... Readers, please be sure to read the A/N at the bottom!

"One's pride is cast aside, we beasts take a step closer. One heart killed, we beasts will fade away."

Pain.

That was all Hiori felt as she lay on her back. Her eyes were open, but only just, and the world around her was bleary from the strain. Tears stung her eyes as she tried desperately to blink them back, but to no avail. For a moment she ceased to breath, only listening to her surroundings and the world within her mind. But she heard nothing.

Where was Yoruichi? Had Yoruichi left before the end of her fight? If that was the case, then who was it who had taken her... Wherever she was now?

Or maybe I'm dead... Hiori thought bitterly. She could no longer here Amaterasu, and the intense pain that she felt was quickly leading her to believe that she was in some sort of hell. Deciding that she had better figure it out, she braved the pain, sitting upright in order to take a better look at just where she was. Hiori cringed, doubling over and clasping her arms over her stomach, where the pain seemed to be radiating from.

"Please, Hiori-san, you shouldn't move." Hiori froze instantly, but her mind went into overdrive. There was a man, a man who she didn't know, only feet from her. Of all the things that could have happened to her in this state, why this? Why couldn't she have just been in hell? "Lie back, just crouching like that won't help you to heal." Despite her senses screaming at her to run, Hiori did as she was told. The pain subsided, and she at last opened her eyes to get a look at the mystery man beside of her.

Flowing white hair blended with a white Captain's jacket, and kind green eyes looked on her fondly as he began to unwrap bandages from her stomach. Hiori's breath caught in her throat as she surveyed the old man, meeting his eyes only briefly when he looked away from her wounds. Something cold grazed her now exposed midriff and she flinched, causing the man to chuckle lightheartedly.

"As suspicious as ever, I see," he murmured, lifting his hands to show her what he was doing. "I assure you, I have fully sterilized my hands, and I have no intentions of harming you. You see?" Hiori paused, taking in his appearance one more. Something about the man seemed... Oddly familiar. She knew that she shouldn't have thought it strange, considering that he seemed to know her, but before now she had never felt a feeling of similarity when running into people she had formerly known. Not even her own brother.

"Who... Are you?" she asked slowly, her gray eyes carefully guarded as she watched for any sort of reaction. The man simply smiled, his cold fingers brushing against her skin again as he placed clean bandages over her wounds.

"How strange." he replied as he pressed the palm of his hand to the small of Hiori's back, forcing her to arch her spine in response, allowing him room string the bandages around her midsection. Much to Hiori's chagrin, her face seemed to heat up a considerable amount, and all that she seemed to be able to concentrate on were his hands, one of which was still placed soothingly on her back. "It really does seem that you have forgotten everything..."

"I'm rem... I remember some things." Hiori said, mentally slapping herself as she stumbled over her words. What the hell was wrong with her? The man paid her no mind, however, and at last his hands left her body and instead moved to tend to her used bandages. He smiled kindly, though he did not look her in the eyes.

"Do you remember me, then?" Hiori frowned and touched her palms to her cheeks, which only seemed to be getting more red by the second.

"I'm starting to think that I do," she whispered, mostly to herself, and the man cast her a questioning look.

"What's that?" he asked, but Hiori shook her head swiftly. He continued to watch her carefully however, much to Hiori's dismay. It seemed that even though her mind had forgotten this person, her body sure hadn't. She hadn't been with the man for even ten full minutes, and all ready she was acting as if she were completely in love with him. "Hiori-san, are you alright? You seem a little-"

"I'm fine!" Hiori gasped, ignoring the pain in her stomach just enough to curl into a ball and bury her face in her knees. "Completely fine, you can go now!"

"Hiori-san, you shouldn't curl up like that." the man said soothingly, and Hiori felt his hand touch the back of her neck, which also seemed to be on fire with embarrassment. "The wounds may open up again."

"No, nope. You know, I think I'm healed!" she replied nervously, and through a screen of her hair, Hiori could see the man's smile grow a considerable amount. Shoot- He was so onto her. "Yeah, you know, I feel super! I think I can go," she said resolutely, standing up in one swift motion. A moment later, she collapsed back down on the bed, breathing heavily and looking very red in the face. The man laughed quietly as he watched Hiori become increasingly flustered, which only resulted in turning her face a stunning shade of scarlet that clashed with her hair.

"It certainly seems that a part of you remembers me," he observed fondly. Hiori scowled, still unsure of how to handle such a strange situation. The two were silent for a long while as Hiori's flushed face subsided. The man continued to smile at her fondly, and Hiori was beginning to feel something radiating from him that was almost paternal, though she was quite sure she had no parents in Soul Society. "It's been a very long time, hasn't it, Hiori-san?"

"Uh... Yeah, I guess so..." Hiori muttered quietly. Her eyes were still set suspiciously on the man, "It didn't feel very long to me."

"Two hundred years is a long time."

"People say I was asleep for most of it,"

"I see..."

The pair once again fell silent, and Hiori decided to turn her attention towards the windows. Just beyond the glass, she could clearly see water, which made her more than a little nervous. She sincerely hoped that they weren't on a boat... She really hated boats. The man, who had been studying her carefully, let out a deep laugh as her flustered expression changed to one of insecurity.

"Are you really still uneasy around water, Hiori-san?" he said, his tone almost affectionate. Hiori gritted her teeth in frustration, tearing her eyes away from the open water and turning to glare at the white haired man.

"Yeah, so?" she retorted, ignoring him as he told her to calm down. "Maybe I am, why should you care? Do I know you, old man?" He blinked slowly, taking in her words carefully before replying.

"...Old?"

"Yes, old. Your hair is friggin' white!" Hiori blurted, though she soon realized that her own brother's hair was white. The man smiled, and Hiori was starting to get seriously pissed off by his lighthearted attitude.

"I won't deny that I am a little older than you, but I have had this white hair since I was younger." he replied jovially. "It's from an illness." Hiori bit her lip as guilt rose in her throat like bile. She had just called some guy who had been taking care of her 'old', and then found out that he was sick.

'Wow. Way to be a bitch.'

Hiori's eyes narrowed as Amaterasu's voice once again filled her mind, and she had to work hard to keep herself from saying 'shut up' out loud. The man finally stood, towering over Hiori where she lay, and made his way towards a small desk by the window. Hiori followed him carefully with her eyes. She felt as if she had struck a chord, but when she opened her mouth to apologize she was cut off.

"There was a time when I thought that you would come to be like a daughter to me," he murmured as he shifted through a stack of papers on the desk. Hiori's breath hitched in her throat, and she felt her heart quicken with his words. "When you first arrived here, you were lost. I thought that I could help..."

"Help me what?" Hiori asked, though she already had some idea. What was more, she was already sure of who this man was: Ukitake, the man the Shunsui had mentioned during their fight. He had said that Ukitake believed that she could change. No doubt this was the man of which he had spoken.

"Become a better person, maybe?" Ukitake smiled bitterly to himself as he stared out over the water. "It even worked, for a time. You talked to me and you listened to me. But then you stopped," Hiori lowered her eyes, choosing to stare at her hands rather than the bitter man in front of her. "I thought that I could change you because you were so fond of me... I guess I was wrong... And then you vanished."

A sudden knock on the door caused Hiori to jump rather obviously, and Ukitake motioned to her to stay put as he walked towards the door. The voices were hushed so that Hiori couldn't make out what they were saying, and she instead chose to utilize this time to get herself out of bed. The pains in her stomach increased as she rose, and she nearly tripped wen Ukitake let out an enormous yell.

"AIZEN WAS MURDERED!" Hiori froze, her fingers inches from the hilt of her Zanpakuto. Aizen was dead? No... It couldn't be. Unless someone there had found out about his betrayal? But even then, with skills in battle like his, there was no way he could be killed so easily. It just wasn't possible. "When? Who did it? Why?"

"Th... This morning." a stammering voice replied, and Hiori couldn't help but feel bad for the poor guy. Hadn't Ukitake ever heard of the phrase 'Don't shoot the messenger'? "The criminal and his motives are still unclear." Hiori strained her ears, desperately trying to make out the rest of the conversation, but to no avail. Sheathing her Zanpakuto and reattaching it to her sash, Hiori made to climb out of the window, but was interrupted by Ukitake loudly clearing his throat.

"O-oh... You're back." Hiori murmured, casting her guilty eyes over to meet his. "I thought you were... Y'know... Busy, or something."

"Where do you think you're going with wounds like that?" he asked calmly, though the hint of frustration in his voice was clearly evident. Hiori gulped, backing away from the window and facing Ukitake head on.

"I was going to find my friends." she admitted, and Ukitake raised an eyebrow.

"Frien- Ah. The Ryoka." he said, understanding at last. "I had heard rumors that you were here with them, but I did not believe it." It was Hiori's turn to raise her eyebrows, and Ukitake sighed. "What I mean is, you were never one to travel in packs." Hiori was quiet for a moment, green meeting gray for what seemed like forever before she finally chose to speak.

"I've changed, you know," she whispered, and though Ukitake's expression didn't change, she saw some emotion that she couldn't quite place spark within his eyes. "Shunsui said that you were right." With these words, Ukitake let out a loud laugh, as if it had been the last thing that he had been expecting.

"Did he, now?" he replied, tucking a stray lock of hair behind his ear. "Well that is rather unexpected." Hiori took a step closer, not caring that her cheeks became more flushed the closer she got.

"Ukitake, there's something that you should know." she murmured, and the man's eyes widened in surprise.

"I thought that you didn-"

"Shunsui mentioned you- That's not the point." Hiori said quickly, ignoring Ukitake's extremely confused expression. "It's about Aizen." His previously confused expression swiftly changed to one of suspicion, and he took a step closer towards Hiori.

"Your Ryoka wouldn't have something to do with this, would they?" he asked, but Hiori cut him off before he could go any further.

"No. It's not about the murder, it's about Aizen himself." Hiori's heart was racing. Would he believe her? Would anybody believe it? "Aizen... It's Aizen who turned us into Hol-" Hiori's mind suddenly went blank. All the words that she had planned on saying were forgotten. Far away, she could feel something familiar... Something dangerous. And somehow, she felt that it was so much more important than what she was about to say. An enormous Reiatsu seemed to be pressing down on her from all sides. It was a Reiatsu she recognized, but not because she knew it.

It was a Reiatsu she knew because she had been promised death by it.

"Hiori-s-" Hiori silence Ukitake with a single finger, pressing it against his lips carefully as she reached out with her sub-conscience. She could feel the energy growing, as if something had triggered it. Hiori let her eyes slide closed, and the moment that the blackness surrounded her, she felt the trigger.

Rukia.

"I have to go," Hiori's eyes snapped open, and before Ukitake could say anything further, the glass of the nearest window had been shattered. Forgetting the large expanse of water surrounding her, and the thousands of unseated Shinigami between herself and Rukia, Hiori raced off in the direction she had felt the Reiatsu. Behind her, Ukitake watched as she leapt from roof to roof, and his green eyes softened.

"Not to worry," he murmured to himself while he gather his Zanpakuto. "I'll stop it."

Not knowing where you were headed, but going all the same. For Hiori, such a feeling was the least of her problems. Thoughts of her encounter with Ukitake still swirled through her head, mixed with a strange feeling of guilt and disappointment. Why hadn't he said that she had changed, just as everyone else had? Somehow, Hiori felt as though she required his approval in order to feel truly at piece.

Up ahead, and growing ever closer, Hiori saw the enormous white tower known as Senzaikyu. She remembered that Yoruichi had explained that Senzaikyu was where Rukia would be held- And the Reiatsu that Hiori could feel emanating from it was only proof that this deduction had been correct.

Using with all of the strength she could muster, Hiori leapt from the top of the gray stone tower with her arm outstretched. A second later, her fingers made contact with the wooden railing, allowing her to pull herself up and over. Her torso felt as if it were on fire, the aches and pains within almost too much for her to bear. Her thoughts were clouded by the pain, but something inside of her just wouldn't allow her to stop.

She could feel them. Rukia... And Byakuya. They were so close, but her feet felt like lead, and blood was beginning to seep through the bandages that Ukitake had wrapped so carefully. A loud, rasping cough escaped her throat, and Hiori could taste the metallic tang of blood on her lips as she pressed forward. In her weakened state, the enormous Reiatsu felt as if it was crushing her bones where she stood. At last she rounded the corner, grasping the hilt of her Zanpakuto in preparation for a fight- Only to have her eyes fall on the familiar white hair of Ukitake.

His hand was wrapped around Kuchiki Byakuya's wrist, in which he held only the hilt of his Zanpakuto. A look of frustration marred his features, and as Hiori drew closer, she began to be able to make out the words that left their lips.

"Ho, ho, now that was scary!" Ukitake said jovially, though Byakuya did not seem to share his enthusiasm. "I think that's enough... Don't you agree, Captain Kuchiki?" Hiori was now almost directly behind Ukitake, and a look of pure malice crossed over Byakuya's face as his eyes fell on her.

"C... Captain Ukitake!" Rukia cried, who still had yet to notice Hiori's arrival. Ukitake gave Rukia a small salute, an enormous grin plastered on his face.

"Oh, Kuchiki!" he replied happily, and both Byakuya and Hiori seemed to find this strange display of happiness thoroughly off-putting. "You've lost weight, how're you feeling?" Hiori made a face; Of course she'd lost weight, Soul Society had probably been starving her all this time. How apathetic could this guy be?

"What's the meaning of this?" Byakuya inquired darkly as Ukitake released his arm. His furious eyes never left Hiori, and he still seemed to be the only person who had noticed her.

"Hey, hey, that's my line." Ukitake replied, though his tone was not so light hearted. "Releasing a Zanpakuto here is a first class offense, even if you're fighting Ryoka-"

"These are war times, that ban has been lifted," Byakuya replied. Ukitake opened his mouth in surprise, but before he could make a reply, Byakuya lifted a single arm and pointed in Hiori's direction. "And I was referring to why you brought this Ryoka along." Ukitake did a double take, turning around to glance at Hiori twice before answering.

"Ah, Hiori-san, fancy seeing you here." Rukia's eyes widened, and she peered around Byakuya to stare, wide eyed, at the red head.

"Hiori!" she cried, her eyes frantic as they darted back and forth between her brother and her friend. "Hiori, go!" Hiori ignored this, however, and instead reached for Amaterasu. A high pitched wail filled the empty space, and Byakuya's grip on his own Zanpakuto tightened.

"Good to see you again..." Hiori murmured darkly. The dark haired man stood tall, placing his Soul Cutter directly in front of his face. "Kuchiki Byakuya."

Alright- FINALLY an update! I've been off of FF for almost the whole Summer due to Art School and job hunts and concerts, so I'm really sorry for the wait! But I got a lot of things done, and now that Summer is winding down, I figured that I should indulge my loyal readers and update this thing!

This chapter may be a little off, since I've been gone for so long, so please don't hesitate to let me know what you think! I feel that I should also clarify that Hiori's reaction to Ukitake does NOT imply that they had a relationship. Even though that aspect of her life isn't very important, all will be explained in the end, so just bear with me.

Also, even though I didn't like leaving FF for so long, it made me pretty happy to see that people didn't like that I wasn't updating it. I even got a PM about it. So thanks to all my readers for keeping me goin'.

On another note: If any of you reviewers have an OC you don't mind me using, go ahead and post their details in the review. Even though it may be a while before I can actually use them, I'm going to need to introduce someone in the Arrancar Arc that I can keep using through the Fullbring Arc, and I don't really have any ideas. So, in short:

****GOT AN OC? REVIEW WITH DETAILS PLEASE.****

If I get multiples, I'll pick the one that I like best, and I'll probably bring them in around the time of the Arrancar Arc. Keep in mind that they will have to be used through the Fullbring Arc so, you know... Give 'em a Fullbring.

Thanks so much for the reviews and, of course, for your patience!