Bleach: The Alternate Tale

by blackout2010

We all know that Ichigo Kurosaki was a human who became a Shinigami, but what would happen if he was always a Shinigami when the events of bleach happened, perhaps an altered story. Very minor crossover with Sakura Wars. A/U A/T. Contains incest in later parts.

38. When worlds collapse

Author response to the unknown reviews:

To Guest from chapter 35:

I apologize for the huge delay, but work, social obligations, the difficulty of this chapter [for it's medium], and flickering inspiration due take it's toll on writing. You can rest assured that I will finish this story, but I cannot promise when these chapter will be coming out. I ask for your patience and understanding.

To Brissar from chapter 37:

Thank-you very much for the sentiment, I appreciate it truly.

To Guest from chapter 12:

'Um…why is Don African American? Wouldn't he be African Japanese or something?'

Umm, that's a bit of me typing without truly thinking. I am an America, so when I see someone of African negro descent, my first thoughts are to assume: "African American." Since calling them Black would make me feel like I'm sounding racist. I think I did the same thing with Tosen back in the beginning of the story, but that one could be more forgivable since it IS possible for him to have been a slave or immigrant that died at some point.

Anyway, long story short, I just wasn't thinking from an objective standpoint. I typed it and went, doesn't really help since we don't know what his true canon nationality is (here he is a native from Japan, but he could be a ganguro [Japanese person that darkens their skin tone]). Still thank you for the concern.

To 'Jake' from chapter:

I would appreciate it if you logged on (or created an account) when you are going to ask these kinds of questions. Reason being: It's not very specific. I don't know whose character interaction you speak of, so I'll just summarize:

Su-Soi: They had a fight, but made up a bit. It's no different then when friends yell at each other, before apologizing sheepishly. Neither wanted to hurt the other, but didn't want to push it.

Soi-Ichi: Soifon was just letting him know she trust him and was trying to ease tension.

Sen-Ichi: Playful banter…with the exception of Mirokumaru.

Shin-Su: Spousal worry.

Shin-Mura: Not everyone gets along.

Sen-Su: Senna's over cheeriness clashed a bit with Su's personality. Doesn't mean they can't work together.

Hope that answers that…unless I'm missing something.

To 'j' from chapter 2:

"Much weaker than the canon"

Response: Depends on perspective. This Ichigo is in a much rougher environment than canon Ichigo. Taking canon Aizen's words as truth, Canon Ichigo was predicted to survive and overcome these challenges, it was all part of the plan, he wasn't really in danger of dying. Conversely, Fic-Aizen has been throwing everything and the kitchen sink to kill him. But you haven't gotten that far considering when you posted this, so I'll put it in a different way.

It's not the strongest warrior who survives, it's the more experienced one.

This Ichigo would wreck Canon Ichigo all day, precisely because he doesn't just fight one way. Without his Zanpaktou (at the time of comparison), Ichigo merely has great strength. That's all Canon Ichigo could do, he's never fought hand to hand against a sword user, that time at Sokyoku hill, he was merely using his tempered strength forged from Bankai training.

I'd like to have seen him ditch his weapon and try that against Zaraki, Soifon, Byakuya, or pretty much any of the other captains. In contrast, after Soifon proved he was dependent on his weapon and properly corrected it, Ichigo has fought using a variety of means. Zanjustsu, Kido skills, healing, hand-to-hand, he's used them all and even then he's needed much more to survive the events of this fic.

So again: "Much weaker than the canon." Ehhh, I guess it depends on your perspective. What do you use to measure strength from weakness.

To [actual] reviewer CannedMushroom from chapter 1-2 (if you are even reading this at this point).

You asked: "Why is the captain commander dealing with a sixth seat's training? Doesn't he have more important things to be doing?..."

From the very beginning of this story (like chapter 2-3) there has been one overarching question that's been running from: And that's Ichigo's family. In the side details, we learn little bits and clues about them, but at the same time, if looked at from a distance, you have to wonder, why aren't somethings making sense.

From your very question: Why would the Sotaicho deal with a (then) 6th seat's training. Why was Masaki sought after in marriage by noblemen, not all of them could be pulling a Byakuya? Just what IS Ichigo if he has a inner hollow, this entire time, ect. Ect.

Over the course of the story, I've dropped bit and pieces of information, tiny clues for the readers to piece together the story, to have a chance to piece together the picture before I revealing it. You all should now know (or soon learn) a bit of the families dynamics that caused them to be separated by two planes of existence, how things happened that lead to the beginning of the first chapter, ect. Ect.

Except of course for really two things: One is Isshin (which this chapter will drop a bit more info on). The other is her: Masaki Kurosaki, which is what this chapter reveals more on…and her family.

Remember kids, patience is a virtue, and that's all that I ask for. I try to leave as many possible hints to future events as possible, that's called proper foreshadowing. Hinting it once, when it's inconsequential, twice for a reminder to the wise and observant, a third time for the reveal of how it's important.

To do otherwise, is bad writing. Twists and turns in a story should happen gracefully and leave you guessing, not abruptly leaving one suffering whiplash.

(end author's responses to the unknown reviews)

(Author's expression)

Now, I'd like to take this moment and thank all of those that participated in helping me with this chapter. Now you maybe asking yourselves, who are these people, Blackout2010? Answer: All the people I asked ever since chapter 20 what would be a good idea for Unohana's Bankai. I heard some good ideas from ZeroShihoin and unknown reviewer "Jason", and while I didn't really go with either of them, I did appreciate the inspiration it sparked for me, so I 'mixed' parts of them together. So from the bottom of my heart: Thank-you.

Zero: Unohana's Bankai could probably be like a perfect mirror or reflection to copy her opponent's abilities and counter act them.

Jason: Evil twin, a copy of herself that uses offensive abilities, while the original her uses defensive abilities for a deadly duo of CC (command control) and offensive power [summarized].

(Author's expression end)

Blackout2010: Hello again my lovely viewers. Unfortunately due to the huge length all of the above has taken up, there will be no pre or post fic banter this chapter. We apologize, but didn't expect it to run as long as this did.

Blackout2010: Anyway, this boss fight is brought to you by the songs: "World's collapse" and "The Life giver" from BlazBlue crisis reversed.

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Chapter 38: When world's collide: When world's collapse.

For a solid minute, Ichigo's mind went numb at what –WHO- was standing less than 30 feet from him, blade at the hip ready to do battle. His extremities twitched uncontrollably under the vast surge of electrical impulses firing off all at as he tried to make sense of the scene, his teeth started to chatter lightly, as his breath came in short shallow bursts. "What the fuc…"

The image of his fight with grand fisher in the cemetery surged towards the forefront of his mind; the moment where the monster in utter desperation used it's angular rod to take the shape of his mother and distracted him with disarming words and gestures long enough to slip through his fingers.

The burning hot anger, humiliation and disappointment he felt in himself when he failed to avenge her, etched forever into his memory, roared to the forefront once again, as he raised Tensa Zangetsu up threateningly. "That won't work on me!" he yelled at the top of his lungs, ready to slay his mother's murderer once-and-for-all.

"Stop!" the woman cried along with a flaring of her impressive reiatsu. The wave of energy pressing against the man's body, slowing him down enough before he could begin his advance on her. "Stop." She struggled to say, as she continued to hold out her arms in front of her pleadingly, the spiritual wave she was shooting wavering just enough to not hurt him. "If you take one more step….I'll lose control." She warned

'Lose…control?' Ichigo thought to himself through his anger-filled mind as the wind shortly died down. His foot slid forward a bit, which made the creature in front of him straighten her arms again, ready to release another wave. 'Is it…' he considered, wary of being tricked again by this hollow, but also puzzled by its insistence with defensive actions, even Chad and Cirucci tried to fight him before talking. 'Could it really be…?'

"What do you mean by that?" he spat as he took a small step back, but kept his Zanpaktou raised protectively, ready to start hacking limbs if he didn't like what he heard.

Seeing that he was heeding her words and wasn't going to approach any closer, Masaki lowered her hands back down, cautiously. "I am Grand fisher," she quietly admitted as she lowered her head, no longer meeting his gaze out of shame. "But…but I am also your mother…Masaki Kurosaki, too."

"Bullshit!" he shouted back, weapon jutted towards her. "Grand Fisher consumed my mother! He used her against me, YOU used her!" the man accused, remembering every detail of that day in the cemetery, where the bastard used her face, her words, her very soul, to escape him.

Raising her head back up, Ichigo was taken aback when he saw the hurt and the indignation shining in her blue eyes. "I AM your mother." She replied swiftly and sternly, before slowly exhaling and easing her posture again, a lingering look of discomfort on her face.

Letting her gaze roam over his body for a minute, she narrowed her eyes upon his weapon pointed at her, before following it down to his arm. Raising her hand up, she pointed at his arm. "When you were seven," she began softly, "you fell down the stairwell of our apartment on Christmas day."

Ichigo watched the corners of his mother's lips slowly twist upward from a frown into a serene smile. "You were so pleased by the ball that 'Santa' brought you, you raced outside to go play with the other kids, forgetting that some of the steps iced over." The woman closed her eyes as she shook her head, losing herself in the memory of long ago, before returning her sorrowful gaze to her now grown son, her ghostly smile still on her lips.

"When you broke your arm from the fall, you tried so hard not to cry in front of me, even though I knew you were hurting because of your little sniffles." The woman flipped her palm upwards for him to see, and a light green energy emanated from it "Do you remember, when I said I'd make it all better?"

Ichigo's jaw dropped slightly, as the memory of long ago played back in his head, with each word she spoke. How she carried him over to his bed and told him to 'not move a muscle' until she finished 'massaging' it. When he learned later on in life that it was healing kido she used, she told him that Retsu taught it to her to keep herself healthy; it was a lie, he would learn looking back in retrospect, which explained all the happenings around them, which went beyond his notice back then.

The very reason for why they were able to live where they did despite not being nobles or actively associated with them. Why suitor tried to court his unmarried and seemingly lowborn mother over other more prestigious and luxurious nobles. Why the Shinigami were always visiting her and doing 'raise awareness' campaigns, as she put it while he played with other kids. Everything made sense, once he truly knew just who his mother really was to the world at large, and not just the one side of her she let him see growing up around her.

"How…how are…why? ahh…(sigh)" the Shinigami started, faltering just a bit before falling silent. When the woman tilted her in head in confusion, obviously trying to understand what he was asking of her. The man shook his head, trying to clear his mind of the myriad of questions he wanted to as her, pausing just long enough to let everything sink in and settle, before opening his mouth again. "You were dead." he stated in a low somber tone, "What happened?" he raised his left hand, gesturing it up and down her form, "How did this happen?"

The woman perked up at his question, before falling deep in thought, unsure how to explain it without causing needless confusion. With a weary sigh, she lowered her gaze to the floor. "Very well, I shall start from the beginning."

Ichigo watched as his mother kneeled down to the floor and sat in the seitza position, before extending her hand towards him, imploring him to join her. With reluctance and trepidation, he lowered himself to one knee, but kept his weapon close-at-hand, something Masaki acknowledged and accepted.

"Strawberry-chan," she started using the affectionate nickname she called him as a young boy. "Before you were born, a long, long, time ago, I was a captain of the Gotei 13. I created the fourth division medical corps and founded the Seireitei alongside Yama-chan." Sensing his confusion by the familiarity with the name, she elaborated, "You know him better as the Sotaichō: Yamamoto Shigekuni Genryusai." The woman smiled faintly, "I guess old habits die hard…"

Her tone perplexed the man even further, 'She knew the Sotaichō intimately?' "Who are you exactly, mother?"

The woman rocked back and forth slightly, thinking on how to answer the question. "A long time ago, with the creation of heaven and earth completed and the divine orders of life and death corrected and set in motion, the Spirit King appointed one soul in the afterlife as guardian to it, to ensure the purification of deceased human souls and protection of mankind. He gave this man the divine right to lead people and the power of death to do it, contenting himself to spectate."

"This man was Yamamoto." Ichigo answered, since he was the first Shinigami according to Shino academy texts.

"Yes, Yamamoto was a very young man back then, much like you are now; he had good intentions and wanted to protect his fellow man, but little ability to think beyond what he could physically see. He could not be expected to be forged into a thoughtful leader without something to guide him."

The woman then placed a hand against her robe. "Knowing of this problem and the repercussions it could cause if it wasn't fixed, the spirit king returned back to his private sanctuary for three days and three nights. On the fourth day, the spirit king descended back on the grounds that would become Seireitei and presented him his creation."

Ichigo furrowed his brow, "Are you saying…?"

Masaki nodded resolutely, "Yes, I was created by the hands of god, endowed with divine knowledge and ability to heal the wounded at a rate beyond mortal means at the time. The spirit king informed Yamamoto that I would learn my powers and teach it to others, as I grew older, how I, much like Yamamoto, and those he would teach the skills of Shinigami too, would be a catalyst that shaped the destiny of human kind. But…how I turned out, whether I choose to use my power to become a good person or evil incarnate, rested solely in his hands. I was an innocent child, undefiled by the evils in the world, given to another to be cared for and loved, or abandoned and twisted."

The woman laughed lightly as she shook her head, clearly amused by something Ichigo couldn't evidently see. "But Yamamoto who was barely old enough to shave was entrusted to create an entire civilization to protect humanity and its afterlife. Mmmhmm! Let's just say, he wasn't exactly the most "well-equipped" in raising a child, and I not the most eager to learn."

The woman looked upwards towards the ceiling, wistfully lost in her thoughts. "I can't remember how many times I told him that learning to fight was boring, or how much I'd rather go out and play with the other child souls instead of running errands, but…" Ichigo felt a pang of torment, when he saw the wistful smile on her face contrast with the sadness in her eyes of memories long past. "But, we both grew up and matured. He became the wise respected leader the world needed and I, having grown up with nothing, his loving daughter, the family he wanted for so long. In a way, it's almost sad."

Ichigo raised a brow, "What do you mean by that, mother?"

The woman paused to consider how to explain, before taking another breath. "Until I came into existence, Yamamoto had never had anyone to confide in or to love him so unconditionally. He was alone and without friends, just one man amidst a sea of strangers, appointed sacred power yet no one else in the spiritual plane knew or believed him...even when he started walking the path he was meant to, his personal situation didn't change all that much."

The woman frowned, as she shook her head dispassionately. Remembering the numerous times throughout her life she'd see her beloved Yama-chan, from the corners of hallways or semi-closed doors, just sitting silently in his room or on the porch, tired and alone after another hard day, contemplating the burden -the lives- thrusted upon his shoulders without his say so. His solemn weary demeanor quickly warping into a smile and reassuring that nothing was wrong when he finally noticed her presence.

"To his men, he was the indomitable man that brought together the souls residing in his spiritual plane. To the souls he protected, he was their savior that slayed the monsters after them. To the spirit king, he was the one who forged the Seireitei as a haven for humanity, and ensured the cycle of reincarnation kept ever turning. But…"

The woman paused, eyes down cast. "Even heroes will buckle under the weight of their personal problems, just as they do the destiny in front of them. How many people are willing to see that in another and choose to help? Or maybe…" Masaki's face contorted into a small but noticeable scowl as she seemed to give more thought to what she'd say next. "Maybe they did see…and simply pretended nothing was wrong…it wasn't their problem." She muttered harshly

"And what about you?" he asked quietly, sensing the hostility she harbored and decided to lead away from that trail of thought. "Where did you fit in?"

"Me?" she repeated, eyebrow raised, broken from her revue. "Well, I-" the woman extended as she looked away, falling silent a moment, before revealing her earlier gentle smile. "I was given a purpose in life and someone I cared about greatly. I never wanted for anything; I treasured my time together with him."

"So then why did you leave?"

Masaki's mood seemed to dim a bit, but she knew it was a necessary step to explaining her current circumstance. "As the years passed, Yama-chan began to become more and more disconnected with the people he swore to protect; because, humanity became more than any one man or organization can handle. For all its years standing tall, haven't you wondered why Seireitei has never gone out any further than it has? Why it is not the paradise the living humans believe it to be?" she asked rhetorically.

The woman shook her head, when she saw Ichigo was listening closely. "The reason is simple: It's too much to handle; especially, with the cycle of reincarnation. Yama-chan's four closest friends that helped him and learned the way of Shinigami from him: Shiba, Kuchiki, Shihoin and Omaeda; they passed on long ago, leaving Yamamoto with few friends to help him in the eternal road ahead." She then looked back up at her son and took another breath, "But…that is beside the point. I left because I…I just couldn't stand to look at him anymore; he broke my heart."

Ichigo furrowed his brows in contemplation. He knew his mother was a sturdy, keep your head up and never say die kind of person; but, the way she spoke about what happened between them; it was so lifeless, so uncaring.

A chill ran down the man's spine and into his heart, simply trying to imagine what the Sotaichō had done to break her spirit so thoroughly she didn't bother trying to reconcile in all the years she'd left Seireitei.

He was about to open his mouth and ask, but stopped himself, as it was neither the time nor the place, and merely thinking about the Sotaichō seemed to torment her. "What about my father?" he asked as his hand slipped to the back of his neck, "I know you lied about him…and Senna."

The former matriarch clenched teeth tightly, caught off guard by the inquiry. "How do you…?" the woman looked away pensively, she knew the memory-sealing spell was perfect and that Retsu swore to her that she'd take that secret to her grave, yet he knew of them.

"Perhaps, my death and imprisonment in this body...?" She mused before shaking her head dismissively; since, if he knew, it didn't matter trying to hide it anymore. "Well, there is no point to hide it, I guess, you know of them now. Unfortunately, they are dead, so my knowledge of them is little; at least, that which I want to visit."

Ichigo bit his tongue to say otherwise, but decided to pursue the theories Senna had told him about during their free time. "Was dad a Hollow?"

"Yes, he was; although, I didn't know it at the time, but he was also much, much more than that." She replied, remembering their first meeting amidst the sands of Hueco Mundo like it was yesterday.

"An Arrancar?" he asked, using the theory Senna had provided to explain why Masaki didn't purify him on sight.

"Easily above a Vasto Lorde or Captain, but that's not what I mean son." She replied calmly, "He was the devil appointed by god."

"Devil appointed by god?" the young man parroted with obvious confusion, 'The hell does that mean?'

"That was what he told me, when I first met him and asked what he was doing in this place. At first, I thought he was just another reaper, since we didn't have uniforms at the time, and was merely boasting to try and impress me, which I admit did amuse me. However; it wasn't until many year later, after we married and you and Senna were both born, did I fully come to understand what he meant." She chuckled lightly. "You and your sister were born of gods and demons."

"He said: 'appointed by god', does that mean he's another creation of the spirit king, something to maintain the balance?" the man pressed trying to understand, this strange series of cosmic influences, of what was really going on with his family and it's intertwined fate with the world.

"I don't know that. But, I would assume, if he's a devil, he must have something to do with hell." The woman replied solemnly, before a deprecating smile graced her lips. "I guess this explain that 'grand fish' he was always talking about hunting and protecting me from, ahaha." The orange haired woman laughed hollowly at her dark humor.

"You said you were grand fisher." Ichigo asked, catching what she said, "but how? What happened at our house?"

"Yes, I did." She said with a small nod, "When you were gone with your Shinigami business, some men visited me. At first, I thought they were sent by Yama-chan to convince me to come back, but they told me they were interested in you."

A frown formed on her face, since she should have known better. "I thought they were like Toshiro-kun and Retsu and Soifon-chan, so I invited them inside for some tea and small talk, but they ambushed me once I let my guard down."

Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out a small black orb barely an inch in diameter. "They used this: a Caja negacion to trap me in an alternate world where no one could find me."

"So…is that why no one sensed your spiritual pressure when you fought back?" Ichigo asked, coming to understand why no one bothered to help her in her hour of need.

"Yes."

"And then once you were dealt with, I am willing to wager they staged the destruction in your home to make it look like a hollow came." A soft voice behind Ichigo stated.

Looking back over his shoulder, the younger Kurosaki found his mother's student, Retsu Unohana, standing in the doorway, a ghastly frown on her face from who she was seeing.

"Retsu-chan…" Masaki muttered with obvious relief at knowing another of her loved ones were safe. It was short lived as she knew time was short and that she couldn't afford to waste their time any further. "The men who showed up at my house and subdued me were also the ones leading this force of Hollows."

Oh wait, you must be that son of a bitch my creator told me about. Who? Why your fellow Soul Reaper friends. The voice of Grand fisher sneered at him during their battle in the cemetery.

That is also the reason why my incentive to persuade you to follow me is something beyond mere trinkets or monetary solutions. As a token of my appreciation, I will bring your mother back to life. Aizen offered magnanimously to the group

After remembering those echoings of past conversation and piecing it together with what his mother confessed to now, Ichigo's expression instantly shot to pure white hot anger, at how Tosen, Gin and especially Aizen, murdered and enslaved his mother's soul for their twisted goals. 'So that's what he meant by bringing her back to life.' He fumed, knuckles cracking with volatile fury, at the deception. 'I'll rip that fucker's throat out!'

Seeing the barely contained anger in Ichigo posture, most likely directed at the scheme's mastermind, Sosuke Aizen, Retsu placed a hand on his shoulders reassuringly. "Ichigo, please." She knew how he felt, but right not that anger would do him no good, they still needed to open the way forward.

The man stood there for a few minutes, his face contorted into a wicked snarl, before he let out a heated exhalation and eased his posture.

Seeing that he was controlling himself until he saw Aizen, Retsu looked away from him and over to her Sensei that was obviously distressed about her son's predicament, but unable to help him.

"We were told that we were trapped here until the soldier holding up the barrier around Hueco Mundo was killed. Is this person you?" Unohana inquired in a low calm voice, trying to prevent a serial escalation in her Sensei's mind for asking of such critical information.

"Yes; however, killing me will be no easy task." She acceded to her pupil and son.

"Hollows, specifically those below Gillian Class, devour the souls of others to gain more power, but once they hit a specific amount of consumed reiatsu, the souls within the hollow fight to gain dominance within it, thus higher grade hollows are born with some level of identity." She explained,

"Yes, that's why Hollows with the ability to talk and make coherent reasoning are usually much stronger than those that act on instinct. We've seen first-hand." Unohana replied, giving a brief glance at Ichigo who silent nodded his head.

"Correct. Now normally this process takes a very long time, even with someone of my spiritual pressure; however, Aizen anticipated this and created a being that could both hold my reiatsu, but not access it for fear that I regain control and attack him. Grand Fisher's sole purpose was to consume me and act as my container until it was time for the Hogyoku to be implemented on me. My will and sentience are almost entirely suppressed in this body of mine."

"But according to Urahara, the Hogyoku was in a stasis. It was unusable." Retsu commented.

"That's…not entirely true." Ichigo interjected, "Subaru and Shinjiro were the ones being used to awaken it for him."

"That is mostly correct, Son." Masaki said softly, "When in the presence of someone with twice the spiritual pressure of a captain, the Hogyoku can be used briefly. Sosuke Aizen used Shinjiro Taiga and Subaru Kujo's Zanpaktou to awaken the Hogyoku and expedite the process of my emergence, ensuring the future creation of his Arrancar army."

"Creation of his army?" Unohana repeated, unsure how her being there would have created so many Arrancar. "How?"

"Shinjiro-san's Zanpaktou would negate any barriers or safety measure around the Hogyoku, ensuring it had no defenses against it being used. Subaru-chan's Zanpaktou would speed up the process in which the Hogyoku could be used as well as our recovery speeds. I provided Aizen the energy he needed to use the Hogyoku many times in rapid succession, hence why there are so many Arrancars in so short a time and why I was the first turned into an Arrancar."

"But then why make you the soldier we needed to kill? It doesn't make any sense if you're so integral to his plans." Ichigo said flatly

Retsu turned her eyes his way with an answer. "He planned to leave behind his strongest soldier to slow us down and force more casualties on our side."

"No, he planned to remove you from the fight entirely." She amended as she raised the caja negacion in her hand up, just high enough for the woman to see. "Upon your arrival to Hueco Mundo, I was given orders from Sosuke Aizen to observe the situation between our forces and yours."

She laid both hands flat, one free, the other holding the black orb, extending the empty one towards them slightly. "If your advance was not worthy of concern, I would remain on standby, awaiting further orders from Aizen to either wait here and report the situation or join him in Karakura after our victory here."

The woman pulled her hand back and pushed forward the orb, speaking in a cold tone, not befitting her true personality. "But, if any of you were to even reach this building, I was to use the Caja negacion and trap myself within an alternate dimension, preventing my death and keeping you here until it expired; exactly 72 hours from its initial time of usage."

Both the Shinigami's went wide-eyed at the admission, if that was true then Soul Society had walked into one massive trap. Their forces would be divided with no back up able to reinforce Karakura town or the Seireitei should things go from bad to worse.

Ichigo looked back at equally perturbed Retsu, who at least had enough grace to keep her voice level. "And…why haven't you done so?"

Masaki looked at Ichigo and smiled, "Because of my son." She replied simply

"Me?" he replied, taken aback by what she said.

"Yes," her shimmering blue eyes returned to Retsu. "I saw him on the monitors outside."

"How did seeing Ichigo-kun stop you?" Unohana asked her sensei curiously.

"Whenever I'm around people I know so deeply, I can resist. I can claw and scream my way back to the forefront of my mind…" she let out a sigh, "But this body is still not my own, even now I must resist the urge to follow Aizen's orders. I'm just a puppet committing atrocities and all I can do is watch."

"…even that day in the cemetery…?" the orange haired Shinigami muttered, horrified of the existence his mother had had to live since her 'death'.

"Yes." Was all she said.

The room fell silent; everyone in it somber and disgusted by what Aizen had done to achieve his ends. 'Is that what Shinjiro meant, by fighting a man with nothing to lose?' The man pondered, his friend's pained expression and remorseful warning ringing in ear, as he glanced at the sheathed, but active Masamune. 'Did you know this whole time, but just not have the heart to tell me, Shinjiro-sempai?'

"Beyond you, that gateway, it will take Ichigo to the human world, correct?"

The woman didn't bother looking back, she knew they both knew it was, she was just giving her a formal challenge. "Yes, Retsu-chan." The woman replied, not batting an eyelash.

"I understand." The healer replied, as she stepped around Ichigo hand on her Zanpaktou. "Ichigo, I will engage her." She looked back at him, before he could speak, her face brokering no place for argument. "You will remain behind and heal up and rest. You remember that healing kido I taught you correct?"

Ichigo's mouth opened as his eyes went from Retsu to his hollowfied mother. His eyes conveyed his longing and regret, before he closed his eyes, teeth clenched tightly for a moment. "Yeah, I remember." He growled lowly.

Unohana frowned knowing this situation was beyond messed up, but she couldn't spare a kind thought or word to him, but he could use a push in the right direction. "Focus on Aizen, Ichigo-kun. Win this for your mother. Win this for your family."

The man's grip tightened on his weapons, "…Alright."

As Ichigo sat back down to begin healing himself, Unohana took a few steps forward as did Masaki, whose face became glassy and cold. "I hope you're ready, Retsu."

As Masaki, began to throw the caja negacion up in the air, she caught Ichigo calling out to her one last time.

"Mother!" He yelled quickly, before letting his tone lower back down. "Senna…Senna is alive."

"Really?" the startled woman muttered breathlessly. When he gave a small nod, a tear escaped her eye, as a smile spread across her lips. "Thank god."

And just like that a black vortex shot outward engulfing both warriors transporting them to a world beyond Ichigo's sight. The man inhaled briefly, as he kneeled back down, eyes focused on the gateway before him. "Why is all this happening…?" Ichigo asked himself solemnly as he brought his left hand up against his chest, the faint green light of healing glowing. "What have we done to deserve this?"

(Caja negacion)

Retsu was mildly surprised to find her body hadn't moved an inch despite feeling like she'd been sucked into a different world; in fact, she actually felt as light as a feather here.

Her eyes left her Sensei in white to observe the room, which looked mostly the same except the color scheme had become a dull grey like an ancient movie. Looking back over her shoulders, she saw that Ichigo was no longer behind her, something she'd have to ask about.

Turning back around, she watched her Sensei turn towards the nearby wall, raised her hand up over her head, and in one fluid motion brought it down in a swift chop. The wind pressure and force behind it obliterating the wall, leaving a large gaping hole which she jumped through, down to the white sands below.

Retsu exhaled slowly at the display, feeling quite nervous. "This…will be challenging." She said to herself, as she approached the edge and followed her Sensei.

The coolness of rushing wind ruffled her face and clothing as she fell for a solid minute, before colliding into the ground below, a blast of gray sand shooting up off the desert floor. To her surprise, she felt no pain at all, as she stretched back up to her feet. 'Does this place not follow the same rules of reality?' she thought to herself, as she looked up into the sky, spotting the artificial sun dully flickering above. "But it does look exactly the same as Hueco Mundo and Las Noches." Retsu commented idly as she gripped her Nodachi-like Zanpaktou in her hand.

Sensing her train of thought, Masaki gave her the answer. "Yes, the caja negacion mimics the surrounding area of where it is cast; however, it has one noticeable difference."

"And what is that?"

"Allow me to show you." She replied softly as she turned towards one of the distant buildings and pointed her index finger at it. A tiny golden orb barely the size of a grape crackled into existence before firing straight at the building.

The energy ball crossed the distance quickly, hitting the large structure dead on, but from her position, Retsu saw it continue past it towards the next large structure in the distance. After a few seconds, the ground started to rumble slightly, as the building that had been struck began to crumble into a pile of rubble, layer by layer, stone by stone.

'It seems she's lost none of her bite.' The smiling angel thought darkly, eyes flitting back at her frighteningly impassive Sensei. "I felt no wavering in spiritual energy in the atmosphere." She replied, though not comforted at how casually she still fired off her attack.

"That is because there is no one else here." Masaki explained as she placed her hand on her sword's hilt. "We may fight at our full power without worry of innocent bystanders."

"How…kind of you." She replied solemnly, knowing that she would need to use all of her strength against this foe.

"Retsu…" the older woman replied with disarming fondness, "Do you remember when we met?"

The woman furrowed her brow confused by her intentions, but nodded all the same. "Yes. It was in Rukongai. You came looking for an apprentice and I was the nameless gang leader of the district you visited."

Masaki chuckled lightly glad to see, she was willing to indulge her just a bit. "I remember how you tried to pimp me out as a hooker." A mischievous smile appeared, "That is until I beat you in a fight and started spanking you for every curse word you uttered."

The former Rukongai resident turned red still embarrassed by that memory even though she knew it was just them reliving it. Back then, she was the strongest person she knew, a true banchō (1), not even puny Shinigami were a match for her; so, when she came across her incumbent Mistress, the yanki (2) had tried to capture her in the hopes of turning her out and increase her power throughout the local sector…

It…hadn't quite worked out as she planned.

The woman had overwhelmed her with an inexhaustible supply of bubbliness and when she finally snapped after she informed her she'd be her apprentice from then on, she tried to beat her into submission. The Shinigami merely flicked her into a building, still smiling, before walking over, healing her and then proceeding to spank her rump with the force of a sledgehammer until she agreed to come with her.

It would be the first of many times in Retsu's new life, in which she'd in utter sincerity bawl every last tear out of her eyes, crying out –begging- for mercy from her sensei or for someone to come save her from the reprimanding demon.

"When I told you I didn't have a name you gave me called me: 'Retsu' because I was so violent."

The Espada nodded, "I also called you Unohana as a joke, remember? One Nose (3)? I knew you'd be super smart one day! Ahaha!"

Retsu sighed scathingly at her sensei still horrible sense of humor. "That's not what it means and you know it." Slowly a chipper smile graced her lips, "aha, still I do appreciate it."

The two women enjoyed the short mirthful laugh, knowing that more than likely; it would be the last one either would be able to have with one another again. Coming back down from her high, the orange haired woman sighed wistfully.

"You've really grown up. Changing from that foul-mouthed little Yankee girl I found in Rukongai into a truly splendid woman. I'm proud of you." Masaki glanced down at her hand that was slowly drawing her weapon for her, her true identity falling back under her persona of grand fisher, Espada number one. "I pray that your life doesn't end here."

Retsu watched as the blunt sword of her master came out of its hilt, the ringing of its metal edging scraping against the scabbard echoing in the wind, as the captain braced herself, her hand on her sword.

Though she knew the weapon had no cutting edge and was more metal club attached to a hilt rather than katana, it would be foolish to think that Masaki required one to inflict tremendous damage.

There was power behind that innocent woman demeanor.

Masaki's eyelids dropped about half way as she gripped her Zanpaktou with both hands. In one swift motion, she made a horizontal cut, sending out a massive gust of wind.

Gripping her Nodachi, Retsu held her weapon out bracing herself as the surge of air drove her backwards a few inches, eyes focused on Masaki's form as she sonido'd out from where she stood and reappearing in the air above her, coming down to squash her underneath her heavy sword.

Side stepping out of the way, the ground rumbled underneath Unohana's feet as the powerful blow slammed into the ground. Taking a moment to prepare herself, she raised up her hand and began chanting. "Piercing thunder and unseen light. Man and beast stare down and recognize solidarity. Bakudo: 74: Jiritsu tsuinmirā (Autonomous twin mirror) (4)."

The spiritual energy around Retsu syphoned off her body becoming two floating clouds of energy hovering around her body, bringing her hand up she touched one and muttered, "Hado 1: Sho." She then touched the other "Bakudo 47: Jūryoku ton'neru (Gravity tunnel) (5)."

With her special kido set, Retsu turned to her enemy and charged forward, field-cutting blade at the ready, as Masaki turned towards her.

Raising her hunk of metal up, she intercepted her student's strike with one of her own. "Mmm…" Grand Fisher grunted as she could feel her weapon being pushed back just a bit due to her student's strength, but she wasn't even trying just yet.

Leaning forward, Masaki watched with a bit of satisfaction when Retsu's sword was pushed back towards her, her elation was short lived when she saw a distorting cloud hanging just above Retsu.

Accessing the memory of its prisoner, the hollow was privy to seeing Masaki standing in a training field in Seireitei with her adversary. The student was taking notes, while her past self-formed a cloud of energy similar in nature, before explaining its properties to her diligent pupil.

Seeing that the hollow had noticed her fluxed spells she decided to use them and end this battle quickly. "Now Sho, release!" Retsu commanded as the ball hovering above her expanded, and shot out the energy push contained within it.

The blast of energy gave all the momentum Retsu needed to break the deadlock and stagger her opponent. Still, despite that setback, Masaki sonido'd away from her to avoid the quick slash that would have taken more than just a couple pieces of hair. 'Damn, she's going to just keep using that spell every time I try to hit her.' Grand Fisher cursed, since it didn't have access to that brand of combat and so couldn't neutralize it with one of her own. 'Still it can only…'

Her thoughts were broken when she felt unusually heavy for some strange reason. "What…?" she stammered out, as her student reappeared in front of her sword raised overhead.

It was then that Masaki noticed the other hovering orb, which was spinning circularly while releasing a dark miasma. "A gravity well." She realized what was pinning her down, as the blade descended towards her face.

Thinking quickly, she dropped her Zanpaktou out of her hands, to remove some the extra weight before intercepting the blade with her hand, before it could cut into her.

Retsu was surprised that this hollow was able to catch her attack despite the kido spells she used to disorient her earlier. 'Well, at least I'm making progress.' She thought to herself as she eyed her weapon, which had blood dripping down it through her sensei's clenched fist. 'But I can't waste any more time!'

Putting more of her strength behind her weapon to try and end it, she watched as Masaki let herself fall to her knee making it that much harder for Retsu to inflict any kind of damage should it slip through her hand.

Still, she wouldn't remain on the defensive, as she raised her free hand up just enough to point at Retsu's body, a golden orb of light similar to the one she used to destroy the building earlier emanating. "Fire." She muttered, as the attack crackled with electricity.

The attack exploded knocking both combatants back due to their proximity to each other. Both women flying through the air, before landing hard against the sands, motionless.

After a few seconds, Retsu began to stir as she opened her eyes and took in a shallow breath. She took a quick glance at her chest and noticed the small burn mark on her Hakama. "Seems they made it in time." She muttered to herself, glad that her autonomous mirrors got in between her and the attack.

Picking herself back up, she noticed that her sensei was already back to her feet, weapon back in hand. "Took you long enough to recover." She taunted, seemingly unfazed by the near suicidal style attack.

Retsu was about to make a move, when she felt her sensei's spiritual pressure begin to rise. 'Oh no.' she thought to herself as the Zanpaktou began to glow with an eerie light.

Forcing her body to move, she ran as fast as she could forward to stop it from going into ressurreccion state, but it was too late by the time she took the third step. "Kagayaku tengoku: gran creación, ressurreccion sagrado. (Tran: The heaven's shine: Grand Creation, Sacred rebirth)"

Once the words left her mouth, the reishi from her body flared outward before shooting straight up into the sky as a bright pillar of light. The woman's apprentice had to shield her eyes from the intensity of the glare and the sand blown towards her by the transformation of her enemy.

Once the expansive light began to dim, Retsu began to lower her hand, trying to see through the remaining sunspots. When she saw that her enemy was no longer in front of her, she looked around her warily, hand on her Asauchi.

Fff….

Hearing a slight rustling, Unohana looked back ahead of her, and saw several immaculate white feathers falling all around her, swirling down as the leaves of autumn. Turning her free hand up, she caught one gently a few inches from her face, which turned into dust upon contact and blew away into the surrounding desert.

Looking up towards the origin point, the sky, she saw her sensei in her new form, her ressurreccion.

The white full body covering burqa that she had been cloaked in was destroyed, replaced by a pure white one-piece stola that merely covered her from her collar down to her knees, her arms and legs left exposed to the world around her. She had no weapons to speak of, only two golden bracelets on her wrist with a sun-shaped design inscribed in it; a contrast to the necklace she wore, which had a crescent moon shaped insignia. Her glittering orange hair ran down her back freely against the six large feathery wings that protruded from her back, the same wings that were dropping feathers down as she slowly floated down to the sands below.

Retsu bit back her fear and reverence upon gazing at her sensei's hollowofied form. Everything about her resembled a goddess descending down from heaven to the dirty earth below, the very world around them seemed to shake by her spiritual pressure in this state of being. 'How can something so monstrous be so beautiful?' Unohana thought to herself, as her friend touched down gently, falling to her knees as she placed her hand against the sand.

As the regale angel sat kneeled down, she placed her hand softly against the sand, cupping some in her palm. "לא מת אשר יכול שקר נצחי,ועם עידן ועידנים מוזרים, אפילו מוות עלול למות (6/7)." She spoke softly, while her spiritual pressure started to cause the world around her to shake, a faint electric crackling sparking to life in her hand. "עכשיו...ברקיםשמתפתלים בתוך המעמקים החיוורים שלהעולם, לאסוף עכשיו; להעניק חייםלחותם קצירה של אלוהים (8)."

'No…' Retsu thought gravely, hearing the mythical words of the world-rending chant spilling from her mouth. The earth below lit up in a grand light as a large circuit of electricity arched quickly in the ground, the tetra-gram seal pulsing underfoot of both combatants, heeding it's true master's call.

Just as she was about to move to interrupt her, before she could finish that ritual, Masaki turned her cold piercing blue eyes towards her as she flipped open her sand filled palm up. "Byakko (9)." She muttered as she lightly blew the sand cupped in her hand towards her with her breath.

The sand quickly picked up and contorted in shape and size until a large tiger-like creature was lunging towards Unohana, jaws open to sink into her flesh. Diving to the side, Unohana narrowly dodged the sand creatures pounce as it reared it's shifting head over in her direction and roared loudly, shooting out a buffering blast of sand knocking the woman onto her back, coughing and wheezing.

Pushing herself back to her feet after sputtering up the sand, Retsu gripped her weapon as the tiger began to charge at her; its eyeless form hoping to draw blood. As it lunged towards her, the Shinigami slashed her sword upward, bisecting the creature, its halves passing by her harmlessly.

Turning her attention towards, her true opponent, the woman merely caught sight of the indifferent looking Espada curve her lip upward into a small smile.

In an instant, the sound of swirling sand and bestial roar echoed from behind Retsu as the creature she had cut through from earlier was lunging back at her, its body reforming to a greater size than before.

A cry of pain escaped the captain's throat as the tiger's claw drew blood as it ripped through the back of her clothing and into the skin below, knocking her down by the power of its mass.

The tiger quickly turned and tried to bite into the captain's side to rip off more of her delicious flesh when she suddenly disappeared in a flash step, reappearing again a few feet away staring off against the monster.

With another loud roar, the creature reared back on its legs and belted out a loud howl. The sands around the creature responded by slinking towards the monster bulking it up further in mass.

'So long as it's in the desert, it'll just keep reforming stronger and stronger.' Retsu realized as the creature began to form a second head and tail on it's now girth 7 foot frame. Eye flickering back to Masaki, the woman knew she couldn't spend too much time with these creatures created by her ressurreccion.

Removing one hand from her Zanpaktou and touching the back edge with her middle and pointer finger, the healer glanced at her weapon and intoned deeply. "Invigorate, Minazuki."

The metal of her weapon began to evaporate into a green misty haze that surrounded her. A small patch of the mist solidified so that a purple eye could emerge and look back at its master. Extending her left arm fully, she pointed off handedly at the earthen beast before her. "Go." The scowling woman commanded calmly.

Sensing its mistress word's the misty creature surged forward, its body hardening into a large manta ray creature. The tiger known as Byakko roared challengingly, as it ran towards its quarry, twin heads thirsting for more blood.

The two creatures collided into one another, the misty form of Minazuki dissipating as the sand creature broke through unfazed, its reckless charge continuing towards it's now defenseless prey.

However just as it was about to attack, it's leg exploded out from underneath it, the two-headed tiger stumbling out of its charge as a familiar green moisture emerged from within the wound. Waving its heads back and forth to try and see what was attacking it, the tiger let out another howl of pain, as another of its limb blasted off its body.

'Is it…eating it?' The morbidly fascinated woman asked herself as she suddenly became privy to the grisly spectacle before her: Retsu's watery beast devouring her beloved Byakko from internally after letting itself be absorbed into the tiger's sandy body.

"How barbaric." She muttered disgustedly, stomach churning as the manta ray began to reform its head briefly enough to allow its mouth to tear off another chunk of sand with a sickening crunch.

After a few more seconds, the manta ray finished it's snack and began nonchalantly gliding back to its master, Retsu held her hand towards it. "Zankyō kumori (reverberant clouding) (10)." Retsu commanded to her manta ray.

At once, the creature exploded in her direction, its corporal body turning into a light green mist. The woman winced a bit at feeling the searing of Minazuki's stomach acid, forcibly clotting the wounds on her back.

Through the hissing of her closing wounds, Retsu heard the beating of wings as she looked towards her monstrous sensei diving towards her. Flicking her sword arm back up, the surrounding haze hardened back into sword form, blocking the fist, mere inches from her face, the power behind the strike rattling her body and slamming the sand behind her into the air.

The angel scowled as she tsked to herself annoyed. Flapping her six wings at once, she pushed herself back, as her enemy was forced to block the sand and air out of her face. Extending her pointer towards Retsu, the cold angel muttered a single word "Atlanta (Heavenly huntress) (11)."

Shining in response to the command, the wings glistened, radiating a blinding light, before shooting outwards in an encompassing fletching storm. The blistering barrage quickly soared across the battlefield, slamming into the blinded woman, pelting her body over and over with feathers hardened into stones.

The woman watched with small satisfaction as her student was knocked clear off her feet as she hit the dirt. With a small snap of her fingers, six rays of light emerged from behind her and shaped themselves back into her majestic wings.

After taking a moment to observe whether her adversary was dead from a far, she noticed the body stirring. "So stubborn." She muttered to herself as she kneeled down, her hand pressing against the sand, the seal underneath lighting acknowledging its owner's touch. "עין חדהוידשל צלף , לא משאירים מקלט לטרף על קרקע ." The woman chanted, as the ground rumbled, a large black spire rising up from the sand and curving inwardly towards the center. "למוות עצמו חושש מי לחגוג, על מה שפועם בלב של החיה .סתיו לב קר, לוהט של Suzaku."

The electricity crackled through the glyph before surging towards the tower, causing it to glow ominously for a moment. Seeing that it was completed she looked back at her enemy and pointed once more. "Atlanta." She commanded, determined to prevent her interruption of the ritual.

Once again, her feathers gleamed and scattered apart, before pointing towards the barely standing woman, homing in towards her body, determined to inflict more damage.

After another huff, the captain wiped the blood from her mouth as she held up one hand in front of her, this time prepared for the oncoming storm of rock-hard feathers. "Now, Minazuki!"

In an instant, the green haze of her Zanpaktou spread off her skin and solidified back in front of her, its body expanding to shield its master from the hailstorm volley. A sickening crunch of pelted gravel colliding into solid flesh echoed through the air; the manta ray letting out a low groan of pain as it weathered the storm.

"Please hold on." Retsu pleaded as her blade spirit's body continued to shake under the pressing attack, as the feathers not directly hitting her location, impacted the ground around her with a hard thud, knocking loose sand as it embedded itself.

When the last feather hit and silence reigned once again, Retsu knew this was her moment to act. Gripping the tail of Minazuki, she recalled it back into her bladed form as she charged forward at the defenseless Espada.

Caught off guard, Masaki quickly scooped up a hand full of sand and threw it above her head, using her reishi to transform the scattered cloud of dust into a replica of her ressurreccion's wings, enclosed protectively to intercept the attack.

The shoddily forged sand wings proved quite insufficient in stopping the captain's powerful swipe, breaking apart before even having a chance to slow it down. The Nodachi ripped into her torso diagonally across her shoulder, sending the Espada's blood splashing across the ground as she crashed to her knees.

Using her momentum, Retsu took another step in her stride, arm coming around, as she moved to behead the monster and put an end to this battle, but before her attack could connect, the angel's real wings re-emerged from her back. This time the protective cocoon held true against the sword strike, before pushing the captain off with a might back wind as it opened back up from its defensive stance.

Sneering contemptuously, Masaki slammed her hand against the sand ferociously as she clutched her wound tightly. "בתהום, הרודן של ריקודי גיהינום ." She chanted; the magic circle crackling once again in response, as another dark spire emerged. "שפיכת אמת ארגמןשמפגעידרך אחת נכונה . סגור לנצח , צורב עין של Seiryu!"

Seeing that Retsu had regained her footing, the woman wasted no time in taking to the air, not willing to allow herself to fall into a false sense of security, the wound on her chest was proof enough of that mistake.

Looking at her airborne target, Retsu thrusted her sword into the dirt, letting it stand straight as she moved her hands away from the hilt, her palms faced towards her enemy. Inhaling deeply, she began a dark chant of her own. "Seeping crest of turbidity. Arrogant vessel of lunacy. Boil forth and deny!"

From her high ground, the angel noticed a black series of shadows, rising up from the sand around her in conjunction with Retsu's chant, taking the shape of a standing elongated rectangle. A small smirk twinging on her previously expressionless face, as she remained motionless save for the beating of her wings and the crossing of her arms. "Foolish mortal." She whispered under her breath.

"Grow numb and flicker! Disrupt sleep! Crawling queen of iron! Eternally self-destructing doll of mud!" Retsu continued to chant as the black coffin rose high into the sky, engulfing the form of the hollow, as the shadow spear prepared to skewer its victim without mercy. "Unite! Repulse! Fill with soil and know your own powerlessness! Hado 90, Kurohitsugi!"

The powerful forbidden kido responded to its user words and slammed into the body of its target, pounding it with unseen force and then puncturing it with an innumerable amount of spears. Lowering her arms, Retsu placed them against her thighs to brace her stance and allow herself a chance to catch her breath; the fatigue of fighting with such draining skills and abilities finally breaking her previously held façade.

Before her eyes, the coffin crushed inwardly and then exploded, shooting sand and dust in all directions. "Did that…(huff) do it (huff)?" she asked herself in between breathes.

As the coffin began to dissipate layer by layer, the woman's curiosity slowly morphed into horror, when she saw the angel still hovering ominously, not a single scratch on her after taking the full force of the kido head on.

"No…" Retsu muttered, head shaking in disbelief. "That's…that's impossible…"

"Impossible?" Masaki repeated smugly, as she uncrossed her arms, wings beating lightly. "Maybe for you. But for me, in my ressurreccion state, no form of magic can harm me, especially a dark kido." The woman held out her hand, thumb laying on top of the middle finger. "Now allow me to show you how it's done."

And with a quick audible snap of her fingers, the dark barrier of Kurohitsugi rose up once more, this time around a horrified Retsu. 'She can absorb and reflect kido!?' The woman realized, jumping to the only possible conclusion she could make, as to why an Arrancar, like her, could use it and not be harmed by it.

Masaki watched as the pillar rose even higher than before, feeding off the energy provided by the two of them, it smashed through the false ceiling above, before exploding inwardly. The exacerbating spears of darkness slamming into the coffin repeatedly as rubble from the sky fell inconsequentially all around the dark angel.

As the tower constricted once more, the Arrancar let out a battle cry as she thrusted her hands forward, compelling it to wreak even more damage as it exploded back outwards, leaving a large gaping hole in both sky and land.

As the attack began to fade once more, revealing the grey-scaled crescent moon hanging high overhead, Masaki eyed the smoke covered area where her adversary was. As the smokescreen began to clear, the Arrancar saw just a lightly colored mist and a large rectangular hole in the ground that ran easily a mile deep.

Letting out an exhalation, Masaki closed her eyes wearily. 'Seems I wouldn't have to...hmm?' the woman reopened them when she felt the barest traces of Retsu's spiritual pressure. "Impossible." She muttered the sentiment Retsu had earlier. With a swift flap of her wings, she arced down into a near nose-diving plummet, unable to accept her mortal enemy having survived such an attack without confirmation with her own eyes.

Slamming down into the sand, the woman took advantage of her wings shielding her to continue the next part of her ritual, just as a measure of precaution at this point. "הולידלVenge קללתו של אחיו, לא שירשהוא שר, ולא מילהשהוא מדבר. כל להישמע היההצווחה המוות, ללילה אחד ישן ששכב לו שנרצח. טפרים משעממים ללא שפך דם, לניתוק של Byakko."

Once the third spire rose opposite side of the second one, she released her feathery shield, fists balled tightly ready to re-engage, but Masaki held back her attack when she saw Minazuki hanging limply in the air belly up twenty feet away. "So it was you?" she asked the manta ray spirit.

When she of course got no answer, her contemptuous look eased into pity for what she had done. "Poor thing. Without its master it has lost its purpose…" the woman's gaze fell to her bare feet, guilt pulsing deep in her heart for what she had done to it. What would happen to her, if her beloved master Aizen-sama were to die.

Left living without purpose.

Existent without hope.

"I'm sorry." She apologized looking back at the being, hand slowly outstretching towards it. "I will take responsibility and give you a home, same as Lily-chan and Stark-kun." A small tentative smile appeared on her face, to ease the tension between them. It's the least I could do…for you…" her smile returned back to a remorseful frown "…and for Retsu…"

Just as she took a step towards it, the manta ray's eye flared alive with a surge of energy along with a spiking of Retsu's spiritual pressure. It didn't get much chance to do anything else as it suddenly found itself, clasped in Masaki's hand tightly, while being carried backwards, through the air.

"The battle is over, you have lost." Masaki stated calmly, as she looked down towards the speeding ground, "And this is to prove the point."

Arcing low to the ground, the angel smashed the Zanpaktou into the ground and dragged it along its aerial streak for several seconds, dirt, sand and heat building on her body as she smashed whatever resistance lay within it.

Unable to bear the heat from the friction any longer, the woman swung her arm forward, tossing the battered body towards one of the nearby buildings still standing. The manta ray barely had enough time to bounce an inch off the building from the back driving force before Masaki sonido'd over, pinning it against the white marble by its stomach. "Gran Rey Cero." She muttered; a black ball of energy formed into her hand, blasting a three-story hole through the building.

Flapping her wings away, to avoid the debris of the collapsing building from falling on top of her, she flew back to where her giant seal waited for its mistress's return. 'I'd best not take any chances. Minazuki is strong, but I don't know if she's indestructible…' the woman sighed, since she had hoped to leave at least some reminder of Retsu around. "A pity."

Stooping low, she placed her hand against the seal. "גבי גבהים, שבו גברים לא מעזים נסיעה; השואג של ענקים לפצח את האוויר הקפוא. נסיעה במורד ההרים ומעל חומות, זעקתהלהיות להשקיט כל לב עדיין פועם. להתנפץ לרסיסים, מגוהץ פגז של Genbu."

From the final cardinal point, the last spire rose upward, its shadow, washing over Masaki as it reached up towards the floating center where its brethren met to cradle the life taking energy soon to be established.

Hearing the crackling of rubble, the woman turned towards the ruins of the building she had destroyed earlier. She saw Minazuki seemingly crawling from the top of the rubble, before falling over down to the sand below. Her guard relaxed a bit until she saw the belly of it start to rumble, unsure of what it was going to do next, she sonido'd a closer distance to it, but still well within reach of returning to her seal.

The belly of Minazuki gurgled for a few seconds before it opened its mouth and threw up Retsu's body in front of it, her body coated in its healing acid. Sputtering coughs escaping her lips, the captain gave a weary glance at her battered Zanpaktou spirit, her heart clenching at its horrifically abused state, the low pitiful whimpering that it groaned out simply exemplifying its desire for rest.

"So you still live?" the voice of Masaki called out to the disheveled woman stumbling around in the sand. "I didn't consider that you'd have Minazuki swallow you to save yourself, I applaud your ingenuity if nothing else little cockroach."

"It seems I've underestimated just how callous your transformation has made you."

"'Callous'?" Masaki repeated mockingly. A scoff escaped her as she glared at her former student. "Perhaps, if you are judging me back when I was a doctor, who wore her heart on her sleeve, but I am no longer human. I am above such petty judgmental standards, such weakness. Mercy is a luxury neither of us can afford in this battle! I am a transcendent goddess; all life will bow to me!"

The woman then surprised Retsu by taking a step back from her, her head shaking with contemptuous disgust. "If you cannot comprehend that foolishly naïve individuals -such as yourself- have no place in Aizen-sama's world, then get out of my sight Retsu-chan."

Retsu looked away from the deathless angel standing ominously in front of her. Swiveling her tongue inside her mouth, she spat out some blood on to the sand below her as she pushed herself up, standing once again, although weaponless. "You may be right." She admitted softly, "Perhaps, I wouldn't have a place in such a world. But…" fighting through the pain, she raised her arm up, pointing unflinchingly at the Espada. "But those were the ideals that YOU fought tooth and nail to defend; to pass on to me, to pass on to every living thing! I won't let them -the spirit you gave them- be thrown away for nothing!"

Unohana's spiritual energy began to spike once more, her body tired and aching, but willing to push itself one more time for her sensei and the world she wanted to create, the one she knew Ichigo would usher forth. "So you may be right that I have no place in such a world, but I will make sure Aizen's world does not come to pass!"

Casting a glance to her battered a weary manta ray spirit; she sent all of her built up reiatsu to it, one last time. "Minazuki, please! Lend me your strength one last time! Bankai!"

The spiritual energy fluxing between the captain and her Zanpaktou exploded outwardly violently, blasting the angel backwards through the air, tumbling head over foot until she righted herself.

Following the trail of green mist traveling upward with her eyes, Masaki quickly backpedalled and landed back on her seal, watching the enormous amount of gas travel overhead and taking the shape of a large creature.

The mist closest to her, rounded outward into a huge belly as it slowly solidified. The light green skin travelling upwards more and more, until a pair of large fins spread out from the center mass. A loud guttural creaking groan echoed over the battlefield as an enormous mouth came into being, along with a pair of red eyes. From the large whales back, long tendril like tubes appeared, slinking off its body pointing back down to the sands. The appendages slowly hardened up taking the appearance of a cannon of sorts pointed at…

"Preaching mercy while pointing that at me? What a hypocrite." Masaki sneered quietly, as a glowing light began to emanate from the large cannons.

"Fire, Kakuhenkan Minazuki (Transmuting flesh drop gorge)!"

The cannons let loose a thundering barrage towards the magic circle down below it while the angel simply narrowed her eyes at the incoming attack.

Dropping out of the air, the Primera Espada slammed her hand into the ground, her spiritual energy reverberating through the sand around her. "Now, Genbu!" she called out.

On her command, the sand around her quickly swirled around her in a protective dome as the barrage of shells slammed down. Each blow shaking the very world with each hit.

"Don't let up!" she commanded, her large beast of war letting out another roar from its throat before, firing off another earth shaking barrage. The blasts of spiritual energy, shaking the weary woman so much she had to put some level of effort to remain on her feet.

As the blast screen of smoke and sand began to obscure her vision, the woman raised her hand up, to call for a halt in the attack. Seeing its master's signal, the large fortress whale bounded down through the air. It's girthy body knocking over a nearby building it brushed against effortlessly, as it came to lower altitude above its creator.

Soon the veil of dirt parted revealing a large earthen dome in the center of spired ritual grounds. Retsu was going to issue another order, but stopped when the sandy dome crumbled downwards.

However; while her guard was down, the Espada blasted backwards through the sand, her feet pushing her back as her wings slowed her down enough to steady her hand. "Answer my call, Seiryu! Devour them!"

With a powerful flapping of her six wings, an enormous gust of wind slammed forward hitting into the falling dome of sand, whipping it into a horizontal twister that began to take a more cylinder shape as it barreled towards Unohana.

Emerging from the storm of sand and wind, a long ferocious dragon took shape, its slim aerodynamic wings pressed tightly against its body as it streaked towards them, jaws wide open as it sunk fangs into one of the whale's fins.

A horrified gasp escaped Retsu lips, as her Bankai let out a pained groan from the bite. Streaking about quickly, the dragon arced back towards the whale and wrapped itself around its body, before biting into another chunk of it, a large gas vapor escaping from its body in place of its non-existent blood.

'The time is now.' Masaki thought to herself as kneeled back down, taking advantage of her enemies' distraction to obliterate her. Another crackle of electricity pierced the air, as she placed her hand against the sand, the seal underneath finally pulsing with energy. "משאלת נוטלי המזל ינקוטתפנית לרעה, כאשרנתן משאלות צוואות רצונוקללה."

As the words left her lips, the electricity crackled into a black lightning as it travelled towards the four black spires, an ominous black and red light emanating from them, as the aerie center hanging over head condensed into a white ball of energy. "עכשיו עדים לאור הספיר שנשרף עמוק לגיהינום, חטאיהם קוראים שוביום הדין. שחרר את החותם הסופי!" she cried out, the final bulwark of the seal releasing, as shards of energy began to seep out from the floating sphere of power.

Soon several ghastly wails began to fill the desert air, as the small shards cascading out of the white ball of power began to circle around the seal; the souls of those consumed by the seal suffering eternal torment, its pain fueling the power for the seals next usage.

"Oh no…" Retsu could only mutter to herself as she saw the horrific soul consuming seal completed once more. Her eyes watching as the circling will-o-the-wisp touched ground around the magic circles edges, creating a large explosive pillar of energy that rocked the world, the ghastly shrieking growing louder by its brethren ever pouring out of the center-piece.

Casting a final glance above to her trapped Bankai, she narrowed her eyes as she focused her spiritual energy upon its form.

"Retsu…" Masaki muttered quietly, seemingly ignorant of the pained wails that screamed in further agony upon being violently exploded. "Do you hear that sound?"

Turning her head, she gazed wistfully at one of the lowering souls, her hand held lightly towards it, almost as if to entreat it. "It's the gates of the underworld coming to take you away." The woman closed her eyes, inhaling deeply, as a protective barrier enveloped around her, sheltering her from the incoming blast, while forcing away Retsu should she have tried to attack her. Opening her cold blue eyes once again, she bid her foe adieu, "You shall defile this realm no longer: Lightless world."

The howling screams and floating array of lights quickly swirled back into the center energy mass as it momentarily expanded outward, before shooting straight down into the center of the seal. The white light burned brighter than a thousand suns as it's halo eclipsed the horizon; the power behind the supernova blast rumbling the very world as it expanded outwards, destroying, incinerating, everything it touched.

As the enormous blast faded, leaving the fallout of sandy debris hanging in the air, Masaki lowered the protective shield around her as she tried to peer through the haze that was building. With a small shiver, the woman exhaled slowly, her breath visible due to the sudden drop in temperature likely brought about by her attack destroying the alternate facilities heating system.

Turning every which way, the Espada could vaguely see that there was nothing around her; no buildings, no trees, no walls, no sun, no moon, not anything. It was just a blank sea of sand as far as the eye could see filled with mist and a black starless sky above. "It is done…." She whispered to herself solemnly, taking a small step forward, before relaxing her guard.

She stood there a good minute or two, before she felt something cold running down her cheek. Bringing her hand up, she felt the small stream of tears, silently pouring out of her eyes. The woman was bewildered for a moment, until clarity managed to reach the conscious of the woman buried under the depth of her hijacked body. "I see now…I've damned Ichigo and the others…"

A broken smile crept onto her face, as she closed her eyes. The tears falling more freely then before. "How ironic, I was created to save humanity…and I do this. If only…" the woman's body began to shake slowly, as her chocked sobs began to fill the air. "Oh Ichigo forgive me…"

The woman's heart sank like a stone, as the tear fell down to the sand below her feet; her six wings hovered closer to her body, as if to comfort her, assure her that she was correct in her actions, it was all for Aizen, nothing else…no one else mattered.

"It seems you are still there…"

The Espada's heart stopped when she heard the voice of her student break the frigid air. 'No way… I obliterated…everything!'

Quickly wiping away her tears, the grand fisher aspect of her mind retook hold. "It was merely sand in my eyes." She lied coolly, as she balled her fists at her side. "I suggest you take advantage of this little miracle of yours and run away, because the next time I lay my eyes on you, I WILL kill you."

"Don't worry…you won't see me coming at all." The voice replied calmly.

With another drop in temperature, Masaki began to see her breath before her eyes. She was about to move into the fog, when she found her legs wouldn't respond. Looking down, she began to see ice forming around her feet. 'Wait…this can't be right.' she thought to herself, realizing it was far too quickly for it to grow this cold. With a powerful flapping of her wings, the mist around her parted a bit, while the ice slowly encasing her shattered. "What's going on? I feel her spiritual energy slowly rising and I hear her but…I don't sense anything!"

"That is the power of my Bankai." Retsu answered the bewildered woman, "Minazuki's special power is its ability to change between the forms of substance. Its ability to heal people by consuming them within its stomach is a byproduct of this ability."

"'Change between forms of substance?'" Masaki parroted even more confused than before.

"The substances of matter. Solids, Liquids and Gas. When a wounded individual gets taken into Minazuki's stomach, they are placed into a subspace that begins to repair the body with replications of their missing parts. Using Liquid forms for blood, Solid forms for flesh, and Gas for Oxygen." The disembodied voice explained carefully to its extremely unnerved opponent. "My Shikai though has limitations. It still follows the conservations of mass; so Minazuki is still quite small and could not turn a battle around on its own."

"But your Bankai was that giant whale thing." Masaki recalled

"Correct."

"But it was still a solid being! It should have been wiped off the face of the earth! The lightless world uses the power of absolute darkness to rip apart the flesh from the soul!"

"I said you were correct, I didn't say you were right." The woman said solemnly from somewhere in the mist. "My Bankai not only provides more of its form for me to manipulate it also allows me to change between its forms instantaneous."

Solids, Liquids and Gas.

Finally, it occurred to the Espada why she could sense her and hear her, but not see her at all. "You…you are the mist!?"

"Partially. I know how that seal of yours worked, so I had Minazuki break apart and envelope me, protecting my physical body from the blast by turning me into a gaseous state, an intangible state that can't be broken down any further. Although, it did take me a little bit to re-gather my scattered 'persons' if you will…"

"You couldn't kill me before…what makes you think you can do it now!?" the woman yelled angrily, ready for another round despite her clear exhaustion after such exertion.

Very calmly, the captain replied. "Because I've been keep you busy long enough for my counter-attack."

Before the Espada could react, the mist around her changed before her eyes, becoming solid ice, surrounding her in what appeared to be a long corridor that began to branch off in many other paths. The winged angel looked around quickly expecting some kind of attack, but instead nothing happened, only the sound of her breathing and soft patter of her feet against the cold floor. "Is this supposed to intimidate me?" the woman and her reflection in front of her barked; their fist clenched, ready to smash through this stupid little obstacle.

Just as she was about to take a step forward to begin her campaign of destruction, the woman saw the image of Retsu reflected behind her by the sheet of ice.

Turning around quickly, the woman smashed her fist into the ice, the wall exploded inwardly, shooting shards of ice at her, cutting in to her hand and cheeks. "What…?" the woman quietly asked herself as she looked at her blood dripping down. 'I could have sworn Retsu was just there, but…nothing!?'

Walking through the opening she had made, Grand Fisher came face to face with a mirror maze made out of ice. While she was busy gawking at the labyrinth before her, she failed to notice the swiping blade that cut into the back of her leg.

Falling forward, Masaki hit the ground hard, a small yelp of pain escaping her lips, as she looked back, the brief image of the captain walking by, bloodied sword at her side. Pushing herself back up, the woman immediately rounded the corner only to find herself staring back at her own bloodied reflection.

Letting out a small but terrified pant, the Espada tried to gather her wits so that she could pinpoint where her enemy was. Closing her eyes, she tried to feel for her spiritual pressure, and to her dismay, she merely felt it all around her. 'Damn it.'

Opening her eyes, the woman nearly screamed when the image in front of her was gone replaced by a weary dark-eyed Retsu, whose sword was raised to strike.

Jumping backward with her wings, the angel pointed her finger towards the imposing image "Atlanta!" she cried out as her wings gleamed with celestial energy as they fired forth smashing the image, that merely flung more spikes of ice in her direction, slowly riddling her body with more wounds.

Falling to her knees from obvious pain and exhaustion, the Espada tried to catch her breath. "I see. Breaking the ice hurts me…and you hide somewhere within the ice…" she muttered her hypothesis, just loud enough for Retsu, wherever she was, to hear.

On cue, every image in the crystal maze reflected that of a solemn battle weary Retsu standing ominously beside Masaki, her sword hovering against the neck of her sensei's image. "That isn't all this prison of ice does. With each passing second, the temperature drops closer to absolute zero (12), the temperature where all matter freezes solid, and life ceases to function." The duplicates said in unisons; a small twinge of regret appearing in their voice. "I admit…I wished I didn't have to kill you in this incredibly painful way…but I have no choice. I made a promise."

"A promise…?"

The images of the woman nodded, "I promised myself Sensei…that if Ichigo couldn't muster the strength to kill Grand Fisher, you, that I would do so in his place. That is why I will use all my power to fulfill that promise."

With a small shiver from the dropping temperature, the Espada did something that surprised the calm captain staring her down from within her Bankai; she smiled, the same gentle smile all of Soul Society knew belonged to the Miracle Worker. "I…s-see…" the woman breathed out, teeth chattering uncontrollably. Closing her eyes to calm herself, she looked back at the reflection of her student, her pure blue eyes conveying her sincerity. "I admit you have me at a loss. If what you say is true, there is no escape from this prison because you can just keep reforming it over and over again." The angel lowered her head, smile still on her lips. "Yet…I'm surprisingly calm about this, in fact…I feel a sense of pride."

The reflections of Unohana shifted slightly confused by her small change in mannerism. Seeing the slight raising of her brow, Masaki continued. "Retsu-chan…" she said in a motherly tone, "Please continue watching over my children for me." Pushing herself back up to her feet, a slight wobble from the earlier blood-loss, the woman began to focus her spiritual energy once again.

As she directed the flow of energy towards her back, per the orders of the voices inside of her telling to keep going for Master Aizen; the only thing that kept Masaki's fleeting consciousness was the image of her son. The sun was at his back as he smiled at her, the same welcoming smile when he'd come visit her after returning from some adventure. Before her eyes, memories of all his friends she had met flashed by quickly, only replaced by the tender intimate moments of love she held with her beloved Isshin during their decade long kiss and cheek affair, which only gave way to the feeling of contentment she felt as a little girl growing up with her beloved Yama-chan.

And finally…the night she tiredly held two little babies in her arms at the fourth division ward, proud and wishing a world where dreams came true.

'Ichigo, Senna…never give up. Always protect the people you love…and know that you are always in my heart.' The woman desperately pleaded, as her mind fell back under the waves of Grand Fisher.

Raising her arms up, fingers splayed in all directions, the Espada said, "I won't allow myself to die in such an ignoble way, by a slight chill. My death will come of my own choosing." The wings behind her lit up, sensing its mistress's command. "Now, Atlanta."

The feathers of her wings fired off in every direction this time, slamming into mirror upon frozen mirror, the shards of ice shooting everywhere, slicing into her skin with each piece, but she didn't seem to care. The feathery missile impaled every mirror, pushing through past it to slam into the next seeking out the adversary hidden away somewhere within its icy clutches.

Huffing to herself as she tried her best to remain standing, Masaki coughed up some blood from her mouth, while her tattered robes barely held together. Through the hanging haze, the woman saw the silhouette of the captain standing barely five feet from her. Her countenance wore a thin frown as she gazed at her, eyes shimmering with pity and barely held tears, no doubt regretting doing what she had done to her.

For the woman who taught her everything, whose gentle life was taken from her, twisted and used for Aizen's ambitions.

Ignoring the pain as best as she could, Grand Fisher ran at the captain fist cocked to deliver one last blow. Before the woman could land her hit, her body suddenly came to a grinding halt, a sharp intense pain radiated from her chest. Looking down, she saw Retsu's Nodachi piercing through her and out the back.

Closing her eyes, Masaki pushed herself forward, running herself through even more, as she slowly closed the distance to her silent fearful student. Raising a weak hand up, she clasped the woman's shoulder and with the last bit of strength, she had left pulled her in close, a cry of pain escaping her lips, while her horrified friend watched with mist-filled eyes, tears pooling at the rim. Wrapping her other arm around her back, the dying Arrancar said, "Thank you….for eve…rything…you've done for me…Retsu-chan." Lifting her eyes up, to see her student's face on last time, she smiled, as her vision began to distort and grow hazy. "Please…keep watching…over them…" lowering her head back down against, her killer's shoulder, she muttered just loud enough for her to hear. "I love you Retsu…don't…forget….that…."

"Masaki-sensei…" Retsu started, but fell silent when the form of her teacher, suddenly turned into sand and crumbled in her arms, blowing into the wind by the desert breeze. The woman turned and watched the ashes scatters as a loud sucking rang in her ear, as the world around her suddenly became vibrant in colors and buildings that weren't there before appeared, untouched by the destruction that happened in the alternate world.

Tilting her head back, the combat medic saw the artificial sun flickering overhead and her heart fell just a bit, knowing that no one would ever be able to grieve for that woman, because her ashes remained in a world that could never be accessed again. "I will. I won't fail you sensei." The woman replied gently if sadly, silently mourning the woman who gave her a world of possibilities when she picked her off the streets that fateful day.

"T-Taichō!?" a startled voice called from behind the battle weary captain.

Turning around, the captain caught sight of her lieutenant standing a few feet away from her alongside her sister. The silver-haired Isane was quite dusty and her hair ornaments were sticking to the side of her cheek, but to Retsu's relief she seemed unscathed, which was probably in part to being beside her more battle ready sister.

"A-are you okay!?" the woman asked her captain, seeing the tears around her eyes.

It took a moment for her words to register to the surprised captain, but she calmly nodded her head, as she diverted her attention to the younger of the siblings.

The shorter Kotetsu had a few gashes and rips in her clothing, likely from coming into contact with the enemies' ressurreccion, but looked fine for the most part. She was gripping her mallet-shaped Zanpaktou in a defensive stance, her attention was fixated on the third person kneeling a bit away from them, likely an enemy. While she remained vigilant, she snuck small side-glances back to the two of them, a look of momentary relief flickering back to determination, once she knew their assault leader and her sister's captain was alright.

It was then that the captain looked past the second sister and got a better look at the third person. Upon seeing her clothing, she instantly knew that it was an Arrancar. It was a woman in a ballroom dress with wings, although one of them was hanging limply by its threads. She had long purple hair, fair if dirty skin, and two purple lines running down her cheeks, though one was partially smudged away by the accumulation of blood, sweat and dirt on her face and body.

One of her eyes was closed, as she was hunched over, resting on her knees, one hand planted against the sand in front of her, as she was huffing to herself, desperately trying to catch her breath. Her sword remained clenched in her hand, where another person, this one blonde, was lying face down.

When the captain's eyes flitted over the other side of the Arrancar, she gasped at who she saw. "Captain Soifon…" she muttered spying the captain of the second, laying belly up on the sand. 'I see.' Retsu concluded, understanding why the sisters were so spooked about engaging this particular foe.

Knowing she'd have no time for rest or grieving, the captain wiped her eyes of the tears as she called out to her attentive Fukutaichō. "Isane…"

"Y-yes?"

As the last of the tears were pushed away, she gave a small nudge to the unmoving Arrancar briefly before returning back to Isane. "Who is she? What's going on?"

Startled by the request, but understanding the need for information, the woman explained. "Me and Ki-chan were on route to the central most building, when we came upon her. We saw captain Soifon lying unconscious, but we wanted to subdue her first…" the large woman glanced back at her kid sister. "We were about to engage, when you just…showed up out of nowhere."

The wounded captain nodded once again. "I understand." She muttered, before turning towards Kiyone, and against her bodies protest, started to walk forward.

"Ugghhh…"

"Taicho!" Isane requested, moving Itegumo out of the way, as she lent her weary captain a much needed shoulder to lean on.

The slightly shorter woman held onto the shoulder for a second, before smiling and shaking her head no, before pushing her legs to keep going. "Unohana-Taichō…are you okay?" the worried second seat asked once again, voice quivering.

The woman saw the form of her captain stop in her tracks, but she didn't turn around nor answer immediately. After a few seconds she received her answer. "No…" came the low brisk reply, the back of her head lowering just a bit. "I'm not." Raising her level again, she started walking forward once more. "But I can't afford my grief to burden me now. Not when someone so desperately needs me."

Biting her lip, Isane stood back as she sheathed her weapon, trusting whatever her captain was attempting.

Approaching Kiyone from behind, the woman placed a hand on her shoulder reassuringly. "At ease, let me talk to her."

The blonde girl lowered her mallet shaped Zanpaktou "Yume hanmā (dream hammer)" as she glanced back with obvious concern, but a single stern look silenced any protest she might spew.

Walking around, the third seat, the captain took a few more steps, before stopping about five yards away from the Arrancar, who had taken notice of her and was glaring at her with all the defiance her ravaged body could muster.

Taking another step, she quickly noticed that the Arrancar was trying with all her might to get her legs to work so she could stand back up to her feet to face this latest foe. "Be at ease," the captain said softly, "I'm a medic. I'm here to help."

Hearing her words, the woman stopped moving for a few seconds to let it sink in, before reaching out with one of her arms and slamming it into the ground, repeating the motion with the other arm, crawling towards the woman.

Retsu, quickly closed the distance between them before kneeling down in front of the Arrancar. Her hand cupping under her chin, so she could look into her face. "Are you okay?"

The purple haired girl's pupil was shaking unfocusedly, like she couldn't tell if the person in front of her was a mirage or not, but still she nodded as much as she could. "y..ye…ah…(huff)".

Focusing her reiatsu, the medic's hand lit up a light green glow as the healing magic began to flow into the Arrancar's body. Once the woman's breathing evened out, she cast a quick glance to both Soifon and the unknown woman and saw that their chests were rising up and down. "This battle today is an all or nothing war. There are no reason for any of you Arrancar to take hostages, yet you did." She stated quietly. "Or maybe it should be said: You were protecting them."

Glancing back down at her patient, she asked the only question that mattered. "Why?"

When the Arrancar's arm shot up, grabbing a fistful of the captain's clothing, the two by-standing Shinigami took a menacing step forward, weapons at the ready only to be stopped by a belaying hand from the captain.

Returning her attention from those behind her, Unohana returned her gaze back to the Arrancar. "My master would want me to." She replied with ragged breathes.

'A master other than Aizen?' she thought to herself, troubled at knowing another was at work. "Who is your master?"

"Ichigo…" the woman whispered

While her breath hitched, Retsu was quite surprised she was able to keep as much of a straight face as she could. 'Winning hearts and minds, Ichigo-kun?' the doctor thought to herself, silently beaming with pride. 'Masaki would be proud of what you just accomplished.'

"Please…" the warrioress practically begged as she pulled harder on the woman's clothing, her eyes darting back to the unconscious captain with what little strength she had left. "Protect her…"

And just like that, the Arrancar's grip faded, as she drooped her face against the woman's chest, the embrace of sleep finally overcoming her.

"Don't worry. I will." The captain replied, more to herself if anything. Turning her head too look back over her shoulder, she made a small motion with her fingers. "Isane, Kiyone, please help me attend to these three." She turned back around, a faint smile on her face, feeling like everything would be okay, as her communicator crackled to life. "Everything will be okay now."

(Ichigo)

With another deep exhalation, Ichigo tried to keep his mind focused on what lay ahead of him, as he stared across the room where the inactive portal resided. Between bouts of healing himself and rest, the man kept Zangetsu at his side at all times, knowing that sooner or later his next foe was to turn up: Aizen…or if Retsu failed, Masaki.

The man glanced down at his sword arm and still wasn't surprised to see it shaking. During his entire stay in the quiet room, alone with his thoughts, the man had more than once saw horrible outcome after horrible outcome play in his mind.

More than once, he would ask himself: Where was Shaolin? She should be here by now. Is she okay, what about their child? Is Senna safe? Aizen went to Karakura after all. Can the Sotaichō protect her? What about Unohana? Was she winning? What if she wasn't? Would he be able to take out his own mother? Succeeding that, what about Aizen? Could he defeat him in a battered state!?

The man let out another long sigh; it was one of his only physical remedies to this situation. Still, though he did worry, about many things, he also held out to the belief that they were okay. They trusted him and he trusted all of them, each and every one of them were family and friends, they didn't need him to fight their battles for them, only for him to assure them he had their back, just as they had his.

Leaning forward a bit, the man schooled his face, as he felt the other half of the shaking coursing back up his arm and through his spine, taking hold deep inside him once again. It was pure unadulterated adrenaline, a sense, a rush of electricity, elevating all his senses. He felt like he see, hear everything around him, before it even happened.

It was in this surge that he saw himself swinging his sword, parrying Kyoka Suigetsu as he dueled Aizen to the death, putting his all to stop the man's grand ambition. A sudden leap back, a Getsuga Tenshō there, the dawning of his Hollow abilities, and then finally the instant where sword met flesh, as Aizen lay dying, the cogs of destiny finally grinding to a halt.

The point where the dreams of those slain shattered.

The point where worlds collided.

The point where worlds collapsed.

A deep low echo rang through the room, as the brown eyes of the Shinigami remained fixed on the wall in front of him that morphed into a dark watery blue substance, before changing in colors and tones, reflecting the skyline of Karakura town. Ichigo frowned when the portal didn't offer a better panoramic view of what the true battlefield up ahead looked like, but he didn't have to stretch his imagination to have an idea.

The man tore his gaze away for a minute as he looked down at the floor. He had been told to prepare for this moment by both of them and indeed even, he thought he would be able to soldier through it, but his heart did sink knowing that with the opening of this portal, his mother was once again truly out of his reach.

"Mom…" the man closed his eyes briefly, as he reached for his communicator. "Please watch. Watch us make a world worth fighting for."

Raising the communicator up to his mouth he clicked on speak button.

(Zaraki squadron)

"Attention everyone." The voice of Ichigo rang out from the communication device attached to the eleventh division captain's hip. "This is Ichigo Kurosaki of the second division relaying this message to all Shinigami and nearby Arrancar's within listening distance."

"A message?" Yumichika muttered as he kneeled down beside his captain.

"Quiet." The demon of Zaraki barked as he looked at Yachiru sitting in the lap of older Yachiru, "hey turn it up will ya."

"Okay, Kenny." The little pink haired girl replied happily, as she lunged forward and turned the dial to the right.

(Byakuya)

Turning his gaze upward in the direction of where the stairs ascended, Byakuya listed intently as he carried the corpse of Rukia on his back. "The battle is over." The man's voice echoed in the Kuchiki's ears, his eyes hardening even harder with determination. "We have taken the central fortress and all outlying facilities."

Despite all the sadness and grief the man had been feeling since he had come to this wretched world, he found himself smiling if only so slightly. "Hear that Rukia…were going home." The tired, near broken captain of the sixth muttered, glad she'd be able to be buried in peace.

(Unohana)

"The Espada of this sector have been apprehended or destroyed."

"Seems captain Soifon's wounds aren't as bad as they seem." Retsu assessed with obvious relief as she turned to her fellow medic. "Please, put pressure here, while I close this wound."

"Yes, captain."

Kiyone looked away from the work pair as she returned her gaze back to the communicator, her posture easing to the point where she dropped her Zanpaktou, too busy listening to the communicator that conveyed what she wanted to hear.

(Uryu and Nemu)

"I repeat: The Espada of this sector have been apprehended or destroyed. There is no point in resisting any further."

"I see." The now powerless Uryu muttered as he looked down at the communicator device attached to Nemu's waist, said android helping him walk by slinging his arm around her shoulders. "I guess, now you don't need me anymore."

The woman looked at the man briefly, a cold icy look, before slowing down to a halt. "You have not been needed since we met in Soul Society." She replied analytically.

The glasses clad teen nodded, since it was the truth. But before he could say anything further, he was forced to take a step forward as the woman resumed walking. "But…I have not forgotten your debt to me." She replied, a thin neutral look on her face.

"Your father…I don't regret killing him…" the Quincy stated point blankly where he stood with the known Quincy-killer. The archer then pushed his glasses up, the sheen of light obscuring his eyes, "But I do apologize for what I did to you."

"I know."

From behind them, Renji watched silently, as he wondered where Rukia was since they had split off a while ago. He was tempted to use the communicator, but thought better of it, wouldn't do to have everyone blowing up the lines asking where everyone was.

(Corpses of Chad and Nel)

"There have already been enough dead bodies on both sides. Friends…and family."

The announcement rang over the group of Shinigami standing off between the Arrancar's the ambushed in a room full of broken columns.

The hollows took a few glances around, catching sight of the corpse of Barragan's grandson, slumped against the wall, a large conical hole in his chest. Not too far away, was the remains of Nel tu the guard captain of Las Noches. "Nel-sama…Tora-sama…" Pesche muttered mournfully as he glanced back at Dodonche, his fellow fraccion that came up from below to aid their Espada.

The two Espada had been very close friends, sharing similar ideals…but from what could be seen, they had fought each other. Was it by accident? Or Intentional? He couldn't quite tell…but what he did know was that they both perished likely having killed each other.

"Do with me as you will…" the mantis masked Arrancar said, dropping his weapon as he raised his arms up in surrender.

(Ichigo)

"Lay down your arms at once. Surrender. I repeat: Lay down your arms at once. This battle…this war is over." The man took another deep breath as he clenched his Bankai tightly, feeling as strong as he was going to get for the last foe that lay ahead of him. "Ichigo Kurosaki, returning back to Karakura Town to face Aizen. God speed everyone…over and out."

Dropping his communicator out of his hands, the man ran forward and jumped into the portal.

Heading towards the final battlefield.

Chapter End

Blackout2010: So thank-you all for reading this chapter that ends this half of the Hueco Mundo Saga. Next chapter we will join Senna's side as they survive (hopefully) to the point where Ichigo enters into the battlefield to thusly face Aizen. Again, I apologize for the delay. Me and the rest of the BTAT crew are hard at work, but things happen. I would like to hear a bit of your views on how I should approach the other half of the arc after seeing how this half went.

It is as thus: Should I stick primarily with Senna and her events (it will mean having to cut some things out, like battles with some of the other captains and stuff) or should I go with what was shown here, letting you guys see what happens in each battle to a certain degree, like you witnessed in this half.

No need to rush the answer, but it would help to give me an idea of how you guys might want things to go down. I aim to please after all.

Till next time guys. I bid you farewell. I'll see you next update which will be long after my birthday most likely.

Guide post of the soul:

Banchō – the leader of a group of delinquents. Although given the context of the rukongai workings, it'd be more apt to say Retsu was once a Yakuza (mafia) leader.

Yanki – Basically the same as above, although it's more strictly meaning a teenage delinquent, which means Retsu was quite the hell raiser before she got whipped into shape by Masaki.

Unohana/ One nose: Unohana can mean one flower, but hana can also mean nose, a pun based off of: One nose vs One who knows (or Violent one who knows/Violent flower [putting it all together]). Yes, it's very cheesy, but I try.

Jiritsu tsuinmirā – Tran: Autonomous twin mirrors: Creates two misty particles around the user, used to contain spells that can be launched separately or in tandem to a user's assault, based on their specification.

Jūryoku ton'neru – Tran: Gravity well: Creates a directional gravity spike, impairing movement based on spiritual pressure, higher levels can slow, even lockdown stronger enemies to buy time or move past enemy guards. A gravity well in physics is a gravitational anomaly that basically pulls down, using the force created by an object naturally. To see a scientific explanation of a gravity well please consult google.

All chants were converted to Hebrew to capture that feeling of something mystical, mysterious, and more importantly, not something that could be very easily learned by another. [Naturally if it were just Senna or Masaki present, it would be in English, because they understand what they are saying. Below are the translations for each section (please note Masaki's and Senna's halves make up the Magatsu mandala's full chant).

Verse 0 (seal primer): That is not dead which can eternal lie and with strange eons even death may die. Now…lightning that writhes within the ashen depths of the world, gather now and grant life to the reaping seal of god.

Verse 1 (first spire): A keen eye and with a marksman's hand, leave no refuge for prey on land. For death itself fears those who feast, upon what beats in the heart of the beast. Fall cold, blazing heart of Suzaku.

Verse 2 (second spire): In the abyss, the tyrant of hell dances. Spilling crimson truth that blights the one true path. Close eternally, searing eye of Seiryu!

Verse 3 (third spire): Birthed to venge his brother's bane, no song did he sing, nor word did he speak. All to be heard was the deathly shriek, for one night old he lay him slain. Dull bloodlessly, Sundering claws of Byakko

Verse 4 (fourth spire): Atop heights where men dare not fare, the bellowing of giants crack the frosted air. Traveling down the mountains and over ramparts, its cry be stilling any still beating hearts. Crack apart, ironed shell of Genbu.

Verse 5 (activation of seal: Lightless world): The wish-taker's luck shall take a turn for the worse, when the granter of wishes wills his wish to a curse. Now witness the sapphire light that burns deep into hell, their sins calling forth the day of judgment. Release the final seal!

A variation of a famous quote from HP love craft

Most of the translation chants were based very similarly to the special skills riddles and great magic of the game Valkyrie profile Covenant of the plume. I own nothing from that, merely citing inspirational source.

Byakko is one of the four holy beasts of the shishin (legendary Chinese guardian spirits). He is the white tiger, amidst the red phoenix, the azure dragon, and black turtle. All beckon to Masaki's call.

Zankyō kumori translates into Reverberant clouding, which changes Minazuki's semi-solid shape into a gaseous form to which Retsu heals herself.

Atlanta: In Greek mythology the goddess of the hunt that wielded bow and arrows. In this case it's been changed to a flurry of piercing feathers instead of arrows.

This is actually a real phenomenon. -273 degrees Celsius to be exact/ Zero degrees Kelvin. At Absolute Zero, the internal temperature of objects is below functioning capacity. Google search for more info.