Hello, dear readers! I am back with another chapter! Last time, we learned that Imayru has a bit of an obsessive habit that no one can really understand the cause behind it. In this chapter, we find out a little about what happens when she misses it. Not only that, but something strange has begun to happen. You'll find out more when you read it. Enjoy!

Chapter 2

The next day after I woke up and watched the sunrise, this time deciding to do so on the roof of Toshiro's quarters, I finished up the paperwork early and decided to watch the trainees from on top of a wall. I paid a bit more attention to Kitsune and Gingka, who were more energetic today than they were yesterday. As I watched the other two pairs, I noticed that Seigo was watching me again while he was fighting with Yuukin. I rolled my eyes a little when he was nearly stabbed through by his partner. One of these days, I was going to have to ask him what his problem was and why he insisted on staring at me. It was around that time that all of them noticed me, stopping the fight to bow to me, Aemi and Mariya both smiling brightly.

"Carry on," I called to them. "Just pretend I'm not even here."

They grinned and went back to sparring, their energy levels a bit higher than normal with my presence. I watched for a few more minutes until I heard a tinkling noise that sounded like a tiny bell. I looked to my right to see a Hell Butterfly coming closer. With a faint smile, I held out a hand and allowed for the butterfly to land on my index finger. I moved it closer to me as it looked around, finally settling its tiny eyes in my direction.

"Hello, little butterfly," I told it kindly. "What sort of message are you bringing me today?"

Right on cue, I could hear a voice coming from it, specifically the voice of Renji Abarai. "Head Captain Yamamoto has asked for you and Captain Hitsugaya to come with me to the Senkaimon. Something strange is happening in the Human World and he thinks that captains need to observe the situation."

The Hell Butterfly flapped its tiny wings and began to lead me towards the middle of the Seireitei. It didn't take very long until I reached the large tower with the giant gate in the middle of a large courtyard. Standing there already were Toshiro and Renji, both of which had a grim look on their faces. I was a little puzzled as to why they looked that way but I waited until I walked closer to demand answers.

"What's really going on here, Renji?" I asked him.

"I think it's best to tell you after we get to the Human World," he said before the Senkaimon activated.

I grumbled a little under my breath but followed after him as we all jumped through the gate. It didn't take long before we made it to the Human World, more specifically a tiny park that was nearby Kisuke Urahara's shop. I could sense that the air here was heavier than normal, although I couldn't pinpoint exactly why that was. Renji looked over at me with a sigh and I had a feeling that I wasn't going to like what he had to say.

"Get on with it," I told him. "I'm getting a bit impatient."

"I was sent here a few days ago because a few of the Soul Reapers assigned here noticed the increased presence of Hollows," he said. "Then, they said that they came across two Arrancar. It wouldn't be that big of a deal except for the fact that they are searching for something. A day after I had arrived, I found an Espada and he was extremely angry, lashing out at anything that stopped his search. I thought that it would have been the worst of it but then yesterday, the Espada began to attack Orihime, Chad, and Uryu. They were badly injured, but it was nothing that would have killed them. I tried to find Ichigo, only to discover him in an alley and bleeding out. He was close to death and I had to take him to Kisuke. I wasn't sure that he would make it, but he pulled through."

If he said anything else, I didn't hear it since I flash stepped away, heading in the direction of Kisuke's shop. I made it there in record time and made my way inside to find the room where Ichigo was in. I stiffened when I caught sight of him as I felt anger making its way to the forefront of my mind. He was unconscious and his body was covered in bandages, most of which were bloody still. I let out a hiss before I walked over to him and sank to my knees, deciding that I was going to try to heal him to the best of my abilities. I held my hand over his head where there was a bloody bandage, allowing a soft glow to appear on my hand and the injury. When the light faded and he was healed in that spot before moving on to the next wound.

"Imayru, what are you doing?" Toshiro's voice suddenly said and I looked over to see him standing in the doorway, Renji and Kisuke standing behind him.

"He looks half dead right now," I said. "He's a friend. I can't just let this go on."

I had finished about a quarter of his wounds when I heard Ichigo make a noise. I looked over at him to see that his eyes opened to slits and focused on me. "Hey, sleepy head," I said with a smile that masked the concern. "Good to see you awake finally."

"What are you doing here?" he asked hoarsely and I could hear the pain in his voice.

"We heard what's been happening lately," I told him. "Toshiro and I are here to figure out what's going on before we put a stop to it."

"We were only sent here to observe, Imayru," Toshiro reminded me. "We don't have the authorization to intervene yet. Don't get his hopes up."

"We will be stopping it," I told him with a growl. "Tier has broken the truce if she sent an Espada to nearly kill a Substitute Soul Reaper. I told her what would happen if she harmed anyone associated with the Soul Society."

"An Espada didn't do this to me," Ichigo said feebly. "You guys don't know what you're talking about. In fact, you have no idea what you're up against."

"Then tell us," I said gently. "Give us the details behind what happened that night. We need to know if we are going to help you."

"No," he growled. "This problem is mine and mine alone. I'm not dragging all of you into this." He tried to sit up and I knew it was because he wanted nothing more than to go out there again, but his wounds must have pulled painfully and he was forced to lie back.

"Don't push it, Ichigo," I told him. "You'll only hurt yourself more."

"Imayru," I heard Kisuke call my name and I looked up at him from over Toshiro's shoulder. "I think you should come out here for now so that we can talk."

I nodded before turning back to Ichigo after standing up. "Try and get some rest until I get back. I can work on healing you a little more after."

I followed them out of the room and down the hallway a bit until Kisuke picked a different room. We walked inside as Kisuke sat down at a table, all of us following suit and staying silent for a bit before he spoke up. "If Ichigo doesn't want to discuss this with anyone, then we have a bigger problem on our hands than we thought. We don't just have the Arrancar and Espada, but something else that must be extremely strong and brutal."

"Something just doesn't feel right here," I said. "The air feels heavy, almost as if there is something coming. It's like the calm before the storm."

"That's exactly what it's like," Renji said. "What I want to know is what our next step will be."

"I think you should report back to the Head Captain and let him know what's going on," Kisuke said. "Convince him that a small task force should be sent to the Human World that Imayru and Toshiro can command. I think that there should be someone here in case this mysterious individual comes back."

"Got it," Renji said as he stood up. "I'll leave right now. Imayru, watch out for Ichigo. Make sure he doesn't try to sneak out."

"Don't worry about it," I told Renji with a smile. "He won't be able to slip past me. No one can do that."

Renji then left without another word and Toshiro and I turned back to Kisuke. "I think he's right about watching over Ichigo. Someone should keep a close eye on him 24/7. I'm afraid that he's going to get himself into a worse situation. I have a plan for this."

"What is this plan?" Toshiro asked.

"We'll all have to take shifts watching his back," Kisuke said. "Not only that, but I think it would probably be a good idea if the whole task force enroll at the school Ichigo attends."

"Enroll at his school?" I asked dubiously. "There is no way in hell I'm doing that."

"Imayru, quit being so stubborn," Kisuke chuckled. "Ichigo is now a senior at his high school. You all look old enough to play the part. I'll have someone enroll you tomorrow and you can start the day after."

"Can't believe you're doing this to me," I grumbled as I stood up. "I'm going to heal Ichigo some more. I can sense that he hasn't left yet, so we're fine so far. I'll just do what I can until Orihime is feeling up to healing him herself."

"I think that will be tomorrow," Kisuke said. "She was looking a little worse for the wear just like Chad and Uryu, but nothing compared to Ichigo."

I nodded and walked out of the room, heading back to the one with Ichigo. He was still lying on the mat, his eyes closed until he heard me walk into the room and then he opened them once more. His eyes looked blank and lifeless as he watched me come over to him to sit down by his side, curling my legs beneath me. I held my hand over him and was just about to begin healing him some more when he grabbed me by the wrist. His hand was shaking a little, his thumb pressed against my skin in a spot where he could feel my pulse, and he just looked sad.

"I lost," he whispered brokenly. "I was defeated before I could even land one attack."

"It happens to the best of us," I told him gently

"I was in Bankai, Imayru," he told me, finally looking into my eyes. "I should have been fast enough to hit him once. He was so strong and much faster than me."

"What did he look like?" I asked him.

"I don't know," he said. "He was wearing a hood and had a scarf that wrapped around his neck and face. He had on all black and this huge sword that was just a little bigger than my Zangetsu in Shikai."

"Was it a Zanpakuto?"

"I didn't think so at first, but he treated it like it was his partner."

I hesitated for a second before finally asking, "Will you tell me what really happened to you?"

"No, not right now," he said with a sigh. "I don't want to go through it again."

"As you wish," I said stiffly, pulling my wrist free from his grip.

I began to heal him the best I could, hours passing before his wounds weren't serious enough that it required him to stay lying down. I had to help him up but he was a lot better and that was all that counted. We walked out of the room, me helping him every step of the way even though I could see a gleam of fierce determination in his eyes. Deep down, I could feel anger at his condition and wanted nothing more than to utterly destroy the one responsible.

"Stop looking at me like that," he growled, his breathing ragged as he forced his body to move.

"What do you mean?" I asked in surprise. I hadn't realized that I had been staring at him in any specific way.

"Like I'm broken and frail," he told me, gazing over at me with his eyes blazing. "I'm not helpless just yet. Not only that, but two captains are here to help me take him down."

"Ichigo, I swear to you that we'll stop this guy, whoever he may be," I told him with intense resolve.

I saw him pale for a split second but remained silent. I knew that there was something important that he was keeping hidden, but I refused to push him into telling me. I just nodded and helped him into the room where we had the meeting with Kisuke. Dinner had already been prepared as I led Ichigo over to the table, helping him to sit down before sitting between him and Toshiro. Toshiro took my hand with a small smile and slid his fingers between mine, making me smile back as I sent waves of warmth to him through the bond we had that tied our souls together due to our marriage ceremony. I could feel a pleased vibration of his soul through that bond as he squeezed my hand.

"So, Ichigo, are you feeling a little better now?" Kisuke asked as he passed us dishes full of food.

"I'll feel better once I can move around on my own," he said. "No offense, Imayru, but it's not good for my image if I let you help me walk along all the time."

"What image?" I asked with a smirk, watching as his face flushed a little. "Besides, it's not like I would tell anyone about it."

That's quite the lie that no one will ever believe, I heard Tatsuya say flatly, speaking up for the first time all day.

Keep quiet, I thought to him in amusement. I don't really need your contribution to the conversation.

You may not have needed it, but we both know that I'm here to keep your ego in check. Quit overdoing it, little one.

I remembered something that hit me rather suddenly and finally spoke up. "Ichigo, how is Zangetsu doing? I haven't heard anything about the poor thing since two years ago."

"… Did you just refer to my Inner Hollow as a 'poor thing'?" he asked in disbelief, the others staring at me as if I had gone mad.

"Well, we fought in battle together at Las Noches," I told him, shrugging a little. "He seemed to tolerate me because I came up with the plan to let him out and use a Cero to clear a path for us."

I saw Ichigo tilt his head to the side as Zangetsu must have spoken to him and a grin formed on his face. "Imagine that, apparently Zangetsu likes you. He said that you would be the one person he wouldn't stab. That's saying something because he stabs me all the time in our spirit world. It has something to do with you having the same killer instinct as him."

"I do what I can with what I have, especially when it needs to be done," I chuckled.

"You still make the weirdest friends in the strangest ways," Toshiro said under his breath. "I'm beginning to think I might need to be concerned."

"What do you mean?" Kisuke asked him curiously.

"After Renji punched me in the eye years ago, she dislocated his shoulder and told him that she would do it again if she found out that he beat me up," Toshiro said. "Not long after she popped his shoulder back in place, it was like they were best friends after he promised to look out for Momo and me. This is always how she makes friends."

"You're right. I think it's time for you to worry," Kisuke said before they both began to eat.

"Are you kidding me?" I grumbled before throwing a bread roll at Toshiro, Ichigo snickering to himself but falling silent when I glared at him. "There is nothing wrong with how I make friends! If anything, worry about how the hell I can make enemies without even doing anything!"

Toshiro and Kisuke paused, thinking about it for a second before they looked at me. "Good point," they both said at the same time before going back to eating.

I growled a little in frustration before turning to my food and gulping it down quick as could be. I decided that I would go outside for some air and stood up, the other three giving me looks of confusion before I left the room without a word. I made it outside before flash stepping to the roof, gazing up at the moon when I realized that I had missed my chance to catch the sunset. Some part of my mind twisted painfully at that thought and before I could try to sense its origins, it seemed to disappear without a trace. I clutched my head in my hands for a few seconds before going back to looking up at the night sky. I would just have to make sure that I was awake to watch the sunrise or it would drive me crazy to know that I missed my chance twice.

I was lying back against the tiles when I heard footsteps outside in the courtyard in front of Kisuke's shop. I looked down a little to see Toshiro flash step up to the roof with me before lying down at my side. "Your obsessive need to watch the sunsets and sunrises is beginning to worry me more," he said as he gazed up at the stars. "I kind of wondered how you would react once you noticed that you missed your chance to come out at dusk."

"I felt a strange pain in my mind that was gone before I could decipher it, but aside from that I was fine," I told him. "I could possibly go crazy if I miss dawn so don't let me do that this time."

"Why don't you try and miss it, just to see what would happen?" he asked. "You have to be curious about it. I know you well."

"Alright, I'll try it," I said. "But we have to make sure that I catch the sunset tomorrow."

"Sounds like a plan. Is there anything I can do to make you feel a little more at ease about missing dusk tonight?"

I thought about it for a second before a grin formed on my face and I said, "Get me a bucket of ice water."

He gave me a strange look before disappearing and I took my chance to flash step down to the courtyard below. I picked up a bunch of rocks, going back to the roof to form a pile before collecting more. When the process was complete and I was back to lying on top of the tiles on the roof, Toshiro was back and had set a bucket with solid looking ice flowers floating in the liquid. He didn't once ask me what I had planned and instead came over to lie beside me once more. I rolled over onto my side at the same time as him so that I was closer to his side, resting my forehead against his collarbones and letting out a comforted sigh. I wrapped my arms around him as he did the same and I felt a yawn make my body shudder before I closed my eyes, making sure that I wouldn't fall into a deep sleep as I barely slipped into unconsciousness.

Just as I thought, I heard the almost inaudible sound of a sliding door open and the sounds of footsteps as someone attempted to be sneaky on my watch. I was up and standing by the bucket before Toshiro fully realized that I was no longer by his side. Just as he sat up, I had the bucket in my hands and dumped it on the figure that had just come into view from past the roof. There was a surprised yowl as the figure ran ahead a few steps, jumping around as if one of the ice flowers dropped down his collar to touch the bare skin of his back and I snickered before picking up a rock. Using my excellent aim that came from hundreds of years of practice, I whipped the rock at the figure and made it miss his head by centimeters. He froze on the spot as if he remembered how dangerous I could be when throwing things.

"Nice try, Ichigo," I said as I allowed a small ball of light to appear on the palm of my left hand, illuminating the courtyard to reveal the orange haired Substitute Soul Reaper. I picked up another rock with my right hand and tossed it up in the air, catching it for a second before throwing it back into the air to repeat the whole process over again. "You and I both know that I missed on purpose. Make another move to escape and this one will hit your head for sure."

"N-now wait a minute, Imayru," he said as he took a hesitant step back, keeping his hands up to show that he surrendered. "Don't you throw any more."

"Stop taking steps back," I growled and saw him pale a little when I stopped tossing the rock to clutch it in my hand. "Why are you trying to sneak out?"

Ichigo sighed. "I wanted to go find the guy that attacked me. I want to make him pay for what he did."

"You're an idiot," I told him, glaring a little at Ichigo as Toshiro stood up to walk to my side. "You are barely able to get around on your own and yet you want to go track down the person who nearly killed you. If you want someone to fight, then fight me instead. I won't take it easy on you either and I am just as formidable."

He turned around and looked as if he was about to bolt, so I whipped another rock at him that arced through the air like a blur and it smacked into his back. I watched him stumble before hitting the ground, sending another rock whizzing past his head close enough that his hair was moved by the breeze the rock caused. He froze and didn't move from that spot, yet I could see his body shaking as he looked frustrated. He sat up and faced me so I could see the rage in his eyes.

"You don't understand," he snarled, his brown eyes flashing yellow for a split second as if Zangetsu was angry. "There's something wrong. That guy… I just need to find him now before it's too late."

"You're right. I don't understand," I said. "However, it's not because I haven't tried. I asked you to explain what happened that night, but you didn't want to tell me. As for your need to track down the mystery guy, it can wait until you are healed. I have a feeling that it won't be long before he actually shows himself to us. It will probably take a few days, but be patient. You'll get your chance soon. Now go inside and get some rest. We'll discuss it later."

Ichigo grumbled a little but did as he was told. Toshiro came closer before asking, "Are you sure that you should be pushing him so hard? Ichigo can only take so much."

"He's a friend and I refuse to watch him die because he's too stubborn to heal properly first," I told him.

"He is right about one thing. There is something going on around here and I have a feeling that he wants to be helpful when the time comes because he knows more than he is letting on. Just let him tell us when he feels up to it."

I knew that he was right. The air wouldn't feel so heavy if everything was normal. The only thing I worried about was not being strong enough in my condition. They adjusted the limiter on my soul before I left and now I was only at fifteen percent of all my power. This meant that any attack would have to be met by strategic countering and most likely I would have to use my Bankai to keep up, depending on the opponent. This was not a situation I liked to be in, but I was determined to handle it to the best of my abilities. With a shrug of my shoulders, I walked over to Toshiro and we went back to lying on the roof, falling back asleep and making sure that Ichigo didn't try to escape a second time.

Just before I woke up, there was a restless feeling in my mind, almost like a tiger pacing about in a cage as it looked for an opportunity to break free, and I woke up with a gasp to see that it was a couple hours after dawn. Well, looks like Toshiro got his wish, I thought to myself. Guess we're about to find out what happens when I miss dawn and dusk. Just as that thought crossed my mind, I felt a pain in my head that was similar to a knife splitting my head open. I let out a hiss and curled up with my knees as close to my chest as I could get them, clutching my head in my hands as I panted heavily.

"Are you all right?" Toshiro asked sleepily before opening his eyes to notice my predicament, which caused him to completely wake up. "What's going on with you?"

"My head…" I hissed. "It feels like something is trying to claw its way out."

"Here, let me help," he murmured before I felt a subtle increase in his spiritual pressure, the temperature around us dropping several degrees. He slid my hands away before replacing them with one of his own, allowing for the cold to seep through and calm the aching there. I moaned lightly as the sting of the headache slowly receded and before long I felt back to normal. "Feel better now?"

"Actually, yes I do," I whispered.

"We're not doing this again. You can keep up with your obsessive ritual and I won't complain about it any longer. I don't want for you to go through this much pain over something that can be easily prevented."

"I have to wonder what is going on with me," I said. "I don't understand why it is that this has been going on recently. I never did this before and I'm wondering if perhaps it has to do with what's going on here in the Human World."

"It seems like a stretch, but it's plausible," he told me. "Let's just deal with one problem at a time."

I nodded and stood up with him, looking down a little to see Orihime, Chad, and Uryu walking to the shop. I hopped down from the roof in front of them and startled them enough that they jumped back. They looked rather haggard with all the bandages covering them but they were in much better condition than Ichigo had been when we first got here. After her shock, Orihime gasped and ran over to me, giving me a hug while avoiding any injured places on her body.

"It's so good to see you again, Imayru!" she said with a kind smile.

"You're like the one Soul Reaper I can tolerate," Uryu said quietly.

"I resent that," Toshiro said from the roof before he jumped down next to me.

We led them all inside and into the room where Ichigo was sitting in alone. He had that blank, lifeless look to his eyes that morphed into an unholy anger when he saw me. I knew he still harbored a grudge for last night but I did it for him. Orihime walked over and began to heal him after he lay down on the mat, a dome of golden light surrounding him as his wounds slowly grew smaller.

"How did this happen, Ichigo?" she asked him.

"Leave it alone, Orihime," he said apathetically. "I don't want to talk about it."

"He's been doing this since we've been here," I told her while she looked over at me, her eyes gleaming with worry. "Just let him keep it to himself for now. When the time is right, I'm sure he'll tell us."

She just stared at me for a few seconds before turning her attention back to Ichigo, who refused to say another word to any of us. It was the first time that I wished I could read minds so I could find out what he was hiding. I heard a noise from the front of the shop and so walked out of the room with Toshiro to see that Renji had come back with the task force. Behind him were Rukia, Rangiku, Ikkaku, and Yumichika, the last two from Squad 11. I grinned a little and watched those two pale slightly when they saw me but didn't back away.

About a year ago and right before the time of the spring festival, I decided to be sneaky and decorate the Seireitei for it. I ran about each Squad and made it acceptable for the festival while the captains for each one was busy. After I had completed my task, I noticed that Ikkaku and Yumichika were taking the decorations down in Squad 11. As revenge, I slinked back into their Squad and hid there until they walked past, jumping out and scaring them bad enough that they actually yelped. I chased them around the courtyard until they agreed to put everything back, which was around the time that Captain Zaraki and Yachiru arrived. He was trying not to laugh and Yachiru was excited for the decorations, so they ended up doing as they were told.

"Hello, Ikkaku and Yumichika," I said smugly, feeling even more amused.

"Hello, Captains Hitsugaya," they mumbled a little, their eyes shifting between both Toshiro and me.

"Still holding a bit of a grudge for a year ago, I see," I laughed while Toshiro gave me a confused look.

"Bet you can't scare us like that again," Ikkaku grumbled, glaring at me.

"You just made the worst mistake of your life," I told him, devious thoughts already swimming through my mind as I planned my next scare tactic. "This is going to be the most fun I've had in a long time."

"You see what you've just done?" Yumichika said with a sigh. "I want no part of this, especially after last time. You're on your own and I want that fact to be known ahead of time."

"You'll be spared," I assured him.

For the rest of the day, we talked amongst each other and discussed what we knew so far. We knew that we had an Arrancar problem and then a mystery to solve, but that was all we could say for sure. I told them that if they encountered our mystery man that they shouldn't engage the target. If they could, they should find either Toshiro or me so we could settle it. After that, Tessai, one of the people that worked in the shop with Kisuke, came back with all of our uniforms so that Kisuke could put them on our Gigai in private. I was sure he was hiding somewhere to do all of this so I couldn't sabotage mine and avoid having to go to school. I made sure to catch the sunset this time and sighed in relief when my head didn't hurt. When night fell, we all had dinner together and chatted lightly about trivial things, the only one staying silent was Ichigo. He had a look about him that made me wonder if he was going to try another escape attempt. When we all went to sleep, I made sure to not to sleep too deeply, but I didn't have to worry since he was out cold.