A/N: Bleach and all characters are owned by Tite Kubo. Unbeta'd so all mistakes are mine alone. Characters probably are wildly OOC and non canon in this fiction.

No Mercy

The body fell in horrifying slow motion.

Shunsui Kyoraku raced to the side of the fallen pale haired man but it was already to late. He could see that. Even someone who was not medically trained would recognize that it was a mortal wound. Juushiro Ukitake lay dead before him. He felt something inside him die too. They had been bound soul to soul for as long as they had known each other.

There were a few tears that trickled down his face as his jaw clenched tightly. "You lied..." He cried out. "You lied to me. You swore you'd never leave me. You said you'd be fine." His voice cracked. "I will not stand for this."

Kyoraku seemed to be muttering under his breath, people in the vicinity began to wonder about his sanity. Hardly anyone had noticed the change that was taking place. His reiatsu was growing in strength and it became dark and oppressive. If it wasn't for the actions of his former lieutenant, more lives would have been lost. She had seen this one other time and it was the most horrifying display of power one could ever want to see.

Lisa Yadomaru began pulling people away. Those that wouldn't move she cast a kido spell on them to render them unconscious.

The change was subtle at first. The top half of his clothing began to elongate and meld onto the shafts of the two huge scimitars that were his swords. Those swords also began to elongate and curve around his body. They remained separate and could move independently of each other but still made a large, bladed circle around him. They could be moved in any position up and down this form. The cloth: kimono, haori and shihakusho were now spread out and around the shafts.

"Bankai!" He growled.

Little dust swirls began to form around his feet and the cloth draping off the shafts of the swords began to flutter. Shunsui sunk into the nearest shadow; which happened to be cast off the body of his lover.

Lisa strained her eyes as she scanned the distance for his reappearance. It didn't take long. One shadow began to shimmer and warp into an odd shape. It was a swirling vortex and out of that vortex emerged a large spinning top. There was an occasional glint of a razor sharp sword edge and the cloth fanned out above and below the blades. She wracked her memory for a description, it finally clicked. He looked like a whirling dervish. A very deadly and pissed off whirling dervish.

Shunsui was spinning so fast, being able to duck in and out of shadows made him almost impossible to follow. The Quincies were in chaos as they were being sliced and diced from a strange object appearing out of nowhere.

He came to a halt in front of the hulking figure of the leader of the Quincy army. Shunsui's face was void of emotions, even the usual glint of joy and mischief was gone from his eye. It was just a dull, flat dead look. One that normal people would nervously back away from.

"I see you've chosen to pay me a little visit, Kyoraku-san." There was a sneer on the face of Juha Bach. "Have you come to take revenge for your fallen companion, or perhaps the old man I slaughtered as easily as he slaughtered my people?" Shunsui stood quietly in front of him. "Hmm I suppose you just want to kill me, how cliche, I thought you had more imagination than that?"

"Or are you upset that I haven't given you your proper title, Kyoraku-soutaicho." The Quincy leader scoffed. "I will not show any respect to you murderous shinigami." He drew his sword.

Kyoraku's voice was like distant thunder. "Shut up! You are only alive because I have chosen to let you live for the moment. Give up this fight, submit yourself to our ruling and I may have mercy on the remainder of your followers."

"Give up? Submit? Mercy? These are unknown words to both of us. Although with you there is probably a better chance at mercy then there ever was with 'Old Man Genocide'."

"Then you don't know me at all." Shunsui dove sideways as a Quincy weapon discharged close to his head.

"Your shadow tricks can't hide your reiatsu, so no matter where you go I can find you..." Suddenly Bach had a confused look on his face. One shouldn't be able to hide that much power, especially in bankai, yet there was no trace of the shinigami who had just a few moments ago, stood in front of him.

There was a sharp pain across his back as a blade sliced through his cape and uniform. Another pain as a cut appeared on his left thigh, it brought him to his knee, gasping in pain. Just as he was wondering where his second in command; Jugram Haschwalth's head being cleaved from his body. He felt the young man's powers flow back into him and it helped revive his strength. Then the pain came again as a deep slash opened on his chest.

"Damn you Shinigami." He spat out. "I've studied your powers, how are you doing this?"

A whisper at his ear answered. "All bankai wielders continue to build our power. What we were yesterday, we are not today." The whisper moved to the other side. "I've had years to perfect her powers, yet she still wants more. You know of my shikai and only a small part of my bankai's powers. I've gone where no one can observe me."

Bach's arm began to burn as a slash appeared down it's length. He jabbed his sword into the ground.

"Colors, shadows, winds and chasing, Children's games really. Hide, conceal, reflect, change. What could you do with all those combined and multiplied." Kyoraku taunted from a shadow.

"Preposterous! You can not conceal all that power. It's known even among the Quincy how strong you are. You can not be invisible, you must be traceable somehow."

"Your data is flawed, or is it that you were misinformed?" Something moved Haschwalth's body. "Perhaps someone didn't tell you every thing."

"He would never betray me." Bach thrust his sword forward.

"So you would think. But maybe your arrogance and insanity are your betrayers." Shunsui's tone had become mocking. "To die, knowing that your most trusted, most beloved soldier may have turned his back on you."

"Then why would you kill him, if he did indeed help you." Bach managed to duck a cut that would have shaved off half of his head. He swung his sword around in a panicked flailing motion. He felt it bite into a hunk of flesh and inwardly cheered that he had gotten one hit on the tricky bastard. It was unthinkable that he; the Emperor of the Quincies could not get more than one strike against a single shinigami. He had slayed thousands, yet this one was more troublesome than an entire platoon of the cheating bastards. He had even brought down the most blood thirsty of all them. Killing the old man had seemed so easy compared to this. Had his most trusted adviser betrayed him? Or had they underestimated this usually mild, lazy, laid back man?

"No mercy!" Echoed from all around him. "I said you didn't know me." Bach suddenly found he was pulled into the shadow world.

There were graves, bones and flowers strewn everywhere. This place reeked of death and dark, evil powers. Bach looked around with suspicion filled eyes.

[Is this the one?] A low pitched female voice called out.

"It is." Kyoraku replied. "He's responsible for the deaths of Sogyo no Kotowari and Juushiro. Also for the death of Ryujin Jakka and Master Yamamoto."

[Quit toying with him and kill him, you're as bad as a lazy cat torturing your prey]

"He hasn't been able to kill me." Bach loudly proclaimed.

[He hasn't been trying to. You're nothing but a mouse to a cat.]

A shadow dashed past him on the left side and he felt the burning sting of the blade cut into his side. A tsking sound came from his right. Shunsui strolled out from behind one of the pile of bones. "You never let me have my fun." The long blades were back in their shikai state. "I thought you two liked games of torture." There was a miffed sounding tsk from the right side again.

"Why did you bring me here? Is this some childish attempt at intimidation?" Bach stood his ground. He payed no mind to his blood dripping on the ground. "I will not give way to games and you may torture me all you wish. I will not bend. I WILL NEVER BOW TO A SHINIGAMI." He shouted the last bit.

[You wish to be tortured?]

Shunsui's face became much more animated. "As you wish." The swords moved in long lazy arcs. Each one cutting little bits here and there about the Quincy's body. If anyone could see what was happening they would say it looked just like a cat playing with a mouse before devouring it. "You see my girls like to play games like this. Usually I get sucked into them too, so I don't like to use them too often, but just this once we're doing it my way."

[For a while at least.]

"Fine. Spoil sport." Kyoraku swatted with his sword again.

[Don't kill him in here though, we don't want any more of his blood here. Besides the victory will be better with witnesses.]

"So true." He began the transformation into his bankai again and forced the Quincy Emperor back through the shadow vortex.

As he was being forced backwards, the Quincy lord could have sworn he saw two figures standing side by side over an open grave. The headstone had Kyoraku's full name inscribed in it. A tall buxom woman to the right and a smaller lethal looking woman-child on the left. They matched the sides that Kyoraku would hold his sealed swords in. Larger to the right and smaller to the left.

"That grave is for me. Eventually I'll end up there, but not this time. It's time for you to die."

Juha Bach was bleeding profusely from the multitude of cuts and slices. "I'll never bow to you."

"I expect not." Shunsui drove the points of both swords into the weakened body, forming an obscene looking cross.

"You really plan on doing this, what happened to the even tempered man?" Blood gushed out of his mouth. "I underestimated you."

"No mercy." Shunsui Kyoraku Captain-commander of the Gotei-13 growled. He pulled the swords through the body in different directions, dissecting the body of the Emperor of the Quincies.

There was a cheer from the distant crowd of surviving shinigami and friends. Shunsui sheathed his swords with a tired sigh and watched as the Squad two ninja's moved in to make sure the death was complete. As he slowly made his way to where Ukitake still lay he could feel the heat from the kido blasts, making sure there was absolutely nothing left of the fallen Quincies bodies.

He dropped down beside the motionless body and gathered it into his arms. "It's over now, you can rest easy." He tenderly kissed Juushiro's forehead then moved on to each cheek.

"Well have a proper burial, sir." Nanao rested her hand on his shoulder, then moved away. Shunsui nodded and with some angling and shifting, he stood, holding Ukitake in his arms and walked away. Nanao buried her face on Lisa's shoulder.

People clung to each other as they mourned the loss of Ukitake; one of the kindest captains to ever serve in the Gotei-13.

"I don't understand what happened?" Nanao wiped her eyes. "What in the world was that?"

"That was Taicho's bankai. It's hard to explain." Lisa patted her back. "You've seen his shikai?" Nanao nodded to that. "Have you ever really seen him use it?"

"No, but I've read the reports from the fight in Karakura town." She frowned. "He never let me see his power in action."

"Be glad. It's horrible. I think every time he uses it, he loses a bit of himself."

Otoribashi-taicho limped over. "He loses some of his sanity each time too." Lisa nodded to that. "He probably wanted to keep you from seeing him like that."

"All his shikai moves get mashed up in his bankai. He becomes the moves." Lisa adjusted her glasses. "It can even seem like he's invisible because of Irooni use of color. Kageoni is the shadow place, and trust me you do NOT want to see that." Lisa wrapped her arms around herself as she remembered. "Anything in range can be drawn into the games, that's why I made everyone leave. I'm glad he had the foresight to dive into the shadow first before he unleashed Bushogoma in bankai form. All of those games are lethal."

"But the games in bankai do something to his personality. It warps him. He's like a cat with a mouse. He'll just play with and torture his prey." Rose Otoribashi-taicho chimed in. "It's awful." He cleared his throat. "Honestly I think if he stayed in the shadows and just let his anger take over, he could tear every thing apart."

"I thought I felt the ground moving a couple of times." Nanao was nodding. "I never realized he was that powerful."

"Most people have no clue. He hides it well." Lisa made a final statement.

They all walked back to what remained of the Seireitai. The service for Juushiro Ukitake Captain of Squad thirteen was held at dusk. He was laid to rest under his favorite plum tree, close to the shore of the pond that surrounded Ugendo, so he could be close to the koi fish he loved so much.

There were many tears shed, lots of stories shared, and the flowers piled high on the burial sight. Later there was a gathering in the Squad thirteen barracks. The cooks had gone out of their way to make all the foods that Ukitake loved. Sake and spirits flowed freely. Hardly anyone noticed the absence of the Captain-commander.

Shunsui had spread a blanket next to the grave. A bottle of his best sake at his side.

"You cheated you know? I was suppose to go first." His good eye was heavy and drooping. "You should have seen it. I think the old man might have been proud." He took a long swallow directly from the sake jug. "I kinda lost control a bit though, but you know how I am in bankai. The girls actually let me have my way in the game this time. I think they were as mad and upset as I was."

His trademarked hat was shifted back further on his head. "Soul Society is pretty much of a mess right now. But we're working getting things back in order." Another swallow of sake followed the first. "You're suppose to be here to keep me in line, ya know. You're my balance, the rational side of my soul. What am I suppose to do now?" The sake bottle pressed to his lips again. "I'll never make it as Captain-commander without you. Sure I have Nanao-chan and Okikiba, but you.. " Shunsui paused. "You made me think. You made life worth living. Everything's going to be so empty now. Especially my bed. Even when we didn't do anything but lay there and hold each other under the covers. Now I've got nothing."

A silvery tear ran down his cheek. "I hate you right now." More tears fell. "I lie, of course I don't hate you. I could never hate you." He drank heavily from the jug. "Dammit Juushiro what am I suppose to do without you?" His hand strayed to the shafts on his swords. "I could join you. You'd never forgive me for that, would you? You'd probably even haunt me."

"You messed up our plans. Remember we were going to tear down the walls and bring everyone together." Shunsui sniffled. "We were going to make things better for those in the Rukon districts."

He spent hours reminiscing their pasts and recalling what their future plans were going to be. Lisa and Nanao found him curled up on his side, sound asleep the next morning. They woke him up and gently guided him back to his room.

"Do you think he'll be alright?" Nanao asked with a worried tone.

"Eventually. He's had half of his soul ripped out, that's not going to heal over night."

They left him to sleep. It didn't go well at all. Shunsui kept having visions of Ukitake falling. Seeing the blood pour from his body; Juushiro had fought a long time to keep the blood inside because of his disease. Now it was just flowing freely, unchecked on the ground. He sat up with tears streaming down his face and body drenched with sweat.

After bathing he returned to the graveside. It still didn't seem real. He spent a few more hours; just sitting there with the flowers and fresh turned soil. "Ya know..." he finally said as he stood and dusted his clothing off. "You've made my job harder too, now I've gotta find another new captain. Who the hell's gonna take your place?"

A single plum blossom floated down and he captured it in his hand. "Are you telling me to shut up and get to work? Pretty pushy for a dead guy." A strong breeze flipped the hat off his head, he caught it before it floated out onto the pond. These were things that Juushiro use to do to tease and reassure him.

Shunsui Kyoraku smiled through the falling tears. "Yeah yeah I got it." He headed to his office. "You're all set on haunting me to keep me in line. Thanks a lot pal." Another breeze ruffled the kimono as if someone had tugged on it. "I'm gonna miss you, my dear friend."

"And no mercy huh?"