Chapter 11:
The group of ten marched to the new location ready for a fight. The plan was to take out the changeling first, then worry about recovering Yuzu.
"I saw you fight," Kenji told Ichigo as they walked. "You are quite strong. You could have easily defeated Miku if you had unleashed that attack from the very beginning. Instead you used a direct attack. Why did you hold back your true power?"
"Because Yuzu was behind him."
"So?"
"So I didn't want to hit her."
"I am confused. Do you wish to defeat Miku or rescue your sister? From what I have seen, you cannot do both. Which is your top priority?"
"Yuzu, of course."
"I see." Kenji was silent for a moment. "Miku will make that very difficult for you. As you are currently aware, Miku is the one preventing you from reaching your sibling. Your strategy is to take him out, then retrieve her. He will purposely choose to stand in front of her. In order to take him out, you will have to unleash a powerful attack with him standing in front of her. You must put her at risk in order to defeat him."
"I won't do that," Ichigo growled.
"Then I do not see how you will achieve your goals. He will choose to stand there, knowing you are unwilling to put her at risk. Luring him away will be difficult. He knows what you are after and what you are not willing to do. My conclusion is that you must sacrifice one to obtain the other. You can either defeat Miku while risking your sister or not risk her life and be prepared for Miku to remain undefeated."
"You're telling me that something has to give in order for us to win?" Ichigo shot him a look.
"I am saying that according to the information I gathered, it is your best option in order to end the fight quickly with minimal losses. Otherwise, be prepared for a drawn-out battle. It had already been concluded that you cannot rescue your sibling while Miku stands between you. All who have tried ended up injured and defeated. Metaphorically speaking, he is a wall which blocks you from your sibling. With the wall gone, you have better access to her. If she should be behind the wall when it explodes then so be it. At least then you will be able to access her. Without causing damage to the wall, she will remain out of reach."
"I am not going to risk her life," Ichigo snarled at him. "The whole point of this is to bring her back home alive and unharmed."
Kenji blinked. "Then this will be a difficult battle." He looked away. "It would be in your best interest to be open to compromise."
"That's your idea of compromise?" he snapped. "To be willing to let my sister get hurt? Even killed, just to get the guy out of the way? Are you insane?"
"It is the most logical path. Miku is strong and he stands between you and he knows where to stand in order to keep himself safe. If he is out of the way, then there is no longer an issue. In order to do that, she will have to be put at risk. As long as you achieve your goal, it is acceptable."
Ichigo growled at him. How could Kenji be so unfeeling? What he was saying might be true, but it wasn't right. He basically was telling him to shoot through the hostage in order to hit the bad guy. That was something Ichigo could not do. It might have been in Kenji's nature to keep walking if a stranger was in danger, but it wasn't in Ichigo's. Ichigo cared about people, whether he knew them or not. If he was unwilling to put a stranger at risk, why did Kenji think he could for his own sister? The fact that it was her in danger made everything worse.
"However, if rescuing her alive and unharmed is the prime directive, then it must be done," said Kenji. "It will make matters more difficult but not impossible. If you render him incapable of moving or if you manage to hit him with a direct hit at short range, it should be enough to keep him at bay and keep your sibling safe."
Ichigo relaxed slightly. It seemed Kenji was willing to work with him to some extent.
The group stopped and those in front motioned to a collection of trees not too far away. The men were gathered there. The man with the doll pointed and Miku turned around. He saw the Soul Reapers and stood up.
Ichigo drew his sword. The battle would begin soon.
The Soul Reapers spread out, getting ready to attack Miku from all sides. He couldn't throw a knife at all of them at the same time. Someone was bound to get to him without being hit. When they did, the fight would be over.
Uryu, who had accompanied the group this time, put his hand on Ichigo's shoulder. "I don't like this. That Miku guy looks too confident. Normally, that would be an enemy's downfall, but there's something different going on here. He's too calm. I don't think the Soul Reapers should get that close. He's expecting them to attack from all sides."
"If their attack doesn't work, then you shoot him with an arrow," he whispered back.
"I could hit her."
"What else can we do?"
Uryu watched the Soul Reapers close in. "Do we know why he took the things he tricked you into gathering? What they're for?"
"No."
"That's part of what worries me. I don't know what they are, but I don't see them here."
Ichigo looked around but he couldn't find them either. They must have been here because the tracker led them to this location. They could have been hidden behind the man with the doll or among the trees.
Whatever those items were, Miku wanted them.
The Soul Reapers issued a verbal threat and ordered Miku to surrender. When he refused, they attacked all at once. Most weren't using their swords in order to make sure Yuzu was kept safe from any stray attacks.
Miku grinned. He ducked down and tucked himself into a ball.
At the same time, the Soul Reapers were thrown back, yelling in pain. They landed on the ground with knives in their bodies. Every one of them had been hit several times.
"How did he..?"
Uryu looked at the trees. "They came from up there. He didn't throw them."
"He has something that can throw knives like that?"
"Apparently."
It could have been the items he assembled together and hid away. Ichigo was sure of it.
The Soul Reapers started to rise and Miku ran forward to attack. He wasn't directly in front of Yuzu anymore but Ichigo still couldn't launch an attack without hitting her. Miku made sure she was always behind him, no matter how far forward he went.
Knife in each hand, he jumped and landed on one Soul Reaper, pressing the knife in his chest deeper with his feet. When someone tried to attack from behind, Miku swung his body around and cut the attacker across the face and chest. He sprang, leaping from Soul Reaper to Soul Reaper, slicing and stabbing any way he saw fit.
"How can he move that fast?" Uryu said in awe.
"Welcome to my disbelief." Ichigo was glad he wasn't the only one who thought Miku's power was unreal.
Miku tossed them aside and stood triumphant, knives dripping blood at his sides.
"Is that all you got?" he asked them. "Come on. Show me what you can do. You are nothing."
The ground beneath him started to freeze and he jumped aside. Rukia was willing to attack now that he was further away from Yuzu. She tried to trap him over and over again, but he fled closer to Yuzu each time. She stopped her attack and Renji took over, charging from a different direction. He tried to chase Miku away from Yuzu, but he would only go so far. Renji used his Zanpakuto to strike, thinking Miku couldn't block the sword in its released from, but he was wrong. Miku knocked it aside with his knife and tossed the second into Renji's shoulder.
Renji and Rukia weren't enough to stop him. He forced Renji back and attacked Rukia directly. Miku moved too fast for her to get a lock on him. Before she knew it, he was in her face. She tried to stab him but he grabbed the hilt of her sword and pushed it aside. He couldn't miss from where he stood. With his free hand, he stabbed her in the rib with a knife. She tried to use her sword, but his hand prevented her from moving it. He pulled it from her hands and used it to throw at Renji who was coming to her aid. The sword went into his stomach. Miku grabbed Rukia by the neck and forced her down. He raised his knife high in the air.
"Rukia!" Ichigo ran to save her.
Miku heard him coming and threw the knife at him. Ichigo let it hit his arm and kept going. He wasn't going to stop.
Miku grabbed Rukia with both arms and rolled. End over end until Rukia was back on the bottom and on top was… Rukia?
Ichigo stopped where he was and looked at the twin girls.
The one on top punched the other in the face and the one on the bottom pushed the other's face with her hand, trying to get her off.
"Ichigo," they both said at once.
He looked at both of them. "You've got to be kidding."
"That's him," they said in unison. "I'm not. You are."
He had no way of knowing who was the real Rukia.
Except…
Ichigo turned around. "Kenji, which one is Miku?"
He looked at the two of them. "That one. The one on top."
The twin switched back to the redhead. "Working with the Soul Reapers now, are you?"
Ichigo swung his sword to chop Miku's head off but missed. Miku flipped backwards and landed on both feet. Ichigo attacked again, but Miku was too quick for him.
"If you don't win here, how many more men will you send our way?" he asked, dancing between Ichigo's swings. "This was a joke. You're a joke."
Ichigo swung and he saw some of Miku's hair flutter to the ground. He was getting closer.
"Why can't you just leave us alone? We never declared war with you people. Why are all the Soul Reapers coming after us?"
"You kidnapped Yuzu!"
"So? Is that really a Soul Reaper problem?" Miku blocked with a knife and got in Ichigo's face. "They're probably only helping you because you're their friend. If I had taken any other human, no one would care."
"Give her back," Ichigo growled. "Give her back!"
"Not likely."
Miku cut Ichigo's arm and jumped back. He jumped again when an arrow flew by his head. As long as he wasn't lined up with Yuzu, Uryu could fire and not worry. He only released one arrow at a time. A barrage would be two risky.
Ichigo came after Miku again. Another Soul Reaper joined him along with another. Miku alternated between dodging and grabbing their weapons. Ichigo felt pain in his side and saw the Soul Reaper's sword sticking out of his body. The other cried out as his partner's sword stuck him, too. Miku was making them attack each other. He moved aside and guided the sword with his hands and movements, making sure they hit everyone other than himself.
Before they could pull their swords free, Miku slashed at all of them. Ichigo fell to his knees from the blow and both men fell on their stomachs. Miku picked up the fallen swords and prepared to use them on Ichigo. He took aim at Ichigo's neck and swung at a downward angle.
CLANG!
A second blade stopped the first. This one was a sickle.
Miku looked to the side and saw Kenji using one of his blades to protect Ichigo.
"You…" Miku glared. "Why would you do that?"
Wasting no time, Ichigo jumped to his feet and punched Miku in the jaw.
"Unh!" Miku put a hand to his chin just as a second fist hit him below the eye. He staggered.
Now was his chance. Ichigo picked up his sword and slashed at Miku's torso. He tore the sleeve from his arm and cut a hole in his jeans. Blood ran down Miku's exposed knee.
"W- wait!"
This was the first time Miku ever looked fearful. His mocking grin was gone and his eyes had gone wide with fright.
Ichigo kept swinging. He cut Miku's arm as he reached for his pocket. He wouldn't let him draw another knife. He pulled his arm away and held it to his chest. He walked backwards, fleeing from Ichigo's sword.
"Hang on..!" Miku couldn't keep up with him. He had always been faster until now. What changed? Was it Ichigo's fury or was it his confidence? Was it before he landed a blow on him? The punches did send Miku reeling. Maybe it wasn't Ichigo who had changed but himself. Had those hits weakened him that much?
Miku could only step back. Ichigo swung again and blood was drawn from Miku's forearm. He tried to escape backwards, but stumbled and fell on his backside. Miku braced himself on his hands and Ichigo stood over him. He wasn't going to stop.
Ichigo raised the sword high over his head, ready to bring it down. He was going to cut Miku in half.
Growling with rage, Ichigo started to bring the sword down with both hands.
He stopped, sword over his head, frozen.
Ichigo's brown eyes went wide. His heart stopped for an instant, then pounded as if it would escape from his chest.
Sitting in Miku's place was his mother.
She was exactly as he remembered her. Everything from her clothes to her hair to her eyes. It was her.
Seeing his mother under his swing was enough to make him stop cold. Seeing her in the flesh after so long left him in a frozen state he couldn't free himself from.
What brought him out of his shocked state was a sword in his chest. Miku had transformed back and used a fallen sword to stab Ichigo between the ribs.
All he could manage was a short gasp. His lungs weren't working right. He couldn't breathe.
Was that one hit really enough or had he lost too much blood already without realizing it?
Maybe it was just because Miku knew exactly where to aim.
Ichigo dropped his sword. He could barely hear it clang behind him. He could barely make out his friends' voices calling out to him. His vision faded and Ichigo toppled over.
Cheap trick from Miku!
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