The feeling of warm crimson spatter hit his face, his green eyes widened at that moment. He was too late. Why did he have to arrive late? He should have left earlier than he did. He used Shunpo, reaching his hands up, catching the brunette as she fell. Quickly, he moved back out of the hollow's way, keeping the woman close to his chest.
Jūshirō Ukitake, put his hand in front him, his brow frowned. "Hadō number 31; Shakkahō!" A red ball of energy flew towards the attacking hollow, destroying it.
"U…Uki…take…" the young woman gasped out, looking up at him. Her brown eyes appeared heavy and losing life, her chest heaved.
Ukitake shook his head, grabbing a hold of her hand, "Saiko…don't speak…please."
Saiko gave him a weak smile, "But…I…" She said softly, drifting in and out of consciousness.
"Saiko…please…stay awake…" he said to her, moving her slightly to try to keep her from closing her eyes.
She looked up at him with heavily lidded eyes, before putting her head against his chest. This time she was silent, her breathing had become shallow, slowly her breathing had slowed down, coming to a stop.
Quickly, he stood up, before using shunpo to get the Division four barracks. He only hoped that he could get her to Unohana fast enough before the life was completely drained from her.
Ukitake waited patiently outside of the Division Four barracks, to hear about Saiko's condition. He wasn't even sure what he would do if she had died because he didn't get there fast enough to save her. Why did he have to arrive late? He quickly turned his head at the sound of someone approaching him. "Unohana-Taicho…how is she?"
Retsu Unohana stood before him, her hands crossed over each other in front of her. She shook her head at his question. "I'm afraid to say, Ukitake-Taicho, but…Saiko Aizen as passed on from our world."
Hearing those words, he went silent. A small drop of water fell on this cheek at that moment; he looked up at the sky. Was it going to rain? He looked back down at Unohana as the rain became to fall harder, his entire body becoming wet from the heavily rain.
She stared at him for a moment, "I'm truly saddened by this, to lose one of our own to a hollow attack. We should make preparations for a funeral for her." With that, she turned and walked back into the Division four barracks.
Kiyone and Sentarō came running up behind Ukitake. They stopped right behind them, panting a bit. "Ukitake-Taicho! How's Saiko doing?"
Ukitake turned to look at this third seat member, his facial expression saddened. He didn't even have to say a word to him before their facial expressions changed to match his.
"Taicho…I'm sorry…" Kiyone said softly, looking down as she put her hands over her chest. Tears slowly stared to roll down her cheeks.
A couple of days of preparations seemed like weeks of doing it. Ukitake stared silently at Saiko's lifeless body. He just wanted to keep blaming himself for her death. He reached his hand out, moving stray strand of hair out of her face.
Rukia walked up behind her captain before standing beside him, she looked over at him. "Taicho…don't blame yourself. You didn't kill Saiko."
He looked over at her, giving a sad smile. "That may be true, but I feel like it's my fault."
Though, it was unlike a captain to go on missions in the World of Living, Ukitake didn't mind taking this one mission. He opened the Senkaimon, stepping into the world of the living, he looked around. Though it had been years since Saiko's death, he couldn't still get over the fact that he wasn't able to save her. He walked silently down the streets, not that anyone could see him, he was on a recon mission after all there was no need for him to be in his gigai.
Saiko was walking home from school, letting out a small sigh. It was the same routine every day. Some part of her actually wished that something different and unexpected would happen. Just once. She moved her brown bangs a bit, as she looked down at the ground. An interesting pair of feet had caught her attention, causing her to look up from the ground. She raised her eyebrow. What on earth was that guy wearing?
He stopped for a moment as he passed by the girl. It couldn't be, could it? He turned his head to look over his shoulder at the girl who just walked passed him. His green eyes went wide at that moment. He reached out his hand, grabbing a hold of her. "Saiko…"
She quickly stopped, jumping a bit. She looked at him for a moment, tilting her head to the side. How did this man know her name? "You must have me mistaken for someone else. I don't know you at all."
Ukitake's brow frowned at that moment. How could she not remember him? "I'm not…you're Saiko Aizen. It's me, Jūshirō Ukitake."
Saiko shook her head, "I don't know you. My name isn't Saiko Aizen…its Saiko Kuragi. Why are you even dressed like that?" she looked around at the passing people, who were giving her odd stares as if she were talking to herself. The looks caused her to raise her eyebrow before looking back at the taller man.
"Saiko Kuragi? I'm a Shinigami, we all dress this way. You even dressed this way." He replied to her before letting go of her arm.
She shook her head again. This guy was crazy. After getting the odd looks, she figured he wasn't even alive before he mentioned being a Shinigami. "I'm telling you, I don't know who you are. This is the first time I've met you. You're obviously dead and you're missing someone who died. I'm not the Saiko you're looking for."
It was true that Ukitake was still pained by the loss of Saiko, maybe he was just hoping that this girl before him was the same Saiko he knew and loved back in the Soul Society. It was obvious, that she wasn't, after all she didn't even remember who he was. How would he ever be able to get her to remember her true self?
