The moon shone its light across the medium sized town of Kikitoru. A few people were out walking but one in particular stood above them all on top of a building. He wore the standard uniform of a Shinigami. On his back was his Zanpakuto with a yellow hilt.

"Strong reiatsu."

The Shinigami leapt from the rooftop and flew through the air. As he flew he looked around for anything that would seem like hollow activity. He was sent here by his captain to investigate the high levels of reiatsu coming from this town. As he glided through the air he saw two girls walking down the sidewalk. He was about to look away from them when something exploded behind them. The two girls shrieked with surprise and fear. They took off running.

"What was that?" One of the girls asked.

"I don't know."

"Could be a hollow." Sairen said to himself.

Then he heard a hollow's cry. A hollow emerged from the smoke cloud.

"Yep. It's a hollow." Sairen said.

The hollow chased after the girls. He landed near the running girls and unsheathed his Zanpakuto. The hollow raised its hand to crush the girls but it was cut off by Sairen. The hollow cried out. Sairen sliced through the white mask and the hollow faded away. Sairen stood up and slightly glanced to the left. He noticed that one of the girls had stayed behind and was looking right at him.

"There's no way she can see me." He thought to himself.

He looked to where the hollow was before it was purified. Sairen leapt back into the air. The girl watched him leave. Sairen leapt from rooftop to rooftop.

"There was something about that girl. She was cute but she acted like she could see me and yet she wasn't surprised by me or the hollow. I'll scout around for awhile longer before I head back to Soul Society."

A few hours later, Sairen was flying through the air. He hadn't seen any hollows since the one he fought earlier.

"It's been rather boring here tonight. Oh well, I guess it's time to go back."

Then without warning the air was filled with the cry of a hollow. Sairen turned around and faced the direction from which the cry came.

"That's really close. Time for me to put it down."

He leapt into the air and went to find the hollow. The hollow was only a few blocks away in a residential district. It roamed around looking for a soul to devour. It stood about 9 feet tall on its hind legs. Its mask looked somewhat like a dog with its long snout and two appendages on the top that looked like ears.

"HEY!"

The hollow turned around to see Sairen standing there with his Zanpakuto drawn staring him down.

"I thought I smelled a Shinigami nearby." The hollow said.

"I hope you enjoyed it 'cause it's going to be your last."

"You sure about that……..Ukiha Sairen?"

Sairen's eyes widened.

"Oh yes. I know who you are. I could recognize that selflessness scent anywhere."

"How do you know who I am?"

"Oh surely you recognize the face of the hollow that killed you."

"What?"

"Don't you remember the building that was on fire?"

Images of a building on fire and a girl on his back flashed through Sairen's mind. Then he saw images of himself getting knocked around by an unseen force.

"Oh yes I remember but I couldn't see you clearly at the time. Well, looks like I'm going to return the favor."

Sairen held his Zanpakuto horizontally in front of his chest. He put his palm on the side of the blade.

"Transform, Kiroimaru." He said as he ran his hand down the side of the blade.

The black blade turned yellow and moved freely in the air like a whip. Sairen launched the blade outward toward the hollow. The edge skimmed the side of the hollow's left arm. It cried out in pain. It lunged at Sairen who dodged the attack by jumping into the air. The hollow spun around and whacked Sairen with its tail. Sairen slammed into a light post, knocking it over. Sairen rolled onto his feet. He launched the blade outward again, this time it wrapped around the hollow's right arm. Sairen pulled back and the blade tightened and sliced through the arm, cutting it off. Kiroimaru returned to its normal size but stayed in its shikai state.

"You're outclassed, hollow." Sairen said.

"So you think." It said as it fell back into a black void.

"Damn, it got away."

Then without warning, something pierced through Sairen's left shoulder. The hollow had appeared behind him and impaled the Shinigami's left shoulder with one of its fingers. He threw Sairen into a cement wall. Sairen began to fall from the wall but was hit by the hollow's tail and was knocked down the street. He landed about 30 feet from his previous position. He lied face down on the hard blacktop. He slowly moved his face to see the hollow.

"Damn. I can't believe I'm going to be killed again by the same hollow.Such a waste."He thought.

His vision blurred for a few seconds then focused again. It went back and forth between blurring and focusing. The intervals between them varied. He could see his Zanpakuto lying behind the hollow. There was no way for him to reach it. Then without warning a blue ball of energy struck the hollow in the chest. The hollow stumbled back from the blast. Sairen didn't have the strength to move his head to see who had arrived. He had assumed it was another Shinigami but once they came into view he was way off. His savior was wearing a white shirt, black vest and a red skirt. Sairen assumed it was a school uniform. He recognized the uniform from those two girls he saved earlier in the night. He also saw some sort of guards over her forearms. She rubbed her forearms together causing a spark between the two and then threw a blue energy ball at the hollow again. This time the hollow was out classed. It pointed at Sairen.

"Kill you later." It said as it faded into a black void.

The girl turned to Sairen and smiled. Sairen recognized her from earlier before he passed out.

Sairen awoke several hours later. The first thing he saw was an unfamiliar ceiling. The light from the sun began to shine over the horizon and in through the window next to his bed. He sat up and realized that his upper body was wrapped in bandages. Pain still coursed through his body but mainly his shoulder. He let out a little cry of pain. He looked over and saw his savior lying on a couch across the room. Her eyes opened and she sat up stretching.

"You're awake." She said.

"Yeah. Thanks to you. Where am I and who are you?" Sairen asked.

"You're at my house and my name is Kagura."

"My first question should be how can you see me?"

"By looking at you." She replied.

"I mean, you shouldn't be able to see me. However I am sensing strong Reiatsu from you so that would answer my question. My next question is what were those arm guards you wore earlier?"

"My grandfather gave them to me when I was younger and told me to use them to protect people from hollows. Ever since I was saved from a fire years ago I wanted to protect people."

The moment Kagura mentioned her being saved from a fire, more images flashed through Sairen's mind, images of the girl on his back. He realized it was Kagura.

"Unfortunately, the guy that saved me didn't make it out. Something stopped him from getting out but he made sure that I got out. Some sort of invisible force threw him around and held him down." Kagura said.

At that, Sairen's memories were unlocked in his mind and he remembered the entire thing.

FLASHBACK

Sairen walked down the street and saw smoke up above the rooftops. He sprinted towards it. He arrived to see a crowd had formed near the building. He hoped that no one was still inside.

"My little Kagura is still in there." A voice said.

Sairen's eyes widened. He made his way through the crowd and ran into the building. He ran upstairs and searched around his fiery surroundings. He called out for Kagura but couldn't hear any reply. The heat was intense and he could barely see through the smoke. He saw that each room had an open door except for one. He ran to it and kicked it down. He saw a little girl huddling away from the flames. He ran over to her.

"It's ok. I'm here to save you. Everything will be ok." Sairen said.

The girl was completely frightened. The girl held out her hand and Sairen grabbed it. He led the girl out of the room and to the stairway. He hoisted the girl onto his back and ran down the stairs. As soon as he reached the bottom he could sense something wasn't right. He saw some sort of distortion in front of the doorway but he assumed it was from the flames. He ran forward only to be knocked back by something invisible.

"What the hell?"

Sairen looked around for an alternate way but it was to no avail. He looked to the little girl's face that rested on his shoulder.

"I have to get her out of here even if it costs me my own life." He thought.

He set the girl down and knelt down to her level.

"Now listen to me. I'm gonna get you out of here but something his blocking the doorway. I'm going to distract it while you run out. Ok?"

The girl frightfully nodded. Sairen stood up and grabbed a piece of wood that was burning on one end. He ran for the distortion. He swung the piece of wood but it didn't seem to connect. He did however lure it away from the doorway.

"GO! NOW!" Sairen yelled.

The girl ran out of building. Sairen now headed for the exit but was grabbed and thrown back. He hit the wall then hit the floor. He tried to get up but he was held down by the distortion. The last thing he saw was the ceiling collapsing in on top of him.

END FLASHBACK

Sairen looked Kagura in the eye.

"I am that guy that saved you from the fire."