20 Meters: Approx 24 yards.

Na-? : Orihime was about to say NANI? Which means "What?" in Japanese.

Korosu: I'll kill you

Tasukete: Help me

Nigeru: Run

Quia te mea quem sanguis pertinent, pro te mea quem vitae pertinent, tibi quem ego possides et cuium me. Ego præcipio vos aperta, Sanguis Semita.: Latin for "For thee whom my blood belong, for thee whom my life belong, for thee whom I own and who owns me. I command ye open, Blood Path."

Yare, yare: Well, well

Daijobudesuka? : Are you okay? Technically this is two words, however, in some phrases they're said all together like this.

Arigatougozaimasu: Thank you very much

Douzo: Pleasure (to meet you)

Kami: The closest translation is "God"

Chapter 3

Ichigo approached Orihime's apartment and began to ascend the stairs. It was a nice, warm night, with a soft breeze ruffling the trees. But, it was disquietingly silent in the area. As Ichigo approached her front door, his fists clenched and his heart leapt into his throat.

Her front door was ajar, and hanging slightly off its hinges. He felt like he'd swallowed a cold rock, he felt it drop into the pit of his stomach as undeniable dread over took him. He pushed the door open in earnest stepping into her one bedroom apartment, looking around frantically.

Her apartment was a wreck. The table that sat in the middle of her main room was in splinters, the lamp in the corner of the room was on, but had tipped over. Books had spilled over onto the floor from the bookshelf that Sora's precious picture had once sat on, and his photo lay on the floor, shattered. The worst was the blood. He could smell it as he rushed in, it was spattered on the walls, and the carpet.

Ichigo's eyes darted around, the sound of his heart in his ears almost deafening. A swath of auburn hair caught his eye from her bedroom, and he saw her lying on the floor, motionless.

"Orihime!" He shouted, scrambling to her to turn her over. Blood had pooled below her and her skin was ice. As he turned the facedown form over, he saw that her eyes were wide open in a perpetual expression of shock and fear. Tears still clung unshed in her terrified grey eyes, while one's that were shed earlier were drying on her cheeks.

She had been pierced through her lung, again through her side, and again through her neck. Blood, there was blood everywhere, her blood. It was hard to fathom that she had so much in her. Comprehending that anything he did now was useless, he gathered her limp form into his arms. Ichigo's body collapsed into her, clutching her desperately.

"No, no, no, no, no, no….."Was all he could articulate as hot tears ran uncontrollably from his eyes, and into her soft hair.

She was gone.

"No, no, please, God, no…"He wept bitterly.

Ichigo rocked back and forth, holding her forehead to his cheek as he stroked her hair. He could no longer say anything, or think anything, what he felt was all consuming. A low keening sound emitted from deep in his chest, like that of a drowning man.

Dead, Orihime was dead.

Ichigo shot upright in his own bed, drenched in a cold sweat and shaking, not noticing a few tears dripping down onto his blue comforter. His head snapped to his clock, 5am it read.

He ran a hand through his messy orange hair, taking deep breaths, he closed his eyes and focused, feeling out Inoue Orihime's reiatsu.

The strongest sense of relief he had ever felt washed over him as he felt her, still fast asleep at home. He sat there for a long moment, just letting the gentle, warm aura of her reiatsu wash over him. He fell back onto his pillow, a hand over his eyes, now feeling the tears that were on his face, and knowing no sense of shock when he realized he'd woke crying.

He breathed slowly, the adrenaline rush leaving his body.

"She's fine, Ichigo," he said softly to himself. "Calm down."

The dream had been so real. Down to every last detail, it was as though he had lived it.

He wondered how he would be able to act around her at school, now, because it was simply impossible to ever ignore his feelings for her ever again.

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Three Days Later

Orihime removed her apron and hung it on a hook on the wall in the back of the bakery. She went to her locker and removed her jacket, her scarf, and her purse. She walked to the front of the store, where the owner smiled at her as she shrugged on her garments to stay warm in the frigid air outside.

"Orihime-chan," said the old woman. "Good work today."

"Thanks for all the hard work!" She spouted cheerfully, giving a short, polite bow to her boss. It was about quarter after nine, and the bakery she worked at was closing. She stepped outside waving to the owner.

"Take care, Orihime-chan!" The elderly lady called to her.

Orihime started to head home. Tatsuki wasn't able to come pick her up from work because she was staying over-night at the dojo for a school tournament tomorrow. As she walked, she started thinking about the events of the last three days.

To be honest, it had actually been pretty normal. No hollow attacks at all so far this week, it was a nice change of pace, even if it was a little strange.

The big curiosity was Ichigo. He had insisted on walking her to work for the last three days, before going to Unagiya for his own job. He'd been carrying on the same, normal conversations with her, but something just seemed…..off about him lately. Orihime figured it was just her imagination again, but it was like he was in her personal bubble. Not that she minded, but she found herself more aware of him than ever before now, which made her really nervous! What was more, she had felt him staring at her in class, too. The thought of it now made her cheeks hot, coloring them with a high blush.

Orihime shook her head vigorously, slapping her own cheek.

"It-ta-ta!" She whined. "I did that too hard."

She looked at her watch again, stepping up her pace. She still had homework to do tonight, and it was already 9:30! She figured that she would just take the little side street that cut through one of the city blocks as a shortcut.

She rounded the corner, suddenly feeling a little nervous about taking this route because of how badly lit it was. She inhaled and puffed out her ample chest a little.

Come on, Orihime! You're a big girl, now! She chided herself and started walking through the narrow abbey. Her eyes darted from side to side, trying to be as watchful as she could. It took a lot of effort not to let her imagination run wild. All sorts of scary things started to come to mind. Like the woman with the surgical mask that would cut your face, or that new internet legend that was circling around about a tall slender man.

She had just turned the second corner, and could see her apartment building not 20 meters away, when she felt it. A chill ran up her spine, and a cold feeling curled in her belly.

She was being followed.

It was a frighteningly murderous gaze, too. She started to speed up her pace just as the reiatsu hit her. It was more than just oppressive, it was downright suffocating, and like nothing she had ever felt before. She had to stop in her tracks because she found it hard to breathe. The presence filled her with dread, the murderous intent was obvious, but the other thing she felt from it was what scared her. Psychotic glee. Pure and utter psychotic glee. Suddenly, she felt like a bug caught in a spider's web. There was a sound directly behind her, like an animal laughing.

Orihime whirled around to face her pursuer, a hand touching her hairpin at her collar as she did.

"Tsubaki!" She cried, the little fairy appearing and darting to the dark figure behind her. "Koten Zanshun!"

It was a man who had been following her. He stepped under one of the dim streetlamps in the alleyway, and raised a long sword, knocking Tsubaki to the side, his tiny form breaking against the wall. Orihime wanted to cry out, wanted to run and get her injured friend, but the terror she suddenly felt as the man turned to her, stopped her dead.

He was stunningly handsome, like what she had always thought a Greek god should look like. However, while his face was handsome, everything else about him was black. His pitch colored hair was long, and wild, and hung to his waist. He was dressed in a tattered black uniform and a pair of worn black boots. The sword he carried was not Japanese, just like his facial features. It was as long as Ichigo's Zangestu, and double edged. His eyes were narrow for a European, but clear to see.

They were the lightest color blue she'd ever seen, so much so, in fact, that they appeared to be nearly white. His pupils were constricted in blood-lust, with a grin on his face that could peel paint.

Orihime shook, his reiatsu rolling over her in blood-curdling waves. She took a step back, her mind going blank, she was like a deer in headlights.

She saw him move, suddenly running full tilt at her, his sword drawn back ready to pierce through her.

"Santen Kesshun!" She called, the shield going up in front of her. She saw his smile stretch his face even farther, and he disappeared.

Na-?! Was as much as she was able to think before he became visible again, only slowed by the fact that his sword was cutting through her shield like a hot knife through butter.

It was a good thing Orihime's reflexes were as good as they were, because the blade only went through her left shoulder, just above her lung, instead of straight through her heart.

She screamed in pain, feeling the blade being used to swing her body to the side and into the wall of a building. The long sword went through the wall like it had her shield until her attacker was only a hair's breadth from her face, and the sword's hilt touched her shoulder.

"My, my, "Came his smooth, malevolent voice. "You certainly have a very interesting ability there."

His left hand released his sword, a cold finger reaching to stroke Orihime's cheek.

"And so beautiful, it's such a shame that I can't enjoy you in every way before killing you."

Despite the excruciating pain in her shoulder, Orihime tried to use the wall to her advantage. She lifted both legs, ignoring her tearing flesh, and kicked him as hard as she possibly could with both feet in the stomach.

Nothing gave, in fact, she heard a snap as she broke her own ankle in the effort. The man laughed, the sound high and gleeful. He flicked his left wrist, a sai sliding out of his tattered sleeve. Orihime screamed in agony as he took the blade and drove it through her wrist, and into the wall, all the way to the hilt again. He tore his long sword from her shoulder, blood squirting out once it came free, splattering on the auburn's face.

"Anna has an interest in those powers of yours, and I can't have her meddling in my plans before I can kill her, so, nothing personal, but I have to kill you." He stepped back, leaving a good five feet between them, gathering more energy behind him with the intent of impaling her completely on his sword.

This is it, this is how I die….Orihime thought numbly.

He lunged.

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Ichigo was never one to ever notice someone's reiatsu. Unless it was ridiculously powerful. The hair on the back of his neck stood up as he realized where the terrifying force was coming from. It was right by the bakery that Orihime worked at, and it was moving.

In the last three days, Ichigo had become so in tune to Orihime's reiatsu that it had become hard for him not to know where she was constantly. Right now, that murderous energy was following her. Without hesitation, Ichigo grabbed his Substitute Pass, and freed himself of his corporeal form, leaving his body on the couch of the Unagiya break room.

He was about half way there when he felt Orihime's reiatsu spike with terror, he Shunpōed, pushing himself hard to get to her in haste.

Please, let me make it in time, he begged the cosmos. Please, let her be safe.

He heard a scream of pain and fear.

FASTER! He screamed at himself.

He landed on the roof top just above the alley way with a clear view of what was happening. And what he saw turned his vision red.

Orihime's wrist was pinned to the wall with a sai, blood spilled out of the wound in her shoulder, and her feet moved, uselessly trying to push her farther back into the wall to get away. Ichigo's eyes focused on the attacker. The man was just as bad at sensing reiatsu as he was, because he never seemed like he saw Ichigo coming.

"TASUKETEEEE!" Orihime screamed as the attacker crouched to make his killing blow.

If Ichigo's rage could have been measured with a thermometer, the mercury would have burst out of the glass at that moment. With the same fury that he had attacked Tsukishima with months ago, he went for the black figured man. A howl ripped out his throat, drawing his new opponent's attention. Their swords locked, Ichigo glared into the man's intense blue eyes only to find a sick joy glinting back at him.

"Bankai." He grated, instantly calling out Tensa Zangestu, and using his strength to shove his opponent away. But he didn't stop there, he began to blindly attack at the grinning man, working furiously to kill him. Ichigo had him locked against the opposite wall to Orihime.

"KOROSU! KOROSU!" He screamed with every strike. But the grinning bastard started to laugh, only enraging him further.

"You're quite strong, boy!" Jeered the man. "But not strong enough."

Ichigo's rage dropped a level as the look in the man's eyes changed from maniacal, to poisonous. Ichigo felt what he thought was a kick land in his stomach, knocking the air clean out of him. He coughed, taking a step back, bringing his focus back to his opponent as fast as he could. He gave Ichigo one last icy jeer, and moved faster than Ichigo's eyes could follow. The attacker was suddenly behind him, and Ichigo felt something in his side, right between his ribs. His body became slow, it wasn't moving how he'd wanted, he looked down at himself. A sai like the one in Orihime's wrist stuck out of his belly, and there was a kunai between his ribs, filling his lungs with blood rapidly.

Ichigo still managed to Shunpō in front of Orihime to block the man's path to her. The man stopped, his face completely serious now, no longer laughing, he looked up at the sky making a sharp hiss of frustration.

"Your funeral." He spat and positioned himself to come at Ichigo with the long sword. Ichigo moved to block it with Tensa Zangestu, but his arms would move.

Poison, He thought numbly. I've been poisoned.

He could barely hear Orihime screaming.

"KUROSAKI-KUN! KUROSAKI-KUN!" She was frantic. "NIGERU!"

No way, he thought. I will protect you.

The man launched at Ichigo.

Ichigo saw a blur in front of him of white, brown, and blue. He heard the sound of metal scraping on metal. He fell to his knees, barely able to shove his zanpakuto into the ground to stop himself from falling over completely. He forced his eyes to focus as he looked up at the two people locked in combat. His eyes widened, utter and complete shock.

The transfer student stood in front of him, clad in a tight white dress and flat boots. Her eyes had that same murderous intent as he had seen on the first day of the new term. They were speaking to each other in English, and the grin that both of them wore was not one of maniacal joy, but each wore the same humorless smile. LaRell Anlanah broke their deadlock, her body changing directions faster than anything Ichigo had ever seen before. First, her elbow came down on the man's back, forcing him forward, then she kneed him in the gut, literally making him fly up into the air, and land on the roof above.

"That should keep him distracted for a couple seconds." She muttered.

Anlanah rounded on him and Orihime, walking right past Ichigo to the girl first. She pulled the sai out, making Orihime scream again. She reached down and ripped pieces of her dress apart, wrapping Orihime's shoulder first, then her hand, making sure to pack the fabric down tightly to slow her bleeding. She grabbed the terrified healer by the chin, looking her directly in the eyes.

"Focus, child." She chided, not without a certain softness in her voice. "Your friend has been poisoned. He will die unless you help him, do you understand?"

Orihime nodded.

"Then do it!" Anna shouted at her, releasing her. Orihime jumped.

"S-Soten Kisshun!" She said as she touched her hairpins.

Ichigo's eyes started to become completely blurred, he summoned all his remaining strength to pull the sai out of his belly, and the kunai out from between his ribs. He coughed, blood spattering the concrete.

"P-please don't move, Kurosaki-kun!" Orihime said, her voice shaking, along with her hands. She looked up, her mouth fell open. Ichigo followed her gaze to see LaRell Anlanah in the sky, twin short swords in hand, locked in combat with the murderous stranger, a pair of pure white wings keeping her in the air. It was a stark contrast to the man, whose wings were the same color as everything else about him, coal black.

Holy shit. Thought Ichigo as he lost consciousness.

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It had been a long time since Anna had used her wings. But she didn't want him at the advantage of a ground fight.

"Anlanah," Said her twin in English. "It's so good to see you alive!"

She narrowed her eyes, he started laughing.

"Did you think burning my house to the ground would kill me?" She responded bitterly.

"Oh, yes, I did. But I'm so happy it didn't," He paused his eyes flashing. "I've missed you so much."

Rage, vengeance, sadness, they all had a place in battle, just not in large quantities, or to the point of blindness. She charged him, using Fulmen Coniveo in its full force to strike him. Naturally he blocked her right sword strike, but she used the momentum to shift her weight forward. Her leg came up, her knee touching her forehead, and she brought her boot down, catching her brother on the crown of his head. His body soared headfirst down to the building below them, his head connecting with the concrete roof, and going straight through the vacant office building. Anna landed just above the hole she'd made with Adam's face. She drew her sword across her hand, cutting herself.

"Quia te mea quem sanguis pertinent, pro te mea quem vitae pertinent, tibi quem ego possides et cuium me. Ego præcipio vos aperta, Sanguis Semita." Anna chanted. Adam shot up from the hole, Anna stepped back swinging her wounded hand at him and the same moment as he swung his sword. His face was enraged.

"YOU BITCH!" He screamed, his sword catching her in the side as the droplets of her blood spread out, covered him in an orb, and shrunk into nothing.

Anna's kodachi disappeared. Blood seeped through Anna's fingers as she landed next to Ichigo and Orihime. Orihime looked up at her, her eyes suddenly widening.

"LaRell-san," Her eyes focused on Anna's neck. "Your neck…" Anna suddenly realized that she had a kunai lodged in her neck. Thankfully, it had missed anything vital, even muscle. Unfortunately, as Anna pulled it out, she noticed that it also reeked of bitter almonds.

"Fuck." She uttered.

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Orihime watched in horror as the student who had saved them, pulled a kunai out of her neck. She watched the woman sway slightly while uttering a curse word, then her eyes rolled back inside of her head and she crumpled to the ground like a sack of bricks. The white wings she had disappeared in a flurry of feathers as she hit the pavement, Ichigo was starting to wake up as the poison was almost gone from his body. Orihime felt faint.

This was bad, really, really bad.

"Oh! Orihime-chan!" Orihime's head snapped up.

"Urahara-san!" Relief spread through her body. "Youkata…" she whispered as all of her energy was suddenly gone. She started to sink down, Soten Kesshun shattering as she fell to the side, the blood loss finally getting to her. She felt huge strong arms catch her and lift her up.

"Arigato, Tessai-san." She said weakly.

"Yare, yare…."Urahara sighed. "Another new person we know nothing about." He lifted LaRell Anlanah and disappeared in a blur as he Shunpōed away. Tessai shifted her so that she was cradled in one huge arm, and bent, roughly lifting Ichigo's half-conscious form, throwing him over his shoulder. Orihime felt a rush of wind as he followed Urahara in the same type of speed movement as the other had left in. Orihime felt her eyelids become too heavy to keep open.

"Orihime-dono, please try to stay conscious." She heard the large man say.

She wished she could.

When Orihime awoke next, it was daylight out. She shot upright in the futon, only to be forced to collapse back down again as pain ripped through her shoulder.

"Ita-ta-ta!" She groaned. She looked around, she was in Urahara's shop, her eyes fell on the bed next to hers where LaRell Anlanah was laying on her back, deathly pale, and eyes closed. Her brow furrowed as she watched the other woman's form. She saw her chest rise and fall in a rhythmic pattern. She still lived.

Thank the Kami, Orihime thought gratefully. She turned her head the other way, looking for Ichigo and not seeing him. A knot tied itself in her belly. She reached out to feel for his reiatsu, and when she did, the knot undid itself and she sighed in relief. She heard voices coming from the hallway.

"Kurosaki-dono, please calm down," came Tessai's deep voice. "Both of them are recovering."

"I want some answers, goddammit!" Ichigo hissed. Orihime smiled, hearing him stomp down the hallway towards the room. She heard a groan next to her.

"It's too bloody early for this fucking racket."

Orihime gasped a little at the foul use of language coming out of the beautiful woman's mouth. She turned to look at her to find LaRell Anlanah sitting up slowly, hand on her side, face pinched slightly in pain.

"LaRell-san, please lay back down," she said softly, her voice hoarse. "You'll reopen your wounds!"

"The fuck with that." The woman replied curtly. "Where the fuck are we?"

"Urahara-san's shop," Orihime said informatively.

"Who the fuck-"

Ichigo yanked back the door, his eyes alight with anger.

"Would you like to explain what the FUCK is going on you psychotic bitch?!" He shouted at LaRell. Orihime's eyes felt like they wanted to pop out of her head.

"Kurosaki-kun!" She said shocked.

"What you really mean to say is: Thank you so much for saving our lives, Anna-chan, we would have died without you!" Anna shot back, a visible vein in her temple popping out a little.

Urahara came up behind Ichigo, grabbing him by the collar and slamming his head into the doorframe, effectively knocking a still weak Ichigo unconscious. Orihime flinched, her jaw dropping as Ichigo went limp, and Urahara caught him by the arm, handing him to Tessai.

"Good to see you two awake! Don't do too much, now." He looked at LaRell. "Anna-san I believe? You really should lay back down. You're bleeding a little."

Anna's eyes widened, a small whisper of "Impossible." Slipped from her mouth as she looked down. Sure enough, the robe she was wearing had a little blood on it. She immediately flopped back onto her bed. Urahara smiled knowingly and walked into the room. Orihime looked away blushing a little as he opened the bottom half of her robe and a white light surrounded his hands as he closed the wound for her. When he was done he knelt beside her, taking her hand and shaking it in a very American way.

"Nice to meet you, I'm the owner of this establishment, Urahara Kisuke! Pleasure to make your acquaintance Anna-san!" He said cheerfully.

"LaRell Anlanah, Douzo." She mumbled in reply. "Thank you for saving me."

"Arigatogozaimasu, Urahara-san." Said Orihime.

Urahara shifted himself so that he could see both girls. He acted as though he was crying a little.

"Both of you are so polite!" He said gratefully. "Unlike that terrible Kurosaki Ichigo!"

Orihime giggled at his familiar antics. Orihime remembered herself and she looked over at LaRell Anlanah.

"LaRell-san, daijobudesuka?" She said a little worried.

"Please, child," Replied the other woman, a certain softness entering her tone. "Call me Anna."

"Uhn!"

Urahara stood, excusing himself politely, and walking to the door.

"You two rest up, now!" He said as he gently slid the door shut. Orihime watched him go, feeling much safer again. She turned back to the transfer student to ask her one of the hundreds of questions floating around in her mind, but she was already fast asleep again.

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When Anna woke again, Orihime Inoue was gone. She tried to focus to hear any voices in the house, but it was quiet. She tried to reach out to sense other people, but there was nothing. She sighed and sat up, rubbing her eyes, then realizing that her sharp vision would not return.

At least not for a few days.

No for the next few days she was a normal, helpless, vulnerable human.

Fuck me. She thought wryly to herself.

Before sitting up this time, she checked her body for her wounds, but they'd all vanished. Lingering on them, she felt Inoue Orihime's gentle reiatsu and she smiled to herself a little.

Remarkable, simply remarkable.

Anna sat up slowly, seeing a stack of clean clothes next to her pillow as she twisted around, stretching her body. She dressed quickly, and opened the sliding door. She headed to the front of the shop to leave, stopping abruptly when the Urahara man rounded the corner in front of her. She sighed. She wasn't escaping, then, eh?

"Anna-san. I hope you're not going anywhere," Urahara began. "I think you owe our two redheaded friends an explanation." Urahara Kisuke pointed behind her.

"They're waiting in there."

Anna nodded and about faced, walking gracefully to the sitting room. She slid the screen open gently, stepping into the room. But it was not only Ichigo and Orihime sitting there. No, it wouldn't have been that easy. Ishida Uryuu was there, Sado Yatsutora was also, and so were four other people that she didn't know. One was a woman with long wavy blonde hair, a generous bust, and a very pretty face. She was wearing a black shihakusho with a pink ribbon tied under her arms and at her back. The man sitting next to her had the most vibrant crimson hair she'd ever seen. It was actually red, unnaturally so. He had tattoos on his face, and his features were pointed, his clothing the same as the other two. Behind these two, sitting in the corner was a giant of a man, who was wearing thick framed glasses and a comically tight shirt. Finally her eyes fell on a petite woman with large violet eyes and delicate facial features. Her black hair was cut short, and framed her small face.

Anna watched as they all turned and looked at her.

Fantastic, Anna thought with sarcasm. More people to quarter me later.

Anna abruptly slid the door closed and turned around to be stared down by Urahara again.

"I need to make a phone call, we're missing someone." She said steadily. Urahara lifted his head to look her directly in the eyes.

"Oh? And who would you need to call?"

"Ishida Ryuuken."

Urahara Kisuke's look of shock was more than enough satisfaction to Anna.

"Phone?" She asked. He pointed, still unable to speak. She walked over to it, picked it up, and dialed Ryuuken's cell phone number. It rang for what seemed like forever.

"What is it, Kisuke-san?" Came Ryuuken's curt voice.

"It's me, Ryuuken." Anna replied. There was silence on the other end, so she continued. "You need to come here, we both have a lot of explaining to do."

"Tch, I'm on my way." He spat. Then the line went dead. She hung up the phone and walked back to the room, clapping Urahara on the back bringing him back to reality.

She took a deep breath and opened the door again, stepping fully into the room, and quietly taking the only empty seat she could see. Between Uryuu and Ichigo. Right, exactly where she wanted to be. Right next to the two people who would probably be trying to strangle her once Ryuuken got here.

Orihime looked at her a smiled a little, then she turned to the three Shinigami across the table from Anna.

"Rukia-chan, Renji-kun, Rangiku-san, Tessai-san" She started. "This is Anna-sa….this is Anna."

"Douzo." Said Anna flatly.

"So I hear that you saved Ichigo's pathetic ass after he got it handed to him!" Said the one called Rukia gleefully. Anna liked her already. Orihime cleared her throat, looking down her hands.

"I-I'm sorry, Anna-cha….Anna," She stammered. "I told them everything that happened." Anna tilted her head back and to the side at Orihime.

"You apologize for the most unnecessary things." Anna said.

There was a long silence. Anna looked around the table. Did she say something rude? Rangiku was covering her mouth, Rukia and Renji shared a shocked expression of silence, and Uryuu pushed his glasses up on his nose.

But, to her surprise, it was Rangiku who just started bawling into gales of laughter. Once the tension broke, Renji, Rukia, and Orihime all joined in.

Anna noticed with a fair amount of discomfort that Uryuu and Ichigo were not laughing. They weren't even looking at her. The group settled down as the door slid open again and Urahara and Ryuuken came into the room. Urahara stood at one end of the room, Ryuuken at the other, behind Anna. She felt herself stiffen, and she stood quickly.

"Excuse me," She turned to Ryuuken. "We need to have a quick chat outside first." She said in English.

"Whatever you have to say, you can say it here, Anna." He replied in Japanese, paused, then: "I knew this would come back to me someday. I had just hoped to be dead by the time it did." He added in English this time. Anna smiled sadly back at him. She turned around, going back to her seat.

"I hope no one has anywhere to be for a while." She began. "Because it's a long story."

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Whew! I know I promised citrus in this, but I assure you, it's coming! I hope you all liked this chapter! I'm getting more and more excited each time I write something new. I know I said in my first post that I would only be updating weekly, well, you've had three updates in one week! So, that being said. I'm probably not going to post anything until mid-next week. Remember, reviews are always appreciated, and I really do take them to heart!

Until next time, and thanks again for reading!

-Third.