Chapter Thirty One:

Hougyoku

Seren looked at Rabaeth. "I… I remember now. It was Aizen, wasn't it? He planned the whole thing out. That was how he could track me through all of Hueco Mundo, and he could identify me. That's how he knew to send Nnoitra and Ulquiorra to go capture me. No wonder he knew that my memories were screwed with. He did it all. He did it all, Rabaeth!" She clenched her fists with useless anger. How could he? How could he destroy her life without so much as a hint of remorse?

"That's not the end, Valencia. There's more."

Valencia looked up. "What?"

"You forget this is Kisuke we're talking about. He didn't know what happened that night, but he knew what hollow you were. He tried to bring you back with a primitive form of the Hougyoku."

"What? But he couldn't!"

"You're saying this about the man who created the Hougyoku?" Rabaeth raised an eyebrow. "That's surprising."

"He wouldn't. I know he wouldn't."

"Again, coming from someone who believed she had parents in Hueco Mundo. Hush and remember."

She opened her eyes.

"Val- Valencia?" A familiar pair of shady-looking eyes thrown in shadow peeked down at her.

She looked up, and spoke.

"Oh. Kisuke."

He broke out in a smile. He had deep bags under his eyes, his hair was disheveled, his shoulders slumped, and he looked all around like he'd been carrying some large burden.

"Geez, what'd you do to yourself, Kisuke? You look terrible." She croaked. She looked around. She was in Kisuke's house. Sitting up, the woman rubbed her head. She looked at her hand, surprised. "Wait. Hang on." Her hair was no longer the vibrant blonde it had been. It was dark now, and longer.

"…Kisuke?" She looked at him, confused. "Why am I-?"

"Sit down, Valencia. You might go into shock."

"What?" She got up, unsteady on her feet. "What are you talking about?"

He rushed to her side. "I said sit down, Valencia." He tried to force her down, but panic was already flooding her veins.

"N-No!" She yelled. She ripped herself from his hands and raced to the mirror in the bathroom.

Two horns arced out of her head; long dark hair spilled over her shoulder; a large hole was in the middle of her chest.

All she could do was sputter.

She was a hollow.

For the sixth night in a row, Seren lay, still sleeping. She hadn't moved or spoke since Nnoitra's attack- excluding the strange 'Rabaeth' incident.

Kimi had come asking to see her. Ulquiorra had coldly replied that nothing had changed and closed the door in her face.

Oddly, Grimmjow hadn't come to bother him. That was weird. Normally, he'd be the first to break the door down.

Other than that, life went on as normal.

"You WHAT?" Valencia was yelling at Kisuke.

"Valencia, listen for a minute-" Kisuke was trying to calm her down. Unfortunately, after being killed, turned into a hollow, then turned back by the Hougyoku, she was in a very bad mood.

"You tested that THING-" She jabbed a finger at the object in his hands- "and turned me into a HOLLOW?"

"NO!" Kisuke yelled. "You were ALREADY a hollow. I turned you BACK to a shinigami- well, for the most part anyways."

"For the most part? There's a giant HOLE in the middle of me! And horns!" Her hands flew to her head. "HORNS! And- and- my sword?! Fuerda?" She looked at her sword, laying on the ground by the couch.

"At least I could bring you back at all! You're lucky you remember too!" Kisuke argued.

"Why didn't you just kill me?!" She yelled. "I was just a hollow!"

"You expected me to kill you?!" Kisuke yelled back. "Are you stupid? I would never do that!"

Valencia stopped. She sighed and rubbed her forehead. "I can't believe crap like this actually exists. Kisuke, damn. You're like Frankenstein."

"Who's that?"

"Some character from a book that just came out in the human world or something."

Kisuke smiled at her. "Of course you'd know that."

"Shut up." Valencia looked to the side, refusing to smile, but the corners of her mouth were lifting up.

"Why did you bring me back?" She asked.

Kisuke smiled at her. "Because I love you, right?"

Valencia looked at him.

"Damn you, Kisuke Urahara!" She rushed forward and hugged him with all her might.

"Ack, ack, you're killing me. Don't forget you're stronger than before-" He gurgled.

Valencia refused to even let up an inch.