This Light, the Will of the Heart, I See

by MattsyKun

“You may have tried to weaken us. You may have tried to pull us apart. But this bond, this rinji kenpei, has brought us closer than ever. We will stand for justice, and, as dragons, we will not be swayed and defeated as easily as you may think." ShiroOC

11. The Mist of Silence

"Keh! Those traitorous bastards better put up a good fight!" –Zaraki Kenpachi

Hehehe, Rangiku loves to shop. xD Now I see her singing Lemme Borrow That Top or Shoes. xDDDD

And she tried to suffocate a kid in her boobs. XD

Also, new Japanese phrases. I'm having a little trouble with sentences, but I'll be okay. I also got a book called Dirty Japanese, so I can write better lemons xD

Inspiration: …hehehe… (mind has temporarily gone to gutter, be back later)

Chapter Rating: PG-13

Spoiler Warnings: …idk my bff jill xD Nah, I don't know.

Chapter Warnings: Language…IDK. No lemon this chapter xP. Not in a lemon mood.

"These are normal thoughts."

Note: Some Japanese words may be in italics.

These are thoughts Sakana (and spirit animals) receives. "This is stuff she sends."

"This is one's Zanpakuto."

Chapter 11: Mist of Silence

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

"U-Unohana-taichou! Y-You shouldn't be up!" Isane exclaimed. Unohana shook her head.

"No. If I die… who will take care of the Soul Society?" Unohana said. Sakana smiled slightly. That was the Unohana they all knew and loved.

"Well, what's your plan?" Sakana said, stepping forward and flinching. Her body was still sore from their "activity" three hours ago." Unohana motioned for Nemu to get something, and she shunpo'ed away for a moment, returning with a piece of paper.

"Here's the other analysis." Nemu said, handing the paper to the taichou, who began to cough violently. Isane rubbed Unohana's back until the coughing subsided.

"(cough, cough) Erhem… according to the analysis… The poison is actually…"

The next words struck the occupants of the room like lightning.

"A mixture of the blood of Satoshi Sakana, and Hitsugaya Toshiro… and thousands of trace elements…"

Sakana's body shook. When did he draw their blood? When did he do any of this? And why would Aizen want their blood? Her mind began to spin. He used their blood so they couldn't reverse the effects of the poison… no. How would he know that the two exactly would reverse it? No, he used their blood so that they were the only ones who could reverse it. But why the captains? Was he forcing them to choose between healing them and exhausting themselves or facing him alone with no captains? Was the poison only reversed by someone with their rinji kenpei? Was it an experiment, so see if their rinji kenpei was transferrable? Was—

"Sakana."

Toshiro took Sakana's hand in his, squeezing it gently. He could hear the many thoughts buzzing around in her head. He had never felt her so flustered before in his life, besides underneath his sensual touch. He gently kissed the spot on her shoulder where he had left his mark, hidden away from prying eyes.

"Relax." He muttered. Sakana's shuddering slowed, and she looked into Ukitake's eyes.

"Why our blood?" She managed to force out.

"Your blood has a characteristic that allows it to bond to other elements. It seems to be a precaution to prevent an ordinary removal of the poison." Nemu said, "All soul reapers with high levels of reiatsu have this special compound in their blood."

Toshiro growled, gripping Sakana's hand tightly. "How do we dissolve the poison?"

Sakana let go of Toshiro's hand, thinking. "Soifon's Zanpakuto can eliminate poison… if we can get Soifon to stab herself with her Zanpakuto and eliminate the poison in her body, we can take care of everyone else."

"That just might work." Toshiro said, "Maybe if we can get a sample of the poison, it'll work faster."

"Funny you should ask." Ukitake said, "We thought you would come to that conclusion, so we pulled a sample from before. The Research and Development group is working on replicating the poison as we speak."

"Right now, there is not much we can do." Nemu said, but was interrupted by Akon, one of the members of the Research and Development Bureau.

"We have enough of Suzumebachi's poison to neutralize the poison. However…" The Shinigami trailed off. The others looked at him expectantly.

"We are unable to even touch the container that holds the poison." He said, holding up his hands. Sakana stepped forward and took his hands, looking at them. They looked like they were severely burnt. The captain held one hand over his, and the burn seemed to disappear. Sakana let go of Akon's hands and he nodded his thanks.

"Arigatou, taichou."

"Well, Toshiro, let's go to the Research and Development Bureau. We don't have time to wait." Sakana said. Toshiro nodded as he, Sakana, Akon, and Ukitake shunpo'ed away to the 12th division.

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

"Is this it?" Sakana asked, pointing to the beaker of blue liquid. Akon nodded.

"Yes, this is it. None of us have been able to touch it. Maybe since you are a captain, you can hold it for short period of time." Akon said. Sakana reached out and touched the beaker. It was cold to her touch, but hot at the same time. When she wrapped her hand around the beaker, her hand seemed to go numb. Her sight slipped out of focus for a split second. For a moment, she could hear both Soifon and her Zanpakuto screaming in pain.

"Soifon… We have to hurry. If we don't… she isn't going to make it. None of them are." Sakana said, picking up the beaker with her bare hand. Toshiro reached out and touched her shoulder. The captain flinched and drew away.

"Toshiro… don't."

Toshiro nodded; in that split second, he too had heard Soifon's pained screams. They still rang in his ears as they carefully shunpo'ed back to the fourth division.

First they stopped at Soifon's room. Her Zanpakuto laid on the bed beside her as she lay unconscious. Sakana grimaced and placed the beaker on the stand next to the bed, gently tapping Soifon's shoulder.

"Soifon, can you hear me?" she whispered. Soifon's eyes were squeezed shut in pain, but she still responded.

"…Madam… Yoruichi…"

Sakana let out a sigh. "I'm not Yoruichi. Can you hear me?" She repeated. Soifon opened her grey eyes, which had turned a mixture of blue and tan, the colors of her Zanpakuto.

"…You have… to help…my master…"

Sakana lowered her eyes to the Zanpakuto lying next to the captain. "Suzumebachi… you're speaking to me through Soifon?"

"Help… her… use the poison… save her… I'm doing all I can… to keep her alive… coat the sword… and stab her with it…"

Sakana reached and picked Suzumebachi up, drawing it from its sheath. The blade did not glint in the light; in fact, it was relatively dull as Sakana dripped a little bit of the poison on the sword. She gently took Soifon's hand and pointed Suzumebachi at her hand.

"Do…it…" Suzumebachi said (through Soifon) as Soifon began to scream. Sakana shut her eyes and stabbed Soifon's hand with it.

After a few moments, Soifon stopped screaming, and Sakana felt the tension in the second division captain leave. When she opened her eyes, Soifon seemed to have relaxed, her tight grip on the sheets loosening. Her breathing became normal, and Sakana sheathed Suzumebachi, placing the Zanpakuto next to its owner.

"One down, five to go. Here, Toshiro." Sakana said, pouring half of the poison into another beaker, "Take this and go to Unohana, Mayuri, and Komamura. I'll take Byakuya and Shunsui." Sakana said. Toshiro nodded and left the room. Sakana sighed and was about to leave when she faintly heard Soifon.

"…Thanks."

Sakana smiled, knowing she would not remember when she woke up.

Sakana took the beaker and went next to Shunsui. Shunsui looked a lot worse off than Soifon. The squad four members had tried their hardest to stabilize his condition, but he seemed to be slowly slipping away. His normally kind eyes were scrunched in pain, and his breath was very raspy. Sakana gently placed one hand on his cheek.

"You'll heal him, right…?"

Sakana turned around to see Nanao, the remnants of tears staining her face. Sakana could not help but smile at the normally controlled vice-captain.

"Nanao, be strong. If you're upset… I can't do this." Sakana said, patting Nanao on the back. Nanao sniffed, tears threatening to fall once more.

"But… it's my fault… if I had just kept him at the office to finish the paperwork…"

"You can't ponder on the 'what if's'. You have to keep moving forward. I'll heal him, I promise." She said. Nanao nodded as Sakana set the beaker on the table. She reached for the longer of her father's swords, before Shunsui's eyes snapped open, turning a deep blue/red mix.

"Who are you?" a deep, smooth voice said. Sakana paused, unsure of what to say.

"I…I'm Sakana. Shunsui's daughter."

Shunsui let out a pained cry, and Sakana could feel Nanao's emotional wall tremble.

"Keh. What are you planning on doing?" The Zanpakuto spirit said through Shunsui. Sakana almost glared at Shunsui, but settled for glaring at the twin swords.

"Shunsui's been poisoned! You should be…"

"I should be what, little one? Worried?" Katen Kyokotsu snapped, "You do not understand. You are too young."

Sakana bit her lip, tempted to do something, anything. Suddenly, Shunsui let out a pained groan.

"Stop… Katen…Kyokotsu…let her…"

"I have no patience for a child!"

"Stop… Sakana… he isn't… like this…"

Sakana closed her eyes. "I'm sorry, dad."

With one swift motion she shunpo'ed to the other side of the bed, sweeping up the shorter blade of the twin blades. Deftly she dipped it into Suzumebachi's poison, and grabbed Shunsui's hand. Shunsui shut his eyes and let out an aggrieved moan, his reiatsu rising off him. His body rose up against his will, one hand gripping the other sword.

"Nanao! Do something! Anything! Calm him!" Sakana shouted. His reiatsu was blinding her, causing her almost to drop the short sword. Nanao nervously stepped forward. How would she calm him down?

"C-Captain!"

Shunsui (or rather, Katen Kyokotsu) turned his attention to the slightly trembling vice-captain. Nanao shut her eyes; she hoped she would not regret this later…

"Captain Kyoraku… please…" Nanao said, wrapping her arms around Shunsui in a quick hug.

Shunsui opened his eyes. One eye was its regular brown color, and the other was blue and red.

"Nanao… chan…"

Sakana took the opportunity to grab the hand that was not gripping the sword and stabbed the short blade into it. The butterfly that normally appeared when Soifon used her Zanpakuto appeared, and then quickly faded away. Shunsui closed his eyes, falling forward. Sakana managed to catch her father, almost crushed underneath his weight.

"…I'm sorry…" Shunsui mumbled. At that point, Isane rushed in.

"I felt Kyoraku-taichou's reiatsu. What happened?" she asked. Sakana grunted.

"First off, get this giant lug off me. I'm about to fall over here." Sakana muttered.

After Isane and Sakana had managed to lay Shunsui back in his bed, Sakana laid his Zanpakuto once again at his side.

"…Nanao-chan… come here…"

Nanao stepped forward. "Yes, taichou?"

Shunsui let out a weak chuckle. "Arigatou, my kawaii Nanao-chan." He whispered, taking Nanao's hand in his.

Nanao felt tears once again fall down her face as she leaned forward and kissed her captain on the cheek. He would not remember when he woke up. Sakana smiled and disappeared with the beaker, leaving the woman and her captain alone.

The others were quickly healed. Healing Unohana was easy enough, since her Zanpakuto was very gentle. Mayuri's Zanpakuto had paralyzed Toshiro for a moment, but Ashisogijizou had already dissolved most of the poison in Mayuri's body. Handling Komamura was another thing entirely. It had been extremely hard to get his Zanpakuto, let alone pick it up. Komamura had thrown Toshiro against the wall before coming to his senses long enough to stab himself with his own sword.

Senbonzakura, as Sakana figured out, was not as peaceful as the noble was. Sakana found Hana in the corner of the room, holding her Zanpakuto and shaking violently. There were cuts all over her from Byakuya's Zanpakuto as it tried to protect its master. In the end Hana had to take Senbonzakura and stab Byakuya while Sakana held him down, which was not an easy task. Byakuya had slumped against Hana, fever coursing through his body. The poison had almost killed him, and it would have if it were not for Hana. A sharp shock to his system had kept the poison from reaching his heart.

As Sakana sat on the ground, panting heavily, Byakuya managed to push himself off Hana and collapsed back onto the bed. His face was flushed, and definitely seemed out of it. Eventually he fell asleep, holding Hana's hand in his.

"Captain… thank you." Hana said. Sakana laughed weakly before pushing herself up.

"Don't mention it."

As the captain left Byakuya's room, she felt herself getting dizzy. Maybe doing all of this is bad for my health… Sakana thought as she fell to her knees in the middle of the hallway. She felt hotter than she usually did as she fell forward, now lying on the floor.

"…God…damn…" she muttered to herself, closing her eyes. She rolled herself onto her back, wincing as her Zanpakuto's sheath dug into her back. She squirmed, managed to shrug the sword off, and laid it next to her.

"Sakana-chan!"

"Sakana!"

Sakana opened her eyes to see Ukitake and Amaya kneeling over her. She let out a soft chuckle as Ukitake picked her up.

"…Just like old times, eh, sensei?" Sakana said. Amaya looked at Sakana with a questionable look.

"Huh? Sensei? Oi, Uki-kun, you have explaining to do." Amaya said as they walked to an open room. Ukitake sighed, a smile gracing his face.

"Of course."

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

After a few days, all of the ill captains had returned to their normal selves. Soifon was unperturbed from her Zanpakuto being used to save the other captains; for a few hours, she seemed like a very different person. She was calm and quiet, until Marechiyo spilt sake on his paperwork. Shunsui seemed to be his normal self, except he gave Nanao a huge hug upon returning to the division. Nanao simply turned red and shunpo'ed away for a few minutes to get rid of her blush. The others were all back to full power, making Toshiro and Sakana glad. All of them rained the duo with various gifts, mostly candy. Toshiro was disgruntled, but Sakana was elated and was seen eating chocolate anywhere she went, even while training with her division.

A few days later, the captains stood in the meeting, their vice-captains behind them. Yamamoto wasn't there yet, so they simply stood around and chatted a little bit. All were nervous for the soutaichou's news. Sakana was eating a piece of Godiva chocolate that Byakuya had bought in the world of the living.

Finally, the old man took his place, and the hall fell silent.

"I am sure that you are aware of the situation. We are now aware that the Winter War will be starting sooner than we thought. We do not have a clear plan of attack yet." Yamamoto's wizened eyes swept over the Shinigami in the hall.

Sakana and Toshiro looked at each other, the same thoughts running through their minds. They had come up with a plan in case the soul society did not have one, but it was one of the riskiest things the couple would do.

"Sakana?"

"Hmm?" Sakana asked, signing a paper and putting in her OUT bin on her desk. Toshiro took the pen out of her hand and held her hot hands in his.

"You know Aizen's after us, right? For having this bond, that, no Shinigami should have, as you say. I still don't understand that part." Toshiro said, scratching his head. Sakana sighed.

"I did some research a few weeks ago on this legend about the commoner and the noble's child? There was also something in it about a bond… Certain Shinigami have special talents, but very, very few never work without another part to it."

Toshiro was silent; the prodigy was actually still befuddled.

"We are a pair, Toshiro. Our Rinji Kenpei doesn't work when we are apart. There was a one in a million chance that we would be together. Toshiro, our bond is dangerous. It would be if we didn't know how it worked. We know how to unleash the complete form of our Rinji Kenpei, so we should be safe..."

"But why exactly does Aizen want us?" Toshiro asked, "Know-it-all Kaen-hime?"

"Because of our bond, we are stronger together. Apart, we are weak, and we can be controlled more easily. Aizen wants to hollowfy us with that thing he has. We are the Soul Society's strongest. He wants to take us down."

Toshiro looked into Sakana's reddish-brown eyes. "But we'll take him down first. I have a plan."

Sakana listened to Toshiro's plan, different emotions crossing her face. "But—Toshiro! Do you know what'll happen if we fail?"

Toshiro nodded. "We will be on Aizen's side if this plan fails. And the Soul Society will fall. Now," Toshiro said, standing up and holding his hand out to Sakana, "Shall we practice?"

The duo went out to the 14th Division training grounds. Sakana put her hands on Toshiro's shoulders.

"Concentrate, Toshiro. Don't think about anything else but me.

Don't think about the war.

Don't think about Aizen.

Don't think about the Soul Society.

Don't think about the division, or paperwork, or anything.

Focus on me and me alone."

Toshiro closed his eyes, inhaling her scent—that intoxicating scent that made her so addicting. His mind instantly blanked out, only focusing on her.

"Now… ban…"

"…kai…"

After all of this, they understood how to properly unleash it, their Rinji Kenpei.

"…soutaichou, we have a plan…"

Yamamoto looked at the duo. Sakana was tightly gripping Toshiro's hand.

"Yes, what is it?"

"It's us Aizen wants. Because of the bond, we share. It's a long explanation, but we have an idea to take Aizen down." Toshiro said.

"We will go to the world of the living and then go to Hueco Mundo ourselves. With luck, we will end up right next to the damn traitor himself. Then, while we are occupying him, you can take out the rest of Las Noches. We even know how we're going to take him down. We've perfected the technique over the past few weeks." Sakana said. She let go of Toshiro's hand, closing her eyes. Toshiro did the same.

Focus.

Do not think about anything; clear your mind.

Focus on me and me alone.

The other captains and vice-captains watched in amazement as their reiatsu grew stronger and stronger. Some of the vice-captains were on the verge of passing out. Their Zanpakuto disappeared, and their entire appearance seemed to change. A wind began to blow papers around in little circles, scattering various notes.

Do not think about the war.

Toshiro let out a deep breath, allowing himself to connect with not only the girl he loved, but also his Zanpakuto spirit. The dragon within.

Do not think about Aizen.

Sakana released something that sounded an awful lot like a chuckle. Her yuki-ouji had learned to cast aside everything else in his mind to focus on her. That was how the technique worked.

Focus on me, and me alone.

"…ban…"

"…kai…"

A pillar of ice and flames surrounded the duo. When it subsided, the captains all gasped in astonishment.

Both looked like a cross between a dragon and a Shinigami. Sakana had grey-ish silver horns coming from her head, as well as a dragon's tail. Her nails had grown out, and she was wearing flame-gradient arm warmers. Dragon wings protruded from her back, matching the tail. Toshiro was a little different; it looked a lot like his bankai, but he looked more dragonish. He had blue horns on his head, as well as blue nails and a blue scarf around his neck. Sakana's eyes were now purely red, while Toshiro's were a deep blue.

"…this is it. The completed form of our Rinji Kenpei." Sakana said, closing her eyes. The captains and vice-captains stared in astonishment, unable to speak. Yamamoto was the first to speak up.

"You do know what will happen if this plan fails, correct?"

Both nodded.

"Yes, sir."

Yamamoto let out a deep sigh, closing his eyes. "This plan is risky, but as of this moment, this plan is the only thing we have. When you go to the world of the living, inform Ichigo Kurosaki and all of his allies of your plan, and tell them all to come here, to the Soul Society. I will have Ukitake-taichou and Higashi-taichou prepare for those arrangements."

"Hai."

"As for the rest of you…" Yamamoto returned his attention to the others in the room, "Prepare your divisions. This will be the biggest war in Soul Society history, and we CANNOT afford to fail. Once Ichigo Kurosaki and his group have arrived here, we must be prepared to leave for Hueco Mundo at any time."

The old man opened his eyes, his gaze running over each Shinigami in the room.

"I wish you all the best of luck."

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

Sakana sighed. They were in the 10th division barracks, her sitting on Toshiro's bed. Sakana was now eating a Toblerone (Idk if that's spelt right) that Ukitake had given her.

"Toshiro…"

Toshiro turned around from his captain's haori, which he had hung up on the back of his door. He looked at his princess, who had a concerned look on her face. He could feel her worry, a feeling that plagued her.

"I-I don't know if I can do this…" She muttered, turning her eyes downward. Toshiro sat next to his princess, stroking her black hair.

"Why not?"

"I… I don't really know…It's just too dangerous. We both have exhausted ourselves too many times." She said, leaning into Toshiro's arms. Toshiro kissed her forehead gently, hugging her to him.

"Aizen won't suspect an attack coming in from inside Las Noches, and he won't expect two captains to attack him directly. He'll have to send out the Espada to deal with the others, and we have Ichimaru on our side. We can do this. As long as we're together, we can beat Aizen."

Sakana sniffed a little bit, smiling. "Thanks, Toshiro. But… we're under his hypnosis, aren't we?"

Toshiro shook his head. "I am, but not you."

"Huh?"

Toshiro stood up and looked out the window into the sunset, "You are the only captain not under that stupid illusion he's created. I don't know how, and I don't know why, but you can see through his tricks. You won't be caught as easily."

"He'll remember, though, if he doesn't already think that I'm underneath it." Sakana muttered, pulling her black hair from its ponytail. Toshiro gently pushed Sakana back onto the bed and straddled her, pressing his lips to hers.

"We'll be okay, kaen-hime. I will not allow anything to happen to you." He whispered.

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

Aizen, who was sitting in his giant throne of doom, frowned. The poison had been neutralized too quickly, too easily. He sighed, scolding himself for not remembering that Suzumebachi's poison could negate any other poison. Using Sakana and Toshiro's blood had weakened the captains, but they were back at full strength in no time.

"Kaname."

"Hai, Aizen-sama?" The black, blind captain responded. Aizen lazily flicked his wrist towards the arrancar who had been put in charge of the poison.

"Kindly dispose of him, and the bount."

The arrancar started to protest, but was dragged away by the black traitor. Aizen then shook his head, his usual smile gracing his face. The war was fast approaching; he could feel it. If he were lucky, he would bring the two captains over to his side, and then proceed to obliterate the Soul Society.

"Gin."

"Hai?" Gin asked, his smile immediately dropping off his face. It had been hard, trying to keep up the façade that he was still under Aizen's control. Worry flashed through him for a split second.

"When Sakana-chan and Toshiro-kun come, be sure to give them a warm welcome, understand?" Aizen said, standing up. He yawned and stretched.

"Hai. Anything else you require?"

"Tell everyone to prepare." Aizen said tiredly, "I am heading to my quarters. Good night."

As Aizen walked back to his humongous quarters, Gin chuckled.

"How ironic. It's always night here." He muttered as he sighed and went outside of the room, poking his head out of one of the few windows. He stared at the moon, the few dead trees, the sand, and the pitch darkness.

"I hope ya come here soon… I dunno how long I can do this…" He said, turning around. His Zanpakuto shuddered at his side as he went to his quarters and opened his closet. Hanging inside was his old captain's haori. Aizen had told him to dispose of it, but he had kept it, saying he had fond memories with it.

"I believe it'll be time to take ya out again." Gin chuckled.

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

My god I'm tired of this.

THANK GOD, THE WINTER WAR IS COMING UP! I do not know how much more I can write… I rewrote this chapter, like, three times. I feel dead. This fanfic has officially ruined my eyesight. Now I have to have the size 9 Verdana font zoomed in to 120%! XP

The filler is over.

They have prepared.

Quoting Yamamoto: "Let this be a full-on battle!"

Also quoting Yamamoto: "This is way past a spankin' now!" xD

Coming up next: TEH WINTER WAR~!

--MattsyKun_TEFA