Months had passed and life was good, I was in a really happy place other than still not having seen Himari. I was daydreaming about what she could be doing when I felt someone gently sit down beside me. I glanced and saw Hisagi flashing his cheesy grin at me.

"Heyo! Whatchya doin'?" he asked. I sighed and presented a small smile,

"What else, thinking about Himari again. It's killing me that I haven't been able to confirm whether or not she's okay." I let my hair fall over my eyes; he put a hand on my shoulder.

"She's alright, Swana-kun. She's your sister, there's no way that she isn't."

I gazed up at the setting sun and took a deep breath. Before I could reply, a Hell butterfly descended and landed on my finger.

"I'm being summoned by my captain, I have to go." I said as I stood and stretched. I thought I saw Shuuhei visibly frown with disapproval, but the look was gone so fast, I couldn't be sure. He gave a small wave and was gone in a second.

I knocked three times on captain Ichimaru's door and entered when given permission to do so. He saw me and grinned ear to ear.

"Ariswana! Do I have some good news for you." He crooned. I smiled and approached his desk swiftly, with an extra swing of my hips. "please, take a seat."

"The suspense is killing me." I chided as I sat in the chair opposite of him. He folded his hands in front of his face and smiled even bigger, if it was possible.

"I have an idea on how to expedite the release of your Bankai, love. I think if you were put against an opponent strong enough under high stress, it may just do the trick." I cocked an eyebrow and he continued, "I am going to assign you a high rank mission; I'd feel better if you partnered with either a captain or two lieutenants for it though."

"Well, why don't you accompany me then? You're the one who's been working with me on this anyway, it makes sense doesn't it?" I asked.

"I intend to send you as soon as you form your team, but I can't come with you. I have a mission of my own that I must tend to." Defeated, I started to think of who I could trust enough with a high ranking mission when there was a knock at the door.

"Enter."

Kira stepped through the door and turned bright red when he noticed me sitting there.

"Captain Ichimaru! I'm so sorry, I didn't know you had Ariswana in here, I'll just go…"

"Kira." I said, stopping him in his tracks. I'd always liked the lieutenant, he was skilled and always kind to other squads.

"Yes, Ariswana?"

"How would you feel about accompanying me and one other lieutenant on a high rank mission?" I asked.

"You really want me to go?"

"Sure, I trust you with my life, lieutenant! Plus, you play a mean game of ping pong." I laughed. Kira turned bright red again, remembering how intense he got the last time he had one too many sakes. He put a hand to the back of his head and laughed uncomfortably.

"Ha, yeah, sorry about that. Count me in."

"Good," Ichimaru nodded in approval, scribbling something down on a piece of paper he then handed to Kira, "you can head to that location when you recruit your second vice captain. No need to delay by coming back here."

I stood and smiled at Gin before nodding to Kira.

"Let's go, I have someone in mind."

We stood in front of the front gate to the Siritei as Kira took the paper out of his pocket. He regarded both Hisagi and I before reading it again.

"Alright, I know where to go; there seems to be a high number of hollow activity stemming from the same location in the living world. It looks like a small town called 'Kurakura Town.'" My eyed widened and I took a step closer.

"What did you just say?" I whispered. Realization dawn across Hisagi's face,

"That's where you're from, isn't it?" he asked. I nodded once and Kira nodded as well in full understanding.

"I see, then that's all the more reason to get down there immediately." He opened the Senkaimon and we all stepped through.

It was night here, and it looked like the leaves were starting to fall from the trees. All of the streetlights were out, which made it even eerier of a setting. We were on a street I didn't recognize, but the town wasn't so big to keep me from seeing Himari again. Suddenly, the ground shook wildly for a moment.

"What was that?" I asked. Before anyone could answer, it happened again, but didn't stop. As we all struggled to regain our balance, the earth split apart in front of us and an enormous hollow emerged from the center. It looked like it stood about 16 feet tall and had an odd horn coming out of the side of its head. It let out a voracious roar and we all went on guard.

"This one's pretty grotesque; it's actually kind of freaking me out." Hisagi whispered; I nodded in agreement, there was definitely something off with this one.

"Its power level isn't that high though, so I don't know what's causing the signal I was getting earlier." Kira said.

"Ari…swana." The creature groaned. My blood ran cold; it couldn't be Himari, could it? I looked into its eyes, or what was left of them, and while this hollow was disturbing to look at, its eyes weren't fully consumed yet. They were blue.

"Isamu?" the hollow growled. "Isamu, no!" I cried. I was never able to fulfill my promise to him, and now this was his fate.

"Didn't…come back."

"I was killed, Isamu! If I could have come back, you know I would have. I would have kept my promise to you." I hung my head in sorrow.

"We have to send him, Ariswana. The only way he has a future, is through a Zanpakuto." Kira said. I nodded in agreement and looked at Isamu directly.

"We're going to help you now, Isamu. We're going to send you on, where you may find what you're looking for after all." Without warning, he struck out, almost knocking me off my feet.

"No." he hollered in a roar. We sprang into action and surrounded him on all sides, we had him cornered.

"Come quietly, Isamu, I can't guarantee what kind of shape you'll be in when you arrive if you don't." I warned. In a quick burst, a wave left Isamu's body that was so powerful, we all went flying. I hit the nearest tree with a hard thud and slowly slid down to the ground. Kira and Hisagi were at my side in an instant and helped me to my feet as I wiped a trickle of blood from my lip.

"That didn't come from him." Kira said, eyes wide. We all gazed to the sky and saw a hollow three times the size of Isamu, shrouded in a black cloak, controlling him through bloody chains. "A Menos Grande! This is far beyond what the brief stated!" Kira leapt into a fighting stance as Hisagi and I drew our swords.

"This mission just turned critical." Hisagi said. We all drew closer to form ranks and discuss our strategy. We stood facing outwards, our back to each other to keep our eyes on the enemy.

"Alright, I've been up against one of these before. The first thing we should do is gain some ground – it's huge. I'll head to the north side, and then from there, Ariswana…" Kira started but suddenly stopped after saying my name. I shot a glance to my right, where he was standing, but he didn't continue.

"Kira? Kira, what next?" I asked. When there was no reply, Hisagi and I turned to face him, but he just stood there; his eyes were bulging from his head, his mouth agape. He looked caught in an intense wave of shock. I gently tapped his shoulder. "Kira, snap out of it, we need—"

When I touched him, his right shoulder started to fall backwards towards the ground. In fact, the entire right side of his body slid away from his left, with a squeesh. The left side of what remained of Kira still looked outward, trapped in an expression of utter shock, until that half of him hit the ground too. I could see the inner workings of his internal organs, and part of his skeleton. I screamed.

The Menos used Isamu to send out another, weaker attack at us while we were caught off guard, and I went rolling over the gravel, cutting my arms and face on the sharper rocks. I could hear Hisagi starting to rise again and I was enveloped in a dark wave of panic.

I can't lose him too.

I rose to my feet and felt an incredible wave of power wash through every fiber of my body. I smiled darkly at the Menos.

"Bankai."

Hisagi grabbed the tree beside him for support as there was a bright flash and then sudden darkness. His breath quickened as he tried to acclimate his eyes to the newfound darkness. A few feet in front of him, a small light shone.

Ariswana stood in the center of this light, but she looked completely different. He only knew it was her based on the look on her face; it was the same one she had when she called her Bankai. She was dressed in what looked like fairy garb with a short frayed skirt and frayed top that exposed her navel and only had one strap. She sported two arms full of bright, silver bangles that went nearly up to her elbows, and multiple black tattoos appeared on her arms and thighs, one of them glowing on her lower left calf. Her eyes were black with red pupils, with what looked like hollow's bone slowly growing across the left side of her jaw.

"Sukeruton no bakufūo korusu." He heard her whisper. Before he could blink, she was gone. He heard a hollow roar and turned to see the one she called Isamu, defeated. His head had been severed from his body and he was already disappearing. He could see her soaring into the sky towards the Menos faster than any soul reaper he'd ever seen before. She unsheathed her twin swords, except now they were twice the size and had open cuts in them; not only good for cutting, but slicing too.

Ariswana struck faster than Hisagi's eyes could see and he watched as the Menos fell from its hole in the sky, its body cut in two. As she struck, an army of the dead surrounded her and guided her blade to her target with a force so strong, it had only taken one cut. She delicately dropped from the sky and landed expertly, not making a sound. When he looked closer, Hisagi could see that she was shaking violently. He broke out in a run to get to her faster, but her head whipped towards him from the sound of his feet. In an instant, she was behind him, one sword to his throat, the other to his spine. His eyes widened and he broke out in a cold sweat.

"Ariswana, stop! It's me! You don't want to do this." He began to plead. He could hear her breathing heavily as the mask had grown to wrap across the entirety of her jaw. Her eyes were still black. "Swana…you know I'd never hurt you. Remember Kira, would he really want this?"

I could feel myself returning to normal; the red rage began to subside, at least for now. I felt the bone dissipate from my face and took a sharp inhale of breath. I dropped my swords and sank to my knees, holding my head – it felt as if it were going to explode. I felt Shuuhei wrap my shoulders in a relieved one armed hug.

"Made me nervous there for a second." He laughed. As the painful pressure in my head and ringing in my ears began to subside, I opened my eyes and looked at him. My gaze drifted around the scene; the hollows were both gone already, but Kira's body was still a couple hundred yards away from where we crouched.

"That was a lot harder to control than I expected it to be." I said hoarsely. "I'm sorry for attacking you, I lost myself in the Bankai for a minute there." Hisagi didn't think that the Bankai lasted all that long; what just happened here tonight, that was something else. But that was a discussion for a different day.

I crawled over to where Kira's remains were and couldn't hold it back anymore. I lay in the dirt and wept hard, holding one of his cold hands. The threat was vanquished, but at what cost?