I arrived at Urahara's shop early in the morning to find Jinta bullying Ururu. I chuckled.

"Aw, come on you two," I said, making them jump in surprise. "Play nice."

"Hey, you're that one weird lady," Jinta said.

"Jinta, don't be rude," Ururu said timidly.

"Don't order your higher-ups around!" He yelled back, grabbing her bangs. I thumped his head. "Hey!"

"Ah! Emily," Urahara said, appearing in the doorway with Tessai at his side. "Ready to start?"

I bowed. "Yeah."

"Lets begin then."

•••

"Wha?!" I cried, staring in shock at Kuroma, who went from my zanpakuto to a suit wearing man with messy black hair and emerald green eyes that demanded respect. Beside him was a giggling girl that looked like me, but had black hair and ghoul eyes.

The girl from my nightmare...

"Hello child," Kuroma said in a deep voice. "This is your demented inner self, Emilia."

"You'll have to accept the more sadistic side of your side before anything!" Chirped Kisuke. "And what better way to get to know each other than a fight?"

"Ooh~ I'll make you bleed yummy blood!" Emilia giggled before lunging at me, bear handed but obviously with the intent to kill. I barely dodged.

This was not going to be easy.

-@-

Obviously, with her being part of me, Emilia knew all of my moves, but that also meant I knew all of hers. So the fight lasted a lot longer than I anticipated. However, after punching her in the jaw, I finally won.

"Hah, hah," I panted, stretching out a hand. "You're a pretty good fighter."

She giggled, grabbing my hand and letting me pull her to her feet. "You too~!"

"I guess you're not all that bad," I decided. "As long as you don't cause me to hurt my friends."

She laughed. "I like blood, a lot. As long as you ingest some of your enemy's blood for me after each battle, I'll leave your friends alone, Kay?"

I sighed. "Oh, fine. You'll get your blood."

"Yay~!" She looked at Kuroma. "Can I go now?"

He nodded and she disappeared, I assumed she went back to my mind.

"Great job, great job!" Kisuke praised. "And it only took two days!"

"WHAT?!" I yelled. "Two days?! You're kidding me, right?!"

"Nope! Five days left! On to phase two!"

"Wait! What about rest?" I asked.

"No rest! You've got five days left!"

And with that, he shoved me down into a hole.

"You've got five days to get out before the chain of fate disappears and you become a hollow!" He called down to me. I looked down to see that exact chain coming from my chest. "Better work fast!"

"Kisuke! When did you remove my Soul like this?!" I demanded. He waved his cane with a grin.

"When I pushed you!"

"Jerk..." I grumbled. I sat down and began to think, trying to ignore the annoying sensation from the chain.

*Day 3*

I still couldn't find a way out of this hole. I was starting to get aggravated. The annoying sensation from the chain turned into a regular agonizing sensation as the links corroded. Three out of the ten links of the chain were gone, leaving me with seven.

*Day 4*

My hands were sore from hitting the walls of the hole in frustration, my nails bloody from trying to climb up. The pain in my chest increased to where I felt like someone was regularly stabbing me. Three more links had gone, leaving me with four left.

*Day 6*

I was getting desperate. The pain was agonizing. I had a mere one link left. Blood thirsty thoughts filled my head. I wanted out. Fast.

*Day 7*

The last link left. It felt like my chest was being torn apart slowly. I screamed, but a white substance came from my mouth and began covering my face. I slammed my head repeatedly against the walls, praying that it would all end. A deafening roar escaped my lips and echoed all around. Something in my mind told me that if I gave in to the madness all my suffering would end.

But then, Yuzu appeared in my mind.

Be careful! She would say.

Karin.

Don't go getting into trouble like Ichi.

Isshin.

There's my girl! Always so strong!

Ichigo.

Idiot, don't give up, no matter what.

Jushiro.

It's alright. We're here.

Chad....

Be careful training. Don't get yourself hurt. Promise me.

"NO!" I screamed, clutching my head. "I PROMISED. NO! GYAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

I grabbed the forming mask and pulled. The pain skyrocketed, but I didn't stop. I pulled harder.

I promised him!

With a final agonized scream and pull, I had leapt out of the hole and ripped the mask from my face as I landed beside Kisuke. I fell to my knees, exhausted.

"Good job, Emily," he said, kneeling in front of me and setting a hand on my shoulder.

BAM. I punched him in the jaw and he fell back with a surprised 'gah!'.

"Idiot! Don't tell me good job like you were the cause of all this!" I yelled at him, raising my fist.

"Okay, sorry, sorry!" He said hurriedly, smiling nervously as he waved his hands in front of him. "But you've got control over your powers now, so that's a good thing, right?"

I sighed and tried to stand, but the world spun and I decided not to try again.

"Gah! Idiot," I grumbled. "I can't stand."

He set a bento down in front of me and sat down across from me. Kuroma stood to the side, watching.

"I remember training along side your father," he said, and I stared at him as I settled myself on the ground and grabbed the bento.

"You knew my dad?" I asked. He nodded.

"We were on the same squad for quite a while. We were best friends for the longest time. You're just like him, personality wise," he said. I ate silently, soaking up every word. "He was always one to joke around, but whenever something serious came up, his whole demeanor changed. You have his hair and nose, you know. If it weren't for your eyes and the fact that you're female, you'd be the spitting image of him. You even punch the same," he smiled, rubbing at his jaw. I finished the bento within moments and felt much better. I assumed he put some kind of medicine in it.

"He even had a similar alter ego as you have Emilia," Kuroma put in. "He would often taste the enemies blood, saying that to take the life should mean keeping a part of them with you. I imagine that's where Emilia picked it up."

"You're father would be proud," Kisuke said nodding. "Without a doubt."