Hisagi knew that it would be a long night. He mildly cursed himself for bidding Shiomi farewell so early, as she most likely could have cured his boredom. There were very few things to do in this city, and most of them could only be done by humans. Perhaps it would be beneficial for Hisagi to get a gigai, in spite of all the negative aspects Ikkaku points out.

Another prospect that Hisagi had considered to cure his ennui was training, but he had yet to find a suitable area. He probably should have asked that girl if there was an open field somewhere.

Sighing, Hisagi opted to follow the only option he really had in terms of how to spend his time in this city: walking around. It was slightly more enjoyable than his morning adventure, however, as there were fewer humans and more plus spirits. After allowing several ghosts to cross over into Soul Society, Hisagi found himself back at Shiomi's house. It seemed that her address possessed some sort of homing beacon that constantly drew him in.

Hisagi adeptly jumped up to Shiomi's window and stood on the ledge, leaning down to stare in through the window. Her room seemed despondent when it wasn't lit, and the girl appeared even more so. Her brows were as furrowed as they were when she had first learning of Hisagi, and he could barely see a tear coming from her eye.

It might have been his unyielding urge to protect others that had caused it, but whatever the catalyst, Hisagi leaned in towards Shiomi and gently brushed the tear off of her face, cautious not to awaken her. Suddenly, the girl's stress seemed to lessen, as her expression relaxed and she turned towards Hisagi, opening her mouth slightly to breathe. Hisagi realized that this girl had made him forget to, as he sharply inhaled.

Shiomi had some sort of unspeakable effect on Hisagi, and he didn't care much for the amount of control it allowed her to have over him. For some reason, so long as he stayed in this town, he felt that he wanted to protect her above all others, no matter the cost. And yet he had only met her twenty-four hours ago. He couldn't imagine how he would act around her after spending several days with her.

Stepping out of her window, Hisagi jumped to the roof of the building across the street from Shiomi's house, which just happened to allow him a very perceptive view of her room. Aside from watching the girl sleep, there wasn't much else to do at this location. He then recalled the device given to him by Hitsugaya-taichou for locating hollows in the world of the living. After pulling the device out of his pocket, Hisagi turned it on and noticed that there were no unfamiliar spiritual pressures.

Sighing, he began to toss the device up and down in boredom. Across the street, Shiomi fidgeted in her bed, catching Hisagi's attention. He almost felt like a stalker for paying so much attention to her, but then he could come up with the excuse that he was just trying to protect her.

The girl continued to move around in her bed, until stopping completely to sit up. She turned towards the window, making Hisagi's heart skip a beat. Why, he was unaware, but Shiomi proceeded to close her open window. Ah, she must have been cold.

Before turning back to her sleep, Shiomi noticed an object moving up and down in the distance, then locked eyes with an unseeable figure.

Hisagi, however, noticed Shiomi's obvious stare, forgetting to catch the device amidst the eye contact. As soon as Shiomi laid back down, Hisagi noticed that his device was on the ground below, shattered into pieces.

Oh, shit...

There was only one location in the world of the living where Hisagi could expect to find a replacement device. He considered it rather fortunate that it was located in the next town over.

Shiomi awoke the next morning feeling unusually refreshed for a Tuesday. Surviving through Mondays left Shiomi feeling utterly exhausted, even though that was the only day she didn't have soccer practice.

She stretched her arms up above her head and stood up, beginning her usual morning routine. In spite of the ordinary morning procedure, Shiomi couldn't help but recall the rather extraordinary information she had learned yesterday. All she could think about was the man who had saved her life and the incredible one that he lived. A part of her desperately desired to join Hisagi in the Seireitei and live as a shinigami.

But that would be absurd.

Sighing, Shiomi dressed herself in the school attire and walked downstairs with her book bag to eat breakfast. At this time, she could only recall how quickly Hisagi had eaten last night. Only then did she consider the possibility that Hisagi may not have been eating three meals a day, so his hunger was perfectly acceptable. She began to think of ways that she could sneak him food without her parents asking too many questions. For now, however, she grabbed a granola bar and said goodbye to her mother as she ran out the door.

Shiomi looked up at the sky and realized a small dilemma in her plan to deliver food to Hisagi-his location was unknown, proving it much more difficult to give him something.

Shiomi sighed and did the only thing she could think of. "Hisagi?" she called, the volume of her voice at a normal level. "It's Shiomi. If you're around here and you can hear me, then-"

"What?" Hisagi asked, suddenly appearing right in front of Shiomi, startling her so much that she would have fallen onto her bottom, had Hisagi's incredible reflexes not caused him to catch her arm and pull her back up. "You should be more careful."

Shiomi's eyes widened and her tone became accusatory. "I would be able to be more careful if you didn't scare me onto my butt!"

Hisagi closed his eyes and sat down on a nearby bench. "Sorry, sorry..."

Shiomi instantly realized the harsh tone of her voice and chose to recuperate by giving Hisagi a peace offering. She dug the granola bar out of her bag and held it up to him, saying, "Here. It's blueberry."

Hisagi blinking at the strange substance Shiomi held in front of him. Understanding his confusion, Shiomi clarified, "It's a granola bar. I didn't know if you were able to eat breakfast or anything, so..."

Hisagi stared up at Shiomi. Her eyes were turned away from him, looking down. The faint blush across her cheeks spoke of her obvious embarrassment. In spite of how adorable Hisagi considered this appearance to be on her, he chose to lessen her discomfort by reaching out and taking the granola bar.

"Thanks," he said, observing her face to see her reaction. She looked slightly surprised when Hisagi actually took the bar from her hands, as he had seemed disinterested at first. Shiomi then smiled and stared Hisagi staight in the eyes.

"You're welcome."

Hisagi looked away from her to read the labels on the granola bar. He had never heard of this form of nutrition, and he wanted to make sure it seemed like something he would eat. He stopped reading, however, when he noticed that Shiomi was still observing him. As soon as he sent her a confused look, the girl averted her eyes and looked at the watch on her wrist.

"U-Um..." she began, her nervousness apparent, "I'm late for school, so I've gotta go."

Hisagi looked down at the bar once more and closed his eyes. "Yeah."

Shiomi began to shuffle her feet, obviously not quite ready to leave in spite of her words. Hisagi chose to help her say whatever she needed to, careful not to make her late for school. "Is there something else you wanted to tell me?"

Hisagi casually leaned back on the bench staring at Shiomi. As soon as he auburn eyes caught his, she turned away, blushing. "W-well..." she started, "I feel like I've asked you this a lot... but, will I see you again?"

Hisagi blinked once, then smirked. This girl was incredibly fascinating for a human, and he figured he wouldn't mind spending a fair amount of time with her. "Yeah. I'll be around."

Shiomi closed her eyes and smiled with relief. "Good. I mean, awesome..."

She turned away from Hisagi, preparing to leave, when he realized that he wouldn't be here when she was done with school.

"Wait," Hisagi called, reaching out a hand to grab hers. He hadn't realized when he had stopped her from falling, but Shiomi's hands were incredibly soft. Considering the only skin Hisagi felt was that of other shinigami, who dedicated their lives to justice and would have calloused appendages, her human skin seemed unusually delicate. He would just love for her to wrap them around his neck while kissing her so hard, she wouldn't be able to let anything but moans fall from her lips. Or better yet, if she would wrap her slim, supple fingers around his-

"Hisagi?" Shiomi interrupted, sparing him of the dirty thoughts entering his mind. Hisagi couldn't help but find it mindblowing how a simple touch from this girl could make him feel such intense emotions.

But back to the task at hand. Hisagi grabbed a pen from the pocket of his shihakusho and scribbled some words on a piece of paper, then handed it to Shiomi. "When you're out of school," Hisagi explained, "come to this location. I need to show you something."

Shiomi took her gaze away from Hisagi to read the words "Urahara Shop" on the paper given to her. The name was unfamiliar to her, and she would consider it rather trying to find a location she had never heard of. "But I don't know where this place is..."

Hisagi seemed to expect that reply, as he quickly answered. "Find Kurosaki Ichigo and ask him to take you there. He'll know."

Now Shiomi was completely lost. What did that orange-haired kid have to do with anything. "But-"

"You'll understand if you go there after school," Hisagi reassured. "Trust me."

For some reason, Shiomi knew she could. She nodded, her features turning serious. "All right."

Shiomi turned away from Hisagi and began running towards the bus stop. She had barely made it ten feet before turning around to shout, "Hisagi! Be careful!"

Hisagi smiled. Maybe it wasn't the soft skin that made this girl so enticing. If it wasn't, it was her endearing sense to constantly remind him that although he could be considered a stranger to her, she cared enough about to not want to see him hurt. Hisagi was almost positive that saving her life and helping her leg heal played huge roles in these sentiments.

But he couldn't dwell on these feelings for long. As soon as Shiomi's figure faded away, Hisagi jumped towards Karakura Town. It was time to take care of business...