Sakura's eyes snapped open, feeling as if she was just pulled out from the depths of an ocean. She felt fresh and new, as she sensed an overwhelming power surging her veins. She felt like she was just rewarded; she felt like she was on top of the world. Sitting up slowly, she looked at her palms, and clenched it tightly. "This feeling..." She muttered, "...is absolutely amazing..."

Realizing that she had just barely gotten out alive from her own mindscape and that she was now in the Human world due to a mission, she abruptly looked about at her surroundings, ignoring the stabbing pain on her neck. Her eyes widened when she saw the destruction before her. Her mouth slowly opened to a gape; her breath caught in her throat. She heard a relieved sigh behind her, and she whipped her head to the direction of the sound, seeing one of the Yonbantai members approaching her.

"Sakura-fukutaichō! Oh, am I glad to see that you're awake!" She screamed, her voice cracking. Sakura noticed that her cheek was tear-strained and her eyes were bloodshot. Has she been crying?

Sakura's eyebrows knitted, as she stared with suspicious eyes at the Yonbantai Shinigami. "What happened during the time I was out? What did I miss? Where are the others? Kenpachi-nii and Yachiru?" She asked the shaking nurse, her voice frantic and almost panicky.

The Squad 4 medic knelt down beside Sakura and gently helped her stand up. The pink-haired girl nodded her thanks, and looked up at the woman, expecting a reply. The medic was nervously looking behind them at the destroyed buildings, biting her lips. She opened her mouth to answer her superior, but closed it again, her lips firm and thin.

That gave Sakura a fright. She grabbed onto the girl's shoulders tightly, and begun to shake her vigorously. The atmosphere around them was suddenly filled with murderous intent when the medic only fell on her knees, covered her face and cried, sobbing uncontrollably. Sakura's head fell limply, and her hair shaded her eyes, making her look ominous.

"Sakura-fukutaichō... The other medics are currently unconscious, along with Ayasegawa-san and Madarame-san. Zaraki-taichō is alive and is fighting both the hollows... B-But, Yachiru-fukutaichō is in a critical state. If we don't immediately take care of her, she will die..." The medic girl breathed out through her sobbing. "It was a frightening sight! I was not aware that Madarame-san had already achieved his bankai state, but when he had summoned his bankai, the dark-haired hollow was able to crush him effortlessly. Even Zaraki-taichō, in his rampage, is having trouble!"

Sakura's heart skipped a beat. Whipping her head up to the Yonbantai member, she asked her lowly, "Where is my sister...?"

"...She was taken away..."

"Taken away?" Sakura dared the girl to repeat what she had just said.

"Y-Yes, fukutaichō... Those lowly hollows snatched her when they had the opportunity. At this moment, Zaraki-taichō is desperately trying to take her back..." The girl paused, muttering, "Although... for some strange reason, the hollows were quarreling right after that..."

Sakura fought the urge to harshly ask her what she was doing to aid, but she shook her head. "Where are those bastards?" She demanded angrily, reaching for her zanpakutō, "Lead the way!"

"H-Hai, Sakura-fukutaichō!" The girl obeyed anxiously.

Turning around to face the south district of Karakura Town, the medic shunpo-ed, the roseate shortly following after her.

As the two quickly disappeared and reappeared from one rooftop to another, Sakura couldn't help but be overwhelmed by a sense of dread and guilt. Gritting her jaws together, Sakura closed her eyes, memories of that time suddenly emerging in her already disarrayed mind.

"S-Saki-nee...!"

Her hand subconsciously trailed to her back, feeling the bumpy scar running across it.

Sakura shook head head, trying to bring herself out of such a terrible memory. She couldn't. It was as if the memory was forcing itself to escape the locked compounds that was filled with horrifying recollections in the corner of her mind. To make it worst, the fear of losing her sister only seemed to awaken them, and in the end, Sakura lost the dispute she was having with her head.

Four Years ago, Rukongai District 68: Ushioabare...

Sakura took a glimpse at her brother, her eyes filled with guilt. She has been struck with the fever for a little over a week now, and her brother has been avoiding fights to let her rest peacefully and avoid any unnecessary injuries. She could tell that, even when her brother seemed fine with it, he wasn't. The man has been itching for a fight. He was thirsty for blood, and was impatiently holding in his desire to have an enjoyable brawl with a formidable opponent.

They have already neglected a few challenges from passing barbarians, and Kenpachi's craving was growing. Sakura didn't want to admit it herself, but she desiderated a long fight to release her anger and bloodlust. Rolling her eyes, she couldn't believe that she was slowly turning out into a female Zaraki Kenpachi Junior. He really was starting to rub off on her. For Soul King's sake, two crazy, barbaric, battle-longing monsters was already one too many.

"Sakura, are ya sure you're gonna be fine?" Her older brother asked her for the umpteenth time that day. She was currently being carried by him on his back. Sakura glanced at Yachiru who was grumpily walking beside them.

"Stupid, stupid Saki-nee! Getting sick and taking my spot." The younger pink-haired girl grumbled, a frown evident on her small face.

Sakura sweat-dropped and replied, "J-Jeez, n-niisan, how many times d-do I have to tell you that I'm... I'm fine? And, gomen, Yachiru. I promise you when I get better, you could have niisan's back as much as you want!" The younger pink-haired girl harrumphed, but there was a glint in her eyes that said that she was satisfied enough with that.

Kenpachi omitted the conversation that his two pink-haired companions just had and chose to answer Sakura, "I'm not convinced, ya brat."

Sakura rolled her eyes, her voice cracking. "N-No, really! I'm... I'm fine! I-I feel amazing, in fact!"

Kenpachi only snorted, looking at his pale sister in the corner of his eyes. "My ass, ya do."

"Niisan!" Sakura pouted, punching him solidly on the face. Kenpachi's face faulted, and a small amount of a red substance managed to drop down his nose.

Kenpachi was amazed. How in the hell did she still have the strength to inflict pain on him when she was in such a terrible state? Shaking his head, he glared ineffectively at the currently feeble sister of his, and murmured, "Okay, okay! But, the moment you're feeling worse, warn me and I'll bring ya somewhere to rest."

"G-Gomen, niisan..." Sakura whispered. That punch was uncalled for, she admitted. With a lop-sided smile, she reassured her grumbling brother. "D-Don't worry, niisan. There's no need."

Kenpachi sighed, "Yeah, yeah, we'll see."

After wandering the district for about half an hour, Sakura noticed that there suddenly a tremor on the ground. Looking up she could see various silhouettes not too far away. Squinting her eyes, Sakura saw a large crowd of men quickly making their way towards them. Sakura's eyes widened and she gaped. "N-Niisan! Do you feel that?" Her grip around her brother loosened, and she fell on the ground voluntarily. Standing up slowly with the support of her brother.

Yachiru grinned cutely, "Ken-chan, Ken-chan! There are challengers again! Let's play with them!" The younger roseate took advantage of her sister no longer clinging onto her Ken-chan and jumped on his back. Clearly, Yachiru was ecstatic to see that there was finally someone who dared to clash with them.

Zaraki Kenpachi was past the far side of just pissed. Strangely enough, he also felt thrilled as he stood before enemies who were ready to immerse themselves in a fight with him. The problem was, he didn't know what to do at this point on. His sister was practically hacking, and it could be that her fever has gone worse. But, the bunch of blood-lusty savages presenting themselves were eagerly biding for him to acknowledge them.

The leader of the pack howled, "Were you the one that mercilessly defeated one of my subordinates?"

Zaraki snarled, his reiatsu spiking. The group of men backed down a bit, but stayed nevertheless. "Mercilessly defeated? Even my sickly sister would have been capable of decapitating such a small fry."

The leader only twisted his face, affronted. "You'll regret underestimating us! I challenge you!"

Sakura saw her brother hesitating, and she couldn't help but laugh rather weakly. She compelled herself into speaking to her brother, "N-N-Niisan... It's alright. You could fight them if you want... I could wait. B-Besides, I enjoy watching your duels, niisan."

Kenpachi was skeptical at first, but eventually listened to his imouto, a grateful, shit-eating grin on his bloodthirsty face. Turning his head to the side slightly, he hissed to his other pink-haired comrade who clung onto him securely, "Hold on really tight, Yachiru."

"Aye, aye, Ken-chan!" Yachiru giddily complied, securely tightening her grip on Kenpachi's shoulders.

Sakura worriedly looked on as Kenpachi zapped between the band of barbarians. Her little sister seemed to be having fun, but Sakura felt like something terrible was about to happen. She, without her own awareness, reached out for her own sword, ready to jump in if something were to happen.

There were a lot of them, and she had to admit, they were quite formidable.

"Not so shabby, are you?" Zaraki commented. He deflected one of the men's sword with his bare hand and something appeared in his eyes. It was satisfaction. Finally, after patiently waiting for a chance to satisfy his craving for blood, it has come. Kenpachi of Zaraki was excited.

A grin that sent chills down the challengers' spines appeared on his scarred face, and his vision turned sanguine like the color of blood that spouted out of the injuries he had inflicted on his opponents. He was monstrous, as he mowed down one enemy after another.

Sakura gasped when Zaraki suddenly beheaded one of the foes relentlessly. At this point, even Yachiru was incredulous and yelped. Her secure grip on Kenpachi's grip loosened, and she fell off, her butt implanting hard on the clamoring ground.

With every cut that Zaraki had imposed on the shocked challengers, his blood-thirst and desire to kill, grew. Not realizing that his pink-haired comrade had fallen off and was in the middle of the brawl — no, massacre — he continued to mow one man after another without compassion. As time passed, the men grew less and less. He sensed one survivor, crawling to escape the bloodbath.

The survivor looked up to see a looming shadow, and screamed, scurrying off towards the direction of the disturbed Yachiru. Kenpachi's sword fell and it met the ground. The impact of his worn down sword created a crater on the ground, and the survivor was lucky to have dodged it.

Kenpachi looked at the direction the man had darted off to, and readied his sword. He swung, losing the ability to recall who was friend and who was foe. His power aggrandized far beyond the point of his sword, without him noticing, and Sakura watched, fear in her eyes, when the sword struck through the bolting man and reach her little sister.

An excruciating, pained cry barely escaped Yachiru's lips, before she was pinned down by the amputated man. "S-Saki-nee...!"

Kenpachi was still in his crazy state, and with one swing of his sword, he tried to reconnect the sharp edge to the survivor's back.

Sakura leaped, and willed herself to run as fast as she could. Tears streamed down her eyes, as her legs quickly ran towards her sister, simultaneously watching as the sword slowly plunge. The only thing in her mind was her desperate, clear voice, screaming at herself...

'Save Yachiru! Save Yachiru from Kenpachi-niisan!' It was most ironic.

As the sword got closer to the man and her little sister, she was only a second away...

A thud was heard, and Kenpachi's reddened vision returned back to normal. Grunting, he looked around to see the area bathed with blood. 'What happened?' He thought to himself. Looking down, his eyes suddenly dilated when he saw that the two most precious and only people of his life were lying almost lifelessly below him. The only proof he had that they were barely clinging to life were their sporadic breathing, and Sakura hacking blood. Kenpachi, frozen on the spot, watched as Yachiru's lively dark-pink eyes turn dull and the perpetual blush that was always etched on her face disappear. Sakura's already pale face was as white as chalk, and the beating of her chest was almost absent.

"Y-Yachiru... S-Sakura..." Kenpachi stuttered, as he kneeled near his two sisters. Hastily, he shoved the corpses near them aside and he gathered the two in his strong arms. He thought they were going to die, and he knew that he would never forgive himself if they did. It would be his entire fault. When he was sure that they were in his arms safely, he ran faster than ever, desperately searching for someone who was inclined and skilled enough to revive his precious rosettes.

It was at that moment when Zaraki Kenpachi realized that, without them, he would have been empty and alone all this time...

And that was why he wanted to save them; relieve the two the pain he had caused them.

Sakura was still barely conscious, when she stared up at the guilty face of her older brother, as he looked forward with saddened and regret-filled eyes.

"I'm sorry..." He whispered.

Sakura sighed at the memory. She didn't know if it was a good thing or not, but because of the trauma, Yachiru had forgotten about the whole incident. Sakura didn't know whether it was a good thing or not, but at that time, she assumed it was for the better. She didn't feel particularly happy about having to lie to her little sister about the fresh scar on her chest, but she was given no other choice.

It was either: lie to protect her or tell her the truth to scar her further. They weren't very fond of lying, but they did it anyway, saying that the scar was a bandit's doing, not Kenpachi's.

Sakura was broken out of her thoughts when the Yonbantai medic called out to her lowly.

"Sakura-fukutaichō," She looked behind her, slowing down when they reached the corner of one of the homes in Karakura Town, "They're right there!"

Sakura peeked from the corner they were hiding in, and indeed saw her brother facing two men. The two hollows seem to be having a dispute of some sort, as they kept screaming profanities at each other. For some reason, the scene made her feel almost nostalgic. Scenes suddenly played in her mind and she had trouble standing still. Her head was spinning, as pictures of her and two men resembling the fully-transformed hollows sat in what seemed to be like a food stand.

"Sakura-fukutaichō! What do we do now?"

Sakura wanted to hit herself over the head. What was up with those stupid thoughts lately? "We join the fray..." Sakura said, while mentally adding: 'As soon as this stupid headache subsides...'

She nodded, shakily reaching for her zanpakutō.

Sakura shook her head, placing a hand on the girl's shoulder. "No, you are to retrieve the others together while my brother and I stall them. You are the medic, therefore you are the most important person in this group. You are the only one capable of healing us if anything happens."

The medic girl's lips trembled. She was touched. "Arigatō, Sakura-fukutaichō," She bowed, brimming with newly found confidence, "I will do my best!"

Sakura smiled, before dashing off towards the battlefield. She cursed her older brother for not even thinking of contacting Soul Society to request for a limit release. Taking out the communicator, she hid behind a destroyed home, waiting for someone over the line to reply.

"Hello, Jūnibantai Squad!" She hissed, looking over shoulder to see that her brother was almost going crazy (well crazier than usual) trying to take his sister back from the black-haired hollow. To her surprise, the hollow seemed to only be toying with him. That bastard best not underestimate her older brother.

Glancing at the dark-haired hollow's companion, she was confused when she saw him attacking the former. "What the —!"

A static suddenly resounded in Sakura's ears, and she flinched at its high pitch. "Ah, Sakura-fukutaichō," She heard the voice of the Twelfth Division's Third Seat, Akon, "What can I do for you?" Sakura gritted her teeth. The asshole sounded calm like always. How unnerving.

"I request a limit release—Eek!" The girl leaped out of the way when the remainder of the house's roof almost toppled over her.

The voice over the communicator suddenly sounded frantic, "Sakura-fukutaichō! What happened?"

"Nothing too important! Now release the fucking seal, goddammit!" Sakura shrieked desperately.

The pink-haired girl sensed someone quickly making their way towards her. Unsheathing her sword from it scabbard, she spun around and for the first time since she came to the Living World, her zanpakutō met with the hollow's own. She was searching her mind for any possible reasons that could answer her question. 'What is a hollow doing with a zanpakutō?'

Behind her, she felt the presence of her older brother. She turned around, and her eyes widened when she saw the irked look that etched her brother's features. "Niisan? What's wrong?"

Her brother stared at her with his resentful eyes and growled. "I'm gonna kill that bastard, Sakura. He laid a finger on Yachiru. I'm gonna kill him."

Sakura's own eyes darkened, as she snarled at the arrogantly smirking hollow, ignoring the killer migraine that she was having yet again, "Give my sister back, you bastard!"

He tilted his head back and revealed his cynical features. "I see that while Naruto and I were stuck in Hueco Mundo, you were enjoying the life of a Shinigami. You even found a brother and a sister," The man hissed sarcastically, sending shivers down Sakura's spine.

There was something terrifying about this man, but Sakura couldn't put it into words.

"Niisan, I've contacted them and I requested for a limit release," Sakura informed her peeved brother, "It will approximately be released in ten minutes. So for now, we must fight them with everything we've got."

Kenpachi gritted his teeth, nodding slightly. "I'm gonna kill 'em."

Sakura sighed, before she bellowed. "I understand how you feel, niisan, but if you go rampant again, Yachiru will get caught in the fray!"

Kenpachi only harrumphed.

Sakura clicked her tongue. Her brother was acting selfish. She gave a raspy sigh, before she reached for her sword.

Sasuke prompted, "Oh? And, what do you think that your weak little sword will do to me?"

Sakura ignored his provocations. "Niisan! Let's go!"

With that, they ran towards the hollow, murderous intent deep in their orbs.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, nor Bleach.
author: you're beautiful.
notes: Late update... but, hey! It's better than nothing... right? Alright, I'm sorry. I was too busy reading The Hunger Games trilogy. I'm excited! Like, really. Omfg, it's going to be in the movie theaters soon! ... Anyways, sorry about that irrelevant rant. It's just... It's HUNGER GAMES. ZOMG! LOL, anyways... REVIEW?