Hey all! I'm happy to see that this one's getting a few more hits! Still no reviews though! (hint! I wanna know what you all think about this so far!)

Disclaimer- please read chapter 4 of the Demon Within for details.

Chapter 3

Aoi's eyes narrowed as they fell into the sky. The others stopped shortly after the gate, but Aoi kept falling, Kira panicked and followed behind. He grabbed her by her waist before she was at the building level and she looked up at him, surprised. "You don't know how to stop in the air?"

"I was having fun." She reached out, grasping at the air and flung herself back up at the level of the Senkai gate. "I take it those giant black blobs are the hollow? The Mainous graund?"

"Menos Grande. Don't worry, you'll get used to it. Yeah. Remember, the people here can't see us, or the hollow, but they can be injured by them. We need to kill them before they do too much damage." Aoi's eyes widened. "They don't even know they're under attack?" She looked over at Kira who nodded.

She took off at Shunpo speed, reaching the first. She held out her hands, as if raking the air around her. "Senbon Hikari!" Her hair fell back and Kira had trouble keeping up. "Taicho?!" He struggled as he noticed the rainbow behind her and he froze. This was the technique that had taken out Kempachi.

"Senbon Ai!" She screamed as her hands flew forwards, impaling across the Menos Grande and she waited till the last one landed before screaming, her hair whipped over her shoulder. Kira watched as her voice vibrated within him. "What on..."

The Menos Grande froze and let out a deep sound before shattering into pieces. Kira's eyes widened as Aoi raised her hands, calling out. "Senbon Hikari!" The long needles returned to her side as she ran towards the next one.

Hitsugaya met up beside him, Matsumoto close behind. "Wow, She's really something, isn't she?" Matsumoto grinned and looked over at Hitsugaya who just nodded, wide eyed. "They shatter at her voice. I've never seen anything like this."

"It's the needles." Kira spoke and they turned to him. "Her hair stick separated and is hitting them. That's how she's doing it. Her voice hits the needles. Still, it surprises me."

"What's that?" Matsumoto looked over at Kira, with wide eyes. "That little hair stick is her Zampactoh. What's up with the kitana then?" They all looked over as the fourth one shattered. They were soon met by someone else. "What's happening?" They all turned to Ichigo, staring ahead with wide eyes. "That's the new third squad captain. She's protecting the city." Ichigo turned to Hitsugaya and frowned. "Third squad, huh? Who is it? I don't remember anyone in Seireitei being able to do that."

"She's new. We found her in the woods, a complete newbie to shinigami. I'm really hopeful for her." Hitsugaya smiled at her as she finished off the last one. She took off in the opposite direction, though, and they all frowned, taking off after her.

They found her about two blocks out, staring, her hair stick now in one piece in her hand. "What's that?" She pointed to the kids playing ball. Ichigo smiled absently as he answered. "That's a soccer game. Kids play that in the real world."

"No, not the kids, that?" She pointed again and they all looked to see Urahara behind them, watching them. "That's Urahara." She frowned. "I didn't think people here could see us. Why can he?"

"He's a shinigami, like you." Aoi turned, for the first time realizing she didn't recognize the voice. "Oh! I'm sorry!" She bowed, causing a confused look from the outsider. "Why?"

"Asking so many questions, I haven't even been introduced!" She gasped out and Kira frowned as she didn't raise from the bow, instead getting lower. He reached out and caught her hair stick as it fell from her hand. "Aoi?"

She fell, her eyes rolling back in her head, only to be caught by Urahara. "Who's the new captain?"

"That's Aoi-Taicho. The new third squad captain." Urahara nodded, handing her over to Kira, who looked down at her a little surprised. She was broken out in a sweat and he realized that her adrenaline was what had gotten her through that. She was looking to see if there had been another hollow when she found Urahara, but once she'd seen him and the adrenaline wore off, that was it for her.

He looked over at the others and sighed. "I'll go ahead and get her back."

"Don't. The mission is to stay for an hour or so and keep an eye, just to make sure no more appear." Kira frowned. "Then what do I do with her?"

"Wow, you don't like her much, do you?" Ichigo frowned as he watched Kira readjust his hands under her. "It's not that, I don't know her. She's oddly distant."

"And she's your new captain, which probably means you don't trust her." Matsumoto frowned, looking sad. "Kira, get to know her. Don't treat her like you did Amagai. She's not like the others. Don't push her away."

Kira sighed and nodded. "But what do I do with her?" Ichigo sighed and took her, looking over. "I live by here. I'll take her to my house." Kira sighed and nodded. "I should probably stay with her, so she won't be alone when she wakes up." Kira nearly groaned and Ichigo nodded. "Alright, I'll stay with these two and make sure they don't destroy the town."

Kira sighed as he nodded. He'd rather face the hollow.

After the hour, they were summoned and Kira frowned. She was still asleep. He carried her to the Senkai gate and passed through, keeping a firm hold of her.

They reached the third squad area as she finally groaned, shifting, so that Kira nearly lost his grip of her. He quickly knelt down, holding her by the waist and shoulders, sitting her on his knee. "Are you alright?" He asked softly and she nodded, reaching up. "Where's my hair stick?" Kira reached into his sleeve and pulled it out, having woven it through the fabric to keep it in place. He reached out to hand it to her and she reached out carefully to grasp the stick and looked up at him. "Thank you." She stood, swaying lightly, keeping her eyes on the older shinigami.

"I'm sorry if I was a burden on you." Kira frowned, shaking his head. "No more hollow showed up, you were the one who completed the mission on your own." She sighed before nodding.

"You're not just being shy, you're overly formal. Why?"

"I don't know. It's just how I am. I try not to offend anyone." She sighed as Kira nodded.

"So, you want to get something to eat?" Kira asked, smiling at her. If nothing else, he may get a chance to learn a little about the new girl.

She leaned back from the seat at the restaurant, looking around at the people, a stick still hanging from her mouth. She hadn't said much, but she seemed to be observing everything around her. "What's so interesting?" Kira asked and she shrugged, seeming to loosen up a little. "There's so many people here. So many things to see and do. It's so... different." Kira looked at her with a frown. "What did you do for fun before you came here?"

"I didn't really have time for that. I would tend to my plants, hunt, do the work on the house, and sleep. I didn't really have time for this kind of thing." She watched as someone walked by with an armload of bottles, talking animatedly with someone about a party that night. "Hm..." She leaned back, reminding Kira of a child as her eyes followed the man. "I guess I'll have to start training, huh?" She asked quietly and sat back up in the chair. Kira choked a little on the tempura he was eating and looked over at her. "No one will train with you except maybe Kempachi-Taicho." She nodded. "I know, but I can't use that technique on anyone here. If I sing too loud I can easily kill someone. I was scared to death when I had to use it on him. I don't like to kill." Kira frowned. "You weren't so merciful on those hollow earlier."

"They were about to hurt innocent people. I can't allow that, no matter what. I also know that if I can kill a hollow, they'll become spirits here. They'll be re-entered into the life cycle. I just hope they're happier now." She smiled as she moved the stick in her mouth, eating another one of the dango. "So, you like sweets?" She nodded happily, again reminding him of a child. "I cooked a lot of sweet things in the old house. I'll have to get supplies for that here, though." Kira nodded. "How did you cook sweet things there? I heard it was hard to get supplies in the outer cities."

"I sold meat. There was someone, an old friend of mine that would come by every day and buy it to cook in his restaurant. He'd come by once a week to buy supplies for me." Kira nodded.

"Did you have lots of visitors out there?" She shook her head. "Only him. I didn't like people being around. I had a family once, when I was really young. They left me out in the woods when I was young. I never saw them again. Kiri, the one who took me in, helped me learn to fend for myself, and helped me build my house. He's the one who opened the restaurant soon after." Kira nodded. "You don't know what happened to your family then?"

"No, but I don't mind. I kind of enjoyed my life, the way it was, and I'm interested to see how it turns out here for me. If they'd kept me, I wouldn't be here now." Kira watched her as she smiled sweetly at her dango before moving the stick over, eating the next one. "You're different from the others here. You look at everything in a positive light, don't you?"

She looked up at him, eyes wide. "Not everything. I can tell that you don't really like me, but you're forcing yourself to be near me. I can't really find anything good about that. I'm hopeful, though." Kira frowned.

"Hopeful?" She looked up and nodded, a childish smile on her.

"That you'll grow to detest me less as time goes on." Kira frowned. "I don't detest you. I'm just being cautious." She looked over, curious, her eyes locking on him.

"Our last two captains betrayed us. One specifically betrayed me, using me as a tool in his works. I was just getting used to the last captain when he tried to kill the head shinigami. I guess it's hard to have trust in someone after too many betrayals." Aoi nodded, her smile fading as she looked sadly at her dango. "I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault. Just don't betray us, alright?" She nodded. "I won't, I promise you that." He looked down at her. Again the want to trust her kicked in, but he knew he was keeping it off.

They headed back to the office, Aoi looking around and frowning. "What's wrong?" Kira asked, his tone a little less monotone than it had been and she looked over at him surprised. "Something's different. I can't tell what it is, though."

She looked around and finally noticed the papers on the desk. "Oh, the papers are gone. Were you able to finish them?" She asked and Kira nodded, watching her interested to see how she responded. "Thank you. Uh, would you like some tea?" She asked, walking over to the tea kettle and Kira nodded, smiling.

"That would be nice, thanks." She smiled before headed out the back door with the kettle.

It was about eight that evening when there were a few visitors, each taking Kira outside to give a report, and Aoi watched, surprised that no one would talk to her. After the fourth one, Aoi sighed as Kira came back in. "None of them will talk to me. No one here trusts me, do they?" Kira frowned. "They're waiting to see what I do. They all know that when Ichimaru and Aisen tried to take down the shinigami that I'd been an important tool in the matter. I blindly followed them, not knowing what was happening till it was too late. This, though, has nothing to do with that." His voice picked up at the last part, as he was trying to keep himself from getting too depressed. "There's a few tasks I assigned that are a little more sensitive." Aoi nodded. "I'll trust you're not using them to do anything illegal." She smiled, and he looked over. "You actually do trust me, don't you?" Kira was surprised.

"I don't have any reason not to. You've never done anything against me, and you wouldn't be my Fukutaicho if the others didn't trust you as well." She smiled and turned back down to her tea.

Kira just looked for a while. She was too open. If someone tried to betray the shinigami, she wouldn't be able to tell till it was too late. He sighed and turned down, looking away. "I need to do something really quick, I'll be right back."

"Alright. Be careful, Kira." She smiled and he couldn't break his eyes away from hers as he closed the door. He just stood there for a second, surprised and confused. What in the hell was going on in his head.?"

He darted over to Matsumoto. "Rangiku! I really need to talk to you!" He burst through the door, seeing Hitsugaya stare as Matsumoto jumped up. "What's happened?" He looked over at Hitsugaya and shook his head. "No, I need to talk to you alone!" Hitsugaya stood and turned, walking towards him. "I'm leaving anyway. Matsumoto, please lock up after yourself." She nodded, looking at Kira with a terrible anticipation as Hitsugaya closed the door.

"Can we trust her? Seriously? I'm not worried that she'll betray us, but what if what happened to me happens to her? She's way too openly trusting!"

"Kira!" Matsumoto smacked him, causing him to fall back, shocked. "She's open, she's trusting, she's not an idiot. Have a little faith in your captain!" Kira backed away. "That's the problem! Rangiku, you know what's happened, you know how hard it can be for me to have any faith anymore! I can't believe that I trust her as much as I do after only one day, but..." Rangiku sighed as she flung her arm over his shoulder. "Kira, you're an idiot. There's nothing else I can say."

Kira frowned as he left the office. He knew he was panicking for no reason, he sighed as he realized he just wanted a little reassurance, but instead he was called an idiot. That didn't work.

He noticed the light in the tower had been changed and was calling for the third squad leaders. He headed over, wondering if Aoi had noticed.

She was there, the look in her eye deadly as Yamamoto walked around them. "Kira, You're here. We need you to head to the Senkai gate again." Kira frowned. They only had an hour and a half till the party. He sighed, guessing they wouldn't make it in time. "A hollow has attacked there. It's a simple there and back." Kira looked over at Aoi. "Can't she handle it alone?"

"I'm not sure, seeing her state of mind right now. Please, she's only to be used as backup. If you can handle it yourself, then please do." She nodded, as did Kira.

They instantly headed out, Kira a few steps behind her. "I've not seen that look in your eyes before. Are you alright?" She nodded, and Kira felt a drop on his forehead. He reached up, wiping it away to find there had actually been two drops, one clear, one red. "Taicho?!" He leaped ahead, looking at her, a deep bruise coming to light across her neck. "What happened?!"

"I was attacked while going to look alone. I didn't expect it." She was lying and he could tell. Her eyes were nearly that of Byakuya, and he was suddenly afraid. He let her get ahead again, afraid to be before her.

They got to the gate to find one small hollow, easily taken out. "That little thing attacked you?" Aoi nodded and reached up, wiping away the blood and tears that were starting again from her. The blood seemed to be from a cut below her ear, the bruise was in the shape of a hand. "Who was it?" She looked over, eyes still narrowed and he turned to her, his eyes just as cold. "Who did that to you? The bruise on your neck is in the shape of a hand. Who attacked you?"

"It doesn't matter." She turned to leave and Kira jumped ahead, holding her still. "Was it someone from the third squad?"

Her head hung lower, giving Kira his answer. "I know they don't trust me, I understand why. I don't want to get them into trouble. They're just trying to protect the squad, which I think is admirable."

"Not like this. They can't get away with this. Follow me." She sighed as they headed back to the office.

Kira lit a red light in the gate, causing all of the squad to be there within three minutes.

"This is unacceptable! I'll only ask once, who attacked Aoi-Taicho?" He called, his eyes flashed with fire now more than hers. She was falling into depression over the situation and Kira wasn't about to take it lying down. There were no hands and Kira nodded. "Starting right now you're all going to scrub all of Seireitei. Every building, every walkway."

He walked around, looking into the eyes of some of the men before screaming, hitting his fist against the gateway. "WHO DID THIS TO HER?!!"

"It was me." One of the men from the back raised his hand. Kira walked over to him and grabbed him by the collar. "The rest of you, get ready. I'm not canceling tonight. You..."

He dragged the man to the office, throwing him down on the ground. "You better apologize to her like mad. I'm NOT going to deal with this kind of thing! You're going to be punished starting first thing in the morning!"

Aoi walked in, watching with wide eyes, half hidden behind the door frame like a scared child. "Kira!" she gasped out, tears again in her eyes and he turned to her, stepping back. "Aoi-Taicho, Please come here."

She stepped in slowly, looking at the man on the ground looking more confused at her than terrified at Kira by now. Kira looked down as the man realized his watcher jumped over to his knees and bowed to the floor. "Please, accept my humblest apologies, Taicho! I acted too rashly!"

She knelt down and pulled back his collar, examining the mark left where the haori had cut into his neck by his chest. She reached out and laid her hand on the mark, pushing heat into the mark. "Kira, please don't be like this. He's just trying-"

"I know." Kira sunk into the chair and sighed, leaning down. "But remember, attacking the captain is a sign of betrayal as well. If I didn't before, I truly trust you now." The man on the ground looked up at him. "Fukutaicho? Are you sure? Seriously?"

"She tried to tell me she'd been attacked by a hollow to keep you out of trouble. She told me you were just trying to protect the squad, but you should know better." His voice was tired at this and the other shinigami just nodded. Kira stood slowly and walked over by the door before turning back to Aoi, his eyes not meeting hers. He knelt down to one knee and bowed his head. "Aoi, I fully accept you as this squad's captain. Please, make good use of us."

Aoi just stared, wide eyed as she stood. The other shinigami took Kira's cue and knelt as well. "If Kira accepts you, then so do I."