A/N: The more I write, the farther I come from the initial (and admittedly silly) idea. It doesn't feel like the name fits this fic anymore... I'll have to think about it.

Krazyfanfiction1, Isame Kuroda: Thanks! It means so much to me that people like my story!

Interlude 8: The Tides of War

Stab, slash, duck. Shunpo to the side, shoot another Hado. Jump higher into the air to get a moment of rest from the never-ending horde, ignore the itching of shallow cuts and blood sticking to her skin. Stab another enemy… That was what she called them in her head – just enemy. Hollows, Shinigami, plus souls… all of them silent and empty-eyed, with no shred of free will left. They belonged to Yhwach now, every soul that was ever killed by a Quincy now only a mindless puppet in his hands.

Rukia felt sick.

Sidestep another attack and slice off the enemy's head (Shinigami, looking barely out of the Academy, she didn't know him), dodge hands reaching towards her and stab first the weaponless woman then a little boy (they were no longer the people she swore to protect but no matter how much she repeated it in her head, she still felt like a monster). Break the mask of the attacking Hollow (weak little thing, not even Menos – she forgot there was ever a time when she considered them dangerous) just in time to meet the blade of another Shinigami (vaguely familiar face but the name eluded her memory – she mourned nonetheless).

It was a nightmare.

Fight, fight, fight… Wait for another Shinigami to take her place (so many have died already, there simply wasn't enough people, but they would never give up) and Shunpo to where she could see the blooming vines of Ruri'iro Kujaku. Tear off one of the flowers and bite into the white petals feeling her reiatsu levels rise slightly (not enough, nowhere near enough) and her wounds heal (she was so tired). Shunpo farther back, closer to the barrier that covered the entirety of Seireitei (if the enemy reached it, it would be broken sooner or later, she had no doubts), and get some rest on top of the ruined building.

Why couldn't she wake up?

The enemies appeared from the shadows of Schatten Bereich – thousands upon thousands scattered all over Seireitei. They arrived in relatively small groups, but just big enough and just often enough. If they appeared all in one place, then a few choice Hado or a more destructive Bankai could make a short work of them. If the attacking groups were smaller, then the Shinigami would have time to rest…

She wanted to wake up in the world without war.

Both sides were trying to buy time – Shinigami to study and reverse the effects of the Gate of the Sun making it possible to invade Silbern, Quincy to break down the defenses around the Soul King's Palace (would the Royal Guard be enough to protect Reio?) – the question was, who would be faster? She didn't know (didn't want to think what would happen if they lost).

Was it too much to ask?

Something jolted Rukia out of her musings. She jerked up glancing wildly around where the last invaders were dissolving into reishi (just temporarily dispatched – they would come back). The unnerving quiet fell over the ruined Seireitei. This… this wasn't good. Had the Quincy finally accomplished their goal? She hoped not.

The shadows appeared again, less than before but still plenty, and out stepped the oh-so-familiar figures of Wandenreich soldiers – those she had seen die, those she had killed herself. Rukia tightened her grip on the hilt of her sword ignoring the slight tremble of her hands.

In their first appearance the Quincy army went through Seireitei like tsunami, destroying everything and everyone in their path. Only the higher-ranked Shinigami could fight back, the rest were slaughtered, but they won nonetheless. Then the second wave came with the hordes of weak but persistent enemies spewing out, never laying off, giving no respite… And now the Quincy were back, revived by whatever terrible powers their emperor possessed…

"Dance, Sode no Shirayuki! Yugo no Bankai!"

Chapter 8: Lady of War and Peace

Orihime dangled her legs in the air, looking down from her perch on a tree. Rukia was resting quietly against the trunk, seemingly asleep again, and the human girl glanced around trying to see the edge of the never-ending forest. No such luck. Inoue huffed and crossed her arms leaning backwards so far, it was a miracle she didn't fall off the branch. Not that it would matter even if she did fall off – learning to walk on air left her completely indifferent to heights.

Actually, she was indifferent to a lot of things now. No one could fight as much as she did, survive as much as she did, and remain unchanged. The battles left their mark, but it was her decision to shape herself into a warrior that changed her the most.

With a sigh Inoue tilted backwards hanging upside down with the branch under her knees. She was weak at first, she could admit it now. Weak, scared, unsure of everything and most of all of herself, her will so feeble that Tsubaki – her beautiful weapon – shattered instead of slicing her enemy apart.

Looking back she understood the reluctance everyone had to let her on the battlefield, though she was far from the only person to feel completely out of their depth. In a way, Aizen caught everyone by surprise. Shinigami grew complacent over time, too sure of their power, Ichigo and Uryu despite spending years training were not prepared to fight for their lives against enemies this strong, and neither Chad nor Orihime herself had any idea what they were getting into… The Winter War served as a rather nasty wake up call for everyone.

In the end, they won – miraculously no one on their side had actually died, they even found more allies – but the whole ordeal left Inoue feeling horribly guilty for not being much help. First getting captured by Ulquiorra and needing to be saved (it was nothing short of amazing that it didn't end in disaster), then staying on the sidelines during the fight in Fake Karakura, completely outmatched and trying not to get in the way… Her inability to reverse the damage Hogyoku had done to Ichigo leaving three quarters of his soul completely out of reach was the last straw… She could no longer try to convince herself she was a healer, not a fighter, for it seemed like she failed at being both.

She knew that Chad felt similar way – completely outmatched and unable to catch up and generally useless – which was why he so readily agreed to join Xcution, glad to have the chance to train and develop his abilities... She shuddered at the memory. Well, at least something good came from that disaster.

Inoue, however, had no idea what species she actually belonged to (she couldn't be human, she couldn't, otherwise why would she get her powers and not Tatsuki who was strong and brave, and deserved them so much more?), and thus had no clue how her powers were supposed to develop. She spent a lot of time with Hachi, but the Visored could help only so much – not that air-walking and flash step were not important – but she wanted more.

It was Karin who pointed out a simple truth – Inoue didn't need a myriad of techniques, she needed to learn how to effectively use the ones she had. And most of all, she needed to wake her fighting spirit somehow.

/More than six months had passed already since the last time she saw any of her Shinigami friends which was somewhere between annoying and worrying. Was it really so hard to open a Senkaimon and come say "Hello"? Or at least send a butterfly? Even Kaien and Nel came to visit from time to time (Urahara had a field day making Gigai for the two Arrancar), even Visored appeared on their own accord once or twice…! Why couldn't Rukia and Renji? She understood that Soul Society had a lot of problems to deal with but… how was it that some things were better during the war than in times of peace?

Finally fed up with the silence, she came to Urahara and asked him to open a Senkaimon. After all, she had the official permission to visit Seireitei now. Yoruichi tagged along, though she wandered off soon enough, and Orihime was left alone realizing suddenly that she had no idea how to navigate the labyrinthine streets.

…She jumped on top of the wall and looked at the rows of identical roofs on all sides, silently cursing the architects, whoever they were. A sudden movement on one of the streets below attracted her attention, and Inoue flash stepped closer in hopes that someone would point her in the right direction.

"Big Booby-chan!" a childish voice shouted gleefully, and Orihime felt her heart sink at the sight of a pink-haired girl clinging to the massive Captain of the Eleventh. Great, now they could be lost in this labyrinth together. It just figured that she would meet the two people with the worst sense of direction in the world.

"Hi, Yachiru," she greeted halfheartedly, "Hello, Zaraki-taicho."

"Eh?" the Captain looked at her in confusion before recognition dawned on his face. "Ah, you're that girl, one of Ichigo's friends! Tell me, where is he hiding?!"

…Of course he would ask that. Inoue shook her head, "Why do you want to fight Kurosaki-kun so much?"

"Ha! Most Shinigami can't even scratch me!" Kenpachi boasted proudly. "And he managed to cut me on the first try!"

Orihime didn't know whether it was a flash of brilliance or temporary madness that made her reach for Tsubaki.

"Like this?" she asked, the golden thread of Koten Zanshun slicing through the air and cutting open his arm.

Slowly the Captain of the Eleventh reached with one hand to touch the bleeding wound before a feral grin split his face. Orihime called up the rest of her fairies, face frozen between a grin and a grimace of fear, and met his chipped blade with her golden shield./

Inoue grinned at the memory. Ah, what a beautiful disaster it was! She couldn't clearly remember that fight except that it involved a lot of running for her life, but she survived somehow and even managed to severely injure Kenpachi. Apparently, after they both passed out from blood loss, Yachiru dragged them to the Fourth.

…A few days later they fought again.

A/N: Yeah, Miss Pacifistic Reality Warper was training with Kenpachi. Wanna bet she dropped the "Pacifistic" part pretty soon?

So apparently the Wandenreich headquarters are in Shadow Realm, and the Quincy came to Seireitei through the Gate of the Sun... I'm not sure whether I knew it when I started planning the story or not, but it fits surprisingly well. Lucky me!

And thanks to Isame Kuroda for the name of this chapter!