The votes are in, and the winner is… Starrk and Lillynette, in a landslide victory! Thanks to you guys, they will actually have multiple chapters! Enjoy!

And by the way, DragonMaster 197, I think I will take you up on your offer on Keyblade names. I still haven't come up with a name for Ulquiorra's Keyblade!

Chapter Seven – Seaside Coyote

Ugh… doing this is a major pain. Don't really have much of a choice, though. The Caretaker will kill me otherwise.

Name's Coyote Starrk. I used to be the Primera Espada, the second most powerful Espada in Aizen's army. My partner Lillynette and I were part of the team that attacked the fake Karakura Town. It didn't exactly work out – everyone with us died, including ourselves. That's when the Caretaker happened. She brought us back to life and told us that if we helped her, we would find people that wouldn't die just by standing near us. We jumped at the opportunity.

Now, I have no idea where the hell we are. The Caretaker said that Lillynette and I were being sent to a world called Hawaiian Islands, but she sure as hell didn't tell us to expect this. We were on a beach, with Lillynette stuck upside down in the sand. This place was the textbook definition of where the humans would go on what they would call a "vacation". Right now, I have to say that this would be the perfect time for a nap.

That was when Lillynette kicked me. Ok, now she's just pissing me off! I grabbed her left leg and pulled her out of the sand. "What the hell was that for, Lillynette?!"

"You took too long getting me out!" Lillynette snapped, folding her arms over her chest. "What if I died of suffocation?"

"That wouldn't have happened, you brat!" I yelled. Why does she have to be so annoying all the time?!

We didn't get any more time to argue. Some Heartless appeared around us. Some looked like pirates with wings, while the others… how the hell can a cannon be alive?!

One of the cannon-like Heartless fired on us, which amounted to a red ball of metal raging towards us. This is going to be easy. I simply stood up and took the full force of the cannonball. My hierro's strong enough that it can withstand most attacks, with a few exceptions. In the ensuing smoke, I used Sonido to appear behind the Heartless and let my spiritual pressure run wild. What followed was so familiar a sight; I could close my eyes and still picture what was happening in perfect detail. The Heartless started to crumble and fall apart, as if gravity itself was made of boulders and swords.

As various hearts flew off into the sky, I sighed and turned to Lillynette. "I'm going to sleep, Lillynette. Wake me up in a few hours."

Surprisingly, she actually let me lie down. I guess miracles are possible. The sand was warm against what skin what showing out of my uniform. Sleep found me in no time at all.

"Why are you here, Starrk?" Halibel asked me as I ran into her room and locked the door.

"Lillynette is trying to get me to go on a mission to the World of the Living, when all I want to do is sleep. I need someplace to hide. Which reminds me…" I dashed up to her and covered her mouthpiece of a mask. "She might be listening through the door."

I guess Halibel wasn't amused. She slammed her foot down on mine, making me let go of her. "Ow!" I yelled, holding my foot as I jumped around. "What the hell was that for?!"

"I guess you were never taught any manners while you were alive, because you sure didn't learn any as a Hollow," Halibel replied, her spiritual pressure rising just the tiniest bit. It was still enough to know that I crossed a line. "You don't grab a lady out of nowhere, Starrk."

"I'm sorry," I said, holding my hands up the way I had seen some humans do when they were being searched by police. "I'll leave now."

I started walking towards the door. Hey, I may hate it when Lillynette beats me up, but I'll take three hours of that over making Halibel mad. Just as I was about to touch the door handle, Halibel spoke.

"Starrk." She didn't sound mad, but rather… curious. I was the same way when I turned back to her. "Yeah?" I replied.

"There's something I don't get. If you hate Lillynette interrupting your naps so much, why don't you use some of your power? At the very least, you can intimidate her."

I took in a deep breath. I brought this up very rarely, but I was glad that someone asked. It wasn't exactly a burden, but it was still nice to share my beliefs with someone.

"You're right – I could force her to stop if I wanted to. However, she's literally a part of me. A long time ago, back during our first days as a Vasto Lorde, I split our soul in two. I don't even remember what we looked like before we became two."

"So you don't harm her because you're afraid that you might hurt yourself?"

"I couldn't care less about what happens to me," I snapped. I didn't mean to be so harsh, but stuff like that pisses me off. "I don't hurt her because I don't want to scar her for life. It can be easy to forget, especially seeing as we're all Hollows, but Lillynette's still just a kid. I'm not going to fall into the abusive father stereotype just to get some peace and quiet. Plus… I'm the only friend she has in this place. Who else would she turn to if I were to suddenly turn into a world-class jerk?"

I expected her to draw her zankaku-to and slice me to ribbons. What I didn't expect was that neither of us moved. After a couple a couple awkward moments of silence, I coughed and asked, "So, does that answer your question?"

Halibel nodded her head. "Yes, it does. And I apologize."

Huh? "Apologize for what?"

"For misjudging you. When I first met you, I thought you were a lazy fool who didn't care about anyone other than himself. I still think you're a fool, but maybe not as bad as when I first met you." Even though I couldn't see her mouth, I knew she was smiling as she finished.

"Uh, thanks… I think."

"Of course. Are you still going to hide from Lillynette?"

"Nah. I'm starting to think that a mission to the World of the Living might not be such a bad idea."

I was woken up in the fifth rudest way possible. That damn Lillynette ran right across my stomach! Getting up, I looked around for her. I found her a few feet away from me, talking with a little girl who was just under Lillynette's age (if you went by her looks). That girl had black hair that went right to her waist, and all she was wearing was a red dress and sandals. The dress had white leaves all over it.

"Why the heck did you use me as a doormat, Lillynette?!" I snapped, keeping the swearing to a minimum in respect to her friend.

"Sorry, sir, but she didn't run over you," the little girl replied. Her voice made me think that she was the walking definition of 'sweet little girl'. "Stitch did."

I was about to ask who this Stitch was when the answer landed in my lap and snarled in my face. Even in my time as an Espada, I've never seen something like this. The creature was the girl's height, and covered in blue fur. Clawed hands gripped my shoulders in a grip much stronger than someone his size should have. His ears were comical – they belonged on one cartoon bats human children love to obsess over during Halloween.

Stitch released his grip on one of my shoulders and drew that arm back. At first, I thought he was going to punch me. Then he started to flex his fingers and gurgled an alien "Hi."

No way. After snarling at me and running over my stomach like a bulldozer, this thing is trying to be friendly! "H-Hi…" I muttered, waving weakly. Stitch gave me a ridiculously big smile, giving me a nice show of all his pointy teeth. "See, Lilo?" He said to the girl. "Stitch good!"

"Good boy, Stitch!" Lilo praised. Stitch came right up to her, sitting by her side like an obedient dog. She then looked up at me apologetically. "Sorry, mister. Stitch isn't normally like this. He swiped Nani's coffee earlier today, and it takes a while for the caffeine to wear off."

"Nah, it's ok Lilo," I told her. "I was just getting up. Lillynette, how long have I been out for?"

"Two hours, Starrk," she told me. "We should get going and find the Hogyoku."

"Can we help?" Lilo asked, her eyes big. Stitch tried to do adorable puppy dog eyes. He pulled it off like a professional.

I walked up to Lilo and ruffled her hair. "It's not that we don't want your help, Lilo," I told her. "But what we're looking for… it can be very dangerous if it falls into the wrong hands. We can't risk getting you hurt."

"Funny," Lilo muttered. "That's what the little glass box told me."

Lillynette and I looked at each other, our eyes wide. Lilo and Stitch have come into contact with the Hogyoku? If so, we need to keep an eye on her.

"I take back what I said," I said. "We'll need your help, Lilo. Yours too, Stitch."

"Yay!" Lilo cheered. "You can help the man Nani met yesterday!"

This just keeps getting better and better.

Lilo and Stitch took us to her house. It was very plain wooden house, two stories tall and painted red and white. Still, it looked fairly cozy. Stitch ran up to the door and flew through the doggy door. Lilo and the rest of us ran up to the steps in an effort to keep up with Stitch.

"Lilo, you said that a man came to help," I said in between gasps of breath. "What did you mean?"

Before Lilo could answer, the door opened. It was a woman, who I could only assume was Lilo's older sister Nani. She was holding Stitch in her arms, who didn't seem all that happy to be picked up.

"Lilo, I told you not to go off on your own!" Nani scolded. Then she noticed me and Lillynette. Her tone rapidly became sweet. "Hi there. Can I help you?"

"Actually, yes," I replied. "My name is Mr. Starrk, and this is my daughter, Lillynette. We're new to the area, and Lilo told us that you would be the perfect tour guide. We're willing to pay any price you want. However…" I thumbed over my shoulder in Lillynette's direction. "She and Lilo have grown really close. Is it possible to stay here for a day or two? We'll pay for that on top of the tour."

Mentally, I was kicking myself. Wonderweiss could have come up with a better excuse than that, and the guy's a damn mute! However, Nani's eyes lit up like a cero-powered lantern. "Absolutely! Lillynette can share a room with Lilo, and you can share the room with the man from Special Services!"

I wasn't about to question our good fortune. If having a roommate meant keeping our cover intact, I was more than willing to suck up to the guy. We walked into the house, Nani kept talking about all the places she thought we should see. I just sat down on the couch, ready to take a nap.

"Hey Nani, do we have guests?" A male voice asked from upstairs. He sounded like the mercenary who would star in his own movie – cocky, arrogant, and ready to pull the trigger and let bullets fly. I turned to the stairs to see who it was, and got the biggest shock of my life. I had to use every bit of willpower I had not to pull out my zanpakuto.

I didn't recognize the face, but the black coat told me everything I needed to know. He was a member of Organization XIII. His right eye was covered with an eye patch, while his left eye glared at me while remaining surprised.

"Ah, I see you've met your roommate!" Nani sounded delighted. "Mr. Starrk, say hello to Mr. Xigbar."

Surprised? Man, writing this chapter was so much fun! Until next time!