Soz for taking so long on the chapter, school work and broken computers are a pain =)

Thanks to TriOblivion again for reviewing,

and I'm mastering the art of not rambling so on we go =)

Chapter 9 – Autumn's Coming

The onset of autumn finally made its presence known with the plummeting and rain pouring on the, already soaked from earlier downpours, travellers. The large group had once again split into three to make itself less conspicuous, although the giant wolf in one separation made it a little difficult to not be so.

The leaves on the surrounding trees were turning orange, gold and brown, the beating rain forcing many to the ground.

The separate groups were forced to find shelter from the sudden storm, there was only so far they could go with three of four elements against them and the other not giving a damn one way or another.

The day was spent in subdued time wasting as the storm raged on oblivious to the irritation of the mere mortals it was obstructing. With the dusk came the eventual end of the rain, the harsh wind pushing the clouds to other skies. The full moon hangs, bright in the sky, bringing more light than was given by the sun.

Aeshma pads into the light, its silvery glow making the thick black fur shine silver in the night, his eyes becoming a dark bluish grey, the red banished into the dark. His muzzle rises to the sky, a howl escaping from his jaws, answering calls breaking through the night, surrounding the huddled group. Saeko creeps silently forward, adding her own voice to the call, almost a melody cutting through the darkness.

A small she-wolf pads silently to the giant wolf, three cubs following uncertainly. Aeshma greets her warmly, one wolf to another, and sends her on her way, the humans, and others, not fully certain of what he had done, except for Saeko who recognised the giving of protection, which would let the small wolf be accepted into the pack that roams this area.

With the night swiftly closing in around them, the group finally went to sleep, in one big huddle as there was no large enough space for the tents in the dense growth of trees. The demon, curled around Saeko, stayed alert in his doze for any dangers that may think to approach.

"Why are you here?" Again I find myself near Ulquiorra, I always seem to appear before him in these dreams since that first time. He seems to believe me a ghost of some sort, I've found that I can't touch any people in these dreams, but still I touch plants. It doesn't make much sense but I have no control over it.

As usual I slip away, leaving the Espada's question unanswered. I don't find much like this anymore, Aizen is too cautious of me, he hasn't seen me but still senses me nearby and I don't want to try and pretend to be a friend of his, I'm not that good a liar.

I wander around, trying to see which other arrancar or espada are here and which of the Noah or how many akuma.

I step out from a little hollow between two trees and find myself staring at Tyki Mykk walking down the trail. He passes through me with no obvious indication that he had seen me at all. Maybe the arrancar can because they're technically ghosts themselves, but I don't argue with the fact that the Noah can't see me and use it to follow the black haired man. The trail soon opens into a wide clearing. The few Noah that seem to have come to this world, have gathered there, Lulubell, Road and Tyki. The Espada are here also, Starrk, Baraggan, Harribel, Ulquiorra, from where ever he was before, Nnoitra, Grimmjow, Zommari, Szayel, Aaroneiro and Yammy. I don't see any other arrancar but it doesn't matter if the strongest are all here.

The Espada notice me while the world fades to blackness as I slip away from their place in the forest.

Saeko wakes slowly, no longer jolting up after each of the dreams. The sun peeks its light onto the huddle, all trace of the storm from before, lost from the sky, though still present in the soaked and muddy ground that lay beyond the small shelter the group had found.

The morning passed as any other, a simple breakfast made by Saeko after her early wake from the dream and her telling of the dream to the others, then moving onwards, Nel asleep once more after eating.

Timcanpy continued flying between groups, keeping everyone on track. It would take another few days to reach the last known position of Aizen and the Millennium Earl. They would all travel fast but not so hard as to wear themselves out that they would not be able to do anything when they got there.

The days of constant moving and draining visions, after years stuck in the hospital without being able to go anywhere, were taking their toll on Saeko. Weariness plagued her movements but her strong mind stopped her falling behind, kept her moving on at the necessary pace. The others made no comments on her obvious pain, knowing how hard she was trying for them, that trying to help would only make her try harder. Aeshma was the one to finally act, he crouched to let her on his back, reaching across their mental link to tell her to get on, he loved her as a daughter and would not let her own stubbornness prevent her from taking help when offered it.

After several minutes of silent arguing, the girl finally gave in and climbed onto the demon's back, making sure to pull at his fur as she went to make sure he knew just how much she didn't like being weak. A hard punch in the face from a orange haired shinigami prevented the monochrome, hollow counterpart of afore mentioned shinigami from making some comment on the girl's weakness.

Saeko's mind wandered from the current time as the feeling of riding on the wolf's back brought back memories of long ago times, when it was almost a common occurence. This in itself was a strange thing to happen on occasion, due to the nature of demons, let alone to almost be called common.

The memories of times gone by swallowed the girl, leaving her silent among the group of quietly chatting boys and silent, sleeping Nel.

The ground slipped by under the silent feet of the wolf, the girl on his back making no difference to this natural state of things. The child held on as if it were a natural thing she was doing, and there was little chance of falling. The low hanging branches of trees reached for her, thinking to pull her from her perch but failing in their attempts, the roots of said trees trying to trip the wolf were also unsuccessful in their struggles. Birds flew from the higher branches, their sweet song filling the sky, small mammals scurried through the undergrowth, keeping a safe distance from the larger creature. The occasional hunter, searching for deer or wild boars, noticed the swiftly moving demon, seeing only a flash of fur like pitch with a pink and ashen blur on top, not knowing that demon it was.

The sun glimmered off the fast flowing waters of a stream, making the impression of fire flickering on it's smooth surface. The wolf bounds easily from one side to the other, leaving no disturbance upon the water but for the brief shadow covering the flames.

The acrid smell of smoke wafted past the wolf and child, telling them of the true fire that was burning near by. The deep grey furls of smoke rose from the tall canopy of the forest, sending a signal of its position to anyone within a few miles, drawing the wolf's curiosity towards it.

The large fire that was betrayed by the smoke was for a small group of travellers, oblivious to the dangers that lurked in the trees waiting for night.

For all his hatred of the weak and ignorant humans, the demon gave them a warning to leave, his howl echoed around the clearing, causing the newcomers to jump up and look around, from the looks in their eyes it was obvious that they were terrified. The one that seemed to lead the group, barked out orders to pack up and move on, feeling the need to be out of the woodland by nightfall. The demon, his work complete, trotted off in the opposite direction of the strangers, the dying sunlight gave his fur the fire that had been in the stream from before, the black strands hinted at brown, red and orange at the tips.

Saeko snaps out of the memory to see the sun high above and Nel, now awake, sitting in front of her on the demon's back. She reached along the mental link between herself and the wolf, inquiring as to his feelings on being ridden.

It brings back memories of when you were smaller, and I never minded then. Just don't start thinking of me as a horse, most definitely not a pack horse, I'm not going to be a baggage carrier.The amusement in his voice was clear even though he spoke in a deadly serious manner. Saeko couldn't help the laughter that came, muffling it as best she could as the mental image of the giant wolf laden with supplies came unbidden to her mind.

Inquiring looks came from behind, the others confused as to her amusement, Saeko merely stating that she could tell them later. The demon shook his head despairingly, the image having spilled from the girl's mind to his own, making sure his mind was closed to the others so that it couldn't spread any further. The boys and Nel were merely happy that Saeko was in good spirits once more, however it had come about.

As the day wore on, the demon got increasingly irritated with the smaller child on his back that had taken to braiding the longish black fur she could reach. Thankfully Saeko would undo each one as soon as the child hollow wasn't looking that way but it didn't stop Nel from rebraiding it as soon as she found the spot again. Nightfall just couldn't come fast enough in his opinion.

When the sun was halfway down the horizon, they finally stopped and Nel hopped down from the high perch of the demon's back to reattach herself to Ichigo. The wolf settled down, once Saeko too had gotten down, and set himself to a thorough grooming, making sure to get rid of each and every one of the little braids. Hichigo barely concealed his laughter at seeing the braided fur, the only reason he hid this amusement was for the fact the demon could probably just bite his head off if he was found out.

The day ended at long last, sleep finally overcoming the group of seven, the demon keeping alert through this sleep, making sure it was light and easily broken should the need arise.

And there you go, finally the next chapter is finished and you can spend the next two minutes reviewing =)

Hopefully the next one wont take so long to get up but no guarantees

your bogged-down-with-homework-but-still-writing-my-fanfic author

Kouseki