Where Truth Lies

[Mystic Serenade]

(Takes place during Lexi's meeting with Felix)

It was pretty late once Keiji got back from performing the konso on the soul. Oh how much he'd like to just get some shut eye, but the ever growing pile of paperwork on his desk told him otherwise. Man...rate I'm going I might as well take that vacant fukutaichou spot...increased pay for all this work doesn't sound half bad. All the injuries Lexi seemed to be getting didn't really help either, in fact she got her own little special "Lexi's Medical Bills and Release Forms" section. Just how did a girl break that many bones within a week anyway?

The task of filling out paperwork was not something he altogether minded that much. In fact at times he'd find it a nice change of pace to his regular duties. However Keiji believed that there could indeed be too much of a good thing and this was one of them. He didn't even remember there being anything about this when they were going over what kind of duties they would have as shinigami back at the academy.

Tired as he was, he should have expected that one fourth the way though he'd pass out. He was only awakened from his premature slumber by the continuous beep being emitted from his terminal. That noise is so annoying he thought as he lay upon his unfinished paperwork slightly disheveled. He turned his head slightly to look more closely at the screen to see what it was this time. Ah man...Lexi.... The girl sure had a knack for getting herself into trouble. This time she was immobile and seemingly severely damaged. Bet she got herself in over her head again, guess I should head over ther...

A new signal then made its appearance on the screen. The reiatsu level was faint, but in Lexi's current condition as it appeared, it didn't seem as if she was in any condition to fend off anything what so ever. He prepared to make a visit to the living world but then he had noticed that Lexi's condition seemed to be gradually getting better. Was she being healed?

Ah, what kind of deals this girl gets herself into I'll never know. He raised his hand to his temple, "What a headache." As he placed his other down on a stack of messily arranged papers, he began to hear Lexi's voice through his headphones. She didn't turn on her mobile device did she.
Indeed she had not; Keiji had forgotten that he bugged her a while back. "Should deactivate those sometime..." he said to himself groggily, at first they were just measures for precaution since she ran around who knows were, but he didn't really feel that they were necessary anymore. That opinion however would change once he caught wind of the current ongoing conversation between Lexi and the newcomer, which just increased the count on his list of crazy, inexplicable questions.

Alright, so she knows the previous 12th Division captain who at the moment is branded a traitorous heretic except now it just so happens that Soul Society is really the diabolical group and he was kicked out for some condition he has...interesting...and he gave her something...

He looked over to his terminal again Stupid device, like I need to have to think about this right now. He started to debate to himself whether or not he should report this or not to the captain. Lexi meeting with the one deemed a great menace to Soul Society did seem like something that would be note worthy. But, crazy as this girl was, he'd rather not see what kind of crap they'd put her through if he did report it, so he decided to trust in the girl in not doing something entirely too idiotic, her judgment was quite noble, insane as she was, noble.

Still...what kind of horrible condition could a man have that would get him kicked out of here? he pondered. [B]O wouldn't you like to know[B] screamed back a dark voice within his head. This surprised him, no doubt about that, but he brushed it off as something related to his lack of sleep in the past few days. "It's too early for this."

However the soft rays of light entering through his window clued him in on the fact that it was actually a bit later in the day than he originally had guessed. New information in hand, he decided now was a good time as any to head to his usual contact in Rukongai for a little chat and some much needed dango.

[Mystic Serenade]

Mornings at the 1st District of Rukongai were quite peaceful thought Keiji as he traversed the streets. Most of the residents were still asleep and the shop owners began to prepare their wares to be presented and sold. This may have been the wealthiest of the districts, but it was nice that they still had a market center like everywhere else. It didn't take him long before he finally found himself at his destination.

When he first reached the stand, it appeared to be empty. Upon closer inspection however, he found that Sayaka had took the liberty to nap where she usually prepared the dango he loved oh so much. Guess I'm not the only one who's been lacking sleep heh. He walked into the stand and crept up right beside her sleeping face. "Working hard I see," he whispered into her ear.

She woke up with a start and shot upwards, elbowing Keiji's face in the process. She grabbed unto a nearby cutting knife, "You won't get anything," her eyes shot around searching for the intruder, "especially not the ..."

"Hey there Sayaka-chan," greeted Keiji from his spot on the ground.

"Oh, Keiji-kun um..." she turned around to put the knife back in its place, a slight blush on her face. "I thought I told you to call before you make visits."

"Haha, not like it'd do much good when you're napping away like that." He said jokingly as he raised himself off the ground, patting himself off.

"Still...why do you think we went through all that trouble of setting up that special line once you got as high a position in your division as you did?" she inquired back.

"Yea, yea I know. So communication would be a lot easier and the like. But don't you think it’s so much more fun when I stop by unannounced," he answered back with a grin. He soon found a knife embedded into the wooden wall right next to his head. Guess that answers that question.

"So what brings you down here this early in the morning anyway?" she asked as she moved to retrieve the knife.

"Felix Ronsse..." he said in a quieter, more serious tone, "what do you have on him?"

"Hmmm, take a seat and let me fix you something up real quick," she said as she gently pushed Keiji over to the customer side of stand indicating for him to take a seat. "There's not much known about him besides whatever story Soul Society told everyone, he simply up and left one day without a trace. Some say he's holed himself up somewhere in the living world or something, that or he's up in Hueco Mundo gathering minions for an army to storm Soul Society. But they're all rumors, no confirmed sightings or anything of the guy." She poured Keiji a cup of tea, " He used to be your division captain right? Shouldn't you be able to look up stuff on him pretty easily?"

"Heh, if only it were that simple," he replied after taking a sip of the tea. "For one, I was still in the academy around the time of his supposed betrayal, so I never got to know him personally on any level. Asking Lexi anything about it just results in her going off in one of her moods and laying out strings of curses," he chuckled. "I tried looking him up before after Lexi mentioned him once a while back. There's nothing on the guy except a simple bio and some of his better known popular research, and even with that it's just to give the guy credit. Any real information on him simply doesn't exist or I can't access," he took another sip of the tea Man this is good stuff. He placed the cup back down, "I decided to give up on any prying, didn't want anyone getting too suspicious."

"So why the sudden interests?" she looked quizzically back at Keiji.

He sighed, "Seems he's come into contact with Lexi, said some weird cryptic stuff that pretty much equated to Soul Society having some dark hidden secrets. I'd rather not think that my current employer and those that are supposed to be creating some nice balance in the universe has such a thing, but I need you to keep your eyes out for anything truly suspicious about Soul Society's actions and this Felix Ronsse guy."

"Alright," said Sayaka. She then passed Keiji some dango she just finished preparing which he more than happily accepted.

"By the way, I told you I'd tell you about this last time," he took a bite into his dango. "Found out why we haven't been able to locate you know who...looks like the worst case scenario happened."

"You mean, she's a hollow?" a concerned look donning her face.

"Yep," he sighed again. "Well, I'm not 100 percent sure actually, I only happened to see her face for a moment. But really, I doubt it could have been anyone else, no one had eyes that brilliant shade of blue like she did..."

An awkward silence developed as Keiji continued to eat his meal in silence. A silence that was all too soon broken by Sayaka slamming her hand down. "Dammit Keiji, you need to stop beating yourself up after that. It's been years, decades ever since you died."

He felt a bit melancholic talking about this "...Still...I had just let her..."

"But nothing! You were only a simple human then, there's nothing you could have done to kill the hollow that attacked you both!"

"Heh, that's right, I was only a simple human. Even though I had spiritual powers greater than most, in the end I was just that, a simple human...” silence had taken hold of the atmosphere again.

"You should just...just forget about her," she finally broke out, almost on the verge of tears. "Just forget about her and move on, she just causes you pain anyway."

If only it was that easy...if only... "Someday maybe, but not until I resolve everything about that day." He placed some money down as he prepared to leave. "Tell your dad I said hi and that I'm sorry I couldn't stick around this time. There are some things I need to take care of..." The creak of the wooden stool and the shuffling of dirt signaled his departure.

"Baka..." was all she could bring herself to say as he walked off, and then only in a whisper.

Yea...I really am an idiot aren't I.

[Mystic Serenade]

(Takes place before the little Keiji, Lexi, Azul bit)

He still felt pretty bad for a long while afterwards about how he responded to Sayaka...but when it came to that subject...everything just fell out of place. I need to get my mind off of this... He would make it up to her somehow...

He figured now was as good a time as any for another chat with his zanpakuto, he'd been getting them to open up a bit more recently. For the longest time it had just been him in the darkness, talking to nothing. However lately his inner world had began to take shape, a small clearing of tall grass with a few outcroppings of stone here and there, surrounded by an endless forest of bamboo. Last time, he even got a chat going, though it had been quite one-sided as the zanpakuto spirit just had asked him miscellaneous random questions about himself and his day. Though it was better than nothing at all he supposed.

He headed towards the usual place and performed his usual ritual of talking to his zanpakuto. Once he had reached the world that made up his subconscious, he shivered from the unexpected cold he experienced. He looked at the scene around him, "Well this is indeed a change in scenery." The world he sat in was blanketed in pure white snow as it continued to rage and dance about as in a blizzard, the low temperature winds constantly biting at his face.

Damn...would have imagined myself wearing a nice warm fur coat if I knew it was going to be like this. He struggled his way over to a decently large formation of rocks and sat within them, somewhat protected from the relentless cold of the wind. He lit a small fire with a simple kidou to warm himself up, "Hmmm never had a hint about what kind of zanpakuto I had. Never would have guessed I had a snow type from the look of things up till now."

"That's because you don't have a snow type zanpakuto you ass, you're the one who caused this damned blizzard!" protested a voice from behind him.

Keiji turned to look behind him, the voice sounded much like the one he was conversing with the day before, only to find no one there. However has he turned back to face the fire he had started he was met with quite the surprise. There stood a young woman who appeared to be around sixteen or so, crouching down and trying to warm her hands next to fire. Her garments were quite luminous in appearance; in fact it took a while for his eyes to adjust to the light that appeared to be emanating from the small girl. "So, I take it your my zanpakuto spirit eh?"

"Well aren't you the bright one, of course I am and the blizzard you conjured up with your emo feelings has been getting on my nerves for the past few hours, might as well make an igloo and hole myself up for a few days rate this is going."

This girl sure has a mouth on her...nothing like Lexi but still... he eyed the girl one more time. You'd think from her appearance she'd be one with a bit more manners. "Heh, sorry about that, guess I'm going through some rough times lately," he said apologetically.

"But nothing, that one chick was right. You need to just stop whining over it and just forget it, makes everything so much easier for you and for me, stop these freak storms you create all the time because of it. At least it isn't pouring rain and hail like that one time," she shot back without a care.

"I apologize, but I plan to see this issue that causes you oh so much inconvenience through to a conclusion sometime soon. Your help in doing so would help actually miss...so what is your name?"

"I'm glad you asked," said the girl who now was all of sudden bursting with enthusiasm and energy. "Kyokki Hitosashi is the name, isn't it the best!!!" she jumped up suddenly.

"Ah-hah, yes it's quite the wonderful name you have," he said somewhat hesitantly. Oh great, my zanpakuto spirit appears to have ADHD...well at least I know it's name which means I should be able to use shikai now...should help in dealing with my current predicament

"Wait till you release me in battle, you say Akehanareru and then there are all these pretty lights, and I look just plain kickass and..." she suddenly gave pause to her cheery outbreak. "Though," she sat back down cross-legged and placed one finger on her chin, thoughtful look on her face. "Even though you know this much now, there's still one more key component for you to call out my strength."

"Oh really now," Keiji replied with a quizzical look.

"You see, you must have noticed that you have two zanpakuto right? Well it's not because you have one of those rarities were your zanpakuto just comes as a pair of swords. Actually, you see, there are two of us. My twin sister and I make up each one of your zanpakuto, and though we're separate entities essentially, since we share a special bond you can't call out one of us in battle without calling the other."

Well this seemed interesting...a bit troublesome...but interesting. "So where's this sister of yours?"

"See, she hates the storms you make a lot more than I do. Actually...she seems to really dislike you personally a lot too..." she said with another thoughtful look.

Well this doesn't look good for me...how am I supposed to bond with a spirit that hates my guts? Might as well try something. "So what is your sister's name?"

"Ah, her name, it's no way as pretty as mine but it's..." at that moment a hand had emerged from the shadow's and chose to cover up the girl's mouth.

"If I want him to know my name, I personally will let him know my name. As he is now, he doesn't deserve to know," spoke a hooded, heavily clothed in black, yet clearly lithe woman. It was quite the sight, both of the spirits sitting next to each other. The darkness emitted from one and the light from the other, neither conquering the other yet appearing to be intertwining with one another.

He could only look back in bewilderment to this. Not worthy to know? He collected himself and asked in more calm tone, "And may I ask why you deem me unworthy of knowing your name?"

"My younger sister here, she may genuinely want to begin the relationship between shinigami and zanpakuto with you... and she may believe that may be enough to change your ways...but I am not as naive as her...

"Hey..." the younger twin interjected

"...I feel your intentions are not whole-heartedly in my best interests at the moment. Your will is weak, your goals are unclear, your resolve fragile and as such I don't deem you worthy to call my name out in battle. Your entire life as a shinigami thus far, your main focus has not been to purify souls, but your major concern has been to find your lost loved one. You have lost sight of what your true goal.

My true goal... "But I..."

"Now that you believe you have found her, how do you plan on dealing with this one you believe to be your lost beloved? What will you do after you have accomplished whatever it is you plan on doing? I for one, personally do not believe you have any clear goal in sight."

"Is it really so bad that I wish to find the one who I cared for most, who was the one thing the most important in my life?"

"No, but when you make others around you suffer, when you neglect us and only plan to use us as tools in your personal quest for knowledge, when you wander aimlessly without a true goal in sight and let the past control you, for those reasons I will not allow you to know my name."

Keiji was speechless...there was nothing he could say in defense of himself to this...revelation of his self.

"On a side note watching you as you walk your path in life, your way of dealing with the opposite gender sucks equally also."

"Thanks for the insight..." he grumbled.

"You're welcome; anyhow being held by you sickens me enough, much less having to look at you." she walked into the shadows of the rocks cast by the fire and began to sink into them, "I hope the next time I have to actually see you, the experience will actually be worth my time."

After her departure, Keiji and Kyokki sat there in complete utter silence for a while.

"I'm sorry about what my elder sister said...she...she has just been frustrated for a long time now I think..." she finally let out.

Man...I really do suck... He got up finally and prepared to leave this inner world of his, "Sorry for the trouble...I'll try and make it more sunny when I come here again alright."

"I'm sure you will," said the spirit, a genuine smile on her face, "see you later."

Back in reality, Keiji sighed and let his body fall to lie on his back, staring up in the sky. "Great...how am I supposed to deal with this?" He got up to head back inside to his terminal; he needed a distraction...no...that would just be running away from the problem. "What am I supposed to do now?" His thoughts were interrupted as an alert went off on his terminal screen...Lexi again...but reiatsu signal of what was next to her brought in more of attention. That signature...it could only be her...

He thought back to what the zanpakuto spirit had told him. Really...what "AM" I supposed to do to make things right again... "Well time is wasting, guess I'll just have to wing it and find out eh." With that he picked up his cell and began his usual routine whenever Lexi was about to get her ass beat, call up Lune and get a senkaimon ready stat. "Time to see if I have what it takes."

[Mystic Serenade]

After returning from his little ordeal with Mitsuru, a.k.a Azul, in the living world, Keiji spent a little time reflecting and going over it all once more. Confirmation was nice, but it's not like it made the entire situation any better. Sure he believed that now it was a good time as any to move on and to try and bring closure to this ordeal as soon as possible, but his thoughts returned back to the conversation he had with the other spirit of his zanpakuto...how strong was his conviction to go through with this?

He picked up his zanpakuto and stared at it once more, he never really paid too much attention to how either looked. In fact, staring at them both now he finally took notice that the tsuba was distinctly different on each, one with a more radial, circular design and the other consisting of more sharp engravings and other such designs on it. He continued to look at them a bit more, Heh, no wonder she dislikes me...I've had this thing for how long and I choose to notice this now?

In fact, he hadn't even tried to have another chat with the two spirits since that last time, he still wasn't sure if he was quite suitable enough to confront the two again, especially the older one about her name. Heh, it was quite unfair how they got to sit back and observe everything he did while he was just left guessing. "Well, no point in pondering over something I have no power over," he pulled out his cell and punched in a few numbers, "might as well try and finally patch things up with Sayaka..."

The call finally went through. "Well, well, look who's finally called," said a voice from the earpiece, half sarcastic, half overjoyed.

With an equal tone he answered back, "Yea amazing isn't it, since you don't seem to be so thrilled every time I show up unannounced."

"You're coming over?"

"No, Soul Society is about to explode from a ryoka invasion, of course I'm coming over."

"You didn't have to be like that..." she said a bit sourly.

"Ah ha ha, you should know me by now."

"Hai, hai, maybe I'll just poison your dango sometime."

"God forbid."

"You never know," she laughed. "Anyway I'm about to close shop in a few, better get here quick if you want any."

"Don't have to tell me twice," he laughed. "I'll be there soon."

================================================== ====

By the time he actually arrived, she had already closed up shop. As he approached, she held up a small bento. "You need to work on your punctuality a whole lot if you ever dream of getting married to anyone."

"Ah ha ha, well it's not like I can just waltz out of headquarters whenever I please you know. I do have responsibilities as a third seat," he said matter-of-factly while accepting the bento.

"Yea well, at least you called this time I guess." She tugged on his sleeve, "Come on, lets sit somewhere."

They walked for a while until they finally reached a bench that overlooked a nearby river. Keiji immediately took it upon himself to dig in on the meal. "Ah, good as always, better than whatever it is they serve us over at headquarters."

"Glad to see you're enjoying it," she laughed at the sight of the grown man attacking the bento like some six year old. "What brings you here anyway?"

He suddenly stopped eating and calmed down to his normal demeanor. "Listen...about last time...I'm sorry I put you through all that grief..."

"Ah no...I just overreacted a bit is all..." she replied back, a bit apprehensive in her own answer.

"No, don't say that, I make you worry unnecessarily at times...I'm sorry and, thank you for caring enough about me to get worried in the first place."

She made a small grin, "No problem."

"Anyway, while we're sort of on the topic, I think...I think I'm going to try and move on finally."

"Really, what's with this sudden change of heart, not that I mind though of course, seeing you mope around was an eye sore."

"Heh, well let's just say I finally came to face reality. I can't keep living in the past and beating myself up over it. Sure knowing I failed to protect what was important to me hurts, but that was then, this is now. A long time has passed since then and now I think I have new things to protect."

"You sort of sound like you did when you first left for the academy," she said, reminiscing about those short-lived days.

Keiji thought back to that day, when he first arrived at the 21st District of Rukongai.

================================================== ====

It was a strange experience, finding himself in an unfamiliar world right after his death. He remembered wandering around for quite a bit, for some unlucky reason he happened to come into this realm in a less populated area. After a few hours he collapsed from hunger, it was strange; he seemed to get hungry a lot faster in this world.

When he opened his eyes again he found the eyes of young woman looking back into his, she adverted her gaze once she determined he was awake. "Father, it looks like he's finally come to!"

It was then that a rather muscular bearded man made his way over to him and the girl. "Oh I see," he pulled Keiji up into a sitting position. "You had us going for a scare, thought that some muggers might have actually come into town. What's a young lad like you doing passed out in the middle of the road like that anyway."

"Actually, I got lost and collapsed from hunger I think...what is this place?"

Both the father and daughter stared at the boy in astonishment; the man finally spoke out after Keiji shifted a bit uncomfortably under their stares. "Well you see you must know you're dead, this is the place were all saved souls go, Rukongai. This area here happens to be the 21st District of Northern Rukongai."

"I see...it happened all so fast, I never really stopped to think that I was dead. But uh, dead people get hungry?"

This time the girl answered him. "Well, most people don't. You see, my father and I, we go around selling sweets and the like to locals. It's not really because they get hungry, but just because you're dead doesn't mean you stop tasting things. No, only ones who ever really get hungry are those with spiritual energy," she then offered Keiji some dango they had with them.

"Thanks," he said as he accepted. "Spiritual...energy?"

"It's like the strength to fight and perform supernatural acts or something. You'll find out more about it at the Shinigami Academy, no doubt they'll be coming after you once they catch whiff of your reiatsu, been pretty hard pressed for new recruits these days I hear," replied the man.

"I see...well if it's all the same to you mister, I was wondering until that time comes if I could stick around with you two, I'd rather not wander around on my own again."

"Sure thing boy, just to let you know though you need to earn your keep, I'm not a rich man you know," he let out a gruff laugh.

"I wouldn't have it any other way, mister...mind if I ask for your name?"

"Yukijiro Hotaru is the name; this here is my daughter Sayaka," he said while patting the girl on the head, who was somewhat reluctant about being treated in such a childish way.

"A pleasure to meet you both," he replied, happy that he was able to find some rather friendly people to help him adjust to this unfamiliar world.

The following several months he spent with the Yukijiro family of two were tranquil and simple. They consisted of helping them to prepare and sell their goods while traveling throughout the 21st District of Northern Rukongai. It was great; he was enjoying this newfound simple life of his in the afterlife. The pain of having lost his loved one was still rather fresh in his heart, but his stay with the Yukijiro family, he could at least cope. There were times abundant with joy and some hardships he supposed, but overall it was a lifestyle he had grown to accept and didn't mind keeping. But it wouldn't last forever...

This entire while he began to get a feel for this spiritual power of his, he could feel it welling up inside him. However he never really could grasp the feeling entirely to use it. Though of course he didn't really mind, the sooner he could control this power of his, he knew it would be the end of his current life style. He began to think that maybe the shinigami would never find him, that he could continue this way.

He enjoyed this life and he wasn't all too sure about giving it up it to go chase some new one at this Shinigami Academy he heard of. Sure it was a bit selfish probably, the idea of trying to preserve his happiness instead of working towards helping others obtain and keep theirs. But was it so wrong of him to pursue his own happiness first? Who knows whether or not it was right or wrong for him to prioritize his own comfort while others out there suffered, but then again maybe that's why things happened the way it did. To remind him how fragile happiness and comfortable times can be.

It was greatly unexpected, and it happened in the blink of an eye. Hollow brave enough to invade Soul Society were a rare occurrence, but that's the thing about something that is a rare anomaly isn't it. There still exists a chance it could happen, and it just so happened that it had to take place while Keiji was escorting Sayaka on an errand to the shopping district. The dragon-like hollow attacked fast and was relentless in his hunt, injuring many as they attempted to flee for safety.

"Come on, we got to get out of here," he said as he began to run, grabbing her hand to lead them through the crowd. However moments later he soon felt that she had stopped running, and that he was soon pushed aside, only to watch a stream of lightning created by the hollow rip through countless fleeing citizens. She was one of them.

Once again Keiji had been forced to become the spectator to watch someone he cared for hurt by a being called hollow. Why, if he really did have this so called power to fight, couldn't he use it? He couldn't protect his most precious person then when he was alive then and now, now he was equally useless. He gently picked up Sayaka's injured and bleeding body, "You're so stupid you know that," tears threatened to pour from his eyes, "You’re so stupid, why did you do that."

"Because," she rose her hand weakly to cup his cheek, "because to me...you have become someone important enough to protect." Her hand then fell to her side, her eyes closed.

Now, now he had regretted not trying to understand this power of his. Please...if I really do have any power...please let me use it now... he thought as he gently lay her body back on the ground and stood to face the hollow.

He ran as fast as he could towards it, letting out an enraged yell. Unbeknownst to him, as he ran the whites of his eyes were invaded with black, and his pupils turned bright amber. The hollow shot another wave of lightning, at point blank range there was no way he could dodge. However, unexpectedly, he had hardly felt it as some of it passed through his body and only served to stop his mad dash. The hollow attempted to swipe at him with one of its oversized claws.

Reason had left Keiji's mind, only instinct remained, and it told him to rip this thing to shreds. He grabbed hold of the beast's arm before it made contact with his body, and ripped it off the monster with the sound of torn flesh and bones broken asunder. The hollow flailed around madly as it had not foreseen such a turn of events, screaming in pain. In its pained rage, it now tried to close down its mouth on the man that dared to challenge it.

Keiji grappled the side of the hollow's head and slammed it to the ground followed by a swift kick. The hollow flew back several meters from the force of the kick, rolling in all kinds of different directions. It slammed into a nearby building, rubble caved in all around it, now too injured to even move, now the only thing on its mind was escape, it tried to open up a garganta to flee through.

It was not as fortunate as Keiji was soon upon it, a wooden stake that remained from the collapsed buildings infrastructure. He jumped upon the hollow's back and stabbed down repeatedly at its neck, laughing with a voice that was no longer his own but was now darker and had an eerie echo to it, the hollow's blood continuously splashing unto him, drenching his clothes with it.

He only came to his senses once he found a thin pair of arms enclosed him from behind, "Please...please stop...this isn't like you..." cried out a familiar voice.

Suddenly, reason came back to him, he let his arms fall to his sides, and he dropped the stake. The hollow's body simply then vanished into the atmosphere. He was shocked at the state he had found himself in.

Not long after, they had come, shinigami. Many of them had begun combing through the area, evaluating the injured and some emitted a white glow from their hands. One of them had come to them and began to emit this white light towards Sayaka from which he observed they must be using some sort of healing technique. He never imagined that they looked the way they did, one among them stood out especially due to the white haori with the kanji for the number twelve on his back. After talking to and directing some of the other shinigami to various places, he turned towards Keiji and walked towards him. He addressed the shinigami with them, "So he's the unfortunate boy eh," he said to one of the other shinigami, Keiji guessed that this one was pretty important or something.

"Yes, sir," the other answered back promptly.

"Well, well, looks like we can finally stop having the higher ups jumping on our backs about this issue then," he replied back as he then faced Keiji, "You up for a walk and small chat?"

"Sure...I guess," he said as he got up and began to follow the man, glancing back once at Sayaka who had a sad look to her eyes. She must know this is good-bye...

After walking a small distance he finally addressed him again, "So you must be wondering why I brought here to talk."

"You want me to come follow you and attend the Shinigami Academy...isn't it," he looked towards the ground as he said this.

"Ah, smart boy, yes you have potential that the shinigami could use to help purify souls and the like for the greater well being and justice of Soul Society, blah blah, etc" he said somewhat sarcastically.

"You don't sound so enthusiastic about this?" Keiji was a bit confused about the way this man treated the topic.

"Meh, it's your choice in the end, some people would just chew my ass off if you didn't. Anyway, here take this," he threw a small booklet at Keiji, "read this, you'll find out everything you need to know in there. I'll come back for an answer a week from now."

"Wait, what's your name?"

"O, it's Felix Ronsse; you'll probably hear it from time to time. By the way, you should give your name before asking for another's."

"Oh right, sorry it's..."

"Don't bother, I already know it, Otowari Keiji," he soon left, and with him the other shinigami.

When he returned with Sayaka back to the place they stayed with her dad, he was no doubt somewhat surprised and angry about the state they returned in, but overall glad that she was okay after hearing about what happened. He told the two that they would take the next day off to rest, and that night, Keiji read the booklet the man had given him.

Not much interested him at first, the whole running around purifying souls and sending off those of the newly deceased thing didn't seem like his line of work. No, what had really caught his interests was when he came to read the description of each division that each successful graduate could choose to join. The twelfth division seemed perfect in that it contained most the resources he could eventually gather to find out about his lost love. Also as a shinigami he could go freely in between the worlds and if she happened to have survived the whole ordeal, maybe he could find her. Sure there's not much he could do once he found out since well, he was dead, but knowing would be enough. The pay he would eventually receive was nothing to laugh at either if he could just progress enough. Eventually, he could repay the debt he owed the Yukijiro and help them move to a safer location, somewhere close to him maybe too. He could become strong, strong enough to protect them. He'd rather not risk them ever facing anything like today ever again.

He informed Sayaka and her father about his plans the next day, they seemed rather hesitant to see him go, but they all knew this day was bound to come sooner or later. Their last week together in this situation went by faster than any of them had ever thought, and the man known as Felix Ronsse soon came, awaiting Keiji's answer which was of course yes. A week after that it was time to say good bye to this short chapter in his life.

He bid farewell to the Yukijiro, his caretakers and companions for the past six months or so. "Don't worry, it's not like we'll never see each other again. And I'll come visit whenever I get the chance alright," he told Sayaka before he left.

"Who's going to miss you anyway," she pouted.

He grasped his friend whom he would soon depart with in a hug. "You're cruel to say that," he laughed.

"You jerk, why do you have to leave now...?" she replied back almost in tears.

"You know why, I explained it already didn't I."

"I don't care about all that, just stay with us...things are fine the way they are..." she tightened her hug around him.

"Saya-chan...you know this is something I need to do...I don't want anything like that happening to anyone close to me ever again. There are things I need to learn, and I need to become strong enough to protect what's important to me."

"Fine...just make sure to come back," finally relenting and letting him go.

"Of course I will."

================================================== ======

How long ago was that he began to wonder? How long has it been since he said those words, since he had forgotten the other reason he chose to become a shinigami? Since he became only concerned with finding about something he had lost when he should have focused on what he still had. "Yea, I remember now. Think I've made good on my word?"

"I'm still alive right," she replied back with a smile.

"Yea, I guess you're right, and I'll make sure it stays that way for a long time," a renewal of a promise he had long forgotten.

[Mystic Serenade]

Dealing with one's past demons was one thing, and a thing Keiji was beginning to cope with relative ease. Dealing with his zanpakuto spirits, especially the darker one of the two, that was a different matter altogether. He unsheathed the zanpakuto he usually wielded with his left hand and gazed at it for a bit. This one was the sealed manifestation of the darker, more unforgiving of his zanpakuto, he could tell. In his fights, as a result of his last encounter with the two spirits, he began trying to get more in tune with his zanpakuto in an attempt to create a stronger bond with them. In those fights, he would feel a sort of enmity coming from this one however. Well, at least the other zanpakuto Kyokki Hitosashi seemed to be warming up to him, but for a while he imagined the for now nameless blade would more than happily like to take control of his hand in order to inflict damage upon him rather than any hollow.

For the past few days since he last saw Sayaka though, the hostility emitted from the blade had decreased a significant amount. Still didn't seem to like him all too much, but at least it wasn't spewing an aura of hatred whenever he picked it up. Now seemed like a good time as any to have another one of those chats with his zanpakuto. He headed over to his usual place of meditation and sat in his usual stance as he had done many times before. Let's see what we can learn this time.

The sun was brightly shining this time around, a welcome change from the blizzard that raged about last time. The clearing within the forest of bamboo seemed a ton more peaceful now. He felt the light breeze brush past his face and flutter past his uniform, and viewed the long grass swaying this way and that with the wind. He made his way to settle upon the top of one of the many tall rocks that dotted the field of grass. He laid back, "Wonder if they're up for a chat."

"I'm always up for a chat," said a voice from behind him.

Keiji was a bit startled by this and had almost fallen from his perch from up on top of the rock. He looked back to only find the friendlier of his zanpakuto spirits sitting there, "Oh, it's just you Kyo-chan."

"What do you mean by it's just me!!!" the spirit exclaimed before submitting Keiji into a headlock and punching the crown of his head. "You're such a jerk, not talking to us for so long. No wonder you're single, no girl would like you with the way you keep contact," she pouted.

"Uh, I've been busy?" he tried to say as innocently as possible.

"Lies!!! That stinks so much of LIES!!!!" she yelled while continuing to administer her punishment on Keiji's head.

"She is correct," then came a more stoic voice from the shadows of the boulder he was sitting upon, "It's not wise to try and deceive someone that is a part of you don't you think?"

"Ah ha, well, it's not like you really made me feel all that giddy about coming here again you know."

"Fair enough," she said as she began to ascend through the air to face him directly. It was quite surreal, it seemed as if the light around her was being consumed by some sort of darkness, yet if she absorbed light, theoretically shouldn't he be unable to see her at all? Surreal indeed…

"So," he had finally managed to remove himself from the headlock earning an unhappy 'Hhmmph' from Kyokki Hitosashi, "you think me worthy enough now, that you could grace me with the knowledge of your name?"

“Hmmmm first, what makes you think you’re worthy enough to know?”

“Isn’t it kind of pointless to ask such a question when you already know the answer since you’re know, inside me all the time?”

“Just shut up and answer!!” she said curtly. She calmed herself before speaking again, “Anyway I’m merely part of your soul and observe what occurs around you. I have no idea what goes on upstairs, if anything at all.”

Touchy isn’t she…anyhow here goes nothing. “Ignoring that last comment for now. I’ve realized that I have been…rather selfish in the way I’ve been handling things, with other people, you guys, and all. So how about we start over from scratch? Together let us try and make our existence all the much livelier, reach some goals, and share some enjoyable times in the process.” He raised his hand out to the spirit, “What do you say?”

“So cheesy,” giggled Kyokki.

“Silence you perky bag of sunshine!” Luckily at the moment, Kyokki seemed to have mistaken this for a compliment.

"You have become sufficient..." she bluntly started, completely ignoring the outstretched hand and pacing away.

Condescending little...

"...and this is why I have already told you my name long ago," she finished with a smirk.

"What?" Keiji was completely baffled by this, he didn't remember such a thing ever occurring. "When was this?"

"I have told it to the other you, the you that you have chosen to ignore also. Maybe he can clarify things for you," she said as another being had begun to emerge from the shadows. It was strange to look at, the being that emerged from the shadows looked a lot, well exactly like him. The only differences being that its shinigami uniform's color scheme appeared to be an inverted version of his and its skin and hair were a whole lot paler than his. Its eyes also gave it a more fearsome look as it had black where in any normal person there would be white. "Everything you need to know about me for now, you can learn from him. Besides, it'll be good for you to chat with him as you haven't made contact in so long."

"Wait, wait, what in the world are you talking about? How do I not communicate with myself?" Though actually I thought talking to oneself was always a sign of insanity or something...I am so confused.

"Aw that hurts you know, first you use me twice for your own devices, then you ignore me, and now you forget me." His copy sarcastically raised his hand to place it on his heart, "That hurts you know. Well, let's get to learning now shall we," he said placing his hand on a single zanpakuto on is waist.

Wait a second...why does he only have one...if he's supposed to me then shouldn't he... Keiji soon realized that he too only had one on his waist, the one he usually wielded with his left hand was gone.

"Seriously, not even realizing that I had left your side...I'm beginning to doubt you once again boy." His other zanpakuto spirit was indeed disappointed.

Kyokki Hitosashi soon appeared by his side, "Awww, you're too harsh on him elder sister." She latched herself on Keiji's back, "I bet if we weren't spirits you'd never get a boyfriend with your personality," she said, sticking her tongue out.

"S-shut-up, that’s none of your business," a small almost invisible blush developed in her cheeks, "and of no importance."

"Nyaaaahhhhnnngggg."

Seriously...how I'm supposed to figure out these two I'll never understand...why couldn't my zanpakuto spirits have been guys...easier to read...

"Oi oi," called out his doppelganger of sorts or whatever it was, "pay attention when I said I'm about to teach you."

It was then Keiji noticed that he had unsheathed his blade and came dangerously close with a vertical strike. Keiji drew his blade swiftly to block in return, his many battles thus far making it an automatic reaction.

"Good, good, I see you've become a better fighter since I saw you last," he then released his right hand off his zanpakuto. "But you still lack that fighting instinct that I have in oh so much abundance," he said with a grin and delivered a strong swift punch to Keiji's gut which caused him in turn to loosen his grip on his own weapon. He skidded back a few meters, but not before the weakness in his guard allowed his other's attack to connect and cut him across his right arm.

Damn, this guy... He gasped a bit before finally catching his breath, normally he'd love to come back with a witty comment, but now didn't seem like that great of a time.

"Now back on topic, since this isn't really about how much of a better fighter I am in comparison to you," he said with an air of superiority. He began to twirl the zanpakuto in his hands in-between his finger, "you see this blade here, its name is Mumyoujouya." He paused with the twirling and held it so the blade was parallel to his body, pointed downward, "And its release command is tenchikaimei."

I wonder if that was really so hard for her to just tell me it herself... "Er, shouldn't you saying all that have made it change form or something?"

"Well normally yes, but if you had been paying attention last time you would have remembered that annoying brat over there telling you that you can't release one without the other due to their special..."

"I AM NOT AN ANNOYING BRAT!!!!!!" interrupted Kyokki from the distance.

"Quiet in the peanut gallery."

"You...you...why I oughta...mmmhppp." Keiji watched as the zanpakuto spirit who he now found to be named Mumyoujouya cover Kyokki's mouth with her hand and drag her away, returning to her spot of observation.

"Anyways now that the interruption has been silenced...go on, do it."

"YES CALL OUT MY BEAUTIFUL WONDERFUL NAME!!!!" Kyokki had managed to let out before being gagged again by her older sister.

Alright, he saw others release their zanpakuto before and just witnessed his other in the process of releasing his...so there should be no problems. He went straight to holding the zanpakuto parallel to his body, how his other twirled the blade around without cutting his hand was beyond him. He noticed that he was mirroring his actions as well.

"Akehanareru..."
"Tenchikaimei..."

They both spoke in tune with each other.

"Kyokki Hitosashi."
"Mumyoujouya."

Both zanpakuto during the process had radiated into completely white and black respective to each of their spirit's nature and took on the form of a chakram. However, since Keiji had found no practical way to hold the weapon, dropped it quickly to the floor at a total lose on how to hold such a thing.

"Having trouble there, hmm?"

Keiji looked up to see that his "mentor's" zanpakuto similarly had no visible way to practically hold the weapon, but had somehow kept it afloat mere inches away from his hand/

"Err...how are you doing that?" he asked a little embarrassed, hand behind his head.

"YOU SUCK!!!! YOU COMPLETELY AND UTTERLY SUCK!!!! Screamed Kyokki, who had seemingly escaped from her sister. "How dare you just let me fall to the ground like that!!!! She raised her palms and directed them at the weapon, causing it to raise and move as she moved her hands. "And here I thought you were supposed to be smart to get into 12th Division, like how many plausible options do you have for moving this thing, of course the obvious answer is to use your reiatsu!!"

The chakram soon began to fly towards Keiji, spinning dangerously like a buzz saw. He was forced to jump this way and that in order to dodge, nearly losing his head. Thankfully in a timely fashion he had tripped over a small rock during his attempt to stay alive. The other two occupants living in his spiritual world merely watched silently at this very embarrassing ordeal. Embarrassing for Keiji since he was running away from something that he was supposed to be a master of, embarrassing for them since such a man was the master of this domain. The proverbial sweat drop slid down the back of their heads.

Kyokki began breathing heavily, both in anger and exhaustion from the man she was trying to hit and his dodging. "I...I wonder about...you *gasp* sometimes..." A look of disappointment on her face, “sometimes you seem so capable and other times you're just plain idiotic...SO I'LL JUST HAVE TO TEACH YOU A LESSON!!!!"

Keiji could only flinch at the remarks being thrown at him, his inability to understand women seemed to apply to women that were spirits and happened to live in his soul apparently. He watched as the chakram before him spun violently and erratically, glowing in an ethereal white light. It wasn't long before its original shape wasn't even recognizable anymore, and it just appeared to be a bright rotating sphere.

"RAIN OF EPHEMERAL LIGHT!!!"

Ten rays of light soon erupted from the light sphere and homed in on Keiji, who began jumping and diving to avoid them. However he seemingly was unable to dodge them all as three soon began to home in on his position.

Ah crap...

He raised his arms in a feeble attempt to shield himself. It was then his shadow seemed to grow out from behind him and came crashing down in front of him, absorbing the light as it hit.

"I don't believe I gave you permission to interrupt my teaching lesson brat," said his other form.

She threw a glare at him, the kind that feels like daggers are being thrown at you. But she appeared to be too exhausted to take any real action about it. This was only confirmed in Keiji’s mind when she dropped her hand down causing her control of her weapon to be lost and she began to collapse from this exhaustion.

He acted quickly, using shyunpo to take hold of her before she fell and along the way he picked up the weapon with his reiatsu, albeit a bit shakily. “Hey, wake up. See,” he started waving around the chakram in his hand. “No need for you to get worked up about anything right?” However his expression quickly changed once he got a good look at Kyokki’s face which was struggling to stifle some giggles.

“Ha ha I knew it! You’re a sucker for girls in distress aren’t you!” she quickly recovered and moved about in her usual hyperactive manner. “Fufufu just have to throw a little act and he acts accordingly, fufufu.” Her plotting was interrupted as she began to see stars as a result of a fist to her a skull, courtesy of Keiji.

“Oi, it isn’t good to deceive and take advantage of a man!”

“Why you ungrateful,” she jumped on Keiji’s back and began choking him. “It was a wondrous plan that got you to learn something cool and useful.” Her attack began to include a shaking motion, “Deception is sometimes needed for the greater good.”

“I should disavow any acknowledgement I have of you two…”

“Aw don’t say that sis!” she jumped off Keiji’s back and snuggled her sister. “You know you love us, at least me anyway.”

“Gah, get off of me!”

Keiji just watched as Mumyoujouya frantically tried to remove herself from her sibling’s vice-like hug. Just how did I end up with spirits like these anyway… He was soon brought back to reality as he saw the chakram form of his other zanpakuto come dangerously close to his face. He caught it before it could do anything disfiguring.

“Bah, you guys bore me. I’m heading out.” His doppelganger began to walk off into the distance, nearing the shadows of another formation of stone.

“Hey Keishiro! Thanks for the help!” he yelled out at him.

“Baka, who said you could call me that.”

“I decided just now, you never gave a name,” he shot back with a rather stupid grin.

“A name huh…” he quickly turned away and headed off back into the direction of the shadows, “call me whatever you want.” He soon paused in his steps and gave one last glance back. “Though I wouldn’t quite thank me yet, just think of it as a loan I plan to collect back with interest.”

Keiji watched as the one he just dubbed Keishiro walked off into the shadows, contemplating what his last statement could have possibly meant. Too bad it didn’t last too long until he collapsed under the weight from being tripped over Mumyoujouya as she continued to struggle free from Kyokki.

“Fuuuu…hhhhhhnnnn!!!”