Sakura stared at the ceiling in thought from her place on the floor of her room, arms behind her head. The tatami was hard under her back and not the greatest comfort, but she didn't mind. She had just finished her duties for the day. Duties which included dusting and… dusting. Two days had passed since she had began living at the Urahara shop and her workload had not extended past minor cleaning.

After breakfast that morning Sakura had awkwardly hung around as the rest of the shop began their regular chores. The kids heading into the back and Tessai into the kitchen. She offered to do dishes but Tessai politely refused. She was fortunately able to catch Kisuke before he too disappeared into his daily ritual. He was able to give her the option of dusting but not without some deep thought. He seemed unsure about what she could do around the shop too, and that wasn't very reassuring to Sakura.

It wasn't exactly a task that took long, especially considering the shop didn't have much to be dusted. Just a shelf here and there and some old china. It was quite… boring. To be frank, cleaning sucked. This is why her apartment was such a huge mess all the time. The ninja life had ruined regular activities for her... was her excuse; her mom would disagree wholeheartedly with that sentiment. Sakura had always been quite lazy when it came to chores.

It wasn't like Sakura was the messiest person on earth; her mother had clearly never seen Naruto's disaster of an apartment when they were children.

She was adjusting to her situation slowly but surely, but still couldn't shake the awkwardness that was living in a stranger's home. Both Tessai and Kisuke had told her to make herself at home, but she wasn't really the type do so, even with express permission. After her work had finished, she had excused herself to her room and began to think up an action plan.

If Sakura ever wanted to get a better grip on her surroundings, her best bet was to find a library and gather information. It would give her a more in depth hint about her current situation and though Rikishi had been helpful, it would certainly be a great help to have exact sources. The fact that this world too once had ninjas made Sakura incredibly curious. There might just be a connection there, but she wouldn't really know until she had the proper information at her disposal.

A gentle breeze swept across her face and brought her out of her thoughts momentarily. She turned her head to look over at her open window and stared at the grey exterior walls of the apartment across from her room. The temperature was quite warm, so she opened her window to let in the wind, hoping for a breeze of this exact coolness to grace her.

It seemed to be summer or nearly summer, the same season Konoha was experiencing as well. That fact made a link in her mind and her brain concocted theories, none of which were very helpful or even sensible.

Since arriving here, Sakura only assumed she was in a different world, but she had no way of telling for sure. It was only a theory based on the evidence that had been presented to her so far; none of which was substantial. There were numerous possibilities that Sakura really wasn't equipped with handling currently; like time-travel, which sounded insane but not necessarily to Kaguya her mind had been opened to many possibilities she once thought absurd. Currently however, there were just too many unknowns, and her brain was grasping at straws in its attempt to connect anything it was learning to her situation.

So far Sakura had two facts. One, she hadn't felt an ounce of chakra from anything since she had landed here, and two, the seasons were the same. This was not… an incredible discovery. Though the lack of chakra was disconcerting.

It hadn't proved to be an incredibly intricate genjutsu either, as she had already attempted to dispel it with no success. It peeved her that she hadn't thought to try that earlier, but it really didn't matter in the end because her current situation was not a genjutsu.

Sakura wished it was. At least she knew how to deal with genjutsu.

She closed her eyes again, basking in the coolness the breeze brought with it. Truth be told… her current situation had her panicking, but not as much as she expected. Maybe it was due to her experience with traumatic and seemingly impossible things taking place on a daily basis? This was most definitely not the vacation Naruto had intended her to experience.

She had been working so much as of late, hence why Naruto had sent her out in the first place. So, just laying down and thinking was a very novel experience. Right now it was clear that the Urahara shop wasn't direly in need of her services, and quite honestly she welcomed this. There were lots of things that she had to think about.

There was a pained sounding shout from outside and Sakura sat up in alarm, body reacting to the signs of danger on autopilot. What was happening- An attack? Had her enemies caught up with her finally? She frantically crawled over to her window and stuck her head through the frame, paying no mind to the ruckus she was making. Sakura tried to maneuver herself so that she catch sight of what was happening at the front of the shop with little luck. The only thing that was visible was the blue car they owned. With her head out the window, she could hear the source of the shout clearly.

"Best out of three!" She heard Jinta call out.

"You said that last time, but we just played until you won…" Ururu responded. Sakura could almost hear Jinta's hackles raise.

"Don't question your superior!"

Sakura deflated with relief when she realized the shouting had been over a game of rock-paper-scissors and not impending danger like she had thought. She was still very tense about all of this, clearly.

Stilling her quickly beating heart, she folded her arms and placed them on the window frame, breathing rhythmically. Jinta and Ururu's game of rock-paper-scissors made her thoughts venture towards the Urahara household, and Sakura pondered the two children's connection to Kisuke. She rested her chin on her forearms and hummed. She had been wondering since she had first met the lot, but they didn't seem like they were his children, at least not biologically. Adopted maybe? Regardless of their connection, they helped out with the shop and lived there as well.

Sakura wondered about the bossman Kisuke himself as well. He was quite… eccentric. He was friendly, a little bit too chipper and kind of inappropriate. Sakura then thought back to when he had been leaning over her while she had been sleeping in the park two days ago and rubbed her face. Inappropriate might be an understatement.

He did seem very intent on making Sakura feel welcomed, which made her think he seemed like a decent person despite those things. She was still wary of him of course, but really, only time could say, and it looked to Sakura that she would be stuck here for quite a while.

He was odd, but odd didn't necessarily mean bad, Sakura thought, thinking of her own friends. Ninjas were definitely a big case of "weird" themselves, which, considering their job, made sense. Being a ninja was a traumatic experience that no one could have possibly prepared her for, so it wasn't unsurprising that most ninja would come out of those experiences more unhinged than not.

And sometimes, Sakura thought. You just have a clan that has ninja dogs.

It made the whole concept of this world of civilians even more fascinating to Sakura. Without ninjas it made her wonder what their military looked like, and if they even required military in the first place. Surely this place wasn't free of war, Rikishi had even said so. In Sakura's mind, she could barely imagine such a place ever existing.

The strangeness of ninjas, the strangeness of this world; the Urahara shop was definitely cut from a similar cloth of oddness.

Tessai was an intriguing man, with his incredible stature and stoic personality. He was also very polite which contrasted those traits quite interestingly. He had been nothing but kind and helpful to her since she had arrived.

Jinta on the other hand, had not been so kind or polite. He reminded Sakura of a slightly angrier, young Naruto. There was an impulsive brashness he had about him that screamed "Naruto" to her. But Jinta also seemed astute and more observative than Naruto had ever been. He seemed to be a bit of a bully, which didn't make her very happy. He also hated her, which was just great.

Ururu, whose name she learned from Kisuke, reminded Sakura of herself when she was young. Quiet and shy, but

also polite. Sakura hadn't really seen Ururu that much to say much more, but she was a cute kid. She didn't seem to

hate Sakura, which was always major plus.

Sakura rolled her head so her cheek was resting on her forearm instead. A gust of wind blew again and she closed her eyes as the breeze ruffled her hair. She slowly opened her eyes and stared vacantly at the apartment wall.

She too, had been thinking about the thing she had felt yesterday. It was strikingly similar to the feeling that had overtaken her when she had been transported. That weakening and queasy feeling.

Yesterday though… had be different in a way. A way she couldn't exactly pinpoint. it had almost been like a presence. Like someone had appeared in a distance and the sheer existence of that presence had been enough to crush her. It left her winded and scared, because she had never felt something so intensely intimidating since Madara and Kaguya. It was so similar to the powerful crushing pressure of chakra, and yet not at all. Even thinking about it had her shivering in memory.

There was more to this world than just cars and weird money, that was certain. Ghosts with chains and suffocating presences said a lot, but unfortunately not enough for Sakura to know just what the hell was going on. As a ninja she would do her best to expect the unexpected and try to remain on guard as best as she could though. It was just like her to find trouble wherever she went; she just hoped she could keep her temporary landlord and his shop uninvolved.

There were light footsteps on the floor indicating a presence and a knock on Sakura's door.

"E-excuse me…" A soft voice called from the other side. Sakura sat up and blinked at the sudden presence.

"Yes?"

The door slid open to reveal the shop's young employee, Ururu. She nervously fidgeted with the hem of her skirt and peered at Sakura through her bangs. "Kisuke-san wants to talk to you…"

Sakura looked back out the window, and realized that the children had long since disappeared back into the shop. She had kind of dozed off while deep in thought and more time had passed then she realized.

"Thank you, I'll be down in a moment." Sakura inclined her head politely, and smiled at the girl. Message delivered, Ururu nodded and made a movement to shut the door. Before she could, Sakura motioned with her hand for her to wait and the girl paused in her action. She looked to Sakura in askance.

"You're Ururu-chan right?" Sakura asked, standing up from her place by the window. She approached the young girl, who only nodded at her question. Sakura bent over and extended her hand in front of her and gave Ururu a kind smile. "I know you already know who I am, but I'm Sakura Haruno, it's a pleasure to meet you."

After a moment of hesitance, Ururu tentatively placed her hand into Sakura's larger one. Sakura grinned in response, giving her a firm handshake. "Please teach me well."

"Teach?" Ururu asked, releasing Sakura's hand with a look of puzzlement.

"Well, since I'm technically a new employee here that makes you my superior." Sakura gave Ururu a wink. "I'll be in your care Ururu-senpai."

Ururu stared at Sakura with wide eyes, and then looked down at her feet, blushing slightly.

"Shall we see what Urahara-san needs then?" Sakura asked and Ururu whipped her head back up, suddenly remembering what she had been tasked with.

They both left her room, Ururu plodding ahead of Sakura, steps soft against the floor. Though she seemed shy, and almost uncertain in her speech, she had this controlled air about her. Upon further observation, Ururu was far more similar to Hinanta than Sakura's younger self. Ururu seemed like she was a responsible little girl, and it made Sakura wonder just what events could have transpired in her life to make that so.

The young girl lead Sakura downstairs and through the dining area, opening the screen door to the entrance of the shop. Kisuke was there, sat on the floor in front of a desk where he looked slightly pensive. There were papers spread across the small surface, clearly forms of some importance. He shuffled the pages neatly and directed his attention to the two of them.

"Haruno-san! I need a big favor from you." He chirped, flipping open his fan with an audible thwap. He thanked Ururu who stared between the two of them, and then ran back outside to rejoin Jinta.

"Was there something you needed?" Sakura asked, kneeling politely next to him on the tatami.

"Yes!" Kisuke turned his attention to his desk where he began to write something on a slip of paper which he then handed over to her. "Could you go to the store and grab me these supplies?" He asked.

Sakura looked at the listed items. They were all mostly construction items and made her think that maybe they were about to do some renovations.

"No problem." She said, folding the paper into the pocket of her shorts after reading over its contents. "Is Tessai-san not around?"

Kisuke fanned himself and hummed. "He's busy right now, and I thought you might be bored."

She was bored, it was true, but rather than say so, she settled for a polite smile and a wave of her hand. "Not at all."

Kisuke looked at her in such a way that Sakura couldn't help but frown slightly. There was something about the man that put her on edge - in an unexplainable way.

"Is there anything specific I should know before I head out?" Sakura inquired, scooching over to the edge of the porch where she began slipping on her sandals. She turned her head and watched Kisuke as he looked up in thought.

"I'd prefer you went to the Nakajima Hardware store, their stuff is cheaper, but if you can't find everything there, any other place is fine." He answered.

Sakura nodded, pushing herself to her feet. "The shopping district then?" She asked, holding onto that hope that it was indeed located in the shipping district. It was the only part of this god forsaken town she actually knew.

"That's right, I'm sure you'll have no problem finding it Haruno-san." Kisuke beamed. Sakura inwardly deflated in relief at that. This couldn't have come at a more perfect time, it gave her the exact opportunity she needed to go and find a library.

"I'm off then." She said, making her way to the entrance of the store. Kisuke made a noise of alarm, reaching into his sleeves and pulling out his wallet.

Sakura made a face at the sight of it and Kisuke let out a laugh and waved his hand. "Its for the items, the items. You work here now so it's only natural that I would give you money to purchase items for the shop." He placed the bills into Sakura's tentatively extended hand.

"I suppose that's okay." Sakura acquiesced, though with some reservations.

"So you'll accept it if it's not intended for you, huh?" Kisuke let out a breathy chuckle. "I've never seen someone so determined in their refusal of money."

Sakura sulked slightly. Isn't it more odd to trust a complete stranger with their money after only knowing them for two days? She put the money into her pocket anyways.

"I'll try and be back soon, but please don't wait up for me if I'm gone too long." Sakura made her way to the door.

Kisuke waved his fan. "It shouldn't take you too long, good luck Haruno-san."

On the way out of the store, Jinta and Ururu walked past her carrying boxes into the shop causing her to blink. A shipment must have been dropped off just earlier, which was strange because she hadn't noticed any such thing. Though, she hadn't really been paying attention to begin with.

Sakura smiled down at Ururu and the young girl returned the sentiment with a shy smile of her own. Sakura then directed her attention from her to Jinta, doing her best to give what she hoped was an equally kind looking smile. Jinta responded with a scowl, stomping into the store and ignoring her attempts at friendliness entirely. She sighed sadly. It didn't look like Jinta wouldn't ever warm up to her.

She was adjusting to her situation sure, but it was clear it would be long before certain members of the Urahara Shop adjusted to her.

Finding her way back to the shopping district wasn't a difficult undertaking. She memorized the directions yesterday when she had gone shopping with Tessai, knowing that one of these days she would probably end up back there again. Being a housekeeper entailed all sorts of things, and Sakura had figured grocery shopping would be in her future. She was proven to be correct.

It was slightly crowded, as any shopping district was with the dozens of people walking to and fro. Families with their children, couples and groups of friends, all out and about for one reason or another. It was quite peaceful despite the chaotic nature of the crowds; and the more Sakura looked at it, the more she realized how similar it was to Konoha. The multitude of signs signalling just what was being sold in each store, the tight streets. It had been so long since she had actually interacted with a populace in this way.

Due to her work, Sakura often found herself shopping quite late in the evening so her interaction with people was to a minimum, besides patients and co-workers of course. If she couldn't go to the market, then Sakura would simply order food in, either too lazy or too exhausted to cook. This happened more often than not.

Sakura took a deep breath, inhaling deeply the scents of the shops lining the street. An array of smells greeted her senses and it filled her with a strange feeling of contentedness. The smell of the small food kiosks was definitely the most prominent and she smiled. Markets were always such a joy to her, even as a child, hand in hand with her parents as they purchased ingredients for dinner that night.

Green eyes stared above the heads of the surplus of people, searching any telltale sign of the hardware store in question. It took a while, but the words "Nakajima Hardware Store" finally cropped up towards the end of the shopping area and Sakura made a beeline for the shop. She brushed shoulders with a young woman as she attempted to make her away over, apologizing as she went.

Squeezing through the crowd Sakura finally made her way to the shop, double checking the front to confirm that it was indeed open. The bell jingled above her as she stepped inside. It was a smaller shop, though much bigger than Kisuke's by a considerable margin. Shelves and aisles lined the walls leading far into the shop, all full of different goods all catering to construction of some kind. It seemed almost empty save for Sakura and the middle-aged woman at the till.

The woman greeted Sakura as she entered without looking up from her magazine, rattling off the different sales they were having, none of which Sakura really understood. She wasn't yet over her culture shock and still navigated this world with great confusion.

"We have a used lawnmower for sale for cheap, if you're interested in that too." The woman's voice was monotone as she said this, giving the impression that she really didn't care if Sakura was or was not interested. Sakura scratched her cheek in confusion. What was a "lawnmower"?

"I… see, thank you." Sakura answered, quietly slinking into the shop. She didn't know what a lawnmower was, and didn't really care enough to find out. There was a stack of baskets at the entrance so she grabbed one, pulling the list out of her pocket.

Thankfully she had no difficulty finding the items listed by Kisuke, who had been very specific. This brand of hammer, these type of screws, paint rollers of this size; finding them was quite easy and showed just how familiar Kisuke was with the shop. It seemed like a lot of the items sold in the shop were incredibly similar to ones she would find at home. There were of course… other things sold in the store that Sakura had absolutely no clue what they were. Like the lawnmower, which she squinted her eyes at, not understanding what it did and how it worked at all.

Having found all of the required items, she brought them to the woman behind the till who rang them up. Again, Sakura had no clue how much money she handed to the cashier, and simply prayed that she actually had enough. She put faith her into Kisuke's ability to do simple math. The woman handed back Sakura her change and she deflated in relief. This money stuff wasn't worth the amount of stress it caused her.

Sakura received her bag from the woman and left the shop with that thought. This whole situation was incredibly wild the more she thought about it. Before yesterday she had been shot into the sky of a foreign place like some kind of human shaped shuriken and taken in by a man who favored the colour green. Maybe the adrenaline was finally wearing off a day later, because what the HELL was her current situation?

It was happenstance that at the moment she was considering her circumstances, Sakura was quite suddenly overwhelmed with a suffocating blast of energy. She thrust her arm out and steadied herself on the wall next to her to.

A feeling of coldness and dread not unlike the two previous experiences overcame her. Only this time she was finally able to identify exactly where it was. And it had appeared not too far from where she was. It froze the blood in her veins and removed the strength from her legs, making them feel like jelly. She had to direct chakra into her limbs to stop herself from collapsing there in the crowded streets.

Nausea coursed through her body, and a cold sweat broke out on her skin. The people around her spared looks at her slightly keeled over state and gave her a wide berth. Sakura couldn't help but feel a little irritated at their lack of compassion, but figured it was better that way.

Hand on her stomach, Sakura shakily stood back up to her full height and looked into the distance where she could approximately pinpoint the presence. Pursing her lips, Sakura looked at the bag she held in her opposite hand.

Problems just kept cropping up, didn't they? Well, she'd be damned if she wasn't always right in the center of them.

You're quite a trouble magnet aren't you Sakura-san? Rikishi's words resurfaced into her mind.

You have no idea. She thought, starting into the direction of what was assuredly trouble. She needed to solve this damn mystery and she needed to solve it now. Using sheer force, Sakura willed her body to move, starting with a slow walk until the feeling in her legs returned fully. What started as a walk slowly transformed into a speed-walk, then a jog and finally before she knew it, she was sprinting down the street and through the crowds of people, expertly dodging and weaving through them.

Sakura didn't know how she knew where this thing was, but she trusted her instincts. Squeezing out of the crowd, she made a hard left into an alleyway as the presence began to shift, and quickly at that.

This was astounding to her, for multiple reasons. Sakura was not a sensor type, and yet she knew exactly where this being was. And yet, it didn't contain a single ounce of chakra, so why could she sense it at all?

There was no time to ponder as she rounded up on the presence, shooting out of an alleyway with great speed, emerging directly in a residential area of Karakura. Stopping in the middle of a four way crossroad, Sakura attempted to spot whatever this thing she was chasing was. There was nothing immediately visible, but as her vision scanned the street to her left, she had to do a double take as a large man bolted down the road with a young woman hot on his trail. Sakura blinked a couple of times, before her mind caught up with what she just saw.

She recognized that man. He had helped her before, when she had been about to walk into oncoming traffic like it was a thing to do.

Wait… really? Really? What were the chances of that? What type of damn coincidence was that? That of all people to see right now, in this entire damn town, it was someone she recognized. She knew like six people.

And he looked like he was being chased by someone. It… wasn't really any of her business, but he had helped her yesterday and been more than kind to her, so if he was in trouble, she wanted to help. Never one to just stand around, she ran in the direction they had both disappeared.

Was it just a coincidence that she had run into someone she knew when she had been following this thing? It seemed almost… too coincidental for that to be the case. Questions upon questions were just continuing to pile up.

Sakura sprinted, grocery bag full of tools rustling loudly from the speed of her sprint. Her hair whipped her face, and some strands flew into her mouth, causing her to choke and spit very unattractively. As she struggled with her apparently very volatile mane, she caught sight of something dark in the sky a block or two away from her.

That… doesn't look like just a bird. This was confirmed via a sudden tightness in her stomach and itching sensation in her neck. She didn't fully understand why that confirmed it, but she would follow her instincts until the end.

She didn't need too, however, when the not-bird suddenly swooped down from the sky and out of Sakura's sight. Frowning, Sakura pumped chakra into her legs and lept from the pavement, landing on a rooftop. She then lept again, bounding from house to house.

As she landed on a telephone poll, Sakura saw it. Her body went cold when it entered her vision. It was green and monstrous, undoubtedly chilling and assuredly the presence she had felt. It was big from what Sakura could gather, especially in comparison to the tiny woman kneeling on the ground in front of it. Sakura recognized her as the one chasing the large man just a couple minutes before.

The creature rose it's great arm in preparation to swing and Sakura clenched her fist. She didn't really get what was happening, but this woman seemed like she was in trouble and Sakura wasn't the type to hesitate if someone was in danger right in front of her.

"Oi!" She yelled, causing the beast to pause in its swing, whipping its head into the direction of her voice. The woman too stared up at Sakura in surprise.

That was the only warning it got before her fist connected with its head, slamming it into the pavement. The ground exploded, rubble shooting out from under the beast and leaving a crater. A look of shock crossed the woman's features as the ground rumbled beneath her, causing her lose her footing.

"What-!" She sputtered as Sakura skillfully caught her. Settling the woman into her arms, Sakura shot off again in a sprint. She looked over her shoulder at the smoking indent in the road and knew for a fact that the beast was most definitely not dead. Focusing chakra into her legs, she did her best to put distance between both of them and it. She spared a look at the dark-haired woman in her arms.

The look upon the young woman's face was that of flabbergast, her mouth opened, then closed, then opened again. "You-! A human!" Was all she managed to utter, unable to form words. "How did you-! Where the hell did you come from?"

Sakura opened her own mouth to answer, then ended up losing her own words and had to close it again. This was kind of a weird situation and she really didn't know where to start. "Uh," Was all she managed, very intelligently. "Yeah."

The woman looked like she had more to say but eyes quickly flittered over Sakura's shoulder and widened. "Behind you!"

A deafening roar shook the both of them. "I'm going to tear you apart for that! I'll take great pleasure in eating both of your souls!" It screamed, shrill and terrifying and also very close. Oh dear.

Her instincts shouted that the beast was right behind her. With chakra flowing through her legs, Sakura attempted to jump up onto a house for higher ground, but was ultimately snatched by the fiend. It grabbed her leg in its entirety, and caught her mid-air. It took all of her muscle strength to stay upright instead of flopping over like a ragdoll from the recoil.

"Shit!" Sakura swore as the being's grasp tightened around her leg, her bones creaking audibly. She had underestimated just how quick it moved and how quick it would recover. With her arms busy carrying the dark haired woman, she couldn't perform any jutsu. This was bad. She started concocting a plan of action in her head. Should she throw the woman? The distance between them and the pavement wasn't too high, maybe-

Before Sakura could even finish the thought, the woman in question clambered from Sakura's bridal style carry and out of her arms. She climbed partly over Sakura's shoulder with an outstretched arm and flat palm and began to chant.

"Ye lord! Mask of flesh and bone, flutter of wings, ye who bears the name of Man! Truth and temperance, upon this sinless wall of dreams unleash but slightly the wrath of your claws! Hado #33, Sokatsui!" A blue beam-like energy shot from her hand, hitting the creature in its face with a giant explosion.

The hand holding Sakura's leg relented in its hold. Capitalizing on its sudden weakness, she jammed her heel into the back of its hand, successfully loosening it. It dropped her and she landed on the ground in a crouch, observing her injury momentarily. Dark bruising was forming around her thigh and calf, an ugly purple and very… hand shaped. It hurt, but she didn't have time to dwell on such a low key injury. She directed her attention back to the creature, hidden behind the smoke.

It had to be said; Sakura had definitely not been expecting the woman to shoot a beam out of her hand. A beam that was noticeably not chakra.

"Did it work?" The woman asked, propped up on Sakura's shoulder. Sakura wrapped an arm around the woman's waist to prevent her from falling and looked over her opposite shoulder. With all of the dust and smoke, it wasn't clear what had befallen it.

There was throaty cackling and they were given an answer. As the smoke subsided, it revealed the uninjured and colossal form of the beast. They weren't given much of a chance to dwell before the beast lunged at the two of them. Sakura leapt out of the way of the monster's trajectory and it chomped down on the air where her body used to reside.

"I know that spell." It said, expression all teeth and its face a pale bone mask. Its yellow eyes narrowed in humor. "It's a shinigami spell! So that's what you are!" He skulked towards them. "But you're weak, it had no bite!"

Shinigami? Sakura thought, mind going blank.

"A tender little Shinigami… and a nice little bonus human." A permanent grin was plastered across its face unable to change, and yet very much conveyed just what it was feeling. "This brings back memories."

The woman clenched her teeth and her grip on Sakura's shoulder tightented. Shinigami. Like a death god? This woman was a death god? Like the kind with the bones and scythes? Things were just getting more complicated by the second. Clearly this woman was familiar with this creature, and not a complete innocent bystander as she had thought.

"I've already eaten two Shinigami who tried to take that boy to the Soul Society." It disclosed. The woman suddenly leapt out of Sakura's arms and stood in front of her protectively. Despite the fact that it looked like she was at a disadvantage, the woman was putting Sakura's safety before her own.

"The boy… you mean the soul inside the cockatiel?" She asked, face incredibly grim. "Why do you pursue him so relentlessly?"

Soul… in a cockatiel? Sakura had come upon a situation that was definitely beyond her current understanding.

"Good question," It responded, and then pointed towards the two of them, "Maybe I'll tell you if you let me have a bite."

The woman ground her teeth at that. "You," She said, turning her attention to Sakura, eyes flickering to her bruised leg and then back up again. "I don't know who you are, but this doesn't involve you. You should escape now while you have the chance."

This whole situation was getting more and more difficult for Sakura to understand. This talk about soul's and shinigami were going over her head completely, but if there was one thing that she knew, it was that this woman would be killed if she ran away. Not an option.

"I don't really understand what's happening here, but," Sakura said, standing next to the woman and shifting into her battle stance. "the last thing I'm going to do is run away."

"You…" The woman muttered, eyes wide. She then directed her attention back to the monster. "Fine, just don't tell me I didn't warn you."

Sakura smiled in response. "After this is over, you can explain the details to me, for now, my names Sakura."

The woman did not move or look at Sakura. "I'm Rukia, the rest can come later."

"Yes, while this little moment is nice," The beast interrupted and crouched low, "I'm rather hungry, and you both seem mighty tasty."

"Here it comes." Rukia warned, tense and battle ready. Sakura raised her fists and narrowed her eyes. When it charged them, she wouldn't give it a second chance.

The horror leapt with a shrill cry, and Sakura reeled back her arm, only, the beast never made it to them, as a fist connected with its face and sent it toppling over. A fist that was most assuredly not her own. Both Sakura and Rukia looked on in shock.

"Yeah," The new visitor clenched his fist in pride, face slightly covered by his hair, "Got it... I think." He then began punching the air, nowhere close to where the beast was located. Sakura blinked again. It was the man who had helped her yesterday and the person she had been chasing.

The behemoth got back up, eyes narrowed. "That was surprising, but it seems like it was actually a lucky shot. He can't see shit."

The tall man then whipped around almost as if hearing this, swinging his fist and slamming it right into the nose of the creature. It skidded across the pavement, sending up dust and dirt in its wake.

"Yeah, I got it again." He said, nodding at his success. Sakura let out a slight huff of an exasperated laugh. He didn't seem have any understanding of where this beast was located and yet attempted to take it down anyways. What an incredible person.

Angrily, the beast shot into the sky, wings unfolding. "Now try to hit me!" It laughed mockingly. "Huh, tough guy?"

Sakura eyed the architecture surrounding them, made up of concrete fences and houses, and started concocting strategies in her head. Obviously she wasn't able to unfurl some wings of her own and fly into the air, but utilizing the buildings around them might give her the height she needed. The creature wasn't too high, if she jumped now she might be able to land a hit, but was it worth the chance that it might survive and bring the innocent residents into the mess too?

"Don't just stand there!" Rukia yelled at the man. "Run! He's in the air!"

The man turned to her with wide eyes. "New girl, you can see ghosts?"

The man's eyes travelled from the woman to Sakura and he looked doubly shocked. "You… you're the one from yesterday, the one with the money." He said. "Why are you here too?"

"We can talk about this later." Sakura said, rubbing the back of her head nervously. "Now really isn't the time."

Rukia scowled. "It really isn't, especially now that we can't reach him."

"Where is it?" The man asked, staring at the sky as if trying to locate the beast he couldn't see.

Rukia blinked. "What?"

"You said it's in the air, where is it?" He asked again.

"Why, what can you…" Rukia stopped speaking the moment the man wrapped his arms around telephone pole. Sakura let out a sudden laugh, and couldn't help it. She could barely believe her own eyes as she watched who she had assumed was a regular civilian man, pluck a pole the size of a tree right out of the pavement. Again, no sign of chakra of any kind.

"Which way?" He asked once more, voice totally calm in the face of danger. Completely devoid of any emotion that would point to the fact that he had uprooted a giant pole with just his arms.

Rukia immediately pointed in the direction, clearly not one to look the situation in the mouth. Understandable really, considering what they had both just been witnesses to. "There, in front of you, bring it straight down!"

And with a mighty swing, he slammed it right into the beast, knocking it from the sky and into the ground. The top half of the telephone pole fractured and exploded from the force. He then shouldered the pole like it was nothing.

Oh. Sakura thought. I think I finally understand what people think when they see me now.

"Just give up, another shinigami will be here to finish you shortly." Rukia said, arms folded across her chest.

Sakura, ever the cautious person, made no move to approach the monster like the other two. A hit from a telephone pole would not finish things so easily.

"It isn't over yet." Sakura warned the two of them, eyes trained on their opponent. If she hadn't been able to injure it totally with a chakra filled punch, there was definitely no hope that a telephone pole would put an end to it. The monster had proved to be hardy, it wouldn't give up so easily.

The thing began to cackle, and it turned to look at them with its yellow eyes. "Aren't you a smart one." It stated, directing its gaze to Sakura and then back to Rukia. "You lot aren't the least bit curious?" It asked. "About how I managed to eat two shinigami?"

"I'm not." Sakura snapped, grabbing the man and Rukia by the collars of their shirts and tossing them behind her. Her instincts were never wrong. Whatever this beast had done to kill others; she was having none of it and she certainly wasn't going to let these two become victims too.

And right her instincts were as tiny, bulbous headed monsters leapt from behind their cover and attached themselves to her body. Their claws latched onto her and dug themselves into her skin. Sakura attempted to fling them off, and managed to shake herself free from a couple, but her body quickly succumbed to the sheer number of them. The imps grabbed her legs and wrapped around her ankles, causing her to lose her balance. She dropped onto the pavement with a pained "oof".

The thing laughed again, grating and stared down at her from above. "You surprised me earlier with that punch of yours, but in the end you're just a human." Its eyes creased in humor. "You all crunch the same way."

Sakura ground her teeth as the imps dug their tiny hands into her flesh. "Kiss my ass." She spat at the beast. It laughed down at her.

"Such an attitude, I like it, it only makes your fruitless struggling more delicious." It breathed in deeply. "I would have preferred to eat all three of you at once, but it makes no difference, I'll be eating your friends soon enough."

"You idiot!" Rukia cursed at her from behind.

Sakura wriggled in an attempt to loosen the imp's grasp on her but was unsuccessful. The imps claws were too deeply impaled into her skin and her strength felt like it was being sucked out of her body. Her entirety felt heavy, as if a weight was resting upon both her soul and body.

There was a sound then, like a chain being blown in the wind and everything was drowned out. Sakura could hear nothing but the clinking of metal.

"There! Kick above her!" Rukia yelled, and then all sound returned.

Her body lightened suddenly as the man rushed forward and swung his foot through the air just above her body, successfully hitting the imps and knocking them off of her. Most flew far, but a couple landed close by.

Sakura capitalized on her freedom instantaneously and leapt up before the tiny beasts could attempt to reattach themselves. She kicked the stragglers and the impact caused them to explode. Green goo splattered across both the pavement and Sakura's clothes and something hard hit her in the stomach. She looked down and in her sights was a large purple leech, pulsating and clinging to the front of her shirt and even as she attempted to pull it off, it did not give.

The creature looked surprised by the imp's sudden and brutal demise, and then began backing up as the man began punching wildly, coming awfully close but missing by a small margin. Its eyes then upturned and it made a contented noise.

"This wasn't quite what I intended, but that's fine." Its forked tongue snuck out of it mouth. "The sooner the better."

A shrill ringing coming from the beast's outstretched tongue, shaking Sakura's eardrums painfully. Without warning the leech exploded, knocking the wind out of Sakura and sending her backwards onto the ground. Grunting, she gripped stomach, blood seeping through her fingers and clothing.

The man whipped his head over to Sakura in surprise, eyes wide. "What did that?" He asked, rushing over to her side. It was a confirmation that he couldn't actually see what was happening around them.

Sakura groaned, and slowly removed her hand from her stomach. There was a hole blown into the shirt, the edges singed black, and slowly turning a dark shade of red. "Shit." She coughed. Who would ever have expected bombs?

The beast cackled. "Surprised? The leeches are actually bombs!" Its eyes narrowed as it spoke. "This is why those shinigami became chow so easily, the idiots!"

Rukia was at Sakuras side where she was doubled over. "Are you okay?"

"I'll be fine," Her hand began to glow a soft green as she attempted to heal herself. "At least we know what to expect now. Better than being taken by surprise later."

Rukia stared at Sakura's glowing hand with surprise, and looked to be conflicted with herself, as if she wanted to ask how she was doing that but inevitably refrained. She turned away and faced the creature again. "You're a strange human."

"Thanks." Sakura indulged, and did nothing to cover her small smile. "I've been told I'm tenacious and hard to kill too, my best qualities really."

"Doubtful," The beast remarked. "A human is just a human, even if you have surprisingly strong punch." Its tongue lolled out of its mouth mockingly. "Tenacious or not, what can you do if you can't reach me?"

With that sprung into the air again, flying much higher than before and out of range. Rukia growled, and Sakura watched her fists tighten into little balls.

"He's way too high to hit with a telephone pole this time." Sakura deduced, looking at the man briefly before returning to Rukia. "I won't be able to hit him like before."

"As it is, none of us can." Rukia added.

It was frustrating but the area around her didn't give her much to work with in terms of jutsu, especially of the ranged variety. Her kunai and senbon were back at the shop, and no elements around her lent to her particular skill set. Ultimately, at her core, she was a close quarters fighter and not a ranged one, even if she had evened out her skillset over the years.

Fssst Crack

A cracking noise came from below and Sakura looked downwards at the green glow where she was attempting to heal her wound. The green aura surrounding her hand wobbled unusually and sparked. Alarmed, Sakura removed her hand from her stomach but did not cease the flow of chakra. She watched as it flickered, unnatural and indicatively wrong.

Chakra did not spark. Pure, non-elemental chakra, did not spark. Especially when her chakra nature consisted of water and earth, the furthest from anything that could produce sparks. And chakra mostdefinitely did not waver while in the hands of a medic known explicitly for her impressive chakra control.

While watching this incredibly strange occurance take place, her neck itched and then the chakra concentrated around her hands stopped wobbling and ceased sparking. Unnerved, Sakura did not continue healing her wound. There was too much that could go wrong if her chakra was as unstable as it seemed. Medical chakra wasn't something to be trifled with if her chakra was as off as it seemed and she wasn't about to take any chances. The wound was already closed up anyways, the rest she could take care of later.

"I have an idea." Rukia said quite abruptly, her eyes were intent on the figure flying above them.

The man leaned in. "What should we do?"

Sakura nodded, the chakra malfunction pushed aside in her mind. Right now anything would do.


"No." Sakura refused, face set into a scowl.

"Yes," Rukia affirmed. "We don't have time to argue over this."

"I feel like I have a tiny bit of credence in this situation to say no, its a bad idea and you'll be killed."

"While your opinion is noted," Rukia narrowed her eyes. "You shouldn't have involved yourself in the first place."

"Um," The man interrupted, but both women ignored him.

"Had I not involved myself, you would have been eaten." Sakura waved her hands for emphasis. "As if I could just let that happen!"

Rukia's eyes softened slightly but she did not relent. "I owe you; And that's why you will sit back and let us do this, this situation didn't involve you and you were injured as a result."

Rukia approached the man, clearly prepared to enact her plan, and also done with arguing. She was right, Sakura thought, they didn't have time to waste, but that didn't mean she should just jump into the face of danger with a sloppy plan. After the man launched her through her into the air, what then? Even if they managed to take the monster by surprised, what could Rukia do? Best case scenario was that she just fell to the ground, otherwise… well Sakura had already experienced it. Her stomach throbbed.

If only they could- wait. She was an idiot, why didn't she think of this earlier?

"Wait!" Sakura called out, just as the man bent down to pick up Rukia.

Rukia turned to her, "Unless its a better plan we don't-"

"It is a better plan!" Sakura said quite hurriedly waving her hands. "But I need you both to extend your disbelief."

"Money girl, what do you plan to do?" the man asked.

Sakura slowly lowered her arms and nodded, "Something sneaky."

Lifting her hands in front of her, she performed 3 quick seals and weaved a genjutsu around them only visible to the monster. Her chakra seemed fine again, enough to perform a jutsu like she did, at least. Both Rukia and the man only looked on in confusion as nothing noticeable took place.

"I switched something." Sakura said, looking to Rukia. "Throw me instead."

"Switched… something?" Rukia's expression was baffled.

"Just an illusion," Sakura nodded, as if that explained everything. "If surprise is our friend, then surprise him we shall."

"Magic tricks." The man nodded his head knowingly, clearly not comprehending the act Sakura had just performed, but accepting her answer. She appreciated his trust, but couldn't help but question his ability to accept things at face value.

"An illusion, how did you-?" Rukia started and then stopped herself, knowing it was a losing battle. "You know what, nevermind." She then pointed at the hole in Sakura's shirt. "It doesn't change the fact that you are still injured."

Sakura lifted the flap of her blown open shirt where the leech had exploded, revealing blood coated skin, but no wound. "I'm fine now."

Rukia gocked, and then rubbed her temple, eyes scrunched closed in frustration. "Fine," she relented. "Fine; what's the plan?"

"I'll hit him under the guise of one of those big rocks." Sakura revealed, pointing towards a large piece of pavement broken from her earlier punch. "If I'm lucky I'll do some damage, if not it might give us some time until your friend shows up."

The man looked confused. "Money girl, will you be able to do that?"

Sakura gave him a thumbs up. "I'm a tough girl, tougher than you'd think."

Rukia pursed her lips, clearly unsure, but relented. "Fine, it's better than my plan, just be careful."

The monster circled above them, and Sakura allowed herself to be picked up by the man. She fit quite comfortably in his hands, admittedly, but she was always quite small.

"I still can't help but think this is… a strange plan." The man said.

"You're not wrong." Sakura agreed. "There's probably a thousand betters ways we could approach this, but we've committed now, I think."

"Watch out for his leeches." Rukia advised.

Sakura smiled down at the other woman. "If I get blown into pieces, then I won't get an explanation will I."

She looked up into the sky where the monster was still circling above them. Right now it was under the idea that Sakura was actually a rock, which would give her a slightly better chance to take him by surprise. "He's just above you," Sakura directed the man, "At 1 o'clock."

The man aimed her accordingly, and then threw her, tossing her with such strength that she soared through the air. The wind beat against her skin as the distance between herself and the monster grew smaller and smaller.

"Pfft," The beast snickered and moved to the side slightly, clearly not taking their efforts seriously. "As if something like that will get me again, nice try-".

"Boo." Sakura retorted, dispelling the genjutsu. The monsters mouth dropped open in shock and Sakura took that moment to strike. Grabbing the top of the beast's mask, she used the force of the throw to smash her knee through its teeth. The beast made a garbled noise as they shattered, and faltered in its flight. Sakura then reeled her fist back again and smashed it right into its nose, sending cracks up its forehead and splitting it down the middle.

They began to fall towards the earth, gravity taking hold of both of them after the monster stopped flapping its wings. Sakura kept her hold on the top of its mask and swung her legs down into its face again just moments before they hit the ground, slamming it into the pavement.

The ground crumbled beneath them, the monster's head plunged into the rubble.

Both Rukia and the man shielded there eyes from the dust being sent up from their crash landing. The man looked very shocked, and confused again.

Sakura leapt off of its body and stumbled as she landed. That had gone ten times better then she had expected.

Backing away from its body, she caught a slight movement out of the corner of her eye. It was a bird cage sat in the middle of the road, containing a small cockatiel within.

The man's gaze was immediately drawn to the cage and his eyes widened. "Yuichi's cage… how is it…"

"I'm sorry." The cockatiel spoke, surprising Sakura. "I was caught."

The monster growled, pulling its head out of the ground, groaning. Pieces of white fell to the ground, and Sakura realized it was fragments of the beast's bone mask. She ground her teeth together. Even after all of that, still no dice?

"Your tricks mean nothing. While you were distracted with me, I was able to capture the child." It growled, holding its face.

The man extended his hand towards the bird, but Rukia suddenly shouted. "Don't move, Chad! He'll blow up the bird!"

"You've been nothing but a nuisance since you showed up," The monster angled its head towards Sakura, teeth caved in, cracked and broken. "Run for me. Give me the pleasure of chasing you down!"

Sakura glared up at the monster. She spared a glance at Chad, who looked to be struggling with himself. The cockatiel was clearly something very important to him.

"I-" She started, but was cut off as Rukia spoke up.

"I'll go."

Both Chad and Sakura whipped their heads at her, Chad with clear concern on his face. "New girl, you…"

"Don't worry about me," Rukia smiled, "I'll kick his butt."

Before Sakura could attempt to dissuade her, Rukia took off running. The beast grinned, though his teeth were cracked and broken, and the rest of his face even rougher. He took off after Rukia and out of their line of vision. Seeing the sudden opening Sakura grabbed a piece of sharp rubble at her feet and threw it with deadly accuracy. Before the imp could attach any leeches to the cage, the rock pierced its head. Sakura then ran up to the cage and kicked the imp as hard as she could.

Clearly the monster had expected her to do something of that sort, as another imp jumped down behind her and spewed leeches. Shielding the cage with her body, Sakura leapt and rolled, barely dodging the attack.

"Money girl!" Chad shouted, running towards her. The imps attention was then caught, and it prepared to shoot the running man. Sakura smashed it into the pavement with her heel before it could get the chance, leaving nothing but goo.

With no immediate threat visible, Sakura let out a big breath of relief and sagged slightly before looking down at the cage in her arms. The cockatiel looked up at her, thoroughly rattled.

"O-Onee-chan, thank you." It said. Sakura smiled down at the bird.

Chad approached her, and hovered slightly "Are you alright?" Sakura was touched by his concern for her wellbeing despite the fact that she was a stranger. He had showed similar kindness during their previous meeting as well.

"I'm fine." Sakura tried to reassure him with a smile. Standing up, she handed the cage to him and then started in the direction Rukia and the beast had disappeared. "But she might not be. I'm going after her, stay here."

"After him? Wait-" Before he could finish, Sakura took off in the same direction as Rukia, unaware of the orange haired teenager running in the same direction not to far behind.


Sakura was able to catch up to Rukia and the monster rather quickly. She zeroed in on the girl and frowned at the visible wounds she had received in such a short time. Blood was soaking the sleeve of her blazer, and Sakura could only imagine it was the doing of the leeches.

She prepared to leap out and intervene once again, but had no chance to, when an orange haired boy ran past her and kicked the monster in the back of it head. He stomped his foot atop its skull and scowled.

"Look at you!" He admonished Rukia. "You're a bloody mess! You said you wouldn't take any unnecessary risks."

"Oh shut up," She returned just as snarkily, but did not hide the smile on her face. "I had to say that. Anyway they weren't necessary!"

Sakura realized this must be the backup she had been waiting for.

"Hey! You going to stand on my head all day?!" The beast growled. The boy jumped off and landed a couple feet in front of Rukia.

"I'm Ichigo Kurosaki, Substitute Shinigami." The boy smirked, and turned around allowing Sakura to get a good look at his face. "If you want to play "tag" then I'm it."

He didn't look like a person who smiled often. At least that was the sense Sakura got from the crease between his brow.

The beast reeled back and prepared was likely to be another volley of leeches but not before Rukia, with a weird looking glove, delivered what looked to be a body blow on the orange haired boy.

Sakura could barely believe her eyes as she watched a version of himself dressed in a black garb shoot out from the back of his body. The body dropped to the ground, and Sakura shout out from the alley she had unintentionally hid herself in and caught it before it could hit the pavement and get caught in the blast of leeches. She jumped backwards, just missing the gross bombs by a hair.

The orange haired boy landed on the beast's head with Rukia under her arm, dodging the blast of leeches with ease. He then unsheathed the very large sword on his back and slashed at the monster's shoulder. He leapt again, a good few meters away, and put Rukia down.

Sakura took this moment to sprint around the beast and towards the two of them, all the while carrying the very limp and very not alive body in her arms.

The orange haired boy had a look of shock on his face, and instinctually raised his sword at her sudden appearance. This was fair, considering she was carrying his… body. She didn't really understand it, but the orange haired boy was both in her arms and in front of her; that was clear.

"Sakura!" Rukia alarmed, and the orange haired boy looked down at his partner.

"Sakura?" He questioned lowering his blade slightly, "Is she one of your friends?"

"No, but she's an ally. That's certain." Rukia smiled, and then promptly frowned when it dawned on her. "Who should be with Chad, and not here. What the hell are you doing?!"

Sakura put the orange haired teenagers body on the ground behind the two of them. "I couldn't just let you recklessly run away without a plan!" She countered sharply. "He was after me not you!"

"I could say the same thing!" Rukia shouted. "This whole thing had nothing to do with you to begin with!"

"Well it's my problem now!" Sakura argued back, annoyance growing.

The orange haired boy seemed slightly irritated by their shouting fest. "You two sure seem friendly to me."

"We're not!" Both Rukia and Sakura shouted at the same time. The orange haired boy flinched slightly at the sudden volume and scowled.

"They're bombs." Sakura warned him suddenly, calming down. "The leeches are, I mean."

"So that's why Chad wasn't moving earlier." The boy stated, and then glared at the monster metres away from them. "Asshole, you made Karin cry, terrorized my friends and attacked a defenseless woman; you're a real prick."

"Thanks, now this prick is going to eat you." The beast's eyes curled up in humor.

The oranged haired teen shot off and began tangling with the monster confidently. Sakura took that time to observe the body on the ground before her.

"Will he be okay?" Sakura asked, not knowing if she meant the boy fighting or the body on the ground in front of her.

"He'll be fine." Rukia said with great confidence as she stared at the teenager fighting in the distance. As always, Sakura was out of the loop, but if Rukia said he was okay, then he'd be okay.

"Let me see your wounds." Sakura stood up and tentatively lifted the smaller woman's blood soaked arm.

"It can wait."

"It will not wait." Sakura asserted, grip tightening slightly around Rukia's wrist. She was using her doctor tone of voice now, and she was not leaving the smaller woman any room to disagree. Rukia seemed to realize this, and did not protest further, allowing Sakura to treat her wounds.

Not trusting her medical chakra since the incident just earlier, Sakura motioned for Rukia to shed her blazer, which she did. Sakura stared down at her own ruined shirt with the hole blown in it and decided it was most definitely trash and ripped the sleeves off. She wrapped the fabric around Rukia's arm, who looked slightly confused.

"You healed your own wounds earlier, did you not?" She questioned, not quite understanding why Sakura would tear her own shirt before doing that.

"Some things happened that aren't easy to explain, but long story short I can't do it like before." She finished tying the makeshift bandage around Rukia's bicep. "I'm sorry, you'll have to make do with this for now."

Sakura looked into the distance as Ichigo, as she recalled what the boy had called himself, continued to battle with the demon. He was holding his own well, and seemed like he knew exactly what he was doing, and Sakura could see that he was very experienced with battle based on how moved, but was relatively new to wielding a blade. She had seen similar form from many new genin all the time.

Rukia seemed confident in his abilities however, and Sakura figured she was better suited to staying out of the battle at this point in time now that he had arrived.

Footsteps announced another visitor as Chad ran down the street towards them, bird cage in his arms.

"Ichigo? What happened?" He panicked, as his gaze trailed down to the body on the ground. There was no sign that he could see the battle taking place not too far from them, making Sakura think that he couldn't see Ichigo either, just like the monster.

Then why could she?

"Chad, just in time. Take that bird and hide it somewhere safe." Rukia ordered.

"It's all my fault." The bird lamented. "You all got hurt because of me."

"Yuichi?" Chad looked down at the bird.

"Because I… Wanted to bring my mom back to life."


Yuichi revealed then, that the demon had told him that he would bring his mother back to life as long as he ran from him for three months. As a result, Chad had gotten involved in this chase.

It was undoubtedly chilling, even to Sakura who didn't quite understand the context of what the demon had made the offer. But she didn't need to understand to be appalled.

This child had been chased relentlessly for months, all under the pretense that his mother would be brought back as long as he did what he was told. It pained her heart.

"You've been through so much." Sakura spoke gently, and put a hand atop the cage. "Its okay, we won't let him hurt you anymore."

The bird looked down sorrowfully.

Rukia seemed very disturbed by this information, understandably so, but Sakura could only imagine it was due to circumstances she could not comprehend. Sakura didn't get a chance to ask why when a giant gate appeared where Ichigo had been fighting.

Even he looked alarmed at the sudden appearance, and Sakura gathered that this was not commonplace, even for him.

"That's hell." Rukia spoke. "The Zanpakutou can only cleanse a soul of its crimes after its death. Those who committed heinous sins before their death are handed over to hell."

The gate creaked open, and a great blast of wind had Sakura covering her face with her arms. She peaked through the gap and watched as the monster began disintegrating, but not before a giant blade pierced through its entire body.

Sakura had to close her eyes a couple of time, but made out the shape of a giant hand wielding said blade. The hand slowly retracted back into the gate, and the doors shut with a great bang. Then, the gate itself began crumbling into dust, before disappearing completely.

"That was hell?" Sakura asked, slightly shaken by the greatly intimidating doorway and ruthless murder of the monster they had just been fighting.

Rukia looked at her, and then at Yuichi. "You'll get your explanation later, but for now we need to deal with the soul."

Both Ichigo and Rukia stood in front of the cage while she and Chad stood off to the side. From what Sakura could gather, they were sending him to a place called Soul Society.

Ichigo had some kind words to say to the child, about how he will be able to see his mother on the other side. Sakura was slightly surprised that Ichigo was not quite as callous as she had first thought. He was actually quite sweet. She was quite suddenly overcome with the want to ruffle his hair like a proud parent, despite the fact she barely knew him.

Chad too, offered very kind words to Yuichi, and Sakura was left smiling. Suddenly an image of a young boy appeared behind the cage, and smiled brightly at Chad, though he could not see.

Ichigo pressed the base of his sword against the boy's forehead. The boy disappeared, and in his place was a black butterfly that flew away.

Now, Sakura wanted some answers.

To her surprise, Rukia removed an object from her pocket and set it off in front of Chad. Sakura backed off out of instinct, and as the thing exploded, she was glad she did. Chad collapsed to the ground, and Sakura worriedly crouched down next to him, checking to see if he was okay. He was.

Ichigo looked at Rukia in question. "You're not going to replace her memories too?"

Sakura tensed at that and readied herself for an attack. "That wasn't the deal."

"You'll get your answers, don't worry." Rukia assured her, raising her hands in hopes to calm her down.

"Will that really be okay?" Ichigo asked scratching the back of his head with a look of uncertainty.

"I owe her this much." Rukia sighed, and then looked directly at her. Sakura returned her gaze. "I'll tell you what you want, but first maybe I should start from the beginning."