Memories of Happiness and Sadness

The afternoon sun shines on the entirety of Karakura Town. Usually, on a hot July day like today, kids hang out in their rooms, cooled by air conditioning or they can cool off at the community pool, but Kuroi does not get this time to relax. He still has a long road to becoming a soul reaper. The younger Kuroi holds the hilt of his Zanpakuto tightly as he charges at his father. His father easily dodges the fast, but surprisingly strong strikes. Aoi continues to dodge until he's had enough and just smacks the blade out of his hand.

"You're slowly improving, but you're still weak. Grab your blade and let's continue," said Aoi.

"It's too hot for this," said Kuroi.

"Are you complaining? I could easily make your training a living hell, but I'm going easy on you because you're just a boy, so get up and let's continue," said Aoi.

"Can we take a break? I'm covered in sweat," said Kuroi.

"Break? We've only been sparring for four hours. Is your stamina that low?" said Aoi.

"I'm just a kid," said Kuroi.

"Fine. Let's go and take a walk. Some fresh air should put you in a better mood," said Aoi.

Aoi and Kuroi drop their Zanpakutos and exit the dojo. They start to walk down the surprisingly empty street.

"Dad, why did you become a soul reaper?" asked Kuroi.

"Well, I first started training with Yamamoto because he adopted me. Then, I only cared about slaying Hollows and cool magical swords. I didn't care about protecting others. Then, I got older and learned a very valuable lesson," said Aoi.

"What was that valuable lesson?" asked Kuroi.

"Heroes save people no matter what. If you're only saving people for fame or glory or money, you're not a hero. You're a fake," said Aoi.

"What if you fail to save people even if you tried your hardest to save them?" asked Kuroi.

"Failing is very common. Just because you fail once or twice or a hundred times doesn't make you a failure. It just makes you a person who won't let mistakes stop them from achieving your goals. I have failed many times, but I won't let those roadblocks stop me from becoming the strongest that I can become," said Aoi.

"What if you fail others?" asked Kuroi.

"Try your hardest to not fail them again. If you do end up failing them, make sure you try your hardest to turn your failure into a success. If you refuse to right your wrongs, you're nothing better than the people who intentionally hurt others," said Aoi.

Back in the present day, Kuroi slowly opens his eyes and sees Orihime healing him. He looks around and sees his friends standing around him.

"He's awake," said Orihime.

"Where's Senna?" asked Kuroi.

"She was taken by the Dark Ones," said Kisuke.

"What do you mean? There were three squad captains there. How did no one save her?" said Kuroi.

"They are stronger than they look. They took on three squad captains and escaped," said Kisuke.

"Senna is in their clutches because no one trusted me to protect her. I could've easily dealt with them by myself, but Central 46 and Yamamoto couldn't trust a Substitute Soul Reaper. I've trained with one of the strongest soul reapers to ever live for five years and I've been training every day since, but I'm not strong enough. Senna is going to be used as a weapon to kill everyone and we're here chilling in a shop. We have to go save her," said Kuroi.

"We can't just go and save her. You were severely injured a few minutes ago. You're in no shape to fight," said Rukia.

"They caught me off guard last time. Now, I know how they fight. I can save her by myself," said Kuroi.

Kuroi starts to sit up. He stands up and walks to the door.

"It would be smarter and easier if you allowed us to help you," said Uryu.

"I failed her. It's my responsibility to right my wrongs. If I don't, I'm nothing better than Aizen," said Kuroi.

Kuroi opens the door. He flash steps to the next door and opens it. He then flash steps towards the area where the festival was held. He reaches it in only a minute and sees a large number of police officers swarming the area. He walks into the area and looks at a box. A red ribbon lays on it. Kuroi walks up to the box and grabs the red ribbon.

"This is her's. It must have fallen off during the battle. I sense nothing else here, so they must have escaped somewhere else. There are many places in Karakura Town that they could have escaped. It will take all day to investigate every location. Think, Kuroi think," said Kuroi.

Kuroi starts to rub his forehead. He continues to stand still and think until he remembers something that Senna told him.

"When I'm up high, things that seem confusing become clearer. What could that mean? Was she leaving me a clue?" said Kuroi.

Kuroi turns his head and sees the Ferris Wheel on the horizon. He stares at the car at the very top of the Ferris Wheel.

"She wanted to get on the Ferris Wheel so bad, but she was only here for a day. Maybe the Ferris Wheel can help me continue my investigation," said Kuroi.

Kuroi proceeds to flash step towards the Ferris Wheel. He reaches the Ferris Wheel in a few minutes and jumps. He starts to fly to the top car and grabs it. He pulls himself up and starts to analyze the landscape of the city. He continues to look until he sees the entrance to the Valley of Screams in the river under the bridge.

"There it is. Senna, here I come," said Kuroi.

Kuroi jumps off the car and rockets towards the entrance. He gets to the entrance and dives into it, leaving a large splash behind him. He rockets towards a land formation and safely lands on it.

"I thought that this place would look more impressive. So, where is Senna?" said Kuroi.

Senna conveniently screams in pain. Kuroi hears it and immediately flash steps towards his friend. He reaches her and sees that white vine-like tentacles cover her.

"Burn this world to ashes, Kurayami Nokiribi," said Kuroi.

Kuroi's Zanpakuto enters its Shikai state. He raises his blade and black flames circle his blade.

"Jigoku Piasa," said Kuroi.

Kuroi brings his blade down and a hell cutter is launched at the tentacles. It hits them and cuts them in half. The Dark Ones notice this and prepare to fight.

"It looks like we have a guest," said Ganryu.

"Senna! I'm going to save you and we're going to have the best fun ever!" exclaimed Kuroi.

"You're very confident, but that won't help you save her. All the pain that she is experiencing is on you," said Ganryu.

"What did you just say?" asked Kuroi.

"Are you deaf or something? All the pain that she is experiencing is because of you," said Ganryu.

"You hurt her, so you can achieve your malicious goals. You're all going to die for that," said Kuroi.

"Do you believe that you can beat us all?" asked Ganryu.

"I don't believe that. I will kill all of you. Second Ember: Kuchiku," said Kuroi.

Black flame starts to emanate from the black blade.

Kuroi!" exclaimed Senna.

The white tentacles start to engulf the girl once again.

"Hold on! I'll deal with these guys in seconds!" exclaimed Kuroi.

Kuroi instantly darts towards the Dark Ones and starts to chop through them like their meats at a butcher shop. He first goes after the giant man. He cuts him in half and his body turns into ash. He then goes and chops the tech guy's head off and his body turns to ash. He then rockets towards the female and stabs her in the stomach. Her body burns up and turns into ash. He then turns and darts towards the large man with a grey veil and cuts him diagonally. His body turns into ash. He then appears behind the small man and stabs him in the back. His body also turns into ash. Kuroi turns his sights to Ganryu and darts towards him. He tries to slash him, but Ganryu is barely able to block the attack.

"You look shocked. I told you that this would happen," said Kuroi.

"You killed my friends. I won't let you leave alive," said Ganryu.

"You're a fool," said Kuroi.

Kuroi destroys Ganryu's blade and cuts him in half. Ganryu's body turns into ash. Kuroi turns around and sees Senna and the white tentacles forming into a tree. Kuroi acts quickly and launches a Jigoku Piasa at the tentacles. It makes contact and slows down the growth of the tentacle tree. Kuroi grabs Senna and flies away from the tentacles.

"Why are you so quiet? You love to talk," said Kuroi.

"Shut your big mouth," said Senna.

Kuroi darts towards the entrance of the Valley of Screams and exits the doomed dimension. They angelically rise through the water and see that their friends stand on the bridge in front of them. They land softly on the bridge.

"Why are you here?" asked Kuroi.

"We kind of followed you here if you needed backup," said Kisuke.

"I said I didn't need any help. As you can see, they weren't even a threat to me," said Kuroi.

"Even though it would have been smarter to allow the rest of us to help, you did good and successfully saved Senna. Good job," said Uryu.

Kuroi turns his head and looks at Senna staring at the entrance to the Valley of Screams.

"Senna, I found your ribbon. It's a little dirty, but I can clean it off," said Kuroi.

Senna doesn't respond. Before Kuroi can ask any more questions, a large gust of wind hits the bridge and knocks over a couple people.

"What was that?" asked Orihime.

"It's not stopping. This is going to be troublesome," said Kisuke.

Senna hops off the bridge and flies over the entrance. Kuroi joins her in the sky.

"What's going on?" asked Kuroi.

Senna responds by grabbing him by his shihakusho.

"I'm scared," said Senna.

"Don't be scared, Senna. We'll figure out how to deal with this," said Kuroi.

"I won't allow it. I can't allow a beautiful world like this to be destroyed. There are too many beautiful people. I can't allow your homeworld to be destroyed, Kuroi. The Blanks are still near and I'm not afraid of them anymore. If I give them their memories back, they can finally rest in peace," said Senna.

"Senna, you'll die if you do that. I can't allow you to sacrifice yourself. It's my job to protect this town. I can't let an innocent girl like yourself die when I'm still here breathing," said Kuroi.

"If this world was to be destroyed, then you would no longer exist. I can't imagine a world without you," said Senna.

Senna starts to shine.

"Senna, you can't do this!" exclaimed Kuroi.

"I could never let you die instead of me!" exclaimed Senna.

A twister engulfs Senna. Kuroi tries to grab her, but the twister blocks his arms.

"Senna! Senna!" exclaimed Kuroi.

As Senna returns the memories to all of the Blanks, the Valley of Screams is destroyed. Senna falls out of the sky and is caught by Kuroi before she touches the ground.

"Kuroi," said Senna.

"You'll be fine. I'll take you to the hospital and they'll patch you up," said Kuroi.

"After giving the Blanks their memories back, I will cease to exist," said Senna.

"Don't give up, Senna. I can bring you to Orihime or Unohana. They're the best healers I know. I won't let you die before you find out who you are," said Senna.

"Kuroi, can I ask for a favor?" asked Senna.

"What do you want?" asked Kuroi.

"Can you take me to see my parents? They're in the graveyard that we were in yesterday," said Senna.

"How do you know that they are your parents?" asked Kuroi.

"I know that I was alive. I was married and I suffered hardships. I don't know which memories were mine, but I know that I existed," said Senna.

Kuroi rockets towards the graveyard. He reaches it in seconds and quickly opens the door. He slowly walks over to a gravestone in the corner of the graveyard.

"Here they are," said Kuroi.

Senna opens her eyes and tries to read the graveyard, but her vision is blurred.

"Can you read me their names? My vision is blurred and I can't see well," said Senna.

"Their names were Kazuo Sato and Manabu Sato," said Kuroi.

"Is my name there?" asked Senna.

"Why wouldn't it be? Parents would love to rest in peace with their children," said Kuroi.

Senna starts to cry tears of joy. Kuroi joins in the crying session, but he cries tears of sadness.

"I'm so happy," said Senna.

"Why can you be so happy? I failed to save you in time and now you will cease to exist. I went to right my wrongs, but I still ended up failing. I'm no hero," said Kuroi.

"You're my hero, Kuroi. I may not exist after today, but you saved your world. You helped me find my family and prove my existence. I can't be angry at you," said Senna.

"Thank you for the fun times. Even though I only knew you for two days, we had a connection. I'll miss you," said Kuroi.

"But, I will fade away from everyone's memories. No matter what, no one will remember that I existed. Will you remember me?" said Senna.

"I'll never forget you. I'll come to talk to you every day if I have to. Just promise that you'll listen wherever you go," said Kuroi.

"I promise," said Senna.

Senna starts to fade away.

"Goodbye, Kuroi. I wish that we could've been together longer, but I'll remember our time together," said Senna.

"Goodbye, Senna," said Kuroi.

A few seconds pass and Senna finally fades out of existence. Kuroi falls to his knees as tears flow down his face.

"I'm sorry Mr. and Mrs. Sato. I failed to save your daughter and now she doesn't even exist. Please don't be mad at me. I tried and I failed once again. I don't know if you will ever be able to see your daughter again, but she's amazing. She's nice, energetic, and compassionate. She would've made an amazing wife. I don't know if you're listening Soul King, but please listen to the request of a man who wants to save a soul. Please, save Senna Sato. She doesn't deserve to face this fate. Reincarnate her or send her to find her family in the Soul Society. I can't live with myself knowing that it's my fault that an innocent girl died because of my failure, so please erase her fate and give it to me if need be. I deserve this fate, not her. Hopefully, you care," said Kuroi.

"What are you doing?" asked a girl.

Kuroi looks up and sees a girl that resembles the girl that had just faded away.

"Senna?" asked Kuroi.

"Senna? Did you know my grandmother? You were just crying and praying to this Soul King guy," said Senna's granddaughter.

"She was the nicest woman that you would ever meet. She was the light that brightened the dark room of sadness. She will be missed," said Kuroi.

"Do you go to Karakura High?" asked Senna.

"Yeah. I guess that you go there too," said Kuroi.

"I just transferred at the start of the year. You probably didn't pay attention to me," said Senna's granddaughter.

"I will now. We should meet up later. You seem cool," said Kuroi.

"We just met today. How do you know that?" said Senna's granddaughter.

"It runs in the family," said Kuroi.

Kuroi stands up and wipes his eyes. He takes out the ribbon and hands it to Senna's granddaughter.

"It was your grandmother's. I believe that you deserve it. You are family after all," said Kuroi.

Kuroi starts to walk away, but he stops.

"What's your name?" asked Kuroi.

"Senna. I was named after my grandmother," said Senna.

Kuroi starts to smile.

"Cool name," said Kuroi.