Disclaimer: Bleach and all related characters belong to Shonen Jump.

Time marched on, years having rolled by, and much had changed in the mortal world. Yet tucked away in a small corner of the world was simply a sign of renewal and rebirth.

Once there had been a quaint but charming town known as Fioritura. It had been home to many for hundreds of years but in the end it had been ravaged and pillaged by outsiders, left as nothing more than a burning ruin. Now, however, was the countryside dotted with homes. Where once had nothing but smoldering husks stood, a sign of deep-rooted corruption, now stood a bustling town that was a haven for those who sought a simple life.

Bernadetta Yannicelli was one such resident of Fioritura, too young to know of the town's past, only that it was the place she had known as her home since her birth not a decade earlier.

On this day had the young girl had slipped out of her home in the early hours of the morning, her parents still fast asleep. She had known that she should have woken them and asked if she could go visit someone she loved dearly but Bernadetta had felt in her heart that there was nothing to worry about. Like all children she had considered her home a place of peace, nothing more, nothing less.

Now, however, far from the cobblestone and brick buildings, Bernadetta was running through the long grass, tears streaming down her face. For now she understood that the tranquility of her home could be disrupted by a solitary force if it so chose.

Now Bernadetta knew true fear.

"Yes!" she heard a voice cry out from behind her, heavy footsteps tearing through the long grass behind her. "I love the thrill of the hunt! Run, kid! Run!"

Bernadetta did just that, not willing or able to so much as glance over her shoulder. She knew full well what the monster that was pursuing her looked like. Tall and gaunt, dark blue skin broken up by red markings, a tail hanging from its lower back. Yet it had been the stark white mask that the beast wore that had truly left Bernadetta wreathed in both terror and panic. It was inhuman in shape, crimson lights of death nestled within its sockets.

Bernadetta was unsure how but she had felt the creature's presence on the town road, the hair standing on end when it had approached. To the young girl in question it had made no sense, leaving her to cry and scream now, begging for salvation.

"Somebody!" she shouted, her legs at last giving out on her "Please help me!"

Bernadetta stumbled forward then, having lost her balance, and landed in a grassy knoll. She glanced over her shoulder in fear, seeing the monster slowly approaching still.

"That's it?" the beast asked, tilting its head slightly as its glowing eyes stared intently at Bernadetta. "How... unfortunate."

The monster began to lower itself then, crouching forward as its knees bent. It reached out with one of its hands as it approached, a talon pressing lightly against Bernadetta's face, directly beneath her right eye.

"Let's hear a scream."

Bernadetta closed her eyes then, the child unwilling to let her last moments be spent staring at such a cruel monster. She flooded her thoughts with those who cared for her and those she loved with all her heart and soul. One in particular came to mind then, leaving Bernadetta to wish she could have seen that person one last time.

She did not give the monster the satisfaction of a scream, Bernadetta instead strugging to find the courage to so much as speak the name of the one she adored. However, fear left her voice to fail her. "Ba- Bam- Ba-"

"What's that?" the monster hissed. "Speak up, kid! I can't hear you!"

Then there was a scream. It was not Bernadetta's, however. No, it was a shriek that very nearly pierced the heavens themself, an inhuman roar of agony.

The scream belonged to the monster itself.

Bernadetta forced herself to open her eyes and could see the monster creeping away from her. It was clutching at its shoulder, strange liquid bubbling forth as an arrow of blue light slowly faded away and left the wound to remain as it was.

"Just who the hell are you?" the monster roared, its eyes glancing up and over Bernadetta.

Bernadetta glanced over her shoulder then and saw to whom the beast had spoken to. There not ten feet away was a horse as white as snow. Sitting atop the steed was an individual, a woman, wrapped in a white cloak, a hood obscuring her face in shadow.

Despite the eerie sight, Bernadetta could sense peace radiating from the individual. She smiled slightly then, watching as the rider dismounted from the horse and began to walk forward.

"Fioritura is no place for hollows." The cloaked individual reached forward with her left arm, a sheathed blade grasped tightly by her gloved hand. The scabbard was held horizontally before the figure, her other hand reaching out to take hold of the blade's hilt.

The hollow recognized the blade well, a trace amount of fear paralyzing its body and mind. "A shinigami?"

"No." The figure remained unmoving, holding the sheathed blade before her still. "Mine is a lineage that offers nothing but destruction for your kind. Count yourself fortunate that this is not my blade."

The hollow moved forward then, rage overwhelming its sense of sanity. It lunged for the young girl, intent on using her for a hostage. Yet all the while it kept an eye on the hooded individual, ready for any move she might make.

Yet when the person disappeared completely from sight was the monster left bewildered. Then did the cloaked individual appear as if from thin air, standing before Bernadetta, Her sudden movement having left the hollow in nothing but a state of shock.

Then, without another word, the hooded woman simply unsheathed her sword in less time than it took to blink an eye. The blade slashed across the hollow's mask, a scream echoing forth.

"What... are you?" the creature asked as it began to fade from view.

The cloaked individual offered nothing in return, simply watching as the hollow disintegrated, its reishi floating upwards to the sky.

Bernadetta watched as well, the young girl finding the sight oddly peaceful. Then did she return her gaze at the cloaked one before her, knowing what she had to do.

"Thank you," she said softly.

The hooded individual said nothing at first, simply sheathing the katana and withdrawing the weapon back into her cloak. Then did she motion towards her steed, the horse tentatively moving closer.

The woman turned around then and reached for her hood, pulling it down to over her shoulders. Long gray hair spilled out, an aged but serene face looking down at Bernadetta. "Hey, kiddo."

The young girl felt her breath catch in her throat for a moment, recognizing her savior in an instant. "Grandma Bambi?"

Bambietta knelt down then, helping her granddaughter to stand while never letting her stern expression falter. "Bernadetta, are you all right?"

"Yes, I..." Bernadetta began to cry then, the events she had just experienced at last catching up with her. "I was so scared!"

The young girl clutched at her grandmother's shoulder, sobbing against her cloak as she did so. Bambietta simply reached out with her right hand then, slowly moving it through Bernadetta s long dark hair.

"It's all right. Grandma will always be here for you; I promise." Bambietta let her granddaughter continue to quietly cry, holding her tight all the same. Then did the aged quincy speak again, her voice soft and comforting. "May I ask why you're out here by yourself?"

"I just wanted to see you!" Bernadetta cried out as she pulled away and looked up at her grandmother. "So I... kind of..."

"You didn't tell your parents where you were going?"

"Momma and Poppa were still asleep, so... no, I didn't."

Bambietta sighed then as she stood up. She slipped her hands underneath her granddaughter s arms and gently lifted Bernadetta up on to her horse's back. "Come on then, we better go let them know you're all right."

"Grandma Bambi?" Bernadetta said as the older woman stepped up on the horse as well. "Will you stay over for breakfast?"

Bambietta felt her granddaughter hold on to her torso tightly then, all the while the quincy holding the reigns of her steed. She commanded the horse to move forward then. "Yes, I suppose I could!"

"Yay!" was all Bernadetta could reply with them, her face carrying a wide smile, as if the unfortunate events with the hollow had never occurred.

Decades before had there been a young girl raised by loving parents. In fire and despair had she been reborn a monster, Stern Ritter E. The young girl had grown up then, allowing her emotions to darken her soul, just as Yhwach's blood had poisoned her own with cruelty. In the end had her choices led her to a fate worse than death, yet salvation had come to her under the strangest of forms. The years had rolled on, confusion and sorrow shifting and transforming. The once young girl had grown old, yet she felt nothing but true peace within her once troubled soul.

Bambietta herself smiled, glancing down at the future, at her granddaughter. "Let's go home."