Master...

The deep voice called to Tamotsu as he stirred.

Master... awake...

Tamotsu sat up. He was in a small clearing surrounded by trees, leaves crunching under him as he stirred. A male figure in a purple kimono and long black hair stood before him.

"You..." Tamotsu said as recognition hit him. It was the spirit of his second zanpakuto. "Where's Hinohebi?"

"Hinohebi has left us so that we may speak alone, my Master," the man said. "She has been spending more time out of this realm and in your own, is that correct?"

Tamotsu nodded. A sudden burst of air and water from the ground made him flinch, but the man before him did not move.

"What's going on here? Where am I?"

"Master... Do you not recognize your own inner world?"

Tamotsu looked around. Several trees were covered in leaves, but they were changing colors. Reds, yellows and browns replaced the lush greenery that he had come to know before. The small shrine stood firm, but the stream that flowed from it was dry. Another burst of air and water behind Tamotsu made him jump.

"What happened here? Is my world dying? Am I dying?"

"You are distancing yourself from your comrades, my Master. In addition, you are suppressing your power too much. Once it flowed freely, represented by the stream in front of the shrine. But since you have tried to suppress it, the stream has ceased and resulted in the formation of the geysers which now litter the land. Without a steady flow of power your inner world has become unstable."

"But I can't let my power flow freely. Its too dangerous!"

"Dangerous for who? For those close to you? To yourself? Your sister? Oh, my Master. You forget how long I have waited in darkness for you. I have seen your inner world change so much. Even when I believed I was alone here your power flowed. Even with the seal in your previous life the power flowed. Yet now there is no seal. You alone are causing this turmoil within your inner world."

"But... I don't know what to do."

The man approached Tamotsu and placed his hands on his shoulders. "My Master... Think back to when I served by your side. We were so close, as close as any Shinigami and Zanpakuto could be. With your passing, I felt a faint glimmer of your being and held onto it. I have been with you, and I have believed in you, even if you did not know I was here. Now, you must believe in yourself."

Tamotsu opened his eyes. He was lying on his back in the alley, Hinohebi sitting next to him. When she saw him stir, she threw her arms around him and began crying.

"Tamotsu!" Hinohebi cried. "You make me worry so much sometimes."

Tamotsu slowly placed his arms around Hinohebi as he returned the embrace. "I'm sorry, Hinohebi," he said. "I know now why you spend so much time here rather than in my inner world."

"He spoke with you then?"

Tamotsu nodded. "He did. I'm sorry. I'm so worried about what's going on with myself I was neglecting those around me."

"If the two of you are quite finished," Lucky said from Tamotsu's body, "I would suggest we make haste. That last outburst caused quite a commotion and the local authorities would be on their way soon. I doubt it would be of the best interest should they question me only to have a personality change when you enter your own body again. Perhaps you would find yourself in a padded room at the hospital of Dr. Ifukube?"

Tamotsu shuddered at the thought of being treated by Dr. Ifukube. A Reincarnate himself, he refused to join the Fourteenth Division and instead wanted to treat patients at his mental institution.

"You're right, Lucky," Tamotsu said. Stepping into his body, a flash of light ignited the alley and Tamotsu spit out the small green Soul Pill that contained Luck and promptly placed it into the mouth of the stuffed owl. "Let's go, Hinohebi."

Manami sat across from Naomi enjoying a cup of tea. Events were slow after the Hollow attack and the two of them were calming their nerves. Manami would have preferred a more talkative companion, but many of the others talked little of what interested her. Plus, she was the only other woman in the group.

"So don't you go to school or anything?" Manami asked. "I mean, you're probably only sixteen, right?"

Naomi said nothing and stared at the tea in her cup.

"Any hobbies? Come on. Let's have a chat. I'm feeling a bit lonesome here. What do you say? Just you and me? You know. Girl talk."

Taking a sip from her tea, Naomi took a deep breath and Manami waited for a response. But nothing but a sigh escaped Naomi's lips as she returned to looking at her tea glass.

"Damn, girl. No wonder none of the guys ever talk to you. You're just so drab and boring."

To that, Naomi allowed a small smile to be revealed on her face. "Not interested in boys," she said.

"Do my ears deceive me? She does speak! Waiter! Another round please. She can speak!"

Naomi allowed herself to chuckle at the sudden lightening of the mood and looked at Manami's face for what seemed like the first time that evening. "I can speak. I just... choose not to."

Allowing herself to relax, Manami slouched into the chair. "Well why not? Its hard to make friends if you don't speak. Don't you want to make friends?"

"I was alone most of my life. People thought I was crazy. I was alone, and I embraced that."

"Yeah, its hard for people to understand our unique perspective on life. Plus we go around killing monsters and sending spirits to the Soul Society."

At the sound of the word monsters Naomi caught her breath in her throat and and sat perfectly still.

"What? What'd I say?"

"They're not monsters," Naomi said. "Not monsters."

"What? The Hollows? There's nothing left of them that's human."

Naomi looked up as a tear began rolling down her face and smearing the thick makeup. "You don't know that," she said. Not bothering to finish her tea, Naomi stood quickly and walked out. She set off at a brisk pace, leaving Manami alone at the table.

"What did I say?"

From the rooftop, Takeo Saegusa looked down as Naomi stormed off. He had been watching and listening the whole time, keeping an eye on the two girls in case anything should happen. He heard Manami's remark about the Hollows being monsters and understood Naomi's reaction. Only he and Tamotsu knew it, but Naomi remembered her life as a Hollow before she was a Shinigami.

Even though Naomi had slain many Hollows, Takeo could see sadness in her eyes as she did so. She had a unique perspective. So far as he knew, only she and Tamotsu knew of lives before their previous one. And remembering a life as a Hollow would surely be devastating to anyone. He thought it was a shame that a girl that seemed so young would remember a savage life of death.

Thinking of the Hollows, Takeo found himself rubbing the twin scars across his neck. Suddenly aware of his action, he stopped. He didn't like being aware of the deformity that took his voice, but it was a part of him now and no denying it. He knew who he was. And that was the important part.