A/N: Heh, this story continues to do well. Thanks a lot to all those who reviewed. Let's hope it continues to entertain.

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach and I am not responsible in any way for the Swine Flu outbreak.

It was a simple, quiet day in Seireitei. Isane walked down the streets and caught nothing of event. Her eyes, perhaps, may have missed something, as it was though; she proceeded forth, distracted by her usual apprehensions. She was certain that everyone she passed was staring at her. It made her tense, and that made her mind wander.

She thought back to the mission she had recently returned from, the excursion into those woods with her Captain. She didn't know what to think about it. She had never experienced something like that. Nights previous, Isane's Captain had been able to restore sleep to the girl after experiencing true horror, but to actually dispatch the horror itself, it felt somehow unreal.

Isane still longed to be less awkward, more mature, more self reliant, yet the feeling that encompassed her in watching that graceful, radiant beauty rip effortlessly through the chains of absolute terror, made those sentiments hard to maintain. She hated it, but she wished to be able to depend on that woman.

Dependence wasn't an adult trait. Children depended on their mother. Adults weren't supposed to seek out some other, stronger figure and entrust themselves to it. Isane's desires were ridiculous, foolish and best forgotten. But for what ever reason, she couldn't just drop them.

"You sure seem troubled, Isane," a deep whisper said from nearby the girl.

"Yeah, it's difficult. I'm so confused…" Isane said mostly to herself, not even looking up.

"Perhaps you'd like to talk about it for a while," the strange, dark, yet kind voice replied.

"Wait… w-hat?! Who are--?" Isane turned around apprehensively, now fully aware of the presence beside her. What she found was unusual to say the least; there standing beside her was a very large, radiantly white horse with a 12 inch horn sticking out of its forehead.

"I'm Mr. Happyglow, the last unicorn," the horse introduced himself. Isane took a quick step back.

"Oh... I ... uh... see…" Isane started, confused and bewildered. "N-nice to meet you."

"It's my pleasure, Isane," the unicorn replied politely.

"H-how do you already know me?" Isane asked, doing her best to calm her nerve.

"Unicorns have the ability to look into the hearts of pure, virgin maidens," Mr. Happyglow said, an eloquent quality to his voice.

"P-please don't say that so loud!" Isane stammered, a blush on her face, looking around to see if anyone was staring. They were, of course.

"You have no need to worry, Isane. I can only be seen and heard by you and other pure, virgin maidens," the noble beast explained in a steady tone.

"W-why didn't you say that earlier. Now everyone is going to think I'm crazy and talking to myself…" Isane pouted in a barely audible voice.

"That's why it is best you should remain calm, Isane," Mr. Happyglow advised.

"A-alright," Isane said, finding a naturally quite voice. "So… um… about this... reading my heart…"

"Ah yes, your heart is like that of many pure, virgin maidens I've seen, filled with the chaos of youth," the unicorn said, staring at the girl.

"How do I get it all to go away?" Isane asked hopefully.

"The chaos in a maiden's heart doesn't simply vanish, Isane; instead it settles with time," Mr. Happyglow said, a wise ring to his voice.

"How do I get it to settle?" Isane rephrased her question but remained just as earnest as before.

"You move forward. You face the thing you fear," the shimmering beast said with a nod.

"Uh… well, there's really a lot of things I'm afraid of…" Isane meekly replied, looking down at the horse's feet.

"You know that of which I refer, Isane. You must fight uncertainty and come to terms with the truth in your heart. Only then can you make your final decision," the unicorn clarified.

"I don't get why this is so hard… I bet even you find an adult woman wanting what I want ridiculous…" Isane said, giving a sharp laugh in expense of herself.

"If I did, nigh all human and shinigami hearts would be objects of ridicule," Mr. Happyglow said with a bit of amusement in his tone.

"What do you mean?" Isane asked, helplessly.

"I cannot give you the answers, Isane, just help you on the path toward them," the gallant creature shook his head.

"No… please… I want to know…." Isane said back, somewhat frantically.

"I'm sorr--" Mr. Happyglow began. He was cut off by the loud sound of a small explosion nearby. Shortly thereafter, the unicorn toppled over to his side. A large hole had been blow into his flank.

"W-what… w-who…?" Isane looked around, socked and scared.

"I'm sorry, Isane… he found me… I can do nothing more to help you…" the radiant unicorn whispered softly before his flesh bean to fade into the air.

"Mr. Happyglow!!! No!" Isane shouted, bringing more attention to her general area than the explosion already had. She crouched down and tried to revive the beast with her healing technique. Her hands passed completely through it's now transparent form. She raised up and looked around, anger on her face. "Who did this?! Show yourself!"

"Ha haha mwahaha!!!" prolonged maniacal laughter sounded from nearby. A shadowy figure slowly emerged.

"You! Why would you do such a thing?!" Isane shouted, pulling Itegumo from its sheath.

"I have destroyed the last unicorn so as to ensure the coming of Dream Weaver Calamity 733 years from now!" Isane's answer came in the form of a loud, villainous nasal voice. Isane stared as its source came into clear sight.

It was a young man with thick glasses and overgrown sideburns, dressed in a flannel shir,t blue jeans and a ridiculously tall pointed hat. He held in his hand some sort of glowing rod.

"Who are you?" Isane challenged, glaring at the unicorn killer.

"I am Phil the Time Wizard! Mwahaha…" the man in the pointed hat cackled.

"Well then, Time Wizard, I'll make you pay for what you've done!" Isane said tersely, readying her sword.

"Will you now?" Phil the Time Wizard chuckled. He shot something sparkly from his glowing stick and it flew at Isane. "Even like that?"

"AHHH!!!" Isane screamed as she began to grow taller and taller, until her head reached further up then most of the Seireitei roofs. She was certain everyone would stare. She covered her face with her hands in shame.

""Ha! See, it is hopeless. You shall never stop my zombie minions from devouring this continuity!" the villain said with confidence. Soon the streets of Seireitei were overrun with ravenous, flesh-eating zombies.

"No… I gotta do something… I gotta stop the zombies…" Isane tried to get a hold of herself. It proved difficult.

"You won't be doing anything! That unicorn clearly entrusted you with the secrets of the universe before it died! I shall extract them!" Phil the Time Wizard declared, tilting his rod slightly. He began to fly up so he was level with the enlarged Isane.

"He didn't tell me anything… really…" Isane unsteadily shook her head.

"Lies!" the evil man shouted. "Even if you won't tell me, perhaps the evil monster you fear the most will be more successful."

Phil the Time Wizard shook his glowing rod again and soon a gigantic fishcake monster was standing in front of Isane, it's oversized, hungry mouth open and ready to swallow her whole. She ran, it running after her through the zombie infested streets.

"Heh, this looks kind of fun," a light wispy voice chimed in Isane's ear as she continued to run. She knew this voice. Unlike the last time she had heard it, her dream remained in motion. She kept running.

"You're that fairy, Violet Moonstar!" Isane shouted between long breaths.

"Yep, I sure am!" the tiny fairy said as it flew around Isane's head.

"What do you want this time?" Isane asked, still running for her life.

"Oh, you know, same as before. I make all this go away in exchange for your heart's greatest wish," Violet said with a cute laugh.

"I won't!" Isane said firmly, shaking her head in refusal.

She didn't know why she said this so readily. There was so much surrounding her that made her frightened and nervous. She wanted it to all go away. She wanted her heart to be calm. She knew her heart's greatest desire now. She didn't understand it. She was ashamed of it. She wanted it to go away as well. Even still she couldn't say it. She felt that if she let it all go, she'd be left with nothing but emptiness.

"You sure? You don't even want to guess this time?" the fairy seemed disappointed.

"I am. It's not something I can give up on!" Isane said after a moments hesitance.

"Suit yourself," Violet giggled. She moved around erratically for a bit then transformed into a second giant fishcake monster, right in front of Isane.

Isane came to a complete halt as the two fishcake monsters lunged at her in tandem, bringing her hard down to the floor below. As they went to work eating her enlarged body she was swarmed with zombies, who joined in. She could barely scream as she was smothered, and left in crippling pain, sharp teeth ripping into every inch of her flesh as she was brutally devoured.

"Mwahaha! The secrets of the unicorn die here and now!" Phil the Time Wizard laughed evilly before giving a shout. Soon Isane felt a searing pain at her side as she was surrounded in light. She thought of her Captain's face as what was left of her body exploded into tiny pieces.

Of course Isane found herself very whole, sitting up in bed shortly afterwards, all the physical pain having left her. She wasn't surprised; this dream had never been as real as the recent others, which was perhaps the reason she had managed to stay defiant in the end. She was confident, that when she did wake up the scary things would have vanished anyway. Taking Violet Moonstar's deal was thus unnecessary; all it would have spared her was some momentary pain.

Even if she had recognized this dream as one, it still left Isane wide awake, her adrenaline pumped to its maximum. It was still the dead of night too. Isane yawned as she sat up. She knew this routine. She wouldn't be able to find sleep again. Staying there in the bed would just mean apprehension, discomfort and a train of unpleasant, misguided thoughts. Slowly she stood up, prepared for a late night stroll.

As she left her room, Isane's thoughts stayed on the dream. Even if the scenario was ridiculous, the imagery was still with her. She could still see the monsters and zombies. She could still vaguely feel the pain they had inflicted upon her in her heart. She could still hear Phil the Time Wizard laughing at her.

She tried her best to push all that away from her thoughts and instead focus on the more pleasant portion of the dream, her chat with Mr. Happyglow, the Last Unicorn. The meaning of the beast's words still confused her. She wished she had had more time to talk with him. Maybe then she'd be closer to figuring out how to combat the chaos spinning in her heart. Isane continued to run it all over in her mind as she found her way around the Fourth Division's building, wandering aimlessly.

"Poor child, again you were faced with something horrible?" an all too familiar, kind voice sounded from behind Isane, sending shiver down her spine. She turned to find Retsu Unohana standing there, having just entered from one of the Fourth Division's doors.

"C-Captain? W-what are you doing awake?" Isane started, frantic and quiet at the same time; she didn't want to wake anyone.

"For the same reasons as you, I'm afraid," Unohana sighed as she took a few more steps toward the girl. She held her familiar, radiant glow, but seemed somehow more vulnerable than usual.

"You can't expect me to believe that someone like you would have her sleep disrupted by nightmares, Captain," Isane stated tentatively.

"Regardless of the person, there is no one free of fears and regrets. It is not uncommon for anyone to confront these fears and regrets in their dreams," Unohana said in a rather languid voice.

"Yeah… but… for something to get to you…" the lieutenant began, disbelief evident in her shaky voice.

"Isane, on our recent mission, do you remember that man we arrived just too late to save?" the beautiful Captain spoke somberly.

"O-of course," Isane said, her tone and expression becoming morose.

"The agonized look in that man's eyes as he stared at me and met death, it seems to have stirred in my memory all the similar scenes I've witnessed in my many years. A number of them were replayed for me just now," Unohana said, a clear sadness in her eyes. The apprehension brought on by her own dream seemed to dissolve entirely as Isane stared into those eyes.

"That's too… I'm sorry, Captain… If there's anything I can do to…" she said with a serious stare. For the first time, isane felt like she wanted to comfort her Captain, instead of finding comfort in her.

"Please, Isane, don't worry over me when you yourself are chronically plagued with these painful dreams," Unohana said, giving just a slight shake of her head.

"Oh… well, I'm used to them by now…" Isane said, looking down.

"Pain is not easy to bare, no matter how many times we face it. Especially when we face it alone," Unohana sighed again. She paused a minute before placing a warm hand at Isane's shoulder. In a serene voice, she added, "allow me to offer you any comfort I can."

These words made Isane feel ashamed and guilty. Her captain had just seen something devastatingly sad yet was more concerned with helping isane through the pain brought on by the ridiculous farce she had been through in her own dreams. She hated it.

"I'll be okay. This one really wasn't as bas as most," Isane assured, shaking her head.

"Do you wish to take a moment to discuss it?" Unohana posed the question, in a soft voice.

"N-no, I really can't…" isane said at once, blushing at the though of mentioning even a word of it to the other. She felt bad considering her Captain had been so open about her own painful dreams.

"I understand. I won't force you to tell me anything, Isane," Unohana said, nodding and closing her eyes.

"Okay…" Isane responded with a fragile smile.

"My bed is still open if you think it will help you sleep," Captain Unohana offered graciously.

"No that's…" Isane started, shaking her head. She then made the mistake of looking up. Her eyes connected with those of her Captain, still holding a lingering sadness, and she became speechless. She didn't understand why exactly, but she found she couldn't refuse. She settled on the idea that her Captain wouldn't want to be alone after seeing something so painful. For all the woman had done for her, Isane at least owed her the company of a night.

"Well… okay... I guess it might help…" Isane said, blushing a little.

"Then let's not waste any more time standing here," Captain Unohana replied with a smile, before beginning to walk in the direction of her room. Isane followed after her.

Form there things happened much as they had that first night Isane had slept in her Captain's bed. In a short amount of time both women were lying side by side, ready for sleep to take them. Isane didn't find sleep right away. Her thoughts continued to swirl, maybe even more than before.

She didn't understand why she was there in that bed again. She had sworn that first night would be the last. She didn't need this. Her dream had become a joke in her memory when she realized her Captain had seen something far more horrifying. She shouldn't have been there, staring at her beautiful captain gently resting.

She thought about the unicorn and he fairy. She had thought she understood her desires. She had thought that she had just desired to have her captain support her, take care of her, and act much in the role of a second mother for her. Isane's actions here didn't seem to be in line with that. She just wanted to be there. After seeing that sad look in the woman's eyes she realized she wanted to bring Retsu Unohana comfort just as much as she wanted the woman to comfort her.

It took several minutes more of restlessness before Isane let the pieces finally fall in place so as she could accept the obvious truth; she was in love. Knowing what her feelings for Captain Unohana were only made finding sleep next to the woman harder, unfortunately.

---

Isane wore an unsteady smile as she waited at the corner of a Seireitei street. She had eventually arrived on a good nights sleep; it was day now. Being a well deserved day off, she had left the Fourth Division to enjoy the day in Seireitei. At the moment, she was waiting to unite with her sister for lunch. Her wait ended promptly.

"Sister!" the loud call came from afar. Soon the sound of running reached Isane's ears, and very shortly after that, an out of breath Kiyone Kotetsu was standing in front of her.

"Hi Kiyone, glad you could meet me like this today," Isane greeted the other with a smile.

"Impressing Captain Ukitake is a nonstop struggle, but sparing an hour or so to eat lunch with my sister on her day off isn't too much to ask," Kiyone said, giving a firm nod.

"I'm glad," Isane said softly. "It's great to see you, Kiyone."

"Yeah, it's great seeing you too. We're both so busy, it's hard to find time to meet like this," the younger sister said with a light sigh.

"Captain Unohana does keep me pretty busy, I guess," Isane said, her voice becoming just a little higher as she spoke her Captain's name.

"I heard you just returned from a mission to the human world. How was that?" Kiyone asked in a conversational tone.

"Scary, but it was alright in the end thanks to Captain Unohana," Isane said, shivering as she unearthed the memories momentarily.

"That's no good! You gotta hold your own on missions, sister. Otherwise Captain Unohana's going to replace you," the more excitable sister, exclaimed.

"I-I'm sorry…. " Isane apologized. She added in a hopeful voice, "I don't think Captain Unohana would replace me..."

"Yeah… maybe not," Kiyone sighed and calmed down again. "Me, I gotta be at my best constantly. Can't ever leave anything up to the Captain."

"That's because you're so concerned with advancing to the lieutenant's seat over Mr. Kotsubaki, correct?" Isane gave a short laugh.

"Yep. There's no slacking off ever. Even now, I bet that bastard Sentaro is pulling some stupid trick to win the Captain's favor," Kiyone said with vigor, ending in a bit of a growl.

"I'm sorry…."

"Don't apologize. I already said I was glad we could meet today," the spirited girl shook her head and smiled.

"Okay." Isane began to smile as well. After a short pause she asked, "So, Kiyone, realistically, how do you think you compare to Mr Kotsubaki?"

Kiyone gave another little growl. In a sort of angry voice she said, "He may look, sound, and act like an idiot, but that Sentaro has some real talent. We're pretty closely matched I'd say." Kiyone broke into a wide grin as she added," It's a good thing I still have a distinct advantage over that loser."

"Oh, and what's that?" Isane asked, tilting her head to the side.

"My feminine charms," Kiyone said, a confidence to her voice.

Isane couldn't hold back a strong laugh as she stared at her rather tomboyish younger sister and considered her words.

"What's so funny! I'm serious!" Kiyone said loudly, glaring at her sister. In a darker, quieter voice, she added, "Hmph. I'd like to see you try to seduce a man…"

"W-what… no I couldn't do something like…" Isane started, a blush clear on her face.

"I know I'm no lieutenant Matsumoto or anything, but I'm still a woman. All I gotta do is get Captain Ukitake to fall in love with me and that seat is as good as mine," Kiyone said, giving several nods. These words, for whatever reason, sent Isane's thoughts down an all too familiar path.

"Love…" she said aloud in a soft whisper.

"Oh? Do I hear some nostalgia in your voice? Don't tell me sister's finally fallen for someone?!" Kiyone gave a slight snicker as she took a step closer to the other.

"I-I didn't… I'm not… I-I never…" Isane fumbled to refute the perceptive claim.

Kiyone snickered some more as she looked at her sister with a wide grin. "You can't hide it any more, Sister, and I want to know. Tell me who it is you got your eye on!"

"I can't…" isane said with blush and averted eyes. She couldn't tell Kiyone the truth; she could hardly accept it herself.

"It's not that pretty boy in your squad, is it?" Kiyone asked with a somewhat protective glare.

"Harunobu? N-no… it's not," Isane said shaking her head.

"I'd hope it's not that weirdo third seat you guys have…" Kiyone's stare was more questioning this time.

"No, it's not Yasochika either…" Isane said at once.

"And I'd trust you'd know better than to be taken by some scrawny loser…"

"It's not Hanataro," Isane said quietly, looking down.

"Maybe someone else from your rank? A lieutenant? Hisagi maybe?" the younger girl started searchingly.

"No, that's not it either," Isane replied, giving a soft sigh.

"Kira or Abarai then?" Kiyone continued to throw out names with a smirk.

"N-no… it's not a lieutenant…" Isane said, wanting desperately for the embarrassing conversation to be dropped.

"Oho, don't tell me my sister's after a Captain!" Kiyone smirked.

"No, I-I... It's nothing… let's just go get lunch now, Kiyone…" Isane's fear kicked in as she tried her best to derail the conversation. She was blushing profusely.

"I seem to have hit the mark! We're not going anywhere till you tell me which of them has you all excited!" the more energetic sibling stubbornly asserted.

"I really can't…" Isane said meekly.

"Captain Hitsugaya, maybe? He's kinda cool." Kiyone asked smilingly.

"It's not…"

"Wouldn't think Kyoraku'd be your type, but I guess he's kinda charming…" the younger girl said with some thought.

"It isn't him…"

"Kuchiki seems kinda difficult to approach, but I can see where he may draw your attention," Kiyone said deliberately.

"No. You're wrong…" Isane continued to shake her head.

"With how often he goes and gets injured, I suppose Fourth squad might get to see a side of Zaraki most miss…" Kiyone's confidence had mostly vanished by this point.

"No. That's not it either…" Isane said shutting her eyes.

"Sister… you wouldn't… There's a reason you can't tell me who it is, isn't there?!" An anger started to appear in Kiyone's eyes.

"Kiyone… I would never do something like that to you… it's definitely not your Captain," Isane said very earnestly. Kiyone seemed at once placated.

"So then, my sister's either lying to me or into something weird," Kiyone said in a subtle voice, thinking it over.

Isane said nothing, she just wore an intense blush.

"I see... It should have been obvious from the beginning," the younger girl started, a soft smile on her face. "You sure it's love?"

"I-I think so. It's the only thing that explains how I feel…" Isane replied sheepishly.

"Serving someone closely… it can lead to a sense of loyalty… devotion… admiration. None of that is necessarily love though. You should really try to sort these feelings out, especially in a case like this," Kiyone said, surprisingly serous.

"I realized just a while ago that I couldn't explain all of what I feel for her away as just those natural things," Isane shyly admitted.

"Be careful sis. Someone so removed from human faults is bound to be unapproachable in the first place. And the fact that she's a woman only means that this is even less likely to end well for you," Kiyone said apologetically.

"She's not perfect. She still has things she worries over… things she fears and regrets..." Isane inserted at once.

"Really? Never would have thought so. If she's actually showing you the vulnerability that no one's ever seen before, perhaps you have a better shot than I think..." Kiyone smiled encouragingly.

"What do you think I should do, Kiyone?" Isane asked in an unsteady voice.

"If you're really serious about this, It'd probably be better you at least confronted her on it. Even if she's not interested in you, I don't see her as the type to let it change her impression of you in any way. And even if it doesn't work out, at least that way it'll all be out there, and not keeping you awake at night," Kiyone suggested, continuing to smile.

"It still seems so hard," Isane sighed.

"Take your time, Sis. No need to rush something like this…"

"Yeah."

"Now, I think we've wasted enough time just chatting. Let's go get that lunch," Kiyone reminded, offering a very short laugh.

"Okay." Isane gave a firm nod. The two began to walk.

"But seriously, to think my own sister's into women... I never would have guessed…" Kiyone said teasingly after a few steps. Isane blushed.

"S-shut up…" Isane said giving the other a firm glare; Kiyone broke out in laughter

A/N: End chapter three. Certainly a lighter chapter than the last. The nightmare sequence here was noticeably more whimsical than the first two. So much so that Violet Moonstar didn't stand out a being anything even remotely unusual in the scene. the rest of the chapter was more standard stuff; just Kiyone trying to understand her feelings for Unohana and what she should do about them. I enjoyed writing the chat with Kiyone. Like her sister, she's a deceptively fun character too it seems. Overall, this chapter may not be as powerful as the last, but it was fun.