Kenryu's eyes narrowed. He couldn't do anything but jump in front of the princess that he had practically raised to protect her. The former third captain only smiled cruelly and plunged his zanpakuto into his abdomen without a shred of kindness. The aqua-eyed guard spat out blood as he felt Raika dig deeper into his flesh. Amagai dragged the blade upwards, causing further pain to the humble guardian. On impulse, he turned around and looked Lurichiyo in the eye. Her emerald orbs gazed back at him, full of fear and worry. Kenryu smiled sadly, and reached for his own zanpakuto before returning the favor to Shusuke. Said former captain glared at the guard, clearly surprised that he would dare stab him. A man who was out for revenge.

Now that same man who was just stabbed in the chest; the guard had a scowl on his face as he pulled his katana from the captain. Kenryu, satisfied with his work collapsed to his knees, barely managing to turn around to face the princess, his expression softening. This was the girl that he had protected and taken care of her whole life. He wasn't going to let her down now.

"Don't worry...Luri-chan." Kenryu whispered to her. Her eyes widened at the use of that nickname. She had only been called that once by him. Tears blurred her vision of him as he reached out a gloved hand and grabbed her own petite ones, pulling her into an unexpected hug. "Everything...will be okay. Especially since you have...Enryuu with you. Just know...that I care about-" He coughed out pools of blood, unable to say more. Even though this hindered his last words, Lurichiyo could not find anything to say except sob and embrace his hug. His eyes slid shut, and cast him into darkness. 'You...I care about you, Lurichiyo-sama...'

"Kenryu!" She cried holding him close. His body, while still warm, looked quite lifeless. If you were to bother opening his eyes to look into them, you would've seen that they were dull. Void of any life, and void any other emotion but kindness. Enryu had no tears, but did have a look of sheer anger. Amagai, who miraculously was still alive after being stabbed, laughed. Ichigo's hazel eyes darted towards the guard and back to the former captain.

"You bastard! That was a dirty trick!" Ichigo said, putting himself into an attacking stance. "I said your fight was with me, remember?" Ichigo ran at the captain, ready to continue the battle. Half of his resolve came from the will to protect and the other...from revenge and slight anger. The princess had let Kenryu's body lay flat on the floor, her hat as a pillow.

"All is fair in love and war, substitute." Was all Shusuke said with a dark chuckle. Lurichiyo, now angry at the haughty ex-captain charged forward with a battle cry. Rukia managed to grabbed her wrist and pull her back to safety. Enryu held her back as she attempted to struggle.

"Let me go!" She kicked his shin and tried to free herself. "He has to pay for what he did! He has to pay!" She howled. Rukia only could try to calm the girl. On the other hand, Enryu could only watch the scene that was in front of him. It was like watching a drama...only real.

"And would you dying in the process make Kenryu feel any better?" Rukia shouted, attempting to get the princess to her senses. Rukia gestured in the guard's direction. "He gave his all to protect you! And you throwing it away was supposed to grant him his final wish?" The small girl's struggle weakened, tears the only thing that proved she had some sort of thought process left.

"But, he has to pay..." She said in a tone near that to a whisper. "He killed Kenryu...and-and I-" Rukia put a hand on her shoulder.

"Shh...Kenryu protected you, didn't he? Don't you think that you being safe is what he wants?" These words effectively silenced her. "I'm sure that he wouldn't be happy if you got hurt."

"N-No...he wouldn't...but I want him back, Rukia. It isn't fun...without him here." She said this in between sobs. Rukia was slightly surprised at her actions, not even using her formalities. Then again, she supposed that if she were in the same situation, Rukia herself would be doing the same. With the way that Lurichiyo acted, you could almost forget she was a kid with responsibilities. You could almost forget of what she's been though. And maybe, you could probably forget that her guards were her brothers...the people that raised her and brought her happiness. The ones who cared about her with all their heart, and would do anything to protect her.

But now...one glance at her would remind you that she was a mere child. A mere child who just saw one of the people she cared about most...slaughtered.

"I know you want him back...but there isn't anything that we can do right now. You'll just have to make sure that you keep yourself safe." Rukia's expression had morphed into one with sympathy.

"I'm tired of everyone getting hurt for my sake." She said. "I just want to be a normal girl. I want Kenryu back. I-I want all of this to stop..." By now, Enryu had let go of her arms, letting them hang limply at her sides. Her voice was low and at the moment she wanted to curl up into a ball, forget everything, and just stay that way. She was just one person in this world. One person without any means of being a princess if it weren't for where she was born. If being a princess meant getting everything you wanted, then she'd throw it all away. None of this would have happened if everything was normal. Lurichiyo wanted everything to be normal. No shinigami, no hollows, no family feuds...nothing. None of it. At any cost.

Maybe her wish would be granted.