Hey! It has been an eternity since I updated. The reason? I suffered from the worst writer's block I've ever had and I was working on other stories. But I am back and determined to wrap this story up! Here is the next chapter, I hope you like.

Sara was close to Zeph's age with large blue eyes and brown hair. But while she was once young and innocent, now she was little more than a corpse that would be buried besides those of the others in her home.

I reached down and touched her bloodied hair and lightly grazed her skin. The body was still warm and the blood only partially dried. She must have died only hours ago.

"Who...who would do this to Sara?!" a distraught Zeph asked me.

I shook my head, signalling that I didn't know. But there was one thing that I remembered that might shed some light on this situation. Zeph had a bounty on his head, maybe Sara did too. But the question is, why?

Wanting to be delicate, but still receive an answer, I kneeled down beside him and put a hand on his shoulder, "Zeph, do you know why she might have been targeted?"

He hiccoughed, "W-what? Why are you asking me?"

"Because there was a bounty on your head, and there might have been one on hers too. Did you do something or say something you shouldn't have?" I asked slowly.

He sniffed and wiped his tears away, only to be replaced with fresh ones. After contemplating my question he answered, "Well...we were supposed to deliver a message. An important one, and both me and Sara were going to do it." He choked on Sara's name and a wave of grief rose in his eyes.

"What was the message? Who was it for?" I pressed.

"It was for the Head Captain, from this noble family, the Urabana family."

I must have heard him wrong, so I asked, "From the what family?"

"The Urabana family. I deliver things for them, sometimes. They let me and Sara hang around in their gardens and have tea. They're pretty rich and powerful, but they got into some trouble with the law or something. I don't know the details but they have to forfeit their training program or something otherwise they'll be banished. At least that's what I was told. And Sara...well me and her were going to go tell the head Captain..."

He trailed off into silence. He swallowed hard as fat tears rolled down his cheeks.

"What were you going to tell him?" I pressed.

He shook his head slowly, "I can't...tell you. We were sworn to secrecy. The family promised us food and blankets, nice new ones if we delivered the message and so me and Sara agreed."

I wasn't sure how to respond. My family was in trouble with the law? Again? Why were they hiring poor children to deliver messages? Why couldn't they go themselves? And what was this mysterious message? It was clearly enough to get Sara killed and have Zeph hunted down. That message was the key to all this. But just what this was, I couldn't say. Not yet, at least.

"Zeph, have you told anyone else? About the message?" I prompted.

He sniffed, "I didn't but..." he frowned suddenly and his eyebrows drew together.

"But?"

"But Sara...she liked to show off. I told her not to but, she bragged about being asked to do this job, but it was just this one time. We were just walking around and then we saw him as we rounded a corner. It was like he was...waiting for us." He sounded distressed, as though that particular memory made him uneasy.

"Who?" my voice was beginning to sound demanding as my stress rose.

He shrugged, "Brown hair...brown eyes...glasses. He's a Shinigami."

I felt my blood freeze in my veins. That description...no way...

"Aizen Sousuke?" I whispered, hoping I was wrong.

He blinked, "Yeah...that was his name. Do you know him?"

"Yes. I know him." I answered darkly, not wanting to elaborate.

But that didn't make any sense, how could he be here? He already betrayed the entire Soul Society, why did he return? And wouldn't somebody have stopped him? Or tried to?

I shook my head. Too many questions; there was no point in thinking it over right now.

Zeph looked worried, "Is everything okay?"

If I could smile at him reassuringly I would have, but not having a jaw made that difficult so I settled for saying, in a soft tone of voice, "Yes, everything's fine. But we're going to have to leave for Seireitei. Immediately."

Zeph's eyes, while still filled with tears, brightened somewhat, "So you're going to keep helping me?"

I stood up, "Yes. This is larger than I could have anticipated. Come on, we have to go."

He stood up then gripped my sleeve, "B-but what about Sara?"

"We need to leave her. There's no time to lose." I answered firmly.

Zeph dropped down and wrapped his arms around Sara, "No! We, we have to bury her! And her parents!"

I understood; he needed closure, or something akin to it. I violently pushed away the image of my dead father's face before I pushed the freshly upturned soil onto his body. But taking the time to bury them was taking time away from the mission, and it was getting more and more dire as time went on.

"We can't bury them all." I said carefully, "But we may have time to bury Sara, if we hurry."

His head snapped up so that I could feel the pull his tear filled gaze had, "Really?"

"Yes. Is there somewhere nearby that would be suitable?"

He adjusted Sara so that he was carrying her bridal style and stood up, "Her backyard is big enough."

I nodded and Zeph walked out, taking long strides. I followed behind him and we entered the backyard through the backdoor.

The backyard was big enough, but not by much. Sara would have about two feet of earth on either side of her before it was interrupted by the foundations of the house and the neighbours' property line. It was also comprised of a poor quality soil that wouldn't come apart smoothly.

I had grabbed a shovel on the way out and with it I proceeded to break apart the dry earth to make room for Sara's body. Zeph used a large spoon he'd found in the kitchen to help. However, even with the assistance of a larger than average spoon, it still took roughly an hour and a half before the grave was deep enough. Together, we gently lowered Sara into the hole.

There was a moment of silence as we stared at the pale, unmoving body before I quietly asked, "Would you like to say anything?"

Zeph shook his head slowly. I didn't push him, instead I began filling the hole back up while trying desperately not to focus on the small girl who was disappearing underneath the dirt. It wasn't long before the hole was filled and I gave the grave a few final pats with the shovel.

I propped the shovel against the fence and turned to Zeph, "It's time to go."

He was silent for a while, and I didn't think he was going to answer but then he surprised me by quietly asking, "Where?"

"To the Urabana Manor," I answered, kneeling down, "I need answers. Things are no longer making sense; my grandmother will have some answers."

Zeph carefully crawled onto my back, "The message..."

"I will still help you deliver it, I promise." I wasn't going to abandon him, not after coming this far.

The world sped by in a blur. I prayed to whoever was listening that I might find some answers, and soon. Things were getting out of hand.

I skidded to a stop. The manor loomed in front of me, large but curiously lit up. The last time I was here the vast majority of the windows were dark and silent. Now I could see shadows milling about and here the soft sounds of people talking and walking around.

I loosened my grip on Zeph's legs and he slid to the ground.

He ran a hand absent-mindedly through his hair, "So, your grandmother is a member of the Urabana family? That would make you one too. How come I didn't see you there?"

I didn't know how to answer. An idea was forming in my head, but it seemed so ludicrous that it couldn't possibly be true. However, given everything that's happened dismissing the possibility wouldn't be such a good idea.

"I don't normally look like this. And it's a big house." I replied carefully, "I might have been out running an errand when you came to relay the message. I can't remember."

"Okay." he said simply. Obviously my answer placated his curiosity.

We walked up to the door. I knocked gently but firmly on the door. It opened to reveal a girl who looked to be a year or two younger than me.

She gave a start as she took in my appearance. I felt my stomach clench in unease. I kept forgetting how monstrous I looked. I briefly wondered if I was ever going to change back to normal.

"Can I help you?" she asked nervously.

"I would like to speak with Rairakku Urabana." It took some effort not to add sensei to her name.

The girl's eyebrows knit together in skepticism, "Why do you need to speak to Rairakku-sama?"

I tried to be as direct as I could while still beating around the bush, "I have some questions that need to be answered. Things have been a little hectic lately and I am fairly sure she can help me figure out exactly what's going on."

Her eyes narrowed, "What did you say your name was?"

"Kitsune." I spoke before I had the sense to think up a false identity.

"Well I am sorry, but without some sort of proper identification and clear purpose I cannot let you in, now could you please-"

The rest of her sentence was cut off by a loud crashing sound coming from deeper inside the manor. She turned around to see what was the matter.

Without taking a moment to re-think my plan, I grabbed Zeph by the waist and flash-stepped through the gap between the girl and the door. Luckily there was an open closet right behind her. The second we were inside I pulled the door so that it was 70 percent shut and then covered Zeph's mouth and held still.

I waited, my heart pounding in my chest, certain that the door would rip back and we would be caught. But slowly the seconds ticked on, and I heard the front door close and footsteps leading away from the closet. I also could have sworn I heard her muttering to herself.

I moved my hand away from Zeph's mouth. The moment I did he whispered, "What was that? Why didn't you tell her you were an Urabana?"

"Because if my theory is right, then I would have no way to prove it." I whispered back.

He looked confused. "What do you mean?"

"No time, let's just go see my grandmother and get some information."

We slid out of the closet and started walking down the hall. At first we went slow and tried not to get noticed, but after a few minutes we just walked normal because it was clear that there was something bigger afoot than uninvited guests.

I felt the anxiety in the air. People were rushing back and forth, gathering up items like blankets and food while others were shouting out orders. Even with my bizarre appearance, Zeph and I passed through with barely any thought given to us. If ever someone stopped and scrutinized us for too long, they were yelled at and then they promptly went back to running around.

I led Zeph through the crowds to the courtyard. There were a small groups of adults talking heatedly to each other. I didn't recognize anybody.

"...we haven't heard back yet have we?" one man was saying.

"No, but I don't think the Captain-Commander would make a rash action after receiving the message we sent." another was countering.

"You have too much faith in him! They aren't just going to accept our surrender, they are going to come down here and strip us of everything until we have nothing!" This was followed by shouts of agreement.

"There's nothing for it, we have to leave. We leave our name but take our belongings. I'm sorry, but our minds are made up." The argument was over; all the men save two strode off back into the manor, presumably to add to the pandemonium within.

One of the remaining men had a long white beard. He sighed heavily. "To see our family reduced to this. I had hoped never to see the day."

"Nor I, to be sure." The other man was much younger with short ebony hair.

I strode up to face the, Zeph at my side.

The men turned to us. At first they glossed over me and looked at Zeph, surprise clear on both their faces.

"Zephaniah, what are you doing here? Did you deliver the message?" The dark-haired one questioned.

Zeph suddenly looked very sheepish, "Ah well, not exactly, you see-"

The elder frowned deeply. "I knew it, I knew we should not have trusted such a large task to a mere infant."

The sparked a pulse of anger in me. "Hey, why don't you make an assumption after he finishes explaining old man?"

An indignant look flashed across his face, "How dare you address me that way? Who are you?"

"My name is Kitsune, and I am starting to have a pretty good idea of what is happening here. But in order to be sure I need to speak to Rairakku."

The young man looked a tad bewildered, "You wish to speak to my daughter? Why?"

"Because she is the final piece I need to put this whole messy thing together. Please."

He looked to be on the verge of refusing me, but out of the house came a bouncing blur of purple.

"Dad! Are we leaving like everyone else, or are we fighting? I can take them all out, you know I can." A teenage girl was suddenly at the young man's side with a determined look on her face. She looked very, very familiar.

"Are you Rairakku?" I asked her.

She looked me in the eyes (or rather eye sockets), apparently unfazed by my unconventional face. "Yeah, who's asking?"

And there we have it. That was it. There could be no doubt now. But, it was just so...out there! How could it be true? But it had to be, otherwise none of this made sense.

Time travel. That teenager, that was my grandmother. And now her words came back to me.

"It isn't what you have done so much as it is something you're going to do. Somehow you got into the time stream and changed an event, though whether it was for better or for worse I couldn't tell you."

I couldn't believe that I had almost forgotten. I must have fallen back in time and what I did, or I guess what I'm going to do, is going to have a ripple effect until it gets to my grandmother years and years from now.

If that was the case...then I could save them! I could save my family from having to disband! Zeph had the message, but was killed by that gang the first time in the past so the Captain-Commander didn't see the message they gave him. But I saved him, and I saved the message, so there's still time.

I clasped Zeph shoulder, whirling him to face me. "I've got it now. I know what we need to do."

"R-really?" squeaked Zeph.

"Yes. We are going to do what you set out to do in the first place, deliver that message."

I turned to the two men, my great grandfather and (from and educated guess) my great-great grandfather and my grandmother.

"Thank you. I have what I need now, so we'll be going."

"I thought you needed to speak to Rairakku." my great grandfather said, his face displaying his confusion.

Suddenly, it occurred to me how precious this moment was. I could tell her something about her future, prepare her for what was ahead. There was so much to say and no time to say it in.

Finally, I decided on something simple. "Thank you. You may never know it, but what you've done for me can never be fully re-payed."

With that ambiguous statement, and while fighting the urge to say more to her, I grabbed Zeph and flash-stepped across the courtyard, up the wall and off to the heart of Seireitei.

It was time to change history.

And there you have it! Please review, I like to know what you think!