Vietvn: HOLY CRAPP, it's been how long since I updated?? *beats self up* You all probably think I got kidnapped or died of some sort of disease now huh? I know, I know, I'm sorry Just that I was on a bit of a writer's block AND my parents are 'banning' my computer time cuz my vision just got worst from being on the computer too long XP Poopy. And school is starting soon! D: NOOOOOOO~~~~ Anyways, yeah, get reading :D

Chapter Nine: Getting the Break

The night after the dinner, I went to sleep and lo and behold, I met up with her again. Slowly this whole meeting with my inner hollow every time I sleep at night has become a routine. I didn't like it; most of the time when I'm conversing with her, we'd be throwing insults at each other back and forth with me trying to get at her throat. What also became noticeable was the hours of sleep I've begin to lose. That night was probably the first night I actually woke up around 3 in the morning. Needless to say, I was less than happy. Forcing myself to go back to sleep afterwards was only effective till 5am and that was when I gave up trying.

I got dressed for the day a little earlier than usual and headed to my office, finding yet two new stacks of paperwork on my desk. How and where it came from was something I wondered. I dragged my feet towards my desk and slumped into the seat, rubbing my temple slightly from the headache I was getting for being up so early. I heaved a sigh and eyed the paperwork in front of me. Eventually, I brought myself to start working through the stacks slowly, still not having the energy from the lack of sleep.

Two hours into working and I was nearly done most of the paperwork when something black caught my eye. I flinched, thinking it was the black mist I was so used to seeing now but it turns out to be a fluttering hell butterfly, making its way towards me. I placed my pen down and offered a finger for it to perch on.

Attention all captains of the Gotei 13; you are to report immediately to the first division for a meeting. All details of the meeting will be covered once everyone has arrived.

After relaying its message, the butterfly took off again and disappeared out of my sight. I stifled a yawn and stood from my seat, stretching my arms. I wonder if someone higher up there loves me enough to cut me some slack and give me a mission to the real world. Straightening myself, I made my way out of the office and into the streets of Seireitei, heading towards the direction of the first division. If the meeting wasn't about going to the real world for some mission, then I'll just have to start planning how to sneak to the real world but I'm hoping I won't have to resort to that....

Without knowing, I had made it to the first division entrance. I made my way into the division, down the halls and towards the large meeting room. Two shinigami guards were standing on either side of the large double doors and they straightened their posture when they saw me approach.

"Tanaka-taicho." They saluted. I nodded back in acknowledgement and pushed open the large doors. I was surprised to see most of the captains there already but some were still missing; the ones that were present were conversing amongst themselves or standing off to the side. Byakuya was there, calmly standing off to the side. Ukitake was conversing with Kyoraku and surprisingly Toushiro. Other than that, no one seems to have showed up yet. Setting my eyes on the trio, I began to make my way towards them. Ukitake was the first to notice my presence as he turned from his conversation to greet me.

"Tanaka-san, I see you've also made it early."

I nodded. "Ukitake-taicho, Kyoraku-taicho, Toushiro."

Toushiro had moved to stand beside me as I greeted everyone. I smiled lightly at him and turned back to the older captains. "Do you know what the meeting might be about?"

"Hmm...Not really sure but it might have something to do with Aizen."

I nodded my head again. Unconsciously, I was getting more and more anxious. I wanted to know if there's a chance I can go to the real world. I really didn't want to resort to sneaking out on my own again. My eyes wandered to Toushiro before shifting back to staring straight ahead. I didn't want to hurt Toushiro again. I would be a hypocrite if I did such things but I know, that as long as things go my way, I can get this fixed before anyone can notice anything was wrong to begin with.

"Reimei."

"Huh?" I turned my head to find brilliant sea-green eyes staring at me intently. I blinked. "Something wrong Toushiro?"

"You're awfully quiet today...."

"Oh..? Guess I'm just tired, I didn't really sleep that well last night..." I said as casually as I could. Toushiro furrowed his eyebrows and a worried expression immediately took over his face. I noticed at once and assured him with a smile.

"Don't worry, I'll be fine..."

Not long after I said that, the rest of the captains had showed up and were ready to begin the meeting. Yamamoto-soutaicho had also appeared and the captains all formed two lines and took their respective spots.

"The captain's meeting will now be in session." announced the booming voice of the soutaicho. "You have all been gathered here today to discuss an important matter. Aizen is on the move again..."

At this, murmurs between captains erupted but was quickly silenced by Yamamoto. "Arrancers and Espadas have started showing up in Karakura town. They have not caused any damage or harm as of yet but it is a dangerous situation for them to be in a place where there are many civilian's lives in harms way." He paused to scan around the room. I tried not to shuffle my feet in anxiety; I know exactly where this is leading to and I could only keep my fingers crossed that he'll pick me.

"I will be sending a squad of shinigamis from the Gotei 13 to stand post in the human world. They will act as defenses to the town if anything were to happen and will also monitor the action of the Arrancers and Espadas." His eyes scanned the room once and within that one second of scanning, he made up his mind.

"Hitsugaya-taicho,"

"Hai."

"You will be one of the captains to lead a squad, finally...."

I had to resist the urge from bouncing up and down like a child, screaming, 'Pick me! Pick me!' I was hoping on the outside I looked calm because on the inside, it was definitely another story....

"Tanaka-taicho..."

I snapped my head towards the captain-commander, startled. "H-Hai!"

"You will be the second captain to lead a squad alongside Hitsugaya-taicho. I'm sure you two are formidable in companionship so I expect you will not fail me..."

My face suddenly grew hot in embarrassment, knowing full well what he meant by 'formidable companionship'. Unconsciously I lowered my gaze to the ground; stupid old man just had to say that in front of all the captains of the Gotei 13. Glancing at Toushiro quickly, I noticed he averted his gaze to the ground too, a faint pink colouring his cheeks though most was hidden by shadow.

"Hai..." we both muttered. I heard a few soft chuckles, no doubt coming from Ukitake and Kyoraku.

"Choose your shinigami squad wisely. This meeting is now adjourned, dismiss!"

All the captains soon started to file out of the meeting room. I was also amongst the crowd of captains that were heading towards the exit when I sensed Toushiro fall into steps beside me.

"So, have anyone in mind that you might want to take along the mission?"

I glanced at him first before looking off to ponder. Hmm...Who would I choose? Rukia was already in the real world; Matsumoto no doubt would tag along, Renji maybe? My own lieutenant can't come because well, she still needs rest.

I heaved a sigh. "Well, I guess I might ask Renji since he's been to the real world a couple times already. Maybe Ikakku and Yumichika...."

"So the usual..." concluded Toushiro.

"Yeah...the usual..." I said, shrugging. "When do we leave?"

"Immediately. I'll meet you at the Senkai Gates."

I nodded. "Alright then, later." I flashed stepped off towards the 11th division to inform Ikakku and Yumichika about the mission. It wasn't hard finding them and they were more than eager to get out of their division to get in on the action. Talking to them was fairly quick and soon I found myself at the 6th division to inform Renji. I couldn't find the red head anywhere so I had to resort to talking to Byakuya. That didn't take too long either. In no time, I had headed back to my division, grabbed what I needed (gikon pills that I still had and a memory replacer) and headed towards the Senkai Gates.

Already I could see everyone waiting eagerly to go. Everyone was present except Renji.

"Reimei-chan!!" sang Matsumoto as she bounded over to me from her place beside Toushiro. "Aren't you excited?! We finally get to go out instead of being trapped in the office all day doing paperwork!"

"More like I'm the one doing the paperwork instead of you, Matsumoto." scowled Toushiro, arms crossed into his sleeves with a glare directed towards his lieutenant. The taller strawberry blonde woman laughed nervously and scratched her cheek.

"You know what I mean taicho...I really appreciate your hard work!"

"Mmhmm...." Toushiro muttered, still looking annoyed but decided to let it slide.

"Hey there's Renji!" Matsumoto suddenly exclaimed. Turning slightly, I caught the red head lieutenant jogging quickly towards us.

"Sorry I'm late! Taicho informed me when I got back from training..." he panted as he reached us.

"C'mon! Let's go already!" exclaimed Ikakku, tapping his zanpakuto on his shoulder impatiently. I glanced at Toushiro and he nodded, untucking his arm from within his sleeves.

"Let's go then."

The guards at the gate nodded their heads and opened the large doors for us. Each one of our hell butterflies fluttered close to us as we began to walk through the gate towards Karakura Town. The journey wasn't long; we exited out of the traditional Japanese sliding doors and found ourselves smack dab in the middle of the candy shop owned by none other than Uruhara Kisuke.

"Oh! That was really fast!" came the sing song voice of the shop owner. We turned to see the approaching blonde, bucket hat man, fanning himself with the paper fan he always carried with him.

"Do you have gigais prepared for us?" asked Toushiro. Uruhara let out a laugh and smiled cheerfully.

"Of course! I'm always prepared. They're in the back along with your usual clothing and school uniform."

We nodded our thanks and headed to the back to get our gigais. I ended up wearing the same black and grey striped, long sleeved shirt with a square neck and a white skirt that reached mid-thigh along with high white socks that reached just past my knees. After we were set, everyone gathered outside of the candy shop to discuss where each person was to stay.

"I'm sure taicho, Reimei-chan, and I can stay at Orihime's house." piped up Matsumoto almost immediately.

"I don't want to eat whatever she cooks me...." muttered Toushiro as he looked dreary just thinking about it.

"Eh?! Her cooking is amazing! What are you talking about taicho?!" Matsumoto countered. Toushiro just sighed and shook his head, mumbling under his breath about cursing Matsumoto for having the same taste. I couldn't help but mentally agree with him; Orihime is a really nice girl but when it came to her cooking....I mentally shuddered.

"Ikakku and I will probably stay at Keigo's house."

"I'll be staying at the shop..." Renji added in, gesturing to the shop behind us with a thumb. I almost tensed at what he said; damn it that means I can't ask Uruhara about my hollow problem. Oh well...Maybe I'll drop by late at night to ask him and hopefully by then, Renji would be asleep.

Toushiro nodded his head, crossing his arms he gave out one last order.

"Keep guard around the area you're staying at; most likely you'll be dealing with whatever hollows show up there. If arrancers start showing up then whoever else is closest to your area will show up as back up. Keep in contact and report anything suspicious."

"Hai!"

We parted ways as Toushiro, Matsumoto and I headed towards Orihime's house. I glanced up at the sky as we walked; Matsumoto was talking non-stop about seeing Orihime again and Toushiro was just trying to bear with it. I noticed it was still early in the afternoon, which meant that it'll be a while before I could sneak out.

-

I wasn't exactly sure how I managed to get through most of the day for it to be night now. I was so sure I wouldn't be able to distract myself with anything to pass time but somehow I did it. Shopping with Matsumoto for the day went by like a blur; I could barely recall what little things we did on our trip to boutiques. After that, I remembered going on a stroll with Toushiro to monitor what's going on around town. We visited Ichigo and Rukia to inform that we were here on guard duty and why. Toushiro did most of the talking which left me to space out but that was soon proven to be a bit frightening. I wasn't sure if I was being paranoid but at that moment I could've swore that the black clouds were slowly creeping out of the corner of my eyes again.

Luckily though I was startled out of my thoughts by Toushiro and they seemed to have drifted back out of sight again. Afterwards, it seems like I can't lower my mental guard down or else she'll slowly drift into my conscious. That feeling left me agitated and a bit anxious; agitated that she's slowly controlling my actions and anxious because I don't know how long I could keep up before she really does become 'queen' and I the 'horse'. It was something I dare not let happen. Keeping all of these thoughts from Toushiro proved to be slightly difficult. He had sharp eyes; naturally, because he was captain of the Gotei 13. Not only that, I've been spending most of my time with Toushiro so that gave him the advantage of getting to know my habits.

I kept him at bay though and was ultimately relieved to see the sun set and the skies dimming. That way, I wouldn't have to keep lying to Toushiro; I would get this problem fixed before he could really know what's been going on.

My eyes fluttered open; realizing to myself that I was merely reflecting and thinking while closing my eyes instead of really sleeping. I sat up slowly, making as little noise as possible. I didn't want to alert the captain that was most likely seated directly on the roof of the house over my room. Earlier I had tried to plan a way to slip away from the house without anyone noticing I was gone. Originally, I was going to offer to be on guard duty but knowing Toushiro, he would've denied it; most likely because of my lack of sleep the other night. I reached under my pillow and pulled out my gikon dispenser.

Popping out a small, green orb I swallowed it and felt the rush of something jerking me away from the body. My body which is now inhabited by a mod soul stared back at me questioningly.

"Just stay in bed and sleep, I'll be back soon." I told it and it nodded obediently, preparing to snuggle back into the sheets while I softly padded my way across the room to the door. I quietly creak the door open and slipped through into the hallway before carefully shutting it again. The house was dark, signifying that everyone in the house was fast asleep. Glancing from side to side, I had to route out where it was best to sneak out from inside the house.

I chose to head over to the bathroom, remembering that there was a small window there that led out to the side of the house. I crept over to the direction of the bathroom, concealing my reiatsu all in the while. When I came to my destination, I slipped through the door and my gaze directly landed on the small, rectangular window above the bathtub across from me. I walked towards the bathtub and stepped into it quietly. The bathtub had a ledge that offered just enough space for me to place half of my foot on. I stepped up and reached for the window lever. With a flick of my wrist, I managed to get it open and pushed the glass panel outwards. The night air rushed in and nearly chilled me. Reaching up with both arms, I grasped the small ledge with one foot propped up on the ledge of the bathtub.

I sucked in a breath and with a giant leap I pulled myself up and managed to slip my upper torso through the window. Squirming a bit, I managed to turn myself slightly to fit my legs and lower torso out first before gently letting go of the ledge to land softly on the dirt ground below in a crouch. I sighed out, relieved that I had made it out. Now all I had to do was make my way to Uruhara's shop without being detected. I glanced up at the roof of Orihime's house, I could feel Toushiro's presence thankfully on the other side of the roof and hopefully, facing the other way.

Not taking any chances, I decided to hop the fence of the neighbor's house, swiftly cross the yard using the shadow of the house to conceal myself and hop into the next. It continued on until I reached the other side of the street, steered clear away from Orihime's house and its night guard. It was then that I began to make my way to Uruhara's house but due to my detour, I would be taking the longer way which was literally rounding one whole block of the neighborhood before coming back onto the main street where the shop was situated.

Wasting no time, I began my walk. The neighborhood of Karakura town was eerily quiet when it's night. Only the chirps of the crickets every now and then offered the only source of life around me. The street lights of the park I approached lit sections of the playground and streets while leaving the rest of the area in a veil of darkness. I glanced around me; the surroundings were slowly becoming familiar. I was almost half way there to Uruhara's shop. As I took another step forward, a rumble from within the robes of my shinigami clothing stopped me. I reached into the folds near my chest and pulled out my pearl coloured cell phone. Flipping the cover open, a blinking red dot appeared on a map. On closer inspection, the hollow should be around....here?!

Flipping the phone closed and tucking it back into my robes, I snapped my head around towards the park I had just passed. Almost immediately, a rush of spiritual energy surged from within. I had no choice but to abandon my journey to the candy shop for the moment to get rid of this hollow. The masked monster materialized from a dark portal, its yellow eyes gleaming brightly in the darkness. It stood on two large hind legs complete with muscled arms. It reminded me of a giant or a troll as in his hands, it held a club and not to mention that it looked ugly.

I withdrew Tsumetai Kaze's katana, not bothering to release her shikai form or if I could at all. Either way though, I can't give off any reiatsu or else it would alert nearby shinigamis or worst Toushiro. That was the last thing I wanted to happen. It didn't seem to notice me yet, it was just standing in one spot looking around the park it was in as if observing its surrounding. I took this as a chance to strike it from behind; that way I won't be side tracked from going to Uruhara's shop any longer. With a swift leap, I flashstepped directly behind it and brought my sword down, anticipating a roar of pain to follow but to my shock, it didn't happen.

My sword clashed against the club the hollow had risen to block my attack. My eyes widened in surprise; and here I thought this one was stupid. I jumped back, avoiding the swinging fist that came at my way. I stood a couple of metres away from it, preparing to strike again.

"If it isn't a little shinigami. What's a small thing such as yourself wandering in the middle of the night with no else....?" It mused, chuckling slightly as it turned to face me, club slightly raised. I chose to ignore it and flashstepped quickly again, bringing my sword in a swipe. This time I managed to knick part of its arm because again, it raised its club in defense. How it was able to keep up with me was far beyond me. I jumped back once again to a safe distance as the hollow cursed at its wound. The blood dripping from his arm seems to have resonated louder in my ears as it dropped to the ground. It echoed with each drop and it made me feel like the world was spinning.

What the hell was happening....?! I blinked just in time to avoid the club that came smashing down, destroying the ground where I once stood. My breathing became rough and I didn't believe it was because of that sudden dodge. My stamina was higher than this.

Suddenly a cloudy black mist started to creep into my right eye again. My eyes widened as I clutched a hand over my right eye; why the hell was this happening?! Again I dodged a swinging club and tried to fight back but slowly it seemed like the mist was eating up my vision. I gritted my teeth; it was then I realized she was trying to gain control to probably go on a killing spree or something. I could practically feel the bloodlust resonating from the depths of my conscious now. I would have to kill this hollow quickly. Using every ounce of control and energy I had, I rushed forward catching it off guard, giving a battle cry before bringing my sword down its arm, flashstepped then swiped it horizontally at its stomach, slicing it in half. As it slowly dispersed into small shimmering lights I felt my whole body weight crash down, knocking me onto my knees.

I panted, not understanding why I was still so breathless when I hardly did anything. I shut my eyes and bowed my head hoping that the black mist receded if I tried calming my nerves a bit. Think calm thoughts Reimei....calm, soothing thoughts....

"Reimei?"

My eyes shot open at the call of another's voice. What alarmed me wasn't just the voice anymore; the black mist was still there. I could the footsteps slowly approaching and I slowly start to panic. My body didn't respond when I told it to stand; it only shook as if I had just soaked in a bath tub full of ice. All I could do was keep my head bowed, shielding my eyes at whoever recognized me at this late hour.

"Reimei? Are you alright?" I recognized that voice. I was almost relieved but at the same time, I didn't want to show what a mess I got myself into.

"Reimei...?" he asked again. The footsteps stopped and I could feel his figure kneel in front of me. I still did nothing. Instead, I debated on whether to trust him or not.

"Can you keep a secret...?"

"Eh?"

"Promise, you won't tell anyone about it. Not a single soul no matter who it is...."

An unsure silence reigned over us and I started to question my judgement until he spoke again.

"Yeah, I won't. I promise." His voice was confident so it made me draw in a breath, preparing myself. I raised my head, the orange rays of the street lights made my eyes dialate to adjust to the sudden light and soon met directly with a pair of chestnut brown eyes. His eyes widened in surprise before blinking as if they were uncertain that what they're seeing is just a trick the light and darkness around us were playing or if it was real.

"Reimei what--...?"

I sighed, closing my eyes. "It's a long story Ichigo..."

Ichigo found out!! I bet you probably know what's gonna happen next right? Well, everything doesn't always seem so obvious *wink wink* Ahem...Anyways! Thank you to all my readers who have stayed with the sequel up until now I LOVE YOU ALL!! 3 I'm so sorry if you waited for a long time and thought I was dead or got kidnapped or something but yeahh...Sorry Being an author is harder than it sounds D: R&R!! Please and thank yous :)