Pounding footsteps.

Panting, I'm panting. I saw light at the end of the alley, but it kept wobbling.

Why? I didn't know.

My arms and legs were heavy and my chest hurt.

I didn't dare glance over my shoulder; he was still chasing me.

"Kera," I heard him moan and it sent shivers down my spine.

"Please no!"

"Kera. Kera. Kera!" The voice got louder and louder, until suddenly it was right on top of me!

"Argh!" I sat up screaming and Yachiru went flying backwards, doing a tumble before standing to face me.

"Are you alright? You were thrashing in bed."

Panting, I tried to remember why I felt so scared, but the dream was already fading. "It was nothing."

"So Kera, can I do your hair?" Yachiru asked in a sing- song voice, totally out of the blue.

"Why?" I threw her a suspicious glance.

"Because I want to! The squad has never had a girl before and I can't do anyone else's hair because they are always busy."

"And you think I'm not? I have to monitor more soul reapers today," I replied, standing to get dressed out of my pyjamas.

"Kenny's given you the day off!" she yelled at me as I went behind the screen to dress.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, positive!"

"If I don't say yes, will you keep pestering me?"

"Yes. I will," she said and when I peeked around the edges of the screen, I saw the pink spiritual pressure rising around her.

I really didn't want to find out what her way of pestering was so I surrendered, letting her attack my hair. Before long, she had brushed all my hair several times over and re-plaited it until she believed it was perfect. I, on the other hand, was biting my hand and my head was on fire.

She wasn't exactly gentle.

"What are you doing?"

I hadn't noticed the captain enter and Yachiru stopped flicking my hair like it was a pair of reins on a horse.

"Hey Kenny!"

"Kera, you're supposed to be monitoring the new soul reapers." He glared down at me.

"Yachiru, I thought you said you cleared it with Kenpachi," I said, trying to turn and face her but she forced my head back round.

"I might have lied," she giggled.

I scowled, crossing my arms. "I'm sorry Captain. I had been told by my Lieutenant," putting a lot of emphasis on that word, "that I had the day off."

"And you believed her. Idiot," he mumbled.

"Did you really just call me an idiot?" I shouted at him, trying to rise but Yachiru yanked me back down. "Yachiru, let me go! I need to teach him a lesson."

"You're going to teach me a lesson?" he raised an eyebrow at this and smirked.

"I taught you one last time, didn't I?" I said, grinning at him. 

"You taught me you can be beaten," he chuckled.

"Why you-" He cut me off when he grabbed the top of my head and began to pat it, as if he was rubbing a dog's head affectionately.

Instantly, my shoulders raised and my head dropped between them, as if I was some grumpy turtle trying to escape back into it's shell. Zaraki just kept rubbing my head from side to side.

"Quit it!" I snarled through gritted teeth, slapping his hand away. He instantly grabbed my chin and raised my head up. He brought his face close and I sucked in a breath, an unfamiliar emotion swirling in my stomach.

Caught in our own little world, he gave me his most famous grin and I returned it.

"Kenny!" My head was yanked out of Kenpachi's hold by my plait. "You messed up her hair."

His booming laughter rang out as I tried to detach myself from Yachiru's hold on my hair, tears pricking my eyes from the pain of having my hair ripped out of my scalp. Kenpachi left after Yachiru threw a hairbrush at him, leaving me alone with Yachiru and her torture methods.

"Yachiru, ow, that hurts! Stop it!" I cried, before she settled down.

"Now I have to start over," I heard her say and I could almost imagine her pouting face.

An hour later, with a numb scalp, I walked out of our shared room with my hair completely redesigned. My fringe had been straightened and flicked to one side, while the rest of my head was in a complex braid which I had no idea how I was going to remove. Yachiru had also thought it would be great if she threaded some little red flower clips into it to match the red streaks in my hair.

Next chance I get, I'm cutting off all my hair.

A wolf- whistle had my hand dropping to my zanpakuto hilt, earning me a zap.

"Looking good Kera," one of the squad members muttered.

"Strut that stuff!" cried another.

I turned to glare at both of those men but more made comments as I walked past. I was getting very uncomfortable with their stares but I reminded myself that I could take them all down if they tried anything.

"Looking good Kera!" Ikkaku called out over the railing, some of his friends whistling at me.

"You want me to carve out your smiles?" I snarled, glaring up at them.

They all backed away from the railing except for Ikkaku, who just laughed as I continued on. Blowing my fringe out of my eyes, I went somewhere quiet. Heading around the back of the barracks, a familiar spiritual pressure stopped me.

"Nice hair," Kenpachi commented and I turned to him.

He looked me up and down and I stiffened under his careful scrutiny. His gaze lingered on my face and hair and I blushed, turning away quickly.

"Am I allowed out of the Squad grounds? I need to consult with... someone," I asked quietly.

"Sure. No point keeping you under guard anymore. You haven't done anything stupid for a while."

When I looked up, he was gone and that feeling, like butterflies flying erratically, wouldn't leave. That's when the dots started to connect.

Am I falling for my captain?

I dismissed the thought before it could grow any bigger and set out to find a clearing. I really did need to speak with Ikari. I found a nice little clearing, on a hill overlooking over little hills. It was breezy and the forest behind me provided enough shade in the late afternoon.

Unsheathing my zanpakuto, the familiar jolt of electricity travelled up my arm. For the last few days, I hadn't been able to contact Ikari so now I was going to force my way into our shared spiritual world and demand answers.

Like why I couldn't wield him without almost being toasted alive from the inside out, why I couldn't feel his spiritual pressure within me anymore and why it was getting harder to remember his shikai and bankai names.

"Ikari! I don't care if you don't want to talk to me. I'm coming in no matter what you say!" I said out loud, holding the hilt in both hands, the tip pointing towards the ground.

Sitting cross- legged, I stabbed my zanpakuto into the soft dirt and concentrated my spiritual pressure so I could get to my spirit's world. It was harder than usual and by the time I arrived, I was shaking with exhaustion.

When I glanced around the world, it was in disarray. The land beneath the overhang looked like a giant had been playing with it. The ground had warped like an earthquake had come through. The lava rivers were known existent and smoke filled the air, turning the red sky almost black. The air whistled around my legs, cold and menacing, as if it was trying to suck me off the edge.

Quickly, I went into the cave's entrance, entering into a pitch black void. There was no golden light from the ceiling this time.

"Ikari!" I called out through cupped hands.

My voice echoed and echoed, but I knew he was in there.

"Ikari! I'm coming in!" 

I stepped in, holding my hands out in front of me so I didn't bump into anything.

Ssssssssss.

I stopped and turned towards the sound, but it repeated itself to my right then behind me. It was the sound of scales along stone; Ikari was here. Behind me, I felt a presence form and I turned, raising my hand up. "Ikari, I know it's you."

Red hot flames in the air appeared before me, the outline of Ikari's teeth visible. The flame shot out just above my head, in a straight line, causing the wall to catch fire. Suddenly, I could see everything clearly.

"What's going on?" I frowned, not at all concerned about the new fire trick.

You shouldn't be here, he huffed, turning his face away from me.

I noticed his appearance then. His body seemed sharper, as if he was starving somehow. The hollow bone at his joints seemed thicker and encompassed a greater area and his black scales didn't shine with their usual lustre. He seemed scarier than usual and it frightened me; this wasn't the Ikari I knew.

He regarded me with a slitted yellow eye as I took a step back. "What's going on?" I repeated.

Nothing that concerns you.

"It concerns me because I can't wield you anymore. Explain to me why you're fading from my spiritual pressure and why it feels like you don't even inhabit the sword anymore!" I demanded.

I don't have to answer to you, human! he snapped, his jaws inches from my face, but I didn't budge.

"Tell me the truth, Ikari. Tell me what's going on?" I said through gritted teeth, staring him in the eye.

I cannot tell you, he answered meekly, the bite still in his voice though.

"And what type of an excuse is that?"

The safest one.

"The safest option is to electrify me and stop me from using you? Wow, that's great; it still doesn't explain why though."

I'm not allowed to tell you.

"Who said? I'm supposed to be master; you are my zanpakuto spirit." I pointed at my chest, getting angry. Only I was supposed to command Ikari and not some outsider.

Kera, I'm not yours.

"Wait, what?" I asked, confused. "What does that mean? You are my zanpakuto spirit." When he doesn't reply, my eyes widen in horror and shock. "You're not my zanpakuto spirit?" I cried in disbelief.

No, I am not. I never was in the beginning either.

"The least you can do at this point is give me something to go on!" I yelled at him, frustrated and afraid. I didn't know what was going on.

Kera, you were never supposed to wield a zanpakuto.  

I stumbled back in surprise at that one. What did that mean? Was I not a soul reaper? "Then who am I?" I asked quietly, looking down at my hands.

Kera, he replied, his voice losing it's harshness and if I didn't look at him, I would believe he was the same old Ikari I used to know. You aren't what you expect.

A clear peal of a bell rang out, followed by softer, smaller ones. Looking around sharply, I tried to figure out where they were coming from.

Goodbye, Kera. For what it was worth, you wielded me excellently, Ikari said, as his body became ashes which floated out the cave entrance.

"No, wait!" I cried, tears forming in my eyes. I chased after the ashes but I couldn't bring my- no, the -dragon back. "Ikari!" I cried out into the open. "You didn't tell me anything! Come back! Please, come back!" I stood on the edge of the overhang, watching the ashes disappear. "DON'T LEAVE ME!"

The ground began to rumble then and I looked down, watching as the stone at the base of the cliff crumbled away, bringing down the top. I fell with it too, waking back up in the Soul Society just before I hit the ground.