I awoke to an unfamiliar ceiling. Right then and there I decided that I had a new goal that needed to be accomplished before any other plans were put in motion.

I swear the next time I fall unconscious, it will be because I choose to!

Pushing aside thoughts about my unhealthy sleep habits, I take a look around the room I’m in. Fairly empty, all things considered. Looks like a storage room that was cleared of everything except for some random posters on the walls.

Suddenly there is a loud crash outside the door followed by the sounds of many smaller things falling over.

“Jinta! What did I tell you about playing in the store! Get over here and sort this mess.” A deep voice booms. “And Ururu, go check on our guest. The Boss said she should be waking up soon.”

Ugh, guess I’m not going to be able to slip out unnoticed. Actually how badly hurt am I? I should be pretty hurt from earlier, but right now I feel sore but not in pain.

Sitting up on the futon, I notice that my left arm is wrapped in bandages and shifting my torso sends shocks of pain across my chest. Yep, definitely a few broken ribs. Even with whatever treatment I got while I was out, I’m not moving anytime soon.

I look up towards the door as I hear it slide open. A young girl nervously looks in while hiding behind the frame.

“Uhm, H-hello miss. Are you feeling okay? Can I g-get you anything?” She softly asks, shifting meekly from one foot to the other as a black cat slips by her feet and into the room. I know that she is one of the kids that Urahara is taking care of, but I can’t remember her name. I’m tempted to call her ‘Usagi’ between her attitude and the drooping pigtails, but that feels wrong.

Giving her a soft smile, I reply “I don’t suppose you can spare a glass of water? I’d like something to drink before I talk with your boss.”

Even though I try not to startle her, she still jumps at the huskiness of my voice. It sounds much better than earlier today, but the rasp is still clearly audible. “O-of course miss, I will be right back.” She says politely, then scurries off.

Shifting back so I’m leaning on my right elbow, I glance back at the cat crouched in the corner of the room. “So, what do you think kitty? How badly did that fight mess me up?” Yes, I know I shouldn't poke the assassin, but at this point what’s the harm?

Naturally , Yoruichi refuses to comment. Keeping up the act of a disinterested cat that is only tolerating my presence.

Sighing, I get back to determining the extent of my injuries using structural analysis to get the full picture. Left arm, broken in several places and completely immobile. Either due to damage or the wrappings keeping it from moving. Ribs, a few cracked or broken, but not enough that I can’t move at all though it is very uncomfortable. Head, surprisingly I don’t think I have a concussion, hell I don’t even have a headache which is a nice change of pace. Then finally legs. Yeah, those are pretty messed up. I didn’t notice when I was fighting the Hollow, but my failure at controlling the reinforcement technique seems to have torn most of the muscles in my legs in one place or another.

My investigation of cuts other cuts, scrapes, and injuries is interrupted when the girl from earlier returns with a glass of water. Following behind her is Kisuke Urahara and a large man with cornrowed hair and an impressive mustache. Damn, I can’t remember his name either. I know he used to be in the Kido Corps, but he was one of the background characters in the show that I never paid much attention to.

“Well good morning little miss!” exclaims Urahara, making a grand gesture with a fan he pulled out from somewhere. “It’s good to see you up and about, since you’ve been sleeping so long!”

Accepting the glass from the girl, I give her a bemused smile when she scurries back behind the two men in the room. After taking a quick sip, I look up to Urahara and feel my smile shift to a resigned one instead.

Unlike last I saw him, Urahara’s eyes are much more playful and warm than the hard grey stare he was giving me the last time I saw him. But I can see the intelligence and caution underneath, and can tell he is taking this conversation seriously.

Taking another sip, I clear my throat before replying. “Thank you for taking care of me after the fight. I don’t know what might have happened if I was on my own there.”

“Well naturally! What kind of gentleman would I be if I neglected a pretty girl in need like you?” He said, happily as he brought the fan in front of his mouth. “Though I have to question, how exactly did you know who I am?” His eyes hardening slightly. Looks like despite keeping a friendly mood, he seriously wants an answer.

Welp, looks like I’m not getting out of this.

I take a deep breath, “I saw some records a while back that included you. It mentioned you being a fairly strong fighter and a scientist. So I was kinda hoping to avoid you while I was in town.”

It’s not a lie in a certain point of view. I remember seeing him in the show which could be interpreted as records. The last thing I want is for him to discover that I’m some soul experiment and trying to study how I work or something similar. If I’m lucky I won’t draw his interest and can be on my way once we are done here.

Urahara looked searchingly at me for a while before relaxing again. “Well that’s fine. In any case, introductions! As you seem to know I am Kisuke Urahara, humble business owner and entrepreneur. With me are my employees Tessai, Ururu, and Jinta!” he exclaims, back in his happy persona while pointing out mustache man, the girl, and a small red-headed boy who entered at some point.

The boy, Jinta I guess, scowls at me before turning to Urahara, “The boxes are all sorted out again. Need anything else?”

He certainly is a moody one.

Urahara just waved him off, “Nah that should be good for now.”

“Of course, thats assuming you finished your other cleaning duties.” Musta-- Tessai says sternly adjusting his glasses and staring at the boy. While Jinta stiffens and nervously shifts closer to the door.

“O-of course, I just need to do a thing real quick.” He said, scampering out into the hall. Tessai just crosses his arms while mumbling about ‘that boy’.

Is it bad I feel a bit neglected? I mean, mysterious person right in front of them and they just ignore me?

As if answering my thoughts, both Urahara and Tessai look at me.

“Apologies miss. We haven’t let you introduce yourself yet”

“R-right, my name is Alexandria Cross. I’m kinda just passing through? Though I do have to thank you for not leaving me on the street, that might have been bad.” I direct the last part to Urahara directly. It pays to be polite after all.

He just laughs it off “No problem! It’s the least I could do for taking down a Hollow. Though you won’t be moving anytime soon with your legs in that condition. If we are going to help you out might as well do it right!” He turns back to Ururu, who is standing by the door. “Can you get one of the recovery bands out of the crate in the back? It’s the one marked ‘Treatment Supplies’.”

I don’t know if I’m comfortable getting more help from them, but they are right. I have no idea how long my legs will take to recover naturally and I can’t protect myself in this condition. Hell I can barely move my legs at all!

Glancing back at the cat hanging out in the corner of the room, I decide getting patched up takes precedence over my paranoia of being involved with the plot.

Still no reason not to be careful.

“Recovery band?” I ask, having never heard of the item in the show.

“It’s a useful little invention of mine,” replies Urahara, “It absorbs ambient Reishi to boost the natural healing of spiritual bodies. It isn’t very fast, but it certainly cuts down on recovery time.”

Hmm, I somehow doubt it’s that simple, but I don’t really have the ability to refuse right now so I’ll just go along with it. While we wait, Urahara asks me a few questions about who I am, ‘just a random spirit wandering around’, what I’m doing in the area, ‘nothing specific really’, where I’m from, ‘oh you know around’. I know super generic answers are going to make him suspicious but I don’t know what else to say! I just appeared in the area maybe a day ago, that's not enough time to have a backstory that will hold up to interrogation! Luckily, soon enough Ururu returns with a box containing 5 black bands.

Urahara places the bands around my ankles, wrists, and neck before tapping each one to activate it. To my surprise the bands glow red then seem to sink into my skin, and I feel a weird pressure wash over me and the ache in my legs grows dimmer.

Huh, that works pretty well actually.

Standing up from crouching next to me, Urahara brushes himself off, “Let’s leave further discussion until you have healed some more. We will let you get some sleep, and feel free to call if you need something.”

With that everyone clears out of the room, though from the look of it Yoruichi seems a bit agitated. Her tail is flickering all over the place. Did she notice something about me?

Either way, sleep sounds good. I relax back into the mattress and close my eyes.