Last chapter of flashbacks!

DISCLAIMER: I am greatly amused by the idea that anyone would think that I own anything related to Bleach rights. The only Bleach related things I own are a Kenpachi key chain, an Urahara chibi plushie, Kenpachi's sword, Yachiru's lieutenant arm band, and my bro has Urahara's hat. For reals. T_T

So, I was on my own. The only thing that kept me going was the promise the mysterious voice had made to me. He promised that I would see them again. I didn't know what to do, so I just kept running. I eventually found my way into Karakura town, but I didn't know where to go from there. I couldn't just go up to one of the characters and tell them about Bleach or anything. We had agreed that that was dangerous and stupid. If I could find a shinigami, then they could send me to Soul Society. But then I would still be lost and alone. It had been so long since I had been totally alone. Ben and Nick were usually the leaders. They were both smarter than me, stronger than me, and better leaders than me. I would just chime in when needed. I wandered around Karakura town for a while, trying to decide what to do. Days passed and my chain grew ever shorter. My time was running out. After the fight with the arrancar, it had been even harder to hear his voice. I didn't know why, but it was starting to kill me.

Another sleepless night came and I could feel a hole begin to form in my chest. The only thing that had been keeping me from becoming a hollow was now lost somewhere in the wilderness beyond the Rukongai. Unable to take the crushing silence anymore, I screamed.

"I can't do this anymore! Are you going to answer me? Or have you just given up?"

Nothing.

"Why are you ignoring me? I'm dead because of you! I'm alone because of you! I'm going to turn into a hollow and it's all your fault! Well? At least have the decency to answer me!"

The answer I received wasn't the one I wanted.

"Aw, poor little girl. I can help you if you want." My eyes, which had been clamped shut in frustration, shot open. A hollow had snuck up on me. "I can make it so your not alone anymore, and you won't turn into a hollow. Can't say much about the 'dead' part though," it cackled. I quickly moved to my feet. It wasn't as big as the ones that had attacked us when Ben and Nick had changed, but it was way too big for me to even hope to take out on my own. I got ready to blast it, thankful that my kido had somewhat improved in my solitude. Maybe I would get lucky. Maybe it would underestimate me and I could kill it.

The fight didn't last real long. I lost. I did a little damage to it, but it knocked me around with ease. I struggled to sit up as the great lizard like beast came up to me. I struggled to flare my reiatsu. It only cackled at the pathetic attempt.

'PLEASE! I have to find Nick and Ben again! Please help me! What do I have to do?'

'……listen……'

'I've BEEN listening! I couldn't hear you for so long! What am I supposed to do?'

'……surrender……'

'What? You mean like last time?'

'……no……'

'Then what? What do I have to surrender to?'

'……pain……'

The hollow chuckled again as it scooped me up.

'……suffering……'

The sound multiplied as other hollows crept up to join the first.

'……death……'

They all moved at once. They began reaching for me, with claws and talons and fangs. None of them could get a good grip on me. I wriggled around, trying to keep out of reach.

'How……?' I questioned weakly. I strained my ears, desperately trying to block out the sound of the squabbling hollows and focus everything on his voice. I could almost feel my mind move. The pain began to fade so I didn't notice it and the noise grew muffled until it disappeared. I could hear his voice clearer than ever before, though it still sounded like it was coming from a great distance.

'……be unbound by destiny's bonds……do not push away your strength……'

'What? That doesn't make any sense! Please just give me a straight answer! I'm tired of all the riddles!'

'……do not push away your strength…………embrace it……'

'My strength? What am I pushing away?'

My thoughts were shattered when I landed hard on the ground. All at once, all the pain I was ignoring poured out. I couldn't help the scream that tore from my lips and cracked my throat. I tried to pull away from the pain that I was drowning int, but it felt like something was pushing me back under.

'……coward!……'

'How am I being a coward?'

'……never run from a fight……'

'You've told me to run more than once!'

'……the purpose of that fight was not destroying the enemy, but escaping their plot alive……………death is the only outcome of this battle…………surrender……'

'Have you ever heard the term 'mixed signals'?'

'……surrender to your own power……' I was still confused, and in agonizing pain, but I did as I was told. I surrendered. I gave up fighting against the hollows and the pain. Stars flashed in my vision as every nerve ending in my body seemed to be on fire. The pain only increased when the giant lizard hollow grabbed my chain and pulled me up off the ground.

'……be free…………unbound……'

'Free from what?' I couldn't solve his riddle. I was in too much pain. I tried to think of what he had first said. Something about destiny and bonds. I let out another scream as the hollow cruelly jerked me around in mid air, pulling on my chain and sending pain crashing through my body again. My chain. Chains were binds, right? Was he trying to tell me something about my chain? What was that he had been saying about destiny? I struggled through the agony to look at my chain, securely in the monster's grasp. A chain of fate. Fate! Fate and destiny were close. So he was talking about my chain! But why? He said to be free, unbound. He kept talking about pain and suffering and my chain. If I pulled my chain off, I would be in more pain than I could imagine and I would turn into a hollow. But I wouldn't be bound anymore. The chain symbolized what my soul was bound to. My brothers were gone. There shouldn't be anything else holding me to the world of the living.

'……pull away…………face your pain…………face your power………………be reborn from the ashes……'

I reached up my hands and held onto the chain as tightly as I could. The odds of me not turning into a hollow were about a trillion to one. If I didn't, then the other hollows would eat me. I shut my eyes again and took a deep breath. I pushed the sound of the jeering hollows away and tried to focus on the pain.

"Dinner time!"

I pulled. It came off. I blacked out from the pain.

I wasn't out long, though. As quickly as the pain had crashed through me and overwhelmed me, it was gone. I landed on the ground, dazed. I was left numb from the strange lack of sensation. I could barely move, but I forced my hand to touch my chest where my brand new hollow hole should have been. Nothing. My eyes snapped up to find the source of the loud roar that broke me from my thoughts. Several giant fingers landed on the ground in front of me and the lizard hollow standing above me was hollering and clutching at its hand. All the other hollows froze in shock and confusion. Only the lizard beast moved as we all looked on. My eyes snapped back down to the ground to look at the next sound I heard. A sword had landed in the ground amid the fingers, sticking right up out of the dirt. The moonlight glinted off of the side of the blade, showing that it, like my brothers' swords, was a sakabato. I was a shinigami.

'Jessica.' I jumped at the crystal clear sound of the mysterious voice. It sounded as if he spoke right into my ear. 'I think we have been on the receiving end of the pain for long enough, don't you?' I felt a smirk spread across my face as I sprung up, snatched my zanpakuto out of the ground and lunged at the monster that had started all of this. I cut off its left leg and then its right arm before slicing its mask in two. It faded to oblivion before it even hit the ground. I looked up at the other hollows, silently challenging them to come at me. They all moved as one to swoop down and devour me. With a strength and speed completely foreign to me, I darted around slicing and dicing. In a matter of minutes, the area was empty save for me. I stood for a moment breathing heavily from the exertion and the thrill of being able to fight like that. Just as I was about to stand and relax, all the pain came rushing back. I collapsed, my mouth opening in a silent scream.

'I apologize, Jessica, but this is beyond my control. In exchange for fantastic power when you first awaken your shinigami powers, you feel pain and weakness afterward.' I laid there for a bit, just waiting it out. When I could finally move again, I slowly moved into a sitting position.

'So, why haven't I passed out like Nick and Ben did?'

'I am keeping you conscious using my own power. They could rest safely because they were not alone. Such is not the case with you.'

'Your power? Who are you? What are you?'

'I am your zanpakutō.'

'What? No, that's not possible. I shouldn't be able to speak with my zanpakutō like this. I heard you when I was just a plus. I heard you when I was alive!'

'That is because you are unique. You can hear the sounds of reiatsus. Each of you had to sense us before you could wield us.'

'Wait, what?'

'Nick had to learn to recognize his zanpakutō's appearance and Ben had to learn to recognize his zanpakutō's scent. You had to learn to recognize my voice.'

'Then why didn't they say anything? Nick never mentioned seeing anything special, and Ben never mentioned any other scents.'

'I assume that they learned these things subconsciously. Ben may have become accustomed to his zanpakutō's scent through the scent of his own reiatsu.'

'And Nick?'

'I regret to say that I always had more trouble understanding………………and………………than……………….'

'Huh? You just faded out there for a second. I missed what you said there at the end.'

'Hm……What you were unable to hear were their names. Something must be preventing you from being able to hear them.'

'Wait, wait, wait. How do you know their names? You're my zanpakutō, right? So you shouldn't be able to know anything about someone else's zanpakutō!'

'We are unique. I must leave it at that for now. I am using a great deal of my own power in an effort to speed your recovery. Find a safe place to rest. I will do what I can to help us stay alert so we should hear any aproaching hollow.'

I was too exhausted to argue. I silently promised myself that I would get everything out of him later, and would rest now.

I stayed in Karakura town simply because I had no where else to go, but the stay was much more enjoyable now that I was no longer in danger of becoming a hollow. I was now a shinigami just like Ben and Nick. We could all be shinigami together when I finally found them. I sat in an apple tree in the park and stared up at the clouds. I frowned at a bunny shaped cloud. Fact: I missed my brothers immensely. Fact: I would not stop searching until I found them. Fact: I would do anything short of siding with Aizen to find them again. So why did I suddenly feel different about the whole situation? The idea of us all being on the same squad not only held virtually no appeal, it seemed like a downright bad idea. Before, I had dreams and plans for when I found them again that involved us never being more than 100 feet from one another.

'Your emotions have changed because a major factor has disappeared. You were beginning the primary stages of a hollow transformation. You were not so close that you have become a vizard, but it did begin to influence the strength of your emotions. You were becoming obsessed with them.'

'We were all so worried about the two of them becoming hollows because of negative emotions that I forgot about myself.'

'Such issues are no longer problems. It is still possible for you to become a vizard from what I understand, but Aizen himself would have to transform you with the Hokyoku.'

'Okay, I've got a question for you.'

'Very well.'

'How do you know so much?'

'I am bound to you. We are naturally closer than most shinigami are to their zanpakutō spirits. Since I was first awoken, I have taken to familiarizing myself with you.'

'What do you mean awoken?'

'I did not exist in your world. When you first awoke in the street in this world, I awoke as well.'

'So why did you need to learn about me? Aren't we two halves of the same whole or whatever?'

'Yes, but as I have told you, we are unique. We existed once before. It is a long story that will be told another time.'

'Well then, what can you tell me?'

'Ask your questions and I will answer what I can.'

'Why are you all sakabato instead of katana?'

'We have taken the form of master blades because we are masters of war and you are our masters. There will come a time when you can wield me even in this form and still destroy your enemies with little effort.'

'Why did I have to pull my chain off to get you? The guys didn't have to do that.'

'They do not get their power from the same source. Your pain is your power. You become strong by accepting pain without fear. You feared that you would turn into a hollow, yet you faced that fear and accepted the pain you knew would come. The pain you feel in battle will cause my reiatsu to grow and, in turn, yours. This power acts as a double edged sword. You will grow stronger with the more pain you feel, but you must take hits to feel the pain. The risk of losing will always be greater so long as you rely on this.'

'So, does that mean you're a kidō based zanpakutō?'

'No. While this may seem like a form of kidō, it is not. In fact, my reiatsu will never help you with kidō. If I were a shinigami, I would be completely incapable of using the magic. That skill is yours alone.'

'So, you're completely physical fighting and I'm kidō?'

'Yes. We are yin and yang, in a way. The part that we share with the other is our placement. You are our 'physical' form though you have the 'spiritual' power, and I am the 'spiritual' form though I have the 'physical' power. In truth, I would ask that you do not use me as a tool with which to use kidō. I am very much like your captain in that respect.'

'My captain? You mean Kenpachi? He's not my captain. I want him to be, but I'm not even in the spirit realm yet. Any idea how to get there?'

'No, unfortunately.'

'Then how did Ben and Nick get there?'

'Their zanpakutōs may have found a way once they were through the Garganta and into the void between worlds, but I have no way of getting us out of the living world.'

'How do you know what a Garganta is? You never did answer me about that earlier. How do you know so much?'

'When I was familiarizing myself with you, I went through a number of your memories. Whatever you were thinking about at the time had to do with a number of manga stories, specifically Bleach. Now I know everything about Bleach that you know.'

'That makes sense, I guess.' I thought hard about my next question. He seemed to be ready to be done with the questions for now. His tone changed ever so slightly, but I caught it. It was strangely relieving and refreshing to be able to hear his voice so clearly. 'Okay, here's a question for you: what's your name?'

'My name is………………….'

'Um,'

'You were unable to hear my name.'

'Yup.'

'Then our bond is not yet strong enough. You must train.'

'Uh-huh, we have to train. You're as much a part of this as I am, buddy, so we're gunna train together.'

'Fine. Close your eyes and focus. We will find a training partner.'

We trained day in and day out for who knows how long, fighting hollows whenever I could find them. I knew that it had been more than a year since I died because I saw all four season and then the fifth. Training was hard, but was worth it. My kidō improved in all aspects. My spells were stronger, faster, and much better controlled. I got good with my sword too. I was fast and strong, never missing my target. It wasn't until later that I began to wonder why I hadn't seen any other shinigami in Karakura town. I finally made up my mind and went to the market to make sure that I was in the right place. I got there and walked down the street looking for a sign or something. I stopped, totally shocked when I felt something tugging at my shirt. I looked over my shoulder to see a little girl holding a teddy bear to her chest in one hand and the end of my shirt in the other. To say I was shocked was an understatement. My eyes flickered down to her chest before going back to her face. No chain.

"Excuse me, lady." She spoke in a small shy voice.

"What's wrong?" I crouched down to her level and listened carefully. She definitely had a good sized spiritual pressure, but it didn't seem like it was strong enough for her to be able to see me clearly, much less touch me.

"Is that a real sword?" I silently thanked my zanpakutō for my hearing. She whispered so softly that I would have missed what she said completely if my hearing were anything less than superhuman.

"Yes, but don't worry, I only use it on monsters."

"Really? So, you're like a super hero?" Her voice got slightly louder, but was still insanely soft.

"Something like that," I smiled. "My name's Jessica, what's yours?"

"Kisa."

"Maybe you can help me, Kisa. I'm a little lost. What town are we in?"

"We're in Karakura town, silly."

"Okay, that's what I thought. I just wanted to make sure."

"Did you get lost?"

"Sort of. What about you? Did you get lost? Where are your parents?"

"I don't know, we got separated." Her voice became nearly silent again as she hugged her bear closer to her face.

"How about I help you find them?"

"Okay!" The size of her smile shocked me, but that wasn't all. Out of nowhere, her reiatsu seemed to explode. It more than doubled in size as she beamed up at me and grabbed my hand. I stood and walked with her down the street, looking for the woman and man the little girl described in her tinkling voice. This human girl had managed to suppress her reiatsu, and did so subconsciously. No matter what, I would have to do my best to keep an eye on this little girl even if I eventually made it to Soul Society. She was a prime target for hollows. We walked for about an hour before she said she was hungry and insisted on buying us both some ice cream with the money her mom had given her that morning. Much to my shock and delight, I was able to not only touch the food, but eat it! Kisa found my reaction to the icy treat amusing and giggled so hard that she nearly dropped her own treat. When we finished, we began our hunt again. After all of our searching we heard a desperate cry of "Kisa!" from a woman.

"Mommy?"

"Kisa! Where are you?"

"I'm over here, Mommy!"

"Kisa!" The terrified woman spun to face us. As soon as she spotted her little girl, she started running forward. I pulled my hand from Kisa's and nudged her back gently. That was all she needed. She took off running as fast as her little legs would carry her and met her mother half way. The woman sobbed in relief and clutched her child to her. Kisa cried too and held her mother as tightly as her young arms could, her teddy bear lay forgotten on the ground. I smiled gently at the sweet reunion.

"Kisa, thank God you're alright! Where were you?"

"I got lost, Mommy, but the nice lady helped me find you."

"What lady?" She frowned.

"That lady!" Kisa turned to point to where I was standing. She smiled and me and waved with one hand and dried her cheeks with the other.

"Kisa, there's no one there."

"Yeah-huh! She's right there." I smiled and waved before shaking my head.

"Kisa-" That was my cue. I launched myself up off the ground and landed on the nearest roof hiding just out of sight. I started on my way back to the park for a nap, smiling at the last thing I heard Kisa say.

"She was an angel, Mommy!"

The seasons changed again with the color of the leaves. Fall had come. I took a deep breath in through my nose and smelled Autumn. Ben had said that this was the scent of Nick's reiatsu. I smiled at the memories before starting my morning training. Nothing was more relaxing than pulling out my zanpakutō and practicing in the stillness of the early morning. I was pulled out of my revere by a strangely familiar voice.

"Karin, wait up!" I sheathed my sword and hid behind a tree to get a better look at the owner of the voice. Kurosaki Yuzu ran to catch up with her older sister Karin.

"No way. I agreed to come on this pick nick if Dad would go the whole trip without being an idiot."

"Oh, come back, daughter! Your daddy just wants to spend time with you!" Kurosaki Ishin cried, hamming it up like a pro. I stifled a giggle at the family's antics, knowing that two of them would be able to see me clearly. Though Ishin probably already knew that I was there, being an ex-captain. "I lost your brother and now I'm losing your sister! Never leave Daddy, Yuzu!" He shouted through torrents of tears.

"You didn't lose anybody! Ichigo's just on a trip for summer break, you idiot!"

Summer break? Then something big could be going on in Soul Society. I moved off a ways and suppressed my reiatsu as best I could, listening carefully to the family. It was easy to know where they were thanks to their larger than average reiatsus and giant mouths with no volume control. Lunch time came and went and the family packed up to go home. I followed at a distance until they finally got home. Sure enough, no Ichigo. I took off in search of the other three. After some careful attention to detail, I found the only Quincy in Karakura town. Ishida Ryuken, Uryu's father, was alone in the house. I spent the rest of the day and most of the night searching, but I couldn't find the homes of Orihime and Sado. So, I came up with a different plan. I waited until around noon the next day and went to the Kurosaki household. Ishin was at the clinic leaving Yuzu and Karin at home. I took a deep breath and knocked on the door. I released the breath I didn't know I had been holding when I heard Karin's reiatsu move closer to the door. She opened the door and looked my dead in the eye.

"Can I help you with something?" Thank God she could see me!

"Hi, I'm looking for Ichigo. He lives here, right?"

"Yeah, but he's not home. He went on a trip with some friends for summer break."

"Oh. Do you know what friends he went with?"

"I don't know their names, but I think there was a girl and two guys. One of the dudes had glasses and the other was really tall."

"Okay, thank you." I left. Either they were all in Hueco Mundo, or they were in Soul Society saving Rukia. I guessed it was the latter as there hadn't been much time to come up with a cover for leaving to save Orihime. But, with no way to know for sure, I decided to stick around Karakura town and wait for either the group to come home or for god-mod Aizen to show up.

There wasn't much to do through that time but train and kill hollows and protect Kisa in secret. I didn't do this for long, though. I heard something strange one night and looked up to see a shooting star. It stopped half way through it's flight, but I still heard something. It could only be the reiatsus of the Ichigo, Uryu, Orihime, Sado, Urahara, and Yoruichi. I planned to try and introduce myself to Ichigo the next day, but it didn't happen because some unexpected guests showed up. The three arrancar found me. I stood in the park training as usual when they appeared. I had heard them coming, but saw little point in running.

"Long time no see, princess."

"What do you three freaks want?"

"Not us; Aizen-sama."

"Alright, so what does that loser want?"

"Wh-what? How dare you insult Aizen-sama that way?"

"You're nothing compared to him! You have no right to speak about him that way!"

"You won't be so cocky when you see him in person!"

"I won't be going anywhere."

"Don't think you can beat us, girl. You might have gotten us by surprise last time, but we're ready this time." I stopped practicing and turned to really look at them for the first time. The oozy one had spiky jet black hair and pale white skin. His mask seemed to cover most of his body, covering his torso, forearms, shins, and the top half of his face. It looked like he released his resurrección, but the tone of his reiatsu said otherwise. The other two were very different. The one on the far left had electric blue hair and dark skin. His mask lined his jaw and his reiatsu sounded like rippling water. The one on the right had lightly tanned skin and bright blond hair. His goggle like mask sat on his forehead and his reiatsu had a deep tone that reminded me of copper. As one, they drew their swords and pounced at me. I fought them off with moderate difficulty. It wasn't easy, but there was a good chance I would come out the victor.

'Jessica,'

'What? I'm kind of in the middle of something.'

'Let them win.'

'What?'

'There's only so much that we can do in the living world. We need to get to Soul Society and they're our only means.'

'So I should just let them take us to Hueco Mundo?'

'No, let them take us through a Garganta. I will look for whatever saved your brothers.'

'Alright, but I'll have to make it look real.' So, I faked the fight. It was good because it let me see their strengths and weaknesses without taking any real damage or wearing myself out. Soon enough, they had me 'beaten'. Two of them picked me up, each grabbing an arm, and the third opened the Garganta. I suppressed my reiatsu as much as I could, hoping they would think I was really beat. As soon as we got through the Garganta, I felt it. There was so much raw spiritual pressure all around me. I was going from a world of physical matter to a world composed entirely of spirit particles. But, through all the swarming particles, there was something else.

'That flow. We can follow that to the wilderness outside of Soul Society.'

'How do we do this?' He didn't answer. Instead, I felt him reach his reiatsu out. I flared my reiatsu and knocked the two holding me away, jumping right to where I could feel the strange flow pulling.

'Jessica, we need an opening.' I drew my sword and focused my reiatsu. With one good slash, a tiny cut formed. I slipped through before it closed back up, landing safely in the spirit realm. When they said wilderness, they weren't kidding. It looked like I was in the middle of a rocky desert. I picked a direction and started moving. I didn't know how much time passed, but we didn't seem to be making any head way. Then I saw it. I searched the horizon for some scrap of hope and I could see some kind of forest off in the distance, so I decided I should head that way. I only made it about half way before I heard that ominous ripping sound. With no where to run and no where to hide, I drew my sword and spun to face the opening. My eyes widened in fear before clamping tightly shut. Aizen walked out of the Garganta. I was amazed at how much he was able to suppress his reiatsu. It was hard to stand because of the force of it, but I could hear his voice just fine over the ominous, echoing sound of sitting water. I just had to keep my eyes shut so I wouldn't see his Shikai, and I would be okay. Okay. I was going to die. Or worse.

'Stay calm. I doubt he would have come all this way just to kill you.'

'That's what scares me.'

"Hello, Jessica. I've been looking for you."

"Aizen Sosuke. What would one as strong as you want with someone like me?"

"You shouldn't speak of yourself in such a derogatory tone. You're very special, Jessica."

"Really? I don't see it." He paused and I could hear his slight smirk.

"I'm glad to see that you've finally obtained your zanpakutō. I was beginning to fear you would become a hollow. And, as tantalizing as the idea of having you as an arrancar was, I am much more interested in you as a shinigami."

"And why is that?"

"I know who and what you are, Jessica. Surely your zanpakutō has informed you of all of that."

"What are you talking about? My zanpakutō hasn't said anything to me. Not that I could hear, at least."

"Don't bother, Jessica. I know all about the Generals."

"Generals? What generals?"

"Very well, I'll humor you. A long time ago, there were these fearsome creatures far more dangerous and destructive than hollows. It seemed as if they would over run all of Soul Society. Just when things were at their worst, four great heroes rose up to fight the monsters. These four were very special, you see. They were warriors who had been blessed by the Soul King. So, they each had unique powers that would allow them to fight the monsters and protect Soul Society and the Soul King. They did their job well, and the creatures were nearly destroyed completely. The King eventually dubbed them the Four Generals. But, there was a man behind the creatures, controlling them. He cast a spell on them that locked them away for millennia so that when they awoke, the Four Generals would either be dead or too old and weak to defeat the creatures. The Four Generals heard about this and decided to cast a spell of their own. With the Soul King's help, they cast a spell that cost their lives. They would leave the world until it was time for the creatures to be released. Then, the Generals would be reborn and rise up to stop the threat once again."

"Well, that's a pretty nifty little story, but-"

"Oh, but there's more. You see, the Generals were so great in life that they even came to be known in the living world. Have you heard of the Shitenno? They are the four gods who protect the Soul King. There is the East General, the West General, the South General, and the North General."

East and West. My zanpakutō had said something like that when Ben and Nick became shinigami. Were we these generals reincarnate?

"Your little friends have escaped me, but they weren't the real prize. You see, having the head general is much more valuable than having even two of the others."

"Head general?"

"Yes. You see, Jessica, you are the North General's reincarnation. The great leader's soul was reborn as your zanpakutō."

'Is this true?'

'Yes. I did not tell you because you were not ready. You are far too head strong for your own good and for you to really be trusted with any kind of power would only lead to your corruption and ultimately your demise.'

'Who are you to say this? So you looked through some of my memories, that doesn't mean you know anything about me!'

"You miss them, don't you, Ben and Nick. If you take your place as the North General, the East and West Generals will fall into place behind you. You need only accept my invitation."

'Jessica, he is right, but you must not take your place at his side.'

'I know!'

'What are you going to do?'

'Do you trust me?'

'What?'

'Do you trust me?'

'…………yes……'

"Jessica?"

"Screw you, Douche bag!" Our reiatsus flared in unison and I lunged at him, slashing at where I heard his reiatsu. My blade stopped and I could tell it didn't do any kind of damage. I felt him grab onto the bade, and I could just envision him lightly holding it between his thumb and index finger.

"That was a very foolish decision. You will serve me, voluntarily or not." He suddenly unleashed his reiatsu and threw me back. I went flying. I landed a fair distance away from him. I coughed and staggered to my feet, eyes still shut tight.

'What do we do now, Jessica?'

'I don't know.'

"I know you can hear me," Aizen said in a normal volume. "I won't chase you. If I do, I fear you may end up dead, and then you would be utterly useless to me. I would suggest you start running, though, because one of my pets is much more determined." I didn't hesitate for a second. I turned and ran, using what shunpō I could manage to move as far as I could as fast as I could. It didn't take me long to get to the woods I had seen earlier. Once I was there, I opened my eyes.

'So I'm you reincarnated?'

'Something along those lines, yes. The three of us were sent to be reborn in a world away from this one. We were not reawakened as your zanpakutō spirits until you came here.'

'What about the fourth general?'

'He was to be reborn here, and he, the zanpakutō spirit, would travel to the other world when it was time for us to all come together again.'

'Wait! You mean that guy that we saw?'

'Yes, that was the zanpakutō of the South General.'

'Okay, so who's the South General.'

'I am afraid I don't know. I can only hope that we find each other before the creatures reawaken.'

'Great.'

'I am more than willing to explain all that I can, but perhaps that can wait; we seem to have a visitor.' I heard the oozing reiatsu approaching me from behind. I dodged his attack at the last second and spun in mid air so I was facing him when I landed.

"You couldn't just come along quietly. You had to fight back." The hurt and rage in his voice was painfully obvious. "Now they're dead. They died because of you!" He lunged again, slashing with his sword. He was so emotional that he wasn't focusing on his movements at all, so his attacks were slow and sloppy. "You bitch! You killed them!"

"What are you talking about?"

"I'm still useful to Aizen-sama so he left me alive, but he killed Hotaru and Onigumo!"

"Then why are you blaming me? Aizen's the one who killed them."

"If you had just come with us to see Aizen-sama, they wouldn't have needed to be punished!"

"Are all of you guys this messed up?" I asked as I blocked his next strike.

"Now Aizen-sama has made it my job to turn you." He glared at me over our interlocked blades, each of us fighting to overpower the other.

"And just how do you plan on doing that?" He smirked and forced me away before slicing into the mask part on his arm. A small piece chipped of and fell to the ground. He sheathed his sword and picked up the small shard.

"With this." So fast I almost missed it, he sonido-ed to stand right in front of me. I struggled to stay away, but he was too fast. Eventually, he put the fragment onto my face right below my eye. I screamed at the sudden pain. I felt the shard start to grow and spread over my face. It formed a ring around my right eye before stretching over and covering the left eye completely. From there, it continued to grow.

'Help me!' I didn't wait for him to answer. I focused on the pain and willed our reiatsus it grow. His did, mine barely changed.

'Don't worry, we will beat this.' I turned to the arrancar and gripped my sword, swinging it and unleashing a large amount of spiritual pressure. I heard him scream in agony, but didn't bother to worry about him anymore. I dropped my sword and clutched my head in pain. The pain quickly faded away and I felt strange. When I opened my eyes, I saw that I was in the woods, but something was wrong. Everything was in black and white.

'Jessica.' I turned to face my zanpakutō. A large man stood in full samurai armor. The armor was made of a beautiful black metal that glinted perfectly in the strange moonlight of this place. I let my eyes take in what I saw of him and this world. There was not solid ground. Instead, we stood on the surface of a pristine lake. The water rippled constantly where our feet touched the surface and where the trees were growing out of the water. My eyes traveled back to the samurai and locked on the mask covering his face. He looked like a demon.

'You…'

'Yes, but unfortunately, this is not a pleasure visit. We have an intruder.' I looked to where he was pointing. There stood an exact copy of my zanpakutō, but with white armor that looked like it was made of bone. Both black and white warriors drew their swords and dove at each other. I reached for mine only to find it missing. I would have to help another way. I rushed into the fray, trying to use shunkō to strengthen every kick and punch I sent at the ivory impostor. After a few good hits from everyone, we all jumped back to size the others up. The hollow creature rushed at my zanpakutō again, but I wouldn't let it get to him. I held my hands out, readying my kidō.

'Bakudo #9: Geki!' Even though we were in my inner world, I still seemed to have a connection to my zanpakutō. I looked into his memories to see if he knew the incantation. He did. 'Disintegrate, you black dog of Rondanini! Look upon yourself with horror and then claw out your own throat!' A red light engulfed the invader and completely paralyzed it. As soon as my zanpakutō held his blade to its throat, it began to fade away. He didn't lower his sword until it was totally gone from sight.

'It is not gone for good. Whatever was done to us is now permanent. This creature is not like that of a vizard. It seems to be more of a parasite, feeding off of us. It will take time and training, but I think we can learn to control this creature.'

'But it's gone for now, right? 'Cause that arrancar is still out there and we need to deal with him without this thing in the way.'

'Yes, we are fine for now.'

'Then let's go deal with the slime ball.'

I closed my eyes for a quick moment and was met with the real woods when I opened them again. I stood up, grabbing my zanpakutō off the ground as I did. The arrancar stood right in front of me, clutching his shoulder that I had sliced open. The hatred he held burned in his eyes so passionately that I feared for the trees.

"You don't have to do this," I told him calmly. "You don't have to serve Aizen."

"You think I would side with you after what you did? My only two companions! We weren't fraccion! We were an elite group created to take care of the three of you. We were alone! All we had was each other!"

"Well now, it seems like Aizen really does have a sense of humor. He created you three to be like us. All I had were my brothers. You took them away. Now we stand at an impasse."

"You think so?" He sneered. "I've infected you. It's only a matter of time before my parasite takes over you completely." I narrowed my right eye at him as my left was covered by my brand new mask.

'He should not be so hasty. Pull the mask away. I've locked it's power up so it has no control at the moment.' I smirked at the creature in front of me and lifted my left hand to my face. The bizarre new material crumbled effortlessly under my fingers. All except for the eye ring that had formed right after I was infected. It took a bit more effort, but I managed to get the ring off too. It didn't crumble the way the rest of it had. Instead, it seemed to dissolve and reform around the hilt of my sword right above the suba. When I looked back at the arrancar, his face had dropped. The hatred was replaced with fear and confusion.

"W-what? H-h-how-? That's not possible!"

"You think so?" I spat his own words back at him. His hatred and rage returned and he dove at me, blade flashing. I had been holding my own well enough against the three of them when they were in control of themselves. Now that I was faced with one that had lost his mind, I barely had to try. I only used one hand as I blocked everyone of his strikes. I frowned at the pitiful thing. What point was there in fighting him if he wasn't truly fighting?

"Don't throw your life away," I told him. "You don't have to listen to Aizen. He's the one who took everything from you. You used to be strong, now you're just an insect." I kept blocking his strikes as I spoke. With one final swing, I knocked him 20 feet away where he landed in a jumble of limbs. "Leave and come after me when you're stronger." I turned my back and sheathed my sword, walking away.

'Is it really wise to leave him alive?'

'He won't go back. He's too afraid of Aizen and too mad at me. He'll hunt me down. I'll wait until he's stronger.'

'Why?'

'Why what?'

'Why wait?'

'There's no honor in killing someone in that state. It doesn't make you strong, it makes you a bully.'

'And I suppose that that is a belief of the Eleventh Squad has nothing to do with your decision?'

'Oh shut up. I've always thought like that. I was never good at acting on it because I was so small and weak, but I viewed others that way. If they fought those who were weaker then they were bullies. It was only brave if you fought someone who was as strong as you or stronger. I always was a spartan in theory, but now I get to be one in practice.'

'I see. But what if they come for him? They could get information on you. They could probably even track you.'

'That is a possibility, but I doubt it. I know the characters of Bleach pretty well. Aizen may send Szayel to get him, but I think he might be more interested to see how this whole thing plays out. This is all one big Chess game to him. That arrancar is a pawn that can easily be sacrificed. Right now he probably just wants to see how I'll react to him poking my defenses.'

'I hope you are right. Other wise we will be in a great deal of trouble.'

Time passed and I grew stronger. I managed to gain some control over the parasite and I learned to use it to my advantage. When I activated it I could suppress my reiatsu to nearly nothing, my kidō improved in speed, power, and control, and I could move faster and strike harder. The only down side was that I sometimes lost control. It never took over completely, but it would resist me when I would try to remove the mask after a fight. It began scarring my face when I left it on for extended periods of time. I had several larger scars, one stretching from my right eye to my right ear, and another from my eye to my jaw. I continually grew closer to my zanpakutō as well. I managed to make several trips to my inner world where I discovered that the water was so still that it seemed to be glass. When I focused and meditated, I could make the water so still that it didn't even ripple where my feet or the trees touched it. It had only been so before because of the intruder. My strength improved so much that I was even able to take out a few Menos Grande that crossed my path. They were only Gillian, but I was proud of how much I had grown.

Time still passed in a way that I couldn't mark, but I guessed that some time had passed since the whole Rukia ordeal. I was beginning to lose hope of ever finding Soul Society when my past caught up with me. My infecter showed up one day seemingly out of nowhere.

"Well, well, long time no see."

"I've come to get my revenge."

"You've come to kill me? Aizen-baka wouldn't like that."

"I'm not here for Aizen-sama. First my revenge."

"First? What do you plan to do after you kill me?"

"Who ever said I was planning to kill you? I will make you wish for death, beg for death."

"And then?"

"Then I will take you to Aizen-sama. There may be a way to bring them back. If I take you to him, he will bring them back to me." I frowned.

"And how will he do that?"

"I don't know and I don't care!"

"Do you think he will use the Hokyoku for something like that? Don't delude yourself. If they were so useless that he got rid of them in the first place, he wouldn't waste the effort to bring them back."

"Shut up!"

We both paused, just staring each other down. I could clearly see the hate burning in his eyes, but it wasn't uncontrolled rage this time. He was channeling it and focusing it on me.

"What's your name?" I didn't know why, but something inside of me was nagging me to know his name. I guess it was because he was like me and that the two he lost had names. I wanted to know what his was.

"It's rude to ask someone's name without first giving your own."

"Jessica. I assumed you knew."

"It wasn't important."

"Well?"

"Toshi"

"Toshi what?"

"Just Toshi. Why the sudden interest?"

"I wanted to know the name of the first arrancar that I kill."

"You killed Hotaru and Onigumo," he growled.

"Indirectly. And, thanks to you, I know their names."

"I see."

We paused for another moment before starting. The fight didn't last long. Neither of us held back. He died at my hand, but not without a struggle. I had to use my mask once he released his resurreccion. By the end, he was in pieces and I wasn't doing much better. I stood panting, staring down at his limp form still clinging to that last spark of life.

"They're alive, you know. Your brothers."

"Why tell me?"

"I'm going to be with Hotaru and Onigumo now. It's only fair that I tell you what I know. They're out there. You just need to find them."

"Thank you."

"What are their names?"

"Ben and Nick."

"Thank you."

"Good bye, Toshi." With one last breath, the life faded from his eyes. I weakly sheathed my zanpakutō and raised a heavy hand to pull away the mask. It wouldn't budge.

'The parasite is being temperamental again. Join me and we will remove it together so you do not hurt yourself.'

'Thanks.' I sat down near a small rock formation and closed my eyes. When I opened them again, I was back in my inner world. The ever full moon was covered by thin wispy clouds and the water was anything but still.

'It is throwing another tantrum, Jessica.'

'Well what do you want me to do about it? I can't control it without you.'

'Then let us remove this annoyance.' It took a little time, but we eventually calmed the parasite down and sealed it. The water slowly returned to it's near solid state of stillness and the clouds disappeared, leaving the moonlight to shine through unhindered.

'So I've got more questions for you.'

'Very well,' he sighed.

'A shinigami's inner world reflects them, right? So why is mine like this?'

'How do you mean?'

'Well, for starters, why is everything in black and white?'

'I believe it has something to do with our reiatsus. Mine is black, though not like a hollows, and yours is white. Together, we have a silver reiatsu. Also, as I mentioned before, we are like yin and yang. We balance each other out.'

'Oh, okay. Well, what about the water and the trees?'

'I'm afraid the nature of all of this eludes me. I do not understand everything. However, I would like to take this time to continue our training. Your power is in creasing, but it is a fragile thing.'

'How so?'

'As I said, we balance one another. While neither of us prefers the use of kidō in battle, it is necessary. You will not be able to reach your full potential with my power without reaching your full potential with your kidō power.'

'Really? So, if I didn't bother practicing with a sword at all, I wouldn't be able to improve my kidō?'

'Yes. And, though it pains me to say, I believe we may need to include mixed training as well.'

'Mixed? Like using kidō with you? Alright, I guess we don't really have a choice, do we, Buddy?'

'I hate it when you call me that.'

'Yeah, well until I learn your name, Buddy will have to do.'

'Bi..., my name is Bis...' My head snapped around to face him, eyes wide.

'Wait! I almost heard it that time! Say it again!'

'Bisha...'

'Again!'

'Bishamo...'

'Bishamo?'

'Bishamonten. My name is Bishamonten.'

'Bishamonten! I heard you!'

I did a little victory dance in my inner world, but Bishamonten was to elated to care or make fun of me. I was finally able to hear his name. I could finally learn to use my shikai! We didn't spare a second. We immediately began training in everything from hand to hand, to kidō, to kendo, to releasing my shikai. I kept getting stronger, but so did the parasite.

I was just dealing with some rogue hollow and a Gillian, when I felt it. The parasite began to creep farther over my face. I had put the eye ring on, but kept the mask at a minimum. I had forgotten something very important, though. I wasn't a vizard, but I wasn't that different from one. The hollow parasite was connected to my zanpakutō so it was much easier for it to escape and take control when I released my shikai. I started to panic as I felt it continue to grow. Then next few minutes were all a blur. I didn't know what happened, but the hollows were all dead, and I was in excruciating pain. I had taken a number of hits and the mask was beginning to burrow deeper, trying to overpower me. I felt Bishamonten fight with me to suppress it. We managed, but only just. I sealed my shikai and sheathed my sword. The mask was still in place on my face, covering my eyes. I didn't know what to do or where to go, but I started walking.

'This is getting out of hand, we need to properly seal the beast once and for all.'

'You know we can't do that, B.'

'B?'

'Would you prefer 'Buddy'?'

Silence.

'That's what I thought.'

'Well, we can't just keep wandering around hoping the shinigami will find us.'

'Oh, do you have a better idea?'

More silence.

'That's what I thought.'

We continued to bicker like this for sometime before we were interrupted. A huge reiatsu came out of nowhere, crashing down on us. I felt my panic rise again. I fought to drown out some of the noise so I could focus on fighting whatever this thing was. No luck.

'No! I can't die! Not yet! I have to find them! I need to find out what happened to them! Bi-'

'I am doing my best, but our current condition is complicating things.'

The reiatsu bearing down on us drew closer.

I've fought many powerful Menos in the past, but this spiritual pressure made them seem like mere insects. It could have been that I was so weak and disoriented, laying there in the middle of nowhere at that moment, that this being seemed stronger than it was, but I could hardly see or hear anything over the reiatsu, much less stand upright under its pressure!

"Well, well, well, what have we here?" I recognized that voice. Of course I did. I knew all of their voices. All of the important ones, at least. The problem was I couldn't identify who the voice belonged to. The reiatsu was so loud that I could barely make out what the voice was saying. I tried to focus on the reiatsu. Maybe if I could identify that, then I could figure out who or what this person was. My efforts were useless, though; the spiritual force was so strong that I felt numb. I was no longer able to see or hear or feel anything.

I let myself slip into the welcoming darkness with the thought of revenge as my only form of comfort.

I would take him back, and then I would kill it.

…

I think that Haikus

are fun and nifty to do

do you like them too?

…

…