Hey guys! I'm popping these chapters out a lot faster now!

Anyways... This is when Xepher's story really begins! Don't be afraid to review afterwards! I need anything; grammer mistakes, mistakes I'm making in the system, etc.

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REUNITED: WE MEET AGAIN

It was HUGE! The black creature stood twice as tall as an elephant, towering easily over its prey. It had the build of a large feline with a giant hole in its chest and its gleaming yellow eyes that shone through a bone white mask over its face. It's huge paws shook the ground they landed on and its tail whipped wildly in the air, leaving dents in the trees as it hit them. It had locked its gaze hungrily on the children it was chasing after and Xepher just couldn't stand there and do nothing.

She drew her Zanpactou, "Sai! I'm going after the beast! Grab the two kids!"

"R-right!" she agreed hastily as they took off towards the scene.

"Hey!" Xepher called out to the creature before flash stepping beside it and lashed out with her blade. The creature came to a halt and let out a roar, focusing its attention on her now,"Yeah! That's right! I'm all yours you piece of shit!"

It lashed out at her with its extended claws but she jumped back to avoid them. She ran forward and slashed at it once again leaving a deep cut in its forearm. It didn't phase it however and before she could react, it raised a paw and brought it down on top of her, slamming and pinning her to the ground. She gasped as she tried to get out from under its weight. She looked up at it, trying to make out what its next move was but its attention was brought back to the children who were running away with Sai.

It let out another roar and charged after the three, leaving Xepher a little winded. She wasn't going to let this stop her though, for she got up and flashed stepped behind the creature. She swung out with her blade again and cut off its tail. It screeched out in pain and whipped around to knock Xepher away into a tree. She hit her head against the bark and fell to the ground. She could feel a stream of blood run down the side of her head as she hazily looked back up at the beast. Its attention was completely diverted away from Sai and the two kids as it charged its way towards her.

She closed her eyes and got ready for her end.

One second past.

Two seconds past.

Five seconds past.

Twenty seconds past.

It was sure taking its time getting to her. She opened her eyes to see what was going on only to see the world around her play itself in slow motion. A familiar voice rang inside her head and she immediately knew who it was.

"Xepher… Why do you give in so easily to this beast?" Soishouryu growled in her head as she stared ahead of her, "Do you not wish to protect the ones you love? Are you willing to die now and risk the others to defend themselves against this monster?"

She gritted her teeth in frustration,"No of course not!"

"You have done well to prove your worth and you strive for excellence even after your failures. Stand and fight! Shout my name in all of its glory and fight for the one's you care about!"

She stood and stuck her sword out in front of her. She knew what she needed to do as she felt a surge of power being channeled through her.

"Shimmer in the dark! Soishouryu!"

Adamant crystal shards shot out from around Xepher and flew towards the beast as everything flowed back to normal. Each shard scraped itself against the body of the creature, leaving a cut everywhere they touched. The monster bellowed out as it was scooted back a bit by the attack and tried to swat at the crystals as they flew towards it.

The flurry of adamant stopped and the creature stood bewildered at the turn of events. Before it could move to make its next attack, Xepher quickly pointed her blade up to the air.

"Arashi no dankotaru!"

At the last word of that command, she swung her blade downward and more crystal shards came raining down from above the beast. After the storm of crystal shards, the mask of the monster was split into two and the vile being dissolved into the air.

She did not get to celebrate her victory immediately after it was finally defeated for that seemed to trigger something. One by one, more of those creatures started appearing around her. She was going to have to fight more of them. She lifted her blade once again but before she could do anything else, they were all frozen in place.

She blinked in surprise as she looked at her surroundings. Each and every one of them were encased in a pillar of ice and frozen in their last stance. The ice imprisoning her new enemies shattered, leaving behind nothing but cold, shimmering dust in the wind.

"You fought well!" she heard a vaguely familiar voice call out behind her,"… but if I hadn't shown up you'd probably be dead."

She turned and her eyes lit up in recognition. There he stood; his spiky, snow white hair shone in the moonlight, his fierce turquoise eyes looked at her with neutral expression, and his white haori flowed behind him as it hung over his black shihakusho. He was her savior from that night.

He put his Zanpactou back in his sheathe that hung behind him as he walked toward her. She took a few steps back, but stopped when he lifted his palm to her.

"Relax. There are no more hollows around and I'm not going to hurt you."

"That… Those things were hollows?!" she blinked. Shuihei told her that these hollow creatures tend to show up around here but she never thought she would come in contact with one of them. Let alone battle a whole army of them.

He sighed and crossed his arms, "For someone who just learned how to release her Shikai, you know very little about the world, don't you?"

"What happen to Sai and those children?"

"They're safe. I assume the older woman took them back to the village to find their families."

She sighed in relief and finally relaxed, sheathing her sword, "That's so good to hear…"

"You need to sit down and rest. You have a torn forehead."

"Right…" She did as she was told and she sat down against the nearest tree. She didn't protest but let out a gasp as he took a cloth and pressed it against the wound on her head.

"Hold that there until the medics come. I just sent a hell butterfly and they should be here sometime soon." She reached up and replaced his hand with her own to hold the cloth in place, "By the way, your skills with your sword are that equal of a lieutenant. Even if you were nearly beaten by a few low level hollows, you were still able to stand up and fight for yourself."

"Thank you…?" She wasn't quite sure how to respond to that.

"May I have your name?"

"I'm Xepher… Xepher Ryokutsuki…"

"It's nice to meet you. How did your skills come so far without proper training?"

She paused. She didn't think she should tell him about Lieutenant Hisagi. So instead she gave him half of the truth, "I-I attended the academy a few months back… After two months, an accident occurred and I was expelled…"

"So you are the one who blew up the south and west wing!" he smirked.

"Does everyone know about that?!"

He chuckled, "Naturally, but not everyone knows who's responsible. I'm Captain Toshiro Hitsugaya of Squad Ten by the way. You're going to have to address me formally when help arrives."

Her eyes widened. First a lieutenant graced her with his appearance and now a Captain?! How was it that she got to meet the high ranking officers of the Gotei 13 before she was even in the Gotei 13?

She wanted the conversation to keep going to help her stay conscious for the moment, "What's a Captain like you doing here in the Rukongai?"

"This is where I grew up before leaving for the Seretei. Here… in this specific district…" He answered her without a care in the world what she might've thought then, "I take it you've been training here since you left the academy?"

She nodded. She began feeling herself growing tired, but in the distance she was able to sense the spiritual pressure of oncoming Shinigami. Help was on its way, "I kept training to improve my skills with my blade since my ability to use Kido is disastrous. Even if I hardly have a chance to become a real Shinigami, I did it so I was able to protect my family or anyone else in the district that might need help."

"Well all your hard work definitely paid itself off in the end. That hollow you defeated was pretty high level and I take it, by the way you fought it, that it was the first one you've ever encountered. You are going to need a lot more experience fighting those things if you want to continue to protect others. In other words, you got lucky tonight."

She didn't say anything. It was true she was going to need a lot more work to get used to fighting those things. However, now that she thought about it, she didn't think she wanted to tackle one of those creatures alone again. Now she could understand Nick's warning and she felt bad for treating him like he didn't know anything. She was going to have to apologize to him whenever she gets back home.

They sat there in silence for a bit. Toshiro looked as if he was thinking long and hard about something. After awhile, he finally spoke again, "What are your thoughts now about becoming an official Shinigami?"

She blinked. Is he being serious?

"I'd honestly take that chance immediately if it was given to me."

"That's good to hear. In that case, I have a proposition for you." He positioned himself so he was kneeling on front of her, "I have a third seat position open in my squad and I have been trying hard to find a member to fill it in. With your skills, it shouldn't be hard to keep your place and earn respect the other squad members. If you would take it, I'll have my lieutenant help you complete the rest of your training and you'll gain more experience in fighting off more than just hollows."

"I'll take it!" She replied immediately as she said she would, looking at him gratefully, "I'll take the job! This would probably be the only opportunity I'll get if I don't take it now."

"Then it's settled then." He smiled, "Starting tomorrow, you will be under my wing."

She smiled widely and, if it weren't for her condition and if it weren't inappropriate, she would throw herself at him in a quick hug, "Thank you, Sir! I mean… Hitsugaya! I mean… Captain!"

He waved her off, "Focus on saving your energy for now. You're starting to look a little pale."

At that moment, the medics came carrying supplies and stopped before them. Toshiro then began giving orders and Xepher, before she had a chance to say anything, was picked up and put in a stretcher as they set off back to her home. They had wrapped a bandage around her head along with some ointment to help speed up the healing process and checked her for any more injuries or problems.

"Honestly, I'm fine! Can I walk on my own now?"

"You have lost a substantial amount of blood, Miss. Instead of walking, you should get some rest." One of them replied. She groaned but, nonetheless, obeyed. She lay back down on the stretcher and looked up at the now star latten sky.

With her directions, they made it back to her home where she would be staying for the last time. Captain Hitsugaya was long gone (saying something about going to see a good friend) and the medics put her in her room to rest. They left one behind to watch over her until tomorrow so she could be escorted to the Seretei. Nick was distraught seeing her in her state but once everything was explained to him, he calmed down. He actually looked… impressed. That surprised her. Maybe it won't be too bad to tell him her news.

"You're WHAT, now?"

"I've been offered a position in the Gotei 13. The Captain of Squad Ten himself gave me the rank of Third Seat."

"You're joking." She expected him to sound harsh but to her surprise, he smiled, "I'm happy for you!"

"Now I'm wondering if YOU'RE joking…" she looked at him and blinked.

He shook his head, "I know I've been against you the whole time you chased after this dream of yours… but hearing you actually progress and saving those kids made me really envious of you… I'm happy that all your hard work has finally come through and you've finally reached your goal."

This made Xepher tear up a bit and she threw herself around Nick in a tender hug, "I-I'm going to do my best not to disappoint you, Brother!"

Nothing, but hearing her calling him that for the first time, could not have made him happier at that moment as he gently returned her hug.

END

Yup! This is a bit longer than most of my chapters! Hopefully they'll continue like this as I continue to write.

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