Chapter 17: The truth.

"Your story begins with your mother." Zaraki started. My heart lurched at the thought of my mother again. Zaraki was deliberately not looking at me as though he was scared, but as I looked at his expression, I knew that what he had to tell me was important.

"My…my mother? Why?" I whispered.

"Long before you and I were born, the Soul Society had been invaded by a few parasitic Hollows. In total there were eight of them, but the damage they did was massive. At the time your mother was Captain of 5th Division and was hugely respected throughout the whole of the Seireitei. Anyway, one day three of the Hollows had a nest in one of the fields towards the edge of the Seireitei and they knew the location of it. Your mother and Captain 10 as well as the Assistant Captains of those Companies set out to attack them, but these particular Hollows were clever. They had carefully laid out traps for them to fall into, but your mother and Captain 10 saw right through them and set them off deliberately. The fight became intense as one of the Hollows release their true powers; the two assistant Captains were no match for it as the Hollow could see through the attacks – a surprise attack was needed, and your mother shunpo'd and sliced it from behind. One Hollow was down, two to go…but disaster struck. While your mother was busy checking on the two Assistant Captains, one of the Hollows noticed and lunged for her, but they managed to get out of the way in time but the Hollow seemed intent on giving chase. This Hollow was no ordinary one, it seemed far too intelligent and its body was slightly different as well as its mask; the mask was colourful and the body was black. It had fiery red hair and was extremely tall. Though the other two Hollows had released their powers, this had not so its power was unknown."

Zaraki paused for a moment and looked up at the sky. I was almost in a state of shock; I never knew that my mother was a Captain, nor had I known about this fight…and how did Zaraki know about this if he wasn't even born yet?

"I'm sorry Zooi. What comes next isn't pleasant." Zaraki whispered.

"But…she didn't die though, and she survived."

"No…that's not it. She would have been better off dead after what happened to her-"I cut him off mid-sentence and lunged for him. I grabbed his shihakushō and pulled him up.

"Don't you dare say that!" I growled, anger boiling up inside me. "Apologise! How can you say that, especially after you were the last person she ever saw?" I let go and sank to the rock in a slump. Zaraki looked at pitifully. "What happened?" I asked, choking back tears.

"Your mother sent the two Assistant Captains back to help Captain 10 but to also see if the Hollow was after them as well. It wasn't – it only wanted your mother for some reason and carried on chasing her through the forest. After a while they reached a clearing and your mother and the Hollow engaged in battle. It was a ferocious fight and they both sustained minor wounds but carried on fighting. Your mother asked the Hollow what its power was but it just laughed and lunged for her too quickly for her to dodge. However, it became apparent that Captain 10 was at the edge of the forest and your mother had to avoid giving attention to him otherwise the plan wouldn't work. Your mother let the Hollow attack her so she could save the other three Soul Reapers, and so Captain 10 could attack undetected. However, being bitten was exactly what the Hollow wanted. It laughed and stepped back before Captain 10 cut its legs and arms off.

"You wanted to know what my power was. I don't need one! I am the Demon Hollow, 'Akuma no Hebī'! My venom is poisonous and seeps into your blood so I am in essence, a part of you now! I shape shift to confuse my enemies, but my venom is the source of my power; there's no escaping it! My target was only you, Rubi Chiyo-Unohana, and now the deed is done." That was the last thing the Demon Hollow said before your mother and Captain 10 both sliced the mask and finished it off."

I stared at Zaraki wide-eyed as he finished and a lonely tear dribbled down my scarred cheek. My mother, Rubi, was bitten by a Demon Hollow? What did that mean? I don't understand…what's going on? I curled up into a ball on the rock and sobbed. The sobs grew larger into cries of sadness, and even bigger still into wails of pain and sorrow. Tears dampened my face and splashed onto the rock, I was letting everything out I'd contained for the last few weeks. Zaraki looked on helplessly as my pain and regret tore through me; he came over next to me and placed his giant hand on my left shoulder.

"I'm sorry." He whispered gently and closed his eye. I was lying on my side, but out of the corner of my eye I saw Zaraki shed one tear; one tear for my pain and agony.

My wails began to die down, but there had to be more to the story than that.

"What…what happened to my mother? After that…" I asked quietly as I sat up and stared at the rock face. "There's got to be more to it than that."

"Yes, there is. After the Hollow disappeared, Rubi (your mother) slumped to the ground and couldn't move as the venom seeped through her blood and changed her. Captain 10 didn't what to do but he called over the two Assistant Captains and together they walked back to Captain 4's medical centre; Captain 10 carried Rubi in his arms as she shrieked in pain, the bite mark had quite obviously drawn blood and ran down her arm, shoulder and right side of her chest.

"When they arrived, she was tended to by the best medical people available, but she was in a dangerous situation. The venom was unlike anything they'd ever seen and was mixing with her blood; there was no going back once two spirit entities collide. All Captains were dispatched to dispose of the rest of the Hollows after obtaining information concerning the Demon Hollow. They scoured libraries and any information on Hollows to look for any information at all, but found very little." Zaraki stopped once he noticed my dazed expression and edged closer to me. I was crying again, silently without realising and Zaraki placed his huge arm round my puny shoulders – even though I was nearly as tall as him, I was rather slender and skinny and hugged me close to him. I found myself curling up into his lap like Yachiru does sometimes and howled again into his robes and felt my heart shatter in pieces at the thought of my mother Rubi.

Kenpachi Zaraki

Hearing her screams of anguish and distress, my heart quivered and shook with feeling for her. She felt cold and icy though the sun was beaming down on us, as though it was mocking us; her skin felt sharp for some reason and her wails like echoes of the past as though she was a ghost and nothing more. I hugged her close and let her scream out her troubles.

After a while, her cries began to die down and she fell limp into my arms; she was asleep. Looking at her lying there so peacefully and still reminded me of Rubi when she spoke her last to me. It was uncanny how alike they look and another thing is that their zanpaku-tō spirits are alike as well. Her face was streamed with tears and her eyes red and puffy but her scar burned sharper than the rest. I let her sleep in my arms until the sun began sinking into the horizon when I picked up her and my zanpaku-tō and slid them into my robes and carried her tightly against my chest as I flew through the forest and over buildings until I reached Division 6. Byakuya was waiting outside of the gates and spotted me carrying Zooi.

"And what are you doing with Zooi?" he asked, looking at the sleeping Zooi in my arms. She looked so small and frail, clinging to me like that despite her height; she looked as though a small breeze could lift her up high into the air and carry her away.

"I'll tell you inside. We'd better let Zooi sleep for now, she's had a long and tiring day." I replied, increasing my hold on her as though I was protecting her. Byakuya looked puzzled for a minute but then realised.

"Of course, Captain 11, you may come inside." Byakuya opened the gates and I followed him inside to Zooi's room.

"Kuchiki? You can drop the polite act while you're at it. I don't like it." I mumbled, loud enough for him to hear. He glanced back and glared at me.

"Of course you won't like it – you don't know anything of manners being a commoner." He retorted. I sighed heavily and lay Zooi on her bed before placing her sword down on her desk and placing a blanket over her. I don't know what urged me to do it, but I gently kissed her cheek and left with Byakuya.

"I gather you told her then. About her mother and the Demon Hollow that resides inside her." My sigh told everything and he nodded gratefully.

"Please look after her, Kuchiki. Life has been hard on her, and she needs people to help her and support her. No matter what happens though, I'll be on her side. That means you must be as well, especially now you're her Captain."

"I understand Kenpachi. I will remain loyal to her as long as she is to me. But know this, if anything happens, I will deal with it how I feel it is necessary. I feel for her as well Kenpachi. Nobody could ever understand the hurt she has gone through." We left together and gazed up at the moon, our Captain's cloaks billowing in the gentle breeze. This night was the first time I truly felt a strong feeling for Zooi. I decided when she was released that I would be there for her and help her grow strong again, but that's not just it. I will be there to protect her and I will make her grow strong like her mother and defend her should anything happen. Yes, that's my resolve. I now fight for her, and anybody who supports her. However there is still more to come of her mother's tale, but that's best left for another day. For now though, she can rest. I smirked and wondered why I was being like this – my personality seems to have changed slightly from being around her. I shot off back to Division 11 and remembered Rubi's last words.