Kisuke told me that I had to lay low while he deciphered a way to get me back my soul reaper powers. He said it would be hard, but not entirely impossible, so there was a good chance that I could go back to being, well, me.

RRRIIIINNNNGGG!

Scowling, I hefted the school bag up onto my shoulder again, looking through the wrought iron gates to the front of the school.

Karakura High School was stamped on the front of the building and students were piling in through the opened double doors. Grumbling, I joined the crush, people jostling me to and fro.

I don't know why I was putting up with this; it was all Urahara's idea.

That bloody idiot.

I thought back to the conversation from this morning, wondering if there would have been a way for me to escape this fate.

"Kera, I think going to school would be good," Urahara said from behind his fan.

"Yeah, you've been moping around here all week," Jinta butted in before Tessai hit him on the head.

"I've already been to school once before; I'm not going back," I seethed, glaring at Jinta.

"I get that, but laying low is a part of your job at the moment. At the moment, pretending to be human is the best way to mask your spiritual pressure. Who knows, you might find a way to get your soul reaper powers back at school." Urahara rifled around in a box. "Besides, I already have your uniform!" he crowed proudly.

"Yeah, no. Bloody Kisuke," I hissed under my breath.

"Excuse me?" asked someone in a soft voice.

"Huh?" I turned to see a girl with bright orange hair standing behind me.

"Are you going in?" she asked.

"Uh." I blinked, before noticing that I was standing in the middle of the doorway. "Oh, oops. Sorry." I stood to the side.

"That's okay," she replied, standing beside me. "I'm Orihime Inoue. Are you new here?"

"Yeah, it's my first day; my name is Kera Senbonsai."

"An interesting name," she gushed and I gave her a weird look. "Well, I'll take you to the office then."

"Thanks. That's really nice of you." I was genuinely surprised that she was offering her help to me.

"Come on!" she called out, grabbing my hand and leading me into the school building and down a long hallway before we reached the office.

Following after her, I realised that she reminded me instantly of Yachiru and it hurt, being reminded of my past. But I shook it from my head, trying not to dwell on it.

"Ah, good morning girls." The office lady greeted us as we pushed open the door, a little bell tingling in response.

Another reminder of those I had lost.

Captain.

Aw, come on now; don't tell me you're still pining and whining like a child.

Gritting my teeth, I tried to drive that blue dragon's voice from my head; she just laughed at me.

"Kera?"

Shaking my head quickly, I turned back to Orihime and the office lady, who was now holding out a piece of paper to me.

"Oh, sorry ma'am. I'm just a bit overwhelmed, that's all," I answered, the lie rolling off my tongue easily.

"That's quite alright; it can be tough transferring to another school," she answered sweetly, smiling at me.

I took the paper from her hands, glancing at it quickly. It was a roster of my classes and their rooms; on the other side was a map and highlighted numbers which I guessed must be my classrooms.

"I guess this is where we part ways, Orihime," I said to her, smiling. "I think I'm in a different year level than you."

"Oh, really? You're older? Wow. I never would have known." She smiled back, giving me a quick hug and running for the door. "Find me at lunch time if you can!" she called out, banging into the door frame before fumbling for the doorknob.

"Such a clumsy girl," the office lady tutted. "Now then, Kera. You better be on your way; I'll let your teacher know that you're coming and might be late should you get lost."

"Thank you very much." I bowed to her before heading out the door, studying the roster.

Now, which way is Room E- 3?

~

I finally managed to find the right class, the teacher ushering me in to stand before the class.

"How about you introduce yourself?" she asked.

My eyes flickered between all the people before I spoke. "My name is Kera Senbonsai." I bowed to the class.

"Welcome Kera. You may take the seat over by the window. Yes, that one over there," the teacher shooed me to the back where I took my seat and pulled out a notebook.

I tried to follow along with what was happening, scribbling notes where I thought was appropriate, but then I got bored. Absentmindedly, I glanced out the window, my pencil tapping against my book.

If I crossed my eyes, I could see my weird reflection staring back at me; and the people watching me over my shoulder. Sighing, I slumped in my seat and watched as a boy and girl appeared on the oval outside the window. Maybe out for a little secret mischief.

That's when I noticed the boy's outfit. Black with white trim. No doubt about it; it was the soul reaper uniform. I sat up straighter, looking around the classroom, but no one else seemed to notice.

I turned to see that the boy was arguing with the girl, pointing with his monster of a sword towards the centre of the oval. The girl poked him in the nose and started shaking something in the air.

The Hollow's roar rang true and strong through the room, alighting a fire in my body. My hand twitched and went instantly to my waist, searching for the hilt of my zanpakuto. Disappointment was like ash in my mouth as I went back to watching out the window.

When the Hollow materialised in the sky, an ugly flying creature, the boy instantly went into action. He jumped straight at the creature and swung down, slicing straight through. Even from here, I could feel his immense spiritual pressure and it surprised me that I didn't know who this boy was.

I thought Ikkaku said Rukia was the only soul reaper in Karakura town.

Just then, another Hollow's head appeared in the sky, behind the girl this time. Even though it was small and barely radiated any power, a parasite Hollow, I could tell the girl was unarmed and in a very vulnerable spot. My chair slammed backwards as I stood quickly, my hand seeking my zanpakuto again.

But it didn't matter; the girl turned round to face the Hollow, which had several legs and a small bulbous head. Raising a hand, a Kido blast radiated from it and smashed into the small Hollow, killing it instantly.

"Miss Senbonsai?" My head swivelled round to face the teacher. "Are you alright?"

The whole class was looking at me now. "Um," I began, trying to think up something. "Miss, I don't feel too well." I groaned for good measure, clutching my stomach.

She looked mortified, waving her hand at the door. "Quickly then, off you go to the bathroom."

I scooped up my bag and books, heading straight to the door. I said a quick goodbye, walked towards the toilets in case anyone was watching; with a quick glance to check the area, I made a bolt for the oval.

I had to find out who they were; maybe they could help me. An unregistered soul reaper was bound to have a few illicit ways to a soul reaper back their powers. I ran as fast as I could, but by the time I reached the oval, they were gone and the bell for lunch was ringing.

Sighing, a thing I seemed to be doing a lot of recently, I headed inside again, wondering where to go next. Maybe I could search for their spiritual pressure. I dashed into the bathroom, locking the toilet door and sat down, concentrating my thoughts and clearing my mind.

The only problem was that I wasn't all that good at searching for spiritual pressure and got nothing from my mental exercise. Back outside in the hallways again, I tried to think of another plan.

Maybe the roof? If I could see out over the entire school yard, I might be able to find the boy and the girl.

Heading for the closest set of stairs, I headed upwards, determined. By the time I reached the top, I was panting for breath.

Stupid gigai! Hopelessly made; Kisuke, I really am going to hurt you after school.

"Hey Kera!" I heard Orihime shout and I glanced up to see her.

And standing behind her were the boy and thegirl from the oval. How did I know? The one thing that stood out the most aboutthe boy was his brilliant orange hair.