Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar or Bleach all rights go to Tite Kubo and Mike and Bryan.

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"Well what do you know enemies and traitor's working together. I give up a princess surrenders with honor."

Zuko inwardly scoffed at her last remark he could clearly see her eyes shifting around wildly trying to find a way out of this mess but what he didn't notice was that her calculating eyes had stayed a little too long on his person.

Zuko looked at Azula and then quickly glanced at Iroh, but Iroh did not acknowledge his nephews victorious glance he stayed rigid in his stance his eyes unblinking and his mouth set in a hard line.

Zuko glanced back at Azula to see her arms in front of her in a surrendering position but everyone was still and rigid in the tense silence. His eyes flickered over to the avatar and to the newest member of their group the little blind girl who he noticed was an earthbender the irony of a petite blind girl controlling such a stubborn and rebellious element did not go by him but right now that wasn't important.

Zuko's eyes flicked to Azula in an instant when he saw her twitch, he didn't know if anyone noticed but him but his senses have gotten a lot sharper while on the run and he could see her legs slowly but surely positioning themselves in a stance, a firebending stance. Zuko glanced up to Azula's eyes to try to read the two burning embers and was surprised to see them flicker devilishly as a corner of her mouth went up a millimeter but before he could attack or do anything to warn the others Azula attacked.

Azula sent a blast of lightning upwards catching everyone off guard while simultaneously sending a strong blast of lightning at her victim. Zuko's eyes widened in horror as he watched her smirk maliciously before he saw the lightning racing toward him, helpless and unable to do anything, he braced himself for impact in that short amount of time as the fire raced toward him in what seemed like ages before it impacted with his body knocking the wind out of him and burning and fizzling his skin and muscle tissue. Zuko let out a roar of agony as the pain ripped through him again and again like never ending torture.

Zuko fell to the ground gasping and withering in pain as it washed over him in white hot waves. He watched through bleary eyes as everyone attacked simultaneously causing an explosion that pushed everyone back, but in the end it was useless, because in the end Azula was gone and he, Zuko was dying.

She had won again…Just like she always had.

He watched through a pained expression and foggy eyes that swam with black dots as everyone ran to him but only their silhouettes were visible which was a blessing because he could only imagine their expressions, he couldn't bear to look at his uncles the emotional pain would be too much for putting him in such a horrible position. Zuko tried blinking but his eyelids felt so heavy, his body felt so heavy, the pain that ripped through him moments ago started to numb, his foggy brain idly wondered if this was how it felt to die to be in pain and suddenly feel numb, detached.

Zuko ignored as his uncle cried hysterically for him, shaking him trying to keep him awake, anything. And how the avatar's group just hung back, guilt and shame evident in their faces as they watched him die slowly and painfully but he noticed shockingly that the avatar's face was the worst as it held raw pain and emotion the face of a child and the same face of a child that could grow into a fully realized avatar and stop the war or the face of a child that would die before his father's hand helpless and before he could master all the elements. Zuko smiled or at least tried to smile as much as he could through the mind numbing pain, it is ironic that it took him dying to understand how really messed up and jacked up his family was but at least he could savor the moments, the good moments he had had with his uncle. And even though his uncle might not really know what he meant to him hopefully Agni would know and hopefully Agni would also bless the avatar. He glanced at the avatar silently wishing him well and finally embraced the light, his vision of all the people around his death bed fading until there was nothing but a white light.

He made out faintly through his dying haze as someone said the fatal words to the people there gathered around him, "He's gone."

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Toph moved her foot to get a better picture of Zuko's situation her eyebrows furrowed in concentration but it was useless, his situation was over because he was over. Toph hung her head in shame of being the one to deliver the bad news but there was nothing they could do his wounds were too severe even for Katara's healing.

Toph said in a sad voice her long bangs concealing her eyes but not her tears, "He's gone."

Zuko was dead. Everyone watched in grim silence as Zuko started to take shallow breaths the life in his eyes slowly dying until there was nothing left but dull, sightless, amber eyes staring into the sky ahead a small faint smile gracing his face as his inner fire died turning him into nothing more but a cold corpse.

Iroh cried silently but that was worse than when he was crying loudly and to the avatar it was like a hot, bitter knife to the gut because it shows even their enemies are human no matter how bad they seem they will still have a family that cares for them and people that they care for in turn.

And who knew that in the end their enemy had become their ally and who knew that the boy, no man, before them would have smiled for the first time in years was when he was about to die It was fates cruel joke to live a life so terrible and to die so early with no happiness. But this is war and there hasn't been happiness for over a hundred years.

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Kuchiki Byakya walked with his lieutenant through the Senkaimonin relative silence. Renji looked up ahead and squinted finding a peculiar object lying there on the floor up ahead he glanced at his captain seeing that he didn't notice it yet, they continued walking in silence. Renji walked a couple steps when he noticed the peculiar object from a bit earlier staring up at him from his feet he stared at it in confusion, Byakya looked coolly at it before picking it up he muttered in a monotone voice, "Strange."

Renji raised his tattooed brows up in confusion, "Taichou? What is it?"

"This mask has a strange reitsu."

Renji looked over his captain's shoulder staring carefully trying to memorize the strange mask, "Do you think it's a hollows mask?"

Byakya shook his head, "That is not possible but perhaps this was a mask of a former espada."

Renji shook his head, "No it's too different to be a hollow mask or an espada mask. But the reitsu surrounding it is unsettling, very evil."

Bykya nodded his head, "Yes, but this reitsu reminds me of hell and of Hueco Mundo."

Renji looked at his captain baffled, " Hell? That's not possible, and Hueco Mundo? If that's true then how is it here?..."

Renji let the sentence drift off as he pondered his own question when he froze the realization dawning on him, he slowly glanced at the menacing mask the Byakya held, the dark eyeholes of the mask almost whispering something menacing.

"Aizen…"

Renji glanced at the mask again before he addressed his captain, "We need to go back and show this to Head Captain Yamamoto Genrysai."

Byakya Kuchiki nodded and then they flash stepped back to the Soul Society.

000

Elsewhere something stirred and released a howling cry its chain's rattling while terrible moans from around it cried out into the sky.

Just something that was bothering me and I really wanted to post it. Helpful criticism is loved!