minds...

How did she know?

…

"Uuuu…" Ren groaned, staring at the shop window displaying shop mannequins wearing clothing. Toshiro, with a bored expression on his face, was sitting on a bench behind her. They were in the city on a Saturday afternoon, and the streets were not extremely busy with shoppers, so it was moderately quiet. Today, Ren was dressed in dark blue jeans, brown and pink trainers with elastic laces and a grey zip-up hoodie with a large, green handbag over her head, allowing it to rest at her right hip.

"Shouldn't we be going somewhere?" Toshiro asked impatiently. No response. "Hey, I'm talking to-"

"I can't concentrate with all these things in my head!" Ren suddenly yelled out loud, throwing her arms up into the air.

"Wah!" Toshiro reeled back, stunned by Ren's unexpected outburst.

"Damn…" Ren slummed next to Toshiro, completely drained. "I am SO confused right now. How the heck did mom know you were living here? In fact, it was like she knew it for ages. But, you've only been here for two or three days now. Argh, it's making my head hurt!" Ren clawed at her head, scratching it furiously with both hands.

"Easy, easy." Toshiro said calmly.

"And in answer to your question, we've got several minutes to go until the youth theatre starts. I explained it to you, Shiro."

"Yes, but even if it's something this tedious, I like to arrive on time." Toshiro ran through what Ren just said. "Wait a minute, what's with calling me "Shiro"?" Toshiro asked.

"I have trouble remembering people names and faces, so sometimes I come up with nicknames so I can remember them better. It's complicated, though.

"Again with the "It's complicated."" Toshiro muttered. "That aside, nobody can forget people's names and faces. Well, except Kurosaki."

"Kurosa- Oh, that guy. Anyway, I come up with nicknames based on personality and appearance. And yours, Shiro, is ideal because it's just like you!"

"Of course it is, because it's the last part of my name." Toshiro grumbled, disinterested.

"No, no, no, that's not what I mean. I mean, your name looks like you."

"Um…what?" Toshiro said, confused.

"It's simple. Your hair." Ren plucked up the bang of white hair that hung in front of Toshiro's eyes.

"What's that got to do with anything?" Toshiro asked harshly, turning his head so that Ren let go of his hair.

"Your name's Japanese." Ren continued, unfazed by his cold attitude. "The Shiro part means "white", and that's what your hair is!" Ren beamed after she had finished explaining.

"That's how you came up with the nickname?" Toshiro asked, slightly surprised.

"Nn." Ren nodded. She smiled happily. "It's the same as your hair. That way, I'll never forget your name." Toshiro felt a small blush creep onto his face.

"Ah. You're blushing." Ren said, wearing her usual blank look.

"Wha-" Toshiro gasped. "D-Don't think this is anything special! It's not like I…I…Whatever!" Toshiro stood up quickly, and briskly walked off to his left, trying to control the blush on his face.

"Ah! Hey, wait up!" Ren stood up and, adjusting the handbag across her body, ran after him.

Dammit, get a hold of yourself! Toshiro thought to himself. She's a human! And she's annoying to boot, not to mention naïve. Stop feeling embarrassed around her.

"Gotcha!" Ren grabbed his arm as soon as she caught up with him. "The theatre's that way." Ren pointed off to the left. "Now, remember, you can leave whenever you want."

"Yeah." Toshiro muttered, avoiding eye contact with Ren, even though the blush was gone.

"If you were so reluctant to come with me to theatre, then why did you come at all?" Ren asked suspiciously, hands on her hips.

"None of your business."

"Aw, that's cold, Shiro."

"I don't need another Ukitake, thank you very much!" Toshiro exclaimed.

"Wait, so…I'm like Kurosaki…and also Ukitake?" Ren repeated. "Hmmm…" Ren held her chin in deep thought, while Toshiro was gradually getting a bad feeling about Ren's train of thought. "Aha!" Ren slammed a fist onto her palm, a serious expression on her face.

"What is it?" Toshiro asked.

"Kurotake!" Ren proclaimed.

"That is completely and utterly stupid." Toshiro said bluntly.

"Then…Ukisaki?"

"Don't just swap them around."

"Hey, I actually thought it was kinda good. Hey, wait a minute, you made me change the subject! Where was I…oh, yeah! If you didn't want to come, then why did you come?" Ren asked, pointing an accusing finger at Toshiro.

"…" Toshiro said nothing in response. In truth, he came so he could watch Ren closely. Clearly, she had some kind of ability that allowed her to combat these monsters, and she could somehow make it seem as though he was always a part of her family. Why, he wasn't sure. In order to discover this, he has to stay close to Ren at all times, but she shouldn't know this; she would get too suspicious and avoid him.

"So…?" Ren asked, pressing Toshiro for an answer.

"It's in case one of those things shows up again." Toshiro lied, although that was also part of the truth.

"Well, whatever. Anyway, let's get-"

"!" Suddenly, both of their eyes widened. They both sensed something sinister and evil appear in the city. Ren instantly recognised this as the same feeling she had yesterday. And she knew where it was coming from, as did Toshiro.

"Over there!" They said at the same time, turning towards a bridge just in front of them. "Huh?" Toshiro and Ren looked at each other.

"Since when could you sense monsters, Shiro?" Ren asked.

"I don't know, I just got a bad feeling and…" Toshiro trailed off, unable to finish his sentence. Did he really just sense a monster appearing?

"WATCH OUT!" Ren jumped towards Toshiro, grabbing his waist and forcing him off his feet, just as a clawed hand dented the ground they previously stood on just moments ago.

"Ow!" Ren and Toshiro landed heavily on the ground, with Ren still clinging on to Toshiro's waist. "You alright, Shiro?"

"I'm fine. Now get off me. Your chest is in my face."

"Huh? Ah!" Ren quickly backed off onto her knees, allowing Toshiro to sit up. "Pervert." Ren said, staring at Toshiro with accusing eyes.

"You're the one who grabbed me!" Toshiro yelled.

"I just guessed that was the right reaction." Ren shrugged.

"Wrong reaction. Very wrong. You should know this sort of thing."

"It's complicated."

"Stop saying that!"

"Hey, look at that." Ren changed the subject quickly, staring behind her. "Guess we did sense a monster."

"What?" Toshiro looked in the direction Ren was staring at. It was yet another monster, although this time, the body was light green, the mask had a pointed beak for a nose and the front legs had white claws with a narrow slit in the edge.

"This one's a little different than the other one." Ren clapped her hands together, smiling happily. "Oh, boy! My theory was right!" In that instant, Ren took out her digital camera and took a photograph of the snarling monster. "Oh, that's a good snarl." Ren said, taking another photograph while remaining unfazed by the fierce monster.

"You're staring death in the face, and you're snapping photographs?" Toshiro exclaimed.

"Hey, it's good research." Ren shrugged. "Right, then." Ren stood up and wandered towards the monster standing several metres away from them. "She unzipped her hoodie as she walked. "Look after this for me, will ya?" Ren threw her hoodie behind her, where it landed directly in front of Toshiro.

"Where do you think you're going?" Toshiro yelled after her.

"Do you want information or not?" Ren asked, stopping in front of the monster and rolling up the sleeves of her black and white striped long sleeve top. "Hey, ugly! Over here!" Ren yelled at the monster, who looked down at her.

"Bleugh!" Ren stuck her tongue out at the monster, and pulled down her eyelids. "I dare you to attack me! Come on! There's fresh meat right here!"

"Don't provoke it, you fool!"

"Rawr!" The monster raised a clawed hand in the air, ready to strike.

"Neato." Ren took a photograph of the attack. "Whoa!" Ren jumped out of the way just in time for the claw to slam the ground she stood on previously. She rolled back onto her feet unscathed and took another photograph as dust rose up from the hole that was created. "Woo! That guy's strong! Or girl. Whatever."

"Alright, you've taken your photographs. Now let's get rid of this-"

"Not yet!" Ren interrupted. "I wanna see what those slits in its arms are." Ren's eyes lit up with curiosity. "Could they be flame throwers? Or something that shoots torpedoes?" The monster gave a shrill cry, and out of the slits on its front legs emerged large, bat-like light green wings. "They're wings! SUGE!" Ren yelled, snapping another photograph while her eyes sparkled.

"Stop speaking Japanese and get away from it!" Toshiro yelled, trying to talk some sense into Ren, to no success.

"Oi, can you fly into the air with those things?" Ren yelled at the monster. "It would be awesome if you could!"

"It's not going to understand you!" The monster flapped its front legs once, and it immediately rose several feet into the air, flapping its wings. "It…understood you." Toshiro muttered, sweat dropping. The monster opened its mouth. "Now what?" Toshiro grumbled. A red sphere began to generate in front of its mouth.

A Cero? Toshiro thought, eyes wide. No. It's not a Cero. But, it's so similar to one. And if this blast and a Cero are anything similar, then…

"Hey, get out the way, now!" Toshiro yelled towards Ren.

"Wow, this monster keeps getting cooler and cooler." Ren took another photo. "Okay, you can fire it now!"

"You idiot!"

The monster fired the blast straight towards Ren, who quickly took another photograph and jumped out of the way again. Toshiro noted how it was so similar to the Cero most Hollows could fire, but this one was different. More destructive. Even if it only managed to destroy three shops behind Ren, Toshiro could immediately tell that being hit by one of them would be fatal. Toshiro watched as Ren took a photograph of the destroyed buildings.

"Wow, I got an awesome photo!" Ren turned around to face Toshiro. "Hey, I'm nearly done! Is there anything else you want a photo of, Shiro!"

"Don't look at me! The enemy's right there! Over there!" Toshiro frantically pointed at the sky the beast was hovering in.

"Oh. Right." Ren turned back to the monster. "Hey! Dive down on me! Then we can fight, okay?" Ren yelled up at the monster. Toshiro proceeded to slap his forehead at Ren's idiocy. But, the monster obeyed, folded its front legs by its sides, and dove at an incredibly fast speed towards Ren. "Cool." Ren took another photograph, jumping out of the way once again to avoid the attack, leaving the monster to ram face first into the ground, creating yet another crater.

"One more." Ren took a photo of the monster in the ground. "Eh?" Ren looked up as the monster as it flew up into the air once again, preparing for another attack. "Okay! I'm done!" Ren yelled at Toshiro.

"Good! Now get out of there!"

"Hai!" Ren gave Toshiro a thumbs up, which made Toshiro somewhat relieved. "Right after this." Ren looked back at the monster, preparing for any sort of attack.

"I meant run!" Ren ignored Toshiro yelling at her, and watched as the monster proceeded to fold its arms by its side.

"Wait, don't dive!" Ren made her palms face the monster in a way of saying stop. She ran to the wreckage of the shops, and shuffled through the contents of the rubble, even throwing a few bricks over her shoulder. "Aha." She beamed when she pulled out a metal pole. She ran back to where she previously stood, pole in her hands. "Okay, now dive!"

"Moron! Do you have a death wish?" Toshiro yelled. With a great roar, the monster dove down towards Ren, who remained focused on the monster. All Toshiro could do was watch.

"Here!" Ren jammed one end of the pole into the ground, and backed a way, causing the monster to be impaled through the mouth. It landed on all four of its legs, screaming in pain. Then, like before, the monster glowed faintly white, then white all over, until it burst into ashes that drifted away into the wind.

"Well…" Ren walked towards Toshiro, dusting off her hands. "That takes care of that." Ren grinned at a dumbfounded Toshiro. "So, how was that? I got plenty of photos. I'd say that for the time being, it is mission accomplished."

"That was reckless and stupid, in all honesty. You could have been killed."

"Yeah. I could have, but I didn't."

"That's beside the point. You need to stop putting yourself in dangerous situations." Toshiro said firmly.

"But I got the photographs that we needed." Ren pointed out.

"I give up." Toshiro sighed, hanging his head.

"Can I have my hoodie back now?" Ren asked, outstretching her arm.

"Here." Toshiro said, automatically handing Ren her hoodie into her outstretched arm, but he stopped himself. "You're hurt!"

"Eh?" Ren blinked. "Where?"

"Your arm. It's bleeding!"

"Huh?" Ren looked at her right arm. There was a large blood patch on the forearm, and it looked a lot like a graze. "Oh, yeah. I wonder when that happened?"

"You mean to tell me you didn't even notice you were hurt?"

"Nope!" Ren grinned at Toshiro.

"This isn't a laughing matter! We need to make sure that it isn't infected!"

"Oh." Ren slipped a hand into her pocket, and out of it came a white handkerchief, which for some reason surprised Toshiro. It seemed like even Ren had a girly side. But, this thought came crashing down to earth again when he saw Ren spit on it.

"What the…You can't just use saliva!"

"Sure I can." Ren said simply, rubbing the blood with the wet handkerchief. "Saliva dissolves quite a lot of bacteria and dirt. True fact. Hmmm…"

"What now?" Toshiro asked, impatient.

"Well, maybe it's my imagination, but…this graze really doesn't hurt. Is that bad?"

"I don't think so."

"I'm taking a look." Ren removed the handkerchief and looked at her arm again. "Eh?" Ren blinked in confusion. Where there was supposed to be a cut, there was none. Just bare skin. "No way." She rubbed another part of her arm with the handkerchief and removed it. The same results came up. No sign of a wound anywhere. "This is odd." Ren reached into her handbag and got out a water bottle. She opened the cap and poured the contents over her arm. All of the blood washed away, and it revealed pure clear skin. "It's gone!"

"Gone?" Toshiro gasped. "What do you mean gone?" Toshiro grabbed Ren's arm, jerking it towards him to get a closer look.

Impossible…Toshiro thought. Somehow, she regenerated her wound without even being aware of it. How is this possible? Toshiro glanced up at the confused Ren. Just what exactly is she?

"Can I have my hoodie back now?" Ren asked again.

"Oh. Here." Toshiro finally gave Ren her hoodie back, who took it and placed it back on her again, forcing Toshiro's grip on her arm off.

She has more abilities than I anticipated. Toshiro thought. Could she be linked to these monsters? And why can I sense and see them as well? Is it because of her? Toshiro narrowed his eyes at Ren suspiciously. I must be wary.

"Now that the monster is gone, let's head over to the youth theatre, Shiro." Ren smiled happily at Toshiro.

"Yeah." Toshiro said, following Ren as they walked down a path to their left. In that moment, Toshiro found himself realising that he didn't loathe it when Ren called him Shiro anymore. Why was that? Toshiro quickly shrugged the thought off. He had more important things to worry about, like the monsters.

"Oh, by the way, Shiro. I hope you don't mind dancing. We're doing a new routine today." Ren looked over her shoulder at Toshiro while she walked. "You can handle it, right?"

Toshiro shuddered. That was another thing he had to worry about.

…

"Urgh…" Toshiro groaned, collapsed outside of the doors to a building. This building in question had front walls made entirely of windows, and stretched to ground floor and first floor. A dance studio, complete with floor to ceiling mirrors on one side, was visible downstairs, with a reception area on the right side of the ground floor. In this studio, there were various other people of Ren's age mingling around there. Ren and Toshiro, on the other side, were outside on the path, with an exhausted Toshiro lying flat on his back. But, Ren was fine, and was staring down at Toshiro, an innocent look on her face.

"Oi, you still alive?" Ren asked, nudging Toshiro with her foot. Toshiro responded by giving another moan. "Ah. I guess the dancing was a little too…strenuous, yeah that's the word, for you."

"You got that right." Toshiro muttered. "What I want to know is why you're not tired."

"I guess it's because I'm used to it." Ren tapped her chin with her finger. "Or is it because I'm naturally hyper?"

"That's far from important." Toshiro sighed. "Um,…say, could you help me up?" Toshiro asked, cringing a little from embarrassment.

"Ha-ha-ha!" Ren laughed. "Sure thing!" Ren outstretched a hand towards Toshiro, which he gratefully took.

Her hand…Toshiro thought. It feels so soft. And it's feels small, somehow. Dammit, why am I thinking like this? Toshiro sat himself up while Ren pulled him back onto his feet. But, even though they were stood up, Toshiro did not let go of her hand. I must be really tired if I'm thinking like this.

"Um…Shiro?" Ren said.

"Sorry!" Toshiro gasped, letting go of Ren's hand. "I was…lost in thought."

"Welcome to my world, Shiro."

Meanwhile, while Ren and Toshiro talked a shadow was watching them. It was hiding in the trees near to the river which was directly next to the theatre Toshiro and Ren had just left. This shadow was clearly a man, yet his face could not be seen, though he was clearly wearing some form of cloak. The man held the collar of his hood closely to his face.

"I found them. A girl with blonde hair and blue eyes. The boy? Yeah, he's with her. At least, I believe it is them. I cannot get any closer, so I can't see their faces. The boy looks like he isn't going to let that woman out of his sight. Should I attack now?" A pause. "No? I understand. I shall pursue them until I receive further orders. Over and out." The man released his grip on his collar and looked over at Toshiro and Ren. "So it's those two, huh?" There was a slight breeze through the air, blowing the man's cloak through the breeze.

"Hn?" Ren looked towards the trees, confused.

"What is it?" Toshiro asked. Ren said nothing, still staring at the trees. The shadow was gone. "Well?"

"I thought I…nah, it's nothing. Forget it."

That's weird…Ren thought. I could have sworn someone was there.

There you have it! Toshiro and Ren have a stalker now! Who is that man? And what about the monsters? Just exactly are they? Subscribe, review, and stay tuned to find out!