Chapter Twenty
Kodoku Muramasa stood in the midst of a storm of reiatsu, the wind whipping around him violently. This was not the Muramasa Ryohime knew, the one she had grown up holding the hand of. This... was someone new.
Someone who terrified her.
Kodoku's eyes burned, a pale bluish fire deep inside that flickered and flared. Blood pooled in his eyes like tears on the verge of falling, his expression was grim and dark. His robe was black, trimmed with purple, and broken shackles hung from his gaunt wrists. He raised one hand, chains clinking, and outstretched his fingers, his blood-red fingernails. The entire world seemed to turn dark, and Ryohime shivered. Suddenly, all was very still.
Chains appeared in the air. Ghostly, incorporeal, but Ryohime sensed they represented something very, very real.
There were chains around her, circling her arms, legs, her throat. They trailed off into the air and seemed to vanish, but she knew they were the same chains that had appeared around Kodoku. Except... most of his chains did run in her direction, but one, very faint, seemed to trail off into nowhere. And, looking down at herself, Ryohime noticed a faint pair around her ankles that also seemed to disappear into nothingness.
Ryohime looked warily at the Hollow and suddenly realized that time had stopped, at least for them. Rubble hung in midair behind it, him, and he was frozen mid-Sonido. Underneath that, though, she could see the ghostly chains that encircled him, the brightest of them so tightly wound around his throat that, had they been real, he'd be dead by now. Looking even closer, Ryohime thought she could see ghostly hands, dozens of them, clawing at the chains in a desperate but futile effort to break free.
"Save him, ple-" she began, turning to face her Bankai spirit. Her words caught in her throat as their eyes meet.
Kodoku Muramasa looked at her, his expression the coldest Ryohime had ever seen. A bloody tear trickled down his face, creating a strange visual contrast of sorrow and hatred.
"Is that what you think I do?" he said quietly, and Ryohime shivered again. She heard Muramasa in that voice. Her Muramasa. But he was looking at her like... like he could barely stand the sight of her.
Against her will, tears rose in her eyes.
"Who are you?" she whispered, a lump rising in her throat. Kodoku Muramasa closed his fingers around the air, drawing his Zanpakuto out of nowhere.
"I am abandoned," he replied, looking from Ryohime to their opponent. "I am isolation."
He walked past her as if she wasn't even there. Ryohime clenched her teeth, trying to keep the sob that was making her throat ache swallowed. She didn't turn.
There was a clang of metal on metal, and suddenly the vast silence of that frozen world was broken by a scream of pain... and sudden heartache. Ryohime closed her eyes, her lips trembling.
Never again.
"I tear apart what never should be torn apart," Kodoku whispered, and Ryohime heard him perfectly even from this distance. "And what I tear apart, no one will ever repair."
I am never using Bankai again.
"He will never again speak with his past."
Another scream.
Muramasa! Come back!
"Is this what you meant by saving him?"
"Stop it," Ryohime whispered, her hands clenched so tightly her fingers were turning white. "You're not Muramasa. Muramasa isn't cruel..."
"You know me better then that," he replied in that cold, familiar voice. Muramasa's voice... "You try to ignore it, you tried to teach me to ignore it, but my existence is cruelty itself." There was no warmth at all in his voice, none of the caring Muramasa had shown her since she was little. Then, bitterly, "It is done."
.
Ryohime opened her eyes, face wet with tears, to find the world was once more sunlit and clear. Her hand jerked, almost involuntarily, and she dropped her sealed Zanpakuto like it was a snake.
Then she sensed a weak, familiar reiatsu, and she looked up, her heart leaping. The Hollow was still crouched nearby on all fours, shaking its head and snarling darkly. It wasn't the Hollow, however, that had caught her attention, but the dark-haired figure plummeting towards the ground below it...
She flashed through the air, diving recklessly. He looked so small, his reiatsu flickering so very weakly...
She almost misjudged her dive, almost missed him. As he fell past her she reached out and just barely got hold of his arm, and their momentum nearly carried them into the corner of a building. Ryohime paused to steady herself, then dropped to the ground carefully. The moment they hit the ground, she leaned over Vance to search for injuries.
He was unconscious, his skin dreadfully pale and covered in new, partially healed scars, but she could still sense that flicker of life. There didn't seem to be anything life-threateningly wrong with him, though, so for the first time in what seemed like forever, Ryohime thought Vance would be alright.
A new, dangerous reiatsu interrupted her relief, and Ryohime automatically reached for her Zanpakuto. Too late, she realized she had no idea where it was; she had dropped it from the sky and wasn't sure where it had landed. She hastily picked up Vance again and ran into the nearest alley she could find, hoping the narrow walls would help hide them.
Vance's reiatsu was weak; he probably wouldn't draw any attention from whatever new enemies had arrived. Ryohime laid him down, wishing she could take him back to Kitsune's and get some help, but there were other, more immediate problems.
"Stay alive until I get back, Vance," she whispered, looking at him anxiously, then turned and jumped back up into the sky. She had to find where she had been standing, find Muramasa...
The memory of the cold, embittered voice of her Bankai nearly stopped her in her tracks. She shook her head, clenching her teeth against the feeling of betrayal that threatened to choke her.
Muramasa was still there, he had to be. He hadn't changed when she had first learned the name of her Bankai... just because she could potentially call it up didn't mean it replaced him forever. Kodoku was gone, and Muramasa would be back. Her old, caring Muramasa.
Then suddenly there was a titanic clash of reiatsus, so much of one that Ryohime's breath caught in her throat. She glanced around to discovered the source of the conflict... and her eyes widened in horror.
The Black Hollow had somehow gotten out of the others' control, and it had apparently determined Caro's Hollow was the biggest immediate threat. The two flashed about in the sky, engaged in the most brutal battle Ryohime had ever witnessed. Ceros roared, Hollows screamed, and blood flew as they ripped mercilessly at one another.
"Ryohime!"
Herald. He and Lilynette were hot on the heels of the Black Hollow, though Herald was wearing that expression that meant he'd rather be anywhere else. Ryohime immediately ran to join them.
"Lilynette, can you find Muramasa?" she asked, and Lilynette nodded. Herald frowned as she bounded off.
"You lost Muramasa?"
"It's complicated," Ryohime said evasively, then gestured at the battling Hollows. "What's going on, how did Dikayumi get free?"
"Broke the barriers," Herald grunted. "Come on, we've got to go help him before he gets himself killed. And then stop him from killing us..."
.
Steve was too late. He had felt the crack, felt the Black Hollow break out of its prison, and moments later it arrowed right past him, back towards Ryohime, Sanseki, and Caro's Hollow. Herald and Lilynette were right on its heels, passing him even as he tried to make chase, and so Steve arrived back at the combat site last (out of breath and more then a little grouchy) to find everyone fighting everyone... except Sanseki, who looked almost as conflicted as Steve felt.
"I wish I had more hands," Steve growled, flashing past Sanseki towards the two battling Hollows, and Herald and Ryohime dancing around trying to get between them. "Everyone needs to just stop moving for a minute!"
He threw out his hands, fingers outstretched, and grabbed at the Hollows. The closer he was to the intended victim, the easier it would be to capture them, but he wasn't getting anywhere near that battle. The others were taking their lives into their hands, trying to interfere like that.
The first few attempts slid off the Hollows, like an arrow deflecting off a shield, but finally something caught. Steve felt his powers snap into pace, his hand tensing as the Black Hollow jerked to a stop, like a dog suddenly reaching the end of the leash mid-leap. The Black Hollow screeched angrily, but as much as it strained it couldn't break free.
Steve tightened his fingers, concentrating on just keeping the Hollow still. His other hand lashed out again, and Caro's Hollow was next to come to an unexpected stop. To control both Hollows at the same time was almost more then Steve could manage. He bore down on them, simply trying to lock them in place.
"Herald, Ryohime!" he called tensely, sincerely hoping Sanseki was wrong in his suspicions. "Kill Caro's, quick! I can't... keep them both under control for long."
Herald and Lilynette immediately leapt for the paralyzed Hollow, but then Ryohime stopped. Her face twisted in shock and fear; she whirled, flash-stepping away towards...
Sanseki?
"Kurosa-?!"
Sanseki raised his own Zanpakuto just in time, stopped Ryohime's blade inches from his throat. Steve's concentration wavered, and the invisible puppet-strings of one hand snapped abruptly. Lilynette yelped in pain as Caro's Hollow suddenly burst back into motion, whacking her out of the air mid-jump. Herald reached it a moment later, completely severing one arm with a swift, savage slash before it rounded on him.
"Kurosaki-san, stop!"
Steve hardly knew where to look. He kept his one hand in a tight fist, hanging on desperately to the Black Hollow's actions, but his other hand wavered uncertainly. Herald and Lilynette had been caught by surprise, but at least there were two of them. Sanseki was barely keeping up with Ryohime – she wasn't holding back at all. He impulsively made his decision the moment Ryohime began calling out, "Whisper-!"
"Ryohime, enough!" he yelled, closing his fingers and drawing the strings of power tight. She grunted, her concentration shattered as his power caught her mid-release.
"Let me go!" she yelled, glaring. "What do you think you're doing?!"
Sanseki retreated, breathless, his Zanpakuto raised wardingly. He and Steve exchanged a glance.
"Protecting my allies," Steve replied, though it pained him to say it. Ryohime had been an ally for over a year, but now... it seemed hard that she had to have been the one to get caught by Caro.
"He's the enemy!" she retorted, genuine fury tinging her words. "Let me go, Steve, before he tries to kill someone else!"
Sanseki looked confused. "What are you talking about? Kurosaki-san, I'm not their enemy, and I haven't tried to kill anyone. I stand with Seireitei. You're the traitor here."
Ryohime's reiatsu flared, and Steve felt a sudden burst of energy that threatened to snap his control. In that instant he realized he was about to lose control if he continued to divide his attention.
"Herald, stop Ryohime from doing something we'll all regret!" he cried, then let his strings on her relax, transferring all his attention to keeping the Black Hollow under control. Ryohime vanished in a flash-step, and Sanseki noticeably tensed... but Ryohime was intercepted by Herald before she ever reached him. Their Zanpakutos and reiatsu clashed violently. Steve glanced at Caro's Hollow, but Lilynette was distracting it successfully, for now.
"Calm down, Ryohime!" Herald exclaimed, pushing Ryohime back, sword-to-sword. "I don't know what's going on, or what he means by 'you're the traitor', but you did attack him first. What's the matter?"
"What's the matter... with me? " she exclaimed. "What's wrong with all of you?! He's one of Caro's men, just look at him!"
"No, he's not!" retorted Steve, his arms trembling from the exertion of holding back the furious Black Hollow. "He's from the Second Division, he was going undercover to gain information on Caro. But you know him, Ryohime! He's been here for days."
"What?!" Ryohime jumped back, half-crouched. She had a look in her eye like a cornered animal. "Steve... Herald... he attacked you both! How can you defend him?!"
"Stand down, Ryohime!" Herald said firmly. "We can get to the bottom of this, but you need to stop trying to kill him first! We can talk this over..."
"It's no use, Yamichi Fukutaichou," said Sanseki grimly. "She's been under Caro's control since the other night, when she encountered him alone."
I remember that, Lilynette called, still harrowing Caro's Hollow. But why-
"Ryohime! Drop. Your. Sword." Herald insisted.
For a moment, Ryohime hesitated. Then, abruptly, she flash-stepped again, this time diving down towards the streets. "Keep those Hollows under control!" Herald yelled at Steve, then followed.
.
Herald jumped down into the alley, his eyes widening at the sight of Vance lying unconscious on the asphalt. Ryohime was breathing hard as she stood over him, and Herald found himself unsure what she intended to do.
"Ryohime... don't do something foolish," he said, trying to speak calmly. Ryohime raised her Zanpakuto and Herald tensed, ready to jump forward... but she just thrust it into the air, the blade disappearing right to the hilt.
"Bakudo no hachiju-ichi!" she exclaimed, and a translucent barrier filled the alley between herself and Herald. Then she crouched, snaking an arm hastily under Vance's limp shoulders. "Open!"
"No, wait!"
A Senkaimon opened in the air in front of her. Herald wasn't sure what she was planning, but he didn't like that look in her eyes. She looked desperate, and scared... capable of anything. He jumped to the roof, vaulted over the top of the barrier and back down... but the gates were already closing behind her. "Ryohime, wait!"
The Senkaimon vanished, right under his fingertips.
Ryohime and Vance were gone.