Chapter 14 - And the Fight Begins

Minata's POV

"Third Seat Fukudome, you will stay here and observe the battle between Captain Kuchiki and the ryoka. Do not interfere until you deem that their fight is over . . . You are effectively my eyes and ears on this hill. I expect a full report once I return."

"As you wish Captain Commander, but . . . what are you going to do in the meantime?" I ask, now noticing that his gaze was squarely on Captain Kyoraku and Captain Ukitake, the latter still holding onto the item that did away with Kikoo.

I never took Ukitake as the rebellious type - Kyoraku, yes, Ukitake not so much - and yet here he was holding a tool that could stop a zanpakuto mid-execution.

Judging from the looks on their faces, Kyoraku and Ukitake knew that the Captain Commander would not forgive them for their actions, but they've made their decision.

"I'm going to teach my old pupils a lesson."

Hopefully, they survive it.

Captain Kyoraku is immediately on guard, his face contorting into that of urgency before grabbing Ukitake by his haori and running away with him, the white haired man looking at his friend in disbelief before they fall out of sight, going over the cliff with blistering speed. The Captain Commander doesn't hesitate to follow, leaving me as the lone, alert member of the First still on the hill.

"Um, what now master?"

"What else can we do but follow orders Mizukiri?" I ask as I look at her perplexed expression. "Do you really want to face the Captain Commander's wrath after seeing what his own students just did?"

"Not in the slightest. I do wish Ukitake and Kyoraku luck though . . . They're going to need it."

"Oh, they definitely will. . ." I agreed as we moved to where Byakuya and the ryoka were battling. Judging from how they stood across from each other, it appears that they've reached a momentary stalemate, preferring to talk over locking blades . . . for the moment.

"Why would you let this happen? Don't you even care for your sister!?" The ryoka asks, his anger too palpable in his voice to be denied as he points his blade at Byakuya's chest. "Why do you do nothing when your sister is about to die right before your very eyes?! What kind of brother are you dammit?!"

To be honest, the ryoka was asking fair questions, and I couldn't blame him for it. I knew that Byakuya had been struggling with the conundrum that was Rukia's execution ever since her arrest warrant was first announced, but no one had so bluntly confronted him about it until the boy that stood before him as his enemy.

Byakuya was holding Senbonzakura in both of his hands, his eyes narrowing slightly as he tightened his grip on the sword. "A person like you would not understand."

"Ooh, I don't know about that. . ."

"What do you mean Mizukiri?" I ask, keeping my eyes squarely on the two men before us.

"Well, Captain Kuchiki says that the ryoka wouldn't understand him, but I think that's all a matter of perspective," She theorizes as the ryoka glared at Byakuya with even more anger in his eyes. "I highly doubt that the ryoka can relate to Byakuya in terms of being from a noble family or a shinigami captain, but they may have some common ground if the boy has a sister back home."

"When you put it that way, you do make a very good point," I concede. "However, I highly doubt Byakuya would be interested in such words right now, even if he really needs to hear them . . . You're free to tell him though if you want."

"I am not stepping into the middle of that bedlam!"

"I understand Kiri. . . It was just a suggestion."

She wasn't amused by my idea but held her tongue as Byakuya finally moved to strike. With a quick use of shunpo, he reappears right behind the ryoka, angling to strike him in the back. . .

. . . Judging from how stiff his spine momentarily got, I don't think Byakuya expected for the ryoka to sense it in time to stop Senbonzakura's blade from piercing his skin.

"Sorry, but I'm not falling for a move like that again!"

"He has some decent reflexes. . ." I notice as I spot the slight change in Byakuya's expression.

It wasn't a good change.

"You are a very troublesome individual. You have chosen to interrupt a sanctioned execution, and thanks to Captain Ukitake and Captain Kyoraku, the Sokyoku won't be able to complete it. . . The law must be followed at all costs."

"Even if it means losing your sister in the process!" The ryoka argues, pushing back against Byakuya's weight.

"If I have to, I will kill Rukia myself, after I kill you."

Byakuya's cold tone is horrifying, even forcing the boy to take a step back at how dismissive he was. If his goal were to shock his opponent into a stupor, he did the trick, but I honestly can't believe he managed to get those words past his lips.

I'm hoping he wasn't being serious, because if he were, I would not blame Hisana if she were rolling in her grave right now. Those words effectively spat on the promise that he made to her during her last days, and I hope he's regretting them right now.

I'll make sure he's regretful if he's not.

"WHAT? How the hell can you say such a thing?!" The boy practically screams as he successfully pushes Byakuya back. He tries to take a swipe at the man's neck, but he dodges it, moving a few feet away to create some space between the two.

"Scatter, Senbonzakura!"

Byakuya's zanpakuto instantly glows before dispersing into the thousands of miniscule blades that it was known for. It heads straight for their intended target, but the boy doesn't appear the least bit perturbed by the oncoming onslaught.

"GETSUGA TENSHOU!"

The ryoka roars as he swings his blade, allowing for his spiritual energy to shoot out in the shape reminiscent of a crescent moon. The strike is only half a foot away before Senbonzakura finally intervenes, gathering in front of his master to block the attack as best he could.

He didn't block it well enough. For the most part, Byakuya appears just fine as the smoke begins to clear, until I look down at his left hand, which was bleeding profusely.

"No way! That boy actually claimed first blood!"

"Well Kiri, Byakuya isn't completely infallible. He's been keeping a nice non-injury streak going for a while now, but it was bound to end one of these days," I say as we watched the man check over his injury. "Things have certainly gotten a lot more interesting."

"Hmm . . . It seems that I have underestimated you Kurosaki. You don't deserve to die by shikai. No, you deserve a fate far worse than that."

"I seriously don't like the sound of that," I hear my zanpakuto mumble as Senbonzakura finds himself pointing downward. "He can't be serious!"

"I'm afraid he is Kiri." I tell her as Senbonzakura is dropped, disappearing into the earth.

"But seriously! The ryoka injures him one time and his immediate reaction is to use his bankai? Talk about being trigger happy!"

"I don't think Byakuya immediately using his bankai is him being trigger happy," I say as the area around the two men starts to darken. "I think it's all about proving a point, particularly in a quick, brutal fashion."

"Quick and brutal . . . Yep, definitely sounds like Captain Kuchiki to me."

"What, what the hell is going on?" The boy is startled as he looks around at the shifting surroundings, his eyes refocusing on his opponent. "What the hell did you just do?!"

"The answer is quite simple. You are watching the beginning of your death, Ichigo Kurosaki," Byakuya coldly announces as giant blades that are easily more than twice either man's size rose from the ground on either side of them. "This is the end of you and your pathetic excuse of a rescue mission!"

"The end huh?" Kurosaki grumbles as he narrows his eyes at the blades. "And you're going to do it with these giant blades surrounding us?"

"These are not just giant blades. . . This is my zanpakuto's final form: Senbonzakura Kageyoshi."

The blades break into thousands and thousands of tiny fragments before Byakuya could even get the last word out. They swirl around the two before targeting the ryoka, attacking from all sides to leave the boy with no room for escape. The blades envelop him in a sea of pink, hiding him from everyone's view.

For someone so loud, the ryoka didn't make a fuss at his impending death.

"Is it done? Like, is it really over?" I hear Mizukiri ask, still unsure of the outcome.

"We'll know when Byakuya orders Senbonzakura away from the body . . . If his body is even fully intact, that would be a miracle in of itself." I suggest, now realizing that Byakuya was staring straight at me, as if to ask why I was standing here in the first place.

"Captain Commanders orders," I called out. "Someone has to be his eyes and ears on this hill while he deals with Ukitake and Kyoraku."

His stare is blank before he finally nods, accepting the response as his blade finally moves away from the ryoka. A large crater stands in the place where the ryoka last stood, and I move in a little closer to get a better look. The boy was face first in the ground, not appearing as damaged as I previously thought. His arm even twitches, signaling that he's not done just yet.

"I'll admit it . . . Your perseverance is impressive, but you should just quit while you still can." Byakuya coldly advises as he walks over to the crater's edge.

"Should have known. . . I should have known that fighting you with just my shikai would do me no good!" We hear the ryoka call out from the crater's bottom, moving until he is back standing on his own two feet.

"Why do you speak like that?" Byakuya asks, his tone blunt, yet curious. "You talk as if you've achieved bankai."

"Heh . . . It's better if I show you!"

Too curious for my own good, I join Byakuya at the crater's very edge, just in time to see him smirk as he points his blade forward. He grabs the middle of his arm with his left hand, his spiritual pressure increasing to a peak that would make most men wince.

"BANKAI!"

"You have got to be kidding me?!" Mizukiri voices all our thoughts as a large beam of energy completely covers the boy. Turning my head, it appears as if Byakuya's expression has never changed despite the sudden turn of events, but I knew him better than that.

It wasn't hard to see the slight twitch of his brow, the tightening of his hand, signs that showed what the man was truly feeling . . . He was starting to get pissed off, which was a rarity for him these days.

He has to deal with many people on a daily basis - his elders, his subordinates, fellow captains, just to name a few - but none of them was able to raise his ire in quick fashion like the boy was doing right now.

Crying out loud, the ryoka managed to get Byakuya to use his bankai after only a couple of minutes of fighting.

This ryoka - no, Ichigo Kurosaki, he's done enough to get me to use his actual name more consistently now - really was an interesting figure . . .

. . . If only Byakuya wasn't dead set on ending him.

A/N: Leave a comment if you like!