Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach.

"Jackie...Tristan, eh? Is that your real name?"

"Yes it is."

Kugo Ginjo slowly lifted his eyes away from the paper to look at the imposing, dark-skinned woman sitting on the couch across from him. Next to Ginjo was a very placid-looking Shukuro Tsukishima. He seemed far more interested in his daily crossword puzzle than he was about the potential new member of Xcution, the unofficial Fullbring organization. Jackie herself seemed relaxed as well. For a moment, her eyes shifted over to the bar, where an old man wearing an eye-patch was busy cleaning glasses.

"That's not a Japanese name." remarked Ginjo.

"I know." Jackie replied.

"You haven't been a citizen of Japan your entire life?"

Jackie shook her head, explaining, "No. I was born in America, and I had been living there up until four years ago, when I decided to come to Japan. There was nothing left for me back in my home country, and I wanted to meet you, so that is why I moved so far to this unfamiliar place."

"Hmm, although you claim to be a foreigner, your Japanese is really quite good. Almost too good. But..." Ginjo placed the sheet of paper onto the coffee table, "Can you actually speak English just as well as you can speak Japanese?"

"Of course I can speak it," Jackie replied in natural English, "It is my first language after all. There's little chance I'd ever forget it. Don't be an idiot!"

Ginjo stared back at her in silence for a few seconds, and then he burst out laughing. "Wow! Did you hear that, Tsukishima? I have no idea what she just said, but that was definitely English, wasn't it? Ha ha ha! She's pretty smart, isn't she? Able to speak two languages, and so well!" Ginjo jabbed his elbow several times into his comrade's side, and with an unnecessary amount of force put behind it.

Tsukishima just shrugged in response.

"That's really impressive! I like it! You should definitely join us!"

"...Ginjo, you can't let her join just because she is good at speaking another language. We still know little next to nothing about her. Ask her the next question." Tsukishima murmured.

"Oh yeah, that's right! Sorry about that! Uh, okay...so how did you find out about our organization? You're one of the first Fullbringers to actually come TO us, instead of us coming to you."

Jackie lowered her eyes to the floor. "I...I had met a pair of Fullbringers in America. They were the ones who helped me reach new heights with my powers. They also told me about your organization here in Japan, and what your goal was for helping the Fullbringers who followed under you. I owe alot to them."

"But...you didn't bring them here with you?"

"They were both killed by a particularly dangerous Hollow. The two friends of mine had power, incredible power, but...it wasn't enough to protect them that time. The fact that the human body is so fragile is what makes fighting these monsters so dangerous."

Ginjo and Tsukushima briefly exchanged looks before the former replied, "That's unfortunate to hear. Three Fullbringers would have been better than one; I don't know how they knew about Xcution, but I would have wanted to meet them too. We could use all of the help we can get, ya know. You were able to escape from that Hollow, though?"

"No. I was able to kill it."

"You did?"

"Well, it had chased us all the way into a riverbank, but the water was quite low at that time of year, leaving the surface covered with mud and dirt. After the point when they were killed, and because all the circumstances were right, my Fullbring was able to use its full power then. I was able to destroy that son of a bitch with a single blow."

"That's impressive, but what I'm most interested in is hearing about these circumstances of yours. What kind of circumstances?"

"I think it would best if I showed you through a demonstration rather than just explain it."

"Is it really that complicated of an ability?"

"Well, to be honest," Slowly, Jackie began to lift herself off of the couch, "I actually wanted to fight you before I decided if being apart of Xcution is really worth it or not. If you really are as strong as my long-gone friends have told me, and if you really can lead this organization to achieving its goals, then I want you to show me."

Ginjo, who up until now had appeared to be very laid-back about the entire process, suddenly became very serious. "Oh...so that's how it is, huh?" He consciously reached up and wrapped one of his large hands around the cross pendent hanging from his neck. Tsukishima started to reach for something out of his pocket, but Ginjo grabbed his wrist, stopping him.

"Yes. Now, about where to fight..."

"You have a suggestion?"

Trying not to look too flustered, Jackie asked, "Is there...is there a place with a sewage ditch somewhere nearby? Or some kind of location with alot of dirt and grime?"

"...What?"

Near a small ravine on the outskirts of Naruki City, there was the remnants of an illegal dumping site originally used by the local garbage disposal company to rid the city of its trash for cheap. Although this was no longer the case, it was still considered a very toxic area. Apparently, for the sake of Jackie's powers, it was the ideal spot to summon the highest extant of her strength. Ginjou and Tsukishima hung back to chat amongst themselves as Jackie led the way using a map. The rancid stench of rotten food and rusting metal could already be smelled from the distance.

"Are you really sure about this, Ginjo? I could just as easily slash her with the Book Of The End, and make her believe that she is one of my best friends. It's much safer than you taking the risk of being injured."

"Tsukishima, we may need you to alter her memory later on, and you know how the second slash returns the person to normal, so that's far too risky. Besides, it's best to find out what her power is and see if she's really strong now rather than later. Don't worry; I won't die. Hell, I promise you that I won't even bleed."

"How can you be so sure?"

"Because I'm so damn charismatic."

"...Sure...whatever you say..."

The two men did not say another word to each other for the remainder of the short trek. The former dumping site was about the size of a college football field and sunken into the Earth by the pile of garbage that once sat there. It had all been cleared away years ago, but the residue remained. A film of gooey, murky water covering its entire surface by just an inch and a half. Ginjo wasn't even sure if it really could be called 'water' at all. All in all, the smell was unbearable. He really wished he could know why this English-speaking woman had to drag him all the way out to here of all places. The only good thing about it was that it was far away from town and out of sight.

"So, is this really the place you wanna do this? I mean, it's clearly not sanitary-" Ginjo began.

Jackie shook her head, interjecting, "No, this is the perfect spot. Just give me a moment."

And then, before Ginjo had the chance to warn her, Jackie casually walked into the festering liquid. She kicked her feet around, drenching her own boots with filth. She did this for a solid three minutes until the sleek, black boots she wore had become a dark shade of brown. Ginjo was speechless.

"Dirty Boots."

"She just said something in English again!"

Suddenly, a burst of green light erupted out from the water surrounding Jackie's legs. It was the natural form that spiritual energy took when summoned by a Fullbringer. As if they were alive, the separate strands of energy began to wrap themselves around the woman's body, taking on a physical form. It created an entirely new set of clothes for Jackie, ones that appeared to be quite impractical, but Ginjo's initial impressions soon wore off. He smiled at her.

"That's pretty cool, I'll admit; we don't get many clad-type Fullbringers around here. And the fact that you get your powers from filth apparently is also quite interesting." he remarked with a chuckle.

"You should probably pull out your Fullbring already," Jackie snarled, "I don't want you thinking that I'm just some chump you can beat easily. The last thing you should do is look down on me!"

"Well, okay...if that's what you want,"

Ginjo grabbed hold of the Saltire pendent around his neck, and in an instant, he was wielding a large claymore sword instead. He chose to waste no further time by charging straight for Jackie. In response, Jackie also ran.

The sun was beginning to set by the time the battle was done. The once-blue sky was now a lovely mixture of yellow, red and orange all at once. The sound of crickets chirping filled the air. Two figures were walking alone through the field of dead grass, with a third figure draped over the smaller of the two's shoulders.

"Ginjo..."

"Yeah?"

"You went easy on her, didn't you?"

"Well, of course I did. I didn't want to kill her, obviously!"

"Yes, but still...you did end up bleeding because of that choice, after all."

"Hmm? Ah, you're right! It's all over my face! How did I not notice that?"

"You broke your promise to me."

"Uh...sorry, Tsukishima?"

"You owe me something now for breaking your promise."

"Oh. Well, what do you want me to do?"

"I want you to carry this woman back to the base instead of me."

"Ha ha ha! No can do."

"...Why not?"

"Because she's covered in mud and grime, and this is a new jacket! I'm sure you understand, right?"

"..."

"Sorry!"

"As long as she actually joins our group now, then I guess that's fine enough."

Ginjo reached into his pocket, and removed the one object that he has held onto for so many years, despite everything that has happened: his Substitute Shinigami badge. "Xcution is really coming together now. We only need a few more members, and then...our real plan can finally begin."