Chapter 8:

Veneno's first night in a new place was very strange. He was happy to have a bigger, softer bed but it was strange being in a room so far from the lab where he was used to being. He felt secure there. It was the only place he knew. When the sun went down, Akon took him back to his room and told him that he would be back in the morning to fetch him.

The bed was soft and he could stretch out without hitting any part of his body on the wall. He could actually lie flat on his back, which was a wonderful feeling. The blanket was also soft and warm. It smelled clean. Like cotton. His pillow was also pretty soft. He had never had one before. It felt good under his head. But there were strange shadows cast on the floor and walls which he had never seen before. In his closet, there were no shadows, just darkness. He didn't feel too safe at first. He found by closing his eyes, he was unable to see the shadows and was therefore no longer scared of them. Still, the large room was pretty intimidating.

The next time Veneno opened his eyes, it was light out. It was like someone had just flicked on the lights and he woke up. At first he didn't know where he was but soon remembered and stretched out on his new bed, looking at the ceiling. His room looked much cheerier in the daylight. He wrapped the blanket around himself and rolled around on the floor, making a cocoon around his body. He liked the tight embrace, even if it was difficult to move. He rolled back onto the bed, unwrapping himself from the cocoon and sprawled out.

Someone knocked on the door and Veneno jumped up into a sitting position. "Are you awake? It's me," came Akon's voice.

Hearing the familiar voice, Veneno tossed his blanket aside and got up. "Yes, I'm awake." He answered the door, excited. Akon was standing there waiting for him. "Hi."

"Morning. How'd you sleep?" It was just a casual question. He really wasn't very interested.

"Great, actually. I didn't get to sleep at first for a while. Then I did and now I feel pretty good." Veneno twisted his body from side to side. "See? I'm not stiff at all."

"That's good. Come on, I'll get you something to eat." Akon started to lead Veneno down the hall.

For a while neither of them spoke. Then Veneno made a sound. "Uh…"

"Yes?"

He looked shy about mentioning it, but he did so anyway. "I had some really vivid dreams last night."

"Really?" Again, Akon was just making conversation. He didn't really care too much.

"Yeah. It was weird."

"Weird, huh? What was it about?"

"It was about you guys."

"Oh?"

Veneno nodded. "Yeah. Soul Reapers. They were all dressed alike but they looked different. They all had these dark and yellow eyes and kept growling. A couple of them even have these white things over their faces, like part of a mask but it wasn't quite there yet."

Akon stopped walking. "What?" Now he was interested.

"Yeah. They were acting like animals. It was weird."

Akon was starting to get nervous. "In this dream you had… did any of them talk? At all?"

"No. They just growled and walked around." Veneno looked out the window to their left. "Right around here. I saw them walking around a place that looked like that." He pointed out into the street where several roads connected between tall white walls which separated the street from the buildings. "It was really weird. I mean, I've never seen anyone act like that before."

This was a red flag to Akon. Those weren't just dreams. Those were memories. Maybe just fragments of memories but they were still memories. Those were Hollow Reapers in Veneno's dream. It really did happen. "Uh, these dreams… have you had them before or is this the first time?"

Veneno turned looking puzzled. "I always have them. Aren't you supposed to have dreams when you go to sleep?"

"Yeah. But I meant dreams like that. With those funny looking Soul Reapers?"

He nodded. "Yeah. All the time. I thought everyone had dreams that were alike all the time."

Akon slowly started to reach into his pocket to take out the notebook when he stopped, looking at the confused expression on Veneno's face. Slowly, he took his hands off it. This time, he wouldn't take notes. He didn't want anyone to know about this. Not yet.

It was early in the morning but with the sun up, it was guaranteed that so were most of the Soul Reapers. The only reason why anyone would get up this early willingly was for food. For everyone who lived in the Seireitei, they knew they had to get their own food one way or another. No one was going to cater to them unless there was reason for it. Which meant almost all the Soul Reapers had to do their own cooking. For those who couldn't cook well, or at all, there were alternatives. There were restaurants in the area but no one could afford to go out to eat all the time. Luckily, there were Soul Reapers kind enough to make large portions of food for themselves and everyone else. There were some really good cooks on staff.

Akon didn't mind making his own food too much, but it was very convenient to have other people do it for him. It was a good idea to bring Veneno along to pick out his own food as Ichigo had suggested they do. Akon showed Veneno to a table that had plenty to offer. There was a variety of food to choose from and plates set out for people to take what they wanted. For someone like Veneno, this must have looked like a buffet. He stood drooling over the different dishes of hot food still steaming where they sat. Since he wasn't sure what to take, having never eaten any of this food before, Akon suggested that he take a little bit from each one and test them out. Within no time, Veneno had piled up his plate with a little bit of everything. Akon led him over to a table where they ate sitting across from each other.

As soon as they sat down, Veneno started to attack his food with his chopsticks. He wasn't used to holding them so he fumbled a lot. Eating bread didn't require the use of chopsticks and when it came to rice he usually just wolfed it down as fast as he could, dumping it into his open mouth. Seeing Veneno struggle to properly hold his chopsticks made Akon wish that they had prepped him for this earlier. It was a little embarrassing. He hoped no one would see him.

Without drawing attention to them at the table, Akon cleared his throat and showed Veneno how to properly hold his chopsticks with his own hand. He showed Veneno what to do. He picked it up quickly. After a thirty second demonstration, Veneno was holding his chopsticks and eating his food happily.

There were a few things on the plate that Veneno really hated. He hated the cabbage and the raw carrots. Most of the vegetables he didn't particularly care for. The fried rice he loved. The same thing went for the omelet. He couldn't get enough into his mouth fast enough. Pushing the unwanted food aside, he made room for the foods he did care for.

Akon watched the spectacle without a word. This was mostly for two reasons. He wasn't used to seeing anyone eat like this and he was still dwelling on what Veneno had told him about his dream. "So… you said that you have the same dream all the time?"

"Hm?" He stuffed pieces of omelet and fried shrimp into his mouth all at once, unable to stop eating. "Well, no. Not exactly. I have dreams were different things happen but those funny looking people are always in them."

"I see…" Akon looked down at his half empty plate. Was it that Veneno couldn't have normal dreams like everyone else? Or were his dreams only his memories? What did this mean?

"Is something wrong?"

Akon looked up from his plate. "Oh. Uh, no. Everything's fine." He knew those dreams were fragments of Veneno's past only he wasn't aware of it. He had no memory of that life. He just assumed these were dreams and nothing more than that. Akon looked down at his plate again, thinking. "As long as he believed these to be dreams then everything should be fine. It wasn't like he could stop him from dreaming. But there was a danger of these 'dreams' jogging his memory. Or maybe he simply didn't have his old memory. He started anew. That was the old him. This was a new one, making new memories. What if his memories were in his mind so there was no danger of him regaining his memories? If that was the case, then why would he have these dreams in the first place? They must have been in his mind in order for him to have these dreams. If only he had more information. He wanted to figure this out.

Veneno packed his cheeks with fried rice and omelet. He looked across the table at Akon as he chewed the remains of his food. "Are you thinking?"

"Huh?" his head snapped up again. "Oh. Yeah. I am."

"About what?"

"Nothing important." Akon started to poke at his now cold omelet with the end of his wooden chopsticks. He decided not to tell him.

Veneno looked hungrily at Akon's plate. "Are you going to finish that?"

"Huh. Uh... No. Go ahead."

Handed Akon's unwanted plate, Veneno held it up to his open mouth and let the food fall onto his tongue. He was never allowed to eat his fill before. He was never allowed to pick out his own food or anything. He was enjoying this. Though it was early morning, he could already tell this was going to be a good day.

As he finished his food, someone came up to their table. "Hey, Akon. Good morning." Veneno turned and looked at the girl who had appeared at the end of the table. She had dark brown hair and eyes. She had her hair pinned up in a light blue cloth of some sort.

"Morning, Lieutenant Momo," greeted Akon. "What are you doing so far from your Division?"

"I came to ask how the new Soul Candies were coming along. Have you finished?"

"Not yet. And it doesn't look like we will before the end of the season at this rate. We're really busy with everything people are handing to us."

"Oh. I see."

Akon looked across the table at Veneno who had stopped eating, plate frozen to his lips. He was staring at Momo. Akon's brow lowered, looking at him. This couldn't have been Veneno's first time seeing a woman. He had seen Nemu, after all. Why was he staring at her in such a strange way?

Momo took notice of the brown-haired man and smiled at him. "Hello."

Veneno jumped, slamming his plate down on the table. His face was starting to get warm.

"I haven't seen you around. What's your name?"

"Uh…" He swallowed the food in his mouth but still found it difficult to speak. She had a really pretty voice. She was a really cute girl. He wasn't used to seeing someone like her. That's not to say that Squad 12 didn't have women. Just not ones who looked so… clean and undamaged. A lot of girls in the lab were either not very good looking or had something wrong with them that made them appear to be not well put together, like they were mutated by the chemicals they were always exposed to. Even Akon looked different from most people. No one else had three horns on their head. "I- I'm… V- Veneno…" he answered shyly.

"Hi. I'm Momo. Nice to meet you." She turned to Akon. "Is he new?"

"Uh, yeah, he is. I'm showing him around.

"I see. How nice!" She turned back to Veneno. "So you're in Squad 12. That's good. I hope you like it."

Veneno couldn't figure out how to answer nor if he was expected to. The next thing he knew, Momo had placed her hands on the table and leaned forward, getting closer.

"Hey, you know what? The Women's Association was going to be working on a project but two of our members aren't around to help. Would you like to give us a hand for a little while?"

"I don't know," said Akon. "We're kind of busy with our own thing. You know what I mean?"

"It's real quick, I promise! We won't keep you for too long."

"Well…" Akon looked across the table at Veneno who was fidgeting in his seat. He appeared to be restless. They didn't have too much to do in the lab. After all, it wasn't like he could do much. Maybe helping out the girls for a bit wouldn't be so bad. "Alright. I guess we can make an appearance."

Momo clapped her hands together happily. "Great! See if you can swing by the 13th Division in about an half hour, ok? See you there! Bye!" She bounced off, giggling.

Akon slumped in his seat. "Jeez… I hate it when they get giddy like that. That's how you know they're up to something…" He glanced over at Veneno who had his head turned in the direction Momo had left. "Hey. Veneno."

"Huh?!" He spun around, almost knocking over his glass of water with his arm. "What?"

Akon narrowed his eyes. "What's wrong with you? Were you staring at her or something?"

"I uh…" Veneno looked down, looking flushed. "I just… It's just… I've never been so close to a girl like that before."

"Oh?"

"Y-yeah…" Veneno put a hand to his chest. "I feel strange…"

"Strange?"

"Yeah. M- my body feels hot. Is that ok?"

After staring at him for a while, Akon sat back with a sigh. "Ah, that's alright. Sometimes that happens when you're around a girl you like."

"Really? But… I'm not sure if I like her or not…" His green eyes shifted to one side and then to the other. "I mean… It's just that she's different from other girls I've seen. I'm not used to it…"

"Don't worry about it. In a few minutes, you're about to see a whole bunch of them gather in one spot. Can I trust you not to faint on me or nothing?"

Veneno didn't answer but played with his sleeve instead.

"Come on," Akon said, getting out of his seat. "If you're done eating, I'll take you over there."

When they reached the 13th Division, the women were already ready and waiting for them. Momo was there, of course, and waving at them. Akon shoved Veneno forward. "So what kind of help did you need exactly?"

Momo pointed. "Since Captain Ukitake hasn't been feeling very well the past few days, we wanted to make him a gift. At the last meeting we had, we came up with the idea of making him a huge banner. See?"

The women were all gathered around a large white cloth and several buckets of paint and flowers and glitter. It looked like some of them had already started to decorate the cloth, painting on flowers and pictures of Koi fish.

"That's what you needed help with?" Akon groaned. "It seems like something you could do on your own, don't you think? Why do you need us?"

"We need you to help decorate and without Rukia and Rangiku, it will take longer," explained Nanao. "With added help, we'll finish faster. We would like to present this to him this afternoon when he eats his lunch. Momo made him cookies and we were going to give them to him along with this."

"I see…" Akon didn't want any part of this but once again, he was dragged into something he didn't want to do. He turned to get Veneno's opinion, only to discover that he was already getting into the paint. Yachiru opened up one of the cans and showed him the yellow paint within. Fascinated by the colorful goop, he picked up a brush and dipped it into the paint.

"Over here, over here!" Yachiru pulled on his arm. He got up, following her over to the banner. "Put the paint on! Put it on! Hurry! Hurry!"

Veneno drew a line with the brush down the cloth. The yellow line dripped onto the ground when he lifted it up.

"Looks funny!" Yachiru laughed.

"It's ok. It looks like a racing stripe," said Nanao. "Everyone's welcome to help. Paint whatever you like."

Taking her words to heart, Veneno started to paint on the cloth whatever his heart desired. Yachiru joined him, now finger-painting, her hands yellow and red. Knowing there was nothing he could do to stop them, Akon decided to stay and supervise.

This was the most fun Veneno ever had doing a job. He was enjoying the painting, even if it was a messy job. While he worked, the women talked. They made small talk and reminisced about their pasts.

"What about you, Momo?"

"Well," she said, putting down the brush in her hand. "There isn't anything really funny or important that I can think of…"

"What about the Captain?" asked Nanao. "Isn't it true that you were friends for a long time?"

"Of course. I know he would never admit it, but I know he was sad when I went off the train to become a Soul Reaper. I left him back home with his Grandma. I promised to visit him whenever I could and I did."

"Did you play games?' asked Yachiru.

"Oh, yes!" Momo's face broke into a big smile. "We made a game out of watermelon. We used to see how far we could spit watermelon seeds. He won most of the time. I won only twice, I think. It was a lot of fun."

"Do you think he would admit to doing that now?"

"I don't think so. He always says he's not a little kid so he hates it when people bring up childish things he did in the past. I'm sure he would deny it." Momo picked up a flower and pinned it to the banner above the drawing of a cat she made in red paint. "He was the tops champion when we were kids. He still holds the record in our village." She turned to the man by her side. "Say, have you ever played tops before? Like when you were a little kid?"

Veneno looked up, taken aback by her question. "Uh… a little kid?"

"Yeah. Did you ever play tops? Spinning tops?"

He looked down. "I… don't think so…" Now that he thought about it, he couldn't remember ever playing games. Or his childhood. There was a time when he was smaller than he was right now? He had no idea. It was hard to imagine someone growing so large and looking so different over the course of a few years.

"Did you ever play games with your parents?"

"My… parents..?" Veneno had no idea what that was. The concept was foreign to him. Parents. Two people who gave birth to you and raised you. A mother and a father. "I… don't think I have one of those."

"Aw…" Momo's face grew sad. "So you're an orphan…"

"An orphan…" He must have been. He didn't have parents so he must have been an orphan. But someone had to give birth to him, right? So he must have had parents at some point. Now that Veneno thought about it, he couldn't remember ever being anywhere other than the lab. These women could remember things from years ago and noticed themselves getting older, their bodies changing. But Veneno was not like that. What did this mean? His memory only went back a couple of days, maybe a week. It was hard for him to know.

Veneno stood up and bumped his head on something hard. He swatted it away without thinking and a moment later, all he saw was blue. His body felt heavy and slimy. He stepped backwards, getting his foot stuck in something that squished, getting his leg all wet. He fell backwards into someone and the two fell over.

"Are you alright?"

Veneno looked down. His Soul Reaper uniform was now dyed a blue color and his left leg and shoe were bright yellow. He felt someone pushing on him from behind and got up, slipping on the stone ground. Akon sat up, covered in blue paint, transferred from Veneno's goopy body. "Oops."

While the older women were silent, Yachiru was laughing her little head off, pointing at the two men. "You look pretty! Like blueberry syrup snow cones!"

Akon wiped the paint off his face and flicked his hand into the grass. "Great…" It was in his hair as well. But he wasn't nearly as bad as Veneno. All he had was a paint transfer. Veneno looked like he had climbed out of a swimming pool filled with blue paint.

Veneno stood quietly, not knowing what to do next. Paint was dripping into his eyes. He leaned his head forward and let it drip onto the ground. It looked like he was hanging his head in shame. Nanao picked up a rag and started to wipe off Veneno's face. Seeing this and knowing that she would end up uncovering Veneno's mask, Akon grabbed Veneno and pulled him aside.

"It's ok. I'll get us cleaned up. Looks like you're almost done anyway."

The banner was nearly complete. Surely the women wouldn't mind if they left to clean themselves up and not return. Excusing themselves, Akon took Veneno straight to the bathes to wash off the paint.

The bathhouse was empty at this time so there was no worry of anyone discovering them. Actually, it was Veneno Akon was concerned about. Now that he was undressed, his Hollow mask and hole were exposed for the world to see. His hole was located just below his collar bone in the center of his chest. Since they were alone and one of them was more messy than the other, Akon washed Veneno while he sat there, looking around the new room. This place was also new to him. Whenever Veneno needed to be bathed, it was done in a wash bin with a bucket of water. Being in a bathhouse was new and exciting.

But he couldn't enjoy it as much as he wanted to. Some troublesome thoughts were weighing heavily on his mind. This didn't go unnoticed by Akon. "What's wrong, Veneno? You seemed troubled."

Veneno stared straight ahead at the wall. "Akon… I…" He stopped.

"What's the matter? Tell me." Akon scrubbed Veneno's back with a damp cloth and some soap, massaging his back.

As if prompted by Akon's motions, he began. "Well… It's just that… those girls back there. They were talking about the things they did as children. Their pasts and memories."

"Yeah, so?"

"So… I don't have any." Veneno bent his knees, wrapping his arms around his legs. "I don't remember anything. Not my family or my childhood. Nothing. I can only remember up to a few days ago." Veneno remembered very little. In the beginning, when he first woke up in the lab, all his experiences were like that of a baby. At the start of all this, even he was surprised he was able to put his thoughts into words that could be understood by others. As to be expected, Veneno didn't remember very much of those first couple of days. He could barely remember waking up on the floor with Mayuri's hand on his face. The details were unknown to him now. He couldn't remember. It was like trying to remember every detail of a very vague dream from long, long ago. But he knew that he couldn't remember the things those women could. He couldn't remember growing up or his parents or anything. "Is there something wrong with me?"

"Why do you say that?" Akon asked, never stopping his hand moving up and down his spine.

"Because I can't remember the things other people can."

"Like what?"

Veneno lowered his head and hugged his raised knees with both arms. Water started to drip into his eyes causing him to blink. "Well… I can't remember my parents. I'm not even sure if I ever had any. But I must have. Otherwise how could I be alive right now? I had to have come from somewhere."

The cloth washing Veneno's back slowly came to a stop in the center of his back.

"And… I can't remember my childhood. At all. I don't remember being small and growing up. Or playing games or being with other kids or anything. I can only remember a few days back and that's it." It was like watching a movie that had the beginning and most of the middle cut out. He didn't know who anyone was but managed to figure it out over time. He couldn't remember his beginning. He just picked up life in the middle, relaying on everyone else to take care of his needs. It was a strange feeling only being able to remember a few days back. He knew there must have been more to it than that. He couldn't have just been dropped on earth exactly as he was right now. There must have been a reason why he was in that lab. He couldn't have just appeared there. But he couldn't remember. "What's wrong with me? Why don't I have memories?"

Akon's hand remained glued to his back, still holding onto the wet cloth. "You have memories," he said after a while. "You can remember things from days ago. So it's not like you don't have them."

"But why can't I remember further back than that? Everyone else can." Veneno turned his body to look at Akon sideways. "I can't help feeling that there's something wrong. I know I'm different from everyone else." He looked at Akon's bare chest and then to his own. "For instance… You don't have a hole like I do. We both have horns but…" He reached up and touched his mask fragment. "… Mine's different."

Akon didn't want to tell him the truth because of how he might react. Besides, Mayuri never said that he was allowed to tell him what really happened. Even he wasn't sure how Veneno was brought back. His Captain never gave him the details. For some reason, some very odd reason, he wanted to bring comfort to this worried man. Akon had realized over the course of these past few days that he was beginning to look at Veneno as less of an experiment and more of a person. These conflicting emotions weren't something he was used to feeling. Normally when something was an experiment, that was it. He didn't have an attachment to it. He built Gigais which resembled real people but he didn't look at them as people. Nor did he feel that way about Soul Candies. He knew they were artificial. But for some reason Veneno was different. He wanted to reassure him and not have him so worried. He couldn't help it.

"We're all different," Akon told him. He set the cloth down in his lap. "I have horns and no one else does. I grew these over time. They don't bother me. Some people look at them funny but I don't care. One guy in my department can take out his eye. A girl I see frequently has chains attaching her braids to her head. Everyone is different from everyone else. So what if you have a hole and no one else does? Who cares? It doesn't matter. What matters is what kind of person you are. You can be the best looking person in the whole world but be a total ass no one likes. Looks are irrelevant. Don't worry about it."

He didn't want to tell Veneno that he was an Arrancar. Now wasn't the time. He was learning everything slowly. Part of this experiment was to see what would happen to him over time. That's why he had the notebook. To record the process.

"What about memories? Why can't I remember things from far back? Do I have amnesia or something?"

He sighed, thinking about his answer. "No one can remember every single detail from every second of their life. You're no different. To be honest with you, I don't remember a lot of my childhood either. I don't remember everything that happened yesterday morning or anything. I don't think anyone is supposed to. There's too much going on to remember it all." He looked into Veneno's concerned green eyes. "It isn't important. You'll make new memories. I mean, you remember the things that happened today, right?"

Veneno started smiling. "Yeah… It was fun."

"Good. I guess you remember important things better. Most people are like that."

"So… what happened to me before wasn't important?"

"I don't know." Akon picked up the cloth and started to scrub off a patch of paint the found on Veneno's collar bone. "Like I said. You shouldn't worry about it too much. Sometimes the things we forget will come back to us when they're meant to. Don't try to force yourself to remember. It'll happen if it's meant to."

Veneno smiled. "Alright." He looked down, his body relaxing. Akon's words had put him at ease for now. He was still curious, but there was no sense in pushing it.

Akon continued to wash Veneno, moving the cloth up and down his well-toned body. Veneno seemed naturally fit. Slender but strong. He moved the cloth over Veneno's ribs just above his left hip. He started laughing and twisted his body. "What's so funny?"

"Nothing…" he chuckled. "That tickles."

Akon stopped the cloth where it was on his lower ribs. "Right here?"

He nodded. "I think I'm ticklish there."

"One way to find out." Akon did it again and Veneno turned his body away, curling into a ball. "I guess you are."

"Stop that!"

Akon started laughing along with Veneno. His laughter soon stopped and he wrung out the cloth over Veneno's back. This was the first time they had ever shared a laugh together.

The following morning, Ichigo was awakened by the sound of running footsteps coming down the stairs. He sprang up on the couch, looking around. At first he thought it might be because of an attack, but that was not the case. It was the girls coming down from Linnette's room for breakfast.

Rubbing his eyes, Ichigo looked over at the other two in the den. Yumichika was still asleep by the look of things. Ikkaku had thrown the pillow over his head as the girls came closer, giggling and talking excitedly. Ichigo turned around, kneeling on the couch and looked over into the kitchen. Victor was cooking something which smelled delicious. He wanted to get up and eat but was nervous about entering the same room as those girls. He thought it best to remain where he was until someone told him otherwise.

Speaking in English, Victor served the girls food at the table between the fridge and the wall separating the den from the kitchen. For girls, they were pretty messy and loud. Mostly loud. Ichigo was used to such noise early in the morning because of his father so it didn't bother him too much. It was taking a toll on Ikkaku's nervous, though. By this time Yumichika was awake and hiding under the covers.

"Tell them to tone it down!"

Ichigo turned to the men behind him. "I can't speak English."

"What the hell are you taking classes for, then?"

"I'm still learning!" He could greet himself and he knew how to say 'hello' and 'good-bye' as well as a few other words. He knew he didn't have enough under his belt to hold a conversation or make requests.

Victor looked into the den from where he stood. "Would you like to eat?" he asked the Soul Reapers.

Hearing Victor speak Japanese for the first time caused the girls to grow quiet and stare. In no time, they were talking again, all looking at Linnette who was nodding her head and talking back, smiling. Ichigo knew they must have been surprised that Victor could speak Japanese and were bound to be asking Linnette if she knew he could do that. They seemed very impressed.

"Is there room for us?" Ichigo asked.

Victor looked at the crowded table and then at the counter. "I could bring it to you and you could eat in there."

"Whatever's fine."

After a very playful and loud breakfast, the girls started to play another game in the living room. Then the doorbell started to ring. The parents were coming to pick up their daughters. Ichigo watched them all leave one by one out the front door. The mothers talked briefly with Victor and the girls thanked him and left out the front door.

After everyone was gone, Victor switched back to Japanese. "It's safe. You may come out now."

"You make it sound like we were scared of them," muttered Ikkaku.

"You certainly behaved so."

Rukia and Rangiku descended the staircase and entered the room. "It's quiet now," said Rangiku. "I thought they would never settle down."

"At least we were able to take a nice shower while they were playing around downstairs."

"I was wondering where you were," said Ichigo.

Victor showed the women to the kitchen, the table already cleared of all the dirty plates and cups. "Would you like something to eat?"

"Sure! That would be wonderful!" Rangiku sat down first at the booth in the corner of the room. "What are we having?"

Ikkaku leaned over to Ichigo. "She's enjoying this a little too much, don't you think? She's totally taking advantage of him."

"I didn't think so. She's just bolder than others."

He grunted and turned away.

Victor served the girls the leftover food. As he set a plate down in front of Rukia, he asked, "How did you sleep?"

"Pretty well," she answered. "Thanks for lending us your beds."

"It's no trouble."

"That's right, since you two never sleep," said Rangiku. "That must be nice."

Victor shrugged. "Since I have nothing to compare it to… But one does wonder what it would be like."

Rangiku held up an empty cup for Victor to fill. "It's nice. I enjoy it. I'll have milk, please."

He took the cup and went over to the fridge. "And dreams? What are they like?"

"Eh." She twisted her hand from side to side. "Some are fun. But sometimes you have ones that don't make any sense and other times you have nightmares. Waking up is the only thing that stops them."

Victor handed her a cup of milk. "Does it hurt?"

"Does what hurt?"

"When you have nightmares? Or dreams in general."

She made a small noise in her throat. "Um… Not really. Usually feeling pain wakes you up."

"So they are not harmful?" Victor sounded like a child asking an adult what God was. Ichigo remembered what it was like when he had to answers these questions for him a while ago. Victor was ignorant of dreams and what sleep was. Since he never experienced either, he must have had so many questions, highly curious.

"Not really. But they do say that if you die in a dream, you die for real."

Victor's eyes flashed with worry. "Is that true?"

"It's just a saying," Ichigo said quickly so he wouldn't worry. He knew he must have been worried that the next time Linnette went to sleep she might not wake up again. Ichigo could only imagine what he might do to prevent it. Keeping her awake all the time and watching her sleep were just the first two possibilities that came to his mind when he saw the fear in his eyes. He had to reassure him so he wouldn't do anything irrational. "There's no proof. And if it were true, it's very, very rare. But I doubt it'll happen. Don't worry." Ichigo looked at Rukia to change the subject.

Reading his eyes she opened her mouth. "Uh, so! Um… What did you want to do today?"

Rangiku pouted, twirling the fork between her fingers. "Oh… I really wanted to do some shopping in the city."

"You did that yesterday."

"I know but we barely got any shopping done at all! We only went to one store."

"It was three stories tall."

"I know, but still…" She set her fork down, still pouting. "New York is supposed to be the best place to shop in this part of the world. I want to explore it and take advantage of being sent all the way out here! We may never get another chance like this."

"I have to agree," said Yumichika. "I'm not agreeing with her ideals, just that it would be foolish not to take advantage of the opportunity. I mean, it's like going to the beach and not going in the water."

"We aren't here to go shopping," said Rukia. "We're here to keep an eye out for Hollows."

Though that was what they were told, Ichigo couldn't help but notice how vague their mission was. It was as if they didn't want them knowing what they were getting into. Usually the missions were more detailed than this.

"We can do both!" Rangiku chirped. "We can go out into the city, do a little shopping and keep an eye out for anything suspicious. See? Killing two birds with one stone."

"But you don't know the city and none of us speak English."

"That won't be a problem," said Victor. "I could come with you and translate."

Rukia looked at him. She didn't think it was a good idea but she knew Victor could be trusted. Secretly, she wanted to do a little shopping as well. But she didn't want them going off alone or not doing well on their assignment. Conflicted, she sat quietly to have the decision made for her.

"Is that alright with you?" Victor was addressing Linnette.

She chewed her lip. "Um… I didn't plan on leaving today. I don't really feel like shopping."

"Oh."

"Ohh!" Rangiku whined, knowing that if she wasn't on board, they couldn't go.

"But you can take them with you," Linnette offered. "I'll stay here and hang out with Ichigo and anyone else who doesn't want to go."

Victor exchanged looks with the others then bent down to be at eye level with her. "Are you sure you'll be alright?"

"Sure! They can go shopping like they want and I'll play with Ichigo like I want. I'll be fine with him around. Besides, if anything happens, Cedric will be here with me. It's perfect."

Her confidence and logic swayed Victor's decision. He nodded and straightened up. "Alright then. We'll get going as soon as everyone's ready."

Rangiku was already at the door, leaving her half empty plate behind on the table. "What are we waiting for? Let's go!" She put on her heeled boots. "And with Victor with us, he'll be able to carry our bags so we can get even more things."

"See what I mean?" Ikkaku said again into Ichigo's ear. "She's planning on using him as a pack mule. She is totally taking advantage of him."

The afternoon was fairly peaceful. Linnette played video games with Ichigo in the den while Ikkaku stayed outside never speaking to anyone. Rukia had left with Rangiku, Yumichika and Victor to the main city to do some shopping. Though he was out of sight most of the time, Ichigo knew Cedric was watching nearby. Not that anything was going to happen but he was protective of Linnette.

Now that they had finished their 4th game, Linnette popped the top on the console to put in a new game to play. Ichigo set his controller down on the floor. He wanted to talk with her for a while. Now that Veneno was back, there were plenty of things on his mind. What kept coming back to his mind was how similar they were to each other. Linnette seemed to be pretty happy with her life the way it was even though it started out very painful. Perhaps there was a way he could help Veneno the way he helped Linnette so he would live a happy life. In order to do that, he had to figure out what it was that Linnette enjoyed so much.

"So… Linnette."

"Yeah?" She stopped shuffling the games in her hand, looking at him with bright blue eyes.

Ichigo paused, think about how he would ask his question. "Uh… So those were your friends, huh? Those girls?"

"Yup. They come over every now and then."

"You like them? They're nice to you?"

She nodded. "Yeah. They like some of the things I do. There are some things we don't agree on but that's ok. We have fun anyway. We do sleepovers. I didn't like them at first but I started to after we did it more often. They like coming over because of Victor and Cedric a lot. They like them because Cedric is really big and strong and they like Victor because he's like a prince to them. He's really nice to all of them."

Ichigo nodded. "And they're your friends not because of them, right? What I mean is… they're not just your friends because of the things you have, right?"

"I've wondered about it before. But that's not the case. We are really good friends. They have things at their homes that I don't have here and I'm not using them. Besides, a lot of them were my friends before we invited them over. One time, one of my friend's moms took me on vacation with them. It was a lot of fun. We went to a theme park."

"Did the guys come along?"

"No. They stayed here." Linnette gave a small sigh. "They were really sad about it, but they cheered up when they saw me come home. It was only over night, two days. We left in the morning. My friend and I got to share a bed in the hotel."

Ichigo nodded his head to let her know he was listening. "Sorry that a lot of us want to do our own thing. I'm sure you wanted to hang out with Rangiku and everyone, right?"

She shrugged. "It's ok. I know they're excited. Besides, she played with my friends yesterday when we gave Yumichika a makeover. That was really fun."

"But you're fine with them not wanting to hang out with you so much? I know Ikkaku doesn't want to at all. He hates playing games… unless it's a drinking game."

She was smiling again. "Oh, I don't mind. It's ok. I know they're not doing it to be mean or anything. They can do what they want. I can't force them."

What a difference from how Linnette was the first time he met her. Before she would have used any method necessary to get her own way. This was partly Victor's fault for telling her that it was the right thing for her to do. He was the one who made her a brat in the first place, teaching her that anything she did was ok and that she could do no wrong. What she needed was a family who taught her right from wrong, not an agent.

Which got him thinking. "Linnette… do you ever miss being a diva, singing on stage and all that?"

Surprisingly, she didn't take long in answering. "Not really. I still love to sing, but I do it for Victor and Cedric. I don't think I'd want to do it on stage again and be a star. That life was fun but stressful. We always had to go here and there and I couldn't spend more than a couple days in one spot. I think I like this life a lot better. I can do what I want, live in a home and get to live near some good friends." She lowered her eyes, looking at the games in her hands. "Besides… I mostly did it for the attention."

"Attention?"

"Yeah. Because at the orphanage, no one paid any attention to me. When they did, I was always being bullied. The other girls said that no one liked me and that no one wanted someone like me. As mean as they were, they got adopted and I stayed behind. No matter how nice I was, no one ever adopted me. So I started to think that maybe they were right. And if they were mean and bratty and got adopted, maybe I should do it, too."

Maybe that was why Victor and Cedric brought her up the way that they did in the beginning. She wanted to have her way because she never had it growing up. She learned based off of what she saw. If those girls were brats and got adopted, then maybe she should do the same in order to be wanted. It was childish logic but it seemed to hold true for her in some way. She did get what she wanted, but she wasn't happy.

"It must have been depressing, living like that," Ichigo said.

She lifted her head, smiling again. "Yeah, it was. But I'm not sad anymore. Because now I have a family and friends and people who care. I don't have to live like that anymore. I get attention even if it's not the same as I had as a rising star. I like it better this way. This way, I can live in a home, have a family that loves me, friends that live nearby and can do what I want for the most part. There's no pressure."

"So you do like how your life is, huh?"

She nodded. "Yeah. I get to do cool things, too. I get to help people out and I even got to fight to protect my friends and my friend's friends in the Soul Society. How many other people can say they did that? It's a good feeling helping people out and being thanked. And I got to make some new friends, too. So if something happens and I lose one, that's ok, because I have others. Even if it's a good friend and I'm sad because they're gone, I have people who will help cheer me up."

Ichigo grinned. "That's a good way to think of it."

"And no matter what happens, I'll always have Victor and Cedric. They're always there for me and will always take care of me."

The look on her face spoke volumes to Ichigo. There was no way he could explain the joy she felt at the thought of always having her beloved family with her at all times. Out of everyone in the entire world, they knew her the best. They understood her. A beautiful unspoken bond.

Changing the topic slightly, Ichigo moved forward to be closer to Linnette. "What kind of things do you like doing with them? Why do you love them so much?"

"Well…" Linnette set the games in her hands down, moving closer to Ichigo. "They do things for me. Like make me food, read me stories and tuck me in at night and when I feel sick or really bad, they're always there to try to make me feel better. They show me that they really care." Smiling brightly, she leaned closer to Ichigo, as if excited about a secret she knew and wanted to tell. "Mostly, I like how they're just there. We don't have to go anywhere. We can stay right here. Cedric holds me and Victor talks to me real nice. He holds my hand. Cedric pats my head. And if I'm hurt or scared or sad, they give me a big hug and I feel a lot better." She looked towards the window. "When there's a storm, we sit by the window and watch it together. When it's cold outside, Victor makes me hot chocolate and wraps me up in a blanket and sits me on Cedric's lap. Victor reads me a story or we watch TV. Sometimes we just talk. It's really nice."

"It sounds nice."

"And in the summer, he buys lots of melons for me to eat on the porch. He opens them with his hands. Sometimes we make a game out of it. Once he gave me a hammer and told me to smash it. It was a lot of fun. And when it's really hot, he'll put ice cubes on my back and lets it melt. Cedric chases me around the yard with the hose, since we don't have a pool or anything. I also sit between them and they both fan me at the same time. And in the fall, we raked leaves together and I got to play in the pile. Cedric also takes me for rides in the wheelbarrow. He also plays other games with me. He tosses me in the air and catches me. We race around the yard. He spins me around and puts me on his shoulder. And when we go into the city, it's fun to window shop and see what's new. I don't mind walking. I like it. And sometimes I climb the trees in the park, even when Cedric doesn't want me to because he thinks I'll fall or get hurt on the branches."

A simple, happy life. She didn't need to be given a new toy everyday. She didn't need to go on expensive vacations. All she needed was right here with them. She was happy just spending time with them and knowing that someone cared. Someone would always be there for her no matter what.

Ichigo remembered how Veneno turned towards the breeze, feeling the wind on his face. He looked really happy. He enjoyed that. So simple. So wonderful.

Ichigo remembered the simple things he did in his life when he was younger. Things that he took for granted and things he missed. It was ok to like it and find wonder in the simplest of things. Linnette was very content with her life. She didn't need to be a star singing on stage or living in a mansion. She was happy just being here with them as a normal girl.

Veneno was sure to be the same way. Nothing like the simple things to cause so much pleasure. He wanted to show Veneno everything he was missing out on. He wanted him to experience joy and be happy. If he was shown those things, maybe he would turn out better. Maybe if he was given a friend, he would turn out the way Linnette did. She was very happy and pleased with her life.

The front door opened and Rangiku's voice filled the house. "Now that was a good shopping day!"

Linnette stood up and ran to the front door to greet them. "Victor! You're back!"

Victor came in last, carrying all the bags. It was hard to see him through all the colorful boxes and bags. "Hello, sweetie." He closed the door with his foot. "How was your afternoon?"

"It was great! Ichigo and I played video games and Cedric made us sandwiches. I had tomato on mine."

"That's wonderful." Victor carried the bags over to the living room and set them down by the wall. Ichigo counted 37 bags in total. It was amazing Victor could carry so much. Not to mention the boxes he had stacked up on either side of the pile. Most of the boxes were shoes but there were a couple which were evening dresses, coats and a stack of small boxes which Ichigo guessed where candy related.

"This city is great!" Rangiku said, flopping down on the couch beside the coffee table. "I got a lot of shopping done today. There's even a lovely little spa I have to get back to later on. It looked so cute. No guys, though. Too bad. Oh! Oh! And we stopped for lunch at this cute little café by a park. It was really good, wasn't it, Rukia?"

"Uh-"

"And this handsome guy was checking me out at the table. Too bad he didn't speak the language. That's ok. I'm sure we understood each other. And I got these cute boots at one of the stores. I can't wait to wear them. I have the perfect outfit that would go with them. Two, actually."

While she went on and on, Yumichika had moved to the back of the house, looking for Ikkaku. He was no longer in the yard. He had gone inside looking for something to eat. He started to pull open cupboards and drawers, searching for something to his taste. Yumichika opened the fridge, poking his head inside. He started moving things around with his hand while he leaned on the door with the other. Not taking kindly to this, Cedric stepped behind him and stared. The glare alone was enough to convince Yumichika to stop what he was doing.

"Got anything good?" asked Ikkaku rudely.

With a patient smile, Victor walked towards the kitchen, pointing to various items they had to offer. "We do have fixings if you want to make yourself a sandwich. We also have some cake. There's also left-"

"Got anything good?" he repeated. He looked into the open fridge. "All you've got in here is juice and milk."

"There are water bottles on the counter. Linnette doesn't like cold water. She prefers it at room temperature."

Ikkaku slammed the door shut, causing the objects resting on top to rattle back and forth. "Should have known these guys wouldn't have anything hard in a house with a little girl in it."

Now understanding what he wanted, Victor pointed into the dining room. "I do have a wide selection of fine wines in the next room."

Ikkaku and Rangiku looked up. "You have alcohol?"

"Of course. I drink it from time to time. There's a rack of it over there."

The two stood up and bolted to the next room. There they found a wooden rack filled with different kinds of wine. They counted with their eyes. Each row held seven bottles and there were eight shelves. Ikkaku grabbed one of the darker looking bottles and read the label. It was in French. Popping the top, he inhaled the strong aroma. It may not have been sake, but this would do just fine.

Victor looked into the room. "Wine is really something best saved for the evening, don't you think?"

"But we can have some anyway, right?" Rangiku asked, holding a bottle to her chest.

With a weary grin, Victor opened a cupboard and took out two wine glasses. "If you insist."

Rangiku reached for one of the glasses while Ikkaku drank directly from the bottle.

The sun had set and everyone had finished their dinner. There were still a few hours until everyone would go to bed. Linnette was having a good time playing and talking with the girls. Yumichika had locked himself in the bathroom, trying out his new scented soaps in the tub upstairs. Victor was washing dishes in the sink while Cedric cleaned the dining room table. This was the perfect time for Ichigo to sneak away. He crept out the sliding doors into the back yard where Ikkaku sat, nursing the bottle of wine he had been working on for most of the evening. He looked up when he saw Ichigo.

"Could you do me another favor and open the Senkaimon again?"

Without questioning him or his motives, Ikkaku fulfilled the request and opened the Senkaimon. Ichigo thanked him and entered.

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