I apologize for the wait! I've had some technical difficulties. So I'll try and update this as quickly as possible. I have a lot of days to make up, after all!

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE:

"Hunters, Captain Kuchiki, with me please," Kagami Masako ordered lightly, her usual small smile vanishing and her eyes narrowing slightly. "Hunters, I believe it's time to change into your true forms," she said, the others following her as she darted across roofs and over rubble so quickly that their surroundings blurred from the speed.

The Hunters nodded. In a flash of light, all their clothes and appearances changed. They all wore tight fitting black clothes that flowed around them, chains and many other weapons strapped on. Instead of paint, they wore black masks that completely hid their faces with no openings for eyes. As they ran, they seemed to shimmer into nothingness.

"Norio, Kasumi, Isao," Kagami said softly. "I want you to find any survivors and start tracking where the rest of them might have gone. Ryuu, Kohaku, please assist Captain Kuchiki and the other captains." The Hunters nodded. Kuchiki opened his mouth to ask her what she would be doing, but she suddenly vanished, moving so quick he couldn't follow.

Kuchiki resisted the urge to gnash his teeth in anger. That woman...

Kagami ran, wind whipping violently through her hair. She knew that Asami Chiasa and Kohana Miyuki were already gone. However, the spiritual pressure she was currently feeling...she had never thought that she would feel it ever again.

She felt her eyes grow moist, and she mentally cursed. Damn him for appearing now of all times. And damn him for doing this, though she knew she had done much worse to him. As she ran, she remembered the three graves that she hadn't visited for the last few hundred years and the people she had buried in them. Her hands clenched at her sides, and she found herself trying not to break down and cry.

If she wanted to protect the people that were left, then she would have to ask for the help of an old friend.

...

"You have no hope of winning against me. I am a Jewel, and I will have my revenge."

He stood casually in the middle of the crater, tall and lanky but with the aura of barely restrained power. Black hair messily framed a handsome, chiseled face, with vivid electric blue eyes that glowed in the dark. He was dressed casually, completely in black, in worn jeans and a button down shirt. A completely black chain hung around his neck, and another hung around his waist, holding a sheathed katana. But there was no trace of spiritual pressure on him at all.

Quicker than the blink of an eye, Ryuu and Kohaku were there. Kohaku stood with her back to the captains, her hand on the third man's zanpakuto. Ryuu held his own blade against the man's throat. Captain Kuchiki appeared a second later, his zanpakuto drawn. It hadn't been much of a surprise, but it had still startled him significantly when he had realized how quick the Hunters were.

"Who are they?" Kyoraku asked him.

"Hunters. People who find, train, and kill assassins. There are three others here, looking for survivors and tracking down any of his allies."

Ukitake sighed in relief, though the tension didn't leave his shoulders. "Thank goodness."

"Do not get your hopes up so soon," Kagami said softly, appearing next to the captains. Her spiritual pressure spiked irregularly, as if she was restraining it. She held a sheathed sword in her hand, but it had no grip or guard and seemed to be completely made of silver, shimmering slightly in the light just like its owner. "No Hunter could hope to defeat a Jewel. That is how powerful and rare they are."

"Where are Hitsugaya and Zaraki?" Kuchiki asked, noticing that the two were missing.

"They are being treated by Isao as we speak," Kagami said, her eyes never leaving the third man. "They were with Chiasa and Miyuki when they were taken."

"Those two were captured?" Soi Fon asked, her eyes narrowed. She had seen how powerful the two were, and had wanted them in her division for a long time. "That's impossible."

"It's quite possible," the third man laughed. "Little brats like that don't affect Jewels like I." There was a small pause. "How wonderful to see you two again, Ryuu, Kohaku. You've both grown so much."

Ryuu let out a low growl, and Kohaku gave a small hiss. They were both filled with tension and apprehension.

"Ryuu, Kohaku," Kagami said softly, though they heard her clearly. "Come back to me, please. You know you are no match for a Jewel."

Immediately, the two were beside her, blending into the darkness around her, coiled and ready to spring into action at any moment. The captains all instinctively leaned away from them. The aura they radiated was wild and feral.

"It's wonderful to see you as well, Kagami Masako," the third man smirked. "Or should I say, Kageno-Akuma? Really, you change names so often it's truly hard to keep track of them all."

Yamamoto's eyes narrowed when he heard those words. He had heard of Kageno-Akuma several hundred years ago.

"I wish I could say the same, Masanori," Kagami replied lightly, calmly stepping forward. As she did, her spiritual pressure seemed to become more and more contained, as if she had completely shut the valve that controlled it. Kuchiki gritted his teeth in anger, but stifled the urge to stop her and keep her at his side.

The third man, Masanori, gave a low laugh, approaching her at the same, languid pace. "You haven't changed in the slightest."

At the same time, they both drew their blades.

Kagami's blade was pure silver as well...and wrong. The captains were all startled when they saw it wasn't a katana, like they had originally thought it to be, but a sakabato. A sword with a reversed blade, making it almost impossible to wound a person.

Masanori's was a traditional katana, as black as the sheath, with no guard or grip either. The only difference between the two's blades were that his could actually cut. Besides that, the zanpakutos seemed like twins.

"Tear through darkness, Izanagi," Masanori hissed, smiling eagerly as he faced Kagami.

Kagami seemed resigned as she softly said, "Devour the light, Izanami."

At the same time, both of their spiritual pressure levels sky rocketed, sending everyone besides the Hunters to their knees from the power. The two snarled at each other as one, then raced at each other, their blades shaking the entire area when they clashed.