Friends in All Places
"So, how is it you lost your powers?" Aqua asked Rukia as the two were off having lunch on their own. Aqua wanted to get to know the Soul Reaper better, so she declined the usual hang out that she has with Tatsuki, Orihime and the others. Though she had to practically force the Soul Reaper to come with her, the small girl eventually accepted after seeing that it didn't seem as if any Hollows would be attacking soon, however, her job still takes precedence, and she would leave to find Ichigo the moment she is notified. Currently, the two were alone sitting in the shade trying to avoid the late spring heat. "I mean, was it massive incompetence, or was Ichigo really that strong." she asked as she took a sip of her tomato juice, a hint of sass in her voice. Aqua still wasn't over what happened just a few days prior, though she's relieved that she doesn't have to worry about Ichigo being extorted. She still worries about his well-being. He isn't a hero, he's just a high schooler, suddenly having this intense responsibility thrust upon him, even if he volunteered, is still asking a lot of a fifteen-year-old.
Rukia's eye twitched at the obvious attempted dig at her, "Dammit, I told you, I was only trying to give him half my power and he sucked away nearly all of it!" she growled, "I don't know how it happened. I sensed he had high spiritual pressure, but the power he had just turning into a Shinigami..." she rubbed her chin in thought and hummed, "I've been thinking about it for a while, and I can't come to a conclusion that makes sense. I mean, humans shouldn't have that much spiritual pressure to begin with. Even regular mediums can only see the likes of normal ghosts wanting to pass on and not us Shinigami or even Hollows for that matter."
"So...how does that work for me?" Aqua asked, "You seemed to say that I had high spiritual pressure, why can't I see the things you guys see? Why is it only a blurry outline on my end?"
Rukia seemed to gain a serious look as she pounded her fist into her palm, "Ah, of course, how silly of me, I was so dumbstruck by your monster abilities I didn't even take into account if you even knew anything about this sort of thing." Aqua frowned a bit, feeling as if Rukia was talking down to her, but she was going to let the comment slide...for now. "You see, monsters and Shinigami are quite different, unless your monster type is a demon, which is more spiritual, you likely aren't going to see ghosts or anything like that. The fact you can see outlines and even hear them is more than impressive though, that means you have some sort of opposite spiritual pressure inside you."
"Opposite spiritual pressure?" Aqua asked, looking more confused than before.
"Yes!" Rukia smiled, "Think of spiritual pressure like a river. It flows through your body and connects all your senses together." Rukia pulled out a notepad and pen and began drawing in it, "Those senses then adapt with our spiritual surroundings and allow us to see these other spirits. Now, as a Shinigami, I'm already a spirit, so this happens to myself and the rest of the soul society naturally, as well as other specialized beings like say...a Quincy for example." Aqua cocked an eyebrow and Rukia brushed it off, "Nevermind that now. SEE, it's like this." Rukia flipped her notepad around and showed Aqua of what looked like a bunny...or hamster with some sort of blue lines flowing through its body. "But as a monster, your spiritual pressure flows differently, almost like the inverse. While still incredibly high, it's almost as if it was made purely to benefit only you against physical threats, but with your ability to sense spiritual pressure naturally as well, you can semi-defend yourself." Rukia turned the notepad around again, this time showing another bunny/hamster with red lines flowing through it, this time there was also an indicator of an arrow pointing down placed next to the first bunny and an arrow pointing up placed next to the second bunny.
Aqua looked at the second bunny and frowned, noticing the addition of red eyes and pointed teeth, making it look almost evil. "Don't lump me in with them." Aqua said with a low growl, "I'm nothing like other monsters. I'm me."
Rukia looked at the dhampyr in complete silence, analyzing her facial features, her body language, her gripping the bench she was sitting on and placing indents into it. A monster disappointed by their heritage. But is it because she was shunned by the monster community for being a half-blood? Or is it that she is disappointed in herself that she could never attain the same power? Rukia eventually nodded, "Okay then, I understand. But like your aunt said, you may not like it, but it is still the heritage you have." Aqua didn't seem to really like the answer and growled in response, "Look at it this way, without those abilities of yours, you likely wouldn't have been able to defend yourself against that Hollow that attacked you, right? Even if you dislike your heritage, at least there are some positives to it."
Aqua took a deep breath and sighed, "God, you sound like my aunt." she complained, "'Look at the positives' or 'You should be proud' even 'Aren't you so lucky to be so strong!' I hate it all!" she quickly stood up and cracked her knuckles, "If I were in your shoes, and my powers were just zapped away by someone else, I'd be throwing a fucking party." she grabbed her trash and began to walk towards a trashcan to throw it away, "Thanks for the talk, thanks for helping me understand the situation more. Just make sure he doesn't hurt himself, okay?"
Rukia watched as the dhampyr left her. Strange. she thought, Perhaps, it isn't that she was shunned. Perhaps she just genuinely doesn't like monsters and is repulsed by the idea of even being one. Rukia nodded as she watched Aqua walk away, "I understand."
"Hey, Aqua!" Orihime yelled out a little louder than intended as the hidden dhampyr walked into the classroom. The bubbly girl ran up to Aqua and gave her a big hug, surprising the dhampyr teen, "Hey, hey, me and Tatsuki were going to hang out at my place later after school. We think it'd be really cool if you came along too since you two live relatively close to each other."
"D-Do we?" Aqua replied while trying to gasp for air. She isn't strong but these...these...CANNONS they are absolutely crushing my lungs. I didn't think it was possible for something so soft to be so powerful!
"Mm-hm, mm-hm." Orihime giggled, "I guess Ichigo and Tatsuki used to know each other pretty well when they were kids. I think she said she only lived a few houses away." Orihime said as she tapped her chin, "But well, I guess you wouldn't notice because she gets up extra early so that she can come walk me to school." she giggled. Jeez, she sure has an infectious attitude. Aqua thought as she, herself, began to smile, despite how frustrated she was earlier. "It'd be totally fun, we could stay up late—OH—but not too late, and we could eat a ton of food—OH—but not too much, don't want to hurt our bellies at school tomorrow." she laughed.
"Sounds like a bash, but only if we watch scary movies too. I totally want to show you guys near century old zombie flicks." Aqua replied.
"Zombie flick?" Tatsuki said, now getting into the conversation after walking from the other side of the class, "Maybe Orihime would be fine with the scary occult-stuff like that. I was thinking more along the lines of near century old action flicks, like 'Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,' or 'Enter the Dragon.'" Tatsuki emphasized her point by throwing a slow-motion punch toward Aqua, who countered by throwing up a slow-motion block similar to Dante's Royal Guard technique from Devil May Cry, complete with making the sounds.
"Okay, how about we meet in the middle then. Half-century-year-old kung fu, action flick, that has occult elements AND a banger of a soundtrack. I, of course, am talking about," Aqua took a deep breath and held her arms at a ready position by her hips, "MORTAL KOMBAT!" she yelled out, "You have all sorts of cool characters, Liu Kang, Kung Lao, Raiden, Scorpion, Sub Zero, Sonya, Kitana, all badasses!"
Orihime clapped, "This will be great! We'll have such a fun time together!" her face suddenly went serious in a...funny, but also cute way because it seemed so out of character for her seemingly carefree attitude, "But we absolutely have to remember to wake up in the morning. Being absent from school without a good reason is no good." Orihime's face suddenly went black for a few seconds before she snapped back to attention, "OH! But I need to get food from the grocery store first. I need to stock up for weekly sustenance."
"Pfft." Aqua let out snort before covering her face, "'Sustenance?' How positively bourgeoise of you." she laughed, giving herself an almost high-class sounding accent, "I think you're a little too elegant for my blood." she joked.
"So it's settled then," Tatsuki nodded, "We'll go ahead and meet up at Orihime's after club activites...Well, after I'm done with club activities. Aqua, you said you live by Ichigo, right? You're mom's that cop or something?"
"She's my aunt, and technically she's a detective." Aqua clarified.
"Right, right." Tatsuki waved her hand back and forth, "I know exactly what house that is, so I'll come pick you up afterward and we can walk to Orihime's together. Orihime..." Tatsuki looked down at the girl's arm and leg and sighed. Aqua hadn't noticed it, but Orihime had a bandage around her left arm that Tatsuki had applied for her earlier that morning, her leg, while not bleeding, was still bruised. The story was that Orihime apparently got hit by a car the night before. "Just be extra careful on your way home, okay?"
"Aye, aye, Tatsuki-sama." Orihime giggled as she gave a salute.
Tatsuki shook her head and smirked, "Hey, you aren't as much trouble as this one are ya'?"
Aqua shook her head, "No...I think I'm worse." she giggled.
"Kokoa!" Aqua yelled out from her room. No response was given so the teen left her room with a bag and backpack in hand and set them down in the front room, "Yo, Kokoa, you home?" Again, no response was given. "Of course, why would I expect any different, I may as well be living on my own at this point." she sighed. Let's see. Dishes: cleaned; Laundry: done and folded; Toilet: scrubbed; Floors: swept and mopped; Carpet: vacuumed; Furniture: dusted. Okay...I think I'm in the clear. Aqua let out a sigh of relief, her punishment for attacking a Soul Reaper with faulty information? Clean the entire house for two weeks straight, and a day was added for each day Kokoa came back and the house wasn't cleaned. It sucked, but understandable. Aqua lost her cool, she realized that. On the plus side she got to know Rukia a little better...well...kind of. She still hasn't asked her basic things like Soul Reaper life or anything like that, but she kind of has an idea about that. "Okay, in case you are here, I'm going to a friend's house...and in case you aren't I'll leave a note!"
There was a knock at the door as Aqua was half-way through writing a note for her aunt, just in case she came home late and was wondering where Aqua went. "I'm coming!" quickly finishing her note, Aqua rushed over to the front door and opened it to show Tatsuki in some casual clothing as well as holding a pot of food. Tatsuki was wearing a navy blue crop top shirt that showed off her stomach from her belly button down to where her pants rested on her hips, showing off the tone of her stomach and the forming of abs. Her shirt also had a small Captain Marvel insignia on her chest which Aqua so badly wanted to boast about actually meeting before when she was younger, but knew it was probably best if she didn't. Over her shirt was a light gray, collared summer coat that she kept unzipped, her pants were a dark denim and had bleach spots speckled all over, the pant leg was lightly rolled up to show off her Retro design of a Nike Air Force One based on the '07 LV8s. Holy shit, is she into shoes? I need to ask because I would totally borrow (steal) her shoes if she has good taste. "Yo, Tatsuki!" Aqua smiled, "Dig the fit, you a Captain Marvel fan or did you like the design?"
"What little girl who wanted to fight all the boys didn't love Captain Marvel?" Tatsuki smiled, "Heroes are rad, wish there were more of them around." Tatsuki looked Aqua up and down and smirked, "Kinda weird seeing you in casual clothing, even though we only live a few houses away from each other." Aqua was wearing a slightly torn Queen tee-shirt that had some holes in the stomach area and some bleach stains (it was her father's),a gray Champion zip up hoodie that was unzipped, a pair of tapered dark denim jeans that had multiple holes in the knees and thigh areas, and a pair of Vans Asher slip on shoes, the ones with the sunflower pattern. "Like, I never took you for a retro type of gal."
Aqua rolled her eyes and chuckled, "Oh please, I'm not retro by choice. My dad practically engrained a bunch of stupid pop culture from when he was a teen. My fashion sense is literally just '90s' aesthetic and anime because of him. First album I listened to? The Cowboy Bebop soundtrack! You think I'm joking but my dad owned that on vinyl, VINYL! As in the records!"
Tatsuki snorted, "Sounds like a pretty cool dad, he the one that teach you martial arts too?"
"Nah, that was like...90% my mom. My dad was like...a wise ass. Mom said he got into a lot of fights that she ended up finishing."
"Kickass mom!" Tatsuki laughed, "So where are your parents anyway? If you don't mind me asking." Tatsuki asked as the two girls made their way towards Orihime's house.
Aqua paused for a quick second, she knew this question would come up eventually, but she really wasn't prepared to start telling people her sob story. Or rather...she didn't want to be a burden to others. "It's...complicated. My mom is still in the states, she said she has to finish some stuff for her work before she can come over. She also still has to finish moving our stuff over here. Thing is, she said she may not be here until August!"
Tatsuki cringed slightly, "Owch. That bites. What about your dad?"
Aqua gulped, "Um...I don't want to talk about it. I'm just...I'm not ready."
Tatsuki had seen this before, it was only a couple of years ago she saw the same look on Ichigo's face. "I get it. I won't pry, I won't ask. When you're ready, you'll tell me. I'm sure." Aqua nodded her thanks and the two continued the last few blocks in silence. Yeesh. Bad luck for me. Feels like I always say these awkward things. Tatsuki thought with a sigh.
Eventually, the two arrive at Orihime's apartment complex. "C'mon, I'll let us in, Orihime gave me a spare key." Aqua, wanting to help, went ahead and grabbed the pot of food that Tatsuki was bringing with her so the tomboy teen could fish in her pockets for the room key.
Ichigo had just gotten home from a long day of school and after-school training. The last few days when Hollows weren't attacking, Rukia had been subjecting him to some sort of 'swordsmanship' training. Except he was using a baseball bat and hitting plastic balls with crudely drawn faces on them. He was 90% sure that the feeling of a baseball bat is about fifty-times lighter than the zanpakuto he's been swinging around. Man, what a pain. he thought, thinking back to their most recent training just a few hours ago. The two were down by one of the children's parks where Rukia had set up some sort of pitching machine that was launching the balls at him. It was around that time that the two encountered Orihime and learned that she had been hit by a car the day before. That girl. Sometimes I think she's accident prone. he sighed, But...at least she's okay. I think Aqua said her and Tatsuki were going over to see her today, so at least she has capable help with her. I don't think those two could prevent her from getting hurt, but they can at least ward off anyone or anything that might try to hurt her.
"Big brother!" Ichigo looked up as he reached the foot of the stairs to go up to his room. He heard the voice of Yuzu calling for him. "Hey, have you seen my dress?" as Ichigo reached the top of the stairs, he saw Yuzu calling for him and opening the door to his room.
"Hey, don't just open the door without knocking." Ichigo said sternly, scaring his sister who didn't think he would be behind her.
Yuzu looked into Ichigo's room and then back at Ichigo, her eyebrow cocked, "Oh, you were downstairs? I could have sworn..." she tapped her chin a few times and shrugged, "Well, nevermind." Ichigo shook his head and smiled as he pat his little sister on the head. "Hey, wait, did you take a bath?" she asked, just noticing her brother's wet hair, "Aww, you should have said something, we could have taken one together—OW." she recoiled in shock as Ichigo flicked her forehead.
"Don't be dumb." Ichigo scolded, "You're in fifth grade now, you need to start growing up and taking baths on your own."
Yuzu puffed her cheeks in a pout, "You've become mean since you got into high school."
Ichigo rolled his eyes, "I have not." he said as he walked past her and stepped into his room, "And I don't know anything about your dress. Maybe it's in the laundry or something."
"IT'S NOT!" Yuzu yelled out, hurting Ichigo's ears from the sudden change in tone, "I already checked there, and I'm missing a pair of pajamas too!"
"Well, I don't know about that either, and don't yell. I'm right in front of you." Ichigo scolded, "I don't know the answers to everything. But I'll keep a look out, alright?" Yuzu seemed satisfied with the answer and nodded her head, "Good, now go take a bath and get to bed soon, okay?"
Ichigo sighed and closed the door before he went and sat on his bed to start clipping his toenails. "Those girls sometimes, I swear. Karin is usually fine, but Yuzu seems as airheaded as Orihime at times." While clipping his toes, Ichigo started to hear what sounded like some sort of beeping. Like it was some sort of video game or phone going off. "Those girls playing games this late?" Ichigo said to himself.
Suddenly, Ichigo's closet door burst open, revealing Rukia wearing orange plaid pajamas, the same ones that looked like his sister's. "ICHIGO!" Rukia yelled out.
"WHAT THE HELL?" Ichigo nearly fell out of his bed in surprise both at Rukia appearing in his room as well as yelling his name, "H-H-How long have you been here!? And, hey, those are Yuzu's pajamas!"
"No time for questions, Ichigo, a Hollow is about to appear." Rukia jumped out of his closet and immediately started putting the 'Soul Glove' as Ichigo called it, on her hand. "Time and place: RIGHT NOW!" She Tiger Striked Ichigo in the face, causing his spirit to leave his body and enter his Shinigami form. Right as she put Ichigo into his Shinigami form, a large, clawed hand came up from under the floor and shot through his bed, attacking right where he was sitting. The claw then retracted before another came through the wall that was at the head of Ichigo's bed, gripping the foot of the bed so the Hollow could pull itself forward and into the room.
The Hollow was large, and humanesque. Only the torso was visible, but even then, Ichigo could see the human features in it. The arms, the body, even the head shape. There was even hair on the back of the Hollow's head! It was like this creature was just a disturbed human spirit, but of the few that Ichigo had encountered, they all looked like pure monsters not humans. The only thing that made this thing look like a monster was the mask and its massive size. "The head Ichigo!" Rukia yelled out.
"I know, I know!" Ichigo quickly gripped the hilt of his zanpakuto and sliced downward across the Hollow's mask. However, his reach wasn't as long as he thought as he only cut through the mask itself and not the head that lay beneath it. The creature cried out in pain and Ichigo could see...an eerily familiar set of eyes and half a face looking back at him. A face he hadn't seen in a few years. What...what the hell? In his stupor, Ichigo didn't try to finish the Hollow off, and instead the creature retreated.
"Damn!" Rukia cursed, "It got away, c'mon we're going after it!" she grabbed Ichigo's sleeve and tried to pull him along, but the teen stood still, the shock of the face still going through him. "Ichigo! Come on, we have to leave now, before it hurts someone else."
"Now wait just a damn minute." Ichigo muttered in almost a growl, "Just what the hell is going on here? That Hollow...why the hell did it look like Orihime's brother?"
Rukia stared at Ichigo for some time, as if she was contemplating even answering his question or not. What reason does she have to give him an answer? But...she knew already how Ichigo worked. He was stubborn to a fault and likely wouldn't try to help unless he was given a straight answer. Seeing no way around it, Rukia nodded and sighed. "I told you that sneaking up from behind and striking down the hollow was one of the basics of fighting a Hollow, correct?" Ichigo nodded, "That's to give you the most protection from being damaged...however, there is another reason. One that is just as important. It is to kill them in one hit and avoid seeing its identity." Ichigo gasped slightly at this reveal, "This is because ALL Hollows are the fallen souls of former humans."
"Wha...What the hell do you mean they're the souls of former humans!" Ichigo yelled out, grasping Rukia's collar in the process, "I thought you said these things were monsters, things that had to be eradicated."
"And they still are, Ichigo." Rukia countered, "Whatever humanity is left in those things is all but gone now. That's why they are the way they are."
"But-"
"Now's not the time for discussion." Rukia interrupted as she gained a serious expression on her face, "If we do not hurry. That girl...she will die."
Ichigo's eyes widened in realization. If there was anything that a Hollow may remember, Ichigo assumed family would be the first thing they go to. "Orihime." he mumbled.
"Hahahaha!" Aqua laughed as she, Orihime and Tatsuki sat around the table in Orihime's front room. Orihime had just gotten to her apartment not too long ago, she was wearing a super pretty purple button up and a pair of tight track pants. The bubbly teen had just finished telling them how she saw Ichigo earlier that day and had a chance to have him walk her home, but she was so flustered she totally flubbed her responses and said 'no thank you'. "What a golden chance and you totally blew it! Man oh man, if I had a nickel for each time someone close to me totally botched talking to their crush...I'd have at least two nickels, which isn't a lot but it's crazy it happened twice. In just the last year too!"
"Who was the other?" Tatsuki asked with a grin.
"My lame-ass (still love him though) cousin, Benji." Aqua laughed, "Dude tried to ask out his crush, but accidently said: 'You were always so cool, like another sister to me.'" Aqua fell back and started taking long, deep, breaths because she was laughing so hard, "The dude friend-zoned himself like a moron! Guy had a misinput in real life and chose the wrong dialog option."
"Oh nooooo." Orihime replied, feeling sorry for Aqua's cousin despite never meeting him, "That just means he needs to try harder doesn't it?"
"I don't know, Orihime, that's usually an end-all line." Tatsuki laughed, "Please tell me she was like, super pretty or something."
"SUPER pretty." Aqua laughed, "And fucking loaded too! Her mom is like a multi-millionaire or something." Tatsuki couldn't help but let out a loud belly laugh herself, the second-hand schadenfruede was too much to bear. "But anyway, at least you didn't mess up too bad, Orihime. Just a slight misjudgment of wording, you'll get it next time."
"Yeah, just remember to absolutely GO for it!" Tatsuki encouraged, "When he says something like, 'Can I walk you home?'" she said, trying her best to sound like Ichigo, "You obviously have to accept! Then, you use the pain in your leg to lean on him." Tatsuki has surprisingly lovey dovey type fantasies. I thought maybe she didn't like Ichigo, but it seems like she wants to see her friend happy more than Ichigo suffer. Aqua thought with a nod. "Then when he's walked you to a place where nobody is around, that's when you pull him into a dark alley and...LIFT HIM BY HIS LEGS AND BODY SLAM HIM INTO THE GROUND!" Tatsuki yelled out, a maniacal look in her eyes. Oh, never mind, it was a set up for a bit. Aqua chuckled. Orihime, surprised by the sudden change in Tatsuki's tone ended up spitting out her drink in surprise.
"Tatsuki!" Orihime yelled in surprise, and slight embarrassment because she was NOT thinking the same thing.
Tatsuki stopped laughing and cupped her chin in thought, "Still though...for Ichigo to get all chummy with a transfer student. It just isn't like him." she blinked a few times and looked at Aqua, "Then again...maybe new mysterious faces are just his type. I mean, Ichigo seemed to get along just fine as soon as Aqua arrived. Maybe there's something our new friend isn't telling us." Tatsuki wiggled her eyebrows and grinned at the half-blood teen.
"You don't mean...Aqua, are you in some sort of relationship with Ichigo?" Orihime asked with a gasp.
"HA!" Aqua let out a loud laugh just thinking about the idea with her being in a relationship with Ichigo was...questionable at best, and downright comedic. "Hahahahahaha! Yeah, uh...no. No thank you. No way, no how. Uh-uh, not my bag." Aqua gained a shiver down her spine the more she thought about it, "No. Let's just say...Ichigo ain't exactly my type." she chuckled.
"Oooh." Tatsuki hummed, "What is your type then? Maybe someone kinder, like Mizuiro? Or maybe someone more mysterious like Sato?"
"Pffft." Aqua held her hand to her face to hide her snorting, "I'm into the feminine type." she laughed.
"Oh, you mean like that Satoda guy from a few classes down. I hear his sister tries out her hair styles and nail polish on him." Orihime mentioned.
"No, like, women." Aqua said with a chortle, "I'm gay."
Both girls blinked a few times at the revelation, somewhat shocked by the news, "You are?" the two asked in unison. "But you don't...like...you know...you don't...you know?" Tatsuki said, trying to make words form, but ultimately not getting much out other than gibberish.
"I'm not like Chizuru?" Aqua asked with a smirk leading the other two to nod.
"It's like...we've known you for a bit, you just never mentioned it." Orihime stated.
"You never asked." Aqua replied with a shrug, "I don't think it really matters that much. Not like I have a bunch of guys coming up to me. So there really isn't a real reason for me to shout 'I'm gay, I'm gay' at the top of my lungs." she laughed, leading the other girls to follow suit. The good vibes seemed to come to an abrupt stop as a loud sound was heard, causing the girls to jump in surprise.
Behind them a stuffed bear that Orihime had sitting on the shelf fell over. "Oh, it was just the stuffed bear." Tatsuki mumbled, her hand over her heart. Hm? Aqua sniffed the air and smelled something...familiar, Can't be Orihime, hers is dried right now. And I didn't smell it on Tatsuki earlier...no, this is fresh.
"Oh no!" Orihime cried out as she rushed to the bear, "Enraku fell down! Don't worry Enraku, I'm coming!"
"Enraku?" Aqua asked.
"Don't look at me, I didn't even know it had a name." Tatsuki replied with a shrug. The two girls walked over to Orihime and looked over her shoulder to see the bear was ripped across its left eye. "Awe, bummer, Orihime. Guess the seams gave out."
Aqua cocked an eyebrow at Tatsuki's response. There is obviously more to this than the seams giving out. Orihime seems surprised by it, so it has to be kind of surprising. You'd know if the seams are gonna rip. You'd see it happening. That's how I know to change pants every few years. This seems...sudden. Aqua looked over Orihime's shoulder and saw a small amount of blood on her hand, it seemed to come out of the bear! Suddenly, the air felt cold and Aqua could sense a foreign, yet almost familiar, aura. SHIT, THIS IS-
Before Aqua could even finish her thought, she saw the outline of a large claw shoot from the bear and through Orihime's chest before it grabbed onto her and tossed her across the room. "HUH?!" Tatsuki yelled out in sursprise, not being able to see what was happening. All she saw was Orihime suddnely collapse and Aqua get tossed across the room and crash into the table by nothing. "Orihime, Aqua! What the hell is—AH!" before Tatsuki could finish her sentence before she felt something clamp down around her throat.
"What the hell do you mean, 'Hollows attack their families'?!" Ichigo yelled out as he carried Rukia on his back, the two jumping from rooftop to rooftop, "I thought you said Hollows eat souls when they are hungry, that they are indiscriminant."
"Yes. Only after they have eaten their families, or those that they were close to." Rukia explained, "The last remaining part of their humanity is almost always the memories of those who are close to them." Ichigo grit his teeth upon hearing this, if Orihime's brother was attacking now...that means he only recently turned into a Hollow doesn't it? Damn! If I had known sooner, then this never would have happened. "One more thing, Ichigo." Rukia's voice interrupted Ichigo's thoughts, "Hollows don't eat souls because they are hungry. They eat souls to help ease their suffering. Hollows are 'fallen souls'. Souls that weren't brought to the soul society, souls that escaped their afterlife, souls that crawled out of the pits of hell, souls that remained in the human world but couldn't be protected from Hollows. All of these are reasons that a Hollow may be created. The soul degenerates, it loses its heart and eventually becomes hollow, hence the name. That's why it seeks out family. It wishes to fill the hole in its heart by feeding on those it loved most."
"Dammit. All the more reason to hurry to her." Ichigo cursed as he continued moving as fast as he could, "If what you say is true, then you're right. Orihime is for sure the next target. She's all he had and visa versa."
Orihime opened her eyes slowly. "What...what happened?" she asked. She looked around, her vision still slightly blurry, she saw Aqua lying on the ground in pain atop the destroyed table, bloody puncture wounds on her torso, "A-Aqua." Orihime gasped. She got up and started to crawl over to the girl but felt a weird tug at her chest. Looking down, she saw some sort of chain connected to her chest, roughly in the area where her heart would be, following the chain her eyes landed on a laying form...of her! "Th-That's me!?" Orihime gasped out. Her heartbeat began to race and she crawled over to the wall to try and calm down. Not to far from her she finally noticed Tatsuki collapsed on the ground, blood coming from her shoulder and a large creature hovering over her with a humanesque torso and snake like lower half. "What is this? What is this ghost thing? What is this chain? What's going on?"
"AH!" Tatsuki yelled out as the creature gripped her neck.
"Tatsuki!" Orihime slowly started to get to her feet, her heartbeat still rapid, but her determination growing. "I don't know what's goind on. But I won't let you hurt my friend!" gathering whatever strength she had, she ran as fast as she could and shoulder rammed the creature's arm, causing it to let go. "Tatsuki! Tatsuki! Are you alright? Are you awake?" she asked as she held Tatsuki's head into her arms.
"She can neither hear or see us...Or-i-hi-me." the creature said as it towered over the bubbly teen and her downed friend.
"H-How do you know my name?" Orihime asked, her voice trembling.
"Oh...you make me saaaaad, Orihime." the creature complained as it raised its clawed hand, "So saaaad that you have forgotten my face!" The creature began to swing its clawed hand at Orihime only for it to be blocked by a large sword held by what looked to be Ichigo. "You interfere?" it asked.
"Sorry, that's kinda my job." the swordsman replied. It even sounds like Ichigo! Orihime thought. "If you want to kill Inoue, you'll have to go through me first!" Ohmigosh! Orihime's heart started to flutter, she couldn't tell for sure if it really was Ichigo or not, but just the thought of it was making her head spin.
"Hey FUCKFACE!" a new voice yelled out, sounding just like Aqua, "Thanks for standing still for me so I can GOUGE YOUR FUCKING EYES OUT YOU HOLLOW FUCK!" It is Aqua! Orhime thought as the new figure dashed into view and started to agressively stab at the creature with the wooden legs from the broken table. And she's...so vulger! Orihime thought with a blush.
The creature yelled in pain as Aqua actually managed to hit it in the eye and backed away. Aqua took a few steps back herself and nearly tripped over Ichigo. "What the hell?" she started looking around as if she couldn't see Ichigo who was right in front of her. Wait...but that creature said Tatsuki couldn't see or hear me and it...does that mean Aqua can't see us either? Orhime thought. Aqua started to sniff the air before holding her hand out and touching Ichigo on the face. "Oh...so you're here, huh?" she sighed, "I didn't exactly want you to find out about me so quickly but...circumstances call for it, right? Look, I can't exactly see you and I can barely see that thing, so just try not to get in my way, got it? And don't worry about me, I ain't no damsel in distress. I'm a lot tougher than I look." she finished by giving a large smile, "Um...tap my shoulder a few times if you got that." Ichigo did just that and Aqua nodded, "Great, let's take this thing out and protect Tatsuki and Orihime."
"Damn right!" Ichigo replied, despite Aqua not being able to hear him. He got into a ready stance and prepared his sword to strike.
Despite how determined he was, Ichigo's mind had a thousand questions that kept going through his head. How the hell did Aqua do that? More than that, it seems she knows about Hollows. Is that why her and Rukia weren't originally getting along? Could it be that they are part of some weird rival—HOLD ON! Ichigo shook his head, There's more important matters right now. First, gotta check to see what the damage is, I thought I heard more than one voice when I came here. Ichigo looked around and saw Tatsuki on the ground, bloodied from her shoulder. So Tatsuki was just hanging out and became a victim? And Aqua almost was too, damn! Ichigo continued to survey the room until he spotted Orihime on the floor, What? he asked as he quickly turned his head, But Orihime is right behind me.
As soon as he turned and saw Orihime sitting upright compared to the lifeless one not to far from her, she gave a big smile. "Oh, it is you! It really is Ichigo!"
Ichigo's eyes widened and he thought back to a few days ago when he was coming back from a Hollow hunt, Ichigo was trying his best to hide from people who may see him, but Rukia assured him the only people who could see him were other incredibly high spiritual-pressure users like himself (which is nearly non-existent) other Shinigami and spirits. "You...Orihime...how can you see me?"
"Isn't it obvious?" her Hollow brother asked, "It's because that's her soul! Unfortunately for you, she's already dead!"
Ichigo looked back in time to see the tail of the Hollow whip at him, he held up his zanpakuto to defend himself, but the force was too great and launched him through the wall and outside the apartment building. While the Hollow was distracted with Ichigo, he wasn't prepared to face a counter punch across the jaw courtesy of Aqua that too, sent him flying through the wall, making the hole bigger, and following after Ichigo.
"What the hell?!" Rukia asked as she stood outside the apartment building and had to jump away to avoid getting crushed by the Hollow. Meanwhile, Ichigo had caught himself in mid-air and screeched to a halt, almost as if he were flying (because that's a Shinigami ability apparently). "Aqua?" Aqua looked down and saw Rukia and gave a slight wave before holding her side in pain, the whole bottom half of her shirt red from her blood.
"That one is an annoying brat." the Hollow mumbled before looking up at Ichigo and chuckling, "You are quite slow for someone who acts so tough." the Hollow's mouth began to open up and it shot something from its mouth that hit Ichigo's hand. The weird saliva was acidic and burned Ichigo's hand, causing him to drop his zanpakuto in surprise and yell out in pain. "Is it so much of a shock that Orihime's soul has been removed from her body? Huh?! Ichigo Kurosaki!" the Hollow let out a roar and swiped his tail at Ichigo.
"Ichigo watch out!" Rukia yelled out, but it was too late as the tail already hit the teen and sent him flying into the asphalt below.
"Take this you rat bastard!" Aqua yelled out as she jumped down for an aerial attack. Unfortunately, the Hollow was ready for her this time and grabbed her with a clawed hand before tossing her across the street, into a fence post which stabbed through her leg. "AAAAGH!" Aqua yelled out in pain, she tried to muffle her voice by biting down on her shirt, but the sound of her pained scream was still loud enough to be heard down the block.
Orihime looked down on the street in horror, "Ichigo! Aqu—AAH!" she screamed out as the Hollow came back up into the room and picked her up. "Let me go! Let me go! My friends are in trouble, they're hurt!" she yelled as she tried to thrash her body and break free, even going so far as to chomp down on the Hollow's scaly hand to try and make it drop her.
The Hollow looked down, almost a disappointed expression on that blank, white, evil mask. "Have you truly forgotten about me?" it asked, "Have you already forgotten about...your own brother?" he lifted up his free hand and used it to push the hair away from his eyes, showing off the chunk of mask that Ichigo cut off, revealing some of a face that Orihime recognized so well.
Down below, Rukia had to quickly stop trying to wake up Ichigo so she could help Aqua with her injury. "What the hell happened?" Ichigo asked when his vision came back to him. He looked up to Rukia and saw her trying her best to keep Aqua from bleeding out. "Hey, what's going on is she alright?"
"She's bleeding bad, but I think she'll be fine. It doesn't look like a major artery was struck." Rukia assured.
"Oh no, I'll be fiiiiine." Aqua groaned, trying to hide her pained breaths, "Is Ichigo there?" Rukia gave a nod, "Hey, buddy...don't worry about me, I've bounced back from worse." she lied, "This here? This will be just a gash in the morning, don't worry about it." she gave a thumbs-up before putting her hands back onto her thigh to keep the blood from spurting out. "Just stop that monster, okay? Before it hurts those two more than it already has."
"What happened up there, getting slapped around like that?" Rukia asked, turning to Ichigo with an almost frustrated look.
"Nothing, shut up." Ichigo replied as he got to his feet and lifted his zanpakuto over his shoulder, "It's the same as always just...This is different from before. It affected me, it being her brother and all."
Rukia nodded, her face becoming serious once again, "Good to hear you have your resolve, you'll need it. Remember," Ichigo stopped and looked back to Rukia, "If you lose, Orihime will die." Ichigo nodded and jumped back into the building. "Aqua, are you sure you will be okay?"
Aqua let out a loud groan and did her best to sit up the pain in her leg still stinging, "I'll be fine...though I may be limping for awhile. Will probably have to say I pulled a muscle or something." she took a deep breath and tried to calm herself down. What the hell are you doing? Aqua looked around after hearing some sort of voice that seemed to be calling out to her, That thing tried to kill you, tried to kill your friends. Your leg has a massive hole in it. You need to do what must be done. REMOVE THAT CROSS! LET OUT YOUR TRUE SELF AND TEACH THAT CREATURE ITS PLACE! Aqua didn't know what it was, but this voice seemed so convincing. Her eyes began to twitch and her hand gripped her Portate Cross tightly as if she was trying to crush it in her hands.
"Aqua." Aqua gasped and she seemed to snap back to reality at the sound of Rukia calling her name. "Are you SURE you're okay?" Rukia asked.
"Yeah, super-duper." Aqua gulped and let go of her cross before slowly getting to her feet, seething in the process, "I'm gonna go help Ichigo now." she said as she picked up the piece of fence post that stabbed into her leg and ripped it out of the ground.
Rukia sat and nodded. Her eyes. she thought, One of them started to turn red.
Back up in Orihime's room, Orihime stared up at the Hollow that claimed to be her brother. She couldn't believe it, he looked so monstrous...but his face, even his voice started to sound the same. "Is it...is it really you? Big Brother?" Orihime asked, her body becoming much more relaxed. Her Hollow brother loosened his grip around the teen and gently placed her soul back down.
"Yes, Orihime." it said softly, "So it seems you haven't forgotten."
"But...But why?" Orihime asked, tears beginning to form in her eyes, "You hurt Ichigo, and Tatsuki, and Aqua."
"Why?" her brother asked, "Isn't it obvious? It's because they were trying to tear you and I apart!" he accused, causing Orihime to gasp but also give a confused expression, "Remember, after I died, you would pray for me every single day. I was watching you, Orihime, it made me so happy. Knowing that you were still remembering me gave me hope! I may have died, but at the time I felt everything would be alright just from your prayers. But..." he growled, "A year or so after that, you became friends with that girl. Since then, I watched as the days you prayed for me diminished. Then you entered high school, made friends with that half-blood and Ichigo Kurosaki...THEN YOU STOPPED PRAYING FOR ME ALTOGETHER!" Orihime wanted to tell him, tell him that he could understand his pain, but she just couldn't let her voice out as she kept intently listening to her monster of a brother, "Before you'd leave, and after you'd come all you'd talk about is that Kurosaki! It was painful, seeing myself disappear more and more each day from your heart!"
"No." Orihime shook her head, "That isn't true! Big Brother, I just—"
"I was so sad! I was all alone! So many times I just wanted to kill!" The Hollow's eyes widened as he felt danger was nearing him, and he swiped his tail behind him just as Ichigo was coming to slice him in two. The force of the blow knocked Ichigo back against the wall and he let out a loud grunt as he felt the wind get knocked out of him.
Orihime let out a gasp and began to run towards Ichigo, "Ichigo!" she shouted out just before yelping in surprise when her Hollow brother wrapped one of his clawed hands around her body again. "No! Ichigo, I have to make sure Ichigo is okay!"
"Come, Orhime." her brother said softly, "Let us leave this place. Leave this place and live together, just like we used to."
"Why?" Orihime said between light huffs, "If you were so sad, you should have said so. So why did you hurt Tatsuki, Ichigo...even Aqua. Just why big brother?!" Orihime looked up to face the Hollow, tears streaming down her cheeks, "Why did you hurt them? The brother I knew would never do something like that!"
Her Hollow brother looked shocked, almost stunned by what she said. His stun turned to hurt as his brow behind the mask furled and it was almost as if the mask itself began to frown, "SHUTUP!" he shouted out as he used his thumb to cover Orihime's mouth, "Kill...I'LL KILL YOU! Who do you think turned me into this? Who do you think made me this monster? IT WAS YOU! You did this to me! The least you could do is ease my suffering, but now you hurt me even more! I'll kill you! KILL YOU, KILL YOU, KILL YOU!" he began to squeeze down tightly on Orihime's torso and she let out a pained gasp.
Ichigo snapped back to attention after hearing what Orihime's brother was saying. Kill? So, he really intends to do it? Ichigo's grip tightened around his zanpakuto, his eyes looked as if they were going to go red with rage, "NO!" he shouted out as he sliced the Hollow's arms into several pieces, "If you think I'll let you hurt Orhime, you're dead wrong! Telling her you'll kill her, unbelievable." Ichigo spat, "The roll of the older sibling is to protect their younger siblings, so you never EVER say something like that!"
The Hollow screeched in pain again, and tried to swipe at Ichigo with its tail once more. Ichigo was prepared for it and held up his defenses this time around, only for a piece of the tail to be cut off and completely miss hitting Ichigo. What the hell? "Oh my God, I nearly pissed myself!" Aqua yelled out, her eyes nearly bugging out of her head, "I just get up here and I see a glimmer of something coming at me." Ichigo looked down to see Aqua wielding the metal fence post she landed on earlier. Those scales on his tail were practically impervious against my swing. She cut throught it with a metal pole? Just...just how hard did she swing?
"Why?" the Hollow screeched out, "WHY MUST YOU INTERFERE?!"
"Oof, he sounds pissed, eh, Ichigo?" Aqua asked as she elbowed the hazy outline of a person next to her, "Keep in mind that I'm only assuming you're Ichigo because I can't see you or these Hollows that well, I just kinda see vague shapes. You could easily be another Soul Reaper." she chuckled.
"I took care of her my whole life." Orihime's brother started, "Since I was 15, I kept her safe from our awful parents. When I was 18 I moved out and took her with me. We lived together, happily. Since then, we always lived together! Just the two of us, forever! I raised her, I protected her! SO SHE'S MINE! MINE AND MINE ALONE! NOBODY CAN HAVE HER!"
"Wait, is this thing Orihime's brother turned ghost or something? Because that's...really sad. I almost feel bad I'm gonna destroy it." Aqua mentioned in a moment of realization.
The Hollow shot forward, mouth wide open, ready to chomp down on Ichigo. Ichigo gritted his teeth and held up his zanpakuto and easily blocked the bite by holding the sword against its teeth, struggling slightly from the strength of the attack. "Don't be stupid." Ichigo grunted out, using as much strength as he could muster, "Orihime is Orihime. She belongs to nobody but herself. She's her own person!"
Aqua, still only having a general idea of where the Hollow was, launched herself forward and landed a right straight to the creature's stomach, having it detach from Ichigo's guard and slide back along the ground. "I lived my whole life for Orihime, died for Orihime!" the Hollow screeched, "If Orihime won't live for me...then she should die for me!" The Hollow launched itself forward again, mouth wide open, this time going for Aqua.
"Dammit, Aqua, look out!" Ichigo yelled out, forgetting Aqua couldn't hear him.
"Oh no!" Orihime yelled out as she quickly got to her feet and moved towards Aqua. Stop...I have to stop him. Stop him from hurting Aqua, from hurting Ichigo. And...I have to stop him from hurting. He has to understand! Without hesitation, Orihime got in front of Aqua, arms open wide and fully embraced her brother turned Hollow. Her arms wrapped around his head as his teeth clenched down on her left shoulder.
"Orihime..." Ichigo stared, wide eyed, completely in shock at what he saw. Orihime had thrown herself directly into danger. No...of course she had gotten herself into danger. But not because she's some ditz, or naïve. She knew what she was doing. Ichigo knew that she threw herself into danger for her friend, and for her brother.
Aqua couldn't really see what was going on, one moment the Hollow was coming right for her, the next moment it just stopped. Then, there was a blur in front of her, between her and the Hollow, it wasn't Ichigo, it was different, it seemed familiar. Aqua gasped as she felt a hand on her shoulder, looking back she saw Rukia breathing heavily and giving a reassuring look. "I think you can stand down; we'll handle things from here." the hidden Shinigami mentioned." Rukia mentioned.
"Ori...Orihime." the Hollow gasped, his senses seeming to come back to him as he realized what he had just done.
"I'm sorry." Orihime apologized, her voice wobbly as she tried to hold back tears, "I'm so sorry, big brother. I just wanted you to hear. I wanted you to hear all the fun things that happened at school. All the things I like, the people I like and spend my time with. At the beginning, all I did was pray everyday, but I thought that wasn't good enough! That I shouldn't just show you me being sad, I thought you'd worry if that was all you saw. I just wanted to show you that I'm happy! That you didn't have to worry about me!" she cried out, the tears finally flowing down her face. "But...I didn't realize that was making you sad. Big brother...Sora...I'm sorry for making you sad. I really, truly, love you."
Her words seeming to get through to him, Orihime's brother let go of her. However, it may seem too late as Orihime's spirit lay on the ground, profusely bleeding. "Orihime!" Ichigo yelled out.
"Don't panic!" Rukia declared, making herself known to the other two, "She can still be saved. The chain of fate on her chest, it hasn't yet been broken. As long as that chain is connected to the body, the spirit isn't dead. She can still be saved with my demon arts!"
"What the fuck are you talking about Soul Reaper?" Aqua asked as she can only hear Rukia's voice clearly and can kind of make out the sounds of the Hollow and Ichigo. "Chain of fate? Demon arts? What are you, The Sorcerer's Apprentice?"
"Orihime..." Sora leaned over his sister's body, the realization of everything hitting him like a truck.
"You're in the middle of my ritual, move." Rukia commanded as she leaned over Orihime's spirit. As Rukia focused her energy on the spirit...Aqua was able to look and see Orihime's spirit. It was incredible! To see the ethereal form of someone so clearly was a technique that you could only see if you were a master sorcerer, or a spirit yourself.
"I'm sorry, Orihime..." Sora apologized as he continued to look down at the spirit of his sister, "The truth is...I think I knew that all along. That you stopped praying to not worry me. But...even so...I wanted you to pray for me, because when you did I knew that your heart was mine and that you truly cared. That the fight didn't matter."
Ichigo looked to Sora and grit his teeth, "Why don't you take a look closer then. She always cared for you." The Hollow looked to Ichigo before the teen pointed to Orihime's head, "Her hairpins, those were a gift from you, weren't they? She told me about them. That they were the first present she got from her brother, and the last ones. That's why she wears them every day." he explained. Sora looked at Ichigo with a surprised expression before looking back to Orihime and seeing the hairpins. "I suppose it's true what they say, those that die and those that survive...both are just as sad as the other. Don't be so selfish to think that you were the only one who was sad."
"I see." Sora said with a nod, "I understand what I must do now." The Hollow got up and slithered itself behind Ichigo and gripped his zanpakuto before stabbing it through his mask.
"Hey, hey! What the hell are you doing?" Ichigo asked in surprise.
"No...It's fine." Sora assured, his voice no longer gravelly and evil as it had once sounded as he completely broke off his Hollow mask, "If I stay like this, I'll someday once again lose myself and come after Orihime again." he smirked as blood dripped down his face, showing Ichigo the face of the boy he saw in his father's clinic all those years ago. "Right now, while I have regained a small part of myself, I want to disappear. For her sake."
"But why!" Ichigo yelled out, "Isn't there some way-"
"Ichigo!" Rukia interrupted, "His decision is correct. Once you become a Holow, you will never revert back to your former self. Let him disappear." Ichigo grit his teeth and Rukia smiled, "Don't worry...'cutting' down a Hollow is not the same as 'killing' them, it is a way to wash away their sins. By cutting them with the zanpakuto their sins are washed away and they can go to the Soul Society. That's why us Shinigami's exist."
Ichigo nodded and let Sora do his thing. As he began to disappear, he looked over his sister one last time and smiled, "Goodbye...Orihime."
Orihime, seeming to come out of her unconsiousness, looked upt to her brother and smiled, "Big brother...goodbye." with that, Sora felt he finally could move on. He finally had no more regrets as his soul disappeared.
"He's gone." Ichigo said quietly.
"What the fuck was that!" Aqua asked as she scratched her head, "So Hollows...are like...regular humans, they're spirits have just lost their way?" she groaned, "Ugh...this feels like it's too much to take in at once." Aqua looked down as Rukia pulled out some sort of lighter from her pocket before flicking it on. A spark and small explosion came out the device as well as a rubber chicken head on a spring. "Do...Do I even WANT to know?" she asked.
"It's a memory chikan. It erases memories and replaces them with something else. We can't have Orihime and Tatsuki talking about tonight can we?" Rukia rubbed her chin and shrugged, "Well, the memories are random so I suppose there's still that issue, but we can cross that bridge once we get to it. Now," she dusted off her hands and turned to Aqua, "You!" Rukia pointed to Aqua and let out a long sigh, "Are you alright? How are you holding up? Leg okay?"
Aqua blinked a few times before letting out a nervous chuckle, "Leg is feeling super duper! I think the hole is already closed up." she looked over to the outline of Ichigo and bowed, "Thanks for your help. I totally would have botched this on my own. Also...I kinda owe you an explanation." Aqua felt a hand grip her arm before another hand grasped hers in a handshake. Aqua felt a tremendous amount of aura surge through her body and soon the hazy image in front of her became more and more clear until she could clearly see Ichigo standing in front of her, a little bit of blood on his head, but he was smirking all the same. "HOLY SHIT, ICHIGO, ARE YOU OKAY?"
"Wait, I thought you couldn't see me?" Ichigo asked.
"I couldn't, but I shook your hand and I can totally hear and see you now!" Aqua yelled out, still surprised.
"Interesting." Rukia mentioned as she cupped her chin, "His spiritual pressure must have altered your own spiritual pressure when you two shook hands...or maybe you're a prodigy of a creature, who know?"
"Isn't this something you should know?!" Ichigo and Aqua ask in unison.
The next day, school went on as normal...except Orihime kept insisting that a sumo wrestler brok into her home the night before, blew up her wall with a bazooka, and kidnapped Aqua before being apprehended by SHIELD. "That...isn't the worst false memory I guess?" Aqua said before rubbing her leg in pain, "Convenient that Tatsuki somehow got the same memory huh?"
"Life has a funny way of working things out." Rukia replied with a smug smile before Aqua flicked her forehead.
"Don't look so smug for doing next to zilch. Life having a funny way of working out is me being with those two before you showed up. Who knows, it's possible they get more hurt if I wasn't there." Aqua was then flicked in the forehead by Rukia.
"Now who's acting smug."
"Not the ending I expected, but I suppose it worked out fine." Ichigo said with a sigh before rubbing his head in pain, "I just hope there aren't anymore weird surprises like last night."
"Hmmm, yeah, Ichigo, I wouldn't say stuff like that." Aqua warned, "My dad used to always tell me: 'Aqua, never say or ask for things to never get worse, because they most certainly will, every single time.'"
"Was your father a cynic?"
"No, I'm pretty sure he was just saying to 'Quit your bitching.'" Aqua laughed, causing Rukia to let out a slight chuckle of her own.
"Ugh...he's right." Ichigo groaned, "It already is getting worse."
To be continued...
A/N: Sorry for the delay, originally it was going to be 2 chapters, decided on it being 1. Then, for some reason, FanFiction Net didn't want to open up for me on browser and I couldn't upload. Then work got pretty hectic so I haven't had a lot of time at the computer lately. Anyways, this is done, will probably get back to the Ben Reilly fic and that will be the last chapter for that for a while as that enters the final act, then I'll move back to Face the Music after...two years of absence? Geez.
Anyways, see you guys later.
