"W E L C O M E HOME!!!!" Keigo screamed the minute we appeared around the corner. The water works had already started with him. "YOU WERE GONE SO LONG, ICHIGO! AND WHY DID YOU DITCH ME AS WELL, MY LOVELY BABE KERA? I WAS PLAYING ALL BY MYSELF!!"

Keigo's welcoming hug was stopped in it's tracks by Ichigo's foot in his face, which I was glad for. Does he even realise how wrong that last sentence was? And why is he calling me 'lovely babe'?

"Nice to see you too," Ichigo sighed.

"You're mean!" Keigo protested, but his voice was muffled through Ichigo's foot so it came out like "Mrph meem!"

"Hey! I'm back too!" announced a golden crispy Mizuiro. Yes, crispy. His vacation must have been fun if he got that much of a tan. "Did you miss me, Keigo?"

"Shut up, you foreign devil! This salt should ward you off!" Keigo exclaimed, throwing a bowl of salt at Mizuiro, who complained that it was burning his 'Phuket tan', whatever that was.

"Is it normally like this when people leave Keigo behind?" I asked Ichigo.

"Usually."

"My lovely babe, Kera," Keigo announced, sliding towards me and draping an arm over my shoulders. "If only the entire world could see the beauty that radiates from you; alas, I and I only can gaze at your burning figure!"

I glared daggers at him, while he surreptitiously gazed at my chest region. "Something else is going to burn in a second if you keep diverting your gaze down," I threatened, poking a finger in one of his eyes.

He dramatically stumbled away and leant against a pole, proclaiming that 'the lovely babe Kera had shunned him and he would forever...' and that's about as much as I heard because Mizuiro was asking me a question.

"So, how was you vacation, Kera? Get up to anything exciting?"

Let a guy who wore a striped hat and clogs everyday train me, almost had my soul devoured and got beat up by a crazy Hollow chick living inside me who wants to take over the soul society.

I smiled at him. "Not really. Went out with the cousins a couple of days, but mostly stayed at my home."

"You should have come with me. Next time, you can come and sun yourself on a tropical island," Mizuiro offered. I thanked him for that.

Suddenly, Keigo, who had engaged Ichigo in a fiery conversation after his little drama performance, went flying past. Tatsuki, Chad and Orihime stood where he had once been.

"Tatsuki! Orihime!" Mizuiro said.

"Hey. Chad too? What a surprise..." Ichigo trailed off. He was staring intently at Tatsuki. "Hey... What happened to your arm?!"

"Oh this?" She glanced down at her right arm which was in a cast and sling, then proceeded to explain how she got runner up at the national competition. I couldn't remember the sport though. But 2nd place was really good.

Mizuiro's and Keigo's face also told me that 2nd place in that competition was a good thing. They looked positively pale, sweat dripping down their faces.

Ichigo still couldn't believe it. "Runner up... You got 2nd place at nationals?" Even he looked a bit worried.

"Yeah! It's really lame. If it weren't for this injury, I would've won!" Tatsuki looked quite grumpy now.

"Hey, 2nd place ain't so bad! Congrats on the silver!" I said, clapping for her. Now she was only mildly grumpy as she offered me a sheepish smile.

"What kinda monster could do that to you?" Ichigo thought outloud.

"Oh no, this wasn't from a match. I got hit by a car when I went to buy a drink after the semifinals."

I shook my head and rolled my eyes. Well that's a bit embarrassing.

"But after that, I managed to beat my next opponent with just my left arm. Unfortunately, in the finals, I had to fight a gorilla."

I snorted with laughter as Tatsuki proceeded to give us a detailed description of the lady, or lady man, whichever it was, even down to her little catch phrase. Keigo and Mizuiro looked about ready to run away and I snuck behind them. A single tap was all it took to have the two of them jumping and facing me in weird running poses.

My laughter rang loud and clear, mingling with the others. By some unspoken word, we all began walking towards the festival area. Fluffy clouds floated on the crystal blue sky as the sun set slowly and I half listened to Orihime explaining the best way to cook dumplings, still mulling over a puzzle Chad had told me several minutes ago.

"Whoa! Just walking and talking took up a lot of time," Ichigo pointed out.

"Where is it again?" Tatsuki asked.

"The Onose river," Keigo answered.

"What? Then we're here already."

"Not yet. They're shooting them off at the city field across the river!" Keigo was not pleased.

"We gotta go farther down to get a good view," Mizuiro pointed out as Tatsuki moved towards the grassy area at the side of the river.

She plonked herself down. "What? What's wrong with where we are now? If we're too close, we'll get lost in all those street vendors and crowds of people."

My stomach growled loudly at the word vendors, but luckily no one took any notice as Keigo began ranting about the significance of the fireworks, then the festival, then girls in yukatas.

"What is wrong with you guys?! You came to watch fireworks in your street clothes?!" he addressed us, the girls. "Why did you even bother to come?" I raised an eyebrow at him. "Oh, but Kera, you look mighty fine in that short dress."

"Should we check it out for while?" Ichigo asked, referring to the street vendors.

"Maybe..." replied Mizuiro.

"Aw, please! Can we go and get food?" I begged, tugging at Ichigo's sleeve.

"How old are you?" he scoffed, trying to detach himself from my clawed fingers.

"Food!" I practically snarled. Oh, wait, that was Chiya that time.

KLAK, KLAK, KLAK, KLAK, KLAK, KLAK, KLAK, KLAK!

What was that? I pivoted, expecting an assault of some type. In the distance and approaching quickly were three figures. It soon became known who those three were.

"ICHIGO!" his siblings and father shouted. "KERA!!"

Isshin, Yuzu and Karin collided with Ichigo, spectacularly, knocking him off balance. I gave a snort of laughter but that was soon replaced with a surprised shout.

Ichigo had hooked his arm around my own to stop his fall. And NOW I WAS ROLLING DOWN THE HILL AS WELL!

Grass got in my mouth and in my ears and no doubt I just flashed every person who could see the tumbling mess of body parts. We came to a sliding halt; the world however kept spinning.

Luckily, I landed with my backside facing the river. I don't think I could have suffered the embarrassment of Keigo and all the others seeing my purple underwear. Especially Keigo. It would be like showing my butt to Ikkaku. Endless, endless torture.

"Wants some water, niece?" A drunk Isshin waved a flask before my face. I had a pretty good guess that there had to be something stronger than water in that metal tin.

"WHAT? YOU WON'T EAT MY BANANA?!" Yuzu screamed in Ichigo's ear, trying to force a banana with what looked like chocolate into his face.

"Turn down the volume! Are you drunk or something?!" Ichigo shouted in return.

"I'm absolutely wasted," Isshin admitted proudly. Yep, not water. Definitely not water.

Chad, the gentle giant, helped me up. I said thanks and began dusting off my dress. At least I didn't land in mud or get hit by one of those bananas. That could have been dangerous.

So while the others bickered and discussed the finer points of the 'juice' the grocery man had, I scrambled my way back up the hill. I sighed at the top, stretching out my aching body.

"That was quite a tumble," Orihime commented.

"I would have worn pants under this if I had known I would be participating in events at the festival that involved gymnastics," I joked. Tatsuki laughed.

"Hey, Kera! Are you coming?" Karin called out, waving an arm. Mizuiro and Keigo had joined the three Kurosaki's. "We've saved some seats."

"I'll follow," I responded, hobbling after them. I had the biggest cramp in my right leg now.

"How about you lovely ladies?" Isshin asked Tatsuki and Orihime.

"We'll be there later."

"Okay! Great!" And with that, the five of them were gone, leaving Ichigo, Chad, myself, Orihime and Tatsuki behind.

Ichigo sighed. "Oh well, I guess I'll go too. Sorry about all the chaos, Tatsuki. It's okay if you don't want to go."

"I know. Don't worry about me, I'll show up later. Go catch up with them."

So, with Ichigo and Chad in tow, I headed towards where all the street vendors would be. The streets were thick with a crushing crowd and brightly coloured lights. It was loud, it was stifling, it was... perfect. The smells, the sights, this feeling of excitement.

"Hey, Kera! Don't go too far!" Ichigo called out but when I turned around, he had been swept up by the crowd. Or it might have been me who had been swept away.

Enjoying yourself? Chiya questioned. She seemed happy.

"I've never been to a festival like this before," I said under my breath. A vendor shouted in a boisterous voice as he handed out sticks with meat on them. I snagged a few happily, spinning away to another vendor who sold stuffed animals and lucky charms.

With the few coins I had been given earlier by Yuzu, I bought one of the random charms he was handing out. I managed to wiggle my way out of the crowds, meat in one hand, random charm in the other.

Finding a quieter spot, I sat on the grass and ate the food, watching the people pass by. A sense of happiness washed over me. This was one of the events I had wished to witness when I had first become a soul reaper. To interact with the World of the Living as if I actually existed in it.

Licking my fingers clean, I turned my attention back to the random charm. It was wrapped in coarse brown paper. I tore it open greedily, giddy with excitement at what it could be.

A yarrow carved on wood fell to the grass, nestled in the blades. The world around me quietened. I picked up the small carving, running a finger over the flower gently. A small smile graced my lips.

Squad 11's insignia was the yarrow. This charm, it had to be a sign. I held it tight in a fist and, as a lone firework was shot into the sky, swore on it that we would save Rukia and I would return to my home, to my squad. No matter the cost, no matter my past and no matter what was to come in the future.

We would succeed.