Happy almost Turkey-day to those of you to whom it applies! Here's an extra long chapter to go along with all that extra food and shopping you'll be seeing.

-Airumel 11/19/2012

-Chapter 19-

Zezuri returned to the meeting hall of the Captains to find it empty aside from the General and the captain with long white hair. The two were deep in conversation.

"I'll leave you here," Renji gave his companion's hand a gentle squeeze before parting ways.

Gathering her courage, Zezuri walked forward once more down the long hall until she stood before the General.

"You're later than I expected," he began sternly, redirecting his attention to Zezuri.

"I, uh..."

"Well, I suppose I asked you to make a decision rather quickly without much input. I apologize for that, but under these circumstances time is of the essence. The choice is still yours, however, I wish to add in my thoughts on the matter. The captains of the Eighth and Thirteenth divisions are some of my oldest pupils. They have their own weaknesses and faults, but I feel that either would be a suitable captain to help you with your power as both are skilled with kido and swords. The fourth captain is also an old student of mine, but she mostly relies on healing techniques, something I understand you are also quite gifted with. I do not know if she could help as well as the others. Unfortunately, you've met our other captain that had a talent for kido already; Sosuke Aizen would have been another. As for the remaining captains, they are much younger and not as skilled with kido; which I strongly suggest you harness that talent of yours."

"I was thinking, sir," began Ukitake, "How about the three of us all take turns training her, since she is gifted in more than one art. I can teach her kido, while the others can help her with her Zanpakto."

"Perhaps you're right... You may spend one week with Unohana, Shunsui, and Ukitake so they may perfect your abilities."

"Alright... But in return, may I have permission to visit my friends once I finish training with one captain?" Zezuri got the courage to ask.

A moment passed before the answer came, "Agreed, but only if you succeed in your training... You will also continue to stay in 6th squad dorms. I will also be expecting full reports from each of the captain, Jushiro, be sure to pass that message along."

The thirteenth captain gave a curt nod of his head in acknowledgment.

Yamamoto bowed his head before looking Zezuri in the eyes. "Should we suspect treason, we will not hesitate to eliminate you and the other two."

"U-understood!" Zezuri trembled a little.

"Your training begins in the morning. Be prepared; they will not go easy on you." With that the meeting was brought to an end.

As Zezuri exited through the giant doors full realization of what tomorrow would bring washed over her, followed with dread. She would have crumbled had she been alone, but the sight of bright red hair in the corner of her eye calmed her just a little: Renji was there waiting for her.

"Hey, don't be so down. I heard what they're gonna do with you. Man, that is rough, but you'll make it." He tried to encourage her. "So, um, there is a small festival going on tonight, some of are gonna hang out there for a while, if you want to come..."

"Really? I've never really been to a Japanese festival before. That sounds great! I wish..." Her words faded off.

"Sorry, they can't come..." Renji became sullen.

"N-no I understand, let's go have fun!" Zezuri noticed her depression was affecting everyone.

"Okay!" he exclaimed with a quick smile, "I'll let the girls know and you can all pick out kimonos together." Renji summoned a Hell butterfly and sent it on its way.

"I don't need another outfit, I've been given so much!" Zezuri protested.

"Too late..." Renji had noticed Rangiku and a few others had already arrived to take Zezuri away.

"Time to stop hogging the newbie, Renji!" She exclaimed, snatching Zezuri by the wrist.

"This is Rangiku of squad 10, she'll be with us tonight to." He introduced the lieutenant with a sigh.

"Yeah, Momo, Nanao, and I are taking you to get kimonos for tonight!" Rangiku seemed to be overflowing with excitement.
Zezuri allowed herself a smile.

"I'm sorry, I can't say for sure what is happening. You're the first fraccion, let alone arrancar, that I've ever met," Unohana laid a hand on Airi's and gave it a gentle squeeze.

The girl was silent, green eyes wide as she tried to process the information she'd just head.

"Hanataro didn't want to tell you. I think he was afraid you'd be angry. You'll have to excuse him, he has good intentions but some days he's afraid of his own shadow."

Airi nodded, unsure of what to say. She knew her days were numbered; there was no place for an live arrancar in the Sereitei.

Unohana withdrew her hand and rose to her feet.

An execution date, she had expected, but that wasn't what had been handed to her.

"Will you be okay by yourself?" the captain asked, looking over her shoulder as she opened the door to the hall.

"Y-yeah!" Airi blinked and looked at her caretaker.

"Okay, Hanataro will be around if you need anything."

"I'll be fine. Thanks. For everything," she forced a smile as her inner mind crumbled.

The door slid shut behind the captain and her footsteps soon faded into the distance.

With not even a hint of warning, Airi found herself weeping. Tears streamed from her eyes and great heaving sobs made her entire body shake.

She had been expecting Unohana to tell her she would die, yes; executed in fact. Often, she had wondered how long they were planning on keeping her around for? Would they take her first, or Grimmjow? It was only a matter of time before she would meet her end by someone's blade.

Yet, there would be no need; she was dying.

The thought struck at her very core. Somehow this was different. Worse even. Wasn't she too young to die? Even for a second time? Her many internal wounds were failing to heal, or as Unohana had put it "refusing to heal". The captain shared a few hypothesis with Airi as to why this was happening; her status as fraccion seemed to be key. Either her betrayal or separation from her master, possibly a combination of the two, had a debilitating effect on her powers in general. As a result, her powers of regeneration had faded exponentially.

To make matters worse, Unohana admitted to trying to heal Airi many times, only to find her attempts less and less effective as time had passed. At first only the deepest wounds were unresponsive, but when the surface wounds began to reopen, the captain's suspicions had been confirmed.

Eventually, the arrancar cried herself out.

Not knowing when she would expire, and far too weak to move more than to sit up, Airi's had no choice but to wait for her time to run out.

The pale moon sat in a black, starless sky, in its final sliver before it would vanish. A pale figure, still as the endless sands below, gazed at its fleeting beauty. Deep in thought, he stood there in silence, unmoving, as if waiting for a signal.

"Oh, here's a pretty yellow one!" Exclaimed Rangiku, thrusting it into Zezuri's arms.

"These kimonos are so complicated..." the girl thought as she went to try it on. All the other girls were helping each other dress in kimonos, but as she had only just met most of them, Zezuri felt too embarrassed to ask. Silently she edged away.

But she didn't get very far.

"Where are you going? You can't put that on yourself. Now strip!" The 10th lieutenant demanded, starting to undress the brunette.

"P-please, this isn't necessary!" Zezuri struggled, but it was useless as Rangiku was much stronger than her.

"Oh calm down! It will only be a sec... So it seems like you and Renji have gotten close. I see you guys together all the time. You gotta thing for him?" Rangiku pried her for answers.

"N-no! Why would you think that?! We're just friends!" The brunette exclaimed.

"Okay, okay, calm down, I just had to ask. You only have eyes for that espada, I get it." She tightened the obi around Zezuri.

"How did-?" Zezuri was surprised it was so easy to see.

"Yeah, it's plain as day on your face when you think about him. Man, Renji never stood a chance." The lieutenant smirked. After a few long minutes, Rangiku finished dressing Zezuri and exited from the curtains to the others who were already purchasing their kimonos.

The girl took a moment and looked herself over the mirror. The last time she'd worn a kimono, she'd been so small. A long forgotten memory. She had been at her grandmother's house; a Tabanta celebration from before she'd even met Airi. But as she looked at herself now, she realized just how long ago that had been. Staring back at her was a familiar, but unexpected reflection. This would never have been the path she would have traveled on by herself, but her in this moment, surrounded by her new friends, maybe, just maybe things were starting to take a turn for the better.

Still lost in thought, she emerged from the curtains.

"Ah, Zezuri-Chan, you look so cute!" Remarked Momo, bringing the girl back to reality.

"Haha thanks..." She felt embarrassed. "I should go pay for this before I walk out of here wearing it." But as she approached the counter, she remembered she didn't even have a cent to her name.

"Byakuya-Taicho has already paid for your expenses." Said the woman who owned the shop.

"Oh..." Zezuri had no idea how she could repay everyone for their kindness. By any right, she should be sitting in a cell like Airi and Grimmjow. It wasn't fair, this treatment for being more human.

Night had finally come and the streets were filled with numerous vendors and lights. "I wouldn't think shinigami would have such festive occasions..." Zezuri thought. Rangiku and the others dragged her through the crowds to play games and eat different foods.

"Oh my gosh, I might explode if I eat anything else!" Zezuri patted her stomach.

"The night is still young, Zezuri-chan!" Rangiku said already boozed up a little, throwing an arm around her. The gold details on her red kimono were caught by the festival lights every time she moved in the slightest.

"Hey, there's Renji and the other guys!" Pointed Yachiro who was getting a ride on Isane's shoulders as she was the tallest of the group. The two were wearing similar kimonos; both were flowery but Yachiro wore a pale blue kimono while Isane wore a dark green.

"Hey!" He waved out to them over the crowds.

"You airhead! You were supposed to wait for us at the entrance!" Rukia jabbed him in the side.

"It's not my fault!" Wheezed the redhead, "The guys wanted to get to all the stuff before it got crowded!" He held his ribs; Rukia's blows were strong for her size.

Zezuri stood apart from the group as the girls and guys greeted each other, showering one another in complements on the festive outfits.

"I'm going to get some flowers for Airi." Zezuri decided, stating her intentions aloud and began to wander from the group.

"Hey! Don't wander off alone! What did I tell you about that?" Renji joged to catch up and grabbed her hand.

"T-to ask you before I go anywhere." She said startled as his warm hand held hers.

"We'll meet up you guys for the fireworks in a minute!" He shouted out to the others as the crowds began to separate them.

"R-Renji..." Zezuri squeaked.

"What? Are you okay?" He asked worriedly.

"You're squeezing my hand really hard..." She whimpered.

"Oh, sorry..." He quickly let go of her hand, very embarrassed. "Let's hurry up and get those flowers!" He lead the way as Zezuri followed behind, clutching the back of his green robe so they didn't get separated. Renji was very tall and seemed to part the crowed like the ocean.

"This stand should have bouquets... One please." He paid the vendor. "Here..." Renji quickly handed the flowers of pink and yellow to her. "We have to hurry, the fireworks are gonna start!"

"O-okay!" Zezuri tried to clutch on him again as he seemed to rush forward but she couldn't keep up with the 6th lieutenant, and tripped. She looked up but couldn't find Renji. Pulling her arms in close, she tried not to be trampled on by the oncoming crowd. People were bustling by at a dizzying pace, there was no way she could regain her feet in this deluge of movement. As she held the bouquet close to her, she was almost stepped on before a pair of arms swept her up. For a second her heart stopped as she imagined Grimmjow saving her from danger again, but her hallucination was broken as she saw Renji's face and red hair.

"There you are! You gotta be more careful, otherwise you won't survive training tomorrow!" He scolded.

"Sorry..." She couldn't look him in the eye. "Oh no..." They looked up and the fireworks already started. The crowds began to depart over toward the plaza to watch the fireworks, leaving Renji and Zezuri watching the sky in the streets.

"It's alright... Here..." He flashed stepped into a rooftop. "This is a better view anyway." He chuckled.

"It's... nice..." She wondered if Airi and Grimmjow could see this from their cells.

"Umm Zezuri... Since you're going to be here for... Well... Forever, almost, I guess. If you need anything, I want you to know you can always count on me..." he said quietly.

"Ahaha thanks. You guys have done so much for me... I don't know how I can repay it..." She hung her head.

"You don't have to. We did this because we wanted to." He tried to explain. But he saw the girl was becoming distraught again. "Zezuri..." He placed a hand on her shoulder, then suddenly kissed her cheek.

"R-Renji!" She leaned away from him.

"Sorry! I was just trying to make you feel better!" He became angry at himself and embarrassed. "You just looked like you were going to cry. You were thinking about your friends again... I know..." He muttered.

"Renji I..." She didn't know what to say, she had no idea Renji felt that way about her. Guilt crept over her as she looked over at the red haired man who was watching the fireworks silently.

"Yeah, I know you and that arrancar have something going on... I just thought..." He began to mumble again. "Never mind, forget about it." He tried to laugh it off.

"Renji... Thanks." She smiled.

"F-for what?" He asked confused.

"I just thought everyone only cared about me because I have connections to Aizen, but you really do care about me. I can tell the others do too. I just wish they knew Airi and Grimmjow are just like me." She looked up at the fireworks.

"Well if you say so..." He still wasn't sure if he could believe her on that. Maybe to her they were good, but he didn't see how any arrancar could be good.

Silence had gripped the room in a tight grasp after Airi had finished crying. She didn't know what to do. She wanted so badly to get up and run, but that was out of the question.

As she wouldn't allow herself think about what was happening to her anymore, Airi laid back on her bed and watched the shadows creep across the floor until darkness filled her room. Despite her every effort to keep them at bay, the thoughts came back as the last rays of sun slipped from her windowsill.

Again, every urge in her body was to run, but where would she go? And why bother? Physically escaping death was impossible. Still, the urge to do something persisted. Did she even have enough energy, she wondered. With all the determination she could muster, the arrancar pushed herself up and tediously placed her feet on the floor. The contact of bare skin on the cold tile almost made her give up, but there was no point in lying around and waiting, no when there wasn't anything worth waiting for.

"Okay, I've got this." she muttered to herself. Taking a deep breath, she pushed herself as hard as she could from her bed onto her feet. The effect was dizzying. As the room swam before her, she reached out for something, anything to grab onto, but even the chair next to her bed was out of reach. "Well, that was stupid..." she thought before falling to the floor.

A familiar sound suddenly filled her ears. Waves crashed around her head as Airi realized she was back on the strange rocky island that had plagued her dreams in the not too distant past.

To her utmost frustration, she found she could not muster enough strength to get to her feet here either. Instead of struggling further, Airi pushed herself over so that she was lying on her stomach and crawled for the center of the rocky shore, grateful that the stones were so smooth.
Where was that dark-haired girl and the sword? She wondered while struggling across the shore. Every moment, she kept as alert as possible, but sign of anything other than the rocks and sea were present.

Finally reaching the middle, Airi stopped and painfully pushed herself up into a sitting position. Scanning around the island, she found that she was indeed the only soul around. The sea gleamed with its odd starry composition as small waves gently rolled onto the shore and swam back with a whisper. No wind blew and the cloudless sky was a deep purple color, yet no stars hung above her. Airi had never understood what this place was, but today, it was calming at least. Gazing out into the never ending distance, she was about to let her mind wander when she noticed what was wrong. It wasn't the location; the hand she had subconsciously brought up to tuck a stray piece of hair behind her ear caught her attention.

"I'm bleeding?!" she exclaimed. Looking down, her stomach came up into her throat. Airi had never been squeamish around blood; she had never gone into the hall during dissections in biology, but seeing her own blood, in this quantity... it was too much.
The ocean suddenly roared up as all went dark again.

"Miss Airi?" someone called, shaking her urgently, "Please don't be dead!" The voice was panicked and belonged to Hanataro, Airi recognized as she blinked open her eyes.

"Uuugh," she moaned, putting a hand to the back of her head. Realizing what she was doing, she quickly moved it back to her line of sight so she could inspect it for blood. "I hit my head... didn't I?" she asked the shinigami after assuring herself it had all been a dream.

"P-possibly..." He had backed away a few feet from where the arrancar lay, "I-I heard a n-noise and found you like this."

She made a mental note that her concussion hadn't lasted long.

"Hanataro?" she asked after a few moments of awkward silence passed.

"Y-yes?" came his nervous response.

"Thank you."

"H-huh? What?" confusion had stuck the young shinigami.

"You're the one who brought me here."

"Yes. B-but... you're... still injured..." the fear in his voice ebbed away to be replaced by concern and sadness.

Shutting her eyes, Airi tried to push back the negative thoughts that had begun to bubble up. "You saved me from Las Noches... from my-" No, she scolded herself mentally, I'm not anything of his, "Ulquiorra."

When Hanataro didn't respond, she continued while grabbing onto the bed and pulling herself into as close of a sitting position she could get. "You didn't know this would happen... so you can't blame yourself." She added realizing that she would be feeling the same way in his shoes.

Hanataro wasn't sure what to say. People often thanked him for healing them, but how could this arrancar thank him for sealing her fate? Even if she wasn't in her current predicament, she would have been left to rot in some cell or executed with no remorse. Ever since he'd brought her back, he'd been stricken with the guilt of condemning another. His lack of will to take life had been what really pushed him into learning as much of the healing arts as he could. Culling hollows was supposed to be the duty of every shinigami, yet here he was healing one and feeling guilty when the job surpassed his skills.

"Hey."

Airi's voice cut through the myriad of thoughts rushing through his brain.

"I don't really want to bother you... but... could you help me off the floor... it's kind of cold..." she chuckled in embarrassment at her predicament.

Without a moment's hesitation, Hanataro found himself aiding the taller girl. She was surprisingly lighter than he had expected. "So... w-what were you trying to do?"
Airi sighed, "I... well... I had this urge to run somewhere... but... well, that's not quite possible." She spoke haltingly, quite embarrassed that it had come to this. "I guess, I just wanted some air."

"O-oh!" the shinigami knew she couldn't escape, but he hadn't quite expected her to leave the room either. "I could, we could... go outside for a bit..." his voice dropped down to almost an inaudible level.

"You don't have to. Not if you'll be in trouble," Airi protested as her caretaker began to assist her to the doorway.

"I-it won't be a problem. Everyone else is at the festival."

Airi hobbled the best she could, trying to use as little help as she could, but every step she took felt as if she would collapse, "Why didn't you go? You've been here all day, right?"

The shinigami let out a small chuckle, "Well, Isane fuku-taicho wanted to go, so I... I told her that I didn't want to go." Holding the fading girl, Hanataro struggled to slide open the larger front doors of the division. "B-besides, I'm the one who brought you h-here".

Trying to keep her balance, Airi leaned off the shinigami as much as she could allowing him to open the door. The cool night air swept inwards as the two hobbled out onto the well polished wood of the veranda. A shiver went through Airi's body; the air held a tint of winter chill and she was not dressed to be outside in the light robe she now wore.

Hanataro quickly sat his ward down on the porch next to a pillar she could lean against. After a quick word, he dashed inside to find a blanket for her.

Airi slumped against the pillar after the young man's departure. She wasn't sure how she'd manage to get back inside, even with help. During the short trip from her room to the porch, she had almost passed out several times from nausea and pain. However, she felt satisfied that she hadn't let off much of her discomfort to the healer. It had been more important to make it outside.

Gazing upward, she found to her delight, a star-filled sky. She felt nostalgic, staring at the sky as she often had before everything. Lying on the old couch at home, peering out the roof of a sunroom window, wishing she could be off on some adventure. Well, ironically, she'd gotten it... and then some.

"Miss Airi, I found one!" exclaimed Hanataro, breathless as he draped it around the arrancar's figure.

"Thanks."

"N-no problem."

The two sat in silence listening to the wind gently blowing across the deserted courtyard.

It was Airi who broke the silence, "Your captain told me, by the way, about my condition." The girl had suddenly been filled with the need to talk about it.

Hanataro's gaze became suddenly downcast, "Oh..."

"It's okay. I understand why you didn't tell me."

"I thought you... you would be mad... at me..."

"Why?"

"It's my fault!" he shouted.

Wishing she had the energy to reach out and at least put an arm on his shoulder, Airi had to settle for turning her head, "It's not your fault. I mean it. I'm glad you rescued me. I have my emotions back, I'm not under anyone's control, I'm me. Well... more than I have been lately. And that's more than I could ask anyone for. You risked your life for me! Someone who tried to kill your comrades! If anyone should feel guilty here, it's me. You've all been so nice to me and I don't deserve any of it!" It had all just come pouring out, all of her frustrations, guilt, thanks, everything.

She paused and gazed back up at the sky. Calmer, she spoke again, "I just have one question: why did you do it? Why save me?"

Taken aback by his patient's outburst of guilt, the shinigami took a moment to collect his thoughts. He too gazed up at the stars above, "I was asked... by another arrancar... he asked me to save you and in return, he'd save Matsumoto fuku-taicho."

Airi blinked in surprize, "Who asked you?"

"I don't remember, he never said his name. A-and, I was too... well... s-scared to look at him... but his reiatsu... was stronger than even Unohana-taicho's." He looked at the girl, expecting some sort of reaction, but she was stunned, trying to figure out who would have done this and why. "P-please don't t-tell anyone!" Matsumoto and Hanataro had only told a select few about their encounter as they weren't sure why it had transpired either.

A yawn escaped Airi's mouth, "No worries, I won't."

"O-okay. T-thanks."

The girl's form slumped slowly. Then, all at once, she fell forward off the porch onto the ground below.

"Miss Airi?!" yelled Hanataro in alarm and rushed to her side. Taking her wrist in his hand, he confirmed she was still alive by the faint amount of reiatsu pulsing through her as if were trying to replace a heartbeat. Her lack of cardiac pulsing was more disturbing than the odd feather-like fragments in her hair or the gaping hole in her chest. He'd almost forgotten about it as her new robe had concealed it well, but a small area of it peaked out reminding him of what she was.

"Miss Airi?" He called again, gently shaking her.

There was no response.

Airi had lapsed into a coma.

Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed! Chev and I have been doodling our characters a bit lately, if anyone cares to see what we think our characters look like, they're all over our accounts on DA. Here's my latest one/the current cover if you noticed: art/Peak-of-Autumn-332801100. Chev, on the other hand, just posted this awesome sketch dump: art/Zezuri-Contemplation-338602505 (She's so much better than me).

Until next time!

-Airumel (11/19/2012)