MP: Well, this is it. This is the final installment for Flesh Failures, and it's been such an amazing experience to have with everyone who has read and shared their opinions. I'd like to write more Bleach in the future, and have had a few ideas running around in my head that will need consideration. A QUICK NOTE FOR THIS CHAPTER: Takeshi probably looks around eleven at this point; however he's been aging like a regular shinigami, making this maybe 100 years after the last chapter.

Thank you to everyone you read/reviewed/subscribed/favorite and the like! Your opinions are very important to me, and I hope you've enjoyed the ride as much as I have. Disclaim me.

Cee: MissPessimist does not own one single piece of the city, county, and state of Bleach. That's all Kubo. Lyrics used are taken from Everlong by The Foo Fighters.

MP: Story ends now.

XXX

"Hello, I've waited here for you everlong. Tonight I throw myself into... And out of the red, out of her head, she sang…"

Sleep burned between his eyes…he was drowning…floating…there was something dark below him…

I see you

And now it was speaking to him.

You are still so young

I'm not young, he thought back.

Still so young

He reached a hand slowly down towards the black mass floating below him, aching to know that form.

But you are ready

His searching fingers encountered heat. Scorching heat that devoured his fingertips and spread up his arm, and in the flashes of pain behind his eyes he saw the form clearly than ever before.

You are ready

"…aka…"

A voice calling his name, softly, urgently, and a small hand shaking at his arm.

"Taka…Taka-nii…"

A bright green eye inched open, the world blurry and slow as he attempted to blink it clear again. He turned his head, freeing the right side of his face from the confines of his pillow, and letting his blue eye crack open to join his green one. With two eyes he could clearly see the world again.

He took in his room; small, almost empty. A small dresser shoved by his right wall, beneath his open window, where the light of the very early morning was softy filtering in, and in the left corner where an intimidating pile of worn, very old looking books was towering. And to the other side where another mattress was shoved against the wall, sheets rumpled from where they had been slept in.

And in front of him, where his sister had crawled into his bed, and was currently shaking him awake.

"Takeshi, get up!" she hissed, giving him another shake.

"What time is it?" he mumbled.

"The sun just came up, but that doesn't matter because you have to come on!"

He sat up, running a hand through his hair. It was long now, almost to his shoulders, and luckily it hadn't tangled that much. "It's too early. Go back to bed, Hina."

Hina frowned deeply, crawling closer to speak a bit louder, her long honey colored hair falling down her shoulders as she moved. "But there's something out there."

Takeshi frowned back at her. "What kind of something?"

"Something in the ground, it wasn't there last night when I came in" Hina whispered back anxiously, her olive green eyes swirling with excitement. "I tried pulling it out, but it's stuck pretty fast."

"Izuru told you you weren't allowed to go outside before the sun was up anymore, you know that" Takeshi reprimanded.

"Yeah, but this is important."

The older boy groaned, looking towards his window and seeing a few red rays of sunlight beginning to appear. Sighing he began to fight his way from beneath his blankets, letting Hina sink back on her heels as he moved. "I'll go take a look. But we have to be fast or else they'll know we were out."

"You know it's stupid" Hina mumbled, rolling her eyes. "There are almost never any hollows in this area."

"Yeah, almost dummy" Takeshi said, pulling his yukata on grumpily. "You still shouldn't go out in the dark by yourself."

Hina huffed and picked at her nails. "It's not like I go very far, just the trees."

"And it's dangerous out there, you know people go in there and never come back out?"

"I came out, though" Hina reminded him with a smile.

Takeshi smiled back as he bent to search for his shoes. It would be hard to forget the day Hina appeared from out of the trees; it wasn't all that long ago as he thought about it, maybe twenty years ago. Twenty years when Takeshi had been captivated by the small girl that had wandered onto their doorstep, barefoot and barely able to speak. And of course Gin had been only too delighted to invite her into their little family, triumphant that he'd at long last gotten a girl.

"You're the exception" Takeshi shook his head, giving up his search for his shoes. "They're gone again."

"Izuru is going to be mad at yooou" Hina teased as she turned to walk out of the room, sticking her tongue out at him.

Takeshi glowered at the space his sister had disappeared from, and quickly followed after her. As he entered the short hallway, he turned and glanced at the room next to his, ensuring that the door to his parents room was still shut, which it was as he took care to walk past it as quietly as possible.

Hina stood in the open doorway, beyond the small room in which they ate and conversed usually. She gestured to him impatiently, almost bouncing up and down. "Will you hurry?"

He quickly made his way to her, pulling her hair as he ran past her and outside. Hina let out an indignant squeak as she began to chase after him in the early morning light, though his longer legs had already carried him far ahead of her. The grass was cold and wet with the morning dew as they ran towards the expanse of trees that stood not a long ways away from the house; dark and tall with thick branches.

Takeshi halted as they reached the forest, holding out an arm to catch Hina as she barreled into his side. "Where is it, you said?"

Catching her breath, Hina licked her lips slightly. "It wasn't that far in, just down there" she said, nodding towards a small dip in the landscape.

Frowning in curiosity, Takeshi cautiously made his way down towards it, his wet feet sliding slightly on the sloped ground. Grasping onto trees or balance, Takeshi craned his neck to try and glimpse what lay there, but found it impossible. He heard Hina beginning to make her way down behind him. "Do you know what it is, Hina?"

"No, not at all" Hina answered, sliding along easily, balancing with outstretched arms. "It looked sort of familiar but-WAH!" she shrieked, losing her balance falling to slip down the small slope, crashing into her brother and sending them both falling to the bottom.

Takeshi groaned, feeling sticks scraping his knees. "That's why you hold onto something, you klutz. We'll be lucky if you didn't wake Gin and Izuru up."

"They're sleeping like rocks, I'm sure of it" Hina said irritably. "Now will you get off of me?"

Scrambling up, Takeshi held out a hand to help her up. Looking at his hand distastefully, Hina stood up herself and brushed off. "It was over there" she looked towards the dip, and Takeshi turned to see.

Sure enough, there was something sticking out just inside of the slope, stuck in the wet ground. He approached it warily, trying to guess what it might be. It was long, cylindrical and thick, what looked to be dark leather banded around it in a series of V's, expanding up and stopping at a rounded bottom.

"Do you know what it is?" Hina asked, coming up behind him and looking down at the object curiously.

"No. But it looks familiar" he replied, bending down to observe the object more carefully. It was stuck deep into the ground, but at an angle towards him, as though it had been waiting for him to find it. He saw that at the other end, nestled in soil, was a circular metal rim keeping the thing from fully sinking into the ground. "You said you tried pulling it out?"

"Yeah, but it wouldn't budge."

"Hm" Takeshi grunted thoughtfully. He looked at the object carefully again, noticing how it was devoid of any dirt and how the metal at the bottom and the top shined so brightly. He couldn't fathom the feeling blossoming in his chest or this thing, like an itch he couldn't begin to scratch. His hands ached to touch it, as though they had been waiting 100 years for this object to arrive.

Almost as though they had been made to hold this thing.

Tentatively, Takeshi reached out a hand and grasped the leather of this object, near the middle. And as his other hand reached to join its partner, he felt a throb in his veins, and beautiful warmth in his blood.

Both hands firmly joined, Takeshi pulled.

The thing gave easily, slipping out of the soft, wet earth to reveal a blade.

Caked in dirt, Takeshi could still see its shine, and the thickness of it. It was wide and thin, falling down into a sharpened, deadly point at the end of a deep curve.

He knew at once where he had seen this thing before.

Only…this one was different. Wider, more curved.

But this one. This one was…special. He felt its heat in his palms as his unskilled hands held it away from the ground, the blade thrumming with power.

"Is that a-"

"Yeah" Takeshi nodded, almost dazed. "I think it is."

"What's it doing out here? And why wasn't it here last night?" Hina questioned, coming up to stand beside him and looking at the blade warily.

"I don't know" Takeshi murmured, his eyes still caught on the light of the sword.

Hina frowned, disliking the gleam appearing in her brothers dual colored eyes. "Well…what should we do with it?"

Takeshi smiled. "I'm keeping it."

Hina laughed. "You're not serious. There's no way you could sneak it in, and absolutely no way that Gin and Izuru would let you keep it."

"Who says they have to know?" Takeshi smiled mischievously, lowering the sword and letting it touch the ground. "C'mon," he said, starting to trek back up the hill, the point of the sword tracing the ground. "I'll hide it in my room, they'll never know."

Sighing, Hina followed after him. "They'll know, they always do. Or you'll get so scared they will that you'll just tell them, like usual."

"Shut up or I'll push you back down the hill" Takeshi tossed over his shoulder, reaching the top of the hill and setting off at a loose run for the side of the small house.

"Taka, wait!" Hina called after him, tripping herself over the edge of the hill and beginning to clumsily run after him. "Wait for me!"

Takeshi had never felt energy like this before. He felt like he could run around the world, or jump all the way into the sky. As long as he had this sword in hand he could do anything.

He reached the front of the house, quickly circling around to reach the side. His window was open not three feet from the ground, later, once he had a moment, he could just reach out and bring the sword inside. Carefully setting it to rest against the wall, Takeshi reluctantly let go of the hilt, already feeling the absence of heat from his palms.

Hina crashed into his side with a small 'oomph', sending him careening to the ground. "Don't run away from me!"

"Stop crashing into me!" Takeshi retorted indignantly, standing and moving to push back at her. "You do not feel as small as you are!"

Hina evaded his pushing hands and instead ran from the side of the house and back to the front. "Don't say things that aren't true you scarecrow!"

Takeshi raced after her, intending to crash himself into her as well, before they were both stopped by a voice from the doorway.

"Nee, what are you two doin' there?"

They looked up immediately to see Gin's tall, thin frame filling the doorway. Smiling down at them in his usual fashion, he stepped forward and into the morning sun, which had fully risen. As the sun lit up and bounced off of his silver tresses, Gin smiled wider.

"Got nothin' to say for yourselves, huh?"

"We weren't doing anything, just running around" Hina answered innocently.

"Just runnin', eh?" Gin asked, stopping to stand right in front of them. "How long ya been runnin'?"

"Uh…" Takeshi's mind was a blank.

"And how far ya been runnin'?"

"We didn't run far at all, just around the house" Hina defended. "Honest."

Gin laughed softly and bent down to be eye-level with the girl. "You'll make a great liar someday, Hina-chan" he reached out his arm and easily swept her up and slung her over his shoulder. "But today ain't that day."

Takeshi attempted to dodge the arm that reached for him, but found himself flying and braced on his father's other shoulder.

"Put me down!" Hina was crying indignantly. "I didn't even do anything this time!"

"Yeah yeah" Gin smiled, carrying them back into the house, dropping them to the ground in front of the small table that was in the process of being set. "Found 'em!" he called into the miniscule kitchen adjacent to the room.

Izuru appeared from the kitchen, holding few dishes in his pale hands, and gave the child pile a disapproving look. "Hina, you promised."

"I know" the girl groaned, pushing her brother off of her. "I lied."

Frowning, the blond began setting their breakfast on the table. "You can stay inside today, in that case."

Hina's mouth gaped. "That's not fair!"

"When we tell you not to do something we expect you not to do it" Izuru said, brushing his hair away from his face. "Takeshi, sit up straight."

"But it's my birthday week" Hina whined, leaning her torso over the table urgently, her hair nearly dipping their ends into her tea.

"Ain't no such thing as a birthday week, kido" Gin chuckled, settling himself down beside Takeshi, who had straightened up but had placed his elbows on the table.

"There is too, and it means you can't punish me!"

Izuru sighed as he seated himself between his children and took a sip of his tea. "You get one birthday, June 3rd, and that's it. Now eat your breakfast."

Slumping back in her seat, Hina pouted at her plate.

Gin laughed. "Ya look kinda like a fish with that face. Maybe we oughta cook you up and eat you instead."

"We'd probably all get sick" Takeshi said in between mouthfuls of rice and fish.

XXX

Something was off.

Izuru sensed it almost as soon as he opened his eyes that morning. There was a strange energy in the air, the likes of which hadn't been felt in his house for over 100 years. Not since he and Gin had been drained of their power had reiatsu thrummed in his walls like this.

He had looked at his son at the table that morning and seen it in his eyes. That the sleeping giant had been awoken, that power had finally been detected in his son's young heart.

His son. Who was still so young, and yet was already full to bursting with reiatsu.

So full of it that they had been having more and more encounters with hollows in the woods, coming closer and closer to the house. And yet they were still years away from having the captains come.

Another condition of their banishment had been that upon his physical arrival at 18, Takeshi would have reiatsu restrictors placed on him, thus ensuring that any power he had would never reach the surface.

Chuckling darkly, Izuru thought of how shocked they'd be when they saw they were 90 years too late.

"What's so funny?" Hina asked dejectedly beside him, standing on a stool as she dried the breakfast dishes Izuru handed to her. "Taka sneeze or something?"

Smiling, Izuru lowered his gaze from the window, where he had been watching his son read in the sunlight. "No, just thinking."

"Oh" Hina shrugged, looking at her reflection in a spoon. "Izuru?"

"Yes?"

"Do you remember the box in your room?"

Izuru shook his head and looked down at his daughter, who stared up at him with resolve on her gently freckled face. "You've asked those questions before. You're getting lazy, Hina."

"Yeah, but I forgot" Hina excused, taking up a bowl and beginning to dry it. "What did you say the sword in your box was called?"

"A zanpakto" Izuru replied, running another bowl under the water.

"And why do you have one again?"

He handed her the wet bowl, and she set the half dry one down and began to dry that one. "To keep hollows away."

Hina rolled her eyes. "Yeah, but why? Only shinigami have swords."

"That's not true, I have one."

The girl huffed. "Well how did you get one?"

Izuru turned to her, arching an eyebrow. "You're awfully interested in swords today."

"Well, I don't know anything about them" Hina said, setting the now dry bowl down and beginning to finish drying its partner. "So how did you get yours?"

Izuru sighed and resumed washing. "In school."

"Will I get one if I go to school?"

"Certainly not."

"Why not?" Hina pried further.

"Because my school was very different from any school you'll ever go to. Okay?" Izuru answered impatiently, handing her a plate.

"Okay…but…so you didn't just find it?"

Izuru turned off the water and turned to fully face the small girl. "You are acting very suspicious today, young lady" he bent down to be eye level with her. "What's happening?"

"Honestly?" Hina asked sheepishly.

"Do you think you could be?"

"Weell, I'm kinda trying to annoy you so maybe you'd let me go outside" Hina answered, twisting the sash of her gray yukata between her hands.

Izuru looked at her skeptically for a few moments, before letting his forehead drop to touch hers briefly before straightening up again. "Well it worked, go bug your brother."

Grinning, Hina leaped down from her stool and sped out of the kitchen with a quick "Thank you!" before running out the door.

Laughing softly, Izuru turned to the window just in time to see Hina barrel into Takeshi, sending him crashing to the floor with her on top of him.

"What's funny, here?" a voice asked as two arms came up behind him to pull him back into a familiar chest.

Izuru sighed happily as Gin's head came beside his. "The kids."

"No surprise there" Gin said, his grin widening as he turned his face to nuzzle Izuru's hair. "I smell ya thinkin', Ru."

Placing his palms over Gin's own, Izuru nodded. "I'm worried."

"No surprise there" Gin teased. "What about this time?"

"Takeshi" Izuru turned his head to look at Gin with a furrowed brow. "Can you feel it? He's changed."

Gin nodded back solemnly. "I felt it this mornin', was waitin' for ya to bring it up."

"He's so…I can feel how powerful he is already. It's not right for it to be coming this early, he's too young; the restrictor won't be put on for another 90 years."

"Yeah, and the hollows already smell 'im" Gin frowned. "Ya think maybe we oughta go somewhere else for a while?"

Izuru shook his head. "I can't imagine it would help, there will always be more. I just wish they would stay out of the woods, that's dangerous."

"Eh, it's mainly Hina doin' it. She'll be alright; they can't smell her good yet."

"But she's growing too, Gin" Izuru said fretfully. "What happens when they're both old enough to realize what they have?"

"Even if they do, it ain't gonna matter. Not allowed in" Gin reminded the blond, rubbing their noses together. "Ya worry too much, y'know. Thought I saw a gray hair on your pillow this morning."

"Fairly certain that was one of yours" Izuru smiled, pushing him back gently and turning to face his lover properly. "Old man" he teased, before leaning up to kiss the silver haired man.

Gin pulled the blond closer, his hand going up to curl up in Izuru's hair. "I think I'll marry ya someday, Izuru."

Izuru smiled against Gin's lips. "We're getting too old for that, Gin. After two kids, all of that mushy stuff can take a jump."

"Thought ya liked mushy stuff."

"Only for breakfast."

Gin grinned, and pulled Izuru away from the window and started out of the kitchen. "Let's go outside. You're lookin' a little pale, there, blondie."

Laughing, Izuru let himself be pulled towards the door. "Some things never change."

Smiling together, they walked out the door and into the sunlight to watch their children run together, crushing grass and flowers beneath their bare feet.

XXX

He drowned again.

I see you

I see you, too.

Takeshi's hand unconsciously went beneath his mattress, his fingers curling around the warm hilt of his blade.

It is time