I woke up early, excitement bubbling in my stomach. Today I got to go home and see my mom. I lived for these visits. She was the one thing that I missed from the human world. Lots of soul reapers get goods from the human world and bring them back to the soul society. It wasn't uncommon to see people wearing human clothes are using pens and mechanical pencils. I know for a fact that Ran blows through most of her paycheck on clothes and thus has a closet overflowing with designer clothes. I still don't completely understand how the currency from spirits to humans transfers, but whatever. The seretai uses electricity, so charging electronics wasn't all that hard, you just had to be in the world of the living to download things.

I threw on some jeans, a tank top, and pulled on my converses. I was really going to need some new ones pretty soon. The soles were completely worn out. I headed out, careful not to wake Gaby up. I decided to take a short cut to the Kuchiki estate. I was easier to pass through a field and come up to the back of the estate than to go through town and wide up at the front entrance. The guards are usually friendlier at the back too. It was a pleasant morning as a trotted down the dirt path. I could see the estate in the distance.

"Hey Len!" I heard someone call.

I turned around to see Rangiku waking through the field. She was coming from the direction of the forest. She must have been visiting Gin's grave. I stopped and waited for her to catch up with me. She was wearing an old uniform, something that lots of soul reapers wore on their days off. She still had on her signature scarf and necklace. Her uniform was torn in some places, the fabric by her elbows was so worn down you could almost see through it. This was the uniform Rangiku had after graduating the academy and all the way through until she was promoted to vice-captain. She had told me once that she couldn't afford a new one until she got her pay increase when she was promoted, so she made due with the standard one that the academy gives to all its graduates.

She had seeds from the tall grass up to her knees. Dirt and dust covered her shoes and ankles. There were small flower petals stuck to her sleeves. She must have left Gin some flowers as well.

"Headed to see your mom?" she asked.

"Yea. I'm headed to the Kuchiki's now. Captain Kuchiki is letting me use their gate. You should walk with me. Their gardens are really pretty especially in the morning. I'm sure nobody will mind."

She hesitated for a few moments.

"Umm…I really should be getting back."

"Why? It's your day off. It's not like Toshiro will make you do paper work. Come on. I'd like the company."

She gave a quick nod and fell into step with me. She was quiet. Which was weird especially for Rangiku. Maybe she was just tired from yesterday's mission. We reached the gate and I told the guard why we were here. I declined his offer for an escort. I had been using the gate for three years now. I knew the way.

"Have you been back here before?" I asked.

"Uh…no actually. Just the part where we hold the SWA meetings. It is beautiful though. The flowers are amazing."

Rangiku has a thing for flowers and plants. She has her own small apartment close to 10's barracks and there are always flowers. She gets some at the market for her tiny kitchen table. Sometimes the arrangements overtake the poor thing. She has a few house plants. Lex and I got her a nice succulent last year. Somehow she manages to keep them all alive. My green thumb was sorely lacking.

We reached the clearing where the gate would form and I waved at the attendant who was preparing to open it. Rangiku was still gazing at the flowers when I saw Captain Kuchiki come around the corner. He was in full uniform. I had only seen him in a casual, and I mean casual for Captain Kuchiki not us mere mortals, (well we aren't mortal per say…after three years you would have thought I would have come up with some better idioms) yukata when I ate dinner with Rukia one night.

"Good morning Captain Kuchiki. Thank you for letting me use your gate." I said and gave a short bow. Bowing was something that was also still awkward for me.

I heard Ran take in a sharp breath and spin around.

"You are welcome Miss. Farro. Good morning Lieutenant Matsumoto."

She stood there for a few more beats than was normal.

"Oh…uh…Good morning Captain Kuchiki! It's such a nice day isn't it? Oh and your gardens are sooo nice. I just wanted to walk Lennie to the gate this morning. You never know what could happen. She's just so small!"

Ran pulled me into a bone crushing hug and even lifted me off the ground a couple of times. At least I'm stuck more in her armpit than in your cleavage.

"I just worry so much, you know? I hope I'm not intruding! I'm sure you're very busy, but hey couldn't let the poor girl get into trouble before her twentieth birthday."

Captain Kuchiki raised his eyebrow slightly. I on the other hand was looking at her like she had grown another head. What the hell was she talking about? Now she was laughing really oddly, in a high pitched anxious way. I managed to pry myself out of her side.

"Well, I better get going. Don't wanna make mom wait."

I was trying to flatten out my hair that had been mushed down.

"Lieutenant, allow me to escort you to the gate." Said the Captain.

"Uh…no don't trouble yourself! I'll be perfectly fine. I know where I'm going. Seriously I'm a big girl. I can handle myself."

Que more nervous laughter.

"Uh Ran are you sure you know where you're goin'? This is your first time here an' all." I said scratching the back of my neck.

"I said I'm fine." Ran said lowering her voice a couple of octaves.

"Have a nice day Captain Kuchiki!" she said and flash stepped away.

"Well that was weird…" I mumbled.

I gave a wave to the Captain and he nodded to me as I stepped through the gate.

L&L

I was greeted by the smell of fabric softener and cedar. I was suddenly enveloped in a big hug. I wrapped my arms around my mother and felt her coarse curly hair tickling my face. "Hi mom." She let me go and squeezed my shoulders. "Come on. Come on. It's time to open your presents. You know how I am. Once I buy it, I just can't wait to give it you." She chattered on retrieving a few wrapped boxes.

I starting tearing at the paper of the first box and found several different t-shirts. Soft and a little on the big side. There was a couple of superhero shirts along with a Ghost Busters one that made me laugh. "That was kind of a gag gift," Mom said. I went on to the next box. It was a couple of new journals. The next box held an Ipod with earbuds.

"Mom, this is way too much! You didn't have to get me something this big!"

"I know but I wanted to. I managed to synch all of your old music and some of the new albums that you'd been wanting. It wasn't all that hard actually."

I raised an eyebrow.

"Ok so I got that boy from across the street to help me, but hey it got done."

I laughed and gave my mom a big hug. We sat down and talked. She talked about her new job at the bank and I told her about things in the Soul Society. I usually left out things about missions. She didn't need to know all of that.

"Mom…I know that this situation isn't exactly ideal, but I'm glad I'm still able to see you…I miss you so much. So many people aren't able to see their loved ones. But I won't age like normal."

My mom took my hand.

"Sweetie, I know this isn't….ideal. And it breaks my heart to know that you won't be going to college like you planned. There are human things that you will miss out on, but it eases my heart to know that you are still living. You have friends. You have a job, an odd one albeit, but still. You can fall in love and get married and have kids. I can see a lot of that. I can be with you as long as I'm living. When I die, which will eventually happen, I can still find you and we can still be together. When I met your father, and found out what he was, it gave me great comfort to know that my loved ones were all on one place. I know that it's huge, but there's always hope that I can see my own parents, and now my daughter. I wished I had been the one to go there first, but maybe it was fate. All things happen for a reason. I truly believe that. As long as I know that you are happy, I'm happy. Half of you always belonged there, and half of you belonged here. No matter what world you are on you have people that love you. You are always where you belong."

We were both crying. I laid my head in her lap and she stroked my hair.