A/N: Thanks goes to GhostlySpirits, Forgetful Insanity and berganja for becoming followers to this story. Here is the third installment, hope you enjoy it and let me know what you think.

Chapter 3:

Revelation

When Shinji returned to the small house it was quiet. The others weren't even close to the place, which meant they had gone home. His mind was focused on one thing and that was Namika Shiba. There were far too many questions swirling inside his head to think straight; but the second he stepped inside, Kisuke met him right at the entrance way.

"Step back outside with me…" He stated softly.

"This better be about Namika." Shinji countered putting a hand inside the pocket of his pants.

Kisuke slid the door shut behind them and looked up at the full moon in the sky. Shinji looked at him out of the corner of his eyes, there was concern written all over him. It made him think that there was something wrong with Namika. "Kaien is dead…" He finally spoke.

"How?"

"I don't know for sure. The word came to me from Kūkaku. I'm sure Namika knows the reason; but she's not in the best shape to be talking about anything just yet."

Shinji clenched his hands at his sides. After being declared an abomination, thanks to Sosuke Aizen's experiments, he forced himself to think that the Soul Society was the enemy just as much as the hollows were; but things just weren't black and white anymore. Not when it came to her. Hollows had taken much for her and he hated being so helpless to make things right. "Why is she here, Kisuke?" He finally asked.

"If I had to guess, I'd say it had a lot to do with Kaien's death and the fact that she awoke from her coma with a year's worth of memories gone."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm saying she doesn't remember anything after her graduation, which would include your relationship with her."

The disappointment consumed him; but at the same time he felt that maybe it was better that way. He wasn't the same person he was back then. Years in exile would change anyone, with the exception of Kisuke. "It's probably better that way…" Shinji stated and stepped down off the porch.

The door slid open, alerting Kisuke and Shinji to another presence. Namika stood in the doorway, her long auburn hair was swept to the side over her right shoulder. The bright blue of her eyes came in contact with Shinji's amber ones almost instantly. "Captain Hirako…" She whispered softly.

"I'm no longer a Captain…" He snorted in an annoyed tone, despite trying not give off the bitterness in her direction.

"I'm...I'm sorry...I was told that you were dead. After seeing Kisuke alive, I guess I shouldn't be surprised to see that you are alive as well."

Namika narrowed her eyes a little. Seeing Shinji standing there, she felt like he somehow was someone important to her. Not remembering a year's worth of events bothered her and she struggled to make sense of things inside the void.

He turned away from her, realizing that what Kisuke had said was the truth. She no longer

remembered their closeness. The reality that he was going to just have to let her go came crashing down around him.

"Thanks to Kisuke...I am alive...listen to him...he will help you." Shinji said before disappearing from the spot he stood.

Kisuke turned to look at his newest guest. She looked defeated, like she had done something wrong. He gave a small smile to reassure her that things were perfectly okay. Closing her eyes, a suddenly flash of Shinji Hirako passed by her eyes. They had stood together at the top of the hillside right above the Squad Thirteen training grounds. She wondered what that had been about. Was there more to Shinji that she remembered?

"Namika."

She turned around to follow him back inside the building. There was something about that flash that just dug at her. It was times like that she really wanted her memories back. Tessai offered her a hot cup of tea the second she walked into the room she had fallen asleep in earlier. Her fingers took the handle of the cup. The hot liquid soothed the ache in her chest that she couldn't describe.

Kisuke sat down next to her, crossing his legs under his body. "What happened, Namika...to Kaien?" He asked bluntly.

"Before I answer that...will you tell me why I feel there is something important about the former Captain, Shinji Hirako?"

"That is a difficult thing to explain, especially when you have no memory of him."

Her eyes widened a little. His words were just the proof she needed to know that he had been someone important to her during that year of lost memories. The way his amber eyes lingered on her was like a silent caress that she wanted to explore; but knew she couldn't. "I was left behind, due to something else Captain Ukitake wanted me to do. Kaien was emotion filled with the loss of his wife and I honestly didn't blame him for wanting revenge."

Kisuke sat still waiting for her to continue her story. He could see the pain clear as day in her eyes. She mindlessly tucked a portion of her hair behind her ear and continued to take a sip from her teacup. "Still relatively new, Rukia Kuchiki had accompanied the Captain instead of me. The hollow had embedded itself inside Kaien's body and took complete control over his mind, attacking the Captain and Rukia herself. There was no other choice than to mercifully end the suffering. Rukia did what had to be done, though I know she will take that guilt with her for the rest of her existence."

"Your sister sent me the word that he died; but I didn't know how."

Namika froze that mention of her sister. She remembered the look on her face when she had arrived to bury her brother. Both she and Ganju were cold, obviously blaming her for the way things went down. From then on, she heard nothing from them. She was an outsider and a nobody in the Seireitei.

Kisuke studied her facial expression and realized that there was problems in the Shiba family. Perhaps that was one reason she fled the Soul Society. Tessai re-entered the room with another tray of items. "Her gigai is ready." He announced.

"That's wonderful. I took the liberty to get you a gigai. I figured you were in no hurry to return."

"Thank you, I appreciate it."

She stood up and proceeded to walk towards the human looking body lying on the floor next to where Tessai stood. She knelt down and touched the chest. Within seconds, her spirit form had fallen into the artificial body. Standing up, she looked at the clothing that clung to her new body. "From what I'm told, those clothes are popular right now." Kisuke stated, seeing the confused look upon her face.

"Thank you...for everything…"

XxXxXxXxXxXx

Jūshirō opened his eyes to the sound of knocking on the office door. He had fallen asleep doing paperwork for the second time in the same week. It's been two weeks since he let Namika leave the Soul Society and enter The World of the Living. Not a single word had come in his direction about her actions there, which meant she was doing nothing bad. At least that was something, he supposed. "Come in." He expressed, cleaning a spot off the center of his desk.

The door slid open and Rukia stood there with a solemn expression on her face. Her ebony colored hair fell into her violet eyes. He could clearly see that there was something on her mind. "What's wrong, Rukia?" He asked tenderly, giving her his full attention.

"I'm worried about Namika, sir." She answered taking a step inside the office.

"I believe she is fine. There is no report of her doing anything wrong."

"Still...I can't imagine how she was feeling when she left…"

Jūshirō stood up and walked around his desk so he could stand in front of her. He reached down to place a hand on her shoulder. There was genuine smile on his face that lightened the sadness hanging in the room. "I worry for her to; but she is strong and will no doubt come back stronger than ever."

"I hope you are right. I want to be to apologize."

He understood her need to apologize, despite the fact there was nothing to apologize for. Kaien knew his responsibilities as a Soul Reaper as well as anyone. He wasn't going to deny that it had been far too quiet without him and without Namika around. He also counted on them to make his day so much better. Their close sibling relationship brought a smile to his face and a certain light that he would be eternity grateful for.

XxXxXxXxXxXx

Namika watched the sunrise for the fifth time that week. The sound of the birds chirping was comforting and even getting used to the sound of vehicles driving across the highways was comforting in its own way. Kisuke had been working with her in attempts to unlock the memories she had lost. So far, it has been an utter failure. Her mind remained dormant just as before; but she remained hopeful.

Stepping down off the porch, she took steps out onto the gravel. It was time to go for her morning run. Running kept her mind clear and focused on what was to come down the line of time. Everyday for the last two weeks, she's been hoping to see Shinji again and every time she was disappointed without an appearance.

Just as she crossed into the main part of the city of Karakura, there was a sudden explosion in a building. People screamed and scattered out of the way just as the debris was crumbling down on the streets. Namika looked up to see a familiar creature that no one seemed to see, which made sense, they were humans after all and very few could see spirits. "A hollow...here…" She muttered to herself.

She quickly cut down an alley and swallowed a soul candy that would detach herself from the gigai. The soul now inhabiting her gigai hid behind the dumpster, cowering in fear. Rolling her eyes, Namika rushed out into the chaotic throb of scared people. She searched for the source of what the hollow wanted. A female soul ran desperately away from the damaged building. The hollow followed suit in an angry cry of hunger.

Namika shifted her body to stop the soul from running any further. She needed to perform a konsō on her before the hollow consumed her and she'd be lost forever. The girl's eyes were desperate and full of fear. "Please help me." She called coming closer.

"Oh, a soul reaper." The hollow spoke, far too eager for the better meal.

"Stay over there, I'll keep you safe." Namika told the soul, ignoring the fact the hollow wanted her instead.

Saliva dripped from the creatures jaw, just as it lunged at Namika. Quickly unsheathing her zanpakuto from her side, she crossed her arms over her chest to defend herself from the hollow's charge. Narrowing her eyes, she pushed back on the pressure. Rolling out of the way, she pushed herself back up onto her feet with her hand.

Namika could hear the sobs coming from the scared soul huddled behind a garbage can. Tossing her hair over her shoulder, she moved her zanpakuto to the center of her chest. "Pour, Kuroi ryū!"

Knowing that she hadn't released her zanpakuto in quite some time, she knew that there was going to be some hostility between them; but she felt nothing of the sort, which made her want to smile. The traditional blade transformed into that of a javelin with water cycloning around the point of the blade. A trident was engraved in the center of the metal she held onto. A smile tugged at her lips, knowing that hadn't been there before. "Thank you, Kuroi ryū." She mentally told her zanpakuto.

"Ready to die, Soul Reaper?"

"It's you that will perish."

Namika leapt up into the air and aimed the point of her weapon in the direction of the hollow. Her strike was blocked by claws. Claws that were strangely familiar. The scar on her chest burned, reminding her of the near death impalement from claws. Pulling back a little on her zanpakuto, she shifted her body a little to hit the hollow with bottom end of the javelin. It knocked the hollow back several feet.

Energy surrounded her, forming a ball of water that circled rapidly like a vortex. "Kurimuzon taido!" She called and released the energy at her enemy. The vortex trapped the creature in the depths until there was nothing left. Landing back down to the ground on her feet, she turned to see the soul creeping out from behind the garbage can.

"You are safe now." Namika encouraged.

"Who...are you?"

"I'm a soul reaper and I'm here to send you on to where you belong."

Namika's zanpakuto returned to it's katana state. She placed the hilt against the girl's forehead. The girl began to glow and pass on from the living world to that of the Soul Society. Protecting that girl reminding Namika of why she became a Soul Reaper in the first place. After returning to her gigai, she figured it was time to get back to Kisuke before he started to think she ran out on him.

Turning back down the alley, a familiar face was leaning against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest. Shinji Hirako stood before her blocking her from leaving. "You've improved." He commented with a slightly toothy grin.