Author's Note: I know it's been a while but I haven't forgotten, I promise~

I've also read all the reviews! They were really cute-

Often times, I find myself questioning the presence of Soul Society in the human world. I'm aware that Rangiku often visits. But her missions had always been shopping trips lightly covered by the façade of 'official' missions. As I stood, tugging on the edge of my wrinkly pleated grey skirt, I looked over the railing of the building to the ground below. I saw the top of Hisagi's scruffy black hair as he was leaning against the concrete wall of the building. His arms were crossed but I couldn't gather much else from his position or facial expression given the fact he was three stories below me. Rangiku stood in front of him, her arm slung around that human boy I had been briefly introduced to earlier.

What was his name?

His hair was a bright orange. Like a single orange blossom in the midst of a cluster of green leaves.

He was that substitute shinigami right? I should know his name!

A breeze fluttered the edges of my skirt and I quickly shot my hands down the side of my body.

"Ayame,"

Orihime placed her soft hand on my shoulder. Her eyebrows furrowed as she took one glance at the sky above as if one of the clouds might be listening.

"Yes? Sorry, I was just- um, did he say we were ready or…"

Her mouth formed a thin black line.

"I think they're still talking. Ichigo wanted you to wait until class was over I think."

Ichigo!

I looked down at the tiled floor and nodded. The built up tension in the crux of my chest dissipated as I realized that I would have at least another hour to put off my new 'assignment'. I released a puff of breath. Orihime's cinnamon eyes melted and a friendly smile took the place of her previous serious expression.

"Are you nervous Ms. Sato?"

I involuntarily swallowed.

"N-nervous, um, I – no not at all. I'm just visiting this site, right? It shouldn't be a big deal."

It wasn't so much the 'detective work' as much as the high school aspect.

She cocked her head to the side, her long hair falling over the side of her face like a curtain.

"But…"

She shook her head, and then smiled again.

"Well Ichigo should be with you. I'm sure you won't run into any problems!" Her voice chimed through the air like a hopeful lovebird's call.

It helped drown out the uneasy feeling building up in my chest, even though it didn't seem like she knew much of what was going on.

I nodded giving her a conjured smile as compensation for her kindness.

"We should probably go to a classroom while we wait. Someone might think it's weird that we're standing on the rooftop."

Right, a classroom….

Wait why am I even here?

You know the feeling you get when you're in an examination and each instructor is analyzing your form. This is how I felt, except the instructors were teenage students probably wondering why my hair color was the way it was. Or even if I had blood beneath m y gossamer skin. I know. Because these are things I was asked before.

As I sat in this sharp wooden chair with my gawky pale legs tucked underneath my seat, all I could do was stare at the side of the desk where a caricature of what could only be the teacher was drawn. Her nose took up two/thirds of her body and towered over the stick figures etched in ink below. It was impressive to say the least, but I wasn't sure how the teacher would feel about it. Next to her picture, the faded words "Hikaru loves" was slightly visible. The word love faded out followed by nothing else as if the writer had decided to retake his confession.

The name Hikaru bared somewhat resemblance to Hisagi's name. Hisagi was probably somewhere outside taking care of something a non-lieutenant like me wouldn't understand.

Probably with Rangiku, to be honest.

I sighed and stared at the black board in front of me. The ghostly residue of chalk was overlaid with a compilation of symbols and numbers whose relation to each other I could not fathom. Even though I was in a class with only teenage humans, I felt more on edge than I have ever remembered feeling in my life. They were just kids, at least 300 years younger than I. Yet, I've never felt more self-conscious in my life. My hands felt glued to the edges of my thin pleated skirt. I had not moved them for a full thirty five minutes and thirty two seconds in hopes it would reduce the attention I might bring to myself.

The main part of my job today was to remain hidden. At least that's what Rangiku had told me earlier today…

"I'm sorry Matsumoto. I must have misheard you. This new plan isn't for me right?"

"Are you really going to make me repeat myself? Again?"

"W-wait, I know I said I wanted to help but I don't believe I have any ... skills, when it comes to being in a social environment."

Rangiku crossed her arms over her chest in a way that I knew I that I already lost. Her light blue eyes darkened maleficently. We stood in the shade behind Shikki's Laundromat. The closed sign still hung over the door's frame.

"Don't be ridiculous."

I looked at the trash can leaned against the wall.

"I'm kind of awkward with people younger than me. I'd be better fit standing as back up…"

"Ayame."

"Wh-why are we at this… high school, is it called, when did this location become a part of the mission? Didn't Kira and Hisagi check the 'spiritual hot spot' last night? "

Rangiku placed her fingertips on the base of her temples. She closed her eyes and exhaled.

My skirt picked up in the breeze. There was a small patch knitted together over the left breast pocket and the white undershirt reached well past the skirt itself. The navy knit socks stopped just below my pale knees and the tennis shoes with a faded logo's shoelaces lay untied on the top of the shoe.

All these adornments were kind donations from Orihime, our generous host from before. She had said that all females wore this outfit to some degree, and no one would notice the change in shoes.

Why I had to blend in was still beyond me though. After last night's awkward affair, Hisagi and Izuru had reported that nothing could really be found at least above ground.

"According to them the majority of the spiritual pressure is coming from Karakura High now, which makes sense seeing as how it's the school Ichigo and his friends attend. If we really want to investigate thoroughly it'd be best if we took a look at the school from the inside. This is a lot easier to do as a student during the day since then we'll have access, and won't have to depend on exposing or shinigami forms which could make us targets."

Sounds logical enough, except for the me being a high school student part. I sighed.

"At least you guys will be there too right?"

Rangiku placed her hands on my shoulders.

"Not exactly..."

"Matsumoto!"

"There's really no point in us all being there. Someone needs to check the surrounding areas too."

I backed away from her hands.

"But-"

"I know I have a youthful face but I'm way to 'developed' to pass for a teenager. You look the youngest out of all of us." She shrugged.

Am I not developed?

My hands inched toward my own chest. Not a hint of any cleavage insight. I grimaced.

"Your boyfriend was the one who said you'd-"

There was a thump on the ground as two pairs of feet landed behind us.

"Are we ready? School's going to be over soon." Kira jogged over to us making eye contact with Matsumoto. He glanced at me before his eyes pinballed to the trashcan past me. Hisagi followed behind him, his hands in his pockets and a concrete expression on his face. There was a dark grey shadow underneath his eyes. There had both changed into plain white shirts and jeans, probably since their clothes from last night were still drying.

Matsumoto brought me around to face them. She grabbed the edges of my uniform jacket.

"See! Doesn't she look cute in her high school uniform?" She said. My hands reached up to my face as the warmth began to radiate from my cheeks.

Hisagi's grey eyes glinted.

Then he coughed into his fist. "S-So Matsumoto told you what to do right?"

The blonde's bubbly face drooped before she dropped her hands to her hips.

"I…"

I said I was going to be here to help remember. Why am I trying to back out now? I'm just checking out the school's basement.

"Yes, I know what to do."

Yea, I nodded once more to convince myself. Hisagi's eyes raised and for a second I thought he might ask if I was sure.

"Good. We'll contact Ichigo." He placed his hand on my shoulder. It felt heavy but the heat coming from the palm of his hand was unmatchable. It reaffirmed my resolve, if only a little bit.

"Alright, you all are dismissed."

The shuffle of paper being stuffed into laptop bags and the sound of desk compartments being shut startled me back into reality. I awkwardly shoved the empty pieces of paper into the temporary desk I was assigned and shuffled out the doorway. I felt the crowd pull me into a general direction until a hand pulled me out of the flow by my wrist.

It was that boy. The orange unkempt hair with the scowl placed casually on his pink lips.

"You're…Ayame right, the shinigami?" His voice lowered as he looked over his shoulder.

I nodded.

He was a lot taller than I, not that that was an unusual trait. He had fierce dark brown eyes that suggested that he held a lot more maturity than his teenage age would suggest. The aura emanating from his body and the matter of fact way in which he spoke also hinted that he's seen his share of spirits.

"Let me see! Let me see the new chick!" The scruffy voice seemed to be coming from the Ichigo but his mouth remained unmoving.

Something rumbled in his breast pocket and a large sun shaped star poked out. The orange star opened its small muzzle.

I took a step backwards as the plushy creature dangled out of the high school boy's chest pocket ready to pounce. His black button eyes glittered in the light.

I didn't want to be rude and ask what it was. So I chose to ignore it the best that I could.

"Um?"

Its eyes dulled to a dark grey and the smile left its face.

"A's? I thought you said the goddess would be here-"

A's. Goddess. What could it be referring to?

"Shut up, idiot. No one is talking to you." Ichigo used his thumb to smash the toy's face back into his pocket. It struggled releasing a string of curses.

"So…"

He refocused his attention on me. There was something familiar about the way his facial features looked but I couldn't put my finger on it.

"So why is Soul Society suddenly interested in Karakura High?"

His question was bluntly put.

I paused.

"What did Hisagi tell you?"

He put his hands in his pockets and looked at the pair of kids passing by.

"Listen, I still don't get how your system works or whatever but if you're asking for my help I deserve to know more than just 'all we can disclose right now is that there is a threat present.'" His change in tone made me think that he was mocking Hisagi's own deep regulatory voice.

"Well, I actually… don't really know that much either."

I was also told not to disclose anything. But it wasn't as if a lot was disclosed to me to even disclose in the first place.

"All I know is that we should start with the basement I think…"

I averted my gaze.

He crossed his arms and looked down at my face. The silence made me feel as if he didn't buy my story but all I could do was stand awkwardly.

"It's obvious she's not going to tell us. This mission wouldn't be important if they didn't send lieutenants. " The lion like plushy popped back out again. It rested its thin head on its paw.

Ichigo growled.

How did it know about lieutenants?

"My name's Kon by the way. If you're ever looking for a fun-"

"Stop talking." Ichigo grabbed its face and stuck it head first back into his pocket.

I began to feel uneasy. In no way was I qualified to answer any of his questions. I felt kind of dumb.

"We should head over before night classes start then." He nudged his head toward the end of the hallway.

Without a word I followed him.

After, entering a few unmarked doors, some of which I questioned the ability of a teenage male to be familiar with, we approached a set of stairs.

The narrow staircase that led to a door dimly illuminated by the sunset-like light bulb above was encrusted with brown rust surrounding the edges of its door hinges and the handle. The air became damp and I could taste the salty wetness collect in the back of my throat. As we descended the stairs with Ichigo leading the way, the air pressure began to increase tightly around my throat and chest.

"Do you feel that?" I heard him say.

The sudden force pressing against my body from all directions rose before promptly dropping again. I took in a large breath.

Going back and telling Hisagi first, flew through my mind briefly as an option. But uncertainty soon changed into curiosity.

Ichigo's hand was clutching the door handle. I could only assume that humans weren't as sensitive to reiatsu levels as everyone else but the hairs on the back of his neck were standing on end. We pushed through the door.

Darkness covered the room's walls like a thick blanket. I couldn't tell how big it was or even what color the floor was. It seemed as if whatever this room had been used for, it had been long forgotten.

Clash. Bang. Bang. The lion plushy shrieked…but maybe it was me. It was hard to tell in the sudden quick movement. A dark looming object whose form seemed to morph endlessly like clay skittered across one side of the room to the next. A stray strand of yellow light marked its vague movements as it wrenched itself free from the wall.

"Screw this!"

Kon flew out of Ichigo's pocket and landed on the floor beside me. I attempted to follow suit to get out of the creature's way.

I tried to side step out of its path but my legs seemed to move at two miles per hours. My foot came down on the top of my shoe. Kon looked up with wide button eyes as my once swift movement turned into a clumsy trip scene as my human body toppled to the ground. I could feel his cottony body flatten against my chest. Kon released a muffled wheeze.

"That's a hollow!" Ichigo reached for Kon's plushy head that was sticking out from under my left breast.

"Ah!"

"S-s-sorry, I uh-"

He grabbed my waist to try to lift me up.

The dark figure leaped across the room to a small murky window. Its body phased into the wall until there was nothing left but a few turned over mops. I pushed myself up, Kon still clinging to my oxford shirt. Then I ran back up the stairs.

There was something familiar about that thing. I couldn't see any white, any sign of a mask. Just like that time…

Ichigo's voice echoed against the hall walls behind me.

I could feel sense of liberation as I began to separate my shinigami form from the human gigai as I ran.

I pushed against the gigai's flesh head trying to separate the rest of my lower body from its grasp. I entered into a hall with a few kids lounging against the walls. Then I looked out the window. No sign of that thing or Hisagi. I could feel its reiatsu moving though, it was still close.

Around the corner two high school students walked side by side in my direction. One looked up, wiping his brown hair out of his face. His sodden eyes lit up.

"Ayame, was it? Hey-"

Keigo raised his hand to get my attention. In that moment, I pushed the rest of my body out of the gigai. The human clone fell limply like a rag doll with Kon still holding on and dropped to its knees before falling face first on the floor.

The black haired boy beside him took his hands out of his pockets and ran over to my body.

"Did she just…"

I glided past them and down the hallway. My zanpakuto clinked against my hip, a grim reminder that I would have to engage in battle whether I wanted to or not.

That was a hollow, right? I mean probably. It being here could possibly just be a coincidence, but still…

I opened the door leading to a courtyard. The brisk air hit my face and rustled the tree leaves hanging over me.

The sky was devoid of any clouds, perfectly clear as a Lieutenant Ise's eyeglass. It was like the Human World loved to remain perfectly oblivious to the dangers that lie in other dimensions.

Where was everyone?

I quickly turned, to find Ichigo's chest right in front of my face. He was adorned with his altered shinigami outfit and his zanpakuto was already in its first form.

"Where the hell did it go?"

I looked up at his face. My mouth tried to form an intelligible response, but it was quite obvious I did not know what had just happened.

"Um, I'm going to the roof … to get a better look so…"

I leaped up the side of the building and landed on the edge of the rooftop's railing. Ichigo seamlessly followed behind me. I looked around and out to the horizon. Nothing.

"Where the hell is fucking Hisagi, and Matsumoto? They said they'd be waiting around here."

"Yea…"

I rested my hand on my zanpakuto.

There was a sudden spike in the surrounding reiatsu levels. I turned in that direction right behind the school.

It kind of felt like-

"Hisagi!"

A slight smile tugged at the edges of my lips as I took my hand of the hilt of my zanpakuto. I ran to the other side of the roof.

He must be on the ground.

I put my hands on the concrete railing lining the roof. Then I peeked my head over its side.

"Ayame!"

I tried to turn back towards Ichigo. But the darkness seized my eyes. And I could not see-

End Note: So that's it for this chapter~