Part 28: Date of Rebirth


Blue light greeted the new day as hilt was touched to the soul of the fallen. As a soul reaper Rukia Kuchiki was no stranger to the ritual, nor to the slight caveat that to cleanse a soul and send it to its destination was to feel some part of that soul's lingering feelings, mainly the ones that had dominated it and left it wandering without peace.

"Your friend still lives", she whispered, for a moment not caring if her charge could hear it. "We'll find a way to give you your lives back, you have my word."

The blue light coming off her sword's hilt finally took the soul of the human Kreig Tsubaku, to her pleasant surprise purifying it into a 'Plus' instead of sending it to Hell. "So", the gentle voice of Retsu Unohana came to her ears. The older woman was far more experienced in the healing arts than she, but seemed content to let the young Kuchiki gain experience. "It is good to know that not all of the Spirit Eaters might be beyond saving yet."

Realizing she'd been speaking aloud, Rukia wheeled around and blushed despite herself. "...Y-yes, Unohana-taicho. This one had been friends with Reeve Pastell, and wished only for him to be safe. He never wanted anything to do with Zatsua's madness, but peer pressure from the rest of them kept him in line."

"A sad tale indeed", the squad 4 captain agreed, her eyes wide and reflective. "These are not Hollows after all, but human souls like any of those whom you met at Karakura town. We owe them at least a chance at clemency for their misdeeds."

"And not to get so caught up in defending ourselves that we forget about our primary duties", Rukia pointed out plainly, perhaps too eager to voice something that had been building in her mind for a while now. "These people's lives were tragic, made horrible by Zatsua's grotesque experiments and the cruelty of her most devoted followers. Without a Konso performed, their souls might possibly turn Hollow in only a single day's time!"

"Leaving us with no choice but to perform further bloodshed", Unohana nodded. "I know your concerns miss Rukia, but I've been assured everything is still under control back in the world of the living, at least for now. Reserve members and several retired soul reapers have been deployed by the captains to major cities throughout the human world. The Hollows will not overwhelm in a week, or even a month's time."

"Good." She and Renji had managed to catch the occasional rumour about what the 13 captains were doing on that front now that so many had been pulled back to defend their own home, but it was nice to finally hear something concrete. "I'd hate to think we've been slack in our duties just to protect ourselves. Duty is more important."

"Exactly as your brother says it", Unohana noted with a faint smile of recognition. She would of course be familiar with the platitudes the four noble families had pledged to honour, or at least the code her brother believed and rigidly held his clan to. "Duty and honour over all, even one's own life. Despite all that has happened, we should feel fortunate that none of us have been required to make that sacrifice in the past decades."

Taken aback by that, she beheld the destroyed Rukongai around them with trembling eyes. "This is a small sacrifice, Taicho? Igenari, Hakiza, Narahama, Rinjisaki..." There were a dozen more that she knew had died. She just could not remember their names off the bat, and was slightly ashamed for it.

"Gin Ichimaru and Kaname Tosen", Unohana finished for her, her voice growing more stern, causing Rukia back up slightly. "And many more besides. But none of them fell to Hollows. Even with how many of them were granted Shinigami powers by the Hogyoku and turned into Arrancars, they are as nothing compared to the types of Hollows which once existed in this world in centuries past. Many of Yamamoto-taicho's friends were sacrificed, fallen in battle to put them down, and those lives we would offer again if something of that nature ever threatened the worlds. No, I consider it a blessing that our losses remain so paltry, Rukia Kuchiki, considering the number of battles we have recently become involved in... many of them sprouting from defectors within our own ranks I might add."

"I guess", she said, but it was halfhearted. Small wonder that so many of the captains- her brother included- often came across as cold and unfeeling when they had become used to that level of attrition in their battles. Death was swift and merciless even to its Gods. Gray-haired Unohana, the most grandmotherly and kind of them, the duly-elected head of the healer squad, had long ago accepted the harsh realities of warfare against an equal foe.

An equal foe, which was something they hadn't really seen until the Winter War, and who knew how many decades before then. "Thanks, by the way."

"Hn? For what?"

"For not bringing up my engagement. Everyone else did."

Unohana merely shrugged. "That is your own business, my lady. It would be rude of me to intrude upon it, particularly considering the inner conflict I knew you must be feeling. That is all I will say on the matter unless you wish to discuss it further."

Rukia gave another silent thank you before turning back to the task at hand. "One more."

Signaling one of the others in the mixed-squad- half healers, and the rest from squad 13 to guard them- Unohana raised her head up and narrowed her eyes. "Yes. The kamikaze, whom you told us of."

"I couldn't convince him to stop. No matter what I said..."

The chief healer's face remained serene. "It's fine. For some, death is the only possible path they can see ahead of them. We can only take it upon ourselves to ensure they do not suffer needlessly."

And there she was again, brushing past Rukia like a matron astride a noisy child. This wasn't deliberate, just an inadequacy she felt whenever she worked alongside one of the living legends of the Seritei, whether it was her brother's quiet power and resolve or the impossible spiritual pressure and bloodlust of Kenpachi Zaraki. In this case, it was the act of working with someone possessing over five centuries of healing skill and wisdom that had thrown her.

Surely captain Unohana had dealt with a fair number of human souls who had committed suicide in her career, and sent them on without botching the affair whether they were good or evil. Could she have talked Nogrand Juno out of destroying himself?

With the refined senses of the reaper they found the soul resonating around in very same wine cellar where he had prepared his Finis Absoluto, the massive explosion of spiritual power that had very nearly killed everyone there. Once again the blue light of Rukia's sword hilt illuminated the invisible presence, preparing it for the next stage of Konso.

She gasped as a heavy wave of pressure passed over them, ruffling their robes violently. The feelings she had expected from it were there in abundance, far more than the Spirit Eater had ever shown in life. In his limited view there was only the mission, and he had utterly failed in his. That was the regret chaining him to the mortal world, and it was only a matter of time before his simmering bitterness ignited into hatred for all things, and his soul transformed into quite another kind of soul-sucking monster. One which they were infinitely more familiar with...

A new sensation of pressure on her interrupted her thoughts, finally noticing the other pair of hands gripping the handle of Soda no Shirayuki. "His bitterness is great", Unohana claimed sorrowfully. "Even more than the others, this poor man's mind was altered long ago by the painful alchemical process that turned him into a Spirit Eater. To protect itself, his mind eventually denied all feeling, all emotion, bottling it all up inside. Leaving behind only a machine. That is what he told himself, perhaps even made himself believe... But of course, that is not true. No human nor Shinigami can ever fully destroy their emotions. If you deny them, they merely surface in other ways. Remember that, miss Rukia."

The ghost seemed to only become angrier at the healer's calm words. More wild surges rocked the cellar, throwing the doors open and further trashing the shelves and supports, wordless in their raw power. There was virulent denial. Frustration. Burning hatred for all those humans who had led normal, peaceful lives, and even more for the Shinigami who had caused him to fail in his ultimate purpose of destruction...

"Come", Unohana continued, her voice tempered steel as her spiritual power began to contend with the ghost. "A new life awaits you, one where you will not have to deny your feelings to survive." There was much more to it than that, Rukia recognized in shock. Even a half-trained eye could sense the way that Unohana's own power was now reaching out to that desperate maimed soul, somehow healing its emotional trauma without using words.

After several long minutes of silence, the blue glow finally took the soul of Nogrand Juno as well. And she could feel the slightest tingle from it as it entered the blade. Something that felt like... gratitude?

"Done", Rukia said, feeling the need to finalize it somehow. "Thanks again."

"You're welcome." Unohana leaned forward slightly, breathing out only the smallest bit of exertion. "I recognized almost too late this one's power. In the distant past, some of the weaker Shinigami were overwhelmed by particularly despondent tortured souls such as that one. Even would up infected by their hatred and attacking their comrades in madness. Fortunately, Konso is now basic training for any Shinigami who leaves the Seritei on missions, so that is far less likely to happen now."

"You were protecting me then", Rukia murmured, feeling embarrassed. She'd sent hundreds, thousands of human souls to the next world both good and evil. What was so difficult about this one for her?

"I did not wish to take any chances. In the event that you should find a soul too volatile to be sent by you alone, standard procedure is to signal an elder Shinigami and monitor its condition while waiting for one's superior to arrive. Understood?"

Willing away the embarrassment, she mopped her brow. "Understood, Unohana-taicho. Looks like we're all done here."

"Not quite", Unohana contended, her senses having already picked up the masked 2nd squad messenger minutes before they'd left the cellar and he actually arrived, bowing.

"Cao Senjin. 3rd seat of the stealth core, delivering a new report to squad 4", the swift spy spoke tonelessly, ignoring the wreckage around them. "The same report is being sent to all captains currently in the field."

"Go ahead, agent."

Senjin paused momentarily, his mask hiding apprehension when he looked into Rukia's curious eyes. "All squads are hereby ordered to treat the Substitute Shinigami Kurosaki Ichigo as hostile. His human and Quincy allies likewise."

Fortunately neither of them were watching Rukia because for many breaths she could not control her own face, could only barely stop herself from asking questions.

Unohana, of course, remained completely calm. "...I see. I understand we are not to actively seek out Kurosaki and his companions, yes?"

"That is correct. His fate has been left to the stealth squad under Soifon-taicho now. However, should you see any sign of him, you are ordered to capture his companions alive... and capture or kill Kurosaki."

That was still more sugar in the gas tank, and Rukia had to turn away lest the agent see her face. It burned. Only once he was gone did she dare look back.

"It would seem your human friend has overstepped his bounds once again", Unohana noted with regret. "Don't worry too much, Rukia Kuchiki. We all remember who it was who won the final battle of the Winter War. Who it was who finally defeated the traitor Sosuke Aizen. Orders or no, I doubt very much that even your brother will seek to kill Ichigo right away should their paths cross."

Small comfort, nii-san... "We're still done here", she replied blankly. "May I please take a moment's rest?"

"Of course. In half an hour we make way for District 8 now that the battle there has ended, to heal the wounded."

Unohana obligingly left her in peace. Which made it just a bit more difficult to focus on the decision the squad 2 agent's words had left her with. Either way, she first made sure to get a large distance away from the others, entirely by random chance moving to the district gate dividing it from the outside, where her voice would not carry.

"...Ichigo Kurosaki, you DAMN IDIOT!"


"Dawn", Uryu Ishida called out as he sat up and stretched, hoping that would be enough to get the others moving as well. One thing the plan had not quite accounted for was sleeping accommodations; they had been forced to camp out on a rocky vale with only grass for cushion, with the occasional animal disrupting their attempts at rest.

"No kiddin'." Fortunately, no one among them but Reeve Pastell looked truly tired, and he needed only touch the healthy land beneath them for a few minutes to undo whatever fatigue had built up in the first day of their journey together into the untamed wilds of the Soul Society's dimension. The Spirit Eater had been annoyingly needy about that and generally rude to everyone except Ichigo besides, but everyone knew the plan and why they couldn't just ditch him after he led them to their destination.

A fact that his 'boss' was well aware of, wearing his usual scowl as he finished his Ianzamento-cooked breakfast- only what meagre means they could bring with them or scrounge from the wilderness. "Sorry, I thought I heard someone shouting just now. Well, idiot? Are we close?"

"Can't say for sure", the white-haired teen said, shrugging mildly with his single arm. "All I know is Zatsua said we could join up with her by following the trail she had someone leave from the forest we came in through."

The trail was real enough. Even Ichigo had been forced to admit that much. The various murdered animals, the ashen gray bushes, dead fields and freshly-crumbled rocks might have seemed wanton at first, but stretching out with his own Shinigami senses once he'd been able to switch back to that form, he could just barely sense the pattern to the damage as well. A deliberate trail of ruin stretching to the east from the forest, father than he'd ever travelled in any of his previous visits. While useful, he couldn't help but wonder if it was Shinigami instinct or his own that brought the sense of revulsion he felt. Certainly, the numerous dead birds had brought Inoue to tears once, and clearly moved everyone to some degree, even if only slightly.

There's only one way to end it, he reminded himself firmly, taking the Substitute Shinigami badge in hand once more and switching back to the human body he'd been born with. He stared up into the graying sky, trying to make out shapes in the clouds as some omen of the fate that awaited them today. Stop Zatsua. Find where she and the rest of them are hiding out, and save Tatsuki. That's what we're here for. Nothing will stop us. Nothing.

Which brought his mind to the next stage of the battle plan that he and Uryu had hammered out yesterday over tea. Part of him wanted to get it over with now, but he also knew it would be better until he knew they were close. Certainly Uryu would sense something when they were nearby, and then they could make their preparations in full.

But that didn't mean he couldn't make other preparations now as they began to walk, again following the trail of destruction. Not something he'd thought about doing often before plunging into battle, admittedly, but this was a special case. And if that little high-pitched Hollow voice in his ear thought it a foolish move, then he wanted it more than ever.

"So. Your buddies. Got any idea what they can do?"

Reeve looked understandably surprised, given the deserved suspicion the others had treated him with so far. "You're serious?", he confirmed cautiously, still possessed of all Ichigo Kurosaki's memories and mannerisms even if his power had gone. "Well, as ya know I didn't really care for most of 'em..."

"I know. What can you tell us?" He caught a look of alarm from Uryu over his shoulder. He didn't care.

Reeve looked thoughtful for once as he walked. "Well, I'm pretty sure the old man is still alive. Ol' mister Seven. He acts all friendly and stuff and he needs a cane to walk, but his shadow's totally nuts. The thing you have to remember is that it goes after your shadow, not you. That's what you have to use to block it. Watch the ground."

"Right." He remembered Barton Eishinchi from their first visit to the Spirit Eater complex in Naruki, though he hadn't performed any attacks of his own, merely led them into a trap. "Just hope we'll be there before nightfall then. Anyone else?"

"Yui Alumirr", Reeve recalled. "Mouthy chick always wearing headphones, about Inoue's age. But the real reason she came along for the ride was so that she could jam your Kido spells with her power to distort sound waves in a large area. The real thing to watch out for though, is her Ianzamento, Endecha. That completely removes all the sound. So any trick you guys have that requires you to talk? Completely useless."

Ichigo could see the unrest in his companions' eyes over that bit of news, and was sure it was mirrored in his own. No Bankai? No Getsuga Tensho? He'd be at less than half of his full potential, Orihime even more so. "Thanks for the warning. Anyone else particularly powerful we need to know about?"

"Just one, boss". Now even Reeve looked glum. He knew full well how much Ichigo dreaded The Confrontation. They all were. "The strongest Spirit Eater. Our Number One. Arisawa. I don't even know what her Ianzamento is... Just that she kicked Frigeld's butt with it, taking the title of Number One from him."

"She always beat me in karate class", Ichigo commented with a forced chuckle. "But I'd still rather face her in human form."

"That is your choice, of course", Uryu said resignedly beside him. They'd discussed this already neither side backing down from their argument. "I still think that's a bad idea, Kurosaki. If she decides to attack you anyway, she could cripple or kill you with a single strike."

"She won't. You don't know Tatsuki." He felt a chill settle into those same threatened bones with his words, but had never allowed fear to control him, and didn't intend to start now. "I'm more worried about the others- AHK!"

Kurosaki Ichigo.

Without even realizing it, he'd doubled over in pain, one hand clutching at his head and eliciting four shocked responses. Four arms clasped about him, helping him back up, but the stinging sensation in his head remained. And persisted.

You should turn back, Kurosaki Ichigo. You have no business here.

"Ichigo?", Inoue asked in concern. "What happened?!"

He wasn't sure. He could only nod to her, try to reassure everyone that this wasn't some extremely long-range attack. Just a very, very painful way of delivering a message. Telepathy? The voice had sounded vaguely female, but overwhelmingly loud and strong, as if every word in his head was a weight crushing into his back, etching itself by force into his very thoughts, as if someone was branding each syllable into his brain. If it had been much kinder and less accusatory- and Ichigo had not already interacted with Death Gods on a regular basis- then he might have believed it to be the voice of Heaven speaking to him.

No... this was the other side of that coin.

We have tried and tried to reason with you, Kurosaki Ichigo. But you continue to force us to take extreme measures. Go home. The Shinigami will be destroyed. You cannot stop this destiny. No man can.

"Like hell I can't!", he replied to the empty sky, completely unsure if the voice could hear him. "The funny thing is, every time someone says I can't do something, I usually end up proving them wrong."

Perhaps. But can you live with the consequences of your actions? He couldn't be sure if it was some spell of the voice's owner or mere suggestion, but abruptly his thoughts off veered to places he'd considered once and never dared touch again. Spirit Eaters descending on their little band, armed with the power of a world, unstoppable. Uryu torn apart screaming in agony. Sado collapsing, blood spilling from his muscles. Inoue falling, the horrible glaze of a corpse already overtaking her desperate eyes...

He shook his head violently to clear those images away. Still they burned, but he could fight the pain and stop them from forcing their way in and dominating him. "That won't happen. I'm not alone."

The voice held no reply this time. There was only the concerned faces of his companions, Inoue foremost among them. "Ichigo...?"

"I'm fine." He straightened up, trying to look like his usual tough self despite being a human without any powers to call on at the moment. It was strange to think about, actually. No one would question he was the deadliest of their band while in Shinigami mode, but as a human he lacked Orihime's spirit summons and barriers, Sado's Hollow-like power arms, Uryu's Quincy arts, or even Reeve's draining abilities and heat-generating Ianzamento. "Just a warning shot. They know we're here. We're getting close."

He was not alone. He just had to trust in them, as they trusted in him. That was the only way to enter this trap without paralysing fear making those nightmare images a reality.


Matoba Arisawa took care to extinguish his cigar as the guards silently led him into the head captain's quarters, for once wishing one of the Kurosaki lad's weird companions was with him now. He had seen many scary people in his time, but even if Yamamoto didn't seem particularly mad at him he could tell from the get-go that this was not a man to cross. His companion, a slender, almost sickly man with long white hair, was more pleasing to look at but still radiated that same terrifying power.

"I have reviewed your application for amnesty for your crimes against nature, Matoba Arisawa", the ancient captain spoke briskly once the guards had taken their positions. They were hardly necessary in any case. "You have promised to give up all data regarding the Spirit Eater project?"

"Yes", he said quickly. "There's a reason I quit, uh, Mr. Yamamoto sir. Many reasons. But I know that doesn't absolve me for what Genkinto and Jutani Zatsua did after I left. They have perverted my work beyond even what I feared the Japanese government was capable of doing."

A slight glimmer shone from the Shinigami's eyes. A note of respect? Yamamoto was far older than any human, and thus nearly impossible to read even for him. "Then you will now explain to me how it is you learned of our existence, when it was made clear early on that you lack any spiritual powers of your own."

Matoba shrugged, an instinctive motion that clearly failed to hide how this prospect was scaring him. "...I see. Kept it hidden all this time, did she? I'm not surprised. She always did like playing things close to the vest." Seeing a moment of confusion on his hosts' face, he apologized. "Figure of speech. I'm starting to get the idea that most of your people prefer to keep their dark secrets to themselves."

"Too often, to our shame", the white-haired captain agreed stately. "But while a personal failure is one matter, refusing to disclose illegal actions is quite another. You were contacted by one of us?"

"Yes". It would be pointless to lie. "In a way. She was on a mission. Using a Gigai to appear visible in the human world at the time, and we became friends. Then... well... a bit more than friends."

That had gotten not just the captain's attention, but the two guards as well. "Regardless of circumstances, such an interaction is a violation of our law. That violation is the indirect cause of this entire crisis. Though as a human you are not bound by the law, I hope you understand that confessing the name of your associate is the right thing to do."

All delivered very sternly by head captain Yamamoto, just as expected. Matoba had seen a few veteran Naruki cops a bit like this, had even seen one beating up a would-be racketeer for the mere attempt to bribe them. "Before I give you the name, I'd like to at least give you the context. I'd rather not be the reason that she gets kicked out of Soul Society."

"I doubt very much she will be exiled", the head captain spoke before his comrade could say anything. "Given the current situation and the severity of the violation that led to it, she will likely be executed."

Matoba stared back, disbelieving. "...You tell me this freely?"

"There is no point in deceiving you, Matoba-san", the younger one explained in a dour tone, looking like one used to smiling cheerily despite the grim tone of the examination room. "While I won't deny there have been many exceptions, I would like to think the majority of us Shinigami are honest when it comes to matters of the law. We are merely telling you the most likely outcome."

"Knowing full well that I loved her", he said in exasperation, arms at his sides. "You said your law doesn't apply to humans, so what's going to stop me from clamming up now?"

"Your own conscience, I should hope", the young one said before his sterner comrade could utter a more dangerous answer. "The name of your contact is a part of the data you offered to give us in return for amnesty."

Matoba looked stunned. "Of course. Twist my arm, right? What happens if I say no?"

"Then your soul will be sentenced for your tampering with forces beyond your comprehension", Yamamoto decreed coldly. "The same fate as all the Spirit Eaters and the three sinful humans responsible for engineering them."

Unable to force back his frustration, he plunked himself down on the other side of the table for the first time, suddenly craving for another smoke despite his earlier fear. "...You'll listen to my context before I give you the name?"

"If you wish", the young one said. "But you should keep in mind that we are currently in a state of war and could be called away to battle at any moment. If that occurs, then you might not get another chance to confess in private like this."

That last bit was mainly for Yamamoto's sake, Matoba recognized. It wasn't exactly a 'good cop-bad cop' routine, just the way they normally were. Certainly more powerful beings than he had been scared by the spiritual pressure of these two focusing on him, threatening to crush him into the ground with the slightest touch. "Alright. I won't be long, I promise."

Now he would even prefer that annoying mod soul for company. Anything but the stifling silence of the room, the two guards now watching intently as he fidgeted and took a deep breath...


As the daylight waned into the hazy orange of the afternoon, the trail grew cold. But by then, the party no longer required a chain of collateral destruction to guide the way to their destination.

They needed only focus their spiritual senses to detect a wide range of reiatsu signatures. Just as well, since the desert they had come to might have looked the same drained or not. Hundreds of drum rock spires ranging from the size of castles to cars dominated the landscape, separated by stretched of sand peppered with smaller rocks jutting up from the horizon.

And in the center of one of those tall drum rocks across a flat span of around three kilometers, Ichigo could just make out the gray metal wall indicating that someone lived there.

"Mayuri Murotsuchi", he said of the biggest, most recognizable of the auras still inside that pillar. Rather, beneath it. There had to be underground levels. "And Yoruichi-san, though she's... very faint."

"Injured", Uryu agreed, sensing the same thing from the hideout across the desolate valley. "Probably used her as a feeding source, just like with Igenari and those Hollows they captured. Wait... I'm picking up two Kurotsuchis. One strong, one weak."

"Are you sure?"

The Quincy made a disgusted face. "I'll never forget the feel of that bastard's reiatsu. If they drained his spiritrons too, then it's better than he deserves. And I can only pity the Spirit Eater who took so many of his memories on themselves."

"We're not here to save him, yeah?", Reeve noted, idly sharpening his own sword with energy freshly taken from the land converted into fire. "We're here to bust up whatever Zatsua's planning, right boss?"

Ichigo shrugged, not wanting to start a fight among them now of all times. No matter how hated the 12th squad captain was, it still felt wrong to leave him to the mercy of something that could completely devour his soul given enough time. "We'll see. I don't feel anything else yet, but that's no surprise. We won't feel a damn thing until they start attacking. I say we get started now, before that crazy girl shows up and uses Endecha to mute us."

Nodding as one, his friends turned their attention to summoning any verbal spell or enhancement they could. Sado called out to the twin pink and white arm guards that looked so disturbingly like the claws of a mighty Hollow, both growing far larger and more vicious-looking than Ichigo remembered them. Orihime's spirits flew around the valley, weaving protective orange barriers about them. Uryu's chanting blessed another dozen Seele Schneider with newfound power, and the raging fire of Reeve's Ianzamento engulfed his blade without consuming it or burning his own hands- merely the gloves he'd worn so far to prevent accidental contact.

Then it was his turn, holding up his badge to become a God of Death once more, leaving his body behind. He could feel eagerness in the air, not only from his inner Hollow but the more tempered battle lust of Zangetsu as well. Holding both of them back would not be easy in a heated battle, but he hadn't come here expecting anything to be easy.

"BAN...KAI!"

Someone must have been watching them or using some other sense, because the moment they were all ready, the enemy's own presence revealed itself to them. An unfathomably deep shadow blotted out the sun all across the valley, its edges more jagged than the rocks and far more deadly. Within that shadow, hundreds of bipedal beings were resolving themselves into human shapes before gaining simple medieval-grade armour and weapons.

"Princess Adre", Orihime whispered in genuine fear.

"The spoiled brat", Reeve agreed, equally distraught through for very different reasons. "Her Ianzamento is imagination. Her own thoughts come to life. I guess the power boost of being here allows everyone to see her knights. And make more of 'em, obviously."

Only two spiritual energy signatures were atop the drum rock that housed the entrance to the bunker. The white-bearded old man and the princess, a study in opposites. The rest, Ichigo figured, would show up once they were already engaged and distracted. Successive waves to wear us down, just like at Hueco Mundo.

"I see", Uryu noted analytically, preparing the web of blue light that served him as a Quincy bow. Pulling it back, he fired a single test shot at the two figures perched on the high rock only for a tendril of darkness to reach out and engulf its tiny shadow- and the arrow along with it- midway. Changing targets, he focused on the knights and the metal shutters just behind them, the door to Kurotsuchi's hidden workshop. "A straight march, I'd say. Inoue and I keep the army off you while you go after the source. Those things can be still damaged as if they were real, right?"

"Should be", Ichigo noted, though in truth he had no idea. They'd find out soon enough. "You're okay with this?"

It took Inoue a moment to realize he was talking to her. "O-of course! We'll do everything we can to keep you guys safe crossing the valley! You can count on us!"

Yet Sado held up a hand, the one covered by the white Hollow claw, del Diablo. "Ichigo. Please wait five minutes before you start. I want to try something that may help us."

This was unprecedented from Chad, but he slowly nodded. The burly teen wouldn't have asked for such a delay if he didn't think he could deliver on it. Once he'd run off, the only interesting thing left to look at was the army. While the ranks of see-through knights seemed content to wait blank-eyed in the protective shadow of O Home Sombra, it wasn't long before he spotted something else going on in that shuffling of transparent bodies.

"More", Uryu declared in the instant before he would have said the same thing, pointing to a spot where a pike-wielding phantom had just popped into existence. "They're multiplying. The longer we wait, the harder this is going to be."

"We'll wait for Chad", Ichigo affirmed. "Just one more minute."

Another ten knights appeared in that brief space of time, and then Ichigo finally planted one foot down and raised a glimmering Zangetsu into the sun. "Alright. Straight for the spire! Be careful, and cover your backs!"

"Right!", came the answer from three different mouths. As Reeve manifested the great burning blade he'd used on the streets of Naruki, he charged alongside Ichigo directly into the front line of knights with a simultaneous battle cry.

They had not even covered half that distance before other factors came into play. Twin spheres of orange covered them both at Orihime's will, just in time to beat past the closest tendrils of darkness unharmed. Two masses of strangely phantasmal-looking arrows flew from both sides of the valley, only to be intercepted by an equal number of bright blue bolts from their single archer- not one arrow reached the ground. Seeing the deadly shadows around them writhe in frustration, Ichigo forced his gaze away from the trembling ground. Straight ahead.

They did not bleed when struck. He was thankful for that, as he was that Adre's knights could indeed be slain by Zangetsu as well as Reeve's larger flame weapon. A stream of bolts from Uryu added themselves to the mix whenever not blocking the efforts of the hidden phantom archers, and then the first line was down, both men covering each other as they waded through the sea of identical faces and bodies.

The second line died much the same way. Whatever blows their weapons could not block were absorbed by Inoue's barriers, and the shadow covering the valley had not touched them yet. It was only once the third line parted that Ichigo stopped short, Reeve halting his mad dash a second later and staring upwards in bewilderment. "What... the... hell...?"

Good question. The fourth and final line had not even tried to fight them, instead losing all cohesion. Not of formation, but form. The transparent bodies had lost all detail and were gelling together into a single large glob of white. By the time the glob had begun to take on details of its own, every single knight alive or fallen had vanished completely.

Neither one of them could quite comprehend what they were looking at until the heads began to emerge from the amorphous body. First came the dragon, a scaled serpent with rows of fangs and red reptilian eyes narrowed to cruel slits. On its left side there was a lion, more familiar but no less fearsome to behold. On the right there came a goat-like demon's head, flashing horns arching back around the house-sized body and certainly capable of goring anyone who got in its way.

Though partly transparent as the knights had been, the thing was a creature straight out of a child's very worst nightmares. And all four of them could tell even before its triplicate roar shook the valley along with Ichigo's teeth that it was just as angry with them as it's creator, Princess Adre Gryuryana.


A/N: Happy New Year everyone! Now is the time when I plan to really put myself to the test, writing multiple fight scenes with multiple combatants in each one. Always tricky getting it to flow smoothly, but you have to try it sometime to progress as a writer and my favourite one here- Magus523, the guy who got me into this- has done a splendid job of it many a time (in fact as I write this he's about to start writing the single biggest conflict he has ever depicted).

As for Revolation's question, I must confess I'm not completely foolproof on the differences between the various spiritual energies, and so I assumed that both Shinigami and their world is composed entirely of Reishi instead of flesh and blood, while Reiatsu depicted as the aura of invisible pressure they put out indicating their strength. Reishi is what gets consumed by a Spirit Eater's touch, and so humans can't die from it even if Shinigami can. Apologies if that was confusing or I got it wrong.