XxXx Thank you so much for all the reviews. They mean the world to me. I love each and every one. Well here is Reina's return; I really hope you all enjoy it. Please review XxXx

Chapter 26

Reina's POV

I ran as fast as my legs would let me. The battles seemed intense and Emiko's spiritual pressure grew to its maximum potential; but I had my doubts about the situation. Flash-stepping to pick up speed, I leapt over branches of trees to see Rangiku, Emiko, Ikkaku, and Yumichika ensnared by octopus like arms.

Kisuke had his hands full of the Arrancar that beat up Ichigo over a month ago. I landed on a tree branch and silently observed the situation, pulling my zanpakuto out of her sheath. The spiritual pressure that surrounded the Arrancar holding my friends in its arms was tremendous; but it was nothing compared to the one I felt a ways away from here and I felt Ichigo and Rukia's spiritual pressures there. "Where is Renji?" I mentally asked.

When I heard Emiko scream, my blood ran cold and I knew it was time to step in. I couldn't see Captain Hitsugaya either and I was starting to worry. I held my hands out, while my dormant zanpakuto hovered in front of me. A large blue orb of energy appeared.

"Hadō 88, Hiryū Gekizoku Shinten Raihō" I yelled.

Forcing the energy out of my palm, the blast increased in size. The combination of electrical and spiritual energy created an enormous explosion the second it touched the Arrancar. I used the explosion as a way to get into the battle unnoticed.

Emiko's POV

I didn't have time to react to the sudden attack of kidō. The spiritual pressure behind it was almost suffocating. I felt arms wrap around me and pull me out of the explosion. The feeling was warm a familiar somehow. "Are you alright, Emiko?" a voice asked.

"Reina?"

"Yeah"

I looked up and saw her face for the first time in a month. She hardly looked the same as before; but it was still her. Those eyes were unmistakable and once the smoke cleared, we saw that the Arrancar was barely scratched.

"Who did that?" he asked annoyed.

"That would be me" Reina announced standing up from her crouched position next to me.

Rangiku, Ikkaku, and Yumichika's expression told a story of how surprised they were to see her, not to mention the change in her looks. The wind blew through her shoulder length crimson hair and her mint greet aura surrounded her. I hardly recognized her, she was calm and collected; definitely not the same as the last time I saw her.

"Where the hell have you been?" Ikkaku yelled.

"We looked all over" Yumichika continued.

She turned her head in their direction. "You can give me lectures later; but there something more important to do right now" she replied holding her sword up.

"Who are you?" the Arrancar asked.

"My name is Reina Sachiko, the Lieutenant of Squad Nine"

The arms on his body wiggled around like they each had a life of their own. He stared at her a sly grin appeared upon his lips. It was the same look he had given Rangiku when he threatened to punch holes throughout her body.

"You have an amazing body" he commented.

Reina sneered in disgust and gripped the hilt tighter. I could feel the power surge throughout her body and it made me curious as to what she had been doing over the last month. "Listen guys, I want you all to leave him to me. No one interfere, understand" she said harshly.

"But Reina, you can't…" I tried to protest but she held her hand out to stop me.

"Emiko, just do as I ask"

"Alright…"

I didn't want her to fight him alone; but the look in her eyes showed me an undying flame of determination, so I stayed quiet. Rangiku panted, trying to catch her breath. "Are you insane? Let us help you" she objected.

"You're in no shape to help me" Reina stated.

"You are mighty confident aren't you?" the Arrancar commented.

"What's your name Espada?" she asked.

"Well, I'm surprised you knew what I was. I'm Espada Six, Luppi Antenor"

Reina's lips curved into a smile, one that I had never seen before. Was she enjoying the thought of battle or did she have something that would ensure a victory? Luppi snapped on of his arms in her direction; but she raised her sword up to block it with ease. Her hair fell into her sage eyes and the look she expressed was full of pent up anger.

Silver spikes poked out of the white flesh. Reina swiftly moved her body around them; but not without one catching the side of her arm. Luppi smiled and licked his lips at her wound. She laughed and it wasn't a laugh I'd expect to hear from her. It was more cocky and arrogant. I'll admit that she's seemed to have gotten stronger; but taunting the enemy was crazy.

"Oh please this is nothing. You'll have to do a lot better than that if you want to kill me" she taunted.

"Why you little bitch…"

"Crash Down, Ekō Suiiki"

A torrent of water surrounded the blade and it transformed into the ripple blade, that I admired so much. The star charm that dangled off the bottom of the hilt sparkled in the sunlight. She was such a beautiful woman and I envied her completely, even if her new attitude wasn't like her at all.

Reina's POV

Holding my Shikai felt different this time around. I knew that the power that had been sealed inside me since birth was swirling with Ekō Suiiki's in harmony now. The wound on my arm had already sealed shut thanks to the waters that surrounded me.

"Suishō no hahen" I said softly.

I slashed my sword outward and shard of water crystals scattered swiftly in his direction. The shards struck his arms; but just bounced off them. I assumed that his arms were like armor to him. All eight of his arms attacked me at once; so on instinct, I used flash-step to dodge every attack he made. I swiftly moved from place to place avoiding them the best way I knew how.

I noticed that he was getting irritated with me and the fact that he couldn't hit me; so he pushed silver spikes out at the ends of each fleshy arm. His speed seemed to increase over time and mine seemed to be slower. It was becoming harder to move out of the way and eventually one of the spikes slashed my arm for a second time.

"Reina!" Emiko yelled.

"Don't you dare interfere!" I yelled back.

"Just because you are Aizen's daughter, doesn't make you invincible" she argued.

I froze, unable to believe those words came out of her mouth. The words dug deep and it actually hurt to hear them. Luppi started to laugh hysterically. "So you're the child of Lord Aizen. I should have known" he continued to laugh at the information; but all it did was fuel my anger.

I gripped the hilt of my zanpakuto tighter and figured that I better end this quickly. "I hate to break it to you princess; but you can't hold a candle to your father" he stated. Again, words dug in and hurt me on the inside.

Remembering things from my childhood, the biggest thing that stuck out was my mother's face when she admitted that the father I knew wasn't really my father. She seemed so hurt and I didn't know how to comfort her about it. She never told me his name; but now that I knew it, I wished that I didn't. He would forever shame me and I wasn't about to let him or his lackeys hurt anyone I cared about ever again.

"We shall see about that" I whispered.

I lifted Ekō Suiiki so she was level with my face. My hand touched the blade as if I was praying. Concentrating on my spiritual pressure, I felt hers inside the blade merging with my own. Luppi looked confused as he was witnessing the increase in my power. "What is this?" he asked in almost a whine. Emiko watched in awe. I could feel her surprise within my heart.

"Bankai" I called.

Emiko's POV

My eyes went wide upon hearing the word 'bankai'. She had spent the last month in hiding learning the technique. I couldn't help but feel angry at her for not telling me what she was doing; but watching the swirl of water surround her made me think that she had a reason for doing so.

The torrent was like a cyclone that spiked to the clouds. Luppi watched with narrowed eyes, impatiently waiting. The cyclone finally burst open and Reina stood before us in her new form. Her eyes were almost iridescent, radiating power from every pore of her body.

Ekō Suiiki's usual rippled blade was now split into two blades that attached to each of her arms. A torrent of water flowed around each blade and what stood out the most was the large tidal wave behind her that acted like wings.

"Hareyakana Ekō Suiiki" she announced.

I looked over at the others and all of them seemed stunned by her transformation. I didn't blame them at all; she clearly wasn't the same person anymore. Reina smiled and rushed in and in a flash one of Luppi's arms was severed off.

"She's fast" I commented.

"You bitch, how dare you" he yelled.

Reina chuckled; but abruptly stopped when she saw two of his other arms covered in ice. I looked up to see Captain Hitsugaya there, blood rolling down his forehead. Reina's body froze and I could feel her disappointment.

"How? You're dead" Luppi said surprised.

"You're too lax. You should have made sure I was dead" he replied.

He moved away from Reina and attempted to go after the Captain. "You have no chance in winning. I've had too much time to prepare" he commented. Luppi froze in his place unable to find a word to say.

"If your eight arms is your weapon, then all the water in the atmosphere is mine. Sennen Hyōrō"

A large shell of ice encased Luppi from all sides. Reina turned to look at the Captain. I could feel her anger rise within her; but she suppressed it down, knowing that she couldn't say what she wanted to her superior.

Reina's POV

All I could do was feel stupid for even trying; because no matter what I did, it wasn't going to be good enough. Suddenly out of nowhere a ray of Negación engulfed Luppi and destroyed the Sennen Hyōrō. The other Espada was lifted in another ray was well.

I watched as everything crumbled in front of me. Cursing under my breath, I returned my zanpakuto to her dormant form. The wind blew through my hair as the garganta holes closed shut, leaving us alone. I felt like I let everyone I swore to protect down and I closed my eyes, refusing to let the tears roll down my face.

"Reina" Captain Hitsugaya said.

"Yes sir" I replied opening my eyes.

"What were you thinking?"

I saw his eyes narrow and the others joined the conversation. They were all waiting for an explanation and I honestly didn't know what to tell him. "Tell them the truth" Ekō Suiiki's voice echoed.

"I've been struggling with the power I unsealed within me. It was breaking the bond between my zanpakuto and me; so the only way to bypass that was to learn bankai"

"Is that why you didn't use our full strength against that Arrancar a month ago?" Rangiku asked.

"Yes; and when Renji saved me, I knew that I had to do something"

Toshiro's hardened expression softened and I felt his acceptance of my reason. "Next time, tell someone. We were all worried about you" he said softly. Rangiku smiled and I could see that she also had been worried about me.

The day wasn't without problems. Ichigo had once again been severely hurt by the same Arrancar as before. Haichi, a vizard like Ichigo, did what he could to heal him; but a lot of damage had been done.

I stepped inside Urahara's shop, knowing Renji was there. He needed to know that I was alright before I returned to the Soul Society. He was just coming up from the underground training room when he saw me.

"Reina…" he said in a low whisper.

"Hey Renji" I replied.

He stepped closer to me and just as the rain began to hit the roof, I could feel his emotions. He wanted to reach out to me; but knew that he shouldn't. His feelings for me were masked and cloudy at best and that was because he cared for Rukia more.

"Where the hell have you been?" he asked.

"I was training for bankai" I replied simply.

"And you couldn't do that here?"

He didn't seem surprised by what I told him; in fact, he seemed relieved to hear it. I reached for his hand and held it gently within my own. "I'm sorry that I worried you; but I had to do it alone" I told him honestly.

His grip tightened on my hand and he pulled me into his arms. "Don't scare me like that again. Shūhei would never forgive me if something happened to you" he said against the top of my head. I smiled as I clung onto his uniform.

What he said was true; but it wasn't just Shūhei that wouldn't forgive him, he wouldn't forgive himself either. He was like the brother I never had and I loved it. It was short and simple, definitely not the lecture I was expecting to hear.

"Reina…"

"Yeah"

"The next time you want to go train alone, tell me where you're going first"

I smiled and pushed myself out of his embrace. "I promise that I'll tell you and Emiko first" I replied. He leaned down and kissed my forehead before walking away. I could still feel his emotions, which meant he was still close by.

I peered through the blinds and saw him talking to Rukia. He was confused and I wondered if it was about Rukia or someone else. His smile had returned and I knew who he really cared for. I was glad to see it and then everything diminished after hearing Rukia's words.

"Orihime is missing"

XxXx I know it wasn't very long; but I still hope that you liked it. The next chapter will be the reunion between Shūhei and Reina…along with Izuru and Emiko's reunion. For all the Ichigo and Renji fans, I've started written a new story called 'Breathe on Me' which is sort of a love triangle between them and a girl named Katarina. I should have its 3rd chapter posted today or tomorrow. XxXx