Chapter 1

Time

They say that time is of essence. That it waits for no one. They also say that patience is a virtue and that good things come to those who wait. So what do they want me to do? Do they want me to wait? Or do they want me to move forward as fast as I possibly could? Either way, it didn't make a difference to them. To them, I was just their pawn, to do whatever they wanted me to without complain. Even if it meant going against everything that I stood for.

I know that I am just a substitute soul reaper that is only meant to take on certain duties if no other proper soul reaper is in the immediate proximity of danger, but I at least want to know what is going on in my own town, Karakura Town, if there is a problem. I am not a person who asks for anything, but they could at least give me that much, right? But no, the soul reapers are just a bunch of stubborn, inconsiderate idiots who won't even listen to what i have to say.

Now here I am, trying to subdue the massive amounts of hollows with Uryu while Chad and Orihime were looking after my injured sisters, Karin and Yuzu. About an hour ago, there was a huge spike of reishi coming from the direction of Karin and Yuzu's school. My friends and I were still in school at the time and I was sure that my sisters were too. That thought got me worried to the bone.

I rushed out of the class, not caring in the least for my name being called out in panic. I was panicked beyond belief, desperately worried for the safety of my little sisters. When I reached their school, half of the building was already in rubble and debris. But my sisters were nowhere to be found. The school had already evacuated, so I couldn't ask anyone if they had seen or heard from either of my sisters. I couldn't know for sure that they were safe, but I had to believe that they were safe.

I searched through all of the dirt, but found nothing. I tried to sense their spiritual pressure. I found something, but it was very weak. And it was only one pressure that I felt. That made me scream in frustration, get into my soul reaper form as fast as I could and run as fast as my feet could carry me to where I felt that pressure coming from.

Before I reached my destination, bug-like hollows intercepted me. I grabbed the hilt of Zangetsu, my Zanpakuto, and in my rush, I blindly slashed my sword. Left and right, I hacked what seemed like a million hollows. It seemed to be never ending. I managed to get through most of them and to the pressure I felt. And there they were. Karin and Yuzu.

They both seemed to have cuts and bruises all over their bodies. I rushed to them and called out their names, but they didn't respond. instead, they seemed to be unconscious. More hollows swarmed around us. I left my sisters side and raised Zangetsu. Then, as quick as a flash, majority of the hollows were disintegrated reishi induced arrows that I knew belonged to Uryu.

Orihime rushed to Karin and Yuzu's side and immediately started to heal their wounds. I looked up to where Uryu was standing and nodded my head in thanks. I took off toward the sky and began my barrage of attacks on the hollows. Left and right, they disintegrated. Through the corner of my eyes, I saw Chad rush to Orihime's side and protect her against an offending hollow. At least I won't have to worry about them for now.

I gasped as a hollow managed to knock me to the ground. When I landed, I sucked in a deep breath as an excruciating pain exploded in my back. I was sure that I broke a few ribs. I drew in a shaky breath as I forced my body to get up. My legs wobbled as I took a couple of steps forward. When I finally got my balance right, I took off to the sky once again.

I took care of the last of the hollows and sighed in relief and exhaustion. I dropped to the ground and Zangetsu slipped from my fingers. I laid there for a moment before I dragged my body to where the girls were. Orihime had silent tears cascading down her rosy cheeks. "O-orihime? Are they okay? What happened?" I asked, worry lacing my tone. She looked up at me. Her eyes seemed to be empty.

"Yuzu is dead..."