~FIREFLY KNIGHTS~

Bleach Copyright Tite Kubo

Firefly Knights Copyright Illand Girl

'For those that need a Guardian.'

Chapter 16: I'm Always Safe When I'm With You

I groaned, my body feeling like it was made of lead. My spine ached as I resurrected from my boneless state of being. A few joints cracked as I shifted on the hard ground.

"Oh good, you're awake!" A cheerful voice beamed. I cracked an eye open, confused by the smells and the light that came from beyond my head. I moaned in discomfort, rubbing my eyes.

"What... where am I?" I mumbled. My shoulder ached terribly; the bare skin of my back scraped against the hard ground as I shifted.

Bare skin...

Numbly, I felt around my chest. There was fabric over my breasts and collarbone, but not my back.

"Your underclothing was torn up under the shihakusho unfortunately. I couldn't save it." The same voice said. My eyes finally popped open and zeroed in on a young man not far from me. He was focusing on something beside me, but his eyes would travel over to me now and again.

"Who...?" I mumbled, not functional yet. I groaned as I attempted to sit up, only to fall back down and knock my head. I whimpered, feeling pathetic.

"I wouldn't move! You might open your shoulder wound if you do!" The soft voice warned. I looked at him, confused. "I'm Hanataro by the way, and I'm a friend of Ichigo's."

Ichigo...

Orange hair entered my vision. It finally dawned on me that the thing Hanataro was so focused on was the carrot top lying next to me. I turned my head to see his prone form. His eyes were closed, his breathing deep and calm. Ichigo's top was removed, showing me long gashes in his body. Ah right, he ran off to fight Renji...

"Ichigo..." I mumbled, a ghost of a smile slipping onto my lips. Memories of before I collapsed slowly began to settle in. I sighed, my hand nearest him reaching to touch his arm closest to me. His skin was hot despite how cool it was around us, assuring me he was still very much alive. I looked at Hanataro again, noticing he was focusing on a wound in his abdomen.

"Hanataro?" I asked, voice shallow and quiet. The young man looked a bit startled, staring into my eyes. "What... what happened?"

Footsteps...

"I'll fill you in, kid. No sense distracting our only medic." A gruff voice answered me. Slowly, I sat up, noticing that there was another member of our little group not far from us.

I winced, clutching my shoulder. I felt boneless and struggled to move. Big hands reached out in front of me to my surprise. I looked up to see the owner of the gruff voice watching me carefully.

"Need a hand?" He asked. I nodded, and he took the incentive to pull me to lean against the wall to my side. From here I could watch Hanataro healing Ichigo.

"Thanks," I mumbled, adjusting to get comfortable. The man huffed, standing next to me.

"Y'know, Ichigo made you sound like some kind of warrior princess. I was almost worried we'd be running into a carbon copy of my sister." The man mused. I laughed shortly.

"She sounds lovely." I quipped. He chuckled.

"Ganju, by the way. And you're Naomi, right?" I nodded to his question. "Ichigo wouldn't shut up about rescuing you. He probably would've kept trying to cut the seireiheki all night if I hadn't come along."

I thought about that day, how we'd been separated. It was scary for me, sure, but I could just imagine what it was like not knowing or being able to do anything about the fact that I was on the other side.

"Honestly? He's stubborn enough to try." I mused. Ganju chuckled.

"You know him well." There was silence as we watched Hanataro work. Moments later he broke it again.

"I guess I can fill you in on what happened on our end. I met Ichigo the night you got separated. Idiot was trying to cut through the wall for hours before that. We had our moment where I showed Ichigo who's boss, and then I went home. Yoruichi eventually brought them to meet my sister, Kukaku, and we used her canon to get in here." Ganju explained. I nodded, watching Ichigo's chest rise and fall.

"I imagine Ichigo was a pain in the ass the whole time? Probably complaining you weren't moving fast enough?" I joked, melting against the wall as I relaxed. Ganju chuckled.

"You know him really well." I laughed; it was quiet for a moment. "So how did you manage to survive the Seireitei all on your own?"

He sounded genuinely curious, so I decided to humour him.

"Well, the third squad captain didn't try to kill me. Instead, they took me in for questioning as to why we were here. Then, as luck would have it, you guys entered in that grandiose burst of light, so I managed to escape into the chaos. Ran into a few people along the way but- more or less, it's been a relatively smooth sailing. Well, except for that captain. He almost killed me. And Renji would've definitely slaughtered me if Ichigo hadn't shown up when he did." I tried to think of every point of interest, certain I forgot a few along the way.

"Damn, warrior princess indeed." Ganju muttered, but I caught it. He yawned, turned, and walked away from us. "I need a break. Make sure dumbass doesn't try to get up or we'll have to carry his corpse with us."

Optimistic guy, that Ganju.

I continued to watch Hanataro work, feeling my eyes become heavy as I tipped a bit to the side. Everything remained quiet for a short while, well, until Ichigo stirred.

He groaned, jumping to alertness faster than I had.

"Ha-Hanataro?" He groaned when the medic pressed down on his stomach. Ichigo swatted the small man's hands away, attempted to sit up. His breathing became ragged, a broken groan slipping from his throat.

"Morning, sleepy." I smiled as the carrot top looked at me with his warm eyes. It was like a switch went off in his head when he locked eyes with me. Almost relief washed over him as I gingerly knelt to get closer to him.

"Nao." He said, relief evident in his voice. I shivered, but grinned.

"You found me," I teased, reaching to press my open palm to his chest and forcing him to lay down. He was clearly weak since even I was able to force him back down. Ichigo yelped, looking surprised when I kept my palm on his chest to hold him in place. "Now lay down and let Hanataro work."

"But- Uryu, Chad, Orihime- They don't know where Rukia is. We have to find-"

"We will. Promise," I said firmly, my hand still placed on his chest as he wiggled. "But if we go out there now, we'll die."

Ichigo opened his mouth to argue, but I beat him to the punch.

"Remember what happened the last time you didn't listen? Oh right, I got stuck on the wrong side of the wall." I glared. Ichigo snapped his mouth shut, looking away from me then. Deciding he wasn't going to fight anymore; I pulled my hand away and sat back on my butt. Hanataro hesitated, but then continued his work when the carrot top didn't move. His gaze remained away from mine for a while.

Hanataro eventually stopped, looking exhausted. I thanked him, offering to watch my idiot while he went and got some rest. He ambled off, mentioning looking for Ganju. Not even a minute later, Ichigo finally spoke.

"I'm sorry," Ichigo's voice was soft, vulnerable. I turned to gaze at him, getting distracted by the outline of his jaw as he spoke. "I didn't move when you said to. It was my fault you were trapped on the other side."

I sighed, shivering slightly as a cool breeze passed us by.

"But I'm here, and alive. And you did turn up right when I needed you. I like to think that counts for something." I couldn't help but turn soft at the memory of him holding me tightly. The feeling of comfort and protection was overwhelming after fighting for my life.

Ichigo sat up again.

"Wait- you'll open your wounds!" I scolded, immediately getting to my knees to crawl closer. Ichigo winced, curling in on himself. I placed one hand on his back, the other on his thigh as I knelt as close as possible.

"I'm fine." He insisted. I frowned.

"You're a terrible liar." He laughed at that, then winced. When he lifted his gaze, our noses were almost touching.

There were so many emotions in his gaze that I could see this close to him. His eyes were swimming with his thoughts as I saw happiness and hesitation in his gaze.

Slowly, as if he was unsure of himself, Ichigo lifted his left hand across himself and brushed hair from my gaze. His hands were so big that when he rested his thumb on my cheek, his fingers could curl around the side of my neck. His hand felt warm as he smiled at me, pulling me closer until his head was resting in the crook of my neck, his arm moving to my waist. When I didn't pull away, a shuddering sigh escaped his lips as his movements felt surer.

"You're here." He said, sounding so relieved. I wrapped my arounds around him, cradling his head to the crook it had found.

"I'm here." I said back, feeling his arm tighten around me. Ichigo's one arm supporting both our weights was shaking, but still Ichigo showed no sign of letting me go. I basked in his scent, smelling his hair that was filled with sweat, dust, and the purely Ichigo scent of summer and chocolate.

"You need to rest." I insisted, forcibly pulling myself from him. Ichigo grumbled, not letting me go. "I'm serious!"

My face was pink as Ichigo only moved far enough away to look me in the eye. His own cheeks were tinged pink as well. I struggled to pull back much, checking over his wounds to be sure he hadn't undone any of Hanataro's work. It was the first time it fully dawned on me that Ichigo was shirtless.

I'd seen Ichigo without a shirt plenty of times, sure, but it'd been years. And, since when did he have a six pack? I forced my gaze away, pretending to busy myself in order to get my head out of my ass.

It was only then that the rather vivid memory of Ichigo's lips on mine came back to the surface. I froze, my face turning bright red, and in that moment, I looked up at Ichigo. He looked confused; eyebrows raised in question. It was my turn to act shy as a tiny, nervous smile slipped onto my lips. Ichigo tilted his head.

"Nao? What is it?" He asked, and I was suddenly, gravely aware of the arm still on my waist.

"Just-Just admiring the v-view." I stuttered, nervous. Was it too much to compliment him? Too far? What was the boundary line? Ichigo looked surprised, eyes widening as he stared at me. His gaze slipped to my unbandaged shoulder, and something seemed to go through his mind then as his face flushed red as well.

"Ah-ah yeah, the view..." Ichigo looked away, sounding nervous as his fingers on my waist twitched. Both of us seemed to be stuck, and I wasn't sure whether I wanted to be unstuck as I realized my right hand was currently resting on his thigh.

"S-So um..." God dammit, I felt so uncomfortable now... but... this was Ichigo. My Ichigo. I shouldn't feel nervous, right? My fingers twitched on his thigh. Ichigo tensed. We still didn't say anything. In a bid of bravery, I removed my hand from his thigh and reached for his face. Gently, I turned him to look back at me. Ichigo's pupils dilated when he looked at me, eyes wide. I gave a nervous smile and his face turned bright red again, but this time he returned it.

My fingers weren't as large as his, in fact my hand barely covered his jaw and cheek, but he still leaned into my touch. My heart melted.

"I missed you." I admitted, feeling gooey as Ichigo gave a small chuckle.

"Of course you did." He teased. I huffed, pulling my hand away from him, startling the carrot top as I crossed my arms.

"You're supposed to say I missed you too, jerk!" I frowned, pretending to be annoyed as I looked away. Ichigo had a mischievous grin.

"How can I miss you when you're here and already nagging? Bad enough you try and boss me around at home, but now even in fights you're telling me what to do?" Ichigo taunted. I opened my mouth to retort, but just huffed instead.

"Yeah well at least I give good advice. Mister 'I'm going to try and cut down the sereiseki because my dumbass didn't move when Nao told me to'!" It was Ichigo's turn to huff.

"You're never going to let me forget that one, are you?" Ichigo grumbled. I smirked, but he continued before I could reply. "That's fine."

I was yanked forward, Ichigo burying his head into the crook of my neck again. This time I was flush against his front, having been pulled forward to have both my knees slide past his right hip and my chest pressed to his. In this position I could truly feel how small I was compared to him. Ichigo had become wide, and my skin felt hot where he touched me.

"You can tell me that every day if you like." He continued, his breath tickling my neck. I shivered, feeling dizzy at the close contact as his free hand buried itself into my hair at the base of my neck as Ichigo leaned into me. Numbly I sat there for a moment. Then, I reached for him. One arm feebly tried to wrap around his back, while the other held the back of his skull the same way he had mine. I buried my nose in his dirty hair again and sighed. Ichigo shuddered as my breath tickled his ear.

"It's a promise." I said softly. Ichigo huffed, but this time neither of us pulled away.

I ripped the sleeves off my Shihakusho, tied my hair up into a ponytail, then stood from the ground. My eyes glanced over the zanpakuto that Ganju had carried for me from the battle. At first, I was confused, until I remembered the hollow pulling it from my chest. Had she made it officially materialize? It had a matching white scabbard, which I tied to my right hip. The blade felt cool in my hands, almost a reminder of the hollow beneath the surface.

When I was done dressing, I stepped around the corner of the sewers and approached Ganju and Ichigo.

"You sure you're ready? You got one girl back, but getting Rukia's a whole other matter." Ganju said, arms crossed as he watched Ichigo. "You might lose a few of us on the way to saving her too."

Ichigo paused, looking over to me as I approached. However, when we locked eyes, a single thought went through both our minds. I smirked, as did he.

"The only way is forward." I said confidently. Ichigo grinned, nodding.

"That's right. We came this far, would hate to run back with our tails between our legs just when it got rough." Ichigo looked between the two of us. "We'll have to work together on this, but I'm sure we'll make it out alive."

"Oh about that," I stepped closer. "I think we should split up again-"

"Absolutely not!" Ichigo cut in; arms crossed. I frowned, crossing my own arms. "We just found each other and you already wanna split? Seriously?"

I huffed.

"Think about it! What happens after we get Rukia back?" I asked, to which Ichigo, god bless him, had the audacity to look surprised.

"Uh... Well I guess we get out of here, right?" He mused. I laughed.

"Oh so we just grab Rukia, turn to the Gotei 13 and say what? 'Oops sorry, gotta run'? Seriously?" Ichigo glared at me.

"We'll figure it out when we get there!" Ichigo huffed. I rolled my eyes.

"We need to figure it out before we get there, or we'll be trapped! Keep in mind they know we're after Rukia! If we go in there, I don't doubt at least one captain is waiting for us! Maybe more. Which means we need an escape plan." I tapped my foot, feeling my ire rising. Ichigo narrowed his eyes at me.

"So you want to work on an escape plan while I rescue Rukia, that it?" I nodded. Ichigo scoffed. "Wasn't it you who was breaking down in tears when we found each other? Huh?"

My face turned red.

"That was different! I took on a captain! You have no idea how powerful these guys are! I almost died!" I stamped my foot, glaring right back at Ichigo.

"Which is exactly why we need to stick together!" He shouted in my face.

"Then how can we grab everybody else and rescue Rukia AND escape here, huh?" Ichigo turned away from me. I grumbled, grabbed the back of his neck, and yanked him down to look at me. It surprised him as he dropped the irritation. "I don't like the idea Ichigo, but the fact is the more people we take on the more likely it is they'll be open to killing us. The head captain looked pissed when you guys' broke in. Now two lieutenants and one captain have been attacked, do you think it's going to work in our favour?"

Ichigo and I held eye contact, staring each other down. I lowered my hand from his hair. He didn't move, I didn't move. Ganju sighed, looking defeated as he broke the silence.

"Now I see why you two get along. One brain-cell between the two of you." He rolled his eyes as we both glared at him.

"Who asked you?!" We both shouted, but it only seemed to prove the guy's point. Surprisingly, he got serious instead of arguing with us.

"Look, Naomi has a point. If we stick together it'll take longer to get things done. Our best bet is to split up. One group finds the others, and one goes to the repentance cell. Besides, the more people found, the safer Naomi will become." Ganju said firmly. I nodded aggressively.

"Exactly!"

"C'mon don't agree with her!" Ichigo grumbled. Ganju, surprisingly, squared up to Ichigo.

"Look if you're that worried then I'll go with her." Well, that surprised us both. "You and Hanataro head to the cell, we'll go and find the others. Besides, it's like you said. How can Naomi be in danger when nobody can sense her spiritual pressure?"

Ichigo was at a loss, and I knew we had won. He tightened his crossed arms, scowling. Knowing we were right, and that Ichigo could see it too, I decided to be a bit nicer. Gently, I laid my hand on Ichigo's bicep. He looked down at me after a moment of hesitation. I kept a calm, neutral face.

"I know you're scared, so am I. But I think that we have to do this." I squeezed his bicep, watching his shoulders lose some of the tension. As if sensing the change in the air, Ganju cleared his throat.

"I'll go wake Hanataro." He turned and stepped away, ambling over to the small man sleeping on the ground. Ichigo turned his body to me, one hand going over the one on his bicep. I looked from it, then up to him. He looked serious, his jaw tight along with his brow.

"I don't like this." He said with emotion. I smiled.

"I know, neither do I." I admitted. Ichigo sighed, glancing at Ganju to see he was shaking the little man awake.

"Do you still not trust me? Is that it?" Ichigo's honest question startled me. My eyes widened, and I thought of our training in Kisuke's underground training arena. I remembered the feeling of Ichigo saving me from Renji then too.

"When you found me, I felt safe. I knew that nothing bad was ever going to happen as long as you were there," I smiled and took a step closer. "But I also think that you are still stretching yourself too thin."

Ichigo frowned, affronted.

"Nao-"

"Shhh," I soothed, taking a deep breath. "You are spreading yourself too thin. Right now... Right now, Rukia needs you. She needs you more than I do. So right now, Rukia is the number one priority."

I hated saying that. I hated the idea of telling Ichigo to forget about me. To put me at the back of his mind. This selfishness, this need to be at the front and center. I hated that part of me. The part that still couldn't bear the thought of sharing him. But it was the truth. We had come here to rescue Rukia and prioritizing each other wouldn't get us anywhere.

Ichigo stared down at me before he grabbed the back of my head and pulled me in for a kiss. It caught me off guard, but a moment later I melted into it and kissed him back. Ichigo pulled away a few seconds later, our noses still close.

"You're my number one priority," he said firmly, then smirked. "You're too accident prone to ignore anyway."

"Ha! Coming from you." I felt a pink blush creep up my neck and over my cheeks. The feeling of his lips on mine was addicting. I leaned up to him and kissed him again, quicker this time. A euphoric giggle escaped my lips at the sensation.

I was kissing Ichigo, and it felt better than I had imagined it would.

"Oh my! Sorry, don't mean to interrupt!" Hanataro's voice shattered the moment. We both paled, remembering the audience as we pulled apart. Ganju was smirking at us, looking not at all sorry for the interruption. Hanataro bowed frantically in apology for interrupting. I laughed lightly in embarrassment while Ichigo yelled at Ganju.

"I meant to tell you, Miss Naomi. Thank you for earlier." Hanataro bowed again to me. I paused, tilting my head to the side as the two men looked on at the exchange.

"Earlier?" I asked, confused. Hanataro straightened up.

"I'm not surprised you don't remember. It was such a short moment, but when Captain Ichimaru was pinning me with his spiritual pressure you stepped in and stopped him." Hanataro smiled sheepishly. "Regardless of why, I'm grateful you did. He has always terrified me if I'm honest."

"Oh! Right! Gin and little captain!" It was the time before the meeting, when I stole the key from Hanataro. Well, I guess he didn't realize what I did after all...

Hanataro paled at my words.

"I've never heard someone bravely call Captain Hitsugaya... little captain... before..."

"Well he's so little! It's adorable!" My neck cracked as I looked to the two men. "You need to meet him! Little captain is so cute."

Hanataro looked terrified.

"I guess it makes sense. You're completely unaffected by their spiritual pressure, so you wouldn't be intimidated. But Captain Hitsugaya is a terrifying man when he wants to be." Hanataro said, looking shy.

"Right well, hate to break up the party, but we really ought to get our butts in gear." Ganju said, jabbing a thumb upwards to the exit of the sewers.

Everything seemed to sober up then as Hanataro gave Ganju and I instructions on where to exit out of. We would head back the way we came in while Ichigo and Hanataro would go the opposite direction.

It came time to separate, Ichigo and I had a tight goodbye.

"Don't do anything stupid, please." I said, feeling an ominous weight in my gut. Ichigo smirked.

"How can I? You're taking all the stupid with you." He put his hand on my shoulder, seeming to consider something, then turned away. "You should go now, or I might just change my mind."

I nodded to his back, understanding the sentiment.

"You better watch out for her Ganju." Ichigo called, not looking at us. Ganju scoffed as we ran off in the opposite direction.

"Honestly, I think you'll be watching out for me." He muttered, making me laugh.

About a mile away, we found the exit Hanataro pointed out. When we exited, if what he said was correct, we should be by Squad 4...

Ganju went first out of the sewer, I followed shortly after.

"You got any idea where everybody is?" Ganju asked. I shrugged.

"Not entirely, but I think if we look hard enough, we'll find them." I felt confident that if I ran along enough, I would pick up a familiar scent. Ganju didn't hold the same enthusiasm apparently, as he looked at me deadpanned.

"You mean you can't even locate them?" Ganju said slowly. I bristled.

"I can! I just- I need a minute!" I turned away from him, subtly sniffing the air. There were so many smells, some of them blocking out weaker ones. The scent of cologne and cinnamon still hung heavily in the air to the south, a campfire could be smelled in that direction as well. Then there was-

I tensed. The scent of chili peppers hung in the air. Where had I smelled that scent before? Oh right, at the captain's meeting-

"Fuck." I turned to look at Ganju, who raised a brow, then I turned to look at the building ahead of us. A moment later, a lone figure appeared at the top of it. I heard Ganju gasp next to me, and I just knew this was not going to be good news.

At the top of the building stood the captain of squad six.

Byakuya Kuchiki.

Things were quickly unravelling.

For every question Toshiro could answer, five more popped up that he couldn't.

"Do you really believe Gin would kill captain Aizen?" His lieutenant asked him. Hitsugaya clicked his tongue, scowling at the walkway in front of him.

"What's the alternative?" He asked, knowing what she would say.

"The ryoka have been proving themselves to be powerful adversaries. They took down Izuru, Renji, and captain Tousen. They're clearly powerful adversaries." Rangiku pointed out, following behind him. "Not to mention the way both captains were struck down is eerily similar. Stabbed with their own zanpakuto."

'Of course she would defend Gin.' he thought. She had always had a tender spot for the eerie squad three captain. Toshiro didn't hold the same sentiments, however, especially considering the state it put Momo in.

"Then why would they let Tousen live but kill Aizen?" Toshiro mused, thinking out loud. "If the goal was as that girl said it was, why kill one captain and not the other? Also, why kill the captain that is, arguably, the gentlest of the captains? It doesn't make sense."

"You know as well as I do that rescue missions can get hairy, captain." Rangiku said in a softer tone. "Sometimes people get caught in the crossfire. Maybe someone interrupted them before they could finish captain Tousen, but they managed to kill captain Aizen? Maybe he saw something? Who knows."

Toshiro didn't buy it. He remembered the walk with Naomi Sakurai, and how confident she was in meeting the head captain. Come to think of it, he never investigated how she managed to cut Gin. If she had managed to wound a captain, why didn't Gin kill her? It was strange behaviour, no matter how he looked at it. If Sakurai was truly defenceless then it would make sense to bring her in for questioning, but what if she wasn't? That would mean Gin purposefully left out crucial information.

More importantly, he allowed Rangiku near her without telling her of the dangers. Did he think that Sakurai wouldn't harm Rangiku? How would he know?

Did Gin know these ryoka? And if so, did he know who killed captain Aizen?

And that burst of spiritual pressure yesterday evening...

'One more unanswered question to add to the pile.' Toshiro grumbled.

"You look troubled, captain Hitsugaya." The white-haired captain paused in his thoughts and looked ahead. Captain Kyoraku leaned against the wall, his lieutenant not far off. Rangiku bowed out of politeness as they approached.

"Captain Kyoraku." Toshiro greeted. The older man had a somber smile.

"Troubling times we're in. The Gotei 13 are dropping like flies these days." Kyoraku said. Toshiro pursed his lips, not liking the tone the man had.

"The other day, you felt that spiritual pressure too, didn't you?" Toshiro said, remembering the cold chill that coursed through him at the memory. Toshiro did not feel cold. Ever. So, for that to happen it was something unnatural. Captain Kyoraku hummed.

"Indeed I did. I shivered so badly I spilled some of my sake." He mused. "It's been some time since that sort of spiritual pressure was felt in Soul Society. Not many Hollow appear in this area, and for good reason."

It was true, not many Hollow were foolish enough to step near Soul Society, and so close to the Seireitei was almost unheard of.

But to expose themselves inside the Seireitei? That was impossible.

Was that what captain Aizen had seen?

"I wouldn't dwell on it too much, captain Hitsugaya," Kyoraku said in his usual whimsical tone. "Frown lines aren't something the young should carry with them."

"I'll heed the warning, thank you." Toshiro said stiffly. Captain Kyoraku smiled, chuckling.

"Come, little Nanao, we must find a nice spot to catch some ryoka and drink sake. Whichever is the more convenient option." The captain wandered off, his lieutenant bowing to Toshiro before she left with her captain.

It was a strange thing to think, that a hollow was among their ranks. But- what if it wasn't a hollow? What if it was disguised as a normal human?

Toshiro thought of Naomi Sakurai again, of the fact that despite the head captain clearly pressuring her with his spiritual pressure, the girl seemed completely unaffected. Save for twitching her nose like she had smelled something fowl, no reaction came from her. Never mind how she seemed to completely stamp out the raining spiritual energy in the room with a single step forward.

'What was she hiding?'

"Captain?" Rangiku called. It was then that Toshiro realized he was still standing where he'd been when Kyoraku left. He stared off into the distance for a moment longer, then continued on.

"Rangiku, come."

HOW HAS IT BEEN OVER A MONTH?

Wow, I put this chapter down because I was re-evaluating some things and- wow I can't believe it's been so long?

Full disclosure, this chapter is un-edited. I am certain there is plenty of spelling errs, but- I really wanted this to come out together. Holy crap. Here I've been day-dreaming about the arrancar arc and haven't even finished this one! So what do y'all think? Honestly I just wanted a bunch of fluff. these two deserve it IMO. I just love the one braincell bouncing between them lmao.

Thank you to Cinnabae and turntworld for the reviews! And thank you to all the readers! FYI, FFN is magically starting to work again, and i can see what stories are being read once again. Holy crap, we have a ton of readers FYI. Love it.

Cheers,

Iland Girl