It burned. My leg burned like hell. I felt my body going limp. Renji quickly noticed this. Quickly, he turned around and placed me on his shoulder. I heard him gag. "Is my leg burned...?" I asked him, patting his back.

"Burned isn't exactly how I would describe it," I felt something tied around my calf pretty tight. The horrifying thing was I was looking behind, so I saw that thing gaining on us. I patted his back, "Hey, I think that thing is coming nearer," I muttered.

The thing jerked back. It looked like it was ready to attack, "Abarai-Kun, switch roofs," I patted his back again. He didn't seem to react, and I was starting to get more panicked, "Abarai Renji, switch roofs now!" this certainly caught his attention. At the eleventh minute, he jumped onto the nearest roof to his side. I watch a pool of acid make a hole in a roof.

Is that thing doing that to my leg? This thought caused my panic to rise. I broke my left leg. And now I was having the risk of losing the whole damn thing.

My hands gripped his uniform. I wasn't sure if it was a psychological thing, but my leg started to hurt more. "How long are we supposed to run like this?" I asked him, trying to find a way to distract myself.

"Until they all arrive, which isn't always this long," he huffed. I could sense he was getting tired, but he wasn't slowing down.

My head perked up after I noticed several figures coming. A group appeared in front of the centipede. It was the group that I saw on the roof a few days ago. But each of them was wearing a Shihakusho and carried their Zanpakuto.

"I am not fighting something this ugly," the figure with shiny skin and jaw-length black hair said.

"Great! You can hold on to her," Renji turned to them, gripping my hip and lifting me off his shoulder.

"You're not going to throw me, are you?" I chuckled nervously, my hands gripped on his fingers.

"Now, just grab him anywhere but his face and hair, got it?" Renji lifted me higher, "Yumi, catch!"

I was launched. Like a spear. I let out a scream. A moment later, I was in his embrace. His hand was on my hip as I clung to him. My hand was around his neck and my legs wrapped around his slim hip. "I got you, don't worry," he patted my hair and took me elsewhere.

He gently set me down. I looked into his purple eyes. I had never seen purple eyes, and I realised they were so vibrant and pretty. He sat down beside me, his eyes going onto my leg, "Oh, dear." I looked at it. It didn't look healthy. There was a splash mark on my skin, and it looked like most of my skin was burned off with acid.

It looked as if someone had decided to splash radioactive waste on my calf.

I tightened the knot Renji made near the affected area. I guess it's a precaution in case it's poison. I looked at Yumi, well, Renji called him that. He looked back at me. He took off my glasses, which surprised me. "You look prettier like this," he informed me, which made me blush. I always thought I looked better with my glasses. "Have you considered wearing contact lenses?" he asked.

I shook my head, "Contact lenses irritate my eyes sadly," I answered, bringing my left knee closer to my chest. He placed my glasses back, "You don't look half bad like this," he said. A smile crept onto my lips as I shook my head, "Do you always do this to strangers?"

"Oh, no. You're young and you look like you're in a fashion crisis," he answered.

I looked at my outfit, "This is my nightclothes. You should take a look at my closet," I shrugged, "Well, actually, I'm not so sure about my fashion taste."

He laughed, which sounded sweet, "I'll help you figure it out one day."

"Anyway, I'm Neddy. You can call me Ned," I smiled.

"Yumichika, but call me Yumi," he returned the smile.

I was feeling slightly jealous of Yumichika's appearance. He had shiny skin and beautiful purple eyes. Not only that, but he also had straight jaw-length black hair that looked absolutely taken care of. Not just shampoo, but all the condition and hair mask products. I was jealous of his clear skin. His fair, clear, shiny skin just shines perfectly under the moonlight.

A pang of pain ran through my leg. Enough to make me yelp. I placed my forehead on my knee. "Ouch," I said. I looked over at my calf. I noticed it wasn't even bleeding. It looked like it froze my blood, which disgusted me more than I expected. I looked to the front, seeing the rest of the group surrounding the Hollow.

I looked over at Yumi, my head resting on my knee. He had a concerned look for me, which I would understand given the condition I was in. "Why aren't you fighting with them?" I asked, gesturing to the group.

"And fight that thing?" he looked at the Hollow centipede in disgust, "I rather not."

"Fair enough," I nodded. Honestly, I wouldn't want to fight that thing either. I looked over at them. They looked like they had it under control. Remove the part where they kept stomping the smaller ones, which made it even worse, but they seemed fine. I looked away from it, disturbed by the way its legs moved. I shivered, unsure if it was from the cold or the fact a giant centipede was in front of me.

I looked at Yumi, "How do you keep your skin so clear?" I asked him, narrowing my eyes.

He smiled, almost a teasing smile, "That's a secret I'll never tell."

"Aw, come on!" I placed my left leg down, flat on the ground. My arms hit the concrete, "Can't you at least--," I felt weak. I placed my hand on my forehead, rubbing it. I slowly lay down flat on the concrete, "I don't feel so good," my eyes fluttering shut.

"Oh, no, Ned, stay with me," he quickly patted my cheek, which caused my eyes to be wide open. But also quickly closing back. I heard footsteps approaching us. Yumi lifted me, bridal style, "She looks pale," he muttered. I looked at the others. I was feeling drowsy.

"We should bring her to Urahara," Renji said, and each of them nodded in agreement. They started running. I gripped onto Yumi's orange turtle neck, trying to fight off the feeling of passing out. The pain was stinging even worse, to the point I couldn't take it anymore. In a second, the world went black.