The Heir Apparent

Chapter 33: Battle Royale 3, Reaction

'Forty-two, forty-four, fourty-six,' said Rukia, counting up the central 46 members in twos, 'Yosh, that's everyone.'

'Good,' said Kyoraku, who seemed to have taken charge of their little group. For some reason he hadn't resealed his zanpakutou, he'd just tucked the massive falchion blades into his sash. They had a hook on the blades that allowed for that, but it still looked very dangerous for him.

Instead of bringing the special guests and jury members to the central chambers or the thirteenth division's headquarters, both of which were secure and guarded, they had piled them all into the Sokyoku tower. Kyoraku had been worried that the enemy would anticipate such a move. It probably was an unnecessary precaution, since they were already within the walls of Seireitei which the enemy shouldn't be able to enter. But a bit of extra provision never hurt.

Ichigo though seemed to think it did, and was scowling heavily. He'd been all for leaving them just inside the wall's perimeter. Rukia and the others had overruled him, the time saved just wasn't worth the risk. It hadn't taken that long besides, once they were inside Seireitei's limits the five of them used their flash-steps to carry them all; in singles or doubles; to the tower. Kyoraku had surprised them all with his ability to leap the entire distance with one jump, and had taken more than half of their eighty odd charges on his own.

'Well, what now?' said Nanao

'Yada-yara,' said Kyoraku, 'I guess we should go back and help the others. Nanao-chan, you and Isshin-kun stay back to defend.'

'Fine, fine,' she sighed, turning and walking back to the tower.

Isshin though was incised, 'Like hell,' he said, 'I'm not gonna sit back while my son get's all the fighting, nosiree.'

'Eh?' said Ichigo.

'Ouji-sama, you're the King of Soul Society. Or would have by now if we'd managed to get to the crowning part,' said Rukia, 'We can't let you come to any harm, or there'll be huge problems here for years.'

'Yeah, if you die I'll have to become king. No-thank-you!' Ichigo interjected, stepping in front of his father.

'WHAT! You're just worried that you'll have to do my job if I kick it,' Isshin raged, butting heads with his son.

'Stow it, old man, I've got too much on my plate as it is,' said Ichigo, pushing back.

Isshin's eyes suddenly moistened up, 'Masaki, I have a son who cares nothing for me, where did we go wrong?'

'Perhaps the part where you didn't tell me you were a Shinigami, and a Royal.'

'We're wasting time here,' said Kyoraku, placing a hand on both Ichigo and Isshin's shoulders. 'Isshin-kun, come if you must, but please stay well clear of the serious fighting.' Without waiting for an answer he flash-stepped away, leaving the rest of them to gather their wits and follow.

Rukia had an idea. Smirking, she jumped on Ichigo's back.

'Hey,' he protested.

'It'll be faster this way,' she said, 'As you said earlier, time is of the essence.'

'Whatever,' he said, and set off at a run, flash-stepping in great bounds. 'Heh, this kinda takes me back.'

They caught up with Kyoraku at the gate, Isshin keeping good pace with them. Rukia got off and they each pulled out a hell-butterfly, which allowed them entry and departure, and released it from its protector. Led by the tiny insects, they once again went through the unmarked ground that was the gate to Seireitei.

Immediately once they were through the barrier Kyoraku stiffened. 'What on earth,' he muttered.

Rukia felt at the various reitsu levels, something which had been impossible while inside the walls, and gasped aloud. She'd half expected the fighting to be over by the time they'd got back, if anything it had intensified. There were several signatures of souring reitsu, an obvious sign of captains pushed to the max. Then one winked out sharply.

'NO,' cried Kyoraku, 'YAMA-JII!'

Rukia felt at the point, hoping against hope. There was none. Yamamoto was gone, the most powerful shinigami; dead. She didn't know what to feel or think, a sense of unreality gripped her. It felt strange too, there was a sense of wrongness unlike a normal soul passing; even one that died from violent means.

'The others are in trouble,' said Isshin, who seemed a little less shocked than the rest of them. 'I count three captain-class in serious battles. There's four of us, so pick your spot and go, as fast as you can. Rukia, stay with Ichigo.'

Stunned though she was, Rukia was about to protest that she could take care of herself when Ichigo let out a stifled cry. 'Ch-ch-Chado!'

She felt for his energy, a caught the last vestiges of it before it faded into oblivion. He was gone too, who was next, how many had already been lost? She'd never been close to the quiet giant, but even still the knowledge that someone she'd fought alongside for so long was suddenly gone... It was nearly as numbing as the death of Yamamoto.

'Bankai, Tense Zangetsu,' Ichigo cried, and raced off in the direction of his friends death.

'Ichi-' Kyoraku began, but he was already gone. The older man made a noise that sounded close to a growl. 'He should have waited, impulsive…' he stopped, seeming to realise that he was about to insult his friend in front of his father and lieutenant. He drew a shaking breath, 'I guess this means that you'll have to assist one of the captain battles, Rukia-chan.'

Trust Ichigo to act rashly in a situation that called for cool heads. Kyoraku must be hurting as well, but he kept it under control. They had to if they were to salvage this disastrous situation.

'We could hit them together, one at a time,' Isshin suggested.

'No, they're all losing, by the time we'd have finished with the first the other two would be dead. Rukia, I'm going to ask you to help Shiba-taicho, Isshin and I will take the other two.'

Rukia knew without asking that that was the battle Kyoraku felt was the most evenly matched. It felt like a put down. Still, she was grateful that he hadn't said it outright.

'Hai, Kyoraku-taicho' she said loudly, and with a touch of disrespect in her tone.

He nodded once and made eye contact with her, unspoken understanding passing between them. 'Isshin-kun, lets go.'

They flash stepped away, and a moment later Rukia did the same, heading in another direction.

x

Hitsugaya leapt aside as the butterfly-axe blade flew at him. It missed and went past, but then changed course, coming right back at him. Hitsugaya's eyes widened as it passed through the yellow flame, and swung an icy wing in a last moment defence. As the blade hit there was a flash, bright as the sun, and Khaan charged in with his scythe.

Because of the angle he'd been facing the flash, Hitsugaya had partial vision in his left eye, though his right was blinded; enough that he was able to step into the attack and block where the blade met the shaft. He leapt away, blinking quickly to get his sight back.

'What was that,' he demanded, rubbing his right eye furiously.

Khaan smirked. 'Heh, that's what happens when the blade goes through the sun fire.'

'Sun fire,' Hitsugaya repeated, eyeing the three flames as they slowly circled him, 'So that must mean the other two give different abilities when you throw your blade through them.'

Khaan didn't reply, but flash-stepped to his other side and threw his axe, this time through the blue flame. Hitsugaya tried to dodge but again the blade changed direction in mid-flight. Either it was homing or the user could direct it, either way the effect was the same. He wrapped both wings around himself, creating an icy shell. As the blade hit, there was a massive explosion, he was flung back. He crashed into a wall, rebounded and hit the floor.

As he got up he assessed the damage. He was unhurt, well a bit bruised but nothing serious; his Bankai though was shattered. Only a tiny fraction of the ice remained hanging off his shoulders, and that was melting fast in the constant heat of the blazes around him. He was in trouble unless he could find another water source to repair it.

'You're quite right. That was the chemical flame, did you enjoy it?' said Khaan snidely, swinging the axe blade around on its chain. 'I'm going to show you the last, I'm sure you're dying to see it.'

Having dried up the fountain, there really was nothing that supplied enough for his needs, save the river on the outskirts of town. He had no choice, he had to make a break for it. Khaan had already proven that his speed level was on par with Hitsugaya's, so he had to distract him to get past. He doubted that the red smoke escape would work again.

'Bakudo no. 62, Hundred steps fence,' cried Hitsugaya, indicating at Khaan.

Energy shot forth at the red-cloaked man in the form of a rod, but before it reached him he swung his scythe, smashing it to smithereens.

Shock ran like electricity up Hitsugaya's spine, but he was already committed to his next spell. 'Hado no. 54, Abolishing flames.' He slung the purple fireball with a backward swing of his hand.

Khaan caught it on the tip of his scythe, it rebounded back at Hitsugaya, who only just got out of the way in time. It detonated harmlessly behind him. 'Some genius you are,' said Khaan, 'You should know that Hollenwut has sovereignty over fire, and all attacks made with it.'

That couldn't be fully true, otherwise he would have been the one to attack Yamamoto. Hitsugaya already knew that the captain-commander had been killed, he couldn't allow that knowledge to fully sink in until after the battle. To do so would be to invite disaster.

Kido against this man obviously wasn't working, but he had one more trick. 'Bakudo no. 26, Curving light,' he cried, moving his hands in the appropriate gestures. The spell not only rendered him invisible, it also hid his reitsu. With his expert manipulation of it there would be no chance even the super sensitive Quincys would detect him. He flash stepped towards the river.

As he passed Khaan, the man turned to him and said, 'The last flame I like to call the torcher,' and he flung his axe directly at Hitsugaya.

How could he have… damn that tracer. With no time to manoeuvre he blocked with his sword as the blade passed through the red fire. If it was another explosion he would take some damage, he ducked his head in and closed his eyes in case this one was in anyway similar to the other two. It wasn't. Instead he felt the weird sensation of being showered with hot oily liquid.

He burst into flame.

'And now you are my torch,' he heard Khaan laugh.

His skin melted like wax, his clothing peeled off, his hair frizzed and disintegrated. Then the pain began, pain unlike any other. He screamed like he had never screamed before.

x

Ichigo shot like a meteorite through Rukongai, dodging the various battles. A few Quincy tried to take pot shots at him, none got even close. In less than a minute he all but on top of the place he'd felt Chad go down. He could now feel Uryuu's energy signature, his was particularly difficult to pick up. And the man he presumed must have killed Chad. Like the freaks they'd fought in the material world his reitsu was a mix of Quincy and Shinigami energy, but it was on a completely different level to those.

He arrived just in time to see the killer beating Ishida Uryuu down with the back of his spear, then jumping back as he felt Ichigo's approach. Ichigo snarled, landing by Uryuu and immediately springing at the man. He stabbed and slashed in murderous assault, his enemy parrying and evading while launching attacks of his own.

'Getsuga Tenshou.'

The black moon fang churned up the ground as it ripped at the man. He blocked it with the shaft. Then Ichigo flash-stepped behind him and fired at the back of his neck. The two energy crescents collided in a booming explosion.

Ichigo ran up to Uryuu. The other boy was injured, in such a way that his enemy had obviously been aiming to disable him. Both wrist tendons were slashed open, as was his left foot. His face was white with pain. 'Kurosaki,' he gasped, then he looked away, 'You shouldn't have come.'

'The hell I shouldn't. Chad was my friend, you're in no shape to avenge anyone. By the way, where is he?'

Uryuu pointed to a rotting body, barely recognisable as human let alone his friend, 'Takumo said that since his energy was hollow-based he was destroyed a lot faster. I couldn't do anything.'

At that moment "Takumo" slashed the air, clearing away the smoke in front of him. 'As expected from Kurosaki Ichigo, hero of the Winter war and Captain of the thirteenth division. You nearly had me there.'

'You bastard,' Ichigo growled, holding his sword low, 'Tell me how you reverse the soul destruction, and I'll give you a quick death.'

'That's impossible,' said Takumo, 'Since there is no way of reversing it. You can only halt the process by cutting off the head with a zanpakutou, or destroying the entire body with shinigami energy.'

Ichigo gritted his teeth so hard he wouldn't have been surprised had they cracked. There was no choice, and no time to waste. He flash stepped to the body, and lined up his Bankai blade. His hand started to shake, grief and rage threatening to overwhelm him. Screwing his eyes shut, he slashed down. When he opened them Takumo hadn't moved.

'Why,' he cried, 'You have a zanpakutou. You'd already killed him, couldn't you be content in that and at least allow him his rebirth?'

'Why should I care?' said Takumo.

'Bastard,' Uryuu hissed.

'He'll be a terribly damaged soul now. If he's very lucky he'll be repaired and reborn. More likely he'll be stuck between flows for eternity. Do you really think you've done him a favour?'

'Better that than oblivion,' Ichigo spat, noting out of the corner of his eye that Chad's remains were slowly fading away. 'Ishida, can you stand?'

'Uh… yes.'

'Get out of here, or you'll get hurt.'

As Uryuu got up, Takumo threw his spear at him. It hit the youth in the thigh, and sent him soaring back into a broken wall section. He struck with a painful sounding thud, but didn't cry out. The section of the blade that had penetrated his leg sunk into the wall, pinning him fast.

'I'm not as good as Marx at restraining people,' said Takumo, 'But I'm not bad.'

'Nnnggg,' Uryuu groaned as he tried to extract it. It didn't budge.

'What the hell,' cried Ichigo, 'What do you want with him, I won't hold back even if you threaten to kill him!'

'Really?' said Takumo, and Ichigo paled, 'Relax, I won't hurt him any more. He's a prodigy, we need new blood in our order. He'll just remain there to observe your death, before he joins his true family.'

'I…will…NEVER,' said Uryu through clenched teeth.

'That's good to know,' said Ichigo. If the enemy wanted Uryuu alive then he didn't have to worry about defending him. And with his spear lodged in Ishida's thigh, Takumo was currently weapon-less.

He charged.

The second before he slashed Takumo flicked the rattle on his gauntlet. Instantly there was a gust of wind, and another glowing spear formed in his hand. Ichigo nearly had his head taken off by a wide swipe, he had to leap to the side to avoid it.

'Not bad,' he conceded grudgingly as he screeched to a halt. Then he glanced at Ishida, who still had a spear in him, and frowned.

Takumo followed his gaze. 'My weapon isn't a really spear, it's a javelin. I can produce as many clones of it as I want.'

But only the one in his hand would have the rattle tassel, Ichigo noticed, the copy of the one on his gauntlet. Or to be more precise, the one that had most recently been in his hand, since the javelin pinning Uryuu had had the tassel right up until the clone had been created. He wasn't sure how, but that had to be linked to his power. So what would happen if either were to be removed?

x

Isshin arrived to a sorry scene. Captain Zaraki Kenpachi was pinned to the ground with three chains protruding from his chest. The man he'd been introduced to that very morning as Yumichika was trying in vain to break them with his zanpakutou. Orihime lay with her back to a wall, her leg injured.

The only one fighting was third-seat Ikkaku. He had three massive weapons attached by chains that Isshin supposed must be his Bankai. But they were cracked and broken at many places, only the dragon-crested blade that hovered behind his back still looked useable. By the looks of it, his was a pure aggression Bankai. Those always had a large weakness, this one being that the blades were brittle. He flash-stepped beside him.

Ikkaku gave him a quick glance, 'You're Ichigo's father, the king!'

'Not yet I am, but never mind about that. Who's that guy?' he pointed at the black caped man with the huge 4 shooter crossbow.

'He calls himself Marx, and he's from a group called the Rache.'

'I bet he's strong,' said Isshin with a grin, and drew his zanpakutou back, 'Let's take him together. Now!'

x

Rukia came just as a blue-cloaked woman stuck Kukaku with her large weapon. It sent the third division captain flying through wall after wall, her staff thrown out of her hands. The woman charged after her, obviously intending to finish it. Rukia flash-stepped in the way.

'Next dance, Hakuren.'

The icy wave forced the attacker to evade. While she was occupied, Rukia retrieved Kukaku's staff and moved to her side; dropping the weapon at her feet.

'C'mon, get up,' she said to Kukaku. She seemed stunned from the blow.

Kukaku took her staff and looked up at her, cross-eyed. 'You, no. No no no, you shouldn't be here.'

'Why, because I'm not strong enough? Don't you disrespect your grandmother missy!'

'Grandmother eh?' said Kukaku, somewhere between amusement and awe. She got up. 'I guess… I'm sorry Rukia, I don't want you to get hurt as well.'

That sounded ominous. 'Who else?'

She bowed her head. 'Sentaro. I'm so sorry.'

Rukia's eyes hardened, now she had a reason to kill this Quincy. 'It's not your fault. We'll take her together.'

'Does that mean you'll finally ready get down to business?' said the Quincy woman dryly.

'She's strong,' Kukaku warned, 'Even together, I don't think we can beat her.'

If she was, why hadn't she used her Bankai? Regardless, it was a trump card Rukia could still pull out, though she'd never used it in battle before.

Then another figure flash stepped beside them. 'Nii-sama,' said Rukia.

Byakuya glanced back at her and nodded once.

'Impossible,' said the Quincy, 'Marx said he poisoned you too. How can you be standing?'

Byakuya just looked at her coldly.

'I'm not staying to fight three captain-class shinigami,' she said, and flash-stepped away.

Rukia blinked, what now? She'd been prepared to fight. Honestly she had no idea if they could have won, especially with Kukaku being on the edge of her strength as she was.

'You saved us, Byakuya,' said Kukaku, making Rukia bristle. They didn't know that for sure.

'I need to go find Ichigo, he might be in trouble,' said Rukia. 'Sorry, Nii-sama, can I leave you to help Shiba-taicho.'

Byakuya nodded once, and she flash stepped away.

When she'd gone, Byakuya finally opened his mouth. Blood poured onto the front of his clothes.

x

A/N: I know I know, Hitsugaya, big shocker. Just please wait until the next chapter before crucifying me. Or rather the next half of the origional chapter.

This is basically half the chapter planned, I've written it all out but it was too long. So it's been divided into two, meaning that there will be one final Battle Royale chapter. Since it's already written, and just requires editing, I should be releasing it soon. So look out for it.

Btw: Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood is really bad. At least, if you've already watched the origional series, which is like the best anime ever.

Anyways, one last randomness. I've started writing the second turn-back arc. Let's just say I'm super excited about it. You'll see soon.

KotW out.