The captain of the Eleventh Division and the Lieutenant of the Fourth walked side by side through the streets of the Rukongai. They were out in the farthest districts of the north, on a mission from the Twelfth. They believed a small colony of Visored had taken up residence just beyond the Eightieth district.

"I'm sorry... I asked them to send someone else, but they insisted that you would be the best protection..." The tall girl said to her companion. He shook his head and gave her a reassuring smile. Not something many got to see from the fearsome man.

"Its alright, Isane. I'll be fine. Your Kidou for the nightmares helped me deal with the memories too. Let's just get this taken care of." He said stiffly. Despite his words, the memories their surroundings brought back to him were causing him no small amount of distress.

Nearly a century ago, now, since they died... How has it been so long already? It feels like it was just yesterday, walking these streets... He thought to himself. He looked around. It could have been the same street that had set him on his path to join the Eleventh. They all looked similar, and the location was not what he remembered of the event.

"I've never been beyond the Eightieth District before... Have you?" Isane asked, walking closer to the warrior's side. She could hold her own in a fight, but she was less than a candle next to the inferno that was her guardian.

"No... Back in those days, the goal was to head in, not out. The farther in, the stronger your opponents, and all I was looking for was a good fight." He came to a sudden stop. "I think we should stop for the night. We have no idea what we'll be up against when we leave the Rukongai, and I know a place we can sleep without getting knifed in our sleep."

The captain led the lieutenant through a few cracked and cluttered streets, and then through the back door of what might have been an inn. They purchased a room, and once they were settled in, Isane preformed her nightly ritual of casting her Kidou on them both. She had developed the Kidou to help keep her own childish nightmares at bay, but the man beside her had far greater need of peaceful rest.

"Thanks, Isane. I don't know what I would do without you." He gave her a wide grin before stretching out on the bed, waiting until she had taken her spot against his side to wrap his arms tightly around her. Even with the Kidou, having a silver haired good luck charm helped him find dreamless sleep. And with a man as powerful as he, Isane never woke in fear.

Line -

It had been a few hundred years since the Quincy attacks. Soul Society was enjoying an extended period of peace, and although the death toll for their last war had been high and left many with holes in their hearts, the centuries of prosperity afterward were widely considered to be worth the cost.

The Kurosaki family had joined the ranks of the Shinigami immediately, and two of the four were immediately made captains. Isshin, no longer possessing any desire for battle, took up the roll of captain of the Fourth, keeping Isane as his Lieutenant and proudly appointing his youngest daughter the post of fourth seat. Yuzu's natural talent for healing Kidou kept anyone from claiming the act as biased.

Ichigo took the position of Captian in the Ninth Division, allowing Shuhei Hisagi to maintain the roll of Lieutenant under him. His middle sister joined the Tenth Division, rising to a position of seventh seat. Around the same time, the rest of the Substitute Group arrived. Chad joined the Eighth, but never took a seat. He was quiet and content, as he always had been. Orihime joined the Fourth to the surprise of no one. She held the Third Seat, between Isane and Yuzu. Tatsuki joined the Ninth, despite many invitations to the Eleventh.

With the return of his friend, Urahara decided to rejoin the Gotei 13, and was reassigned his old position as captain of the Twelvth and head of the Research Institute. Rather than simply remove the mad man he was replacing, he allowed Mayuri to act as co-head of the Institute, and his daughter to remain his Lieutenant, serving both of them. It was not ideal for anyone involved, but it was the best compromise that two of the greatest minds in Soul Society could come up with.

Urahara had earned his full pardon a few decades previously when Aizen had escaped and gone on a rampage. The powerful mastermind had been determined to make the green clad man tip his hand and loose his cool. Perhaps he regretted that goal once he succeeded. The criminal unleashed an experimental soul fire on the shop of his enemy, and both Ururu and Jinta died in the flames. That day, Kisuke Urahara released his Bankai, and allowed the Crimson Princess to dispatch the psychopath beyond all hope of return.

Yoruichi found herself without any acquaintances in the living world, and so returned as well. After a time spent living with the Shiba clan, she was given the position of Lieutenant of the Second Division at the demand of it's captain. Many think she is given the same respect and authority as the captain, but none dare say it in front of Soi Fon.

Ishida, though he hated to join the ranks of those he still adamantly considered his inferiors, took up a position of liaison between the remainder of the Quincy and the Shinigami of Soul Society. Despite his constant complaints, he would not choose any other life. Or afterlife.

So it was, that in these days of peace, a pessimist might have said that all good things must come to an end. They would have been right.

The message came without provocation or explanation. Hueco Mundo was declaring war on the Seireitei. It was not an act of revenge or irrational hatred. No, their ruler had decided, after careful consideration, that the potential gain was greater than the potential loss. With the eradication of the Soul Reapers, the hollows would have sole claim to the souls of the dead.

The war came with a fury that put Aizen and the Quincy to shame. The Court of Pure Souls was reduced to a hellish war zone. Countless Shinigami lost their lives as they faced an army led by no less than twenty Vasto Lorde. The leader of the hollows was an Arrancar that had devoured Tier Harribel, and his Cero was strong enough to reduce a captain to ash. Sajin was remembered as a hero for sacrificing his life to save his division from the destruction the hollow had fired at them.

With the combined strength of Ichigo Kurosaki, Kisuke Urahara, Isshin Shiba, and Kenpachi of Zaraki, they were able to hold off the assault. That is, until a life was lost that tipped the balance. The pink haired Lieutenant was laughing when the Vasto Lorde's claws punctured her heart from behind, tearing her from her captain's back.

The retreat was called by the head captain in an effort to get as many shinigami as possible out of the path of the most terrifying man to ever walk the streets of Soul Society.

The few hollows that escaped would tell stories for generations to come about the horror they faced that day. A shinigami that made even Vasto Lorde Arrancar's run in fear. A Soul Reaper who achieved bankai in a rage, and who's riatsu was so powerful that lesser hollows disintegrated simply from his presence. The giant man, wielding a scythe wrapped nearly to the blade in bandages, cut down the armies while roaring out his anger and grief. Among the white bandages that covered the hilt of Nanashi Nozarashi, one single thread was pink.

The battle ended as the last of the hollows fell back through to Hueco Mundo and Zaraki collapsed to his knees in the middle of a field of bodies, cradling the tiny body of his surrogate daughter.

He had looked up with tears running down his face to his third seat, begging him to do what had to be done. Ikkaku Madarame became the Kenpachi that day, as he struck down the man who had inspired him for centuries. Zaraki's final wish was for he and Yachiru to be burned and their ashes buried in the Eleventh, the only place the two had ever called home. No one dared tell Ikkaku that he could not fulfill that request.

Yumichika became the Lieutenant of the Eleventh, serving under his best friend in much the same capacity as he always had. He still handled all of the paperwork, and Ikkaku still handled most of the training. It took years for the bald man to truly accept what had happened. When he finally did, it took him another decade to stop waking up screaming.

A memorial was erected behind the Eleventh, with two swords set in stone. One white and one pink. One large and one tiny. One ragged and chipped, one smooth and untarnished. There was no better symbol of the warriors they represented.

Ikkaku grew close to the Lieutenant of the Fourth as she treated him for his nightmares. Some time later, they had a daughter. Yachiru Madarame. He knew Zaraki would have approved. As the child grew, it became apparent she shared more with her namesake than her name. When she reached the age of ten, it was all too clear. Yachiru had been reincarnated and died again, and by some miracle, she had been born to them.

She possessed none of her memories, as was the case with all those who were reincarnated. It was a chance in a billion that they would even find her again, let alone for her to be made a part of their family, but there she was. The joy of the Eleventh Division.

Ikkaku was able to grow to accept the name of Captain Kenpachi Ikkaku Madarame, although he still thought of Zaraki as The Kenpachi, and likely always would.

Urahara had preformed some experiments, and was relatively certain that he could restore the former lieutenant's memories, but Ikkaku and Isane decided against it. It could bring nothing to the girl but the pain of knowing Zaraki had died.

Line -

"Ikkaku, wake up. It's morning." Isane stretched and then gently shook the man next to her. He blinked a few times, then slowly sat up. It was a vast improvement over the years after Zaraki's death. No less than three members of the Fourth or the Eleventh were sent to a healer each week. Whoever was unfortunate enough to find out whether the captain would awake in a panic or a rage on any particular day.

"Already? For all the good it does, that kidou makes a good night's sleep feel like a blink." The bald man stood up and immediately picked up his sword, which had been within arm's reach of the bed all night. Once he had it at his side, he got dressed and led the way out onto the streets again. It was a little past noon when they reached the edge of the Rukongai.

"It's... Empty. It looks like Hueco Mundo." Ikkaku stared out at the expanse of white sand, near the horizon he could make out a small protrusion from the ground, but he could not tell what it was. They spent the afternoon covering the distance in flash steps until the could identify the landmark as a small oasis.

It looked like it had begun as a spring and a few trees, but it had been turned into a sanctuary. The trees around the edge were planted very close together and thick vines wove between them until it was impossible to see through to the inside. The pair circled the enclosure twice before they found the entrance. A small passage that was nearly impossible to see from the wrong direction.

They called out to whoever may have been inside that they were from the Seireitei, and they were sent to bring them back and care for any health problems they may have developed in their exile. Ikkaku just had time to pull Isane out of the way when a blade lashed out at her. Immediately taking the fight out into the open and light of the desert, Ikkaku stumbled when he saw his opponent.

A tall, thin man with long dark hair. A ragged, angular face. Long limbs and stringy muscle. He was grinning wildly, and half of a hollow mask was attached to his face as an eye patch might have been.