Years of slumber...

There was silence and serenity, a taste of paradise for an eternity of slumber, but something threatened this serenity, a loud 'BAM' coming from the outside of the small space where a motionless girl lies asleep.

She opened her eyes and saw only darkness, her senses dull and her thirst for something aggravating, how long has it been since she last moved and inch from this grave? She wanted to close her eyes, but the need to keep them open was as urgent as the burn she felt down her throat.

She pushed the darkness only then realizing that something heavy was placed on top of it, she pushed harder but years of slumber did her strength no good. She sighs in relief, at least her conviction on getting out wasn't as strong as she's imagined.

"Miss Claire." Someone cried from the outside where the darkness didn't reach. She did not respond to this plea. "Please wake up, the kingdom needs you." The word kingdom reminded her of some unspoken duty, it could be something from her previous form, the one she no longer remembers, the darkness took everything from her. "Miss Claire." The voice pleaded once more, the name unfamiliar to her, but she knew it was her, Claire...

She moved her lips trying not to crack them from dryness, she felt old and fragile, how long was her slumber, years, decades, centuries? She no longer knew which was which but she felt the need to respond to this plea.

"Will the darkness go away?" She asked, her voice small and catching it's own breath. "Yes" the voice responded from the outside.

She sighed resigned reaching for the darkness this time not pushing it, light formed from her palms, something which came as a surprise to her. The same time it did, dim blue flame came out of her right eye as if awakening her, she blasted the light which formed from her palms breaking the darkness and allowing light to enter her grave.

She sat up and looked around, hoping to see faces she knew, but the dust was overpowering her vision. Who was out there? Did she imagine the pleading voice or was there someone who wanted her back out there?

Kyouga was informed that there was peculiar mass of Spiritual Pressure which would lead him here. Kyouga walked into the cloud of dust that was fading away, he found himself facing Claire yet again. "It's been a very long time, Claire..." Kyouga said quietly to the now awakened "Sleeping Beauty" and he held out a hand towards her.

She didn't recognize the voice she heard from behind the cloud of dust, if not for the familiar spiritual pressure she would've leap away though it wasn't entirely necessary. She knew this voice... She was just about to say his name when she saw his hand held towards her, she took it without hesitation, like she knew he'd always know where she is, no matter how far the distance, no matter how long the time.

"You've changed." she accused as the cloud of dust slowly diminish. "You're hands, they seem larger, your voice as well."

"Everything has changed in the last century, Claire. Some might have believed that you were dead, but I knew you would be back. However, I will start living in Karakura and I want you to live a happy life away from the desert..." Kyouga said quietly before he hugged Claire. Kyouga really wanted them both to have a second chance to live semi-normal lives, and he wouldn't mind if she decided to come with him. Yet, that would have to be of her own choosing.

"A century?" she paused, unsure of how long she's been immobile, no wonder she felt weak. She couldn't remember her last memories, her last time awake, what had caused her to sleep for so long, she felt great stabbing pain across her chest as she tries, so she just stopped trying.

"I have no where to return to, don't I?" She asked, her tone unsure.

"I'm sure the people of your Kingdom would welcome you back in welcome arms. However, someone else is in charge of Las Noches now. Right now, I think you are safest if your enemies presume you dead. As for me, I'm going to be allied with a group of Shinigami with Hollow powers; they're good friends to me, and part of my family. I just want to be assured that you'll be safe." Kyouga said calmly as he let go of her. "I never told anyone, but you always reminded me of my Shinigami sister." Kyouga added quietly as if it was a very sensitive subject.

"Your sister?" Claire asked, this was the first she heard of a sister. Many theories ran through her head until she came to the only possible one. "You're human life sister I assume." Claire's imagination ran wild, on how this shinigami would look like as compared to Kyouga, do they look alike, think alike and the sort. "How can you stand being related to a shinigami? Is it hard?" she asked wondering if she could treat them the same as he does, she couldn't imagine being related to one, let alone stand next to them without wanting to harm them.

"My sister doesn't remember who I am, let alone the fact that I'm her brother. You see, when she was sent to the Soul Society, she lost all memories of her past life while I retained all of mine while I slowly became a Hollow. We have different mothers, but the same father. My mother was a Half-Demon, and I became one myself when my father impregnated her. My sister, Chiruka Minamoto, looks like the typical Japanese girl with long hair, and I love her very much even though she has no memory of me. I hear she's married to Hajime Yukimura of the Yukimura Clan." Kyouga said calmly and sadly as if he didn't like to talk about it often. "Your kindness and playfullness made me quite happy." Kyouga added with a small smile.

"I did." she meant to ask but it came out sounding like a statement, it felt like she lost her humor over the years, 'what happened to me' she thought, forcing a small smile not to make him feel awkward. She wanted to ask him what happened to her, but it felt like something that she had to find out for her own. "So someone took over Hueco Mundo." again, her question sounded more like a statement.

"Yes, he's pretending to be a Shinigami Captain so that he and the Espada following his will can take over the Seireitei. Of coarse, they are bound to fail at some rate. Claire, before you do anything, I highly advise you to eat so that you can regain your strength. At any rate, what do you plan to do now that you're awake?" Kyouga replied and asked calmly, intently awaiting her answer.

"I don't know yet." She said under her breath, feeling the sharps stabbing pain yet again. "Taking Hueco Mundo of a shinigami's hands is a long way down my list of priorities now." She explained her lack of enthusiasm, "I'm more interested in this world." she pointed out, knowing it's one of the reason for her waking. "You can feel it too right? He's making a move now. This world will soon be but over."

It took her half a second to open a garganta the size of a palm, she pulled something out, and it appeared to be her deck of cards. "Nothing looks appetizing enough." she said as she shuffled the cards seemingly looking for something to eat from her collection.

"He? Who are you talking about?" Kyouga asked in slight confusion. He was well aware that this world was in danger, but he didn't know the man she spoke of.

Claire shrugs crushing a card biting a cloud like substance in half. "You're supreme general." she chewed and swallowed. "He's impatient already. So I think he moved against Santa's will."

She didn't think she was giving too much information, just enough for his own sake. "Things area bout to happen, It would be wise not to get involved, but I think it's inevitable."

"I personally think it would be best to prepare the new generation of Spiritual Beings for what is going to come. These are dark times Claire, it might be best to make as many allies in this world as possible. If it's not too much trouble, will you come with me to Karakura Town?" Kyouga said and asked, hoping that she would take him up on his offer. Eventually, he'd have to reinstate contact with Ciel and figure out what's happening in Hell. "Claire, do you know how to contact Ciel?" he asked curiously.

Claire thought for a moment, of course she did, but would it be wise to do so at the time, she wondered. "He gave me this." she shuffled the cards and popped a card showing a blood colored golem which looked like a hell butterfly. "Tease." she crushed it and fed it her own blood. "What do we tell him?"

"Keep an eye on what's going on in Hell, and I need to know if a guy by the name of Afsheid still exists. If anything goes wrong on our end, we'll definitely need Ciel's guidance." Kyouga said calmly as he thought of a primary plan of preparation.

Claire didn't need to say a word as the tease flapped away into a garganta like portal. "So, were headed to karakura town then?" she asked, this time sure of what to do, for the mean time, she would accompany Kyouga, but she was still unsure of her alliance, after all, they're part of the reason why she lost her memories of a century ago.

Kyouga nodded, and opened a small Garganta for them to pass through. He still wasn't aware of his involvement in how Claire lost some of her memories, but Satan probably did something to her on purpose and left her where he just found her. Kyouga, however, had great faith in Ciel because he was always there when he was just a young Arrancar, and that was also when he first met Claire. It were some of these memories that he treasured the most.

Claire followed Kyouga silently, she wanted to know what he knew about her past, but she didnt want to ask. How odd was it that she knew only bits and pieces of it, as if the important parts were erased and the dull ones left for her to ponder over. It was angering, she was mad as hell, but she felt like doing nothing about it.