Alrighty, Chapter 4 is here, and I'm kind of proud of it. Anyways, I had a review stating Ashwina is like an 80's gangsta wannabe with all the 'homie's' she's been dropping. That's what I've been going for, buuuut I've decided I should probably tone that down quite a bit. So, less of that nonsense. Anyways, there will also be a slight bonding time between Ichigo and Ashwina in this chapter. Nothing to serious, but you'll see how out of touch and time Ashwina truly is.

Thank you so much for the reviews, favorites, and likes. The reviews help me to hopefully make this story better, molding it into what I Want it to be. So please, don't be afraid to leave constructive criticism. Buuuut, happy reviews are always a ray of sunshine as well :)

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach, only Ashwina and the many twists and turns she brings along with her lazy ass.

Enjoy

Bounty

Chapter 4-Hey there Soul Society

Bright colorful flashes lit the sky, resounding blasts echoing into the air. Ichigo, Chad, Tatsuki, Orihime, Keigo and Muzuiro watched from their spot by the railing, their young faces illuminated by the bright lights above. They had met here to watch the fireworks, a symbol that summer vacation had begun. Even with his impending trip to the soul society, Ichigo felt slightly at peace by the routine of his human life. It helped keep his mind clear of the unknown lurking in his future.

"BIG BROTHER!"

"ICHIGO!"

"BIG BROTHER ICHIGO!"

And it was shattered as the poor teen was assaulted by his father and sisters, knocked over the railing and tumbling down the grassy hill in a painful ball of sharp elbows and heavy feet. His friends just watched, not even phased by the crazy that was the Kurosaki family.

"Here Big Brother, have a chocolate banana!" The light brown haired sister, Yuzu, pushed the fruit into his face, a large smile on her flushed face. "It's really good!" Ichigo protested even as the twin, Karin, urged him on. "Why are you guys participating in a fireworks festival of a neighboring city anyway?!"

"What! Are you saying my chocolate tastes bad?!" Ichigo covered his ears as Yuzu screamed at him, a hurt look on her normally docile and sweet face. "You're too loud! Are you drunk?"

"Yes, she is drunk."

Ichigo gaped at his father, tick marks appearing all around his head. His friends sweat dropped as the supposed father figure of the family went on to explain how the juice salesman had spiked their drinks. Ichigo could only stare in horror at the story; his father had willingly let his eleven year old sisters get drunk. Suddenly, his father and his friends ran off, Isshin claiming to have the perfect spot to watch the fireworks.

Sighing, Ichigo turned to Tatsuki and Orihime apologetically before the raven head waved him off. Smiling slightly, the orange haired teen walked away intent on following the cloud of dust left by his family and friends.

Even though they were crazy, never letting life give him a dull moment, he could only sigh and smile. This was his normal; his home.

And he was risking this to save Rukia.

Shaking his head, he continued down the sidewalk, looking up as more fireworks lit the darkening sky. Blue, green, and red exploded above him, falling toward the earth before disappearing. His eyes watched them fall, completely missing the next set as they lit off. There on the opposite bank sat a figure, relaxing back on her elbows as her silver braids brushed the ground below.

Ichigo stopped walking, his eyes narrowing at the girl. She hadn't even glanced at him, her eyes set on the sky above. To Ichigo, she didn't even look like the same girl that had heckled him continuously at Urahara's. There was something different about the girl in front of him now.

Her normally dull eyes were opened wide in wonder, shining brightly as each firework lit up the sky. Instead of candy hanging from her mouth, there was a slowly burning cigarette. Her entire body was relaxed, leaning against the hillside. He could see her tattoos peeking out from beneath the elbow length sleeves of her jacket, the kanji on her right arm still wavering like the ripples in a lake. He couldn't take his eyes away, even as her bright eyes fell from the sky and connected with his. Slowly, the light of wonder that had brightened them so intensely dulled, leaving the dull green that had watched him for the past three days. Her mouth pulled into a frown, her cigarette hanging limply as she stared at him.

Then, as if she had been nothing but a figment of his imagination, she disappeared. A small cloud of smoke left in her wake. Ichigo stared at the spot for another long moment, contemplating the girl that had been nothing but a pain in his ass since day one.

"Big Brother!"

Shaking his head, Ichigo turned to look at his little sister, Yuzu. She waved to him from her spot far up the sidewalk. He waved back once before jogging to catch up to her, the silver haired girl taking over his thoughts.

Ashwina's P.O.V.

I watched from above as Ichigo joined his sister, walking along with her back to his family and friends. It was just really dawning on me how young he really is, only just beginning High School with the typical teenage friends and activities. Yet, here he was, thrust into a world that a human was never meant to tread upon. If it weren't for all the manipulative geezers, he'd have the chance at a normal and happy life. 'Technically, he still does in a way. He just has to stay the hell out of Soul Society and as far from that lolicon pervert as possible.'

He looked so young, smiling with his friends as fireworks rained down from the skies. His family surrounding him happily, exclaiming with wonder at each blast of light. Looking up, I watched in mild fascination as colors exploded in front of my eyes. Really, the things humans created were just mind boggling and amazing. I let my eyes travel back down to the teen, finding him once again staring at me.

His brown eyes were bright, the green flares illuminated in their depths. The usual scowl was back as he stared me down, his eyebrow raised in curiosity. There was a slight tug at the invisible chain still connecting us, I raised an eyebrow back, blowing out a thin trail of smoke. The kid inclined his head to the right slightly before turning and walking away, yelling to his friends and family that he would be back.

I waited until he was around the corner before jumping, leaving a small cloud of smoke before I was standing right next to him. He jumped back slightly, his eyes widening at my sudden appearance. "How the hell do you do that?" I smirked, rocking back onto my heels. "Why? You jealous that's not in your repertoire of powers?" Pulling the dying cigarette from my mouth, I went to flick it into the street, but it was snatched out of my hand.

"That's littering, you know." With that, Ichigo started walking away, throwing it into a nearby trashcan before looking back at me. "You coming?" I frowned at him before falling in step beside him. 'What a goddamn Goody two-shoes.'

"So, what's our secret little meeting for, dude? You wanna make out in the shadows where your family can't see?" He glared at me, a flush creeping onto his cheeks. "Shut up, I'm beginning to think you're the true pervert in this whole ordeal." I pouted at him, pulling another cigarette from my cleavage. "Don't put me into the same category as that disgusting lolicon, I'm a tease not a sex-addicted psycho." He watched me from the corner of his eyes as I lit the small stick, scowling down at me.

"You know those are unhealthy right? How does a girl your age even get them?"

"It's so cute how you think I'm so young," I smirked at him before blowing a big old puff into his face. "Besides, I think there's a better chance of cows shitting rainbows then these actually hurting me, homeskillet, but thanks for the concern."

"How old are you anyways?"

"None of your business, nosy."

He scowled at me again, his eyes darkening slightly. "Fine, then how about you tell me why I'm a bounty and why you're hunting me?"

"Correction," I held up a hand, looking up to watch another explosion of color. "You're already caught. And the rest is classified."

"The how about who put me on the list?"

"You did, dumbass," I smirked even wider as he scoffed in irritation. He really was fun to mess with.

"FINE, then what the hell can you tell me?!"He spun around to face me, stopping our 'romantic' walk in its tracks. His face had turned a little red with anger, his scowl deeper then I had ever seen it. I looked up in thought at his question, bringing the cigarette to my lips slowly.

"You shouldn't have let Rukia Kuchiki give you her powers, you shouldn't go to Soul Society and save her martyr ass, you shouldn't have let that old pervert give you your powers back, and you should have never let me join this escapade." He stared me down, his jaw slightly slackened in shock. I kept my gaze steady, holding his unflinchingly even has face grew red with anger and determined.

"And why the hell shouldn't I have done any of that?" I was a little caught off guard at the quiet question, having been expecting an explosion of pure teenage hormone rage. "Because, you are a 15 year old human, who is being shoved into a battle that was never your problem to begin with." He looked at me confused, before turning around, his hands deep in his pockets.

"Well, regardless, all of that happened," he focused his eyes above us, watching the fireworks with a hard look on his face. "And no matter what, I will save Rukia." He looked back at me when the final burst of light faded away. "However, what I really want to know is whether you're committed to saving her to."

Sighing, I shook my head and muttered under my breath about nosy brats. He seemed to take that as my answer, his face losing the small look of hope that had appeared in his eyes as he started to walk away. "Yes, you dolt." Stopping short, his shoulders went rigid at the roughness in my voice. "Why?"

"Do you really need to know the specifics?" I glared at the ground, feeling extremely uncomfortable. 'This is not how a bounty hunt is supposed to go.'

"Normally, I'd say no," he turned around again, looking my right in the eyes. "But, you're not exactly a trustworthy ally." Okay, I give him points for that one. "Touche."

I looked around uncomfortably again, rubbing my arm. "You know, I think this is the longest I've ever interacted with someone in a long time." I chuckled humorlessly, stepping forward until I was leaning against the rail to look down at the river. "You and Rukia are pretty close, huh? I mean, you're risking your life for her, that's true dedication there, homes." Glancing back at him, I could see that he was looking at me in slight interest. "It's something precious, the bond between you two. It would be a shame to see that go right down the toilet because those selfish assholes in soul society don't know how to wipe their asses without some old goons telling them how to do it." I chuckled again, shaking my head before turning around to face him.

"No, I'm not saving Rukia 'cause she's your best buddy or anything like that. I just feel like this is an unjustified death. Plus," I took a deep drag, a smirk curling along my lips. "Those bastards need a good wake up call, and I just feel like being the one to blow the Reveille." That seemed to satisfy him. A small smile curled at his lips, and he started to turn away.

Without thinking, which I really should do more often, I took a step after him. "Hey, Ichigo." Clamping my mouth shut, I almost bit my tongue realizing the shithole I was about to bury myself in. "Wanna go do something? You know, before we throw our lives away to fight the dead?"

He looked back at me in surprise, his eyebrows raised to his hairline. A warm feeling bloomed across my cheeks, so I looked away quickly, blowing out another puff of smoke. "Nevermind, I'm sure you'd rather be with your friends and family, so I'm just gonna go. See ya-"

"Sure."

I looked back, my mouth still open from my interrupted sentence. "Why not? We're gonna be fighting together, might as well get to know one another." He came back to my side, looking down at me with a raised eyebrow. "You know, before you have to take me in for your rent money." Blowing a raspberry at him, I started walking forward, my face still warm. "Psh, I was exaggerating. You're bounty isn't even enough to cover my candy tab." I heard him chuckle quietly at my words. "That's a lie and you know it."

"Wow, someone's got an ego, better push that back down before it gets you in trouble. Here, I'll help, you've got an ugly hero face." He sputtered at me, a look of feigned hurt on his face. "Oh yeah? Well, you've got a rat nest for hair and tar lungs."

A feeling I couldn't describe started to work its way into my chest, tightening slightly as we bantered back and forth. The kid was actually enjoyable to be around when he wasn't playing super hero. Well, even then he still had that charismatic draw to him. It was pulling me in, and I knew it. A single thought ran through my head as I punched him in the arm for calling me an old woman.

'What the hell am I gonna do to get out of this shithole?'

Ichigo's P.O.V.

I stared in surprise as Ashwina led us back towards the road, pulling a set of car keys from her pocket. She stopped in front of a big red truck, the English letters GMC on the front. "You gonna get in or just stare like a guppy?" Scowling, I walked to the passenger side and stepped up into the monstrous thing. "How the hell do you have a car? An American one at that?" She looked at me with lidded eyes, her lips in a small pout. "Hey, don't rag on Lucy. I've had her since the 80's," she put the key in the ignition, firing the monster up as it literally roared to life. "And I travel." She turned up the radio, a small ipod connected to it. Loud guitars suddenly blared through the speakers. "A lot."

With that, we were accelerating down the road at a speed I highly doubted was legal. She looked over at me, rolling her eyes as I held onto the handle and dashboard for dear life. "Relax, dude, I'm not gonna kill us." Either way, she let the monster slow down, driving a decent speed before turning onto the bridge that led back to Karakura Town. Slowly, I relinquished my death grip, and relaxed back into the seat.

"What's this music? I've never heard it before," and I honestly barely understood the words considering it was all in English. "ACDC, what didn't the prestigious Japanese school system teach you English?" I glared at her, realizing that she didn't appear very Asian. "Are you American or something?" She scoffed, giving me look that asked me if I was brain dead. "Hardly."

"Then, why all the American styles?"

"I liked the hippie rebel era, so sue me."

It was quiet after that, the music turning to a slow Japanese ballad that I could actually understand. Turning, I looked around the interior of the truck, picking up three empty cigarette packs. "Seriously, this is unhealthy. Don't you know what cigarettes do to the body?" Once again I received the look inquiring my intelligence. "Yeah, to mortal, they're pure cancer in a tiny little stick of nicotine, but..."

"You're not mortal?"

I watched as she kept her eyes on the road, an almost bitter smile lifting her lips. "No. I'm not." I wanted to ask more, but she held up her hand, glancing at me from the corner of her eyes. "You're not playing the game right, dude."

Puzzled, I looked at her curiously. "Seriously, are you brain dead? 20 questions moron. You ask, I answer, I ask, you answer, and so on?" I shook my head, not a clue about this game she was talking about. Sighing, she glanced in her mirrors once before suddenly turning sharply into a field, driving straight through towards a wooded area. "What the hell are you doing?!" My death grip returned as I watched in horror as she continued straight for the woods with an unconcerned look on her face. "What happened to not killing us?!"

"Shut up and watch, homie."

Eyes wide, I looked back to the woods, as we got closer I saw a thinned out are. Bursting through the bushed, we suddenly landed safely on a tire tracked dirt road, leading straight into the woods. She laughed as I let my hand go of the dashboard, and I scowled, glaring to the side. "You're suicidal."

"And you're too serious!" She laughed again, before she put her cigarette back between her lips. Looking forward, I watched as a small house came into view. "Is this your house?" She hummed once, putting the thing in park before hopping out. I stepped down out of the monster, and started around towards the house. "Why do you live all the way out here?"

"So I don't have to interact with people, if you haven't noticed, I'm not exactly social."

She walked on ahead of me, pushing the door open. I stepped in, expecting to see candy wrappers and cigarette packs littering the floor, but was mildly surprised by how clean the place was. Well, clean wasn't exactly right, bare was more the word. There was a large recliner, a small hand held radio, a coffee table with an ashtray, and a rocking chair. That was it, not pictures, no T.V., no knick knacks; just an empty room with some furniture. The kitchen that we walked into was no better; a small table with an upturned trash can for a chair and some dusty glasses and a few equally dusty plates on a shelf. There weren't even cabinet doors, only barren cabinets.

She sat on the counter top, waving towards the 'chair' at the table. I sat quietly, looking around for any signs of another life. "So, where's your family?" She looked up for a second, shooing away a fly. "Well, my mom's dead, my dad's out of the picture, and the 'siblings'," she raised her fingers into quotations. "Don't exactly see me as their baby sister." I looked at her strangely, not expecting her to be so honest. "What do you mean?"

"Well, in you humans' term, I'm a bastard child from an adulterous consummation."

She looked at me then, an unreadable look in her eyes. "Your mom died to, didn't she?" The unwelcome feeling of grief washed over my entire being, and I looked down. "Yeah, she uh, died a while ago." I heard her hum once before leaning over and opening her fridge. She pulled out a can and tossed it to me. "Here, I guess I should try and be a good hostess." I caught the can, looking at it in confusion. "Is this beer?" I looked up in surprise as I heard her crack open her own can. "You do realize I'm underage, right?"

Her head tilted slightly, eyebrows raised in confusion. "They have a drinking age? When did that start?" I gaped at her, watching as she took another long gulp. "Um, like 20 years ago?" She nodded once, a look of understanding in her eyes. "Well, that's pretty retarded. Anyways, drink up. I don't got anything else."

"I'll get some water instead."

"Don't you think it's a bit dark to walk down to the stream?"

I looked back at her in surprise, my hand hovering above the sink's handle. "Why would I go to the stream?" She shot me a sheepish smile. "I haven't paid my water bill for quite some time, soooo no running water."

"Oh."

"Yeah."

I wrinkled my nose at her, leaning back slightly. "Then how do you bathe?"

"The stream, man."

"Where people can just walk by and see you naked?!"

"What's wrong with that? Is my body not good enough to look at naked, huh?"

"Wha-no! I mean, ye-I don't know! You just shouldn't be naked in public!"

She laughed at me, her eyes lit up slightly, just like when she had been watching the fireworks. "Oh, you're too easy, man. Too easy." Taking a deep gulp, she smacked her lips before nodding her head at my unopened beer can. "Seriously, just drink it. I won't let you get drunk and run around naked or anything, homes." I looked at her dubiously, holding the can out. "No, it's fine." She frowned, jumping down from the counter without making a sound. 'How does she do that?'

"Homeskillet, listen to me," She pushed the can back towards me. "It's not a big deal. I mean, back in my day all we had was water or alcohol, there was no 'drinking age' and I'm perfectly fine." She held up one finger. "Don't even say whatever it is you want to say, homes. Just drink it and relax."

Sighing, I looked down at the can, debating whether or not to trust her words. Finally, I pulled the tab, watching as a slight foam flooded the brim. Lifting it to my lips, I took a small sip before pulling back with a small sputter. "This is gross, why do adults like this?"

"Because we like to forget." She mumbled it so quietly, I had barely heard it. She was looking away from me, focusing instead on the lighter in her hands. After getting the cigarette lit, she looked back at me before motioning for me to follow her. "So," she pushed the door open, taking us back to the porch where there were at least two rocking chairs. "Tell me about yourself, dude."

"What do you want to know?" I took another sip, the bitter taste less assaulting on my taste buds. "I don't know, man. What's your favorite color?"

"Red, yours?" She smirked at me, catching onto my game. "Orange." I blushed as she winked at me, smirking as she took another sip. "Alright, how many siblings do you have?" I looked out at the woods, picturing Yuzu and Karin in my mind. "2, they're twins; Yuzu and Karin. You?" She looked up in thought, ticking off her fingers as if counting. "Eeeeh, 32...I think? Only on my dadderino's side, though. I'm my mom's only kid." She didn't even seem to notice the openly shocked face I was giving her. "32?!"

"Yep, and they're all over pompous assholes." She gritted her teeth, a bitter look in her eyes. "Alright, so what's your zanpakuto like?" I gave her a weird look, wondering why she would ask that of all things. "He's an interesting guy. He helped me a lot, though, to see who I am and what I should fight for. I can shoot giant waves of energy off of my blade." She nodded once, an interested look on her face. "So, he's almost like an energy melee type then?" I nodded once, feeling the alcohol work its way into my system as my head began to feel a little lighter.

"What about your powers?"

"Powers? Hm, well, I can transport myself small distances, I call it jumping." She snorted slightly. "Really unoriginal name, I know, but I was 10 when I came up with it. I also got this guy," she held out her hand, a black scythe appearing from thin air in her palm. "He's kind of the equivalent of your zanpakuto, I guess. It's hard to explain." She stopped talking then, looking at me intently as if she was having an inner debate. "And I can jump dimensions, but don't tell Urahara that. That lolicon freak would have a field day trying to drug me and figure out how."

"Dimension jumping?"

She nodded once, an almost excited look on her face as she held her hands out in front of her. "Yeah, man, it's super cool. You wouldn't imagine how many dimensions there really are, that are connected to ours. It's the trippiest shit, dude. Like, this one has nothing but these creatures made completely of galactic star dust stuff," she looked back at me, her eyes bright as she excitedly explained. "Their bodies are literally made out of galaxies, they are universes while at the same time, living creatures! Tell me that's not crazy, dude!"

I couldn't. That was so unimaginable, it sounded almost crazy. Yet, I did believe her. After everything that has happened with Rukia, nothing was really unbelievable anymore. I smiled lightly at the excited look in her eyes as she continued to explain the dimensions, her demeanor take a complete 180. I felt as if I was seeing the real her as she waved her hands around with each excited sentence, her smile contagious.

"I should show you sometime." She suddenly froze, her eyes wide as if she had said something she really shouldn't have. "Nevermind, forget I said that." Looking away again, her body seemed to curl in on itself. I could almost see the invisible walls coming right back up that had disappeared for those few moments. We sat in silence, both awkwardly looking out at anything but each other.

"So, it's getting pretty late, huh? Well, let's get you back, homie. I'm sure you have a curfew." I looked up as she started walking towards her truck. Slowly, I got up and followed. "No, I don't actually." She looked up in surprise as I leaned against her door so she couldn't open it.

Ashwina's P.O.V.

I quickly let go of the door handle, taking a small step back as my eyelids fell to stare impassively at Ichigo. "Well, you got a big day tomorrow, little homie." I smirked, snatching the beer from his hand before gulping it down. "And your refreshment is gone, so time to go home and leave this little lady to get nice and belligerently drunk." That was a lie, I was probably going to just go to Urahara's and slice up a few rocks. I had a lot of tension and stress to release now.

He looked down at his now empty hand, his eyebrow raising as he looked back at me. "That was a bit rude. Are you sure you're ok to drive after chugging 2 beers?" I scoffed, rolling my eyes at him. "Baby, you have no idea the tolerance I have after this long." His cheeks heated up, and I saw my way out of this extremely awkward situation. "Oh please, you'd probably pass out after 4 beers, tops. I can't trust your drunk ass to drive me home."

I could feel my eye twitch, a competitive side that I had thought died away long ago reared it's ugly head. "What was that? You're probably a 2 beer queer, kiddo. Don't talk so big to your elders." His eyes lit,electricity lighting between us. "2 beer queer, huh? That's big talk coming from such a tiny old woman." Tick marks appeared above both our foreheads. "Well this old woman can drink your inexperience ass into the ground!"

And that was how I ended having to drag an unconscious 15 year old through the woods until I was close enough to jump him into his house. While also stumbling drunk.

Dropping the kid's body onto his bed with a large heave, I stumbled back, giggling to myself. "Ssshhhiiiiit, he'sh heavyyy." Taking a step forward, I tugged off his shoes, looking at them before tossing them behind me. I giggled again as they thumped against his closet wall. "Shhhhhhhhhhh, you'll wake up hish familyy." I frowned at myself before busting into giggles again. "Am I talkink to myshelf? Pffft."

Stumbling forward again, I yanked back his blanket before tossing it unceremoniously onto his weirdly angled body. "G'night Ichiiiiiiigooooo, see youu tomorra!" Leaning down, catching myself with his desk and one hand on his bed, I planted a wet sloppy smooch on his forehead.

I frowned slightly, looking at his drooling peaceful face. There was that feeling again, tugging deeply at my chest. I leaned down, wobbling slightly as I put my lips against the shell of his ear. "You better not get killed," I leaned back up, frowning as I began to sober up. Without another word, I jumped from his house back down to the sidewalk below. Stumbling slightly, I blew the hair from my eyes before making my way towards the only place I could find more alcohol.

Urahara's Shoten.

Stumbling slightly, I walked along humming tunelessly to myself as I watched the stars sway above me. I giggled as I tripped over a crack in the sidewalk. Suddenly, a blast of light took up the sky, followed by more bright colorful explosions. Someone was letting off fireworks. I let out a small squeal at the sight, walking up, until I was high in the sky. The fireworks lit up my face, sending my shadow 20 feet out along the road below. I looked down and giggled at the grotesque shape. However, my giggle fit and drunkenness faded quickly at the sight of a winged creature's shadow appearing behind my own.

"So, you've finally found me you useless old shit." The crow let out a hideous squawk, circling me once before flying slowly down. It landed easily on the extended arm waiting in the dark. A deep chuckle echoed into the night, nearly drowned out as consecutive fireworks lit the sky, booming loudly with each blast.

"Finally, you've stopped running little Ashwina. That's good news to an old woman like me," Nirrti stepped forward, her face grotesque with wrinkles and a few well placed moles. "These old bones can't keep up with the young." Her long blond hair was braided and wrapped once around her neck like a scarf, covering the ornately beaded necklace. "Now then," silver eyes connected with mine as I finally looked back to the ugly face. "What do you have to say for yourself, brat, walking around drunk in public. Have you no shame?"

"That face is ugly, Nirrti."

"You should see my ass, it's even worse then the face." The old woman cackled, her eyes alight with mirth. "However, dear, that is neither here nor there." I watched quietly as the pale wrinkled skin began to tint a light blue, pulling back and smoothing out. The old humped back straightened, lengthening until she stood at an intimidating 5'8". Her blond hair, still braided and wrapped around her neck loosely, seemed to radiate the light of the sun, and her bright silver eyes, surrounded by long eyelashes, began to glow. In the end, a Goddess, truly beautiful and deadly, stood before me. Blue lips, luscious and full, pulled back into a brilliant smile, promising nothing but death and carnage. "Now, you little shit, what do you have to say?"

"That face is even uglier, turn back into the old woman."

Nirrti scowled, sticking her tongue out at me, revealing dark lines of an ancient rune tattoo. "So rude, wherever did you get those horrible manners from?" I stared blankly at her, taking a deep drag of the last bit of my cigarette. "Oh right, that was me," she laughed boisterously, the small kiss mark on her lips raising elegantly as she smiled brightly.

"What do you want, Nirrti? Your creepy ass has been stalking me for the last three days. Do you know how disturbing that is, dude?" I stuffed my hands deep into my pockets, glaring at the woman. The dumb crow glared at me, its eyes accusing me of insolence. I glared right back, sticking my tongue out at it. "Stalk is such an aggressive term, I would much more prefer that I had happened upon your lazy insignificant soul on my journey through life." She laughed again. She always did find herself to be hilarious.

I snorted once before sarcastically slapping my knee. "Oh that is a knee slapper, Nirrti. My lazy insignificant soul, how do you come up with such witty lines." Her smile tightened, eyes flashing with irritation before she waved her squawking minion away. It saluted once before disappearing with a small pop, sending me one last glare as it went.

"Oh, you know me dearie, I've always been the comedian of the family."

She stepped forward, her gait elegant and flawless. "Speaking of family, I hear you're going to be dropping in to visit my dear old brother." With one quick movement, she had snatched the pack of cigarettes from my cleavage. Picking one out, she daintily set it between her lips before lifting one perfectly filed nail to the tip. A small flame erupted, lighting the small stick before flickering away. "I was hoping you would pass along a message for me." She exhaled slowly, the smoke drifting to the sky as elegant as the woman releasing it.

"What's in it for me?" I lit my own cigarette, the stress of being near the woman sending my nerves haywire. She smiled, waving her hand once. A large bag, filled to the brim with a multitude of candy appeared, floating teasingly in the air beside her. "All this shall be yours." I raised an eyebrow, pushing away the deep need to snatch the bag and run. She huffed at the look on my face, "and also top secret information."

"Alright, deal. What's the message."

An odd look crossed her face, one that I had never seen her wear before. It looked almost wary, no more like frightened. Her eyes glanced around once before she leaned in ever so slightly, smoke blowing from her dainty nostrils. "Tell him that Jalandhara has awakened."My eyes widened ever so slightly. She stared intently at me, a sad little smirk twisting her lips. "Be careful, brat. This pesky war of the shinigami's is slowly becoming ours." She leaned back, a bright smile once again on her face. "Well, it was a pleasure seeing you little one. Please, do drop by sometime soon. The palace is such a drag without you around anymore."

There was a bright light followed be a billow of smoke. That was that, she had disappeared. Slowly, I raised my now shaky hand to grab the cigarette from between my lips, throwing it to the ground as I tried to calm my body. It shook slightly as I started my walk home. Jalandhara was back. That was bad news, though that was nowhere near as nerve wracking as the thought of telling him.

He was not gonna like that one bit.

I stared, unimpressed, at the group of teenagers approaching the gate Urahara had created. The man snickered beside me as I wiped the blood colored goop from my hands. The neanderthal had once again convinced me to do something stupid. Although, it had been pretty hilarious to watch Ichigo as he freaked out about the blood writing on his wall. Although, meeting Isshin had definitely not been in my plans for the night.

I snickered quietly, watching the teen have a near heart attack at the horrific message now splattered all over his wall. My job complete, I stuck a much rewarded lolipop into my mouth and started on my way back over the roof. Suddenly, a very heavy body dropped out of the sky, plastering my body to the roof. Looking up, my lolipop's stick broken and hanging in two, I glared at eccentric man that could only be Isshin Kurosaki.

"What the fuck is wrong with you, you deranged douche?!"

"Make sure you keep my idiot son safe." I glared up at the man currently sitting on my back. My neck straining just to see his rare serious up, I flipped the man from my back and stretched it back and forth trying to relieve the now throbbing pain. "Damn dude, what do you weigh now? You were not that heavy 30 years ago."

The now sulking man fell to his knees, absently drawing circles on the rooftop. "I may have put on a few pounds since Masaki's death..." A dark cloud of gloom hung over his head.

"No, a few pounds would be manageable. You are fat now, go exercise instead of slaving your daughter away on the stove, you useless old douche." Another cloud suddenly formed over his head. He nodded quickly before jumping back up into a superior pose with his hand raised to the sky. "YES! Masaki-chan, I will be the family cook from now on!" I sweat dropped at the man, feeling bad for all the ridiculous rants Masaki's spirit receives.

Without warning, he appeared in front of me again, face completely serious. "Ashwina," suddenly, he dropped into a shallow bow. "Please, protect Ichigo." I looked at the man in masked in surprise, not expecting him to ask in such a manner.

"Dude, he's my bounty. There's no way I'd let him die, that's my rent money, man."

Isshin smiled brightly at me, an understanding look deep in his eyes. "Well, at least my delinquent son is good for something, now if you'll excuse me!" And with that, he leaped from the roof, attempting to attack the orange head he had just begged me to protect.

'What a weird dude.'

There were four of them in total; Orhime Inoue, Uryu Ishida, Sado Yatsura, and of course, Ichigo Kurosaki. I watched as they each made their way down the gigantic ladder. The girl exclaimed loudly about how cool the desert was. Tick marks appeared around my forehead as MY Tessai showed his gratitude to her while holding her hands on his knee. 'Oh no, that is my magnificently mustached manslave.'

Urahara caught their attention by materializing the gateway. "Come. This is the door to the Soul Society, Senkaimon." The kiddos looked at it warily, hanging on Urahara's every word. "Please listen carefully. I will now teach you the way to go through the door without dying." After those pleasant words, he smashed his cane into the back of Ichigo's head, knocking his soul from his body.

"OH!" His friends picked up the now limp body, staring at Ichigo in surprise. I snorted at the stupid looks on their faces. "Oh, so Kurosaki-san, you can't enter this Kurosaki-san over here?" With that stupid comment, I glared at the girl, realizing that she was in fact just a space cadet with some spiritual power, and I wanted no part in that. First, she steals Tessai, and now this? No. If she dies on this adventure, there will be no fucks given from team Ashwina.

Finally, Kisuke recaptured their attention. His overly long explanation of how the door worked and the conversion of living bodies to spirit particles went right in one ear and out the other as I picked away earwax. I caught the eyes of Uryu Ishida, the quincy, as he gave me a long appraising look. His eyes narrowed suspiciously at the scythe leaning next to me. Smirking, I pulled the collar of my shirt down, showing the edge of my lime green bra. It created the desired effect as he quickly looked another direction, his face a blood red.

I snickered quietly, watching as Ichigo frowned and looked between Uryu and I with a raised eyebrow before returning his attention back to Urahara, but not before sending a small glare my way. The blond haired man was now explaining the Dangai to them. I listened quietly as he went into detail about the Dangai's current and how long it would take for us to make it safely to the other side. Honestly, I had never entered Soul Society this way, but I couldn't risk taking so many humans my way. It could kill them just to be in that dimension.

"The chance of leaving the Dangai in time is almost impossible." The girl looked at him worriedly, her eyes showing uncertainty in herself. "Then...what should we do?," she asked innocently. I was curious to that answer as well. This passageway was so uncertain, how would we be sure we could make it in time?

"Just walk forward."

Yuroichi had finally arrived. I couldn't help feeling slightly relieved knowing the woman would be joining us. Ichigo would be fine, as would I, but the others were unknown variables to me. Variables are what led to failure and death in a mission like this.

"The heart and the soul are connected. What's important is how your heart thinks." The black cat walked past the group of teenagers, standing confidently before the gateway. She turned her head to look at me, her eyes a molten gold, challenging me. "Only those who can do it may follow me." I smirked at her, stepping up to stand by her side, my scythe resting easily against my shoulder. Looking back, I glanced over the assembled team as the door came to life, my eyes landing on Ichigo. "Well, let's go already. Rukia needs her hero, dandelion head."

Ichigo didn't glare at me as I had expected, instead he nodded. His eyes were determined as he to took his place next to Yuroichi. "Yeah," he turned back, staring down at a lion plushy I hadn't noticed until now. 'Why is it tied up?' "Kon...please take care of my family." It nodded its head once, and Ichigo turned back around as his friends took their places by our sides.

"Let's GO!"

We set off, running through as fast as we could. The walls were over run by a deep purple goop, steadily sliding down to the ground in a continuous disgusting cycle. I fell back slightly, letting Ichigo and Yuroichi take the lead as I stared intently at the walls. An uneasy feeling settled in my gut as I searched the passing by walls. I had the feeling of watching eyes, but couldn't see anything. Shaking my head, I refocused on running. 'If I slack off here, who knows what could happen.'

It seemed like an eternity had passed, but it had only been two minutes. There was still no end in sight, worrying me greatly that we weren't fast enough for the time it took to reach the exit. Pushing energy into my feet, I sped up slightly, catching up to Yuroichi in the front of our group. "Hey, Yuroichi." The cat looked up at me, focusing on running more then me. "What happens if we don't make it in the 4 minutes?" She opened her mouth to answer, but was cut off as the sound of a thousand bulls stampeding overtook the small space. We both looked back, watching as the kids shouted in surprise. "Let me guess, the walls are gonna eat us, huh?"

"Idiots, if you have time to look back, then focus on running!"

Suddenly, the quincy's cape got caught in the giant mass. He flew back, already being sucked towards it at a quick speed, but was thankfully caught by the giant kid, Chad. "And that's why the woman from the Incredibles says 'NO CAPES!'." I snickered at the flushed heated glare sent my way before my eyes widened. "Yuroichi." The cat ignored me, keeping its eyes straight ahead. The giant mountain of doom started closing in, and my mind started racing. "YUROICHI!" The cat glance back, its eyes widening in shock. "What in the name of all that is holy is that?!"

"The sweeper! Run, that thing is really fast!"

Everyone picked up speed, but the thing was still closing in. I saw the girl turn around suddenly, a determined look on her face, but I had a better plan. I could see the exit now. Pushing more energy into my feet, I quickly leaped from person to person, tapping each on the shoulder. A puff of smoke met each tap before I leaped forward and grabbed Yuroichi. We popped out of existence, leaving a small puff of smoke that the sweeper ran straight through.

I breathed a sigh of relief as I saw the clear blue sky above us, only to let out a yell as Yuroichi and I plummeted to the ground. My butt hitting solid ground as I let out a grunt at the unexpected fall. Uncurling my body, I looked down at Yuroichi still cradled in my arms. "Why was that not in the memo?" Instead of answering me, the cat reached up and scratched my face, leaving bright red stinging lines behind. "FUCKING FUCKEROO! What the hell, Yuroichi?!" She leaped from my lap as I checked my face for blood, sure there was trails of it running down my face by the amount of stinging pain. "YOU MORON! The sweeper could have swept you up, then you would have been lost forever!"

I glared down at the cat, crossing my arms defiantly. "Oh please, just say thank you and be happy I got our asses out of there in time." The cat hissed at me, her eyes alite with anger. "Idiot, what if you hadn't reached me in time, you would be lost in the Dangai's personal dumpster, never to be seen again. I'm not going to thank you for being suicidal, that is not what this mission is about!" I glared back, not relenting as the cat turned her back to me and stalked away. "You're welcome anyways."

Grumbling, I stood up, and followed our little caravan as we approached the large city of the Seretei.

"Ungrateful old hag."

I watched in mild surprise as Ichigo suddenly started sprinting towards, screaming back about how he was going first. Yuroichi started screaming after him, having a mini-cat-heart attack.

"IDIOT! YOU CAN'T GO NEAR THERE! YOU'LL DIE!"

That moron just looked back with a stupid look on his face. "Eh?"

"She's talking about that, homes." I pointed up, deadpanning as he followed my finger before leaping back as the walls came crashing down, missing him by a hair. "KUROSAKI!" His friends screamed simultaneously, eyes wide as the remainder of the wall and gateway fell from the sky. I sauntered up next to Ichigo as he stared wide eyed up at the gate.

"It's been so long..." A deep voiced echoed out from the accumulated dust. "Since someone wanted to go through the toruremon without a pass..."

With half-lidded eyes, I looked up at Ichigo with a frown as a giant gorilla man appeared from the smoke.

"I finally have something to do. I'll treat you well kid." Sweat formed on the side of Ichigo's face at the sight of the man, and I could only whistle.

"So, what's the plan now, oh fearless leader?"

So, Ashwina is a bad influence on poor Ichigo, oh my. And FINALLY, we're in Soul Society. From here on, it shouldn't be too slow paced, so expect some action and (hopefully) funny moments. Now, once again, I've probably left you with more questions then answers, but I can't help it. It's all on the hush hush until everything is supposed to be brought out into the light because nothing's interesting if all the answers are right there when you have questions, right?

RIGHT!

I hope you enjoyed, please leave a nice little amount of words on your thoughts, concerns, etc. in that wonderful review section. :)

GhostDoor out baby!