Target

The night has passed slowly for some and fast for others. Senna slowly opens her eyes and yawns after a long rest. She quickly jumps out of bed and walks over to the window. She peeks her head through the open window and sees Kuroi sitting above her on the rooftop. She climbs out of the window and climbs up to the rooftop.

"So, you've finally awakened, huh. It's nearly 11," said Kuroi.

"Your bed is extremely comfy," said Senna.

"I don't get a lot of sleep, so the bed is still in perfect shape. I would rather spend my time up here and enjoy the cool weather," said Kuroi.

"What are we going to do today?" asked Senna.

"What are you trying to say? We're not best buddies vacationing. Yesterday was fun and all, but we need to fix your amnesia and defeat whoever wants to take you," said Kuroi.

"I had a dream last night, but I think that it was a memory," said Senna.

"What was your dream about?" asked Kuroi.

"My mother and my father took me to the shopping center to buy stuff for school. That's all I remember," said Senna.

"Good. We can start there. Get ready because I don't have a lot of patience," said Kuroi.

Thirty minutes pass. Kuroi and Senna now stand outside of the shopping center. They watch as the droves of people walk up and down the sidewalk.

"There are a lot of people out here already. It is a Saturday, so it makes sense why it's busy. So Senna, what do you remember from your dream?" said Kuroi.

"We went here and bought stuff for school," said Senna.

"What store did you guys go into?" asked Kuroi.

"I don't know," said Senna.

"There are like twenty-four different stores in this shopping center. I know for a fact that at least a few of them have to sell school supplies, but they may not exclusively sell them. Senna, what do you remember about the-," said Kuroi.

Kuroi turns his head and sees that Senna has disappeared.

"Don't tell me that this girl ran away again. Senna, where are you!" said Kuroi.

"I'm right here," said Senna.

Kuroi turns his head and sees Senna waving at him from behind a wall. He walks towards her and sees a crying little kid.

"You just got attacked and you still wander off. What is happening now?" said Kuroi.

"I found this kid crying. It looks like he needs our help," said Senna.

"He's a soul. We can't help him. The only thing we can do is send him to the Soul Society," said Kuroi.

"We can't just refuse to help him. He's still a kid," said Senna.

"He could be eaten by a Hollow if we don't send him to the Soul Society right away. It has happened before," said Kuroi.

"I understand what you're saying, but I need to help anyone in need. Hey, big guy. My name's Senna. What's yours?" said Senna.

"Tomoya," said Tomoya.

"That's a cool name. If there's something wrong, you can tell me and I'll try to help you," said Senna.

"I'm lost and I'm alone because I can't find my dad," said Tomoya.

"Were you guys going somewhere?" asked Senna.

"We were in the car and he was taking me to the festival, but I fell asleep. When I woke up, I couldn't find him," said Tomoya.

"Look, kid. You're no longer a human anymore. The chain of fate is on your chest and that means that you're sadly dead. If you can't find your father, there's a big chance that he's waiting for you to join him in Heaven," said Kuroi.

"He's not in heaven. He's waiting for me. I just know it," said Tomoya.

"If he is, Kuroi and I can help you find him. We'll find him together, right Kuroi?" said Senna.

"Fine. I'll help," said Kuroi.

"Good. Now, where were you guys at last?" said Senna.

Tomoya points forward.

"We were over there," said Tomoya.

"Now, let's go," said Senna.

Senna sticks her hand out and the boy grabs it. They run forward and Kuroi briskly jogs behind them. They walk through the entire town, asking random people if they saw Tomoya's father. After spending around two hours searching, the boy hops off Kuroi's shoulders and runs forward.

"How long are we going to keep this up, Senna? There's most likely no festival around here and his father is probably in the Soul Society already," said Kuroi.

"He doesn't have a lot of time left in this world. He wants to find his father, so we have to grant his wish. He has a long journey ahead of him," said Senna.

"Don't act like I don't want to help this kid. I do, but there's a big chance that this will just be a waste of time" said Kuroi.

"Maybe it is. Maybe it isn't. I don't know, but I can't do a console on a soul if I can't grant their final wish. I just want to give him one last good memory," said Senna.

"I wish that I could be as nice as you. I try to, but I always fail," said Kuroi.

"Being nice isn't difficult. You just have to be willing to help others no matter what. You want to help me find out about my past, so you're a nice guy," said Senna.

"I don't feel like it," said Kuroi.

"You will after we help this kid," said Senna.

"Senna! Kuroi! I found it!" exclaimed Tomoya.

"The festival exists. How did I not know that?" said Kuroi.

"There's no time for that. Let's go," said Senna.

Senna grabs Kuroi's hand and runs into the festival. As the three people enter the festival, Tomoya doesn't see his father.

"I can't see him," said Tomoya.

"He's probably around here somewhere. We just got to look around," said Kuroi.

Kuroi, Senna, and Tomoya start to walk forward. They look at all the different stands and vendors.

"I can't believe that this palace still looks the same. I used to go here all the time with my parents," said Senna.

"This doesn't make sense. I've lived in this town for 16 years and I have never been to this festival. I didn't know this existed. Is it possible that all of these people are spirits?" thought Kuroi.

Senna, Kuroi, and Tomoya continue to walk until they hear someone's voice.

"Tomoya!" exclaimed the man.

"It's him. Daddy!" said Tomoya.

Tomoya and his father run up to each other and embrace in the center of the festival. They cry after finally reuniting.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry," said Tomoya's father.

"We found him. I didn't think that we would," said Kuroi.

"Thank you. If it wasn't for the both of you, I wouldn't have found my boy. I don't think I can thank you guys enough," said Tomoya's father.

"We didn't do anything special. We're just doing our jobs," said Senna.

"I guess you two were too busy helping Timoya that you didn't notice that everyone here is a spirit. They helped me find this place," said Tomoya's father.

"They led you here?" asked Senna.

"We're all here because of you," said Tomoya.

"Tomoya, it's our time to go," said Tomoya's father.

"Goodbye!" exclaimed Tomoya.

The two souls dart into the sky, heading to the Soul Society. Kuroi starts to look around and sees that all of the other spirits have disappeared.

"If they were here for you, that must mean that everyone here was Blanks," said Kuroi.

"Why are they all here because of me? Why are they all attracted to me? Am I the Shinenju?" said Senna.

"I didn't believe that you would find out so quickly. I thought that it would take a little while for you to figure out what you were, but he came around and kind of ruined things," said Kuroi.

"So, you knew?" asked Senna.

"I've known since last night. I didn't want to tell you because I wanted you to be able to live a normal life. I'm sorry," said Kuroi.

Senna starts to cry. Kuroi tries to comfort her with a hug, but a Senkaimon opens in front of them. Renji, Rukia, Toshiro, Rangiku, Jushiro, and Soi Fon step out of it.

"Why are you guys here?" asked Kuroi.

"We're here to carry out a Level 1 order from Central 46. You are to hand over the girl immediately," said Renji.

"Why?" asked Kuroi.

"Kuroi, I have looked through every record in the Gotei 13, Stealth Force, Kido Force, and even the soul reaper academy. There's no record of her existence. The Zanpakuto that she used was swallowed up in the Dangai Precipice World a hundred years ago. In other words, there's no way that her Zanpakuto can exist," said Rukia.

"What you're saying can't be true. I'm a soul reaper. I know it," said Senna.

"If you're a soul reaper, then when did you come to the World of the Living?" asked Renji.

"It's so confusing. I remember walking by the riverbank a couple days ago, but that's it. I know that my name is Senna. I'm sure of it," said Senna.

"She's the Shinenju. She's the physical embodiment of a bunch of memories. All of her memories are from other people. That's why she doesn't remember anything. A soul reaper was probably swallowed up by the Dangai and became a Blank. Then, his or her memories were transferred to the Shinenju or Senna. That's why she can use that Zanpakuto. It's because she has the memory that includes the name of the Zanpakuto. In my eyes, she's just a person with a lot of memories that aren't hers. I can't give her to you," said Kuroi.

"This isn't the time for feelings to get in the way. We have determined that a man named Ganryu wants to use her to destroy the world. By order of the Soul Society, we're taking you into custody," said Toshiro.

"I can't allow that to happen. I know what you will do to her. Yamamoto has a long record of killing anything to prevent something that could be stopped if he just stepped in and did his job," said Kuroi.

"Kuroi, what are you trying to say?" asked Rukia.

"She has emotions. She has a brain. She has a heart. She has dreams and aspirations. I don't care if she's the Shinenju. I don't care if that Ganryu guy wants to capture her and use her to destroy the world. She is my friend and she's under my protection. If you want her, you're going to have to go through me. Senna, get out of here. I can deal with this," said Kuroi.

"You don't want to do this. You can't win," said Renji.

"A wise man once said that there are two types of battles. One to protect others and one for one's honor. I'm not fighting to win. I'm fighting to protect my friend and I won't fail," said Kuroi.

"If that is what you want, then let's do this. I can't disobey orders from Central 46," said Jushiro.

"I don't need you to," said Kuroi.

Kuroi pulls out his Substitute Soul Reaper badge from his pocket and taps it on his chest. His soul escapes his body and pulls out his Zanpakuto.

"Senna, get out of here. Don't look back and just keep on running until you find a place to hide," said Kuroi.

"But-," said Senna.

"Please. This is a request from a friend," said Kuroi.

Senna starts to run away. Kuroi and the other soul reapers get in their fighting stances. Before they can fight, the armored individuals appear in the sky. One of them has a weird contraption on their back. Hook-like objects shoot out of the contraption and hit the ground, causing a huge explosion. The soul reapers jump to avoid the explosion but are attacked by the armored goons. Kuroi turns his head and sees Senna being surrounded by Blanks.

"Not those again," said Kuroi.

Kuroi rockets towards Senna and tries to grab her, but the same giant man jumps down and Kuroi's forced to dodge the surprise attack.

"You again? Do you want to lose your head now?" asked Kuroi.

"You caught me off guard. You won't embarrass me like that again," said the giant man.

The giant man raises his stubs and Blanks dart towards them. The Blanks give him two new arms and his two chakram blades. The blades of the soul reaper and goon clash.

"You've gotten stronger since last night, but you won't win," said Kuroi.

"We'll see about that," said the giant man.

As the soul reapers and the armored warriors continue to fight, Senna runs away from Rukia. She escapes her gigai and jumps towards Ganryu.

"Senna, wait!" exclaimed Kuroi.

"Bring them to the twilight, Mirokumaru!" exclaimed Senna.

Senna's Zanpakuto enters its Shikai state. Senna tries to stab Ganryu, but he punches her in the stomach, seemingly knocking her out. Ganryu's armored goons fly into the sky to accompany their boss.

"There's no mistaking it. The armor that they wear is from a banished clan called the Ryodoji," said Jushiro.

"I haven't heard that name in a long time. We are from the clan of darkness. We are the Dark Ones," said Ganryu.

As he says this, the Blanks in the area explode and create a huge explosion. The distraction is good enough to help the Dark Ones escape, but Kuroi doesn't allow his enemies to escape. Kuroi jumps and rockets past the Dark Ones.

"Put Senna down if you don't want to die," said Kuroi.

"I don't think we will," said Ganryu.

"Well. You asked for it," said Kuroi.

Kuroi rockets towards the Dark Ones. The Dark Ones try to attack him, but he easily dodges them. He rockets towards Ganryu and tries to cut him in half, but he's stabbed in the stomach by Senna's Zanpakuto. Senna opens her eyes and sees her new friend stabbed by her blade.

"Kuroi!" exclaimed Senna.

Kuroi sticks his hand out for Senna to grab.

"Just grab my hand," said Kuroi weakly.

Senna tries to grab it, but Kuroi falls out of the sky before she can.

"Kuroi! No!" exclaimed Senna.

"Senna," said Kuroi weakly.

Kuroi tries to fly back up, but his injury won't allow it. He reaches out his hand knowing that he's nowhere close to saving his new friend.

"I'm sorry, Senna. I'm too weak to save you," thought Kuroi.