A/N: So this is one of my fanfictions. Truly my first, but it is just an OC-centric story my sister and I came up with when we had one of those "Wouldn't it be cool if we had those powers? What kind would you want?" etc. Ah the OC, downfall of fans everywhere. This is written in the first person, for those of you who hate it. I think this character qualifies as a Mary Sue, to be frank, if only in that she is a "self-insertion" character. She is who I would want to be, and she reacts the way I would. But she isn't without her faults. I'm not sure what I will do with this story, as Amaya actually belongs to my sister, and she is writing the story in the present time, with Ichigo and the Vizard and all that jazz. I prefer to write beginnings, so I am writing this in the Turn Back the Pendulum period. Well, at the immediate end of that…

…

"I'm sorry. She's too far gone. I can't do anything."

I didn't move, didn't say anything. I just waited.

Capt – Ex-Captain Urahara gave me a puzzled look, then shook his head. "I mean it. With the others, we got to them in time to stop it before it got any farther. She's been completely subsumed by her hollow. You'll have to ki-"

"No."

He waited for something more, then sighed and turned away. "I know you don't want to accept it, but -"

"No. I won't kill her. And I won't let anyone else." He ran his hand through his hair in frustration. Before he could say anything else, I continued. "You have a plan for them, right?" I asked, tilting my head toward the pile of partially hollowfied people. He nodded reluctantly. "I know she's not yours, not like they are." He started to say something, but again I just continued talking. "But she's mine. You don't give up on yours; I don't give up on mine." I looked down at my right hand, and followed the glowing chains wrapped around it to a weakly thrashing form on the ground. The three sets of chains were wrapped around various parts of the feline-esque hollow, and they along with the two sets of six bars of golden light were the only thing keeping the monster from attacking everyone in sight. "You say she's gone. You say there's nothing left of Amaya in that…thing. But I saw her." I looked back at him, and shook my head, feeling the confusion that was displayed on his face. "Hollows don't have a problem with killing. You didn't see the bloody path left by – it, but it didn't kill. It could have, thirty times over, but it didn't. I saw her. I saw her eyes, just before it was about to attack me. She's in there, somewhere, and I won't give up on her. Are you going to take them to the world of the living?"

He blinked at me, trying to make sense of my ramblings. This time I was the one who sighed. "Are you going to take them to the real world?" He shook his head. Before I could say anything, he corrected himself.

"Yes. I have gigai made, enough for them and Tessai and myself." I blinked at the word "fake bodies," but this was Urahara-taichō I was talking to, and I accepted this without comment. "They will mask our reiatsu from the Detention squad, and will let us live in the real world." I looked questioningly at Captain Shihōin, and she gave me a little grin.

"I have other ways of hiding from my own people. Plus, no one really knows it was me who broke them out. I heard them shouting 'Catch him! He's a bandit!' So for now at least, I'm ok." I nodded, and turned back to Urahara. I looked over at the monster that had taken over Amaya.

"I can control her until you have a process. I don't care how long it takes, I won't give up on her." He raised an eyebrow at my first statement, but then I saw the memory of the kidō I had used to find this place, while holding her, surface, and he closed his mouth.

"Are you willing to leave the Gotei 13? Just like that?" This time I was the one who opened, then closed my mouth. For the first time, I was uncertain, and I stared down at my feet.

I won't leave you.

I lowered my head, hiding my eyes with my bangs. I knew from experience that if anyone saw my eyes right now, they would see that the right one had changed color, becoming dark red. I don't think they could. Even if they took away my Shinigami powers, I don't think they could ever separate us. I replied to Fue. As usual, her misty form appeared, only to me, beside me, away from Urahara and Shihōin. I raised one finger to Urahara, asking for a moment. I turned towards Fue, keeping hold of the golden chains. I don't think I could ever lose you, and I will fight to keep Amaya. You two are my only friends, almost like sisters. But… I put my hand to my forehead.

But we spent all that time, in the academy, training with the squads, fighting to get better, in order to protect people. I raised my head, grinning sheepishly at her.

As usual, you know precisely how I feel.

This time she grinned at me. Even if I don't always agree. But this time, I completely understand. What if there was a way for you to help Amaya, as well as fight Hollows? She lost her grin, as did I, and silence fell between us while we tried to find a solution. I could hear the two ex-captains making plans behind me, and a thought struck me.

What if I could get assigned to wherever they are going to be? She cocked her head at me.

Isn't there a time limit as to how long you can be assigned to the real world? I nodded, wondering where she was going with this. So who would hold her while you were in the Seireitei? I sighed, but my eyes were drawn to Tsukabishi. He had been the kidō captain before all this had fallen out, and that meant he was far above me in terms of power. At this point in time, he was meditating, and after glancing at Urahara and Shihōin, I walked over to him, the golden chains lengthening. I hesitated, not knowing how to politely get his attention, and Fue took over. I found myself outside my body, but after so many years with Fue, I just watched. The glow of the chains pulsed as Fue unconsciously poured more power into them, and I could see Tsukabishi tense, just a bit.

Fue was more comfortable with social interactions than me, and she just calmly bowed, hands crossed on her thighs. "Excuse me Tsukabishi -san." She waited, bowing, until he opened his eyes and acknowledged her. "Can I ask you something?" She straightened, and at his nod, said, "What do you know about long term kidō?" He cocked his head, and she elaborated. "Are there any bakudō that can hold someone for a long period of time, not necessarily with the caster focusing on the subject?" She waited, patiently, while he thought.

"I believe one is able to attach certain bakudō to an object, one filled with enough power to keep the kidō running." I blinked as a thought struck me. Fue, are zanpakutō "filled" with its spirit? She kept my head tilted down, as my eyes were odd-colored whenever we talked, and completely red when she was in control.

I believe you could say that.

So could I connect the spell directly to you? Not with you as the caster, like now, but like have you stay here and hold the spell? I could feel her thinking it over.

"Would the object have to be in the vicinity?" she asked Tsukabishi. "The object itself? Or just the power source?" He seemed confused.

"I suppose…just the power source." I could tell he was confused, but no one knew about the strange relationship between my zanpakutō and I, and I wanted to keep it that way. Fue bowed again, thanked him for his patience, and released control to me.

I walked over to Urahara, and waited for a lull in their conversation. I didn't really want to ask him this, as he was known for his powers of deduction, and I didn't want to give him too many clues, but I had no one else to ask. "I know this is a bad time, but Urahara-san, what do you know about zanpakutō spirits?" He gave me an undecipherable look, but replied, "I haven't done any personal research on them, but I have read about them some. What do you need to know?" I rubbed the back of my neck with my left hand, the chains of reiryoku still wrapped around my right, and tried to organize my thoughts.

"To achieve bankai, you have to be able to materialize your zanpakutō's spirit in the real world, right?" He nodded.

"Then subjugate it. Why?"

"That means that the spirit can exist outside our inner worlds?" I waited for his nod. "Have you ever heard of a spirit living outside for an extended amount of time?" This time he was the one who rubbed his head. I grinned a little, glad to see his mind off his current predicament.

"Theoretically, yes. I don't know of any cases..." I waited for more information, but when he was unforthcoming, I asked one more question. I was worried about this one, but I was counting on him forgetting about all of my questions when his mind returned to his escape.

"How far could they - the wielder and the zanpakutō spirit - be separated?"

He shrugged. "I have absolutely no idea. I can only imagine that both the wielder and the spirit would experience adverse effects the longer and farther apart they are. The distance and time would depend on the spiritual power and tolerance of pain...Really on the will of both the spirit and the wielder. Zanpakutō spirits are part of the wielder's spirit. They are not meant to exist apart."

I thanked him, and walked over to stand next to the bound form of my best friend. Do you think we can do it? This time Fue chose not to appear beside me.

For Amaya?

I nodded. It wouldn't be permanent. I would be able to hold her on my own when in the real world, as long as there aren't ungodly amounts of Hollows. You would only have to hold her when I have to report back to the Seireitei. Hopefully no one would notice any difference in my reiatsu, and I can't imagine I would have to release my zanpakutō while in the Soul Society… I waited for a response, but didn't pressure her as she thought it over. This wouldn't be hard on just me, it would involve both of us. But Amaya had been like a sister to both of us, even though she didn't really understand about Fue and I, and she was worth it.

I sensed movement behind me, and I turned to find Tsukabishi getting ready to perform a high level Kidō. It seemed they had forgotten about me and Hollow Amaya, so I walked over to Urahara to ask what was going on.

He blinked at me for a few moments, then said, "Tessai has to set up some high level barriers around this place. The modifications I have to perform on the gigai are going to be somewhat noticeable."

I'll do it. I refocused on Urahara, glad to have Fue's consent before all this went down. "After that, are you going to the real world?" He nodded, somewhat distracted.

"I know of an area, called District 3600, or Karakura Town. If everything goes according to my worst case scenario, Aizen will eventually try something. If he goes for the top, he will eventually have to find the jūreichi. For the next hundred years or so, this will be under Karakura Town. We will station ourselves there, and follow it if he doesn't make his move. We will need a livelihood, though…how about…yes! A store! That's perfect." At this point, he was muttering to himself. I let him ruminate on his plans for a few more minutes, then interrupted his train of thought.

"If we are going to be unable to leave between now and reaching the Human World, may I bring someone in?"

He stared at me, while I just waited for his answer. "You want to bring someone in on all of this?" He asked, waving his arms a little. I could understand his incredulity, but I calmly replied, "I haven't tried to rat you out. You are the only one I believe will save Amaya. I will trust this person with both my life and Amaya's. Is this enough for you?"

He stared at me for a few more minutes, trying to read my gaze. I simply looked back at him, willing to see the truth in my statement. He shook his head. "I can't believe I'm going to say this." He looked at the bound Hollow attached to me by chains of reiryoku. "But I can see you are willing to put everything on the line for her. I have to ask: Why do you need this person?"

I looked at Hollow Amaya as well, searching its reiatsu for signs of Amaya. I couldn't find anything but hints, tints, faint traces, the same as all the other times I had looked. I felt caught behind a rock and a hard place. On the one side, I had my best friend, my sister, someone who I had grown up with, fought with and against, who needed my help. On the other, the reason I could help her, the way I met her: my responsibility as a Shinigami. "I can't give up on her, I can't move on. But I am who I am because I want to protect those who can't protect themselves. I want to fight hollows. That's the reason I turned down joining the Onmitsukidō or the Kidō Corps. I wanted to be a Shinigami, I wanted to go to the Human World and to the Rukongai to fight Hollows. I can't do that if I'm being hunted by the Punishment Force every time I leave your special gigai." I stopped, breathing hard. This was the most I had talked to someone ranked higher than me, the most passionately, and only a mental prodding from Fue made me go on. "This person, whom I trust with mine and Amaya's lives, and truly theirs," I said, waving toward the pile of semi-hollowfied Shinigami, "is the only way I can help both Amaya and the innocent." I felt the tantō strapped to my arm warm, and "felt" the hug Fue gave me. "She is the reason I could trap this thing, how I found you, how I got your attention. She is…a master of Kidō, and one of the few I think could hold this…demon." I was trying to convey my faith in Fue without revealing she was physically contained in my zanpakutō. I looked back at Urahara's face, and saw the nonplussed look on his face. I sighed. "I need her."

"Do you know if she would be willing?"

"Yes, she already – " I stopped, realizing my mistake. I continued, but I knew Urahara had noticed my hesitation. "We – me, Amaya, Fue – have talked about this before." I knew calling her by her name could be a mistake, but I would have to live with these people for a long time, and I didn't want to worry about slipping later on. "I must warn you, no matter your impression of her, she is trustworthy."

He stared at the ceiling of the underground training chamber. "What the hell," He sighed. "Bring her in."