OOops. Got caught up recently and haven't worked on this. Well i did now! Here ye' go. Review please.

Love, Keta.

Chapter 6: Sober (Pink)

I'm safe

Up high

Nothing can touch me

But why do I feel this party's over?

No pain

Inside

You're my protection

How do I feel this good sober?

Keta's POV

I sigh and walk to the edge of the stucco roof, murmuring seemingly made up words of foolish nonsense. It calms me when nothing else can, speaking in dragon. With another sigh, I crouch on the edge, clutching at it to steady myself. The night air whips my hair across my face, silken wheat in the dark abyss of night. The wind carries with it the faintest trace of lavender, heather and lunarflowers and I find myself intoxicated by the scent. Looking down, I see where it comes from. Within a patch of heather and lavender, the multicolored blossoms grow, extending their reach to the full moon, soon to die. Wild strawberry bushes creep up onto their territory, reminding me of my previous engagements. I have just a few minutes before I have to get to Ichigo's house, so I sonido there and walk up to the door. I knock a few times, cocking my head in confusion when a man opens the door. "Hello. I'm Ketakoshka Castlionia."

"Hello. I'm Isshin Kurosaki, Ichigo's father."

"Oh." I bow at the waist then, a fist pressed over my heart. "It is a pleasure to meet you. If it is okay with you to court your son."

He laughs and I spot Ichigo scowling at me. "You make it sound like I'm a girl."

"Where I come from, Ichigo, you technically are the girl."

"Shut up."

"Um… let me think on it… No."

He rolls his eyes, leaning up on tip-toes to kiss me. "Karin and Yuzu want to meet you. If you hurry that is. They'll be going to bed soon."

I give him a look and race up the stairs with him hot on my tail. I race through into this room at the end of the hallway and smile at the girls sitting in their beds. "Hello, I'm Keta."

"I'm Yuzu," the slightly more eccentric of the girls says, beaming at me.

The other seems slightly more suspicious when she speaks. "Karin."

"I guess I better be going and let the two of you get to sleep." I start to turn out when I stop. "Yuzu, don't worry about breakfast. I'll get it."

She blinks. "Thank you!"

"You're welcome. If you need anything tonight, come and get me. I don't sleep very much at night." I back out of the room and close the door softly. With a soft sigh, I turn around to kiss Ichigo goodnight. "I'll be up in a little bit," I whisper and slip down the steps.

I sit down next to Isshin at the table after grabbing a cup of coffee. "Do you love Ichigo?" he asks causally but with a hint of threat in his voice.

"With my entire being. Always have, always will."

"It's true then."

"What's true, ex-captain Kurosaki?"

"That hollows never abandon their mates."

"Yes, it's true. We are monogamous, well for the most part. We are usually monogamous if we've met our soul mates. If not, or if they were to die during a pregnancy, then we are polyamorous."

"And you believe, Ichigo and Ichimaru are your soul mates?"

"Yes. They are, if they weren't I wouldn't have tried to kill myself after the died in their first lives. I've tried chasing them down ever since."

"How often is it that a hollow will have more than one soul mate?"

"Not very. Those with two can usually cope through losing one without outside forces because they still have half of their other half. Others will resort to drinking and othere forms of self-destruction. I chose suicide."

"Did it work?"

"No. I, dear Isshin, am truly immortal. And now that we're together again, one day your son's will be too."

"Are there others like you?"

"Yes, there are some, but they are few. And they have at least one attainable loophole to their immortality."

"Attainable loophole?"

"A way to end it, that is impossible."

"What's yours?"

"My sister, Kushina, has to kill me."

"And how is that impossible."

"She can't without killing herself. We are tied together. She is a part of me."

"How'd you get it?"

"God gave it to me. He considers it a present to his favorite grandchild. After all my mother was his favorite child."

"God doesn't play favorites, Keta."

"Are you sure?" With that I get up and walk back up the stairs and into Ichigo's room. He opens sleepy eyes and smiles, moving over to make room for me.

"Hello, love."

"Go to sleep."

"But you aren't."

"I don't have school."

"Touché."

I laugh and give him a kiss. "Sleep, Ichigo."

"Okay…" he whispers sleepily and cuddles into me. Although if you ask him later, he'd say that this never happened.

"Can I bug you at school tomorrow?"

"Sure…"

"Okay, I will then."

Ichigo's POV

I yawn and push myself up from the warm comfy bed, getting dressed within minutes and walking downstairs to find Keta cooking. Yuzu and Karin are already eating at the table with dad who's carrying a pleasant conversation with the cooking vampire.

"So, Keta what are you doing to day?" He asks.

"Well, I want to do a little looking around the city. Then I was going to bug Ichigo at school then go to Ryuken's then come back here and clean."

"You don't have to do that!" Yuzu exclaims.

"Oh, but I insist! If I am to be living here for any amount of time, I must help with something. It's the least I can do, Yuzu."

"Oh, okay."

"But you can help me cook dinner tonight if you would like to."

"I will!"

"Okay then. 7:00 sharp, no one is to be late unless there is an emergency. Understood?"

"Yes!"

"Sure."

"Of course."

And I just roll my eyes. "Cute, Ichi-berry."

"Not as cute as Ulquiorra was yesterday."

"Yeah, yeah."