So, this chapter was really hard for me to write for some reason. I couldn't get the creative juices flowing again. I'm starting to blame the cold weather. I hate winter…

Any who, this chapter is a little more action packed. We even get to see Nanami's Zanpakutou! (Figuratively speaking, anyway.) I think that's one reason why it was so difficult to write. It was hard to describe a sword that doesn't already exist in the Anime/Manga. Not to mention avoiding any pre-existing abilities. But, I did what I could, so there. (:

As always, I have a list of people who reviewed for the last chapter:

Elfen Children

hunterofcomedy

Karin kurosaki-chan

And…that's pretty bad. I guess my writing isn't up to par as of late… Sorry guys :(

I'm hoping this chapter will be better!

Read to find out!

(Note: there will be a lot of back and forth flash backs. Italicized writing is going back to at the beginning of Nanami's encounter with the Hollow, while the non-italicized writing is referring to current time. Eventually they meet in gut middle, so I hope that's not too confusing for you!)

Chapter Eight: You Fight!

From what I understand, people have their off days. "Off days" didn't happen much in Soul Society, but here in the human world they do. It's when a person isn't doing their job as well as they usually do—or should do. Apparently, that can happen if there is something weighing heavily on the mind or a physical problem that prevents them from doing their job correctly.

I was definitely having one of those days.

"Damn it. Where did it go?" I asked no one in particular. I was jumping across rooftops, building to building, looking for this Hollow. "It couldn't have gone far… Damn it! Why did this have to happen to me, of all nights?"

I'm not one who blames other people for something they don't deserve. It's just not how I was raised.

But…this is really all Hiroshi's fault!

And on top of that I was wounded pretty badly… Finding the Hollow was proving to be difficult. But I wasn't about to let my father down. I had to take care of this Hollow…and fast.

. . .

I had easily tracked the Hollow to a small park in the middle of town. (Though tracking the Hollow was much easier than ditching my mother…)

The small park was lined with a cement wall that was no more than four feet high with only one true entrance, though it was surrounded by a thin patch of trees and bushes. Benches where parents no doubt sat to keep a watchful eye on their children were placed near the were, of course, a few children's play sets here and there—a set of swings off toward the back.

It was more than I had gotten as a child, and I couldn't help but let my mind wonder to my aunt and uncle…

I shook my head to skew my thoughts. "No, stop that! You're on a mission, Nanami. Focus."

I almost rolled my eyes, realizing I was talking to myself again. It seemed as though that was a habit I was never going to shake.

The Hollow was getting close, and it was no doubt heading this way. It seemed to be drawn here, like it was searching for something—for a specific soul.

Then, just as I was about to leave the park, I could sense another presence. And it was right behind me—

"Hello? Who are you?" a timid voice asked.

I spun around and saw a girl peeking out from behind the swing set (as though the skinny poles could hide her little body completely). She had short, chopped brown hair with a small purple clip in her bangs. She tried not to look scared, but I could tell me being there wasn't what she was expecting.

And judging by the soul chain attached to her chest she was probably trying to hide from the Hollow that was after her and wound up in this park.

I knelt down to her level, smiling lightly. "Hey. What's your name?"

She looked a little surprised. "You…can see me?"

I nodded. "Do you know what I am?"

She shook her head slowly, suddenly a little more shy. She glanced at the katana on my hip.

I touched my sword lightly. "Don't worry, I'm not here to hurt you. My name is Nanami. I'm a Soul Reaper—I'm going to help you."

Her small head tilted to the side. "Help me?" she repeated curiously. "So, then you're going to get rid of that scary monster?"

I nodded, smiling a little more. "That's right, but you know the only way to do that is for you to leave this place. You need to cross over into Soul Society."

Just saying it made my heart hurt—leaving Soul Society is having more of an impact on me that I had originally thought. But thinking about everyone there—the people I left behind—was a distraction. And I couldn't afford any distractions today.

"What's Soul Society?" She came out from her 'hiding spot' timidly, not fully trusting me yet.

"It's a place for souls like you to rest, where you can reside in peace." I drew my sword slowly, showing her the bottom of the hilt where the seal was. She wasn't fascinated by it; just confused.

"You never told me your name," I stated simply, hoping to keep her calm.

She seemed to have to think long and hard about that one, which meant that she was already slowly forgetting about her life as a human. "It's…Anika! My name is Anika!" she said proudly.

"Well, Anika…" I held the butt of the hilt to her forehead, and she didn't seem afraid. "It's time for you to leave the human world, and to ascend to Soul Society. Don't be afraid. You will see that Soul Society is a place for you to live on in peace, because nothing ever truly dies."

She closed her eyes as I pressed the seal to her forehead. A blight light shown from that very spot when I withdrew the hilt, and she slowly began to fade.

"Whatever family you leave behind will never forget you, and you will finally be able to rest in peace…"

. . .

I finally sensed the Hollow again. It was just a few rooftops ahead of me, and it wasn't moving anymore. I didn't stop to wonder why—now was my chance.

I hurried toward where the Hollow was, wincing when pain shot through my body. I ignored it. It would be worth the inflicted wounds to finally get rid of this monster.

I would do this for my family, and I would most certainly do this for the souls it already devoured.

I reached the Hollow, and what I saw was a little more than surprising.

. . .

"Damn it…" I clutched hard at the second wound the Hollow managed to make on my body. It had landed a less than fatal blow on my leg and now my arm, and though the wounds aren't too deep, they will slow me down. I can't have that.

The Hollow roared and slowly started coming my way again. I was up against the farthest wall from where I had come in, and because this children's park isn't very big, the Hollow was advancing yet again.

I continued to dodge and swing at the creature, but something was draining my Spiritual Energy. I couldn't figure out what it was. I couldn't keep up this constant back and forth for very much longer. Hollows have never been this much of a problem for me until now. Why was I having so much trouble with this one?

And just when I thought it couldn't get any worse, I sensed another Spiritual pressure. Though it was not a formidable foe, I didn't like its presence. And there was something…familiar about it.

. . .

"What are you doing here?" I demanded, glaring at Hiroshi's back. "This is a Soul Reaper's job."

The Hollow roared as if to agree with me—not that I needed its approval.

Hiroshi didn't say anything—he didn't even turn to me. He just stared at the Hollow, drew his bow back, and fired a shot. It hit the Hollow square in the head, but it didn't go down.

I growled in annoyance. "This Hollow is stronger than you think. One arrow isn't going to cut it. Just stand back and let me do it."

He didn't budge.

Another arrow flew. Then another. And another. And another. With each shot, the arrows flew faster and faster, and the power behind each draw of his Spiritual bow intensified. It was impressive to say the least. And…something else. Something that I wasn't familiar with. The sight of Hiroshi standing there tall and with no fear, his arrows flying fast and right on target, taking down a Hollow all on his own was…strikingly appealing.

I felt heat rise to my cheeks, and I thanked the creator of life that he couldn't see my face in the dark of night.

The Hollow was long gone, taken down by the many arrows that hit it. The only ones left in the dark alley were me and the man that had only a short while ago shot me in the back. Literally.

Finally, Hiroshi spares me a glance. "You're welcome," he says in a flat tone.

I huffed, clenching my throbbing shoulder. "I wasn't going to thank you." There was a think silence between us, and because I was determined to not let him see me weak, I didn't want him around when I wobbled home. I would wait for him to leave.

. . .

Though it didn't seem like he was going anywhere fast.

"I will not back off, Hiroshi!" I yelled, and dodged another attack from the Hollow, the very thing this idiot and I were fighting over. It was childish, yes, but… You know, that just merits where the battle was taking place.

He dodged the same attack, landing farther back from the Hollow than I did. "Lay off, will you?! I can handle this. Go back home and suck up to Mommy and Daddy. I'm sure they miss their precious little girl."

Oh, now that was the last straw.

Angry and frustrated, I swung at the Hollow without really aiming. My goal was the try and push it back into a corner, but that only wound up with me on the ground, groaning about yet another wound.

Hiroshi scuffed at my failed attempt and tried it himself, gaining the Hollows attention and trying to corner it. He fired a few arrows but only one of them grazed it. I'm no master at archery, but I'm positive his movements are sloppy and uncoordinated.

I got up from the ground and was about to jump back into the action when I noticed something strange in one of the play structures. It seemed to move a little bit, and I only barely caught the movement out of the corner of my eye.

It was a little girl. She seemed to have dark hair that hung in a long pony tail, and she looked almost identical to the spirit I had just sent to Soul Society. How could I have not sensed her there before? How did she get there?

And I wasn't the only one that noticed the movement. From all of the studies I had done at the academy, Hollows didn't normally go after live humans. They usually preferred their souls. However, this Hollow seemed to have finally found its intended target.

Hiroshi, his spiritual bow drawn back, was the only one who hadn't noticed the girl. And it looked like he was ready to fire another shot off at the Hollow, but with how his performance has been tonight, he could easily miss and hit the girl instead.

"Hiroshi! Wait!"

"I'm done of this back and forth game, Nanami," he said, scowling, drawing farther back on his bow. "This ends now."

His intended target was the Hollows head, right in range of where the girl was, high up in the play set.

"No, Hiroshi! Stop!"

I couldn't breathe—there was no time to stop him! But my body was in full motion. With every once of what strength I had left, I would protect this girl—I will keep the innocent out of harms way.

And I did. By using my own body as a shield.

The arrow—as I had predicted—only barely grazed the Hollows head. More angry than before, the Hollow let out a loud roar and disappeared.

For what felt like an eternity later, the arrow that was deeply embedded into my right shoulder finally disappeared, as well. I felt hot blood leak from the wound, and I had to grit my teeth to keep from screaming in pain.

. . .

"Don't you have a…a family to get back to?" I asked, shoving the words past my lips because the pain I was suddenly feeling was overwhelming.

He turned to me, though he wasn't really seeing me. I could tell. "Don't you?" he asked simply, though there was a snarky tone to his words.

I glared, though it was half assed. Most of my strength was reserved for staying up-right. "I do. And now I have to tell them that I couldn't complete my mission because…someone got in my way."

The adrenaline from fighting the Hollow earlier was gone. And now that I didn't have to worry about it anymore, I suddenly felt exhausted.

"I…I didn't see the girl." His voice was a lot less steeled and steady. Now it seemed like he was stumbling for words. "If you hadn't gotten in the way of that arrow…"

"She wouldn't have felt it. At least, I don't think she would have."

His brows knotted together in confusion.

I shifted my now seemingly overwhelming body weight from one foot to the other. "She was a spirit. I wondered how I hadn't sensed her there until that moment, and asked how she had gotten there. The little girl I had sent to Soul Society was her twin sister."

Realization seemed to come over him, as if he had already known the story, but I told him what the second little girl, Asuna, had told me anyway.

"Anika and Asuna were killed just a few weeks ago…by a drunk driver who wasn't paying attention to where he was going. The family had the green light to cross the street and the girls raced ahead of their parents. The driver didn't…stop fast enough."

He flinched, as if I had physically hit him. And If I had the strength I would have done just that.

"Asuna, the girl in the play set, was looking for her sister. She said…she was looking in places they used to visit when they were alive…when she wound up in the middle of our battle with the Hollow. She told me…that she was sorry that she startled us, and told me that it wasn't your fault."

Hiroshi didn't say anything, his eyes fixated on the ground at his feet.

My head was starting to spin, and my whole body was growing numb. Hiroshi's face—I don't remember him being only a few feet away—was starting to become a blur of colors.

"Do you believe her?" he asked, looking up at me. "Do you believe that it wasn't my fault that you got hurt trying to protect her?"

I fought for words, but I couldn't form anything as coherent as I would have liked it to be. "I…I don't..think…"

The last thing I remember seeing was ground rushing toward me…

Cliffy!

Sorry about the abrupt ending. I owed you guys big time for waiting so patiently, and I was determined to get it posted. I'm sure there are a lot of grammar mistakes, and I apologize for them. I don't have a Beta to help me out, so I'm dealing with what I've got, haha.

Thank you so much to all of those who reviewed between chapters! I hope I'm keeping you interested enough to stick with me and keep reading. The reviews are inspiration. They let me know that there is SOMEONE still interested in my story, and thats just amazing.

Stay with me, guys! I promise to keep up my end of the bargain if you keep yours! ;)

Thank You For Reading!

—Romni