A Grim Tale of Reapers, ch 22 pt 1

Rukia stood on her knees, waiting for the sword to come down at the back of her neck, ending it all. She had shut out the world; the reality outside her head seemed unreal, irrelevant. Her eyes closed; she was lost entirely in her mind. She hoped there would be no pain, she hoped her friends would be all right, she hoped-
What on earth was this delay, really? She should be dead by now- how long would they wait? Snapping out of her trance-like state, she opened her eyes, looking up- and saw something that at once made her heart soar with joy, and tear at her even more. Her worst fears had been realized- Ichigo had come for her, and now her brother would kill him, along with his friends. But even so, she felt… happy, just to herself, that she would not be alone in death. That she had people who cared, even as a criminal sentenced to death.

Not that she’d let hat fool know that.

”Ichigo, you fool!” She cried. ”You’ll die like this- run! Save yourself!” And as she shouted the words, the sense of elation drained from her, because she knew it was true. Nobody could stand up to the power of her brother; they were all dead men walking now.

”Shaddup.” Ichigo sneered back. ”You don’t get a say in this.”

”What…” She said, the urgency draining from her. It was so like him- to do what he felt was right, whether people approved or not- and his friends with him, Tatsuki, Orihime and even that cold Quincy, Uryu. ”But-”

”Now, now,” came the voice of captain Shiba, stepping up toward the stage, ”everyone calm down- we’ll fix this little situation in no time.”

”Do not interfere, you Shiba dog.” Byakuya sneered. ”This is a Kuchiki matter, and it falls to me to handle it. I will kill these criminals, then execute the criminal on that stage because the law is the law and the law is-”

”Sorry, Byakkun, but I can’t let you do that.” Isshin said, grinning. ”And I’m not the only one.” Isshin looked down the hill. ”Any minute now…”

As if on cue, Abarai Renji showed up, running towards the execution site in a shunpo, sliding to a halt just before the stage. He was short of breath, but looked otherwise fine- he was victorious, and moving forward.

”What is this?” Byakuya demanded. ”Renji-”

”Sorry, taicho.” Renji said, huffing.

”See, Rukia’s not dying today.” Isshin said, hopping up on the stage, drawing his sword. Rukia tensed, but kept still, and in one sweep, the chains holding her were severed.

”What-” she protested, but Isshin only grinned, lifting her by the waist, tossing her at Renji. He caught her just barely, looking surprised.

”Abarai-kun, keep up.” Isshin said, turning around. ”Follow me. We’re taking her somewhere safe.”

”Yessir!” Renji said.

”You idiot…” Rukia mumbled.

”Yeah, I am.” He said. ”But I’m fixing that, right now.”

That could have been a rather emotional moment between the two, but Byakuya wasn’t too keen on that. Letting a tone of rage slip through his mask of control, he snapped,

”Shiba Isshin, you treasonous dog!” He snarled, drawing his sword. ”Have you abandoned all your honour, you shameless scoundrel?”
Few people had the capacity to make ‘scoundrel’ sound insulting, but there was a vicious vitriol in the way Byakuya said it- hate, rage, unlike something Isshin had seen from him before. But it hardly mattered now- both Isshin and Renji had already left the hill, taking Rukia with them. The battle wouldn't be theirs to fight.

”Look who’s talking.” It was Tatsuki, speaking coldly, clacking her two daggers together.

”Funny to hear you call treachery, when you’re the one about to kill your sister.” Ichigo said, focus in his eyes. There was no doubt left, only purpose.

Byakuya turned around, focusing his attention on the four of them, as Isshin and Renji ran away, carrying Rukia. Byakuya gave them a venomous look.

”I know full well I am a traitor, commoners.” He raised his sword, pointing it at them. ”and I will atone for my failure to the fullest- when I have killed the four of you, and this criminal, and all the traitors to Gotei law there are left!”
His voice rose to almost a shout as he finished his sentence.

”You shouldn’t hold back, you two.” Uryu said. ”We need to go all out from the start, or we’re dead.”

”You got it.” Ichigo nodded. ”Let’s do it.”

”Together.” Tatsuki agreed. Their legs spread wide apart, the both of them flexed their muscles, Ichigo holding his sword straight out, Tatsuki raising her fists. There was a trembling in the air as their reiatsu rose in strength, and together they cried,

” BAN KAI! ”

Instantly, both Ichigo and Tatsuki became enveloped in a bright, white light, making it impossible to see either of them. Quickly, the light grew stronger, forcing Uryu, Orihime, and eventually even Byakuya to shield their eyes with their arms – and then, just as suddenly as the light had appeared, it vanished, revealing Ichigo and Tatsuki once more, both bearing fiercely determined expressions on their faces.

“Tensa Zangetsu.” Ichigo stated, his eyes all determination. Tatsuki, showing equal resolve, said, “Dai-Kaminari Raitora.”

While the light had obscured him, more than just a few things had changed about Ichigo- gone was the enormous cleaver that he had previously wielded, instead replaced by a thin, black daito. His black shinigami robes had turned into a long-sleeved, ankle-length black coat with red lining while around his neck, a beaded necklace had appeared. By far the most unusual change was to his eyes and hair- while they previously had been brown and orange respectively, they had now turned into a golden tone of yellow and a clear, bright white, respectively.

Tatsuki, on the other hand, seemed to be just about the same as before: She was still wielding her daggers, her robes had not changed in any way, and her hair and eyes were both also unchanged. In fact, only one thing was different from before – and that was the fact that she was surrounded by what seemed to be a dark blue, electrically charged cloud, which twisted back and forth, like an animal waiting for a chance to attack.

Together, the two of them stood together with Uryu and Orihime, ready to begin the battle and strike at any moment.

Byakuya however just stared blankly at the two shinigami, his expression slowly shifting into an contemptuous grimace.

“In the Soul Society, very few have the ability to raise a zanpakutou, and fewer yet can hear its voice. And out of those blessed few, less than one in a thousand can achieve the final stage of harmony between wielder and weapon, the ban kai. And if you are one of the few extraordinary enough to achieve it, it takes decades to reach and decades more to master.” He quietly spoke, his voice slowly growing louder, still fixating Ichigo and Tatsuki with a look full of anger. “And yet, you commoners dare to stand in front of me, demanding this criminal's freedom with these pale, fake imitations of a real Bankai?! If you truly think that this will help you defeat a captain such as I, you are as foolish as you are disrespectful! She will die today, and so will everyone who tries to prevent her receiving her punishment!”

Without taking his eyes off Ichigo and Tatsuki, Byakuya unsheathed his own zanpakutou, and held it out in front of him. “Scatter, Senbon-”

Before he could even finish the release, Byakuya interrupted himself, and quickly jumped to the side– and not a moment too soon! Only a second after Byakuya had moved out of the way, an arrow of bright blue light flew past him, missing the hand with his zanpakutou only by inches.

“Don't just stand there!” Uryu shouted, suddenly appearing behind Ichigo and Tatsuki. “Give him no chance to use his zanpakutou! We need to take him out before he goes any further!”

Ichigo gave Uryu a quick look – and then nodded, before rushing after Byakuya, Tatsuki right beside him.

The two of them were fast, so fast- they both felt as if they could outrun anybody. Ichigo was feeling like every movement he’d ever made before had been like walking through syrup, like he was finally losing a ball and chain and running at full speed for the first time in her life. Tatsuki, for her part, felt unstoppable. The world was running in slow motion and she was moving past it; it felt like she could topple mountains, and certainly topple that obnoxious captain-

Which was why it was such a disappointment when Byakuya sidestepped them both with an expert flash step of his own, moving past them and rushing towards Uryu. Uryu quickly flashed back, Orihime covering him with a shield as Byakuya brought his blade down- but Byakuya side-stepped again, moving around it, cutting at Uryu. He brought the blade down- only to have to jump aside, having run out of time. He was an expert at shunpo, but Tatsuki and Ichigo were still quick, and were already coming after him.
Byakuya took five steps of shunpo, and ended up some twenty meters back. There was a furious glare in his face, and he wasn’t sure what offended him more- that they were fast and strong enough to put him on his guard, or that they had so brazenly come here to defy the law.

“Damn, he’s fast.” Tatsuki mumbled.

”You got that right.” Ichigo groaned, taking a stance. “He just… dodged.”

“No.” Uryu said, shaking his head. “He’s fast, maybe faster than you- but the reason he got past you is because his shunpo is better than yours. That’s the difference decades of training makes.”

“Astute for an ignorant commoner.” Byakuya said coldly. “And I do not have the time to play with you anymore. Scatter, Senbonzakura! ”

There was a quick, light glow around his sword, and then, to their surprise, the blade of his sword seemed to disappear, scattering. For just a moment, Ichigo couldn’t see anything; what was going on?

“Did- did he just disarm himself?” Tatsuki said, sounding confused.

“No!” Uryu snapped, grabbing Orihime by the waist. “God damn it, move!” Wasting no time, he flashed out of the way, and following his advice, so did Ichigo and Tatsuki. Not a moment later, there was a whirl in the air, and they could see it- petals, pink petals cutting through the air.

As one, Ichigo and Tatsuki dashed to one side each, coming at Byakuya with all the speed their Bankai could bring, Ichigo coming in from on high and Tatsuki from down low, both aiming for a vital point. Byakuya simply raised his arms, as if conducting something- and indeed he was, because the pink blades whirled around him, cutting into Ichigo and Tatsuki, who just barely managed to halt in time.

However, Byakuya had no time to press his advantage- before he could cut into the two young shinigami, an arrow cut into his shoulder, and he had to evade a second, third, fourth…

“Meddlesome…” he muttered.

“Orihime-san.” Uryu said, his hands working like possessed to fire a hailstorm of arrows, while Ichigo and Tatsuki began their charge anew, dodging the blades as best they could, “Give them a boost.”

“Yes!” She nodded, holding out her hands. “Santen Kesshun!”

There was an orange glow, and the shield materialized as a shimmer around the two fighters.

Ichigo and Tatsuki, feeling the effects immediately, rushed forward. Byakuya leapt into the air, letting his pink blades blaze a trail behind him, but now empowered, Ichigo and Tatsuki burst forward, past him and up into the air. Getting past his defenses, Tatsuki shot forward, slamming a brass knuckle into the captain’s gut, sending pure electric reiatsu into the punch, while Ichigo came in from behind, cutting him in the back.

Letting out an angered grunt, Byakuya quickly moved down to the ground. Ichigo and Tatsuki pursued, but the blades could only be evaded for so long- both were cut multiple times as they descended, Byakuya hitting them like sitting ducks.

However, he was again interrupted by an arrow sailing just past his head, and he once again flashed back.

“No good.” Uryu muttered angrily. “Orihime, that thing you did to that madman back then- do you think you could do that to him if I got you close?”

“I- I can try.” She said, sounding uncertain. “No- I will.”

“Good.” He said.

Byakuya was once again dodging Ichigo and Tatsuki’s attack. It was frustrating- between the captain’s skill set, and the hundred blades sailing through the air, it was almost impossible to land a hit.
Byakuya, for his part, was frustrated- these petty commoners were trying him more than he cared to admit; few shinigami could push him this far. Angrily, he fired a kido at Tatsuki, while moving towards Ichigo- but there was that damn arrow again! His wounds were nothing that really hindered him, but the four working together was… a nuisance, at the least.

Firing another arrow, Uryu calculated a path. In five or so seconds, he could dash forward, then maybe five meters to the left, then maybe do a somersault to dodge those blades- and if they were lucky, Orihime would be within striking range…

“I’m ready.” She said. There was an orange glow around her fist.

“Good.” He said, grabbing her by the waist again. In any other situation, that might have been embarrassing- but awkward teenage feelings had a time and a place, and it was not during a battle for one’s lives.

Quickly he dashed forward, then to the left- there were blades incoming, spinning around them, but he went low and Orihime’s shielding slowed it down, then he went high, really high, and landed just before Byakuya, tossing Orihime…

Byakuya had excellent perception. It was one of his many good qualities, so he was not taken by surprise when the Quincy charged forward. It was surprising, though, that four would join the melee- with that many at once, they would be more likely to cut each other trying to get to him. But then, the Quincy stopped, and the two commoner shinigami moved aside, and that one human girl was coming at him- unarmed, no less. What kind of a joke was this? Quickly, he raised his arms to bring in the petals again.

Orihime knew she had only a split second. Letting Uryu toss her, she put one foot in the ground to add to her momentum, and charged forward. Quickly, she grabbed Byakuya by the arm, and slammed her free hand- a strong fist- into his solar plexus.

There was… pain. And it was unlike most things he had ever felt. Byakuya had, in his life, been cut, stabbed, clawed at, mauled, and it always hurt, but it was an expected kind of pain, the kind a soldier might expect. This was pain radiating through his body as if the very particles that made him exist had been unsettled, like his entire body might burst- and what made it so shocking was that it really shouldn’t have, because this young girl was so… weak, by all he had felt from her. Choking, he staggered back from her, his reiatsu fluctuating.

“Did- did I do it?” Orihime said, her voice all disbelief. “Did I-“

And then, from behind, came a hundred blades, cutting her back thoroughly, and she collapsed with a cry, blood staining her clothes plentifully.

“Orihime!” Tatsuki cried, running to her.

“Don’t lose focus!” Uryu shouted.

“Bastard…” Ichigo said.

“You…” Byakuya said, sounding furious. “I do not know what that was, and it really doesn’t matter. But you filthy little rats, you are unforgivable- I really have to go all out for you.”

“Shut up!” Ichigo shot back. “You don’t get to lecture us- you’re the scumbag who wants to kill his own sister! You should be helping us- what the hell is wrong with you?”

“SILENCE!” Byakuya roared. “You do not understand, and you never will.” His reiatsu began to rise, rise, towering above theirs, and his sword took shape again, as a full blade. “To think you drove me here… I will kill you all quickly, and finish what I must do.”

He pointed the blade down towards the ground, and let it go, and for a moment Ichigo thought he really was giving up- but then the blade sunk right into the ground, and the reiatsu around him grew steadily, like an elegant symphony of power and death. And behind him rose two enormous rows of gigantic sword blades from out of the ground, towering over all of them.

“Ban kai.” Byakuya said coldly. “Senbonzakura Kageyoshi.”

And as one, each blade shattered into innumerable petals, and the world went pink.


**************


Quite pleased with himself and the world, Ichimaru Gin took a leisurely walk through the gardens of the Squad Three barracks. It wouldn't be long before he would finally turn his back on the Soul Society for good now; better take a walk through the more beautiful places in the seireitei while he still could. At the place where he was going, gardens hardly were something that would fit with the general scenery, unless one were to count sand as something that would make for a good garden.

But with what lay ahead of him, gardens were a relatively minor concern of Gin's. It would finally happen – they would finally leave Soul Society. It would be him, Tosen, Aizen... and Hinamori Momo.

Even now, Gin had a hard time believing that somebody such as Aizen would decide to let her live, let alone have a naïve girl like her actually join them. No matter how hard he tried, he simply could not wrap his head around what he had witnessed earlier. Over the last century, Aizen had done just about nothing that changed the image of the cold, manipulative, inhuman bastard that Gin had of him– and now, now of all times, he had actually done something that seemed to imply that he still had some last shred of human decency within him, even if he himself did not seem to be able to understand it. Or perhaps he had done it to mess with Gin’s head, who knew?

Gin chuckled quietly. Unexpected as Aizen's actions were, in the end, they hardly mattered. Had he done something like this about one hundred years ago, it might have saved him from what was awaiting him – but by now, it was far too late, and he would make sure that Aizen would know it. When the time was right, Aizen Sosuke would finally receive the punishment that he deserved.

He stopped and took a look around him. The irony that came with somebody like him thinking of Aizen as a bastard was not lost on Gin. He was well aware of the fact that the vast majority of the Gotei considered him a questionable person at best and a psychopath that ought to be locked away as soon as possible at worst... and he hardly cared about it. Gin hardly ever cared about what people thought of him, and being considered a creep certainly did have its benefits from time to time.

In a way, it still surprised Gin that he somehow managed to inspire loyalty in the members of his Squad, particularly his vice-captain Kira Izuru... but unlike Aizen, he was not going to let something like that change his mind about what he had planned. The members of his Squad would stay behind, left with the knowledge that their captain was a traitor, a greater villain than anybody would have imagined... the thought was almost enough for Gin to regret not being able to see their reactions in full detail – but only almost.

Gin looked up at the darkening sky. He had wasted enough time... the real fun parts were about to begin soon enough now.

He was already about to slip into a shunpo to make his way towards Sokyoku Hill, when suddenly, a voice behind him spoke up. “Good evening, Ichimaru-taichou.”

Gin whirled around. While he had been taking his walk, he hadn't paid the slightest bit of attention to any potential approaching reiatsu – after all, who would search for him at the gardens of Squad Three at this hour? – Which made somebody suddenly talking to him all the more surprising. And sure enough, there was somebody standing behind him, having snuck up while he wasn't paying attention... the Captain of Squad Four, Unohana Retsu, together with her vice-captain Kotetsu Isane.

“Why, good evenin', Unohana-taichou.” Gin said, barely able to conceal his surprise. While he didn't exactly consider Unohana and her little pet of a vice-captain showing up to be much of a delay, it was still an unexpected turn of events, something which Gin did not exactly like. “What brings ya here on this fine evenin’?”

“I could be asking you the same thing, Ichimaru-taichou... we should both be at the execution of Kuchiki Rukia, and yet here we are. I simply wanted to have a little chat with you, and figured that I might be able to find you here.” Unohana explained, keeping up the same gentle smile that she always seemed to be bearing, while her vice-captain was just silently standing behind her like a tall, pretty, gray-haired piece of decoration.

Gin resisted the urge to let out an annoyed sigh. Usually, if people wanted to have a ‘little chat’, it was not entertaining in the slightest, and only provided some inconveniences. Despite this, though, Gin did his best to hide his impatience, and instead said: “Ah, ya got me there, taichou... executions just don't really sit well with me, especially if it's such a poor little girl that's getting killed.” Gin lied casually, not expecting her to believe even one word of it. “But anyway, what didja want to talk about?”

“Oh, it is a rather simple matter, actually. Just earlier, I have finished my work on my autopsy of Aizen-taichou's corpse, and I thought that you might be interested in the results.”

Though he showed nothing, Gin tensed. There was no reason whatsoever for her, the chief medical examiner, to come to the captain of division three with this information- she should be reporting to the onmitsukidou, or the head captain. Meaning, it made no sense- unless she suspected his involvement. Was she on to them, or did she simply suspect him of being Aizen’s murderer?

Without a word, Isane stepped up to Gin, handing him several pieces of paper. Silently, Gin took them, and skimmed over them. The vast majority of the text just seemed to consist of medical terms that he barely understood, but even so, one message came across rather clearly: While the corpse did certainly look like Aizen, many of the medical details were off. The illusion that he had cast, while very good, was not perfect.

Once Gin had finished skimming over the text, he still kept his eyes on the paper, pretending to read. He was uncertain on what to do; the most simple solution would be to just prevent any further complications by murdering Unohana and Isane right here... it was in fact rather urging, in fact. True, Unohana did hold a fearsome reputation among the Gotei, one that allowed her to intimidate most people with little more than just a gentle smile and a few words, but Gin didn’t think of this as much more than hype. Everyone knew that Unohana Retsu was one of the oldest captains in the Gotei, second only to the head captain himself... and yet, seemingly nobody had ever seen her in action. The mysterious captain, leader of the medical Squad, the one that nobody had ever seen getting into action – it was a given that rumors that would lead to a reputation such as her would arise, even if there was nothing to back them up with.

He really had to contain himself- killing somebody was a great pleasure to him, and somebody strong, important… that was almost irresistible. He could see it in his head- a quick shot right through Isane’s head, killing her just to make Unohana angry, then gleefully cutting the captain of Squad Four up with his blade…
But he held himself back. He had a plan, a greater goal, and more importantly- he was in control of his urges, not the other way around. Still, one day…

“I don't quite understand, Unohana-taichou.” Gin said instead, restraining himself carefully. “Unless I'm misunderstandin' this, it seems like you’re sayin’ that-”

“-that the body that was found is not the corpse of Aizen Sosuke, yes. Surprising as it may seem, this is the only logical conclusion.” Unohana interrupted him. “I ran all the standard procedures – blood tests, reiatsu samples, and so on. All results seem to be implying the same thing: While on a superficial level, the body looks exactly like the Aizen Sosuke that we knew, most of the medical details are entirely wrong. This would mean that the body is a fake... which in turn means that the real Aizen Sosuke might still be alive, and hiding somewhere within the seireitei. Quite the unexpected turn of events, wouldn't you say, Ichimaru-taichou?”

Gin just blankly stared at Unohana. She was definitely on to them. The minor nuisance had just become a big one... and while it was definitely too late for Unohana to stop the plan entirely, it was not too late yet for her to mess a good amount of things up.

“You know, I think that if nothing else, the Central Forty-Six should at the very least be informed of this turn of events... while they mostly pay little attention to the inner workings of the Gotei, the fact that a captain that was presumed to be dead is still alive might still be good news to them.” She continued, not even waiting for Gin to reply.

Gin opened his eyes entirely to take a better look at Unohana. There she was, standing in front of him, still smiling that obnoxious, overly-gentle smile of hers, as if she hadn't realized that she had just stepped into something that she should have stayed out of... perhaps she would be better off being informed of it.

“Now, now, I think that such measures might not be necessary...” Gin said quietly, placing his hand on his sword. “Y’see, that could be mighty inconvenient for me.”

”By all means, feel free to try anything you please.” Unohana said, smiling as she placed a hand on the hilt of her own sword. “I would be all too happy to show you just how gentle I can be.”

Gin looked at her carefully. He was used to fear- everyone feared him, even his peers among the captains were intimidated- but looking into the gentle, smiling face of Unohana Retsu, he began to understand why the rumors that led to her reputation to begin with. He felt not like the snake swallowing whatever prey it felt like, but rather like a snake confronted by a bigger, older serpent, one that had eaten snakes before and would do it again. It was an unfamiliar, and rather unpleasant feeling.

Unohana casually walked up to Gin, her hand still kept at the hilt of her zanpakutou. “My dear Ichimaru-taichou, you seem to be mistaking me for one of the poor low-ranking shinigami that you are so used to teasing. So used to it, in fact...”

She stopped, standing right in front of Gin, who found himself unable to do anything – whether it was out of fear, curiosity, or just simple being indecisive, he did not know. “...that you do not realize it when you are biting off more than you can chew.”

There was a flash of steel, a stinging pain in his chest – and before Gin knew what had happened, he found himself dropping to his knees, his eyes growing wide.

“I always considered it to be a bit odd that you would go out of your way to act as much as a questionable individual as you can... of course, a big part of it is just the kind of person that you are, but the extent to which you are doing this also has an added benefit: It draws more attention to you, and keeps it off other captains.” Unohana meanwhile spoke, her tone not changed in the slightest. “When I came here, I just had a hunch that the answer to this all might be found in the chambers of the Central Forty-Six, but now I know for certain.” There was a short pause. “We're leaving. Isane, come along.”

The sound of two shunpo could be heard, and only a second later, Gin was alone in the gardens once more. After a few minutes that seemed to last an eternity, his shock had died down enough for him to reach for where he had felt the stinging pain earlier. He knew by the metallic smell that there was blood; he had felt her blade pierce his chest, but oddly enough... there was no more pain – and, as it turned out, no wound either.

Feeling very disturbed- an unpleasant feeling; was this how everyone else felt around him?- he rushed away, towards Aizen and the central Forty-Six.


**************


“BAN KAI! Kokujo Tengen Myou!”

His grin growing wider and wider, Kenpachi stared at the towering colossal titan of a samurai that the Bankai had summoned. The giant stood at least one hundred meters tall, covered entirely in a black armor, and wielding a katana that, even in proportion to its own body, was huge. Standing at the foot of the titan was its master, Komamura Sajin, still wearing his own armor and helmet, covered in an unnatural spiritual glow.

“Ah, now we're talkin'... a straightforward Bankai, with an entire giant for me to slaughter.” Letting out a laugh, Kenpachi picked up the unconscious Tosen Kaname, who was still lying at his feet. “Far better than that cheap trick that your friend here pulled- why couldn't you just have gone for this right away? Would've saved ya the trouble of seeing me cut him down.”

“Talk all you want, you accursed traitor – it won't do you any good.” Sajin growled, his contempt clearly audible in his voice. “We will see how long you can keep up this disrespectful attitude before I strike you down with all my strength. You'll receive a grim reminder of what happens to those that betray the Gotei...”

Kenpachi sighed. “C'mon, not this shit again! Didn't you already finish all your justice-and-traitor-talk? I thought you'd get it by now that I don't care for any of that shit – I just want to fight, to swing my sword until there is nothing left to slay in front of me. All your talk about justice is just getting in the way here... and so is your friend. Catch!”

And with that, Kenpachi took Tosen, and threw him over to Sajin, who swiftly caught his friend, and lay him down on the ground behind him.

With a cold, determined look on his face, Sajin took a step forward, raising his arm- and with him, so did the giant. The sword, easily the size of something very, very large- Kenpachi’s mind was not one especially well versed in metaphors- begun to come down, falling with enormous force down on the wild captain. Kenpachi laughed like a madman, raising his sword to block as the sword came down on him.

And down it came, with a force that leveled the entire block around them. Sajin grunted, looking through the dust.

“Such is the fate of traitors.” He said resolutely, raising the blade. He had gotten a direct hit with his Bankai- there was very little which should be able to survive that.
Then again, Kenpachi was an impossible kind of man… carefully, he sensed for reiatsu. And as the smoke cleared, he saw him- standing on one knee, holding his sword. He had been forced down, and his blade was broken- roughly a third had been cut off, and there was blood; one of his arms looked broken, and there was an open wound in his shoulder, blood pouring from it in abundance.

Slowly, Kenpachi got to his feet, struggling to stand.

“Ya know…” He said, reaching for his face with his one working arm, still holding on to the sword, “if that’s all ya got, then ya have to try real hard not to die when I give it my all.”

Sajin frowned, almost in disbelief. Was he delusional? He looked half dead- as he should be; Kokujo Tengen Myou was nothing if not powerful- yet here he stood, declaring victory. Then he ripped off his eye patch, and Sajin remembered- and for a split second, before the flood gates opened, he cursed himself for his pride.

Then it exploded, the raw power of Zaraki Kenpachi, mighty like a spring river bursting, like an earthquake, and the man sprang into action, leaping forwards, directly at his Bankai. Sajin tried to parry, but Kenpachi jumped into the air, past the blade coming his way, and cut deep into his chest, his power amplifying the sword’s strike a thousandfold. Sajin staggered back, a gash appearing across his chest. It was like a sledgehammer coming down on him, and he almost keeled over, his helmet dropping to the ground, cracking. He fell down on one knee, looking at his opponent eye to eye. Behind him, so did his Bankai, the mighty giant following his every move.

Kenpachi landed on the ground, looking elated. It was absurd- nobody should be so wounded and smile like that.

“So that’s what you look like.” He said merrily, looking at Sajin. Behind the now broken mask was the head of a canine, a fierce, beastly visage. “Question is, are you as tough as you look, dog boy?”

Standing up, Sajin shrugged off the pain, sending the traitor a determined glare. “Your blade… it did not cut me deep enough!” He shot back.

“That’s the spirit!” Kenpachi said. And once again he charged, and Sajin felt somewhat like a villager facing down a tsunami.


**************


Yoruichi ran, stretching herself to her limit- she had been largely inactive for a hundred years, and it was showing. Still, in a way it felt good to have to push herself to be as good as she could be- Soifon had gotten faster, so much faster, since the last time she had seen her. She was good, quick, and almost as fast as her. Almost.

They were dashing through a forest now, trees all around them- definitely far enough away that nobody would be hurt in their fight. Abruptly, Yoruichi slid to a halt, landing on a tree branch far up high, on an ancient tree. Soifon followed suit, stopping on a tree opposite to her. They faced off, just staring at one another, and Yoruichi felt a strong pang of guilt. Soifon had good reason to hate her, and it was no misunderstanding, either- Yoruichi had wronged her once. Not enough to distract her from the mission at hand- but she had amends to make after this, to be sure.

“Shihoin Yoruichi.”

“Well hello, Soifon.” Yoruichi said, grinning cockily. “Look at you, all grown up- well, almost.”

“I have come to execute you, traitor.”

“And here I had hoped we could catch up on old times. It’s been so long, hasn’t it?” This, she realized, was cruel- but psychology too was part of battle, and she couldn’t lose, couldn’t risk endangering the plan.

Soifon flinched. “You are as disrespectful as you always were.” She raised her arm, and Yoruichi could see a long, gilded needle-like weapon attacked to her middle finger. A stinger of some sort; probably her shikai. “Still, you will face justice-“

“I think you meant revenge.”

There was an odd look on Soifon’s face, for a moment breaking her determined mask of hate. “…I will kill you.” She said quietly.

“Feel free to try.” Yoruichi said, crossing her arms.

Soifon… smiled, and it looked wrong to Yoruichi. “Oh, I will,” she said, and suddenly, three marks, looking oddly like a stylized butterfly, materialized on Yoruichi’s body. “and this is how.”

“What- what is this?”

“This is the mark of Suzumebachi, my zanpakutou.” Soifon sounded almost gleeful. “Nigeki kessatsu- if you are hit twice in the same spot, you will die. Nothing can save you once that is done.”

“How-“ Yoruichi started, bewildered.

“I hit you when we were running. Three times.”

Yoruichi bit her lip. Damn, she had gotten good- she hadn’t even felt that. Then, she grinned.

“Well, look at you- captain, commander of the onmitsukidou, and a murderous shikai to boot- now there’s a good girl! You did all right on your own, kid, didn’t you?”

Soifon was quiet for a bit, then said,
“…why?”

They both knew, of course, what she meant.

“Now, that,” Yoruichi said, scratching her head casually, “is something you’d have to beat out of me. I really don’t have time to reminisce.”

“So be it, then.”

It was amazing how fast she had gotten. In an instant, just a single step, Soifon had crossed the distance between one tree and another, coming at her with the stinger. But Yoruichi was the one who had taught her everything, and that had its advantages- like reading her like an open book. Quickly, as Soifon came flying at her, she crossed her wrists and redirected the stinging arm upwards, slamming a knee into Soifon’s chest. Soifon grunted, shoved back- and instantly reappeared behind Yoruichi.

She had gotten good.


************************


Orihime had come into this adventure prepared to fight and suffer as much as was needed to save Rukia, but knowing you would feel pain and actually knowing pain were two vastly different things. And at this moment, Inoue Orihime knew pain. Her entire back felt like it was on fire, like her skin had been torn off it. Her first instinct was to scream, to break down and fall into merciful unconsciousness- but the moment the thought entered her head, she pushed it away. They needed her. Kurosaki, Uryu, Tatsuki- they all needed her, and it would be pathetic for her to just break down now, after all of them had fought so hard.
Struggling, she flexed her hands, and the orange light formed around her, lifting her, and slowly she got to her feet. She tried her best to ignore the burning pain, looking around her.

And what she saw was… pink. A seemingly infinite cloud of pink blossom blades, hurtling through the air. Byakuya, who had apparently moved a good distance away from her while she had been lying on the ground, was standing in the center of it all.

“Goodbye, petty humans.” Byakuya said coldly. “I acknowledge your strength, but this has gone on long enough. It is time to…” He seemed to hesitate, and for a moment, there was a strange look flickering across his face. “…die.”

“We don’t have to die!” Orihime cried. “And neither do you! Or anybody else!” She didn’t quite know what she was saying, but it seemed to have an effect- for a moment, the petals stopped advancing.

“Yes.” Byakuya said, dispassionately. “Everyone must die. It is the way of things.”

“Don’t underestimate us, then!” Orihime said determinedly. “I didn’t die just now- just you wait, when we’re done, we’ll have beaten you and then, I’ll heal you! After I healed everyone else! Because everybody lives!”

“A foolish notion.” Byakuya noted, sighing quietly. “Everybody knows that everybody dies, and there is nothing that can be done about it. My life, your lives, and any life – they all will end sooner or later...  and you pretentious ryoka will die now.”

What followed was silence, during which all that happened was Byakuya staring at them, and likewise, them staring at Byakuya, all of them waiting for somebody to make the first move.

“What happened? What's with these blades?” Orihime whispered into the silence, just loud enough for Tatsuki, Uryu and Ichigo to hear it.

“Bankai.” Ichigo answered shortly. “He-”

Orihime never found out what “he” did, as in this moment, Byakuya apparently had waited enough. All of a sudden, he started moving his hands like a conductor directing an orchestra... and not a second later, the blades started moving, flying towards them at an incredible speed, almost too fast for Orihime to see.

“Shit!” Before Orihime herself could react in any way, Uryu had grabbed her, and jumped out of the way with her. And not a moment too soon; almost instantly, the swords came down, making deep cuts into the ground. Ichigo and Tatsuki had managed to evade the attack, too, and were now both charging at Byakuya from two different directions.

Before either of them could however even get close to him, Byakuya had already disappeared, having moved back several meters.

“Hold still already!” Tatsuki snarled, stopping dead in her tracks to see where Byakuya was now.

Ichigo on the other hand spotted Byakuya instantly, and continued charging after him right away. He just had to get close to him- any other attack that he had just simply wouldn't work in this situation. But getting close to him was easier said than done; Byakuya's absurd, Bankai-boosted speed was already bad enough by itself, but the blades made it just impossible to follow him. When Ichigo thought that he had finally actually gotten close, thousands, millions of blades came down on him. Dodge left, move to the right, duck, jump- just one quick movement to get out of harm's way, and Byakuya was already out of reach.

By now however, Tatsuki had gotten a clear sight of Byakuya once more – and better yet, his efforts to shake off Ichigo had lead him to ignore her for just a few seconds... which was all the time that she needed. Quickly taking aim, Tatsuki raised her hands, gathering electricity between them, before firing it off in a great ball. “Denjiho!”

With little more than a thought, Byakuya directed the blades of his Bankai. Blocking off Uryu's arrows, halting Ichigo's movement towards him; all it took was a silent command, and the swords moved accordingly. And yet, Byakuya was dissatisfied, yes, angered even with the way the use of his Bankai worked out. Before its power, the ryoka should have gone down in a matter of seconds, and yet, they still had managed to evade his attacks, with one of his blades only now managing to get a shallow cut on Ichigo's chest.

It was his own fault for letting himself get enraged like this, he thought – had he been able to retain his composure, this all would already be over now. But there was no use thinking about this... it didn't matter. They-

Byakuya interrupted his thoughts, as a sudden, strong pain shot through his left arm with an impact that forced him back. Frantically, he whirled around- he had forgotten about the other shinigami besides Kurosaki...

“Gotcha!” Tatsuki shouted enthusiastically. Her attack had hit – now better follow up on it before the chance went to waste!

Forcing herself to go as fast as she possibly could, Tatsuki charged towards Byakuya. She could do this, she thought- just a few more seconds, and then she'd be up to Byakuya and able to finish him off...

“WATCH OUT, YOU MORON!”

Surprised, Tatsuki turned her head around, only to see Ichigo charge towards her- and then he was already there, pushing her and himself out of the way of the striking blades. For a short moment, Tatsuki just stared at Ichigo- and then the realization struck her. She had made the same mistake as Byakuya: She had only focused on him, completely ignoring his blades...

“We aren't getting anywhere like this...” Uryu said, having apparently also moved in to help Tatsuki together with Orihime. “Arisawa-san, Kurosaki-san – I'll need you to keep his attention off me. Just give me about one minute, and I'll be able to do something which should help us out.”

”Right. One minute. Gotcha.” Ichigo muttered. “You up for this, Tatsuki?”

“It’s only sixty seconds, isn’t it?”

And as if fate didn’t like to be tempted, once again the blades swelled, blasting at them like a pink nightmare, charging, forming long strings of thousands of blades, rising up as if to swallow them whole, and they both knew that a moment’s laxity could be fatal. Quickly, they both dashed away, then directly toward Byakuya, as Uryu moved back. They could feel his reiatsu change and grow- as could Byakuya, surely.

“Left side! Go low!” Ichigo barked, bracing his sword, going high, the both of them moving closer- to no avail, of course. There was no penetrating Byakuya’s defenses; the both of them were cut as they came closer, both flashing back in a hurry.


*******


Uryu took a deep breath. Had somebody told him before yesterday that he would have to use the stone, the Stein der Weisen, in another battle to the death to ensure his survival and that of his partners, he would have quickly agreed to it, after some initial skepticism. By now however... things were a bit different.

He still vividly recalled the training that Yoruichi had put him through both yesterday and today. The moment that Uryu had explained to Yoruichi what the stone was that he had used against the freaky captain that him and Orihime had fought, she insisted that he should use it again, figure out how it worked, and what it exactly it allowed him to do. Of course, Orihime had immediately objected when she heard these plans, remembering oh so well what the use of the stone had done to Uryu after a while. Ultimately however, she had to agree with Yoruichi: The use of this stone might just give them the offensive power that they would need to turn the tides in the battle in their favour.

So Uryu used the stone again.

And again.

And again.

For hours and hours, Yoruichi made him push his ability to use the stone to the limit- he would use it as long as possible before losing control, using as much of its power as possible, using it against Yoruichi... and then, at least a dozen tests, and several hours later, their tests were finally over. Through the entire ordeal, they had learned two things: One, Uryu's offensive power while using the stone was, if Yoruichi was to believed, comparable to that of an average captain using Bankai; and two, Uryu could use the stone for a minimum of ten, and a maximum of twenty minutes before starting to lose control over it.

Once all of their tests were done, Yoruichi had been in unexpectedly high spirits; finding out that Uryu had something like this at his disposal had strongly improved her view on the inevitable confrontation with Byakuya that she had to send them into. Uryu himself, on the other hand, was a bit more skeptical. Even with this power, it would still take little more than just one clear hit for him to be taken out for good – even moreso since this power made him a bigger threat. And this wasn't even getting into the issue of the control itself...

In essence, the use of the stone was simple: Tap into the power of a stream of souls, not unlike the interior of a hollow, and use their power for yourself. This did also mean opening oneself up to these souls, though, hearing their screams of rage and agony, and slowly but surely losing control because of them, as it happened each time that Uryu used the stone. Back when he had first used it, the thought of this all had intimidated Uryu greatly – but the more he used the thing during the tests that Yoruichi insisted on running, the more normal it got to him. After a while, Uryu had even managed to simply ignore the souls by focusing on fighting.

But as the tests went on and the hours grew longer, there had been one more thing, one unexpected feeling that even now made him feel uncertain about making use of this stone, something which he had told neither Yoruichi or Orihime about – and why should he? It had been little more than a small but persistent uncertainty, most likely just an effect of training and testing for so long.

But even with these rationalizations, Uryu didn't manage to shake off this feeling – the feeling that somehow, in some way, something was watching him whenever he used the stone, observing him from beyond the tempest of souls, staring down on him...

Uryu shook his head. No second thoughts now.

“Please watch my back, Inoue-san. When this gets out of control again... you know what to do.” Uryu said quietly, addressing Orihime, who was standing right beside him with a worried expression on her face, knowing full well what he was going to do.

Orihime nodded determinedly. “I will!”

Uryu took another deep breath. “Den Leidenden die Erlösung...”