The day progressed from morning to afternoon rather peacefully after my fight with Kenpachi. I ended up going on a walk alone.

'So,' Diaval suddenly began, 'If we're gonna share the same body, we need to work something out: Who our girlfriend will be.'

'Odd.' I thought, 'Never pegged you for a lady's man.'

'There's a lot you don't know about me.' Diaval chuckled, 'Now on the subject of our soon-to-be girlfriend, I suggest Yang, obviously.'

'I'm not listening to you.' I thought, sweat dropping, 'I think I'm gonna end up dating Alex more.'

'That's unfair!' Diaval snapped, 'I'm trapped in this body, I deserve a say!'

'If we're all discussing who we should hook up with,' Nano began, 'I think Erza would be a good choice.'

'Not you too.' I thought, groaning, 'Look, I was here first, so we go by my rules. Whatever happens will happen. I'm pretty sure I'm currently dating Alex, and there's no chance I'd be low enough to try and get with other girls. I don't know about you guys, but we samurai have our honor to uphold.'

'So, let me get this straight.' Diaval began, 'If things don't work out with Alex, then we go for Yang?'

'Wha... I never said...!' I thought, 'You're missing the point! Just shut up! You're enough trouble as it is!'

'Whatever.' Diaval sighed, 'You don't have any authority over what I do when I get my turn in the driver's seat, so up yours.'

'Oh, for the love of...' I let out a deep sigh, 'I will never be able to have a peaceful walk again, will I?'

'Probably not.' Nano agreed.

"Hey!" A sudden voice broke up my fight with the voices in my head. I turned to see Yang.

'Hmm...' Diaval pondered, 'Do you think she heard us talking about her?'

'Don't be absurd.' Nano sighed, 'We're voices in Nate's head, so unless she's a mind reader, our talks are pretty safe.'

"Oh, hey Yang." I greeted, ignoring Nano and Diaval, "Didn't expect to see you here. What's up?"

"Well," Yang began, "I was wondering, do you like me?"

'SHE KNOWS!' Diaval exclaimed.

"Yeah, I like you." I replied innocently, "You're a good friend and a strong fighter."

"That's not what I meant." Yang sighed.

"I know." I laughed, "And I have to ask, where'd this come from?"

"Well, you lost our fight on the capsule," Yang began, "Then you massacred all those Hollows, then you beat one of the strongest Soul Reapers that I know of, then you treated a decapitated arm like it was nothing bad at all. It seems pretty obvious that you didn't lose to me because I'm stronger than you."

"Ah, so you did notice I threw the fight." I sighed, "Well, I don't think of it as 'throwing the fight'. I didn't want to go all out on our fight because if I did, I don't think you'd want to fight me again, and I rather enjoy our fights, you're a good sparring partner, and I consider you a good friend. So, for our match, I set myself to a certain level of strength and speed, enough to challenge you, but also nothing impossible for you to overcome. Now, I'm not sure where you got the impression that I threw the fight out of some kind of crush or what have you, but right now, my sights are on... someone else. And I'd have to be pretty low to betray her in any way."

"It's Alex, isn't it?" Yang asked. I froze.

"Wait, how'd you know?!" I questioned.

"I'm not stupid!" Yang grinned, "Anybody could tell. Well, whatever, I'm off to find someone else to fight. Heh, do you think Kenpachi would be intimidated if I told him I beat you up?"

"Nah, he'd probably sever your arm too." I smiled. Immediately, Yang paused, rubbing her arm as if she were about to lose it. "You're strong, but I'd advise against challenging someone like Kenpachi." I laughed.

"Yeah, I guess you're right." Yang sighed, "Well, later." She then left.

'Man,' I thought, 'I'm never going to get a moment of peace again, am I?'

"Hey, Nathan!" A new voice entered.

'That would be a no.' Nano sighed. I turned to see I was now being joined by Alex.

"Oh, hey Al-" I began, but was interrupted as Alex suddenly jumped up and slammed her foot across the right side of my face hard. I fell on my back, a hand against my face.

'Wow, you really know how to pick 'em.' Diaval groaned.

"What the...?" I began, ignoring Diaval.

"There," Alex sighed, "Now I can forgive you for leaving us."

"Ah, geez," I groaned, "I guess my explaining didn't mean anything after all."

"Just, don't leave again!" Alex ordered, "Promise me!"

"Well, I don't intend to leave again." I began, "That much, I can say."

"Good." Alex sighed, "Now, let's walk together, okay?" She smiled at me. She looked so cute when she smiled, how could I say no?

We then began walking together, talking and enjoying each other's company.

"So," Alex began, "What's the drawback?"

"Excuse me?" I asked.

"About your spells." Alex replied, "Your spells are really powerful, but there's gotta be some kind of risk to it."

"You'd be right," I sighed, "Most of my spells are harmless... harmless to me, anyway. But when I use one of my more powerful dark spells, like Ripa No Ikari, I sacrifice some of my humanity, making me more violent. It's something that takes a few hours for me to recover from. As for my light spells, like Kanpekina Iyashi, my soul leaves my body temporarily and is used to power the spell, so my soul is completely exposed. And if you damage someone's soul, that's something that can't be undone. And I don't think I have to say what happens if you manage to destroy someone's soul." I then grazed my finger along my neck, making a gagging noise, "So naturally, you won't see me healing myself up in the middle of battle. It's kind of a double-edged sword. I can heal almost any wound, but in doing so, I'm risking a lot. It only lasts a few seconds, but if I'm attacked, I have no way to protect myself."

"That's interesting..." Alex began, "You know, you'd make a great wizard at Fairy Tail. Maybe you could come by some time?"

"That's a very kind offer." I smiled, "But, I have a dojo to return to. If I don't come back with Kenshin and them this time, Kaoru's gonna have my head."

"Heh, I hear that." Alex agreed, grinning, "When I take too long on a solo job, Natsu won't leave me alone when I get back." Alex then took hold of my arm, "So, I'm still waiting."

"Waiting?" I asked, "For what?"

"For you to ask me out again!" Alex stated, as if it were obvious, "We ARE still dating, right?"

"Oh, of course." I began, smiling, "How rude of me. Please, allow me to treat you later tonight. I'm not sure what we'll do yet, but I know I'll enjoy my time."

"Yeah, I can't wait!" Alex smiled, "Well, I'll see ya later!" She then walked off.

"Heh..." I sighed, smiling, "That girl..."

'So, that's your girlfriend?' A new voice rang in my head. I froze. This was a voice I didn't recognize.

'Who are you?!' I thought, sweating.

'Oh calm down.' The new voice laughed, and I could tell it was a girl's voice, 'C'mon, don't tell me you didn't know about me... Really, nothing? Ugh! Well, you've got Nano, remember? He represents the Soul Reaper half of your powers. I represent your Meister half! My name ought to come to you much easier than Nano's.'

'Hey!' Nano groaned.

"..... Kat." I breathed suddenly.

'See, what did I tell ya!' Kat laughed as a flash of light suddenly shone in my hand. The light then took a physical form, turning into a double-barrel shotgun with a skull designed into each barrel of the gun and the handle-thing was black. I looked at the barrel of the gun to see the reflection of a girl my age with long black hair and red eyes. 'I think you'll find, I'm a bit more fun than Nano.' Kat grinned, 'Plus, the shots I fire are composed of the spirit energy from both you and me. Since your spirit energy is pretty much limitless, that means infinite ammo!'

'Do all Death Meisters have this?' I thought, 'Two zanpakutos?!'

'Yes and no.' Kat shrugged, 'Each Death Meister is born with a zanpakuto to represent their Soul Reaper powers, and a weapon to represent their Meister powers. I'm not a zanpakuto, like Nano. I can only appear in this form.'

'So, why have you been so quiet until now?' I thought.

'Quiet?!' Kat groaned, 'I've been yelling at you for years now. You just haven't heard me until now.'

'Interesting...' I thought, sighing, 'Hey Kat. Out of curiousity, are you able to sort of... you know, disappear?'

'Well, when I'm not being used, I reside in your soul, like these two.' Kat began, 'Why?'

'I want to keep you a secret for now.' I thought, grinning, 'You could really help me catch an opponent off guard.'

'I like the way you think!' Kat grinned, 'But you might wanna think twice before you put me away.'

'Yeah,' I nodded, 'I can sense 'em too.'

"Death Meister..." The familiar growl of a Hollow caught my attention. I turned and looked at the demon.

"Ah, you're just in time for target practice." I smirked, "Come on, Kat!"

'Let's go!' Kat yelled as I charged at the beast. The Hollow threw a punch at me. I dodged its bulbous fist, aimed my new shotgun at its shoulder, and pulled the trigger. Suddenly, a blast of red energy shot from the gun, tearing through the Hollow's shoulder. Blood spilled as it aimed another punch. I jumped up high, then landed on its back. I pressed the gun against the pack of its head and fired. My shotgun blew a hole straight through its head. The Hollow fell, deteriorating into ash in the wind.

"I can already tell," I grinned, "You're going to be quite helpful!"

'Well, I'll take my leave now.' Kat began, 'Lemme know if you wanna chat. I can talk to you just like Nano and Diaval. Call me out if you need a hand.' The shotgun then disappeared in a flash of light.

"I really won't ever get a moment of peace, will I?" I sighed, "There's always something..."

"Indeed, there is..." a sudden voice made me freeze. I turned to see a man around my age, maybe older. He had short blond hair and black eyes with yellow pupils. He was pale and had a hole through his chest.

"A Hollow-Kishin...!" I breathed, reaching for my sword.

"I wouldn't." The Hollow-Kishin grinned, "Otherwise, I may have to take the lives of some of your friends before you can 'get' me." I paused. He had something up his sleeve...

"What are you talking about?!" I questioned.

"Look," He sighed, "I just want to see how well a Death Meister can adapt to my... special scenario."

"What're you..." I started,

"Nenrei-maki modoshi!" The Hollow-Kishin laughed.

Suddenly, I felt an aching pain spread throughout my body. I collapsed, a heavy weight pushing me down. My vision began to get blurry as the Hollow-Kishin walked away. Then, I blacked out.