The story of the twins is long and complex.

But hopefully by the end of this report to able to see exactly what it is that makes these characters special to me. And, if you give me an hour or two of your time, I hope theyll become something special to you, as well.

The Kilat
Our story begins thousands of years before the birth of the Sugata. The mysterious organization known as the Kilat have existed since ancient times for the sole purpose of freeing humanity from the clutches of the spiritual worlds. Whether they are shinigami or hollow, the Kilat see no difference in the damages done by either race and believes humanity can only achieve a new stage of enlightenment by freeing themselves from the spirit worlds clutches. Unbeknownst to the founders of the Kolat Alliance, their organization is actually derived from an ancient conspiracy that is using them for their own nefarious purposes. But whereas the Kolat think themselves guardians, servants and protectors of the spiritual world, the Kilats ultimate goal is the reverse: the complete separation of mankind from the spiritual world and inevitable destruction of the karmic cycle. The organization is said to have been created by a merchant over 4,000 years ago whose town was destroyed in an act of divine wrath--its citizens turned

to stone and burnt into piles of brimstone and ashes. He alone survived--clinging to a white crystal shard he had obtained while on his journeys. Swearing vengeance against heaven himself he went off to seek like minded individuals. The organization itself wasnt named until around 200 years after its founders death. The name it uses now, Kolat, is but a bastardized variation of the original Kilat, or Way of Kishi. Some stick to a bastardization of the Kolat, using the term Qolat. Many of its members still use the name Kilat. The ones who were inspired to name The Kolat Alliance such were done so after hearing the name form an enraged spirit who was hunting down a rogue shinigami who had inadvertently become a Servant of the Kilat. The Kilat is divided into ten distinct sects lead by ten Masters. Each sect works so independently from one another that its not uncommon for the masters to barely have even the slightest clue as to who one another are-communicating only via the Onis Eye. Yet despite their fragmentation the Qilat still recognize their unity via their ultimate goal and will support and aid one another at all costs. Every agent of the Kilat is referred to by their superiors as a Servant. Each servant is under the command of an oyabun, who is in turn under the command of a specific Master. Each Master has his own methods of identifying himself to his servants while concealing his own identity. The order itself values secrecy above everything else. It knows the gaze of the heavens is beyond that of simple mortals - even in the times of modern technology. But it is such that two of the ten orders exist only to maintain the secrecy of the others-even the point of a willingness to kill every other member of another order (or, at least, attempt too). Kilat operations are generally small and subtle, working toward the day when they can manipulate entire families, corporations or even countries at once. Spying on an important diplomat, assassinating a magistrate too close to the truth, or kidnapping a relatively unimportant person who has potential for later advancement (the best candidates for transforming into sleepers) are all common Kilat activities. They also participate in a number of illegal activities, anonymously hiring out their agents as spies, assassins or smugglers to gather wealth and support the order. The Kilat have agents in every occupied plane-including powerful Rukongai merchants, Earth based politicians and even some wandering Arrancar (who are the least trusted given their erratic nature).

Nanake Kionchi
But how did these two little girls find themselves embroiled with such an organization? The answer to that question lies with one entity: Nanake Kionchi. Traitor to his own kind, the mysterious fox-like entity was born of a ritual forbade by his own kind; a group of spirits self-identified as kitsune serving a powerful entity known to them only as Inari. And yet because of the origins of his birth, he was doomed to abandon his people on his 200th birthday and forge his own path in the world. Learning under an alchemist and healer for fifty years, the fox learned to channel his power over plant-life and reishi in such a way as to heal instead of merely protect. The trained Yojimbo found himself soon serving the human high-school girl named Nanake Nanami. The fairly plain miko-trained spiritualist begrudgingly accepted the foxs offer of fealty and the pair would embark on a series of adventures for roughly a decade. During that time theyd encounter a number of other hengeyokai trying to assassinate the fox to curry favor with Inari, Shinigami mistaking the creature as some form of hollow or plus and a number of hollows simply trying to devour Nanami as her reiatsu grew day by day alongside the fox. It was around this time that Kionchi first encountered the Kilat-the organization that would try everything they could to turn the fox against the other spirits. In fact, it was during a moment of doubt when the fox would abandon his charge and instead take his own life in a fit of despair. Twenty years later Kionchi, having lived among the humans in Rukongai as per the twisted whims of the karmic cycle, was accepted into Seireitei as a shinigami. He would work his way up to Vice Captain of the 2nd Division before going AWOL at the first signs of the Kilat; abandoning his false identity he made for himself at the Gotei and becoming a rogue shinigami. It was at this time that Kionchi found himself against under the watch of various spirits hoping to make a name for themselves killing the wayward fox (and absorbing some of his reishi). And it was at this time that, on the run from one such a spirit known as the kamaitachi, that the fox would take shelter in a small mountain temple in northern Japan and help a human mother give birth to two healthy twin girls.

Ginmei, Master Tiger

Kionchi fought off the kamaitachi, only to find himself flanked by the rumored hollow of the Sugata he had approached the shrine to slay in the first place. Unable to simply leave the newborns to the hollow, the fox defended the babes from the hungry ghost while also managing to defeat the kamaitachi--leaving the three cut in half. Unfortunately the twins were gravely injured during the fight and Kionchi found himself forced to experiment with a soul transfusion--using the remnants of one of the kamaitachi as the medium--to try to save the displaced souls of the girls. And while he did manage to save the newborn children, he knew their lives would never be the same after the contact and dedicated himself to looking over them, from a save distance, until he felt they were ready to choose for themselves what kind of lives they wanted to live. When he revealed himself to Kirishi during her fight in Chernobyl, the fox found himself faced with the ugly truth of his actions. The Kilat he had been fighting this whole time had been using him to cull their weaker members-those who couldnt hide themselves from the fox were themselves unworthy of membership. He was bestowed the title Master Tiger; one he found himself unable to refuse as he continued his mission to destroy the organization that he found now more interested in the twins than ever. The organization had molded the twins into what they had become today--and Kionchi had helped. And while he hated himself for it, he knew he couldnt simply hide the truth and run from the girls. So he gave Tenko one final gift: his true name. Ginmei, the Silver Eyed.

The Sugata Clan

Located far in the Gifu mountains, the Sugata family Shrine was an irreplaceable asset for the spiritualist community of the region. The family would send its eldest on a mission to spread peace and foster positive relationships between the shrines normally isolated from one another due to the difficult terrain. For years the house would breed some of the strongest spiritualists in the region and protect the local shrines and its people from hollow attacks where shinigami never bothered to patrol. Unfortunately as the world became more and more modernized, the world just lost the need for such an order. Little by little descendants of the order would decide to move to larger towns and abandon their ascetic lifestyle as the Sugata found more and more shrines abandoned-adding upkeep of these locations to their burdens. The need for family reformation was especially strong during the era of Sugata Ryouja. The wise but almost sociopathically shy monk made it his lifes ambition to leave a reformed doctrine for his ancestors to follow. As such he penned the one-hundred and fifty three vows that he commanded that all future Sugata clan-heads must follow. He died young, only 43, and was buried with the original manuscript in the newly built family tomb--a western style catacomb he commissioned as a controversial part of the familys reformation. The deal was as simple as it was dastardly: Ryouja would set himself up as the eldest Ancestor of a new Sugata family. And, focusing even more on producing spiritually aware heirs, would brainwash his own descendants as to desire nothing more than to join with their spiritual patron in the afterlife. That is: the ghosts of the spiritually gifted Sugata lineage would willingly give their lives to Sugata and Pazuzu after raising a successful heir. The clan was reduced to nothing more than a farm - a slaughterhouse for spiritualists whose lives accounted to nothing greater than cattle. A breeding ground for high reiatsu humans and a sanctuary for the two hollows where they could feed freely without worrying about the Gotei Unfortunately for Pazuzu, who had always planned to devour Sugata herself once a human of appropriate spiritual pressure was found among the clan, the highlevel Arrancar found herself in the wrong place at the wrong time--specifically in Chernobyl during the nuclear disaster in the 1980s. The clan would meet its ultimate fate over 20 years later. After expelling its former heir, the clan gave the title to Sugata Kirishi and the title of Yojimbo to her twin sister Sugata Tenko. And so would begin the inevitable revelation, deconstruction and finally destruction of the ancient order.

Sugata Ryouja the Mad

All was not well in the Sugata clan, however. And a dark secret was held in its history unknown to any mortal for a good 600 years. The founder of the New Sugata Order was far from the charitable monk he made himself out to be. Quite the contrary: he was a cowardly and greedy individual obsessed with avoiding his own death and extending his own lifeline at any cost. From Chinese Alchemy to Western Dark Arts, the Onmyodo would spend a majority of his off-time performing heinous and heretical deeds all for the sake of one lofty goal: immortality. It was then that Sugata was approached by a being who found interest in his work. She called herself Pazuzu: the Sumerian God of Wind and Winged Beasts. But in truth she had fallen to the state of an arrancar. A particularitly crafty Arrancar who would create isolated feeding grounds by offering foolish spiritualists eternal life in exchange for half of the souls they would devour as hollows. If her pets disobeyed her, she would brutally pick htem apart bit by bit until there was nothing left.

Pazuzu may seem the ideal manipulator, but is in fact used by the Kilat in getting the twins to do as planned.

The Vows
Above all else, be reasonable and irregardless of the orders of a higher being, our other orders are absolute. But one must be respectful of all spiritual beings. And remember, as per our third dictum, that their point of view is to always be considered first. For theirs is the wisdom that surpasses our own, theirs is the view that sees beyond our own, for no human is wiser than a spirit. Even if the spirit was, at one point, a human. And it is not our place to question their wisdom. No matter how alien it may seem. For we serve them and these one-hundred and fifty three codes so long as we stay in this world. And if we are to depart this world, may we reaffirm these codes together, guardian and charge, so long as we remember our place. And may we never harm another messenger of the gods with the intent to disrupt their duty. And may we never steal from another messenger of the spirits. And may we never kill another harrier of the gods. And may we help them at all costs, unless it would interfere with another law. And may we never cut down a tree with the intention to harm its god. And may we never sever the fuin nor ofuda of a spirit placed within a year with the intention to do no harm to us. And may we never slay a myobu-gitsune nor any servant of a greater kami. And may we never hunt a spirits follower with ill-intent. And may we never aid those who do. And may we place our own safety above that of these vows, so we may live another day to uphold them. And may we always know our place, not above that of other men. And may be know our place, never below that of other spirits. May we aspire nor lust for any rank or privilege, except to serve. May we serve humbly. May we serve thanklessly. May we serve again and again, so long as it doesnt break another vow. May we know our places. May we keep ourselves distinct as harrier and as bodyguard. May we never stray from our duties. May we seek to aid spirits. May we look high and low for them. May we never leave a spirit until our duties are completed. And may we enjoy the privilege of helping. May we never inquire as to why a spirit asks of us our duty. Unless we feel it will allow us to serve them better. May we never sacrifice ourselves for a spirits wellbeing, for any permanent injury will prevent us from completing our other vows. And may we prioritize peace. For we exist to grant peace to all spirits. May our assistance be neutral with regards to peace. And may the ways of the spirits, while we recognize them as being beyond that of our own understanding, be followed as to perpetuate peace. May peace be brought about by understanding. And may understanding be the strongest shield in our arsenal. For no matter how sharp the tongue, the sword shall always bring only tears. For no matter how hated we must become, may our sacrifice be someday recognized. May it not be in name, but in spirit. May it not be that we do this for price, but for peace. We shall not consume the blood of the spirits. Nor the meat. Nor shall we use the blood or meat of spirits in any rituals. We shall never harvest a spirit. We shall conduct ourselves properly before the body of any spirit. If unsure, the spirit shall be laid to rest int he manner most befitting the customs of its people. We must know the burial customs of all people. We must know the laws regarding their practices in any province. We may not consume the milk of a spirit. We may not lay with a spirit, nor a human, unless done so with the intention of propagating our line or the absolute peace of the spiritual world. We may not deface any grave. We must clean at least one unkept grave from any site crossed. We may not step over a dead body. We may not touch the dead body of a human. We may not consume any portion of any dead body of any men or spirits. We may not wear any portion of a dead body, human or spirit. We may not use a spirit for money. We may not reveal their existence to those who refuse to believe in them. We may not drink alcohol, except to promote peace with the spiritual world. We may not gamble, except when requested to by a spirit, and never with borrowed money. We may not give gifts in quantities of four. But we must if requested to by a spirit. We may not eat bloodied meat, unless requested to by a spirit. We may not cause undo harm to children, nor other spiritualists. We may not attempt to bring back the dead. We may not knowingly deliver a letter that will cause undo strife, unless it is for the long term benefit of the spiritual world. We my not knowingly delivery poisons nor curses nor any sort of weapon that will cause pain upon a spirit. Nor may we touch, nor approach, a sacred vessel containing a member of royalty without first consulting the highest ranking local spirit. The succession of the house is to be followed irregardless of the will of the spirits, unless a greater spirit intervenes directly. The laws of these succession are to be secret, unless they are requested directly by a spirit. The first born male shall succeed as head of the family and inherent the title of harrier of spirits. If a daughter is born, they are to keep the title only until the time in which a male may claim it. The second-born, irregardless of gender, is to be the protector of the harrier. If the harrier is unable to see spirits, the duty of guardian must be given to one who may see spirits. If none are able to see spirits, the duty may be given to one outside the family so long as they commit an oath of fealty to the family within three moons time. If no male heir is born, and no male in the clan is with the ability to see spirits and has reached the human age of 400 moons, an active female may be declared a harrier. In this event, the retired harrier must consort with the new harriers once every four moons and may not life further than two days from the three main shrines in Gifu. After 800 moons, if no male with the ability to see spirits has been raised or born, the male may declare himself the senior-priest of the family shrine. In this case he must oversee the familys affairs and, at all costs, find an appropriate heir. A female harriers primary duty is to raise an appropriate heir. Only the harrier may speak with spirits. The protector may only intervene to protect the life of the harrier. If the harrier falls under the protectors watch, the protector is not permitted to live. If these laws are violated, the title may be stripped from both harrier and protector. If the title is stripped, irregardless of the age of the older harrier, it is the older harriers responsibility to once again become the harrier until the time when an appropriate match is found. This must never be forgotten. We shall remain reverent towards all spirits, whenever it would cause no danger to us. But we shall not be hostile beyond what is required to protect us in the event we are attacked. We must hold our lives in the highest regard, only because it is us who helps maintains the balance of the spirits in this world. We shall remain neutral towards all spirits, for we have been invited into their world. Into their home. We are but guests, and they our honored hosts. If they are to reward us with kindness, we must repay that kindness. But we shall never repay anger with anger, nor revenge with revenge. For theirs is the wisdom of a life we have yet to live. Their rights are granted by heaven and earth tremble you at their power. This is the one-hundredth and fiftieth law; may it never be broken.

The Eye of the Storm

Raised almost exclusively by their Grandfather, the twins never knew a normal parent-child relationship. Everything was for the clan; everything was for the success of the Sugata. Their mother was devoured when they were born. Their father was a drunk ex-priest who blamed the mothers death on his children and was only grateful to have them so he could be done with his obligation as the Sugata Heir and piss away his inheritance on wine and whores. He was a broken man--one without the ability to see spirits forced to work alongside things he could neither perceive nor understand. Kirishis role in the clan was as difficult as it was complex. From the age of 7 she was expected to travel between the local shrines, and by the age of 11 she was traveling cross-country with little more than the knapsack on her back. The young girl never had a chance to attend school or learn the fundamentals of math, science or history. Instead she was cloistered in a world of spirits, sutra, philosophy and law that would remind someone more of a shugenja (mountainous hermit-witch) than a typical young girl. The only time she would catch glimpses of a normal life would be on the sides of the roads to and from the shrines or during festivals at the edges of Gifu. Even then, she was always warned to steer clear of the un-gifted children. Tenkos role, on the other hand, was quite simple: she was the bodyguard of her sister. She was to make sure no harm would ever befall Kirishi or her reputation. She was to make sure her sister followed the decrees of the clan to a tee and to keep her on the right path. Her body was merely her sisters shield--a fact she had drilled into her head, and her body, from quite early-on in her training. She had no opinion and no voice; for it was her duty to guard the voice of those with wisdom far beyond mortal understanding. To taint their messages was the most heinous of crimes and as far as the Sugata were concerned, messages from any but the spirits or their herald were impure. Thirteen years of hiking trails and practicing tortuous traditions, the pair of prankster like twins would find themselves at a cross-roads. Despite formal codes and traditions forbidding the practice, the girls would frequently trade places during their training and errands-giving each other a break from the otherwise repetitive and boring lifestyle they were destined to follow. But by doing so, they risked far more than simple rules: they risked their entire positions. And, by extension, the position of their father. By now the former Sugata-clan head was happy to just be able to live a modern life: free of the stresses of his previous job (and, thanks to his lack of spiritual pressure, from Ryoujas hidden shackles). But if the twins wouldnt take the job seriously, their was a good chance he would be forced to take the position and the daughters would be exiled from the clan. And so the father was asked to return for a night to try to talk some sense into his children. Unfortunately, the man returned to the shrine a drunken and angry mess. And when confronted with who he assumed was Tenko, the bodyguard who kept running off to deliver messages against all Sugata protocol, the old drunkard took to making sure she could never go out on another errand for her sister again. He began to break his daughters legs with a metal pipe. Unfortunately that night Kirishi wasnt out delivering a message as scheduled; she was taking her sisters place and now lying helpless as her father broke her legs again and again for at least thirty minutes until she felt something deep within her mind snap. The kamaitachi that lie dormant between the sisters had finally awoken-and in a flash unleashed the power of a fourteen year storm in a minute; tearing the man, the shrine and most of its occupants into shreds in the blink of an eye and leaving the young girl trapped in a torrent of deadly wind. Tenko, Kirishi and a passing arrancar would be the only three who would survive the encounter--even the twins beloved grandfather would be killed by the mixture of hurricane winds and the fire caused by several exploding gaslines in the area. Tenko managed to brave the winds and the blaze and embrace her beloved sister long enough to snap her out of the trance; but the damage was done. The home and inhabitants of the Sugata clan were destroyed. And each twin was permanently scarred that night with the only wounds that would never heal: Kirishis legs, battered by her father, and Tenkos back, torn to shreds by her sisters winds as she held Kirishi close in the eye of the storm. The pair would spend 11 months on the streets, begging, stealing and doing whatever was necessary to get by--while still visiting the occasional shrine or trying to have a friendly chat with a local shinigami or hollow hoping to continue their familys traditions. Neither girl would ever learn the complete truth of what happened the night their fate was so cruelly spun for a loop. And neither could ever imagine what kind of future fate had in store for them.

Dark Journey Home

The twins knew they were getting in over their heads the minute they stepped into Karakura town. The high concentration of high reiatsu signatures coupled with the modern setting were two extremes that clashed with everything the sisters knew. But before they could take in the town for more than an hour or two they were approached by another oddity: a towncar in which they were invited by a man whose hat bore the crest of their new home: The Honjou. The twins were slow to adapt to their new life: spending half the time in the luxury of the Honjou Mansion and the other half outside in a small tent in the rose garden. Yet they had found companions who trusted them enough to live alongside and even allow themselves to be occasionally scammed by the shy sisters. Kagami Shinobu taught the twins (or at least Tenko) that there were kind hearted spiritualists willing to help one another out rather than just sell each other out to the nearest Arrancar or take shots at them like the Jundo. Mamoru Seishin taught Kirishi that humans were able to co-exist with the spirits, even though the Honjou Oyabun was himself a bitter enemy of the Hollow species. The two learned about Seireitei and Hueco Mundo from the former hollow hunter. And, after several months, the twins felt they were ready to return home for the first time since the fire. On their dark journey home the twins found themselves confronted with the Arrancar Suzumei Hakuren. The elder arrancar recognized Kirishis desire to wish to serve the spirits, allowing her, much to Tenkos distrust, to serve the Suzumei family as personal messengers for the Arrancar. Including sending a personal letter to a certain shinigami. The twins exchanged whistles with the Arrancar, having retrieved the devices from their visit to the shrine, and learned that Hakuren was the arrancar who helped douse the flames of the place a year ago and allow Tenko to rescue her sister. The twins met various shinigami, hollows and humans during their time as Honjou subordinates. They were even involved in the secret affair between Kasasagi Aizawa and Hakuren Suzumei enough to earn some passage to the Aizawa compound in Seireitei. A chance meeting with a hollow hunter packing a pair of six-shooters first showed Tenko that hollows destroy souls and are not the misunderstood beasts Ryoujas teachings claimed they were. This sent the curious young spiritualist and her sister back to the Sugata shrine to double check an odd little hunch that had bugged the girl for years. Sifting through the rubble the twins happened upon the entrance to the family mausoleum. And after some prodding, Tenko managed to talk her twin into exploring its depths. There they found neither bodies nor relics-simply a gateway to Heuco Mundo quickly occupied by Ryouja Sugata himself: the arrancar who at last revealed his mad schemes and then asked the sisters to sacrifice himself to his more perfect form. A sacrifice Kirishi found herself all too eager to make; much to the protest of Tenko. After a short battle Tenko and Kirishi managed to escape their destiny, but not completely intact. Kirishi left with her mind torn asunder--a lifetime of teachings found false and the very meaning for her life reduced to nothing greater than feed. Tenko lie dying in the snow, abandoned by her sister with the mental connection that bound the pair severed for the first time since they were born. And yet, the otherwise fatal wounds Tenko endured seemed to heal in a matter of minutes; the blood in her body was responding to her desires with such ease that it would have frightened the girl, was she even conscious to feel it.

Kagami Shinobu had a great impact on Tenkos development; as the first human spiritualist who respected both the spirits and other humans. In addition he managed to keep his own personality without sacrificing his ideals.

Reunion in Babel
Kirishi and Tenko both had a number of strange dreams for many months before their fight with Ryouja. Visions of a supernatural archive in which all knowledge was recorded and of a special time and series of locations around the three worlds--most of which neither twin had never visited before. And, as per their vows, Kirishi and her sister distributed this information to as many spirits as possible for several months. Many would learn of the place: Shiki Ashikabi, Ai Muro and Hakuren Suzumei among them. And when the library finally did open its doors, each twin found themselves warped to it regardless of their location. The library was at that point in time controlled by four rival factions: humans, shinigami, arrancar and ghosts. Each believed they had the key to escaping its dull-white confines and returning to Earth with the vast knowledge theyd aquired within its sacred halls. Unfortunately, each only had a small fraction of what would be required to reach a hidden room in the library: the chambers containing the heart and soul of the library itself. When Kirishi arrived she was confronted by one of these Arrancar, whom she begged to take her life. The Arrancar was honorable and desired a fair fight, but wouldnt say no to the poor girl who wandered the halls calling herself cattle. Fortunately for the twin, Suzumei Hakuren would have none of it; the Espada destroyed the foolish arrancar in a single blow. Tenko arrived, a minute too late to save her sister, and decided to follow the Arrancar and her Shinigami lover, Kasasagi, as they explored the depths of hte library (taking the unconscious Kirishi in tow). Hakuren had her vengeance against the leader of the Arrancar--slaying him and taking his treasured book that contained the first of four keys to reach the heart of the library. Next she attacked the humans, their technology no match to the Espadas anger. Catching up with Kagami Shinobu, the four conscious adventurers moved onto the soul-draining ghosts, avoiding their presence with Hakurens icy aura enough to nab the third book, and finally reached the shinigami--where Kasasagi and Kagami found their reasons for entering the library and decided it would be best (politically) to leave before encountering the 14th Division. The shinigami were the easiest to deal with, having been attacked by another intruder earlier and losing half their forces to the invasion they took upon learning the Arrancar lord was defeated. All four books were gathered. And like that Hakuren and the twins were instantly transported to another chamber in the library: the padded and lonely white chambers of Akasha: the overseer of the library. She explained that she was a fourth sister the twins never knew they had: an entity formed from the missing soul-bits never recovered after the kamaitachi attack when they were first born. An entity created and gobbled up by the library for replace the former overseer; and one who wanted nothing more than to help her sisters who could have never known that she even existed. Kirishi awoke and was treated by the pair--not simply as a human, but as a sister. The family reunion combined with Hakurens chilly embrace were able to snap Kirishi out of her funk; and the Miko of the Sugata was given another reason to live when Hakuren invited her in as an honorary member of her Fraccion. Kirishi had no need to sacrifice herself to every hollow or arrancar with an appetite; she was now equal in status to the writhing horde and given direct orders from another of them to follow and obey. Direct orders to live. The trio would spend all night with the lonely Akasha before they had to leave the library or risk imprisonment. From that point on Akasha would have no need to feel the loneliness in her heart she had felt since the day she was born; she had bonded with her sisters and from that day forward would at least spend every night with them, telling them stories and recanting that days events as they drifted off to sleep...

Death and Rebirth

Tenkos hatred for her ancestor coupled with Kirishis new found freedom as a member of Hakurens fraccion let both twins come to the same conclusion: to kill Sugata Ryouja. And so the twins went to meet with their ancestor in a warehouse in Karakura. Knowing that Kirishis mental conditioning made her unable to hurt him and that his reiatsu signature greatly exceeded that of the girls, the hollow felt confident in his ability to feed off the last of his lineage. What the hollow didnt expect, however, was that the twins had reached a new pinnacle of power in such a short amount of time. A certain pinnacle that went by the moniker Kiriko, the Angel of Broken Glass. Kiriko appeared that night for the first time, a being composed of the bond between the girls inherently bound and yet her own independent soul. The fusion made short work of the arrancar before returning her sisters to the Honjou estate. The next day the sisters found Seishun Mamoru, the Oyabun of the Honjou Clan, was missing! A letter notified the sisters of their masters journey and gave them the entirety of the house, including Mamorus mansion! Taking charge, the twins and Kiriko set to work out to revitalize the fledgling Honjou clan. They sold the Seishun estate and purchased an old shrine on the outskirts of Karakura town near the wooded foothills. Hosting a few matsuri and going on the hunt for wandering spiritualists looking for a safe place to rest their heads, the twins and Kiriko managed to revitalize the Honjou clan one member at a time. As Tenko and Kirishi met with more of these spiritualists her world view rapidly expanded. From the compassionate and loving Crystal and Ria, to the ruthless and cunning Roash and Yaksha; the twins were able to make both friends and enemies for themselves for the first time in their short little lives. Two months later they had firmly established Kiriko as the hidden head of the Honjou; the forever ill Mitsue Shiro who could only convey her wishes for her beloved Honjou via the low ranking twins. And it was then that the pair would accidentally stumble upon an individual who would forever change their lives; one teleportation mishap into a beach-and-sea world of eternal twilight to meet with Riko Suzumei, head of the Noble Family and the twins first non-hollow supporter. The pair spent a good week or two in the timeless space, learning about Seireitei and the politics of the noble houses from the Royal. And after their short vacation, the pair were given the chance of a lifetime: Fealty to the Suzumei.

And the good news didnt slow down for the brave little twins; as once Hakuren learned of the twins acceptance into the Suzumei she called her own meeting with the pair and granted them the one thing they had always been without: a mother. The twins were on cloud nine. Kiriko, however, was still quite peturbed. She had no idea who or what she really was. She knew she loved her sisters and knew she wanted to protect them, but a chilling speech by Yaksha had always left her second guessing whether or not she had the right to call herself a seperate entity from her sisters or whether or not she was just a parasitic cyst; a shdow of the two twins whose ideas and beliefs were a mere fusion without any will of its own. Until one night Akasha saw her sister struggling with her existential crisis and was given a single choice from the library; a chance to affect the world directly and forever alter the timeline of the world at the risk of her own existence. And so she sent Kiriko a single message; a spoiler the amalgamated soul was not supposed to learn until many years later. A single sentence that overcame her with such ferocity and gravity that if it wasnt for the kindness of one Ria Bartin, she might have just frozen right there in the snowy garden of the Honjou Estate: You Are the Kamaitachi.

New Allies
Tenko and Kirishi were both on top of the world as they continued their move into the new Honjou estate. Visiting the deepest parts of the woods, the pair were mushroom gathering when they were confronted by a lone shinigami by the name of Ine Kenshou. After a ruthless spar between the pair, resulting in the exposure of the Vizard and Kirikos true natures, the successful twins healed their adversary and departed. Meeting again two weeks later, Tenko asked Ine to train her in the use of the katana. After a fierce fight the young sister found herself calling out Kirishis inability to listen to Tenko when she didnt completely trust her sisters plans. This is where Tenko begins to learn how to wield a naginata and a sword, in addition to realising her aptitude for using the kamaitachis power to manipulate sound. Accepting a secret mission from Kasasagi, Kirishi found herself having to make a dangerous choice: to give a fugitive spirit whom she wanted to set free to Seireitei, or to let the girl free and follow her heart. Ultimately she simply allowed the spirit to knock her out and escape the shinigami converging on the location; but the decision would haunt her given she had to betray the people who just trusted her enough to give her the original task. Tenko is sent by Kiriko on a mission to help the Kosa track down some strange hollows. At the same time Kirishi is sent by Kiriko to meet the Kosa head, Kokuou, and negotiate a treaty with the rival house. The foundations of the Kolat are forged that night as Kiriko, unbeknownst to her sisters, signs Tenko off to live as a Kosa member from that day onward. When Kirishi learns that Kiriko went behind her back and gave away her sister, she gets scared that Kokuou will just use Tenko and challenges him to a duel. During a brief three way fight with the twins Kirishi sees first hand what a compassionate and caring person Kokuou was; a human who could be as trusted as an ancient spirit. Around this time Kiriko is again confronted by Yaksha, who was interested in her project in central Karakura. After a brief meeting she decided to allow the hollow into her life a little--in particular, as a potential resident of the future Suzumei Foundation Library. But all was not well for Kiriko--who found her memories during her days as the kamaitachi slowly coming back to her. And the relatively few memories shed acquire in her short time with the Sugata sisters slowly but surely slipping furhter and further from her grasp as the pain and anger of the ancient wind spirits began to drive her inhibitions to a dark place she knew one day she would be exiled too. And so she accellerated a plan she had been forming with Akasha, using a golden clad man who unexpectedly gave the woman the perfect catlyst. Approached by Gilgamesh, the twins were asked to fetch Kiriko. Exposing her secret to the self appointed King of Kings, Kiriko appeared before him and accepted his tempting offer: becoming the Herald of the Golden Court in exchange for the future possession of a legendary sword...and the opportunity for her to advance her own plans far ahead of schedule. During her first mission, assisting the Quincy Ryder in destroying the Central 46, Kiriko set her plan into motion. Unfusing in a staged accident, she launched Tenko and what she assumed was the last Central 46 member (Shiki Ashikabi) into a portal. Leaving Kirishi stranded with Ryder, she forcefully cut the twins telepathic bonds. Tenko and Shiki wound up in Rikos realm. Or, at least, what was left of it since the Royal left the realm to rot. Meanwhile Kirishi lost herself in the tragedy of what she could only assume was Tenkos death. Snapped out of a rampage by Ryder, she took up the persona and identity Kiko and swore to follow Ryder, slay the remaining Central 46 members, pledge her loyalty to Gilgamesh and avenge her sister (whom she only assumed was killed vis-a-vie Shiki Ashikabis influence during the fight). Training with a gun for the first time in her young life, she quickly adapted to the militaristic mother-figure and swore her loyalty to Ryder.

10

Before the Dawn

Ryder and Kiko sped to Rusia vis-a-vie a tip from an enigmatic guide who had evidence that the remaining Central 46 bureacrats were hiding in Chernobyl amongst a group of arrancar the council was keeping secret from Seireitei in exchange for the potential to use their base as a safehouse in the event of an uprising. Allying themselves with two members of the Kosa, the group uncovered secrets upons secrets: the arrancar and Central 46 members were both, unbeknownst to one another, working as agents of the Kilat. Furthermore the groups guide was Kionchi, who then discovered he himself was accidently working as a member of the Kilat. The group found the second of the three kamaitachi sealed in a stone merged with several of the Kilat gems and a radio playing the same recording for at least a decade: the source of hte voice that spoke Kilat propoganda to the twins since before they themselves could understand the strange words. And after defeating the hollows, the six arrancar fused into a single being from whence they originally came: the Arrancar Pazuzu. The group retreated, the Arrancar absorbed the power of the sealed Kamaitachi and fled to Hueco Mundo. Their mission to kill the last of the Central 46 was complete and Kiko felt no connection to the kamaitachi since the death of her sister Tenko. Meanwhile Tenko took her time messing with Shiki Ashikabi in Rikos realm. During their talks Tenko found herself openly rejecting the Suzumei, Seireitei and the Golden Court all at once: their lack of reciprocation in their relationship evidence of their explitation. It was then that she recieved visions of everything Kirishi was up to since she had become trapped - and everything Kiriko had done, had planned for and why. She had no idea why neither of their powers worked in the realm; but ultimately she found it less important than how she could use it to exploit the lost judge. Specifically: trading his freedom and information about the golden court for an a deal: to become the first human member of the Central 46 or any other council Shiki might make if the shinigami were to ever regain political control. Tenko forced Shiki into signing a contract with a mixture of the pairs blood. Then forcing pair contractually to write no other copies in this medium, she took the precious document to the bathroom of Rikos beachhouse and, standing over the unique document, slit her wrists before gouging out her throat and falling on the thing in a puddle of her own blood. Tenko died.

11

Kiko and Ryder stopped in Hawaii on their journey from Russia, following a string of strong spiritual pressures all the way to the wedding of Tori and Tova Diablo. There Kiko witnessed what she assumed was the end of the world; and what might as well have been the end of hers. For as monsters tore through cracks in reality before a groom in anguish over the death of his bride-to-be, she stood helpless upon a boat as she watched Ryder get run through by Tova Diablo and tossed far into the sea. So great was the pain inflicted on the girl that she could only lose her lunch and pass out--thankfully in that order. Upon awakening, she would find herself in Tokyo Harbor; her memories as Kirishi returned to her along wtih her conviction and a new recruit to a new organization. Kirishi returned to the Honjou just in time for a festival with her booked as the guest of honor! Kiriko (with some help from some Kilat agents) had set everything up: the Kolat would be unvealed to the world that night. And so with a dedicatory nod to their memories, the twin set to work completing the legacy Kiriko and Tenko had died to complete. No sooner did her speech begin atop the newly dedicated Suzumei Foundation Headquaters and Library then she found herself face to face with an assassin. An assassin who struck at the exact moment Kiriko gave her all of her sisters memories since the twins seperation. An assassion who turned out to be her own sister - Tenko faking an attack in a desperate gambit to try to get enough attention to her sisters mental scars and the damage she will cause everyone if she unites the human world under Gilgameshs banner. But no sooner did she have a chance to start her own speech than Kirishi found herself imbued with the power, memories and hatred of Kiriko. Attacking Tenko with claws of wind and reishi, eyes and roars of a wild beast and ferocity neverbefore seen by either twin, the rest of the Kolat sprung into action. Ria managed to cage and embrace the otherwise mad Kirishi--her memories of Rias kindness able to supress her bloodlust. Crystal managed to hold onto Tenko. But when Adimus threw warning knife at Ria, the kamaitachi could be contained no more. Charging the masked hero, she bore her claws... only to find them impale her own trained bodyguard sister Tenko. Tenko held her sister in an embrace for just a moment--and a column of light shot from Kirishis mouth. The Akashic Records ripped through the skies over Karakura for only a few seconds--their crumbling facade evidence of the damage of Akashas spoiler. Then each twin passed out and slowly drifted to the ground...