Chapter Sixteen

Returning Home

Gate to the World of the Living, Three Days Later...

Nick, Jasmine, their father, Raymond, Rangiku and Gin were all waiting at the gate that would bring them to the World of the Living. They were about to leave when they heard a couple of shouting voices coming towards them saying. "Wait! We want to see you guys off, too."

The group looked back and saw Tony Highwind and Yoshino Satoshi running towards the group. They stopped near the others. "Guys, we'll miss you around here. Stay safe, will you?" Tony said cheerfully.

"We will. We'll be back soon for more training. I'm not done with all of you, yet," Nick said, grinning. "Hey, where's Lora, anyway? Isn't she coming back as well?"

Raymond spoke up. "No, until I come back from the World of the Living, Lora will be watching over Squad One. When I return, I'll send her back."

"Ah, okay. Well, should we get going now?"

"Yes, go on home. Say hello to your mom for us." Yoshino said and smiled at the group.

Tony started walking away, waving back at them. "See you when you get back, Captain Barrett."

Raymond nodded and opened the gate. "Okay, let's go." He said and entered the gateway first.

Nick entered next, followed by Jasmine and their father. After they had gone through the gate, Gin and Rangiku followed through and went to the World of the Living.

World of the Living, Living Room...

Tabitha, Katie and Sakura were sitting on the couch, watching TV. Sakura, who had decided to stay with them, was tilting her head and swinging her feet around, intently watching what was on the television. The three girls all looked at each other at the same time, sensing a major amount of Spiritual Pressure appear near the house. A knock sounded on the front door, which Sakura instantly answered. "Captain Barrett! What are you doing here?"

"Sakura, no questions, just let them all in." Samina called to the little girl.

The head of pink hair turned and nodded at her. "Alright. Come on in." She said just as cheerfully and led the group into the house.

Tabitha smiled at Katie, who had realized what was going on and had gotten up quickly, running to the figure who had appeared in the doorway first. "Nick! You're home! Your mother told me all about what happened! How could you be so reckless?" She said, crying and smacking Nick upside the head.

"Ow, ow, ow, OW! Katie, calm down! The only reason it happened was because I had to protect Jasmine or she would have been the one affected! Stop hitting me!" Nick said, now reduced to a small lump in the corner of the room, curled up in the fetal position.

Raymond and Tabitha both looked at the sight with disbelief. Nick, the pinnacle of strength, reduced to a curled up wimp. "Okay, now that's embarrassing." Raymond laughed, Tabitha joining in.

Then, Tabitha saw who else had come in. "Eli... Elias, you came back!" She said, throwing herself at her revived husband, now in a new body in order to cover up for his ten-year absence.

"You told me to come back, Tabby. So, here I am. So, who is this little one that answered the door and is now biting my shoulder?" He said, pointing to Sakura, who was indeed biting down on the older Elias' shoulder.

Tabitha gasped at her former student-turned-adopted child. "Sakura! Get off him! This is my husband!"

Sakura looked at Tabitha and let go of the shoulder. "Sorry about that."

Elias laughed. "No, it's okay... Sakura, was it?" The tiny girl nodded. "What are you doing here?"

Tabitha explained the whole situation and then said. "I'm thinking of adopting her, Eli. Sakura is an orphan, and her twin sister is in the Japanese Soul Society with Kenpachi, if he's actually still alive. She's just so cute and I know her just as well as anyone! Hell, she's been sleeping in Megan's old crib."

"Megan?" Nick's face looked surprised.

Tabitha sighed. "Oh, that's right. You died before I gave birth to her. Just a moment. Megan, come and meet your father!"

Megan ran in, almost tripping over her own feet because of all the people present in the house. She looked right at Elias and smiled. "Daddy!"

"Oh my goodness, you look so much like your mother, don't you?" Elias said, picking Megan up off the ground.

"No, mommy says I look more like you." Megan said, her head now buried in her father's shoulder.

"Well, you do, but your eyes are your mothers." Elias kissed her forehead.

Tabitha then saw Rangiku and Gin walk into the living room, feeling a little out of place. She gasped. "Rangiku!" She ran and hugged her old friend.

"Tabitha? You mean, we're going to live next door to you? I can't believe it. Oh, this is Gin Ichimaru. You probably remember when I told you about him."

"Yes, I do. I thought he was a traitor to the Soul Society?"

"Apparently, he was under the spell of Aizen's Zanpaku-to. We're together now, and Ichigo already said that he'd make sure Renji doesn't find out about it. Your cousin is so nice."

"No, he's understanding. Once he realized what the Soul Society was doing wrong, he vowed he would change everything when he became Spirit King. Now, my little boy is his successor."

"Really? But, I thought the heir was born every thousand years or something?"

"Usually, but Nick was born ahead of his time. I'm so proud of him, though. He brought his father back, he's expecting a baby, and he can protect everyone he cares about. Just like Ichigo did."

"Yeah. Well, Gin and I are going to see what our house looks like. We'll come over for dinner, is that okay?"

"Yes, of course. I'll make sure to get everything set up later, once whoever is leaving leaves. So, how's Toshiro?"

"He's fine. I'll tell you more later on. Come on, Gin!" Rangiku started pulling Gin out of the house.

"It was nice to meet you, Tabitha. See you tonight." he called as he disappeared from the doorway.

Tabitha smiled and went back to the others. But, she then noticed that Sakura, Nick and Katie had all disappeared from the lower floor of the house. She chuckled to herself. Now, Katie will be able to stay calm knowing Nick is back with her.

Katie's Room, Upstairs...

Nick was sitting on Katie's bed next to his girlfriend, her head in the crook of his shoulder. The little pink-haired girl, Sakura, had also followed them up to the room. "Why did you follow us?" He asked her.

"Because, Katie is my best friend!" She said, crawling onto the bed and hugging Katie around her waist.

Katie's head picked up from the small space, her face stained with tears. "Thanks, Sakura. Nick, guess where she sleeps."

"Where?" Nick asked, raising an eyebrow.

"She sleeps in the crib over by the window."

"Really? You know, Sakura, that crib was my little sisters'. So, I'm guessing that Sakura stays around the house all day?"

"Yeah. Your mom is thinking of adopting her, since she's an orphan and Sakura loves your mother. She used to teach her when Sakura was attending the Soul Reaper Academy."

"Really? Wow. I knew my mom was someone important over there, but to be the former Captain of Squad One and a teacher? I wonder what else she's been hiding from us?"

"She'll tell you. I'm also guessing that you know that your mom just happens to be a Visored, huh?"

"Yes, I know. One of the Visoreds that lives in the Soul Society told me the day I went to train. Could you tell me something?"

"Yeah, what do you need?"

"Look at my right eye, at as many angles you can. Then, tell me if it seems to have a sort of amber color behind the irises."

"Sure. Sakura, do you want to help? You can do it faster?"

The head of pink hair detached itself from Katie's side and nodded, moving around Nick faster than he could even tell. When she was finished, Sakura settled on the other side of Nick's body. "They seem to turn amber when you look at it them from angles that seem diagonal from your body. They're pretty cool."

"They? Do you mean that both of my eyes seem to do it?"

"Uh, huh." She nodded, smiling.

"You are just too cute. Hell, I'd want to adopt you. You would be the perfect, but most hyperactive older sister our baby could have." Katie laughed at her own words.

Nick smiled at the two girls and hugged them tight. "Well, I have to go talk to my mom. You two stay here, okay?"

"Okay, Nick. Oh, here's your body." Sakura came over to him, Nick's body dragging behind her.

"Thanks, Sakura. Well, I'll see you later." Nick said, going back into his own body and going back downstairs.

"Mom," He said, coming into the living room. "Can I talk to you, now?"

"Yes, of course, Nick. Jasmine, you don't know about this, so you should come, too."

Jasmine nodded and followed her brother and mother outside into the backyard. "What do we need to talk about?"

"Well, mom has to explain to us why she didn't tell her that she just so happens to be what I am now."

"What do you... Mom's a Visored?"

Tabitha nodded. "Yes. I didn't want to keep it from you, but if I had used my Hollow powers, you may not have survived that battle we had before you went to the Soul Society. I can't control the powers a hundred percent, so I wouldn't have been able to control the power of my attacks. But, now that Nick's one, too, I can't keep this a secret anymore. You already know what I was in the Soul Society, but you don't know why I left."

"Well, it seems obvious," Jasmine said. "I looked up some stuff at the Soul Society Archives, and I found something about you. It said that you had died in the World of the Living because of a Hollow attack that you should have been able to defeat pretty easily. The reason for this isn't very hard to understand. You fell in love with dad."

"Very good. I knew that if I told you what happened when I met your father, even if it was a lie, would figure out what actually happened. You are such a smart girl, Jasmine. I'm proud of both of you. In addition, I heard that your Evathon'Dala has attacks similar to the Spirit Queen, Rukia Kurosaki's own Sode No Shirayuki. You have more than one attack, correct?"

"Yes. I know two so far, but I know there has to be another attack somewhere. Nick knows more than one attack in Shikai as well. Even though they both have the same name, they have different ways of actually attacking."

"I heard about that. Let's get back inside. Today is supposed to be your day, because you came back to your family."

Nick and Jasmine nodded and walked back inside the house with their mother. They hoped there wouldn't be any problems for a while.

A/N: So, we are now at the end of Part One. Part Two will be up, hopefully, later today. I hope some of you will check it out when it shows up. Thank you for viewing this story and, if I may, please leave a review of the story just so it has ONE review on it. This is one of the only stories that have no reviews on it as of yet, and it is now finished. Sorry, but there will be no sneak preview of Part Two. If anyone would like a peek, leave me a review saying it and I will send it to you when I get a chance.