Well, needless to say that I didn't get much typing done over break. Between work and spending time with fiends who were home for the holiday and seeing my own family, I didn't get to be on my computer much. But I got done what I could. I hope it's enough. It's not going to be nearly as long as the last chapter. I just thought that I owed everyone so much for reading and reviewing, as well as waiting for my ass to get another chapter up.

The reviewers from the last chapter (though there weren't many):

XxMomomunchyxX

Elfen Children

Kaneko Aikawa

I have to say…kind of sad about how many wanted to state their opinions… But I hope the lack of comments isn't due to the chapter being poorly written or anything like that.

Any who, here's what I got for you this time.

Enjoy!

Chapter Seven: What Am I Supposed to Do?!

(FYI: this chapter is written in Nanami's POV, just like the first few.)

Family.

People who cared about each other.

People who depended on each other's love and support.

People who needed each other.

That's what I always thought a family was all about. And, as it turns out, I was right.

I met the entire family that day—excluding my mother's side, who I still hadn't heard word from in Soul Society. I learned earlier that day that my father had a dad and two sisters. I learned that they all worked at the same local clinic. It was learning more about them and their pasts that saddened me the most.

I met Isshin right off the bat—he was hard to ignore with the entrance he made into my parent's home. He was a goofy character, that much was for sure. He and my father seemed to but heads almost as soon as they made eye contact. But I could see the care they shared for each other. Isshin told my about Masaki, my grandmother, and how she had died. We even went as far back as to how she and him met. It was a tragic love story in the end, but it was something I wasn't ever going to forget.

My aunts, Yuzu and Karin, seemed to have polar opposite personalities. Aunt Yuzu was very sweet and gentle, and she cried when I introduced myself and was the first person to hug me. She's the head nurse at the clinic and also has one son of her own: Takashi. I also go the chance to meet her fiancé and Takashi's father, Shin. Aunt Karin is a little more tougher and has a bad-ass personality about her. It's not that she didn't care about her family—her husband, Koda, and her twins, Kira and Konna—but she's definitely not as sweetly as her sister.

I learned more about the Ishida family. Uyruu Ishida, Orihime's husband, is a Qunicy, known to be an enemy to Soul Reapers. Though he was perfectly fine being in a room with more than one of them. Their youngest, Meimi, was yet to be born. The second oldest, Yumiko, whom I met earlier that day was a cute little girl with a big personality. Her mother explained that Yumi doesn't have a lot of friends in school because she's one older kids in this family and would rather play with children that weren't her age. And lastly, their oldest was Hiroshi, whom I had an…uncomfortable encounter with when the big "gathering" was in full swing.

FLASHBACK

I stood in the doorway of the kitchen, looking around the corner into the living room. Everyone had gathered to talk and catch up. From what I understand, they don't get much personal time with all of the leading different yet somewhat similar lives. They could talk all they wanted amongst themselves. I didn't mind getting a little breather from meeting so many people at one time.

As I watched the smiles and laughs, and listened to the random topics floating around the room, I barely noticed a boy around my age approach the kitchen until he was standing right in front of me.

He definitely had me in height—he looked almost as tall as my dad. He had bright blue eyes and pale brown hair that could almost pass for an orange color. His locks were layered perfectly and was barely an inch from his shoulders. And I couldn't help but admire his facial features. That is until I noticed that he looked down at me with a scowl on his face.

"Are you guarding the kitchen? Or can I get a drink?"

For a second I was dumb founded. A lot of people on my father's side had a sense of humor and were using sarcasm as a way to lighten the mood, and they were all very kind. But this guy was completely serious, and looked at me in annoyance. My first impression of him was not a good one.

Without saying anything, mostly because I couldn't form words at the moment, I stepped aside and let him through. He pushed past me without another word, and my glare followed him to the fridge where he poured juice into his glass. There was something different about him, I was sure of it.

I quickly did a recount on what Orihime had told me about her oldest son. His name is Hiroshi. He's a what they would consider a year older than me and goes to high school.

I tried once again to focus on the event in the other room, but found it difficult to focus. What was it about this guy that both pissed me off and interested me at the same time. Orihime had mentioned that her oldest son was a bit of a trouble maker. Did that mean he was bad news? Was that what I sensed different about him?

When I realized that it wad grown quiet in the kitchen again, I turned and saw that he was gone. He had disappeared and I hadn't noticed it. How…?

Confused, I crossed the kitchen toward the doorway opposite of the one I had just been standing in. Looking left there was a stairwell that lead downward. The door was half cracked and it was dark. I couldn't sense anything coming from down there and dismissed it.

Slightly off the to my right there was another. This one was left open, and a warm breeze came through. I sensed a Spiritual Pressure—there's no mistake that it was his. I followed him outside and found myself in a narrow pathway formed from the side of the house and the fence line dividing my parent's property from the Ishidas'. Again I looked left and this time I spotted him. He was toward the front of the house, leaning against the fence.

It was clear that he sensed me there because as soon as I saw him his head snapped in my direction. And he didn't look too happy.

"Are you stalking me now?" he asked with acid in his tone.

I tried hard not to glare at him, but I'm not sure I succeeded. I crossed my arms over my chest. "No. I'm just trying to get a feel for my surroundings. You seem to know your way around here."

It wasn't far from the truth—I did have to get to know where everything is eventually. But in reality…I was following him. There was something about him, and I wasn't sure if it was good or bad.

He didn't say anything for a second. Then he shrugged half heartedly. "I've lived here all my life."

Well…yeah. He was right on that account.

He must have known that too, because he scuffed and took another drink from his glass. That, for whatever reason, made me mad.

This time I didn't stop the glare. "You have a serious problem, my friend."

He looked at me from over top of his glass. "Oh, so who decided that I was your friend? You?"

Because the idea seemed to piss him off, I said, "Yes." I smirked when his scowl deepened.

His glare was fierce. "You don't get to decide that, brat. You don't belong here in the first place."

I froze, struck hard by his words as if her he just punched me in the gut. He might as well have—that at least would have hurt less. And for reasons undeniable, I believed him.

I swallowed back tears, refusing to show that his words effected me. I steadied my voice and said, "I was sent here by order of my Captain," I said calmly, dancing around the truth yet again. "When I was sent to Soul Society to learn to control my powers I was never meant to be sent back here. They were going to keep my parents waiting until they were on their death beds." aA thought occurred to me then. If that truly was the head captain's intention, then would they make me hunt down my parent's spirits—like some kind of sick joke?

I mental shook the thought from my head.

I looked Hiroshi in the eye, amazed at how his expression of anger quickly defused to something of pity. "Could you have watched them suffer like that? Like you said, you've lived here your whole life—our fathers fought so many battles together—our families might as well be one big one. If I had stayed away they would have died thinking they were going to see me again. So tell me, Hiroshi Ishida…" I turned away and walked back toward the side door I had some out of. "Who decided that I didn't belong here? You?"

END FLASHBACK

It's been a week now and he still hasn't said a word to me, even though I'm the one that should be mad at him. Yeah, Hiroshi is a character, that's for sure. I'm still mad about what he said, but I won't let it bother me. What has been on my mind since then is…what drove him to say something like that in the first place?

The rest of the Ishida family is adorable. That being Yumiko. She has quite the personality for such a little girl. And when she told me about her big brother and how he chases away bullies at school I pieced together why i felt something strange about Hiroshi. He's protective of his family, and a new comer is never welcome in the lion's den.

My dad's really tall and tan friend, Sado 'Chad' Yasutora, was a lot more gentle than he seems. As a Soul Reaper, my first thought was "No, I could take him out easily." But, of course, that wasn't a proper response to just meeting someone so I immediately pushed those thoughts back. He's a really kind man, though he has very little to say. (Neither of us really had anything to say—silence was always a good answer in my opinion.) His daughter, Tara, was a pretty obviously a rebel child. She didn't seem to care for anything her father was saying or talk much at all—like father, like daughter. But I could tell that being there bothered her. Or at least that's what my dad explained when I asked what she meant by 'cramped her style'.

Meeting everyone was…overwhelming. But when I thought about the fact that no one had rejected me—aside from Hiroshi—and seemed to be glad that I was there, I didn't feel to bad about it anymore. I mean, being gone for so long and only just learning about my parents a little over a week ago was a huge step in my life. Well, in Soul Society I lived well over 100 years, and here it seems like only a blink of a eye has passed. Meeting people and getting to learn more about the human world will take time and patience. Both of which I am will to spend so long as I'm here.

. . .

"Nanami, can you get Izuro from his crib?" my mother called from the kitchen.

I was perched in my usual spot in my room—a chair in the corner with my newest book rested neatly on my knees. It was my new addicting way to learn about how people in this day and age communicate.

"Yeah," I called back, and set my book down where I was previously sitting before I left the room.

The room I have now was the same room that was set up for me when I was an infant. Sadly, because I was taken to Soul Society so young, it was never used. When Ichigo and Rukia first showed me where I would be sleeping, the room was pretty much empty. There was a rug in the middle of the wooded floor and a few boxes here and there. And in the far corner was a small bassinet with a pink blanket draped over the side. The expressions on their faces was mixed deeply with sadness, regret, loneliness, and a little bit of joy. They didn't enter the room when I looked around.

Now I have a futon, the very soft chair where I read my books, a desk in front of the window, and the same rug that was there before, still in the middle of the floor. It's not a lot compared to what my siblings have in their room, but it's enough for me. I didn't have a lot of belongings in Soul Society, so attachments weren't an issue.

I walked down the hall and into Izuro's room where his cries made it clear that he was very unhappy. The walls were painted a light blue like the sky, and the crib where he slept was white with bunny and cat drawings all over the bars. The floor was covered with toys and various other things, making it a little hard to walk around.

My baby brother was sitting in the middle of his crib crying heavily. When he saw me, he quieted down a little. And it always warmed my heart when he would reach out for me with his little hands. I smiled and reached down for him, carefully lifting him up and putting him to my chest. He barrier his face in my shoulder and sobbed a little, still not quite over whatever traumatizing experience he went though while sleeping soundly in his crib.

Dad explained that babies as young as Izuro don't know how to talk. So, in order for them to communicate what they want, they cry. And it turns into a guessing game trying to figure out why they are crying in the first place.

I understood that much, and I knew that it was around the time to eat so I figured that Izuro must be hungry. I had gotten good at guessing what he might be wanting depending on the time of day. Dad says I'm a natural, though I'm not sure I could agree just yet.

I patted Izuro's back and shushed him gently as we left the room. "It's okay, Izuro. We'll get you something to eat."

His cried reduced to whimpers and little sobs. By time I made it down the stairs and into the kitchen he had stopped crying all together. There was a commotion coming from the room, and because the curiosity got the better of me, I peeked around the corner. What I saw made me chuckle lightly, and even though I tried to smother it with my hand, she still heard me.

I was then faced with the tell-tale glare from Rukia Kurosaki, who had been trying to reach a stack of plates that were too high up on a shelf for her to reach. What made the scene even better was Yuta and Kana dancing in a circle around the counter in the middle of the room—I think my mother called that something like "an island"—chanting, "Reach, Mama, reach!"

She put her hands on her hips, her glare, though playful, turned toward the twins. "Alright, I guess you two don't want lunch today." She gave a dramatic sigh. "And I made your favorite, too."

The two stopped their dancing and looked up at their mother in worry, as if they believed that they really weren't going to eat today. In sync with each other, they ran at her and tackled her at the knees, faces buried in her apron.

"I'm sorry, Mama! Yuka made me do it!"

"Did not, liar! You started it!"

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

Mom smiled and patted their heads. "Well, since you apologized, I guess I can do something for you." She motioned for them to sit at the table just on the other side of the room.

They sit and my mother brings them their food. They give thanks for their meal and dig in. I watched then eat as I always did. Sometimes they would look at me funny and I would get embarrassed and leave the room. Honestly, I couldn't help it. I'm still getting used to the idea of having younger siblings to watch over. There were times were my duty was to watch younger academy students in times of emergency, but that was different. They were a job, an assignment. This…was my family, my flesh and blood.

Not wanting to be creepy, I turned my attention to the squirming baby in my arms. He had a knack for pulling hair to get someone's attention—Dad said it was his way of saying he wanted something, just like he does when he cries.

"What do you say, Izuro? Are you hungry?" I cooed.

He looked up at me in the cutest way and I smiled. I may have only been here a few months, but everyone here, especially Izuro, has already stolen my heart.

Just as Mom took Izuro from me to feed him, her phone rang. We both looked down at the one on the counter—the one Dad calls her from every day to check in. That wasn't the phone that rang.

It was the one from Soul Society. The one that let her know that she had a order—a Hollow to be hunted and purified.

We two of us looked at each other and then back at the phone. Slowly, she reached for the phone, while balancing a baby on her hip, and flipped it open. The look on her face was all business and it was clear in her eyes that what the message said was nothing good.

"What is it?" I asked, leaning against the counter.

She napped the phone shut. "Nothing that can't be handled. You're father is at work and I can't leave the kids here. So I'll call Uryuu and see if he can take care of it."

I frowned. "Uryuu Ishida? Hiroshi's father?"

She glanced back at me, one of her brows raised. "Yes. He's been Ichigo's friend since he became a soul reaper. yes, they were at each other's throats sometimes, but they get along well now. Why do you ask?"

"I remember the names mentioned in my studies about the human world and saving so many lives. But…he's a quincy, and so is Hiroshi. Orihime has a strong Spiritual pressure, but I can' pin-point what she is." I stopped rambling when she had finished putting Izuro in his high-chair and turned to me. "My point is, we're Soul Reapers. It's our job to—"

"Nanami!"

My mother's harsh tone when saying my name caused me to stop short. Her face was angry and I also say a tinge of worry in her eyes. We stared at each other for a few moments, not sure what to say to one another. The twins looked over at us with wide eyes, and when a glance came from our mother, they quickly went back to eating as if they hadn't heard a thing.

More calmly this time she said, "Nanami, listen to me. What happened 16 years ago… It was hard on all of us. But it struck your father hard. I'm sure you know why." She gave me a knowing look, and I didn't need her to elaborate. I knew exactly what—or rather who—she was talking about.

"You are not a Soul Reaper, Nanami. You may have been trained as one, but you were born here in the human world, and you will always be a human turned Soul Reaper."

Just like my father.

I sighed, kind of hurt by the truth in her words. But I had to speak my mind. "I understand that you and dad suffered for so long thinking that I was never coming back. And whether that was all a part of the plan or not this is who I am now. I can't hide from it, because watching people suffer from something that I could have stopped will each me alive. And I know that ignoring that order is pulling at your heart as we speak."

Her dark blue, almost violet eyes cast downward, and I knew that I was right.

"I…I'm happy here. This is all I've ever wanted. And I can respect your wishes. Just understand that I won't be happy not doing what I trained all my life to do."

She didn't get mad. She didn't raise her voice. Her eyes trained on mine until the last word. I didn't flinch when she walked right up to me and hugged me close. And just like the hugs Aunt Hisana always wrapped me in, my mother's hugs seemed to melt all my doubts and fears.

"You are beginning to sound too much like you father for your own good, Nanami," she said with a laugh. When she pulled away and started cleaning up the mess Izuro made of his food—soft peaches and and celery sticks—her tone was light but firm. "Uryuu will handle this one. If there's ever a time where your father and I can't take care of a Hollow and we are in a pinch…" She looked at me and winked. "I'll be sure to respect our wishes if you do the same."

Well, I can't say that didn't sound like a fair deal.

I grabbed an apple from the fruit bowl on the counter and made my way back to my room. As I got to the top of the stairs I heard my own phone ringing. By the time I made it to my room the phone had stopped ringing and the name on screen showed it was my Dad. Panicked, because something could always go wrong, I quickly remembered how "Aunt" Orihime showed me how to call someone from this specific phone I got from my parents and called him back.

He answered on the second ring.

"Hey, Nanami. I hate to ask this of you, but I need you to do me a favor."

It's not the words that took me off guard when he answered the phone, but the sounds in the background and the tone of his voice. There was a woman crying and several voices—I picked out two of them to be Aunt Karin and Aunt Yuzu's—from the back ground.

"What? What is it?"

"Rukia—uh…you're mother just got a message from Soul Society, I know she did. And I'm usually the one that takes care of those Hollows that come in. But…" His voice sounded distant when he said: "Yes, Yuzu please take her to room six; make sure he's got his Penicillin, Karin!"

"But…" I said, not trying to rush him, but more wondering if there was a way I could help.

"But…I can't. Because the Hollow attacked at a public place, innocent people are getting in the crossfire and we are…very busy here." The sound of instruments hitting a table came through from the other end of the line. "I'm about to stitch up this guy's leg and the help Yuzu and Karin with other patients. I had to send my dad to the nearest medical store to get supplies. Look, Nanami, I—"

"I'm on it."

He was taken aback. "I—I… You don't even know what I was going to ask."

I almost smiled. "It's pretty clear what you're asking. I can tell from the background noise that there is no way you can leave because people need you. And in order for this to stop someone has to take care of that Hollow. I'll take care of things. Don't worry about it."

He sighed heavily, as if a huge weight was lifted from his shoulders. "Thank you, Nanami."

That time I did smile. "You're welcome, Dad. Oh, and Mom is going to call Uryuu and tell him to take care of it."

"Damn, I knew she'd do that." My instruments were clanging in the back ground. "I'll give him a quick call. Oh, and don't put Kon in your body. He's…got issuers when it come to females."

I'm not totally sure I knew what he was referring to, but I understood.

"Go to Urahara and ask for a Mod Soul. That should help you out a lot."

"Alright."

The call ended and I stood there in the middle of my room, torn between the promises I had just made. My heart ached thinking about it, but one of them had to be broken.

Either I brake my promise to my dad and leave the Hollow to "Uncle" Uryuu…

Or I disappoint my mother and break her trust by taking care of the Hollow myself.

Knowing I had very little time to think about it, I clenched my phone in my hand and dashed out of my room. I would apologize to Mom later. Right now…I had a Hollow to take care of.

. . .

Oh, how I don't want to end it here… But I have to. I just looked down and realized that I had just over 10 pages done. Seems like a good place to stop.

I know the thing with the order from Soul Society might be a little confusing, so let me know what you don't understand and I will explain. Sorry!

Enjoy what you go in this chapter, and I promise another is on the way.

Thanks For Reading!

—Romni