( you are welcome. I'm good, though my allergies have started up. How about you?)

" I slept well. Thank you for asking. What would you like for breakfast?" Hikari said with a smile, having the feeling she used to have when her grandma was alive. Hikari hoped her grandma was at peace and hoped she didn't look sad, not wanting Renji to think something was wrong.

(Oh no! I am sorry D:)

He shrugged. "Anything edible is fine by me" Shading his eyes from the beams of sunlight through the window, he looked at you. Maybe I shouldn't say anything...
He walked out into the stairway and cracked his neck. "How did you sleep Hikari-chan? I hope it was comfortably." Smiling warmly, it was pretty foreign for him to feel this way. He felt... content so to say. There had been a time where he had never felt this way. I guess just having someone around is good.

" I slept pretty good actually. " Hikari said with a smile as she opened her door. " I'm sorry if it's messy in here. I'm usually better housekeeper than this. " She said, feeling guilty about the books on the floor. She had just moved her bookshelves to the living room and still had to finish putting the books away.
She got a bowl out and the eggs , along with some tomato sauce and started the rice maker. I hope you like scrambled eggs with tomato rice. Also , would you like sugar or milk in your coffee? She asked.

( feeling better now that it's raining outside.)

(it is raining here to, more like thunder storming. It was so loud that it woke me up.)

Renji didn't really mind the books since he didn't really think it was messy. She reads? He thought to himself about how he didn't really read. Man the academy was the only time he really had to read. He had gotten the tattoos not only to keep people away but he also thought that they looked cool, so he kept adding on. Preoccupied he missed Hikari's question. "Uhh, Can I help make it?" He tried to remember what she had said after that. Renji scrunched up his face trying to think of what to say. It was something about coffee? I think so. A lightbulb went off in his head. "I like sugar and milk in my coffee but not to much. If you want I could make it myself."

" Sure. Would you like to make the toast? I can get your coffee. I need some too. I swear sometimes I drink too much of this stuff."Hikari said and poured two mugs of coffee and put a little sugar and milk in one of the mugs , handing that one to Renji.

Renji chuckled. "I guess you are overworked!" He grabbed the loaf of bread and put some pieces into the toaster. "So do you like it here?" Renji really liked starting a conversation with Hikari.

" Just a little bit. " Hikari said as she started on the eggs. I do like it here in Karakura Town. It's slow paced and it's just the right size. My dad didn't like it here though. He was from Tokyo and moved here when he married my mom. She was born here and when my grandma wanted to retire from running the bookstore , my parents took over. Though my grandma moved back when my mom died from an accident. " Hikari said,with a sad look in her eyes. She missed what family she did have , now knowing she was the only one left." How often do you come here to Karakura? I know there isn't much to see really, but the people here in Karakura are nice." She said.

Renji was shocked to hear that Hikari's mom was dead. That explains why she was alone and that made him frown. He didn't want to bring it up after he saw the sad look in her eyes. It made him sad to see such a wonderful person frown and wallow in their sorrow. Renji hoped she wasn't as lonely as he thought she might be. "I'm sorry. It is really sad to hear about your mom and grandmother." Renji facepalmed inwardly at what he just said.
He was surprised when you asked about him. "Well I come here every so often when stuff happens. I actually have a couple friends around here." Renji smiled and reminisced. "I like how quiet it is."

( Guess what I got xD?)

( What did you get?:) )

" I know they are in a better place, though sometimes I swear my grandma is still here making sure I am alright. She always was worried about me for some reason. " Hikari said with a small smile. Thinking about her grandma Emiko always made her happy.She putt the eggs on a plate and put half the finished rice in a bowl and mixed the warm tomato sauce in it. She then placed the mixture on the plate nicely with some sliced pickles as a garnish." I hope you like this . " She said with a small smile as she put the plate in front of Renji with a set of chopsticks. She placed the other plate at her spot and sat down.

(You know those clips Orihime has in her hair? :D I got em xD I dunno why I wanted them so bad 0__0)

Renji looked at Hikari. He remembered seeing a spirit that looked like an older version of Hikari pass through the soul society a while back. He wondered it it could've been a relative of hers. Pushing the thought far back he smiled, trying the food infront of him. His eyes widened. This is so good. Being the pig of a guy he is, he stuffed his face.
After Renji was finished (Which was probably 30 seconds xD), he licked his lips. "MMMMmmm."

( Yep I do. I want those clips too. I don't know why either. )

Hikari was amazed at the speed Renji ate his breakfast. She started her's , still not feeling very hungry after last night, but she knew she couldn't afford to lose anymore weight than she already had. " Hope you liked it. " She said with a smile and continued to eat.

(They are really pretty. I am not a fan of Orihime though.)

Renji was concerned. Hikari looked fairly underweight. "Hikari-chan.... You need to eat. Is their anything you want to get off of your chest? Maybe it would make you feel better." He was getting worried, although he didn't understand why. Telling him or keeping it bottled up inside was her decision in the end.

" I know I need to eat. It's those damn hollows. Everytime I sense one , I don't want to eat. Yesterday's sales went wonderful. I went grocery shopping and bought a bento box with pretty much all the foods I love to celebrate. I senesd and saw those hollows and I didn't feel like eating my dinner , and I put it in the fridge for later. I feel like I'm cursed. I don't know why I see ghosts." Hikari said putting her face in her hands as she felt the tears fall and feeling embarrassed for crying in front of Renji.

Renji got up and walked over to her side of the table. "Hey." He tilted Hikari's chin up and wiped her tears. "It will be okay. You are not cursed. You are just ultra sensitive to this kind of stuff and I bet it is fairly new to you..." He sighed. "Would you like to tell me how long you have been seeing hollows?" He was certain that she had seen him fight the hollows now. No one could be this confused unless they had seen more than they should have.

" Only for the last few months. My father died a year ago tomorrow and that's when I started seeing the ghosts. I never thought ghosts existed until shortly after his funeral. Even then , I thought it was just the stress of losing him, but as things settled down , I continued to see the ghosts clearer until I could sense them and that was when I started hearing these unearthy growls . I made the mistake one night by looking out the window when one was chasing a poor little ghost girl who couldn't have been no older the 6 or seven. " Hikari said explaining how it all started.

Renji was thinking to himself while he was listening. "When was the first time you got attacked by one? Do they look at you?" They shouldn't attack her since she isn't a ghost. Renji knew she had a link to spirits because of something. He knew that it couldn't have been her father... He thought for a moment. She had to have been born with the ability but it wasn't triggered until the most important people in her life had passed. It allowed her to have the heightened ability to sense it without being held back. Living alone did not help the situation she was in. Renji was sure he had pieced everything together when he heard a hollow shriek not to far from the apartment.

" I was attacked for the first time last night. " Hikari said and froze when she heard the shriek. She hoped Renji didn't notice her getting tense and afraid, while wondering why he was asking her these questions.

Last night.... it is getting worse. He gave her a hug, squeezed tight and told her to stay put. "Give me five minutes." Renji rushed outside and he hoped you would wait in the safety of your home.
He rounded the corner and saw the hollow. It shrieked and rushed toward him. In a few moments it was done, the hollow was gone and he sighed. "I need to protect her. Her situation is worse than Ichigo's was..." He mumbled softly to himself as he walked back to the apartment, slowly putting his blade away.

Hikari nodded. She had to tell Renji she had seen him fight the Hollows last night, but wasn't sure how he would react. She knew there was something different about him and could sense it. Hikari still didn't know why he was so different than most people she knew.

Renji caught his breathe and regained his composure before calmly strolling back into her apartment. "Well it is gone now. You shouldn't be bothered for a while." Plastering on a fake smile, he sat across from her again.

Hikari nodded , not sure if she should tell Renji that she had saw him yesterday." I'm glad it's gone. But is there the chance others will come? " She asked, still feeling tense.

Renji was surprised by the sudden question but he should have seen it coming. "Actually..." He trailed off and sighed. "There will be more for sure." He bit his bottom lip in silent thought. "I have no idea but it can only get worse from here. I need to get you away from here." Renji was sincere about everything he said to this girl. The bad thing is that he was worried to death about her safety. He wouldn't be able to stay here forever.

" Where can I go? I don't have any family and I can't close the store. " Hikari said , feeling afraid for her life. She didn't want to let her customers down , knowing they depended on her to be here. She didn't know what to do.But if meant she was safe. She would go anywhere.

"You can stay here Hikari. You won't die." Renji tried to comfort her and smiled a bit. "You can stay and keep your job, I will stay here as long as I can." He pondered what affect this would have on his own job and his own lifestyle. "I just want to keep you safe." He didn't know why he was saying this or why he cared so much but protecting people was his job too so he shouldn't get in trouble.

Hikari nodded and then looked at the clock. " We better get going. I open in an hour. " She said and took the dishes and put them in the small dishwasher. She was glad today was a short day and maybe she would get the nerve to tell Renji about seeing him fighting the hollow.