A/N: Ended up updating sooner than I thought. Well, here's chapter two everyone. Hope you enjoy it. Also…surprise this chapter has crazy point of view skips! (I'm known for my crazy point of view switches so if it's your first time reading one of my stories then please enjoy the craziness.) Thanks.

Warnings: This story pretty much ignores all of the filler arcs of Bleach, except for Turn Back the Pendulum. Also, since there are still parts of the Hueco Mundo arc left unfinished in the English dub, I have not seen how the ending actually turned off. This is set after the Hueco Mundo arc though, and we're ignoring the Amagai and Manifested Zanpukto arc. (At least for now. Thank you.) Also, there's a little breaking of the fourth wall. This is a drama based story, but I do like humor, so there will be some of it in this story.

Edited as of 02/24/13

Disclaimer: I own nothing except for my OC Kiki Uzumaki.

Chapter 2

The Senior Graduation Festival of Celebrations Dance

Around 5:47 p.m.

In a small house on the edge of town, Kiki Uzumaki, a girl with a dark past and a darker secret, awoke out of her slumber after having another one of her nightmares. As usual she woke up screaming, but she quickly composed herself, sitting up on the couch as she calmed her erratic breathing.

"I must be really tired today," she thought, stretching out out her tired and sore limbs. "What time is it anyway.?"

She wasn't wearing her watch like normal, so she looked over at the grandfather clock that stood at the edge of the small living room. It read exactly, five forty-eight. Kiki groaned, remembering what the time signified. She had only about an hour to get ready for that dreaded dance.

"Darn it," she muttered, rising up from the couch. After a moment of silent complaining she went into her bedroom, her eyes narrowing the dress already laying on her bed. She stared at it for a moment, dreading the task of putting the thing on.

"I'll get dinner first," she stated aloud, exiting the room and avoiding the dress as if it were a plague. She made her way to the kitchen that was adjacent to the living room and went to work in preparing her dinner. She couldn't exactly go out dancing with an empty stomach.

"Some spaghetti should do," she thought simply, opening the fridge. She grabbed the Prego sauce from the back of the fridge and set it on the corner before moving to the cabinets. She reached up, her lack of height hindering her from reaching the cans of tomatoes toward the back of one of the cabinets. With a groan she stormed across the room, reaching underneath the kitchen sink for the small stool she always kept there. She placed it on the floor and climbed up on it, reaching once more for the tomatoes. This time she had no trouble whatsoever.

Kiki brought out a pot and poured water into it after that. She turned on the stove, hoping the food would cook quickly. She did have to leave in an hour after all. With another groan she reached underneath the stove, grabbing a strainer for the noodles she was going to put in later.

As Kiki set about making her meal, her mind wandered to the future and what it would hold. She wondered about her mother's whereabouts after years of separation and even wondered about how her father was doing, even though she hated him with all the passion she could muster. Although, in the end she couldn't entirely blame him for the events that had dramatically changed her life. Part of it had been her own fault after all.

Kiki reached up to her forehead and hesitantly touched the red scar that had remained there. It was a constant reminder of that moment in history. A symbol of what she needed to do.

"I must hurry," she thought when she finished cooking twenty minutes later. She quickly piled some spaghetti on her plate and sat at the small kitchen table. She ate slowly; savoring the taste of tomatoes and noodles as she watched the hands move on the grandfather clock. It was six o'clock. She sighed again.

"Such a boring existence," she said aloud, oblivious that she was having a conversation with herself. "Hopefully this dance will bring a little excitement, but I have work to do tonight also."

Appearances can be deceiving. That's something that most people learn as they live their lives, but Kiki knew it to be a fact from the time she was a little girl. The scar on her head was proof of that. Since then she'd been moving from place to place as she searched for the monsters that ruined her life. Along the way, she destroyed Hollows and other demons, but she could never recall those battles. They were complete blanks in her memory.

How Kiki was able to destroy the Hollows is anyone's guess at this point.

Of course in this moment, Kiki's only thought is about the time. Having less than an hour to get ready for such a big event was troublesome, but it was something that Kiki could manage. She quickly finished off her food and got up from the table without bothering to put the dishes into the sink. She figured that she'd hand wash them later. (Unfortunately she doesn't own a dishwasher). There wasn't any time to do any dishwashing anyway.

Kiki walked back into her bedroom and picked up the dark green dress. Orihime had said to dress formally, but she also said to make sure that the dress was something you could move in. The dress that Kiki held in her hands now fit into the deal, but she really detested the thing.

For one thing, it was a dark green, Kiki's least favorite color. She preferred lighter colors like baby blue, cream, rosy pink, and all the other really dull colors. The dark green wasn't much of an improvement either seeing as it did nothing for her fair complexion, but Kiki didn't care for frivolous things such as that. She was all about business.

So within the hour she had taken a shower and washed her hair. She blow dried it and left it down, though she normally put it up into a pony-tail. It's easier to hide the scar when her hair is down though, so her taste in hairstyles is a bit limited to say the least. She put on the green dress shortly after. It was strapless, which was yet another thing Kiki hated about the dress. After all, strapless gowns have the tendency to slip at the most inopportune times. Making sure the thing was secure was going to be bothersome, but she'd deal with it. She wouldn't want an accident to happen while she was on the dance floor, though she doubted she would dance anyway. Still, the dress was a bit big on her because it once belonged to her mother, who was a bit fuller in the bust.

Yes, this is also a hated fact about the dress. Unfortunately, it's pretty much the only formal thing in Kiki's closet, leaving her no other choice but to wear it.

In the minutes that follow she quickly pulls on black pumps and smooths out small wrinkles in the skirt of her dress, which lands right above the knee by the way. After that she places on a black headband over her hair and clips black hoop earrings to her ears. They aren't much, but she decides they'll do. Once that's over with, she puts on her sister's old silver ring and heads out of the house.

Now I'm sure that by now you're wondering about Kiki's sister who I've mentioned. Well, that ring is pretty much all she has left of her sister, and though her sister has been dead for many years; Kiki is still determined to find her. She simply couldn't cope with the loss.

The young woman leaves the house and walks alone to the school. It's a dangerous thing to do, but Kiki wasn't concerned with safety. She dealt with danger on the regular after all. If anyone dared to jump her, she knew she'd be more than capable of defending herself due to her martial arts background. As it stood, she was a master of Tae Kwan Doe, competent in ninjitsu, and pretty skilled in Hakke Sho and Hikka Ken, two Chinese styles respectfully. In other words, she can kick people's butts in multiple ways.

Once at the school she met up with Orihime and Tatsuki. The two of them were nice and all, but Kiki was pretty uncomfortable through the beginning of the night. However, as soon as Orihime introduced her to some of her friends, Kiki was on high alert and made a good show of pretending she was just a regular teenager.

"Kiki, this is Uruyu, Chad, Rukia, and Ichigo."

Kiki smirked impishly at the latter. "I believe we've met. Right Ichigo?"

Ichigo shrugged. "Yeah, whatever." Kiki realized immediately that orange-haired teen was one of the no-nonsense type…then again he had a slight arrogant manner about him. At the same time he seemed nice and caring as well. Kiki wasn't sure what to make of this, but she made a mental note to make sure to ask him to dance.

For information of course.

She addressed Uruyu first. He was obviously the smartest in this group of friends, but he was also the most reclusive. He was the type to rely on himself for almost everything. Kiki also noted from his posture and poise that he was a Quincy. Of course, what Kiki didn't understand was how she knew that. She also didn't know what a Quincy was so the info was useless in her eyes...unless he was an alien or something. That could be a possibility.

After talking with Uruyu for a while she spoke with Chad. He was a quiet guy for the most part. He was strong though, and Kiki knew for a fact that he was a brave man, but he had a mysterious air about him. However, Kiki didn't see him as much as a threat as she saw the Quincy.

She began to talk with Rukia soon after. Kiki had to admit that out of everyone there she liked Rukia best. She was calm, observant, nice, strong-willed, etc. Kiki could relate to the girl instantly, but there were some key differences between them as well. Kiki knew that Rukia was smart, but she wasn't brilliant. She also knew that Rukia was weak in terms of strength whereas she was not. Other differences such as these made themselves known, and Kiki figured that Rukia was somewhat normal compared to her friends.

She spoke with Orihime after that, skipping Ichigo since he was busy arguing with Uruyu about something. Kiki didn't try to listen in on their conversation, but she heard her name once her twice...and was Uruyu...smirking?

"Looks like Ichigo is intrigued by me."

"Hey, you listening Kiki?"

Kiki nodded and Orihime went back into her rant again. Kiki noted her as a bubbly girl with hidden abilities. At this point she saw Orihime as one of the greater threats, though she doubted that she could tap into her true ability. The orange haired girl was deeply insecure about some things and with insecurity comes fear. With fear comes a force that holds you back. You always have a sense of someone watching you…waiting for you to slip up. This was Kiki's theory, but she concluded that for now, Orihime wouldn't pose any problem to her.

As for Ichigo Kurosaki, he was a whole different story. She couldn't quite name his strengths or weaknesses though she was certain he had some. She also felt an energy around him, a type of spiritual pressure she couldn't identify. Based on this, Kiki has no idea what to think. With a small groan she pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose. She would have to observe this subject more closely.

Kiki quickly scanned the room. Orihime was still ranting, Tatsuki is busily chatting with Rukia, Chad is off to himself somewhere, and Uruyu just left to go talk to some girl on the other side of the room while Ichigo is completely alone by the punch bowl, a forlorn look on his face.

"This is it," Kiki thought, making her way toward the table with the punch bowl without waiting for Orihime to finish whatever it was she was saying. She walks to the table silently, but out of abrupt shyness she quickly grabs one of the cups and fills it with punch without looking at him. Contemplating her next move, she takes a quick sip of the liquid.

"Having fun?" he asked out of nowhere. Kiki took another sip before answering him.

"Yeah."

"Liar."

Kiki gasped. "How did he catch on so fast." She turned her gaze on him, her pupils narrowing behind her glasses. "I had pegged him as one of the dumb ones."

"Well, looks like you've seen through my mask," Kiki stated simply, but shakily. She mentally cursed her sudden shyness. This definitely wasn't like her. She was hardly ever nervous. Yeah, she shied away from people in general, but that was out of caution. Something about Ichigo was making her feel nervous.

"Would you like to dance?"

Another surprise. "Really? You want to dance with little me?" She was attempting to be flirtatious, but it wasn't working well.

Ichigo rolled his eyes in response, grabbing her wrist and practically dragging her to the dance floor.. "Let's just get this over with."

"He's the one that wanted to dance with me in the first place," Kiki thought irritably. "Oh well, at least this way I can get a better feel on what he is."

The two of them are out on the dance floor quickly, just as a slow song begins. Kiki is mentally cursing once more, wondering how on earth she could have ended up with such bad luck. A slow song most definitely shouldn't be playing right now. She knew what happened on slow songs. Slow songs equal love in the eyes of pretty much everyone on the planet. Kiki had no interest in any kind of love connection tonight, especially with someone as irritatingly mysterious as Ichigo Kurosaki.

On the other hand, an opportunity to get information may not present itself again. The poor girl was just going to have to deal with it.

"So, tell me Ichigo Kurosaki," Kiki began as he placed one hand on her hip. "Is this how you attract young women?"

"You sound like an old woman talking like that," Ichigo replied, watching her closely as she placed her hand in his.

"And you sound like a pompous idiot," Kiki fired back. The nerve of him, calling her an old lady!

He shrugged, his brown eyes showing his disinterest to her response. "Pompous isn't a word that an average teenager would use."

Kiki smirked. "I'm not an average teenager." He spun her around. "You're not an average teenager either as far as I can tell."

Ichigo's eyes widened, but he didn't say anything. He just kept dancing while looking like he wanted out of there as soon as possible. Kiki liked that. It meant she had control over the situation. All she needed to do now was…

"Oh no!"

Kiki felt an ominous presence in the air, signifying that a monster is lurking nearby, but she doesn't act on her initial instinct to run as far away as possible. Instead she continues to dance until the song ends. When the music stops, the two teens dart away from each other, making it painfully obvious that he felt the presence as well.

From the corner of her eye she saw the others leave as well. All except for Tatsuki who was chatting with some other nameless guy. Kiki followed the others out of the school, but kept her distance. She didn't want them to see her. All she wanted was to discover their secret. She wanted to make sure that they weren't the monsters that ruined her life.

Of course what she didn't expect was to that there was more than one monster hanging around.

Ichigo P.O.V.

"Getsuga Tenshou!"

The Hollow never saw me coming. I totally obliterated him on contact, but there were more around. Sometimes being a substitute soul reaper can really wear a guy out. I mean, come on I've been doing this forever. The soul society could at least give me a parade or something in my honor. Lord knows how many times I've had to save their sorry butts from getting killed. Whether it be the bounts, Arrancars, or anything else that comes our way. I've been a good soul reaper so I should be reaping some rewards here, not that it really matters. I didn't choose this life to reap benefits or anything like that. I became a soul reaper to protect Karakura town, my friends, and my family from Hollows and any other threat. Nothing more, nothing less.

A reward would still be nice though.

"Ichigo, behind you!"

I turn around and slash the hollow that nearly bit my head off. I sure am lucky sometimes, though I'd never admit it to the others, I don't always know what I'm doing out here…even after all this time.

"Impulsive as ever," Rukia stated as she stood next to me with her own zanpukto locked in her firm grasp. The air was quiet around us. There were still hollows around, but for now we were in the clear from an immediate attack.

"We should find the others," I tell her quickly, getting a head start as we take off. I incline my gaze backward and find myself surprised by the smile on her face. That's not like her.

"Uh…you okay Rukia?"

"You like that girl don't you?"

I roll my eyes. I can't even think about a girl right now. I can't believe she'd even ask me something like that.

"I saw you dancing with her," Rukia continued, completely ignoring the deadpanned expression on my face. "You looked like you were having fun."

If you call arguing fun, then yeah I'd say we were having a blast.

"Kiki seems nice, but she's got this mysteriousness about her too," Rukia stated. "She's not one to tell too much about herself. That much I'm sure of. She's a good match for you."

"Since when are you concerned about my love life?" I asked, a vein ready to pop out of my head. "Last time I checked I…"

"I told you it would never work between us Ichigo." she interrupted. I sighed. Rukia has always been a tough nut to crack, and never in a million years did I expect to fall for her. I mean, in the beginning I owed her something and from that developed a friendship. I didn't think I'd end up loving her, of course there was a time when I thought I loved Orihime too. Maybe that's why Rukia keeps telling me it would never work. She might be trying to push me towards her instead, but now she's acting like a pushy grandma.

Kiki isn't a bad person or anything, but I hardly know that girl. I don't even know why I wanted to dance with her. I don't even like dancing for heaven's sake, but alas…I danced…with her.

"AAAAAAAAAAH!"

"What's that?" I asked.

"Sounded like Kiki!"

I cringed at that. "Come on, there's no time to lose."

We ran around the school and into the courtyard where Rukia and I had heard the scream. What we didn't expect was to find that the two Hollows had already been destroyed.

Nor did we expect face a girl we thought was normal.

A/N: Who is Kiki Uzumaki? Is she good or is she evil? What are the secrets? What are the lies? The only way to find out…is to read the next chapter.