Just a friendly reminder to keep an eye out for chapters that have numbers attached to the ends of their names. These will contain spoilers for those particular chapters. So if you haven't read chapter 502, stop reading here.
Title: Revival
Genre: Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Horror
Characters: Byakuya, As Nodt and a special surprise quest
Summary: Byakya has failed Renji and Rukia... or has he.
Rating: T
Date Posted: 07/28/12
Revival
The feeling of failure is painful. It eggs on death as it eats away at the will to fight and live another day. Byakuya's vision blurred and his mind wandered as he tried not to focus on the fact he failed to save two people he cared greatly about. There was nothing he could physically do as he was at his physical limits and his body honestly couldn't handle any more.
Fear also played a huge role as he had for the first time tasted true fear and learned what he feared the most. Because he couldn't act he found his fears coming true. He also found all the promises he made falling apart simply because... a voice broke out from the back of his mind. "You lost because you don't have the power to fight them without your Bankai, you need something else."
"I have a feeling of who you are and I am not sure if I'm willing to go there."
"But you found that information out in the Kuchiki archives." The thing was right as Byakuya had been researching over the last year as he was curious as to how he could become stronger despite the fact he knew full well he had reached his fullest potential. "The question is, why is it that you want to become stronger, there had to be a reason."
"So I don't have to face that fear" Kuchiki remembered what he had read in the books.
"And yet you know full well that in order to control me you have to face your greatest fear."
Byakuya thought carefully about the whole situation. "I fear losing Rukia, not being able to move and save her. That fear has come true as the chance of her being alive after someone took her out is slim. However, I can't give up this fight just because she is gone. She would not be happy with me doing this so I have to continue to fight."
"But that isn't the only thing you are feeling."
"I remember how much enjoyment I got simply from being able to fight to the brink of death. I've never been as close as this."
"I suggest opening your eyes..."
At that, Byakuya opened his eyes to see a red mist. The person who had stolen his Bankai was now paying him no attention as they spoke with their friends. First one limb moved and then another. He could feel the mask formed over his face. A certain someone would learn that fear would not control him any more then it did Kenpachi.
~ Author's note – I was asked to give my opinion of chapter 502 and here it is. The sad fact is Tite Kubo pretty much never mentions that a character has died in his Manga storyline. Despite the fact I do like Byakuya I am not surprised that he's been killed off. The characters that are most likely to die in the final arc are the characters the writer is not fond of, the characters that can't grow any more and a few characters that's death would make a really big statement. Byakuya's character falls under "character that can't grow anymore". However, there is the chance Tite Kubo may Hollowfy Byakuya instead of killing him off. Now, some people may say, "but you just said he can't grow as a character anymore". The only way Byakuya can grow as a character is by pulling this move. Don't hold out for this to happen, it is JUST a theory.
P.S. I like the idea of writing something to honor a character when they've been killed off. However, when the fanfic is pure wish fulfillment I think we all need to face the fact those fanfics aren't written to honor the canon character. They're written for self-gratification for both the writer and the reader.