Today is the day you'll be facing the new kind of Hollow in Rukongai. You're not really up to seeing Rukongai at the moment but you have no choice, there is a mission to finish. Since it's the day of the mission, you have the rest of the hours to relax your body and to mentally prepare yourself. You sat down at you secret spot in the barracks and looked at the sky, 'I hope everything goes well. But I got Captain and the Lieutenant! I'm sure they can finish it in no time!' you nodded.
"Oh, Koizumi! What are you doing here?" Rukia approached you and sat down. She has been visiting the barracks from time to time, sometimes she would make tea for you and Renji. You enjoyed the time you spent with them, it makes you feel that you're not all alone in this world.
You scooted away for a fraction to make space, "Hello, I'm just resting. Gotta prepare myself for the mission later in the evening." Silence then engulfed the two of you but it wasn't the awkward silence, in fact, it's the type of silence that calms you.
Rukia breaks the silence, "Ne, can I tell you something?" You nodded in response.
The other shinigami sighed, "This is gonna sound weird but…" You waited patiently for her to continue. You felt that this was a long talk and decided to speak later.
"The first time I heard your name, I thought it was weird."
You can't help but frown. She quickly added, "Oh no, that's not what I meant. I just ̶ I haven't heard that name for a long time. You could say that that name is very close to my heart." Rukia places her hand on her heart as a chilly wind blows past the both of you.
"May I know who I shared the name with?"
"She's my sister… but," Rukia looked sad as she remembered something from long ago, "she died decades ago. She got sick looking for me… but then Nii-sama found me and adopted me."
Your eyes widened. You've heard this before, that name: Hisana… Hisana Kuchiki. You racked your brain as you tried to remember what Zetsubou told you the first time you met him. She wanted to see her husband so badly but then got cursed with solitude. A lady. Lady Hisana. A Kuchiki.
'A Kuchiki. Kuchiki!'
You heard Rukia calling to you, "Are you okay? You've gotten quite all of a sudden. I'm sorry if I offended you."
You composed yourself again, took deep breaths and asked, "Your sister, is she… is she ̶ ," you gulped, "related to Captain?"
Rukia smiled sadly, "She was Nii-sama's wife. She died right in front of him, it must have deeply wounded him… seeing his wife wither away."
You quickly stood up. You didn't know you were this close to the ones who were connected to the soul who brought upon your curse. 'Why haven't I noticed it?! It was there right in front of me!' You felt Rukia stand as well, asking if everything is okay.
'No, nothing is okay. I'm practically not okay right now that my head hurts.' But you faked it, you don't want Rukia to notice so you quickly did a thumbs-up, showing her that you're fine. You explained that you shouldn't be talking about things that will make you sad and that you should just smile and honor their memories. Rukia seemed to buy your façade, "You're right, Koizumi. We can't let the pass haunt us."
You said your goodbyes and left your secret spot. You need to clear out the thoughts that bothered your mind. 'How can I forget?! I must be so blind that I didn't even payed attention to their surnames!'
You ended up sitting in a corner; you let yourself breathe fresh air. 'That voice I heard before, it must have been Lady Hisana, and the feelings I always felt must've been caused by her whenever I see Captain.' You recalled the moment you saw some of her memories, the one time when you can hear your captain calling her name. You closed your eyes as you tried to access some of the memories again; you're trying to look into her past.
Hisana was close to collapsing from exhaustion but she didn't let it bother her for the sake of finding her sister. She knew it was her fault for leaving her sister behind, if only she had been capable of keeping them both alive together. She was running, looking at every corner. She wasn't looking straight and accidentally bumped into someone. Gray eyes stared at her; their eyes momentarily locked as they stared at each other.
You suddenly opened your eyes and inhaled a huge amount of air. You caught a glimpse of memory, but it wasn't enough to tell you something other than the fact that that was the first time Lady Hisana and your captain met. The sky was a mix of orange and blue hues as the sun sets; you think to yourself that this shouldn't be the time to ponder about other things.
The three of you were hidden amongst the trees of the forest of Rukongai, waiting for the right time to attack the evolved Hollow. You were completely distracted and got scolded by your captain several times, but you refused to look at him, telling him that you were thinking of ways to attack the enemy. You couldn't look at the Kuchiki because you weren't sure whether you really have the right to look at him now.
"Taicho! There is some movement up ahead of us!" Renji pointed towards the shuffling branches of the trees. He had his zanpakuto drawn, itching for some fight.
Byakuya was quick on the move, "Let's go."
You shake your head hoping that it would clear your mind, and you then followed your officers. Upon approaching the hollow, you thought you could attack it with kido first but then you remembered you sucked at kido. You were hurrying to get this mission done so that you could cover yourself up with your blanket at home and leave yourself pondering about the other soul inside of you.
"Oi, Koizumi! Watch out!" Renji shouted so loudly that the hollow also turned its head to look at him. You were going to collide with one of its captured soul.
"SHIT!" you cursed, but a flurry of cherry blossoms flew past you and hits the soul. You landed and watched the scene, shocked but at the same time entranced by the beauty of the petals. The hollow roared as one of the souls he controlled dissipated upon impact. Your captain looked at you like he was gonna kill you himself, "Don't get in the way," you gulped.
The other soul rushes to attack you, 'That's a member of the 2nd squad!' you draw out Zetsubou and prepared yourself to clash swords with him, but he quickly disappeared only to reappear behind you. You anticipated that and blocked it with your sword. Your officers were the ones fighting the hollow, so you were left alone to finish this soul.
It kept raining attacks on you, and all you could do was defend with your sword. You were waiting for the perfect timing and opening so that you could burn him. Your time spent training in the barracks helped you become quite a master at handling zanpakutos. The soul raised its katana high, 'There!' You gripped your sword with two hands, Zetsubou automatically exploded with flames, and sliced the soul. The soul evaporated into thin air, 'Gotta go help the captain.'
"Yes, help… help him."
'That voice!' you looked around but again, no one's there. This was no time to be mulling around over a voice so you quickly rushed to aid your superiors. The hollow was thrashing around like it was angry that the souls it got was defeated easily.
Renji was panting, "This one's got tough skin!" Byakuya was just glaring daggers at the Hollow but then he spoke, "Attack its head, it may be vulnerable than the other parts of its body."
You and Renji nodded. You were carefully observing the movements of the Hollow, trying to see an opening but Renji has other plans. He was quick to approach the Hollow and was ready to strike his zanpakuto, "Growl, Zabimaru!" His sword extended and hit the mask connected to the hollow's face.
"I got you now!" Renji was sure he had victory but then he realized that Zabimaru was stuck in the hollow's mask. The hollow grabbed the sword along with Renji, captured him in a tight grip and threw him in the ground with such force. Renji coughed out blood as he lay there in the ground, wincing at the pain.
"Lieutenant!" You shouted as you were heading towards him; Byakuya was busy getting the attention of the hollow away from Renji but it wasn't working. The hollow produced a spear in its hand and prepares to strike at Renji. The spear was covered with strange markings on paper and its tip was broken so it wasn't sharp. 'But it's still deadly! Or worse he might get his soul!'
You manage to get in time to meet the spear. There was so much force in the throw that it was pushing you back. Your hands were shaking as you try to stop it from going any further. The hollow was open for any attacks as it completely forgot the other shinigami behind its back. Byakuya commanded all the sakura petals to rain down on the enemy, it swirled around it as the hollow clawed its way to escape but it was trapped. The petals kept slicing him until the hollow can no longer take it and was force to fall on the ground with a thud.
But Byakuya was too late on defeating the hollow.
Renji called your name, "Koizumi!" You made a mistake shifting your zanpakuto to the right, thinking that would lessen the force of the spear, but the spear was heading left. Your eyes widened as you felt the pierce of its tip. The spear penetrated your heart but as it made contact it dissipated; you fall down to your knees with your head down.
Byakuya hurried to your side to see the damage. He kneeled to see if there was still life in you and gently grabbed your shoulders; he was shocked to see the face that greeted him. His eyes were wide and his heartbeat quickened.
"Hisana…?!"
He thought that maybe the moonlight was doing tricks on him. Her hair was long but that trademark bangs in her face, that nose, that lips, only belonged to her. The body he was holding was his subordinate, he was sure of it. Was it part of Hollow's powers?
Hisana's eyes fluttered open, and Byakuya felt like crying when he saw violet irises stare at him. He didn't care if it was a trick, he was seeing his wife again after decades. Renji was standing like a statue, watching the scene unfold before him; he knew this wasn't right.