A/N: I rushed the writing of this, so I added a little more. Nothing essential has been changed.

When Cheru arrived at her Division Headquarters she was greeted by a host of unfriendly faces. Shinigami gave her sideways looks from all around and did their best to ignore her as she neared them. Their reception of her had always been less-than-exemplary, but today it was especially cold. No doubt it was due to what had just occurred. Sereitei was more of a military society than anything else, and disobedience of a direct order meant more than just disappointment from officials; it meant ostracization from your Division. She had never been popular among her own. Ever since she had been admitted to the Fifth from the Academy, she had tended to be a loner and decline what help those enthusiastic shinigami tried to give her from the beginning. Soon they realized that she didn't want to be bothered by anyone and stopped approaching her. People came to see her as a kind of Ice Queen and spoke of unpleasant things when she had her back turned. Cheru showed no care for what they said; she had other things on her mind. These things she did not care to think about deeply, but kept as a constant reminder of why she had joined the ranks of the shinigami.

She could see that her Squad was not signed up as backup for any other Divisions that day, and left Headquarters for her private quarters. She felt disappointed above all else. All those hundreds of years spent on perfecting her techniques and learning to mask her reiatsu had gone to waste. If she were a more uncouth person she would have damned Captain Ukitake a thousand times over, but as she walked, she only vowed to herself that she would do better now. Yet still, as she tried to contain herself, the feeling of a great loss remained.

"All these years, trying to protect myself...what did I gain from that? Nothing, only what I was avoiding," she said to herself softly.

Now again, she was lapsing into old habits. Sliding open the door of her room she stepped inside to sit down and think.

It had been a direct order. "You have a day to willingly present yourself for Captain of the Fifth Division". She could not ignore that. She was surprised by the bite to Captain Ukitake though, he had managed to attach a threat to this as well. As much as she wanted to stay inconspicuous and hidden, she had been found out and warned publically. If she didn't heed this message or attempted to run, the consequences would be dire.

"Is that clear?" His words rang in her head.

She pursed her lips just slightly, her face was unused to creating new contours. He had her then.

"Yes," she said to herself.

The next morning came too quickly. Cheru dressed in her black uniform and pinned her hair up into a small loop behind her head, letting the rest fall on her back. She tucked her zanpaktou into her belt and headed out to the Captains' Hall in order to present herself. When she came to the large doors that led to the Hall, the guards waiting silently opened them for her. As she stepped through, she looked straight ahead, past all the Captains at the sides, at the Commander-General. It was much too quiet, she could hear the echoes of her footfalls and the odd rustle here and there. She stopped a respectful distance away from the Commander-General and paused.

"Why have you come before the Captains of the Gotei 13?" the Commander-General asked in a powerful voice.

It was time to make the request formal.

"I, Cheru Tsuikyuu, wish to be Captain of the Fifth Division"

"Captain Ukitake has told me that you have achieved Bankai. That is a worthy accomplishment indeed...but it concerns us greatly that you have not given this information freely"

She did not answer. A question had not been explicity posed.

"And so it stands to reason that you wished to hide this for an indefinite time. As Aizen also hid his Bankai, you are also suspicious to us. Why have you hidden your abilities Cheur Tsuikyuu?"

Another direct order. It could not be helped, but it could be evaded.

"I had no desire to become Captain Sir," she said.

"Personal desires have nothing to do with war child!" he thundered, "Regardless of what you wished, you should have reported to us directly that you had Bankai. Your credibility as a shinigami is in much doubt. How could we ensure that Aizen has not influenced you as well?"

His reiatsu swelled up and Cheru's hair flew back. This was an unpleasant reminder to Captain Shunsui of his Vice Captain Nanao Ise's encounter with the Commander-General months ago. But surprisingly enough Cheru's own reiatsu spiked and she dispelled the wind. As her hair settled on her back, she looked up at him.

"You cannot. I have only my word as a shinigami," she said.

There was a silence as people tried to take in what was going on. It seemed to them that Cheru was being incredibly unreceptive and rebellious. Ukitake knew better than most that she only had to be forced into telling them a complete answer, but it would be impolite to interrupt now. The Commander-General, too, was beginning to realize this however, and see, there was a difference between the much slyer Aizen and the more subdued shinigami before him.

"Then we will proceed," he said, in a calmer manner.

"When did you achieve Bankai?"

"Several hundred years ago," she said.

"Have you been training to achieve Bankai ever since releasing Shikai?"

It seemed that he was now understanding how she chose to answer questions.

"Yes"

"What type of Bankai is it?"

"Energy/Light," she replied.

"Have you perfected this technique?"

It was here Cheru said more than she had during the entire interrogation.

"Can one ever perfect a technique to the point where it cannot improve or evolve?"

The Commander-General looked at her for a moment then gave a grunt.

"Kuchiki Byakuya, Soifon, Ukitake Jyuushiro," as the Commander-General called each of these names, the respective Captains looked up, "We will witness the Bankai in the training court. Remaining Captains may return to their duties until called"

Cheru left the room flanked by Captain Soifon and Ukitake, with Captain Kuchiki in the front and the Commander-General keeping a close watch on her from behind. There was a tension in the air, most notably from Soifon who narrowed her eyes whenever she looked at her. Upon reaching the training court, the Captains gave her a considerable radius of distance. The Commander-General stayed much farther back than the rest, but she was sure that he would see everything.

No words were exchanged as she took her space. Cheru drew her sword with her fingers facing in. Most shinigami preferred to do it the other way, but she had developed her own style of fighting, and her zanpaktou was also shorter than most. It slid easily out of its scabbard and she held it horizontally in front of her.

"Ban...kai!"

She let the cover over her reiatsu drop as a glowing circle was drawn into the ground around her. Another concentric ring formed around her and blazed with orange fire as the next began to form. Ukitake, Soifon, and Byakuya shot each other a look as they flash-stepped backwards to avoid the next ring. Cheru's Bankai was taking up more room than they thought. As the last ring came into place, Cheru's zanpaktou glowed a brilliant white as it changed form into a long, curved naginata. She swung her arm down with the blade behind her back as she waited now for the Captains.

The three Captains watched as Cheru stood in the center of the four rings. They had each noted the incredible rise in the level of her reiatsu as she released Bankai. It was clearly Captain level and carefully hidden at that. The Commander-General gave Byakuya a meaningful look, and the younger Captain unsheathed his sword.

"Chire"

His sword separated into what many called "petals," and reflected a pink light as they sped towards Cheru. They attempted to shear through the outer ring, but could not and only grazed them slightly as a bright yellow-orange flash erupted.

"Senbonzakura Kageyoshi"

Byakuya looked unconcerned as the rows of swords appeared beside him and dispersed into a massive flurry of petals. He cast a hand towards Cheru and the petals rushed the outermost ring. There was a flash as they broke through and headed for the second barrier. All of a sudden, yellow energy projectiles were released from the innermost circle and collided with Senbonzakura. Again her reiatsu level had rose. Byakuya redirected his zanpaktou to attack her again, this time it was a more evasive attack. Senbonzakura twisted and turned as the energy projectiles chased it. The aerial battle became moot as they exploded into each other again.

As Byakuya attacked more forcefully each time, Cheru provided the perfect counter, and soon it became more of a dance than a battle.

"Proceed," said the Commander-General.

There was a pause as Byakuya acknowledged the order. Ukitake watched his reactions, it was interesting to note since he knew that the younger man was protective of his Bankai. He had never liked to show it off. Nevertheless, he recalled Senbonzakura and went on to commit to the final form of his sword.

"Senkei...Senbonzakura Kageyoshi!"

Senbonzakura disappeared as it reformed itself into the rows and rows of glowing pink swords surrounding both participants and spectators. Byakuya called down a sword and headed towards Cheru in flash-step. It was much easier to dodge the projectiles as they came after him. He flash-stepped off the ground and crossed the outer boundary in the air, making it well into her territory. Suddenly he couldn't see anything but debris. His body was jolted and he realized as he fell through the air that the rings enclosing him had exploded quite unexpectedly. His ears rang as he regained altitude and called down another sword to replace the one he dropped.

Cheru was looked up at him as he descended upon her. Her naginata was still in a relaxed position. He flash-stepped towards her and brought his sword down. It was met by resistance as she blocked the blow. At the same time there was another explosion, but he was ready for it this time and continued to press onto Cheru's defense. He stumbled just slightly as she flash-stepped backwards. As he gave chase she came shooting back with a more offensive approach.

The Captains watched as Cheru became increasingly aggressive, thrusting and stabbing at whatever open opportunity there was. Byakuya took it in stride as he blocked and parried effortlessly, but he wasn't making headway against her. Ukitake had to admire how gracefully her body followed the movements of the naginata, at the same time however, it was a little frightening to see how much everything had changed about her. The way she held her katana much different from the forward way she held the naginata now, how every movement she made with her new weapon was trying to go through Byakuya.

The two flash-stepped in the air, criss-crossing and dodging with a fearsomely fast speed. Cheru noticed how relaxed Byakuya was as he attacked her, she could never hope to match his true speed, but she pushed herself a little more, avoiding each hit with a narrower margin than the next. He had seemingly disappeared, and she switched grips to strike behind her. He was there just as she predicted, it didn't matter that she couldn't see him, yet he managed to dodge again.

Cheru ran toward the ground and turning, she put two fingers up.

"Destructive Art 4: White Lightning!"

A streak of bright white charged reiatsu shot from her fingertips towards Byakuya, only to be met by another energy bolt. She slid on the ground, bending her knees to slow herself down. So her had countered her attack, and with such perfect timing too.

However oddly enough, Cheru felt more refreshed as she fought. She had sought out the Hollows as practice for her Bankai and fighting skills, but they were small game compared to what she was up against now. Her body flowed effortlessly with the naginata, and the new element here was that she had to add more forcefulness. Byakuya had not been touched by even the wind of her blows so far. Every hair on his face was intact, while she could feel that she was beginning to wear out. He had broken through her rings quickly by going to his own Bankai in quick succession, and she wasn't as adept in just weapons-combat. The feeling of freedom was beginning to evaporate as she felt a familiar crushing sensation in her chest. A memory surfaced that she had kept suppressed. Faces appeared that she had kept locked away.

Byakuya could see the slightest hint of expression on Cheru's face as she fought and noticed her thrusts were starting to become a little desperate. He called down several more swords to pierce through Cheru. She cut two down in a wide arc with her naginata, and rolled away from the others.

She was panting as he drew his hand back in order to utter a kidou spell.

"Destructive Art 33: Way of Destruction!"

Cheru instinctively flash-stepped through the white lightning before the spirit particles could form and held her weapon forward. Blood pounded in her ears as she side-stepped and thrust her blade at him. But she could hear the screech of metal grinding on metal. He had predicted her movement and his sword was sliding along the blade of her naginata. She stopped short to find his blade against her neck.

"Hn," he said, noticing that he was also being held at the heart.

They stood at mutual checkmate for a little while, looking straight at each other. A signal from the Commander-General allowed for them to each withdraw their weapons. Byakuya let Senbonzakura take its original form as Cheru did the same with her zanpaktou.

"The Captains of the Gotei 13 will discuss the issue of your captaincy Cheru Tsuikyuu. You will be notified when a final decision has been made. You are dismissed," said the Commander-General.

Cheru bowed respectfully and watched as they departed. Byakuya gave her a look that lasted a half a second long, but it was considered a compliment from such an aloof captain. She waited until they were gone to unclench her hands which were shaking.