Two days later and I was out of hospital, walking casually to Squad 11. 'Walking casually' though meant limping and cursing Kenpachi for the wound he caused me. Even though Unohana assured me it was healing well, it still bloody hurt to breath or to move for that matter.

The wound on my back healed into an ugly scar, with guidance from Unohana's healing spells; however, the one in the centre of my breastbone was being a pain. In the end, Unohana had to stitch it up because it resisting her healing spells. She warned me not to rupture the stitches and I wholeheartedly agreed, before bolting out of the hospital room.

My zanpakuto quivered at my hip, an audible buzzing coming from it. Rolling my eyes, I headed towards a clear place to sit.

Ikari wanted to talk. Finding a tiny clearing surrounded by a small cluster of trees, I unsheathed my sword and planted it tip down into the ground, before sitting cross- legged before it. A hand on the hilt, I let myself be transported into Ikari's world.

The grass on which I sat on morphed into black, shiny stone, an outcrop which overlooked a deep red sky from a sun forever frozen in time and a barren land filled with more black stones and lava rivers snaking around them. The wind whistled in the summits of the mountain as I stood and made my way into the large, cavernous cave at my back.

The vaulted ceilings inside were veined with gold rivulets that glowed, creating a soft natural light to bath the area beneath it. A large, black dragon sat facing the entrance, his tail flicking in annoyance. White Hollow bone on his face and once vulnerable joints were splotched with grey, a sign that he was very angry at me.

You are a stubborn and stupid human, Ikari huffed, leaning down and blowing smoke from his nostrils into my face.

Coughing, I waved it away with a hand. "Calm down, would ya? I was fine."

Fine? It seemed I had said the wrong word. Fine?! You almost died! he growled, shaking himself like a dog as he stood and stared me down. His talons raked along the stone floor, creating sparks, and the cavern rumbled slightly.

"Calm down," I repeated, hands raised in surrender, but I didn't lower my gaze from his, "or you're going to bring the whole world down again."

The world wouldn't matter if you had died. If I need to calm down, then you need to start caring.

"And that means what exactly?"

You need to start caring whether or not you might die the next time you foolishly battle someone ten times stronger than you.

"Kenpachi is not ten times stronger than me!" I argued. "It was one fight, Ikari, in a long list of others. I've fought people a lot stronger than me loads of times and I never died then!"

Yes, but no wound you ever received from them threatened your health like that one before. That attack wasn't about recognising who was stronger; it was an attack meant to kill.

"It was an attack to see who was stronger. Obviously, I was not," I countered. "We had a choice to fight the Captain or not; we both agreed, remember? We knew the consequences of fighting Zaraki would be catastrophic."

I was just trying to make him see reason but what he said echoed in my head. Ikari had been afraid when Kenpachi had shoved his sword through me and created that ghastly wound. If Ilari was afraid, then it really was worse than what I made it out to be.

He sighed, smoke billowing lightly out of his nostrils. Just... be careful, he said, before cutting the link.

I blinked a couple of times and ended back up in the soul society, watching the last glows of the setting sun disappear into the night sky. A chilly breeze began and I stood, stretching my aching and stiff muscles, before sheathing Ikari and day- dreaming about a nice, hot shower.

Ikkaku was the first to find me, standing on the first floor of the main building. "Hey Kera! Good to see that you're still alive!" he called, a bottle of sake in his hands. His cheeks were tinted pink, which led me to believe that he was already drunk.

"Still alive and still stronger than you," I quipped. Obviously, he took this as an insult, lurching dangerously over the balcony.

"You challenging me?" His zanpakuto occupied his hand as he staggered down the stairs.

"Maybe, maybe not," I answered in a nonchalant way, shrugging my shoulders. The brief movement caused a slight tremor of pain to run through the wound.

All riled up now, he stomped down the stairs, swinging his zanpakuto down; I just stepped out of the way, his momentum carried him down and his drunken state slowed his reflexes. That's why, when the dust cleared, Ikkaku was face down in the dirt.

"Kera!" The sing- song voice of Yachiru called to me as I helped an unconscious Ikkaku into a sitting position.

"Hey Yachiru," I grunted. Ikkaku weighed more than I realised. I patted his shoulder as she came over. "Oh, hi Captain," I added after seeing Yachiru with Kenpachi.

He looked between me and Ikkaku. "You've healed enough?" I'm guessing he thought I fought Ikkaku.

"Unfortunately, no," I answered, fingering the hilt of my zanpakuto. "He did that himself. I am, however, feeling better. Wanna have a little fight?" Ikari started to quiver again, only this time it was with rage. 

A black butterfly fluttered before my face and I swiped my hand at it, before it alighted on my nose, opening its wings wide. "Kera Senbonsai to report to the Head Captain's office immediately," the butterfly commanded in a deep voice and I stared at it cross-eyed, surprised.

I definitely wasn't expecting the butterfly to speak. Dumbfounded, I watched it fly away.

"What did it want?" Kenpachi asked, slightly bored.

"I'm to meet with the Head Captain, immediately."

"Then you better go, Kera."

Not to seem weak in front of the Captain, I flash- stepped away, even as Ikari made violent protests about this. He smugly said 'I told you so' when I landed, a hand to my chest. Gasping for air, pain shot out from the wound, rendering me immobile for a good couple of minutes. Checking the wound once I could stand straight again, I noticed that the bandage covering was slowly turning pink.

There goes some stitches. Unohana is going to kill me.

Probing the wound, I realised that it didn't really hurt around the edges, just right on the wound. It baffled me, because it wasn't like that before, but I didn't have time to think about it. I hurried on to the Head Captain's office, knocking on his door.

"Come in," he called out and I entered with my head bowed.

"You asked to see me, Head Captain?"

"Yes, I have a mission for you," he stated, placing the paper he was reading to the side, studying me.

"A mission?" Oh boy. I hesitated to say yes, Unohana's probation looming over me. "I'm sorry, sir, but I am under strict instructions not to fight."

He raised an eyebrow at me. "And why is that, child?"

"I got a serious injury while fighting Kenpachi Zaraki. Unohana has advised me that fighting would be... unwise."

"Ah." Realisation dawned on his lined face. "So you were the one causing the disruption in the Seireitei? I should have known it would be soul reapers from Squad 11 that would cause that much damage." My lips twitched to smile so I bit the inside of my cheek.

He must be referring to the destruction of most of the Squad 11 buildings and some of the other Squad precincts close by. It took them four days to clean up the mess and another two to rebuild. I hung my head in shame, before letting the smile loose under the cover of my fringe.

"No matter then. If you are unwell, I will call upon someone else to enter the world of the Living for this mission."

I perked up at this. "The world of the Living?" I asked in a squeaky voice.

I have always wanted to return to the world of the Living, because I was pretty sure that's where I lived before I died. Didn't all souls? I wanted to explore the cities that other soul reapers told tales of, taste the delicious food on offer, experience new sensations and thrills.

The Head Captain watched me with both eyebrows raised this time as I flexed a muscle in my arm, inspecting it. "You know, I'm feeling much better now, Head Captain. I believe I am capable for this mission." 

"No," he responded firmly, cutting the air with his hand for effect.

"But-"

"If you are injured, then this might very well cause your downfall. I will not allow you to embark on this mission unless you are at full health." I tried protesting again, disappointment setting in, but he stopped me each time. "Enough!" The room shook. "I have made my decision."

Angry and flustered, I stormed out and slammed the door, not caring if I had to face the consequences for that later. By the time I reached the Squad, I was fuming and cursing profanely – and slightly out of breath. By the end of a cooling shower and a change in wound dressings, I was a lot clamer and happier, walking into the dining room casually.

"Hey Kera! Over here!" some men called out form a large table in the corner. It seemed my popularity had grown just by fighting Kenpachi and still having a heartbeat and all my limbs.

Grinning, I grabbed a plate of steaming hot food and made my way over. The men weren't as bad as what I originally thought; sure, some were as ugly as they get, but they were nice enough, considering the Squad's reputation.

Dinner lasted longer than expected after Yachiru initiated a food fight, which ended with me and Ikkaku wrestling in the midst of it all. Rubbing my chest gently to dissipate the weird, tingling feeling of pain that erupted halfway through the wrestling contest, I headed back to my room, leaving the raucous laughter of drunk men behind.

Food clung to my body and as I swiped at some of the gunk, flicking it to the floor, I wished I had the energy to make it to the showers again. But alas, I had enough trouble keeping my eyes open at the moment with the pain and the sleep trying to wrap me up.

"Hey Kera." I stopped and turned, seeing Ikkaku coming up behind me, his own face and chest covered in food. "The Head Captain informed me of the situation; I'm taking over your mission to the world of the Living," he stated, slinging an arm over my shoulder.

Hunching my shoulders and grumbling, I tried to think of something snarky, but my brain was too fuzzy to come up with anything.

"Great. Just great. Have fun with that," I scowled, venom dripping from my voice. "At least you have no injuries that will cause your downfall. Take your time with my mission because it's a rarity at its best; there's probably not going to be another mission to the world of the Living for the next century or so!"

"Aw, don't be so down," he drawled, pinching one of my cheeks.

I almost bit his hand off for that. I might have been overreacting with my statement but the sting of disappointment and shame were still painful and sarcasm seemed to put these emotions to great use at the moment.

Opening the door to the room Yachiru and I shared, he followed in uninvited. Glaring at him for a split second, before sighing, I headed behind the change curtain to escape from my filthy clothes and put on new ones.

When I walked back out, he had already occupied my bed, spreading himself out along it. It seemed he had gotten dressed too and I wondered where he had gotten the clothes from when I noticed the mess on one of my shelves. He was wearing my favourite long pants and no shirt. I didn't know how they managed to fit him and I stated as much, also adding on the threat that if he tore them, he would have to stitch them back up.

Normally I would have been flushed with a guy half- naked in my room, but if I had to describe my relationship with Ikkaku, I would say it was sibling- like. To me, Ikkaku was like the annoying brother: we fought like hell but had each other's back when the time came.

"What do you want?" I sighed, sitting on the end of my bed.

"I have a plan," he mused, staring at the ceiling.

"Oh yeah, when have you been the one for critical thinking?"

"Keep mocking me and I won't tell you."

"Maybe I don't want to know," I snapped back. I sat there quietly for about half a minute before curiousity got the best of me. "Okay, what's the plan?"

"You're coming with me on my assignment."

"Why are you being so nice," I countered, suspiciously looking at him.

"Why can't I be nice?"

"Because whoever created you didn't add that much niceness. I thought you enjoyed doing missions on your own?"

"Ouch, that's harsh, Kera," he replied, sitting up with a hand to his chest as if he was in pain. "I thought you would want me to share my things."

"Get to the point," I exclaimed, waving away his theatrics.

"Anyway, since this was originally your mission and since I don't really want to do much, we'll compromise. You come with me, do the mission and come back before anyone even notices."

I dead- panned at him, giving him my signature 'really?' look before pondering the plan.

If I can get in and out before anyone notices I've left, then this might actually work.

But there were still several problems to address. "Unohana has me on probation and I really don't want to test her; also, the Head Captain said I am not allowed to go," I answered, folding my arms.

I didn't add that there was a chance I might injure myself more since my wound wasn't healing very quickly and I couldn't move as fast as normal without incapacitating myself.

"Really, Kera? You're giving me excuses for an opportunity of a lifetime. You said so yourself – this mission might not come around again for several years." Still hesitating, my brain couldn't come up with anything to reply to that. Ikkaku kept probing though; he wasn't giving up. "When have you ever followed rules from the higher ups before? I didn't take you for a simple, docile woman who followed every commanded barked her way; maybe I was wrong."

That was the push I needed, even if he went a bit too far with that. "I'm not simple and I am definitely not some docile woman," I said through gritted teeth. "And I definitely don't like following rules."

Clasping hands and shaking, we both smiled at each other.

"When do we leave?" I asked, feeling a rush of adrenaline.

"We can head out tonight. Just wait in your room until I send a signal."

~

It was around midnight when Ikkaku sent the signal, which was a piece of paper being plastered to the outside of my window. Tiptoeing past Yachiru, I opened the window and retrieved the paper, reading the scrawled writing by moonlight.

Meet me at the Gate. I'll be waiting.

Grabbing my zanpakuto and dressing quickly, I hurried out, careful to make as little noise as possible. By the time I got there, I was huffing and puffing, my chest throbbing like a low beating drum; but I ignored it all. Ikkaku was waiting against the side of an opened Gate, running a finger down his zanpakuto's blade.

"I'm ready," I said and he glanced up.

"Good." Ikkaku went first, stepping through, and I glanced around to made sure no one was watching me as I made my way through as well.

That was easy, I thought as I came into the world of the Living.

That's when I realised that I was falling.