Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or its characters as they belong to Tite Kubo, but I do own my Original Character in this story, Kohana Hisakane.

Kohana sat down, a serious look on her face. Yasashika stood by her as they looked around in this almost colorful world. The only thing that still had no color was the sky. It was black.

"I'll call them to the same place. I'll decide there."

She said as she watched the sky above her. Yasashika smiled and put a hand on her shoulder.

"There's still one thing you haven't completely remembered, Kohana. You still have one more memory."

The pink-haired woman gulped. She knew what she had to remember.

"How I came to be an arrancar. How I died..."

The moment appeared. It was a spring night so long ago. The cherry blossoms were in full bloom.

"Goodbye..Yasashika..."

Kohana stood there, her Zanpaktou grew in size. She looked sad.

"Good, Good. Now, shoot her dead, Shinso!"

Ichimaru Gin said. Kohana had to duck and cover herself from the elongated blade. The big sword was a good cover from the blade, yet she still looked scared.

"May the devil drag him down, Yasashika!"

Yasashika grew red and Kohana chopped the air in front of her. By doing so, she left herself open to Shinso. The blade pierced her, but then retreated after Gin was beginning to be literally and metaphorically dragged down to hell. Seeing him being pulled down made her smile, her tears began to dry up.

"Oh, Hana dear, don't count me out so soon."

Kohana then felt another pain, this time in her back. She turned to see someone behind her. Gin was there, but he was also right in front of her. He was dying, but he was living? Kohana knew it must have been Aizen Sosuke's doing.

"No, you-you can't be...If you're there then I lost...I-I can't lose to you!..."

Gin pulled his blade out her back as he began to slash at her many times. On her chest, on her shoulder, on her face, on her stomach, he slashed her all over. He accidentally managed to slice off a good portion of Kohana's red hair.

"Aizen-sama's Zanpaktou is special, Hana dear. It does something called hypnosis."

At that moment, Kohana knew she was finished. She looked forward and no longer saw Gin dying. She saw Aizen instead. He was laughing.

"No, it-it can't be! I-I'm going to die?"

She felt Gin pull his sword out of her again as he had pierced her only seconds before. She looked around. Yasashika had transformed out of his Shikai. She was going to die.

"My little flower, you are going to feel something much better than death."

The pink-haired woman heard Aizen's voice. He approached her and Kohana's body began to feel numb. She started to remember all those she cared about. She started to remember all those she cared for.

"Isn't that right, Gin?"

"Yes, Aizen-sama, it truly is a feeling better than death."

Gin snickered with excitement as he pushed Kohana near her favorite tree. Kohana landed flat on her face. Aizen smirked as he towered over her. He picked Kohana up and slammed her against the tree. She reached for her Zanpaktou, but it was so far away.

"Goodbye..."

She felt Aizen stab her heart. Kohana smiled. The cherry blossoms fluttered down as at the brunette man talked.

"I will take you, make you a vizard and then a hollow and then an arrancar. I'll have you as my own possession, my little flower. I'll make you love me, but if you don't, I guess I really will have to kill you..."

Aizen watched as the girl closed her eyes. She was "dying" for the time right now. He would make it look like she died, when in reality she was only in a coma under his watchful eye as he experimented on her.

"Kenpachi..."

He began to laugh at her loyalty and shook his head. The memory then vanished.

"He's had this planned from the get-go. How foolish I am..."

Kohana shook her head and looked down towards the ground. She began to cry.

"If it's anything, Kohana. You are the one who has the power to choose who you end up with. Aizen has no say in that."

Yasashika looked at her, tilting her head up. Kohana gasped at what she saw and her tears flooded from her eyes even more.

"Thank you, Yasashika, for everything."

The sky was actually blue, no longer black. Kohana could actually smile now and remember how much she loved the sky.

Ch. 10: Ending Petals

"Her note said to come here, but I don't see her..."

Zaraki Kenpachi stood underneath his favorite tree in all of Seireitei. He clasped the note in his hand, hoping that it wasn't someone just playing a trick on him. Then again, the note specifying for him to come to "their tree" at 4:00 am in the morning might have been too cutesy for Kohana's taste. It had glitter on it and Kenpachi knew Kohana was no glitter person. He hadn't really talked to her in so long, though. Maybe she had become one?

"I don't see her either. Why the hell are you here, you spiky-haired son-of-a-bitch? I think we both know Kohana's my woman, not yours."

Kenpachi turned to see Grimmjow Jeagerjaques, his enemy and rival. He looked at him and glared. His enemy returned his glare back.

"Grimmjow Jeagerjaques? What the fuck are you goin' on about? You have no claim on Kohana. If anyone has a claim, it's me. I met her first."

He took a step forward towards the blue-haired man. The number six Espada grinned and stood underneath the tree.

"So you remember my name, Zaraki Kenpachi? That's good. I make it a habit of informing my prey of who's hands killed them. I'm gonna kill you, mother fucker, and take my woman once and for all. Claims don't matter. What matters is who's alive and who's dead."

The two men stared at each other, both were eye to eye. Kenpachi grabbed the hilt of his sword, smirking. Grimmjow tilted his gaze down, looking at the blade. A grin appeared on his face as he stepped back.

"Well, let's get it started, you Espada bastard. You don't know how long I've waited to have your blood spilled on my blade."

"Bring it on, shinigami. The sooner we get this done, the more fun I can have with my woman."

Just then, she came. Her presence stopped both men from fighting. Her cheeks were tear-stained and she wore the robe of the shinigami, yet her arrancar mask and hole in her chest were still visible. Kohana's eyes lit up in the fading moonlight. Her hair glowed like the cherry blossoms of spring. She was beautiful, almost exactly like Kenpachi remembered.

"K-Kohana? You're here..."

Kenpachi looked at her. He still held his sword, but did not raise it. He stood there and watched the woman move towards him and his rival.

"Why did you call us both here, babe?"

Grimmjow asked playfully. He wasn't in awe like his enemy. He was in more of a lust-like state. He wanted her, but not because she was beautiful. He wanted her because she was hot.

"By dawn, one of you two will be the man I truly love. I've come here to make my final decision."

The pink-haired arrancar gripped the shinigami robes she was clad in more. Those were her old robes, Kenpachi could tell. She must have broken into his room after he left to the tree to retrieve them. With the way she wore them, Kenpachi couldn't tell if they fit her well or not.

"Final decision, huh? I like the sound of that. So, what do I have to do? Kill him?"

The blue-haired Espada took a step towards Kenpachi, raising one of his hands. Kohana shook her head. That wasn't exactly what she wanted.

"Kohana, I'd love to fuckin' kill this bastard, but I see no point in fighting him for your love when you should know I care for you more than he does! Has he even told you he loves you?!"

The large Taichou yelled as she took another step forward. Kohana gulped, trying to recall if Grimmjow had ever said those words.

"Of course I love her! I'm sure I must have told her that sometime..."

Grimmjow looked at Kohana. The woman looked at her feet as she bit her lip.

"No. You've never said that you loved me until now..."

A scowl came over Grimmjow's face as she watched Kenpachi smirk. He wasn't the only man with a trick up his sleeve.

"Well, how bout' him? When was the first time he told you he loved you?"

Kenpachi looked at the Espada, his irritation was starting to grow. Kohana, however, was able to keep him from swinging his blade and cutting Grimmjow down. In all his years, Zaraki Kenpachi had met only two people who could stop his blade from moving, Kohana and Yachiru.

"I've always loved Kohana. I made the first move, I comforted her, I protected her and I never needed to say I loved her. If anything, she was scared of those words coming out of my mouth."

Kohana gulped, her knees collapsing. Both men looked at her, wanting to comfort her, but she held up a hand. She didn't want either one coming near her.

"But, Kenpachi, when I told you I loved you for the first time you responded by telling me to leave...and then I died...Would we still be together if I survived? Right now, are you only saying you love me because you feel bad about causing my death?"

The larger man gripped his sword, almost causing his hands to bleed. He shook his head. His irritation was almost at a boiling point.

"Fuck no. I was going to make up with you that following day. I was thinkin' after you left and I knew I was a bit outta line that night. I was going to find ya in the morning, but you know what I found instead."

Grimmjow laughed as he ran a hand through his hair. He smirked, causing Kenpachi's attention to revert to him.

"Yeah. You found her "dead" the next morning. Too bad. I do thank you, though. If it hadn't been for your stupid mistake, who knows how long it would have took for my woman to come to me? Kohana. Have I ever told you how wonderful your body is? It's the most delicious thing I've ever tasted."

That crossed the line for Kenpachi. He ran up to his enemy, gripping him by the collar of his shirt.

"I'm growin' real tired of hearin' about all this love bullshit. I don't even want to think about what you did and didn't do to Kohana. I'll kill you, you blue-haired mother fucker, and settle this once and for all."

The number six Espada pushed the larger man off of him, taking a stance. The larger shinigami responded by lifting his Zanpaktou in the air. They were serious this time.

"Like I said before, shinigami, bring it on. As soon as I kill you, I'll run away with Kohana and make her mine forever."

Kenpachi grunted, finally charging towards Grimmjow. Grimmjow laughed as he also began charging towards his enemy.

"Unlike you, arrancar. I don't need to run away. After I kill you, I'll stay here and kill anyone who has a problem with either me or Kohana. She's already mine forever!"

Division eleven's Taichou said as he swung his blade. Grimmjow dodged easily, using one of his claws to try and cut his rival. He managed to cause a large cut down his chest, something the larger man didn't even flinch over.

"This is what I wanted, wasn't it? I wanted them to fight over me, didn't I? No. If anything, I want both of them to live! Don't want either of them to die! Isn't there a way in which both of them could live? Isn't there a way in which both of them could survive?!"

Kohana began to cry. She watched as the two men she loved fought. Kenpachi made various, wild stabs at Grimmjow while Grimmjow tried his hardest to dodge, punch and kick. The blue-haired man was able to punch the large shinigami in the face. The larger man grunted as he felt the pain, but still swung his Zanpaktou to cut his rival's shoulder.

"Where's that Bankai, shinigami? You takin' it easy on me?"

Grimmjow said as he punch Kenpachi in the ribs. Kenpachi shook his head, cutting the blue-haired shinigami's face. He grinned. Even though he absolutely despised this man he was fighting, he was enjoying their fight.

"Fuck no. I don't have one of those. I'm strong enough with out it."

Division eleven's Captain took his sword, stabbing his enemy in the back. Grimmjow scowled, removing himself from the blade.

"Fucking bastard! I'll kill you!"

He yelled, using a cero blast. Kenpachi was able to dodge barely. Kohana looked around at the destruction they were causing. Shinigami were already making their move towards this area. Some of them might have even been there hiding themselves, watching the fight play out, but Kohana couldn't tell with the enormous spiritual pressure both Grimmjow and Kenpachi were exuding.

"It isn't dawn yet. I still have time to decide. Kenpachi or Grimmjow? God, this would be so much easier if they weren't so similar! I wonder...what would happen to division eleven if Kenpachi and I ended up together? What would happen to Yachiru? If Yamamoto Soutaichou accepted me again, that'd be fine, but if he didn't then Kenpachi would be forced to leave everything behind. Grimmjow, however, may have less feelings for me, but he still cares for me. I know he'd be fine to leave Aizen and all the Espada behind. He never fit too well with them in the first place, but..."

Kohana tried wiping her tears away. As she tried wiping them away, her hand felt her mask. She was an arrancar, yet with the robes she was wearing she felt like her old shinigami self. She cursed herself for being brought back in such a cursed state.

"Where's that spirit now, arrancar? You got no energy left in ya? Am I wearin' you down that badly?"

Kenpachi said, his smirk widened on his face. Grimmjow looked at him. Both men were erratically breathing and bleeding large amounts.

"Hell no. I ain't restin' till I see you dead!"

Grimmjow yelled as he kicked Kenpachi in his chest, sending the man back quite a few feet. The larger shinigami got up, brushing off the hit. He smiled. His bells jingled.

"You know, with you I think I can use my full power..."

Kohana shivered upon hearing that statement. She knew what that meant and it involved her Captain taking off his eyepatch and releasing all his spiritual force, something she was barely able to stand.

"Full power, huh? Bring it on. I'm not usin' my full power either."

The pink-haired arrancar also knew what that meant. It involved Grimmjow's true form. His feline, predatory form. She had seen it once. It was amazing. He had used it once on her in an "experiment" of sorts.

"This is bad. This is really bad! If they both release their full power then I know there's no way I could stop either of them. What do I do? What could I say? Wait, that could stop them..."

Kenpachi smirked, taking off his eyepatch and releasing the rest of his spiritual force. Grimmjow looked at him and took out his Zanpaktou. The two enemies looked at each other. The climax of their battle was only minutes away.

"Grind, Pantera!"

Grimmjow yelled as he transformed into his true form. His true form, a very agile and cat-like form, made Kohana shiver with fear. His tail, his long hair, the white and black form-fitting bodysuit, his paws, his ears and more made Kohana remember that exact day she saw it. She gulped, realizing someone would die on this day because of her.

"Well, that's mighty impressive, cat boy, but let's see how it tests out compared to my improved power."

The large shinigami grinned, a yellow aura beginning to envelop him. He charged forward towards Grimmjow. Grimmjow charged forward as well. Kohana could barely see either of them.

"This is it. The sun's coming up finally. Those two are going to kill each other. Kenpachi, if I choose you then you'd have to give up Yachiru and division eleven, but Grimmjow...Grimmjow doesn't love me at all. I don't want to be selfish. I care for Yachiru way too much to take Kenpachi away from her! I don't want Kenpachi to die and I don't want to have him looked at as a traitor so I guess...I guess I'll..."

The pink-haired female finally got up from the ground she had collapsed on. She looked at the two who were fighting, all the blood spilled on the ground, the trees which she loved that had been destroyed, the sun that was slowly coming up and began to smile a weary smile. Her trademark smile was in full effect.

"Grimmjow...Kenpachi..."

She whispered their names. Neither man bothered paying attention to her. They kept on fighting. Kohana took a deep breath, watching as Kenpachi took his sword and raised it in the air and how Grimmjow was just in the position in which he wouldn't be able to dodge it, despite the obvious speed advantage. He was cornered.

"K-Kohana? Wh-why are you..."

The fight stopped as Kenpachi looked down at his sword. The stab that was meant for Grimmjow impaled Kohana instead. She was there, in front of him and on his sword.

"I'm sorry...Kenpachi...Grimmjow...I really...am..."

Grimmjow stared at her and then at Kenpachi. The sun was up, the morning birds chirped and Kohana stood there, on the sword of the man she loved.

"Kohana, why did you pick him? I thought you could tell how much I fuckin' love you..."

Kenpachi said. Kohana shook her head. By keeping the sword in her stomach, she kept that blood stored inside her, but if she moved off that sword, her body would bleed more. She had a good chance of dying.

"I can tell...Kenpachi. Can't...you tell? I didn't pick...Grimmjow...I picked you, you...bastard..."

The woman smiled and moved forward on the large shinigami's sword, her arms open to embrace him. The more she moved forward, the worse she made her wound.

"I couldn't let you...leave Yachiru...Grimmjow may not...love me as much as you do...but I love you...both and I don't want either of you...to die because of me..."

Grimmjow looked down, trying to not look at Kohana. Kenpachi stared at her as she embraced him while impaled on his sword.

"When I thought I was going to...die so long ago, I was...scared. I was scared because I knew...I'd leave so many behind without telling...them how I feel...but you're here now...and I can say I love you...and I can tell you that I love Yachiru...and Ikkaku and Yumichika aren't that bad...and Nanao and Kyoraku may be a bit dysfunctional, but I love them...and Tsuki...I wish Tsuki and Tetsuzaemon the best..."

The pink-haired arrancar embraced him harder, trying to feel as much of him as she could. If there had ever been a moment in which Zaraki Kenpachi wished he could cry, now was the moment he wished he could shed tears. He still couldn't though.

"People die everyday...most all of those people...never get the chance to tell...those around them how much...they care...I'm lucky...I really am...I hope that when I die...I get reincarnated...and someday we can reunite..."

She let go of him, staring up at her lover. The pink-haired woman grinned and let out a painful laugh.

"Even if we're not in love still...I want to reunite...I want to be able to feel you again...I hope...you understand..."

Kohana looked at the blade, retracting her body from it. As soon as her body was off of it, she started bleeding even more than she was while on the blade. She collapsed on the ground, closing her eyes.

"Don't kill each other...for me...please..."

Kenpachi looked at her, as did Grimmjow. They stared at the lifeless form for a while before Kenpachi began putting on his eyepatch and Grimmjow reverted back out of his resurrección.

"Hey, arrancar, don't think I still don't hate you."

Division eleven's Taichou said, still staring at the body of his former fourth seat.

"You better, shinigami. Don't think this is the last time you'll see me."

The number six Espada stared at his former love as she lay lifeless on the ground.

"As soon as all three of those bastards are dead, we'll resume where we left off, ya got it? I ain't gonna kill you tonight, but I will eventually. Just to settle things..."

The male shinigami said as he looked up at his rival. The blue-haired arrancar stared back at him.

"Well then, what will you do after Aizen, Ichimaru and Tosen are dead and if you actually kill me? What then?"

Kenpachi shook his head, a frown planted on his lips.

"I don't suspect I'll live on after that fight and even if I do, I'll still need to reunite with her eventually. You're one tough mother fucker, you know that?"

Grimmjow looked at him, feeling the presence of another, familiar someone approach the area they were in.

"You're not a pansy either. I'll look forward to that rematch."

He said as he turned around. A rift opened and he looked to see Aizen himself standing there, both Ichimaru and Tosen stood behind him.

"Come, Grimmjow. I enjoyed watching your fight, but I think you should come back to Las Noches before more shinigami arrive."

Aizen looked around to see not only Kenpachi, but various other Taichous as well. Grimmjow thought about it for a moment. He didn't know if he should refuse or accept Aizen's offer.

"I'll kill you, you goddamn bastard! I won't forgive you for messing with Kohana's life!"

The blue-haired Espada heard Kenpachi yell behind him, yet he still knew what he should do. He walked towards Aizen. When the time came, he would turn against him and kill him before Kenpachi or Ichigo did, just to one-up his rivals. He wouldn't kill Aizen because of Kohana. She made her decision and her decision was Kenpachi. He didn't even know if he would be reincarnated again. For all he thought and knew, he was going straight to hell when he died. It didn't matter, though. When he died, he died and that was it. He would kill Aizen just because so many goddamn people wanted to.

"Zaraki Kenpachi, you are so pathetic. Everything that happened, I controlled. Did you not see me? Kohana was my puppet this entire time. I controlled everything about her since that fateful day in which her brother died."

Aizen laughed. Kenpachi grabbed his sword which he had thrown on the ground long ago, running towards his true enemy, Aizen Sosuke.

"I have to say, Kohana was such a good little girl. She followed everything as I planned. It's a shame now, though. I wonder what I'll do for entertainment?"

The brunette man turned around. All of his followers had already disappeared into the black abyss.

"Take care, Zaraki. I hope to see you around."

He was gone. Just like that, he disappeared. Kenpachi stood there, angered by his appearance. When he turned around, he saw Unohana Retsu, Division Four's Taichou, inspecting Kohana's body. Practically every Taichou and Fukutaichou stood around him.

"She's dead. Are you happy now, old man? She's really dead this time."

Kenpachi looked at his superior and then at Kohana. She looked so peaceful, so lovely, even though she had no soul left inside her.

"She's dead. That stab in her stomach may not have been fatal if she had been treated right away, but with the amount of blood she lost after being stabbed and the amount of time that elapsed after the initial stab, she died."

The black-haired healer felt the pink-haired arrancar's mask. It began to crumble and break.

"So, you're sayin' that she purposely made herself die? You're sayin' that stab wouldn't have killed her if she didn't make it worse and remain on my blade that long?"

Unohana looked up at him, a warm smile on her face.

"You are correct."

Zaraki Kenpachi cursed himself again at that very moment. He felt like he caused her death yet again.

"Her death was inevitable, Zaraki. She died so you two hard-heads wouldn't kill each other because of her. You may not want to accept it, but Aizen himself said he controlled her since Hiroshi-chan's death."

Shunsui spoke up as he put a hand on his Fukutaichou's cheek, wiping a tear away.

"I don't see it as inevitable, Kyoraku. I could've fuckin' prevented it! I just wasn't strong enough."

He walked away, renewing the promise he had made after his fight with Kurosaki Ichigo to get stronger. He wouldn't rest until Aizen, Ichimaru, and Tosen were dead. He wouldn't die until then and after they died he would have a rematch against Grimmjow. Their rematch wouldn't be for Kohana, though. It would be for themselves. It would prove that those who wronged them were dead and they were free. It would prove that they were free from all of the chaos, all the shit they had to go through, all the stupid emotions that they had to experience while alive. It would be the best fight of their lives for it would have no emotion behind it. It would just be the two of them, fighting for their lives and for the fun of fighting.

Yet on that day when Zaraki Kenpachi walked away to his division in the rising sun from the aftermath of what had been one of the most difficult battles in his life, every Taichou could have sworn that the toughest man in all of Soul Society had at least shed one single tear. He didn't like showing emotion, but he had at least learned how to show it. Hisakane Kohana had taught him that.

-end ch. 10-

A/N: What the hell are you doing reading this note? Go on and read the damn epilogue! D;

BTW, I didn't cry while writing Flowers' ending, but I cried while writing that last part of this chapter. I'm not heartless and boy, do I suck. She died again? Say What? Go read the epilogue!