This chapter took a while for me to write because I couldn't decide how I wanted it to play out. But I like how it turned out, so I'm not too bummed that it's a late one.

So…not a lot of responses for the previous chapter. That's a little worrying, but I'll press on anyway!

Here's to the reviews:

Kaneko Aikawa: Thank you for the lovely feedback! I was a little nervous about the 'Yui and Nanami' bit because it almost seemed like filler stuff to me. But I'm glad you liked it! I love SAO and I realized that it was her name when I posted that chapter, but it was even more mind boggling to realize that Yui also came from the song artist. I am looking forward to the next time we talk :)

This chapter is a little…different. It's got the 'filler' feel in the beginning, but gets good toward the end.

And it is extra long, so I hope everyone enjoys!

. . .

Chapter 15: A Normal Beach Day?

[One Week Later]

"Nanami! Grab the car keys off the counter please!"

"Okay!"

"And the diaper bag by the door!"

"Okay."

"Did you remember to put on a bathing suit?"

I repressed a sigh. "Yes."

"Am I forgetting anything else?"

"I hope not…" I mumble as I shut the front door with my foot, slinging the diaper bag over my shoulder, and join my family at the end of the walkway.

"Thank you," Mom says and takes the diaper bag.

I tossed the keys over the SUV and straight into Dad's waiting hand, and then climb into the very back next to my baby brother. Izuro is happily gnawing on a teething toy. I quickly kissed this cheek and made a funny face at him, effectively getting that adorable laugh out of him that I loved so much. In the bench seat in front of me, Kana and Yutaka were arguing over who is going to make it to the beach first, and then proceeded to argue who was going to make it into the water first. And so on…

This being my first trip to a beach—ever—I was both excited and…a little nervous. I mean, did bathing suits have to be so…revealing? The one Mom helped me pick out was great—purple base color with random blue stripes going in different directions. I was a 'one piece' bathing suit, and Dad forbade me to ever being anything other than a 'one piece' bathing suit. To wear over my suit I have my favorite 'Book Work' shirt and a pear of jean shorts.

We make it to the beach and it's…so pretty. It's the hottest point of the day, but it's not too hot. There's a very slight, warm breeze rolling through that feels refreshing. And I don't think my parents know this about me yet, but I love swimming. Not to mention that my Zanpakutou's name means 'Water Temptress'—even my soul likes being near water.

Everyone else is already here—that being The Ishida's and The Sado's. Orihime waved excitedly as we approached them with our haul of beach stuff. As predicted, Kana and Yuta took off toward the water; Yumiko met them half way and joined their race. Hiroshi was…missing, of course.

Orihime immediately hugged me as soon as I was close enough, engulfing me with her small arms. She smiled at me. "I'm sorry, I just couldn't help myself. I'm so excited for your first time at the beach! We are going to have so much fun! We can look for shells and skip rocks on the water, and then we can go the ice cream shop and—"

"You know, that sounds an awful lot like our first date, Orihime." Uryuu was standing behind her, holding their youngest daughter (who was fast asleep).

She giggled. "Yeah, except I didn't know how to skip rocks at the time, and you didn't have any money for the ice cream."

What started off as Uryuu trying to tease his wife back fired and very quickly turned against him. A light blush coated his cheeks and he looked away, embarrassed.

Mom and Dad set up the beach blanket while I held Izuro. I helped him walk in sand by standing behind him and holding his hands as he slowly wobbled around. Once the blanket was set up, Mom settled down with Izuro and entertained him with snacks and sand toys.

Every chance I had, I was looking over my shoulder, expecting to see…someone one. Whether is was Hiroshi or Sakura or even one of the Captains standing there, I can't be sure. All I know is I felt…something.

I eventually made my way to the water and joined my siblings and Yumiko. I took my first step in the water and sighed. I loved the water, and it had been a while since being able to step in it (other than a shower of bath, of course).

Tara tore herself away from her book to join us and to escape the heat. We played that Tag game in the water, which wasn't as easy as they thought it would be. We played and splashed each other to no end—I even let them each dunk me once. Any more than that and I might have turned into a fish.

That's when Dad, Uryuu, and Chad came to the water's edge with a small ball.

"This ball fills up with water. So when you get it wet and throw it…" Dad threw said ball and it sprayed water at me, and he threw it so low that it hit the water directly in front of my face and splashed me even more. "It makes for he perfect way to get your mom pissed at me," he said with a stupid grin on his face.

I wiped my face and spit water out of my mouth, playfully glaring at him. "Yeah, and I now know how she feels."

And then that turned into a game of pass-the-ball-so-that-the-person-you-throw-it-to-gets-splashed-in-the-face. Almost every time dad got the ball he would throw it right at me the same way he threw the first one, and each time I could never catch it. And each time I got the ball I purposely threw it so it went way over his head and he would have to go get it.

Another water game they showed me how to play was called 'Chicken'. For this game you had one person sit on the shoulders of another person, and then the two people on their teammates' shoulders were to try and knock each other over.

So, for the first game, it was me and Dad against Tara and Chad. Obviously Tara and I were on our Dad's shoulders, but it was almost unfair because Chad was so tall, and with Tara on his shoulders I almost couldn't reach her. To make it a little more fair, Chad stood in the deeper part of the water. Once Uryuu called for the first round to start, I wasn't expecting Tara to be as strong as she was. All she had to do was grab my arm and pull and I was in the water. We all got a good laugh out of that one.

We weren't allowed to leave the younger kids out of the action, so Tara and I had a quick rematch—she won that one, too—and then it was Kana and Yuta's turn. Yuta won and then he and Dad went up against Yumi and Uryuu. Yumi won and Yuta pouted about 'losing to a girl'.

I was having so much fun I hadn't realized that it had been almost 2 hours since we arrived, and I hadn't left the water that whole time. There were other families out earlier, but everyone except us had retired for the day. Our rather large extended family was all that remained on the small beach.

"Kana, Yuta, Nanami!" Mom called from our spot on the beach. "Come get something to eat! Your father is going to eat it all if you don't hurry up!"

From out here in the water I could still make out Dad glaring at Mom while she completely ignored his dirty look.

"Okay!"

Yuta threw the water ball toward me without looking and it went really high and was going to go right over my head. I could have still caught it if I turned and ran with it before it hit the water. I tried to make a grab for the ball and would have caught it…had there not been someone standing directly behind me.

Instead of grabbing the ball, I turned and ran face first into a firm chest. I wasn't looking where I was going because I had my eyes on the ball in the air. And, of course, the impact sent me and this other person straight into the water. On instinct—and party because I wanted to know who I ran into—I opened my eyes under water. And was completely shocked, horrified and…something else.

Ten seconds was about how long it took for my body to react to what my brain was telling it. Ten seconds…as I float there in the water with Hiroshi staring right back at me.

During those few seconds, we locked eyes like we had just last week outside my house. Hiroshi's expression was just as shocked as mine—clearly he hadn't expected me to turn around so quickly and run right into him. I hadn't expected him to be there, so the shock was a neutral feeling. I had those seconds to calculate my exact situation.

My hands were on his chest, thought not applying any pressure—yet.

His hands were around my waist, not holding me there but not releasing me—yet.

There was a very, very thin layer of water between our bodies, and even in the coolness of the water I could feel his body heat. His eyes swam with emotions like a fish in the water. When his eyes very quickly flicked downward, my body finally started reacting to my brain. My heart rate quickened immensely, remembering what I was wearing while in this close proximity.

Just as quickly as we went down, we both sprang up from under the water, gasping. I noticed then that Hiroshi was only in his swim trunks, and quickly stopped myself from gawking. My face grew red and I turned away from him.

Damn these feelings! I silently cursed. They're messing with me head! And no matter how much my brain yells at me when we end up in…situations like that, I can't get my body to cooperate. It's so…frustrating!

"Nanami!" Mom called my name, snapping me out of my thoughts.

"S-Sorry! I…I tripped…!"

Well, that wasn't necessarily a lie.

Just as I was about to stand, Hiroshi grabbed my hand under the water. I looked down at our hands—his coving mine completely—and then I looked up at him. He didn't look mad or annoyed, but rather…kind and apologetic. This was something completely new to me when it came to Hiroshi's expressions.

"I'm…I'm sorry," I said, plain and simply. No anger, no sarcasm—it didn't even sound forced, like he didn't mean what he said. But he did.

And then, just like that, he got up and walked toward shore. I stared after him for a second. Not in a gawking way, but rather in wonder.

My heart wasn't racing anymore, and my face didn't feel nearly as warm as it did a few moments ago. Something about the look on his face and the gentle touch of his hand made me feel…calmer.

However one question still remained: what did Hiroshi have to be sorry for?

Well, then again, he could be a little sorry for being such a jerk all the time. But that's besides the point. He was apologizing for something more resent, something he honestly felt sorry for. Or…he was apologizing ahead of time for something that has yet to happen. Did he know something that I didn't? No. I would have seen something different in his eyes.

So many questions, so little answers. I was thinking too much about this; I didn't have to worry about this right now. There were bigger problems—like Sakura—to deal with right now.

I remembered that my family was waiting for me and quickly stood up to follow Hiroshi to shore. As I just approached the blanket, Kana ran past me, back toward the water.

Mom voiced my question. "Where are you going, Kana?"

"Nanami forgot about our ball!" she called over her shoulder. She continued on her personal quest and ran into the water.

That's right, I did forget about the ball. I was so worried about what Hiroshi was thinking I completely forgot to grab it. I looked out at the water and seen that the ball wasn't too far out from where I was with Hiroshi. It had been carried in by the tide, bring the water level at just about the 8-year-old's waist.

That's when I saw it; I sensed it; I felt its roar.

A Hollow. And it appeared right out of the water where Kana was standing.

Everyone turned and faced the water, as if we had all sensed it at the same time. No one moved at first, watching the creature rise—towering over the small girl as if to crush her. Kana stopped what she was doing and looked up slowly, as if she could sense something was there. When her tiny body froze and she took a staged step back, I knew that she could see the horrendous beast in front of her.

Before I could yell Kana's name, it released it's earth shattering roar.

In the blink of an eye, Dad dashed past me and ran for Kana.

"Ichigo!"

"You idiot! What are you doing?!"

"Ichigo, wait!"

For a second, I froze. I was suddenly paralyzed with fear. What if he didn't make it in time? What if Dad got hurt too—he hadn't released his Soul Reaper powers? What if…?

I shook my head and snapped out of it. No, I internally scolded. I'm going to be the one to save them. I'm the Soul Reaper in charge of the Hollows, after all. This is my responsibility.

"Take Izuro and Yuta farther up the beach—get off of the sand. If you need to run, run." I was talking to Mom but she shook her head.

"I'm not leaving them here."

I reached for my bad and rummaged through it quickly, looking for— Yes! I found it!

"It's not safe here. I know you know that."

I looked over and saw that Uryuu and Chad were getting their families out of the way. At least I didn't have to worry about them, too.

"Ichigo needs my help…"

I put my hand on Mom's shoulder, willing her to look at me. I smiled as much as I could, despite the situation. "You don't have Chappy with you, and Dad doesn't have Kon. But I've got Yui." I held up the little green pill that contained said soul.

Quickly, I popped the pill in my mouth and my soul was ejected from my body. Without looking back I called, "Yui, get them to safety! I'm counting on you!"

"You go it!" she called back.

I put all my power into making it to the beach in time. But…even that wasn't enough.

Damn it! I took too long…

With it's long, giant tail, the lizard shaped Hollow blocked Dad's path from reaching Kana. He was thrown off balance and landed backwards in the water.

"Dad! Get out of there!"

But he wasn't listening. He was back on his feet and dodged around the tail. Kana remained where she was, frozen with fear.

The Hollow looked at dad and actually spoke. "You're annoying. You're not the one I'm looking for."

And with that it used it claws hand and powerful swing fling Dad far away from there, just inches before he reached Kana.

"Dad!"

I watched him fly through the air helplessly, but it didn't get far. Chad came out of nowhere and grabbed him before they hit the ground. They tumbled through the water and onto the sand. Thankfully, they both started moving shakily.

"I've got Ichigo," Chad called, holding Dad down by his shoulder. "Go! Get your sister!"

I nodded in thanks and quickly headed towards Kana once again. However, I wasn't fast enough. The Hollow grabbed my sister and hoisted her into the air. Not surprisingly, Kana screamed in pure fear. Hearing her little voice that way broke my heart, but I couldn't let that get to me. I had to save her. I had to save everyone here.

I drew my Katana from it's sheath and called it's name: "Call on the tides and rule the seas: Mizu Yūwaka."

The two swords appeared in my hands and I was ready to fight. I was expecting the Hollow to roar at me for interfering, but what I wasn't expecting was for it speak directly to me.

"You… You are the one I need to kill. Or eat. I can't remember which… Either way, I will kill you!"

I narrowed my eyes. So it was sent here by someone?

"Give me my sister and we'll talk about who's killing who," I ordered, taking a ready stance.

"No. I'm hungry. I have to eat, too, you know. Have to eat…"

The Hollow slowly raised my frightened sister higher toward its open mouth.

Fury and fear rose in me. I raised Mizu Yūwaka, and faster than the Hollow could process a thought, it's tail was missing.

It let out a terrifying screech of pain and dropped Kana. I Flash Stepped and grabbed her before she reached the water. I Flash Stepped away from the beast, Kana safe in my arms. She passed out from shock, but was otherwise fine. I Flash Stepped in front of Dad and his High School friend and handed her to him.

"Get out of here. Take everyone to safety."

The look on his face told me that wasn't an option. "I'm not leaving you here to take care of that thing by yourself."

"You can't help me," I pointed out.

"I'm not leaving." His voice was final.

"Ichigo, you're hurt and so is Kana," Chad pointed out. "We need to get you both out of here."

He turned to his friend. "You take Kana and go. I'm staying."

I glared in annoyance. I needed to take care of this Hollow before it had time to recover from it's lose of a limb. That's when a voice from behind me spoke up.

"I'll stay."

I turned to see Hiroshi standing there. My heart did that little dance in my chest again.

"I'll help her take care of the Hollow. We seem to make a pretty good tag-team if I remember correctly."

I made a face of confusion at him, and thankfully Dad and Chad couldn't see it.

Is he remembering the same thing I am? Because I'm pretty sure he shot me in the back with his Kojaku the last time we fought a Hollow together.

I thought for sure Dad would tell him no and insist on staying. But I guess I don't know me Dad as well as I thought. "Alright," he said, and I noted the finality in his voice. "Be careful, both of you."

I turned to my Dad credulously and my mouth dropped open in shock. But he didn't see it—he was already heading up the beach with Chad toward our family.

I turned back toward Hiroshi, who wore a smug look.

"Your Dad seems to trust me," he said, as I stormed past him.

"I noticed that, thanks," I grumbled sarcastically.

I looked out at the water expecting to see the Hollow, but lately my expectations have been completely wrong. There, in the water with first Hollow, was another identical Hollow.

Hiroshi stopped next me at the bank of the water, staring out in confusion and shock as well.

"What the…?" Hiroshi didn't finish the sentence, though I mentally questioned the situation myself.

"It…must have cloned itself when I cut off it's tail," I rationalized. "If this situation wasn't an emergency, this would be something to experiment with…" I hadn't meant to say that out loud, but it was too little too late.

Hiroshi looked at me like I was crazy. "You have a weird sense of things being 'interesting', you know that?"

"Everyone has their weird moments, I suppose." I shrugged casually. "Don't let it lose another limb or we will just be doubling our work load."

"I picked up on that." He calls out his bow, Kojaku, and prepares to fire and arrow. He releases it and the arrow fires, and although the arrow was right on target, the Hollow dodged it easily.

"Damn," he grunted, annoyed. "And now we have to deal with two of them? I can't believe I'm staying to help deal with this."

I looked up at him, Mizu Yūwaka drawn and ready to fight. "You don't have to stay. Tell my father I sent you away. He can be mad at me—it's okay if you don't want to stay." Although, even as I spoke the words, I felt as though I was lying through my teeth.

He seemed to consider that, drawing his bow again to release an arrow that missed it's target yet again. He pulled back on his bow again, and again, firing two more shots. It's like he was…considering my offer, but trying to put in the slightest bit of help.

"No," he said finally, and started into the water, closing in on his target. "I'm not going to let you have these things to yourself. Besides…"

He readied yet another arrow and turned his head to me as he mumbled something just as both Hollows roared. I couldn't make out what he said, but I sure as hell could read his lips.

My heart danced harder than ever. Did…Did he really just say that…?

My thoughts and inner turmoil was interrupted and the seconds Hollow's tail nearly came down on top of us. I shook my head, getting my thoughts back to the fight.

"W-We need to kill them with one shot," I said, joining him in the water, portending I hadn't just read those words on his lips. "If we just hack away at them, their limbs will only grow back into more of them. It's like what I read in one of the books about Percy Jackson—I think it was called a Hydra. If you cut off it's head, two more grow back."

He gave me that weird look again. "You're reading all the wrong books."

"They killed it with fire, but we don't have that, and we need to send this thing where it belongs, not burn it." I tried to come up with different theories in my head.

He nodded. "What do you suggest, Soul Reaper?"

"We will kill you!" one Hollow screeched, still pissed that it lost it's tail.

"We're going to devour you!" the other threatened.

"We need to take them on at the same time. I won't risk separating in case one of us gets hurt."

"Tag-team the bastards," he acknowledged, smiling. "I like it."

I tried hard to keep myself from noticing his smile and focus on the task at hand.

"I'll keep them distracted. When you've got an opening, take it."

He nodded, but his expression was completely serious. "I won't shoot you. I promise."

I smiled at him, showing him the kindness he showed me in his eyes after our tumble. "I hope not. Otherwise my Dad might not trust you as much anymore if you do."

I Flash Stepped in front of the Hollows still standing knee deep in the water, and released my Zanpakutou's first attack. I put the very tips of both parts of Mizu Yūwaka into the water and said, "Haisui Ame."

A heavy rain came from the clear sky and landed directly on the Hollows, and only the Hollows. They were in a vortex of rain, though they were confused, it didn't last long. The rain dissipated and eventually vanished.

Both Hollows attacked me, reaching out with their claws. I dodged them and Flash Stepped around them, trying to give Hiroshi and opening.

"What was that, a rain dance?" he called from the shoreline.

I tried not to roll my eyes and ridged another attack. "Just focus on your part, please!"

Without needing any instructions, Hiroshi fired another arrow. The shot hit it's target and pierced the second Hollow's head. With a final roar, the Hollow vanished along with the arrow.

That was one down and one to go.

I Flashed next to Hiroshi. "Nice shot."

He looked at me out of the corner of his eye, expression blank. "What was that move you pulled out there? All it did was rain on them—it didn't seem to have any effect at all."

I motioned in front of us with my head. "Look again."

It was raining again, directly over where the remaining Hollow stood. The same vortex came and went, and the Hollow advanced again, this time more slowly.

It struggled on its way over and roared in anger. "What… What have you done to me? You rotten Soul Reaper—I'll eat you!"

I smirked, knowing it wasn't going anywhere. Eventually, it slowed completely and collapsed into the water.

"It's called Haisui Ame," I explained to Hiroshi, not so much the Hollow. "The rain brings with it an immense amount of pressure—Spiritual Pressure that it borrows from me and then intensifies it. Basically, every time it stepped into the circle I made when I did my 'rain dance', as you called it, it added twice the weight to the object the water touched. It can't support it's own body weight, and so long as it remained in the circle, it will continue to add weight, and crush it."

Then the Hollow let out a horrid laugh and it reached out with it's claw. "This won't stop me—"

It started to rain again, and just like before, it came and went. The Hollow slammed back to the ground, groaning.

"So long as you move, the rain will fall." I stepped closer. "Tell me what you meant earlier when you said I was the one you were meant to kill. Who sent you after me?"

Even as I asked, I already knew the answer.

The Hollow gave grunt as it tried to move again. "Don't know, don't care. I need to devour you, Soul Reaper!"

"Just kill it already," Hiroshi said, drawing back on his bow. "This is getting annoying."

I held my hand up to stop him. "It's got information I need. If I can't get what I want out of it, the Haisui Ame will crush it every time it moves. Either way it dies."

He glared at me for the first time today. "This isn't how you take care of Hollows. You're supposed to kill Hollows before they kill someone you know, not interrogate them for information." He aimed at his target. "You did your part and pinned it down so I can get a clear shot. I'm finishing the job."

I gritted my teeth but let him do it. He had a point. I shouldn't be interrogating Hollows like they are actual people. I already know who sent this Hollow anyway; there's no point in stopping Hiroshi from doing what he wants.

I turned and walked up the beach toward my family.

Whatever game Sakura was playing I didn't want any part of it. I wished Uncle and the others would allow me to help look for Sakura. If I moved around the city looking for her, I could draw them out of hiding. But I also couldn't argue with their logic. I needed a way to involved. Sitting around and doing nothing is giving me time to think about what's going on and the fact that it's all happening without me. Sakura is more cunning and dangerous than they think.

Chad and Uryuu waited for us by the cars. My parents were gone, having taken Kana for medical attention.

"Job well done, I presume?" Uryuu asked.

I nodded. "Hiroshi's taking care of it."

"It doesn't bother you that he's finishing your job?" he asked with a raised brow.

I shrugged. "We were a team for this fight. The way I see it: There shouldn't be a division between two people who are working together. A target is a target; an enemy is an enemy. Besides…" I casted a glance over my shoulder as Hiroshi approached us from the beach. "I did all the hard work."

Uryuu smirked lightly. "Well, I guess we'll meet you back at the Clinic. Ichigo's still worked up about the Hollow attacking Kana."

I nodded. "I'll see you there."

I watched Uryuu and Chad get into their car and leave. That's when I realized that Hiroshi hadn't gone with them. I snapped around and saw that he was just standing there, staring at me.

"What?"

He shrugged. "Nothing." And then proceeded to walk by me in the direction of the clinic. "We'd better start going, or else we'll never make it there before them."

He took off running, and it took me a second for my brain to process. "H-Hey! Wait up!"

It didn't take long at all for me to catch up to him, though I had to admit he could run a lot fast than I expected—for a human.

"Why didn't you just go in the car with your Dad?"

Why did you stay behind with me? I asked silently.

He glanced at me out of the corner of his eye. "Your Dad asked me to keep an eye on you—that included going on your Hollow hunts. I didn't agree to it at first, but I don't like owing people."

Alright, I thought, scrutinizing him with my eyes. Let's put a pin in the fact that Dad already talked to him about going with me on Hollow hunts.

"What do you mean by 'owing' people? What kind of favor do you owe?"

He did respond right away, though that's pretty much what I expected of him.

"The last Hollow hunt we were on—you didn't rat me out. I owe you for not telling your Dad that it was really me that shot you in your back."

I definitely hadn't expected that.

"That was…a while ago. You don't owe me anything. I understand that you don't like Soul Reapers. Whatever reason that may be, I'm not going to make you stay here. And you shouldn't feel like you have to, either."

He looked over at me out of the corner of his eye. I saw that flash of emotion in his eyes again, which made my breath catch.

"I don't think you quite understand. I don't hate Soul Reapers—your parents are Soul Reapers and I don't necessarily have a problem with them."

"But you have a problem with me."

He shrugged. "Not because you're a Soul Reaper. That's just a…coincidence."

"I don't think that's the right word."

He rolled his eyes, but not in the usual annoyed way. This gesture was more…playful.

"What I mean is, I have a hard time getting along with new people. You were no exception. New people make me…nervous."

I make him nervous? Is it only because I just arrived here?

The rest of our trip to the Clinic was relatively silent. The only sounds came from the wind rushing by our ears and the occasional by-passer on the street. I though it was funny that people were looking at Hiroshi like he was crazy, running around town by himself.

He glared at me when I pointed it out as we reached the Clinic doors. And that made me smile. Why, I'm not really sure, because if anyone else glared at me I would glare right back.

"Looks like you two are getting along well now. Did you kiss and make up?"

Yui was standing near the entrance, leaning her back against the building. And, of course, she was smirking wildly. I glared at her and tried hard not to blush, because she just had to say something like that in front of Hiroshi.

I stole a glance at Hiroshi, who didn't even seen to notice she had said anything at his expense (or mine).

Thank God…

I gained my composure and grabbed the stuffed animal from her hand. I hadn't had the stuffed toy in my pack, so I wasn't sure where she had gotten it from.

"How did this thing get here?" I started to ask, motioning to the doll that as now in my hand.

She put her hands on her hips and looked insulted. "That's my body you're talking about, friend!" Then she shrugged more calmly. "I'm not sure either. It was on my seat when we got back in the car. I'm thinking Kana found it at the house and grabbed it."

I silently thanked Kana, even though she didn't even know what she'd done to help me. She was so strong today, and I'm more than happy that she got out without getting too hurt. Dad, too—though he took more of a beating than anyone.

"Come on. Give me my body back. I want to see how Dad and Kana are doing."

She sighed. "Alright. But you could just ask me how they're doing and then let me stay in here a little longer?" she asked, hopeful.

I shook my head. "Nope."

I grabbed her by the arm and pulled her toward me. My Soul merged with my body, which was becoming increasingly easy for me. As soon as my soul replaced Yui's, her little green pill for popped out of my mouth, and I caught it with easy. Well, I more liked coughed it up, because that sensation was still very…strange to me.

Hiroshi made a face. "Gross."

I glared at him. "Well, it's not pleasant for me either."

I placed the pill in the alligator's mouth and watched as Yui came to life in my hand.

"Let's go inside," I said, glancing at Hiroshi. "I'm sure my Dad wants to know how heroic you are for saving the day yet again."

I saw a hint of a smile on his lips, and that made me smile in return. He didn't owe me anything because he didn't deserve to get the blame for the arrow in my back. He may have saved me by bringing me to the Clinic, but saving him from a verbal talking to from my parents—and probably his, too—was worth it. And some part of me knew that I would risk it again.

For him.

"Are you two going to keep making kiss face at each other, or are we going to go inside?"

Yui was going to get thrown against the wall once of these days, just like Kon. I guess all Mod Souls can be real jerks sometimes.

. . .

Alrighty!

So, this 'romance' with Hiroshi and Nanami is pretty done going back and forth, and they're starting to just accept it. I hope that's okay with you guys, because I couldn't keep from writing the REAL romance scenes any longer! XD There will for sure be another cute moment like that last one in the next chapter.

As always, I appreciate all of the support you few readers and reviews have for this story, and I'm hoping that you still around to see it through till the end. 3

Thanks For Reading And Reviewing!

—Romni