Previously on Bridge the Gap, Kyoukan!

Jesa realizes that the upcoming adventures aren't likely to follow the plot of any of the arcs she is familiar with. She is close to tears from thinking she won't be of much help to Ichigo-tachi, but Orihime comforts her and reminds her that just because she can't help the way she thought she should, doesn't mean she can't help at all. Renji explains his mission, which leads to Jesa cheering about visiting the Soul Society. Urahara pulls out his fan, and Jesa asks Rukia to sokatsui it into oblivion in return for a Chappy plushie.

The next Saturday, Jesa tells her mom she's having a sleepover with Rukia and her friends, and returns to Urahara's shop. She realizes that her mom would worry if she couldn't reach Jesa since their phones aren't trans-dimensional. The only extra soul pager Urahara has at the moment is a recently-completed prototype of what is best described as a fusion of a standard soul pager and a smart phone. Soon after, in Urahara's basement, Rukia and Renji leave their gigai, Yoruichi morphs into her cat form, and Ichigo leaves his body by putting Kon in control. Ichigo asks Urahara to keep an eye on his sisters while they are gone, since Kon is coming with them to Soul Society, he declares.

On the way to the Soul Society, they are chased by that without which no trip through the Dangai is complete: the Cleaner. When they make it out, Jesa freaks out because they are free-falling towards the Rukongai and she has nothing to slow her rapid descent. Not even Nee-chan can calm her down. Suddenly, she feels like she's been jerked backwards, and she lands on a trampoline.

Chapter 13: Interlude

I lay there on that trampoline until I caught my breath. How long that took, I don't know, but when I finally sat up, I was in my inner world. But I couldn't see my power spirit, and somehow I knew she wasn't in my inner world at all. Then I had a flashback of her telling me not to go looking for her in others' inner worlds, like an anime character remembering the advice of a mentor. And in a way, that's exactly what happened! I thought with a smile. I seem to have become a character in Bleach, so...

Then I remembered what led to this moment. "Nee-chan?" I called. "Where are you, and why am I in here?"

"Open up Skype on the laptop," her disembodied voice replied. "That should answer at least the first question."

"Huh? Skype? How would that help?" I asked, but I got off the trampoline and started toward the laptop anyway.

"You'll see," Nee-chan replied mysteriously.

I sighed as I sat down at the desk and clicked on the Skype icon. When it opened, a notice box popped up. "Start a call to 'JJ'," it said. I wondered how Nee-chan had set this up and why she wouldn't just answer my questions directly, but I figured I'd find out faster by just going along with it than by questioning her about it.

The "call" connected after about two seconds. But instead of seeing a single face up close, I saw a bunch of faces, most of them my friends', and my first appreciable glimpse of Soul Society outside fanart and published Bleach material: the training room in Shiba Kukaku's house. When the scene shifted, realization dawned on me. What I saw on the screen was what I would be seeing if I were in my body, rather than my inner world.

"Nee-chan! You're in my body, aren't you?" I accused.

"Yes, Jesa, I am," her voice confirmed. "But would you rather I had let you crash and break a bone or something? You weren't responding when I tried to calm you down, so I took control so we could land safely. There was no time to consider other options." I heard a sigh, and then my power spirit continued. "Jesa, I know I should have asked for permission first, but-"

I cut her off when I recognized what she was doing, i.e. making a mountain out of a molehill. "Nee-chan, I'm not mad. I mean, I guess maybe I was at first, but I'm not now. You explained your reasons, and I see nothing to complain about." I shrugged. "Besides, it's not like you're trying to take permanent control."

"About that," Nee-chan said, oddly hesitant. "Well, Ichigo and the others were worried when I told them who I am and where you were. Rukia in particular keeps giving me wary glances."

"I see. She already worries about Ichigo keeping his inner hollow under control, especially considering what happened to Kaien way back when, so it's understandable that she'd be cautious. I'll come out and talk to her, tell her you aren't a threat, that I trust you." I started to stand up to head to my door, but I paused as a thought crossed my mind. "Rukia's the one who suggested coming here, isn't she? She knew the Shibas would understand her concern with our situation." I got the impression of a nod from Nee-chan as I walked over to the door that led to control of my body.

As I switched places with Nee-chan, multiple heads turned to me, particularly Ishida's, Orihime's, and Rukia's. "Um, hi," I began uncertainly.

"Jesa-chan, right?" Orihime asked. "You're back?"

I gave a definitive nod. "Yes, Orihime-chan, I'm back. I'm fine." I faced Rukia and bowed, hoping she would recognize my gesture of sincerity. "Rukia-san, Nee-chan told me you were particularly worried when she took control. I apologize. I freaked out when I started free-falling, and since Nee-chan couldn't get through to me, she took control so I didn't get any broken bones or whatever from crashing. I trust her, so please don't be too harsh with her if she shows up again." I paused, wondering if I should say more, perhaps indicating more specifically that I knew what had happened with her and Shiba Kaien when the hollow took over his body, but then there was a hand on my shoulder. I looked up and felt the turmoil I could see in Rukia's eyes. Pain. Fear. Guilt. Worry. Sorrow. I held her gaze, and then I started to see and feel her hope. I nodded slightly, not breaking eye contact. And then I felt her relief and saw her mouth twitch up just a little, the start of a smile. I pulled her into a hug, making no comment when her silent tears dampened my shoulder.

A/N: This chapter was not beta'd before being posted. I have lost contact with my original betas. If you see a mistake, be it a spelling or grammar error, or something else, I would appreciate it if you let me know so I can fix it.

I apologize for the shortness of yet another chapter, but whether I take the time to write the next scene I have in mind or skip over it depends on how my readers respond to my question: Do you want/like scenes where Jesa learns more about her Kyoukan and how it works, or would you prefer explanations of her powers and such in the author notes when she uses a new effect, or would you prefer some other method? I don't plan on there being a large number of special powers, though. Off the top of my head, I can think of only a half dozen or so, most of which have at least been touched on so far.

I'm asking because, while I know it's my fic and I can do pretty much whatever I want with it, I value my readers' opinions. I'm writing the fic because I enjoy doing so, but a large part of that enjoyment comes directly from knowing that others enjoy reading it.

God bless!