Chapter Forty-Four

"Come at me, Kurosaki! If you don't, I'm going to go find Caro and sharpen my fangs on his spine!"

Edward roared his challenge, feet planted firmly on the slanted shingle roof of a watchtower. He had thrown off his disguise and stood proudly in Arrancar-white, Zanpakuto already drawn but unreleased, waiting for his opponent to appear.

"Kurosaki Ichigo! Come out and face me. You won last time, but I'm back again and now you are on the losing side."

Erina clung to the side of the tower, one hand clasping a windowframe, the other holding her Zanpakuto. Caro's lesser minions swarmed below, Hollows and Rukongai spirits clawing at the walls in an attempt to get at them. Many lay on the ground groaning or unconscious, knocked from the walls by Erina before they could reach Edward.

"This is a bad idea," she called up the tower again, but Edward merely grinned, a wild light shining in his eyes.

"I know you're out there, Kurosaki! You owe me!"

The air changed. Erina and Edward moved as one, jumping back away from the tower a heartbeat before a slash of energy slammed into it, blowing the building apart and obliterating the minions crowded around the base.

Edward tensed, teeth bared in a feral grin, and Erina groaned in dismay.

Kurosaki-taichou had finally reached them. He swung his Zanpakuto up to rest casually on his shoulder, but his expression was grim, equal parts angry and disappointed.

"Big mistake, Nakamaru."

Edward shrugged one shoulder, rolling his neck. "Nope, I'm not Edward for this fight, Kurosaki. I finally have the chance to fight you again all out, and I'm making the most of it."

Ichigo glanced at Erina, almost seeming to suggest she should step in to stop them, but she dared not move. With a slight sigh, the Fourteenth Division captain finally cracked – he smiled, but it was a dangerous smile.

"You asked for it, Grimmjow. You really want to fight... let's fight!"

The street exploded.

Erina was flung backwards by the blast, smashing through a warehouse to lie there in the crater of her landing, groaning. She did not hear her companion shout his release, but neither did he; the roar of a second Getsugatensho overwhelmed all other sound. Erina tried to rise, but the slightest movement sent dagger-like pain through her chest. Her head pounded. As the world began to fade into blackness, her last thought was,

You're an idiot, Edward. Don't... die.

.

He dropped to all fours, Kagehyo crawling across his skin as sleek black fur and tearing through his fingers with gleaming long claws. This time, he let the feline instinct take over completely, empowering the parts of his personality that belonged to another life and suppressing the ones that human life had instilled in him.

Kurosaki was right in front of him, and it was all too easy to black out the last decade or two and start right back where they had left off last time. His release felt more energized then it had ever been, and he lunged forward quick as thought, claws fully extended and teeth parted, ready to bite. A new challenge rumbled through his chest and vibrated in his throat, wordless but unmistakable.

He caught Kurosaki's blade in his long, furred fingers, the blade digging into his palm but not yet drawing blood. He wrenched the weapon down, whirling around it like a vertical pole-dancer, and slammed his heel down towards Kurosaki's head.

The captain raised his free arm, deflecting the attack sideways with one backhanded swipe. Kagehyo's hand tightened around the sword even as he forced it towards the ground, using it, and Kurosaki's own unyielding grip, to steady himself. He planted one foot on the blade and lunged forward, his claws aimed for the eyes.

Blue light flickered in his opponent's eyes. He lurched forward as his footing suddenly gave way, the sword he had been braced against falling through empty air, and Kurosaki's hands closed on either side of Kagehyo's, stopping the claws dead inches from his face.

For a moment, they were both still, caught in the familiarity of the moment. Then Kagehyo bared his teeth and lunged, grabbing at one of Kurosaki's arms with his free hand and raising both pawed-feet, claws extended, to tear at his chest, his legs, anything they could reach. Sharp feline teeth snapped next to Kurosaki's ear as the captain jerked backwards in surprise, caught off guard by the feral assault.

I trained with kittens, Kurosaki! Kagehyo yowled, gleefully sinking his razor-sharp fangs into his opponent's trapped hand. Your fingers will never be safe again.

His taunt fell on deaf ears. Kurosaki leapt back, flinging Kagehyo away with a spray of blood from his mangled hand. The black cat landed in the air on all fours, tail lashing and fur puffed up in excitement. Kurosaki's eyes flickered between him and his dropped Zanpakuto, then dove for the ground. Kagehyo followed suit almost at once, only a heartbeat's difference between them.

The Shinigami was faster.

Kurosaki snatched his Zanpakuto off the ground and whirled, his robes throwing up a cloud of dust as they spun around him. Kagehyo saw a streak, then a blade filled his vision a moment before he hit the ground. The blade seemed to shrink even as it tore into his cheek, the steely metal turning black before slashing through his furry ear.

He hit the ground and jumped away with a hiss of pain, clapping a hand to the bleeding scratch. Kurosaki slashed through the storm of energy and powdered stone, his captain haori gone, replaced by the sleek robes of his bankai. They matched, now. Black against black.

Kagehyo tensed. The fur of this release protected him from a lot, but he wasn't a pure Hollow anymore. His powers were different, his strengths and weaknesses adjusted.

That bankai... it was designed to kill.

He pulled his hand away from his cheek and glanced at the dark blood. He only took his eyes off his opponent for a moment, but his mind knew it was a mistake before his body had the time to react.

Air blasted away as Kurosaki flashed forward, his black Zanpakuto stabbing right at Kagehyo's chest. It struck, but Kagehyo launched himself backwards just in time and hit the ground hard, letting the blade skim across his skin rather then skewer him through the ribs. He rolled to get his feet back under him and launched himself up into the air, his heart pounding beneath the blazing line of blood.

Oh, come on, some small, human part of him grumbled. I didn't need a scar there in this life, too.

The rest of him, the part fully embracing Kagehyo, focused on Kurosaki. Playing defensively irked him, but for the time being it was all he dared do. Kurosaki was fast, faster then any of the other members of the Fourteenth Division. There was no one he could have trained with to practice against their captain's speed... no one but the captain himself.

If we survive this and everything goes back to normal, I am going to fight you every week, Kurosaki. I should not feel slow.

He stayed on his toes, dodging or jumping away from Kurosaki's attacks as he waited for an opening. He could not keep up with them all, though. Too many times the black bankai bit into his forearm when he was forced to block an attack at the last second. His fur became stained with his own blood, a feeling that made the electric-blue fur of his spine stand straight on end from distaste and anger.

Ugh, disgusting.

His temper snapped. He lunged forward again, but Kurosaki vanished right before his clawtips. A blade slashed across his back, shallow but not shallow enough. He yowled and spun, but Kurosaki was too fast. He almost seemed to be seeing multiples as the captain circled, eyeing Kagehyo with that same scowling confidence that he'd worn since the start of their fight.

He straightened, breathing hard. He raised one hand and, after the briefest hesitations, licked the back of it to rub the blood off his cheek. His blue eyes followed the captain as best he could, but he realized that he simply could not keep up anymore.

Wait for him to come to you. Look vulnerable. Exposed. Then pounce!

There.

Kagehyo's claws screeched against the blade as he snapped both hands up just in time. He could not stop it. He tilted his head and leaned to one side, the blade's momentum slowed just enough for him to dodge the strike. Then, his bloody claws tight around the sword, he roared and slammed forward. His forehead connected satisfyingly with Kurosaki's nose, then his teeth found flesh.

So close together were they in that moment, he could not miss the flash of yellow that shot through Kurosaki's glowing eyes. A moment later, he felt himself knocked backwards, flying through the air so fast the air whistled in his fur.

He hit the ground hard. For a moment he lay there, forgetting to breathe, feeling like there mustn't be a single bone left unbroken by that fall. Then air whooshed past his face and the tip of a sword touched his throat.

"The days when you could defeat me are over, Grimmjow."

The blade turned, the sharp edge now pressing upwards into the soft skin beneath his chin.

"You lose."

...

The woman claiming to be Kurosaki Ryohime hesitated.

Urai looked back at her, standing in the street with her head tilted slight and her eyes on the sky. Her brow crinkled in a concerned scowl, and for a moment she tensed as if about to run off in the opposite direction.

Then, a moment after Urai noticed her sudden stop, her grim companion did, too.

He didn't even say anything. For a split second he flared his reiatsu, making the air sharp and taste of burning metal, then the sense was gone as he flash-stepped around a corner. The woman took the hint; she tore herself away from whatever had made her pause and followed, Urai turning to run beside her as she passed him.

"What did you sense?" he asked between breaths. She kept her gaze locked ahead of them and did not reply for a long moment.

"Everyone," she said finally. "People I have to ignore, or I won't be able to concentrate. Caro comes first."

Urai fell silent. He knew what was threatening to distract his orange-haired ghost this time, if she was who she said she was. He could sense the fight, too, the captain-level energy blazing through Seireitei. But he needed her now.

"I will need to get close. If he sees me... if our eyes meet... it will be the end."

The distant fight had drawn the last line of defence, the last captain in their way, away from the First Division barracks, but it would be a short-lived distraction. Literally.

"Don't worry about that. I will make sure he never notices you."

If he and his ghosts hesitated for too long, the sacrifices of everyone trying desperately to keep captains at bay would be wasted.

And they were so close, now.

Just a little longer, mina...