Home Is Where The Heart Is (cont. from Karakura Town)

Byakuya was luckily away from his barracks at the time; the group couldn't be seen until they had changed Xalen into a Shinigami. Rose sighed shaking slightly, "Xalen, you're going to have to be more ninja then you have ever been -- hide your Reiatsu; anything the other Shinigami can use to track you down." Andy nodded in agreement, "And let's all be careful."

Her Reiatstu was already hidden. "Gotcha." She said with a brief nod

She looked up, hearing someone walking their direction. She glanced at the trio and whispered "Should I hide...?"

Rose shook her head, recognizing the incoming Reiatsu as none other than Shunsui Kyōraku, Captain of the 8th Division. The moment the other Captain had spotted out the group, he came running over. "Ayame-Taichou, who's all with you?" He gave Xalen a funny look, then turned his gaze towards Craig and Andy, "I know Division 12, so that's no worry, but who's the girl?" Rose frowned, "Shunsui-Taichou, step away; I must speak with the Soutaichou right away." Shunsui glared, his eyes narrowing at Rose, "Why? What business do you have with the Soutaichou?" He placed a hand on the hilt of his Zanpakuto. "That's none of your business." Rose spat and, grabbing Xalen's wrist, pulled her friend past Shunsui. Craig and Andy exchanged glances and then followed with a quicker pace.

[Division 12: Andy Sixx; Division 12 - Lieutenant: Craig Mabbitt]

Seeming confused, Xalen looked back at the man as Rose pulled her away quickly.
The grip Rose had on her wrist began to feel uncomfortable, making her squirm.

"Rose-sama..."She whispered "Who was that...? Where are we going? Why did he call you Ayame..?"
Question after question, she had so many that were still unanswered. The Soul Society information was so confusing to her.... She didn't know how in the world she was going to be able to keep up with everyone.

Rose let go of Xalen and replied quietly, "That was Shunsui Kyōraku, 8th Division Taichou. Taichou means Captain, just FYI." She smiled and continued, "We're going to see the Soutaichou, or Head Captain, to see if he'll 'give' you the Shinigami powers." "And," Craig jumped in, "he called her Ayame because that's the name she has taken up in the Soul Society as so people don't guess her true identity."

She nodded "Oh.. I see... So... Will I have to change my name too...? Just to be safe...?"
As she asked, she began thinking of names that she could go by in her time at the Soul Society.

"Most likely," Andy nodded with a small smile. "If ya need help, I know plenty of good names; Raven, Nightshade, Everlasting, Hero..." He was spewing out names so fast, it was hard to keep up.

She listened to the names he helped list.
It was hard to keep up, being he was going so fast... But the one that seemed to capture her interest the most was Hero.
"Hm.. Hero.."
She nodded in satisfaction, stretching.
"Well, let's go see this fool."

Rose smiled, "From here on out, then, we shall call you Hero." Andy nodded, "I like that one." The three of them started walking again, Rose motioning for Hero to catch up. When they finally arrived, Craig smirked, "This is gonna be fun," His voice dripped sarcasm.

Hero kept walking, looking around. Everything looked so weird to her...
She didn't know how well she was gonna cope and be comfortable with living here for a while.
She wasn't used to all the rules the Soul Society had; but she was gonna stay anyways.
She hated Hueco Mundo. Everyone was highly abusive, and no one could ever take a joke.

Rose pushed open the door slowly, her thoughts racing, each one a different idea on how this was going to go. Some were not as good as others, but some played out fairly well. Either way, she hoped that today would go smoothly and Hero would become a Shinigami like they had all hoped.

"Fukutaichou, Yamamoto?" She whispered quietly, as though he would shatter if the words were spoken too loud. "Ayame-Taichou? Is that you?" He demanded calmly. "Yes, Fukutaichou." "What is it that you need?" Rose took a deep breath, unsure if she really wanted to continue, so instead, she pointed at Hero, "Her..."

Hero tensed up, staring at the old man.
I've seen him before...
She averted her gaze away from his eyes, trying not to make eye contact, hoping he wouldn't notice her as the arrancar she once was... Now that I'm human, he shouldn't be able to recognize me. Right...?
She began mentally questioning herself, her mind racing to find the answers. She became restless and started tapping her fingers on her side and tapping her foot on the ground.

Yamamoto stared at the girl for a moment, not sure if he'd seen her before, but deciding in the end that he hadn't. "What about her?" He asked. "She is in a... dilemma... and we need your help. C-Can you make her a... Shinigami?" He glanced at Rose, his expression never changing, "I should've realized she was a mere human..." He finally frowned, "But her... her Reiatsu was once that of an Arrancar, am I right?" Rose gulped, and nodded slowly.

"...Alright," Fukutaichou said at last, sighing heavily.

Hero's face lightened in surprise. He agreed to it...?
This made her even more restless. She began to look around to keep from walking or running away.

Rose was taken back, she hadn't really thought that he would agree, so she had been prepared to use force. Still, she was thankful.
"The more time you spend in Seireitei, the more your powers will accumulate," Yamamoto murmured with a slight smile, "and Ayame-Taichou, or Rose-Taichou, whichever you prefer, need to conceal your Reiatsu a little more.." She nearly choked, "Y-Yes, Fukutaichou..." And she turned to leave.

As Hero was looking around, she caught a last look at the old man. Slowly turning around to face and follow Rose, she began walking... Right into another person that happen to not be Rose. "Sorry..." She murmured. She caught up with her friend, looking back. "Just like that...?" She looked at Rose, a confused frown on her face.

"I guess so.." Rose bit the inside of her cheek, like she always did when she was nervous, "honestly, though, I thought he was going to say no." Craig and Andy arrived next to Rose not a minute later than Hero, and Craig looked upset. "Rose..." He whispered, barely audible, "can we talk?" She nodded and he pulled her aside.

...

When Rose headed back to where Andy and Hero were standing, she did not look very happy, and Craig was no longer anywhere near her.

Hero tensed up "Rose... He didn't...?" She brought her hands up and began to crack her knuckles.
"Where is he." She growled lowly under her breath.

"Hero, it's alright.." Rose sighed and glanced up at the clear, blue sky, "it doesn't matter.." Andy had the same expression as Hero, "If he hurt you... he's fuckin' dead. Friend of mine or not." "You guys, really. It's okay. But she knew, if they really wanted to, they could pretty much get away with murder.

---

[I'm switching Rose's color from RED to VIOLET, because when Gerard comes in, he's gonna be RED. Hahah.]

Hero shook her head "Don't even try to play that, Rose! We both know you're hurting." She stared at the ground.
"I'm leaving for a little bit." She disappeared to Karakura.

Rose sighed, "Fuck this." And, like Xalen, she headed off to Karakura town, though to an entirely different place-- a bar. She figured one or two shots wouldn't hurt. And it didn't, but she had more than just one or two. She had four and a half shots of straight vodka. Normally, that wouldn't have bothered her, but she was already emotionally unstable, and it only added to the chemicals entering her body. Rose could barely stand up, let alone the ability to walk outside. She slumped down against the wall of the bar and started to cry. It wasn't everyday that shit like this happened. She needed something that would take her mind off of what had happened.
"Hey?" Rose looked up, hearing a voice. The stranger in front of her looked worried, but at the same time he carried a sexy smirk on his face, "Are you okay?" Her vision blurred, making it hard to focus on him. What did stand out was his bright red hair. "H-Hello? You are?" "Gerard," He replied with a smile and offered out a hand to help her up. She took it gratefully, and wobbled slightly as she stood. "Whoa~" Gerard quickly wrapped his arm around her waist, a little too low if she had been sober, to keep her from falling. "Thanks..."

Hero dragged Rose through the entrance, sitting her friend down at a bench. "I don't know how the hell you got this bad..." She sighed and looked up at the moon, frowning "My gosh, Rose... Yeah, I know he hurt you.. But you can't let him get to you like that..." She looked at her friend, then to some rustling bushes. She narrowed her eyes and took a few steps forward to it.

In a non-drunken state, Rose would have never been caught singing a Ke$ha song, but, here she is now, yelling the words to 'Blah Blah Blah.'
"Just zip your lips like a padlock and meet me at the back with the jack and the jukebox. I dont really care where you live at just turn around boy and let me hit that!!"

When she heard Hero finally speak, she hushed up immediately, and then started up with, "I'm fine... screw Craig. But am I really not allowed to have a good time for once?" She frowned when bushes started rustling.

Hero looked at Rose with a hard stare "Not when you're vulnerable."
She rolled her eyes. At this point, she was starting to miss everyone from Hueco Mundo; especially the ones she was most close with... She frowned and walked towards the bushes, her blade drawn. "Who's there."
She didn't care who it was, but deep down, she wanted it to be someone she knew.. She wasn't up for fighting, especially right now.