Sorry for the wait for this chapter. Lots of personal things really got in the way.
Renji panted in his sleep. His torso was still covered in bandages from his fight with Toshiro.
Across the room, his zanpakuto began to glow red.
A figure materialized on his bed. A white baboon with a snake for a tail stood over Renji.
Renji opened his eyes. "Zabimaru?"
"How long are you going to lie there?" the baboon asked.
"Lazy scumbag," the snake added.
Renji scoffed. "We haven't seen each other in all this time, and that's the greeting I get? Your manners certainly do leave something to be desired."
"I'm recovered and ready to fight again," the baboon said. "Now I'm just waiting for you."
Renji glanced at the glowing zanpakuto, it's segments fully restored.
"It's time you did your part."
"That's right," the snake hissed. "Now get out of that bed and get healed so we can fight again. I want to take on that Hyorinmaru one more time."
"And this time I guarantee that we're gonna win," both heads of the zanpakuto spirit said.
Renji scoffed. "You idiot. You must have been brain damaged in that battle."
"Huh?"
Renji looked away. "He is no longer the one I must fight."
"He's not? Well then, who is it? Who will you fight now?"
Byakuya Kuchiki glared at the new arrival.
"Yoruichi Shihoin."
Orihime leaned forward from within the cell. "That's Yoruichi? I he was a cat – and a he."
"My sister didn't say anything about this," Ganju added.
"I've heard that name," Rukia said. "She's the – "
"The former commander in charge of the stealth force, and ex-general of the First Division Punishment Force, Yoruichi Shihoin," Byakuya observed. "I haven't seen your face in a while. You've been in hiding for over 100 years. I thought you were dead."
"What's he talking about Yoruichi?" Toshiro asked. "Is this why you pretended to be a cat all this time?"
Yoruichi looked back at him. "Now is not the time."
Toshiro nodded. "Fine. Now that you're here, between the two of us we should make short work of him."
Yoruichi shook her head. "You still don't understand anything."
Yoruichi seemed to vanish to the eyes of those watching from behind Orihime's shield. When she reappeared, her hand was shoved into Toshiro's largest wound.
Toshiro's eyes widened in shock, as did Byakuya's and Ukitake's at the unexpected move.
Yoruichi pulled her blood-covered hand out of Toshiro's stomach. The young Shinigami looked down at the reopened wound, but even as his head moved, his eyes began to glaze over and he fell into unconsciousness.
"No!" Orihime screamed as she ran forward, dropping her barrier.
Ganju grabbed her arm to stop her.
"Let me go! We have to help him!" she yelled at Ganju.
"There's nothing we can do! You'll just get yourself killed!" Ganju yelled back.
"Besides," he said more calmly, looking at Yoruichi, "I think I know what she's trying to do."
"It's a drug, isn't it?" Ukitake asked as Yoruichi lifted Toshiro's unconscious form onto her right shoulder. "A powerful anesthetic, maybe goten or hoten, forced directly into his body to try to save him."
"What are planning to do with him, Yoruichi," he asked gravely.
"Ukitake…" Yoruichi said.
"Don't waste your time trying to help him," Byakuya warned. "Neither of you will ever escape from here."
Yoruichi allowed herself to grin. "My, just listen to you talking like such a big-shot now, Byakuya," she teased. "And yet I don't believe you've beaten me even once in a game of tag, have you?"
"Shall we give it another try?"
The two warriors disappeared, but the others could feel the strong winds from their movements.
For split seconds, a blurry figure would come into view, only to disappear again. Often, they could not even tell who it was that had appeared.
As they danced around each other, Yoruichi decided to make a break for it. She flash stepped across the length of the bridge.
But Byakuya was there waiting for her.
"Did you really think you could escape me with a flash step that slow?" he asked, standing over her.
Byakuya swung his sword in an underhanded motion, intending to kill both Yoruichi and Toshiro with one stroke.
Byakuya's eyes widened as his sword sliced through thin air. He looked to his right, where Yoruichi was crouched on his sword arm.
"Did you really think you could capture me," she taunted, "with a flash step that predictable?"
She leapt of his arm and landed on the roof of the building on the end of the bridge.
"Three days!" she called out to Byakuya. "In three days I shall make this boy stronger than you. Until then, consider the fight between you two postponed."
"Feel free to give chase if you like, but Yoruichi Shihoin is not about to be caught by the likes of you."
She disappeared again, and Byakuya scowled.
Ukitakeraised his hand over his eyes as he watched Yoruichi speed off. "So you're letting them get away?"
Byakuya sheathed his sword and began to walk away.
"Hey, Byakuya! Where are you going?" Ukitake asked. "I thought you came to capture the ryoka."
"I have lost interest," Byakuya said. "Do whatever you want with them."
Ukitake shook his head at his younger comrade, then called out to the surrounding rooftops.
"Kiyone! Sentaro! Get down here!"
Two more Shinigami appeared in front him, kneeling as they awaited their orders.
"Kiyone, we need to get medical attention for this wounded man," Ukitake said. "I'm afraid he's in bad shape. Have Squad Four send an advance relief squad at once."
"Sentaro, I want you to bring all the ryoka out of the cell and secure Rukia back inside."
"Yes, sir!" both Shinigami said in unison.
Sentaro stepped forward, heading towards the Repentance Cell.
Hanataro ran out and stood in front of the cell with his hands outstretched. "No! I won't let you seal Rukia away in that cell again!"
Sentaro grabbed the front of Hanataro's kimono and lifted him up angrily.
"You think I want to put her back in that damn place!" he screamed. "Orders are orders and that's THAT!"
He threw Hanataro aside and stepped into the cell.
"You, ryoka," he said to Orihime and Ganju. "Get out."
Orihime gulped and looked at Ganju, who shook his head and began to leave, stopping to pick up Chad. She followed.
She looked back as Sentaro sealed the cell door again.
"I'm sorry, Rukia," Sentaro said, but Captain Ukitake and I will appeal to the top brass on your behalf. We'll get you out of there soon."
Ukitake walked over to Ganju. "Put him down here," he said.
"Um, yeah," Ganju answered, setting Chad down.
"Squad Four will be here soon," Ukitake said. They'll have your friend good as new in no time."
Orihime came next to Ganju. "Umm…" she started to ask nervously.
"You probably want to know why I'm helping you," Utikake observed.
"Yeah," Ganju said, rubbing the back of his head. "Everyone else here has tried to kill us."
"It's only logical," Ukitake said seriously. "We still don't know who killed Aizen, and you troublemakers are prime suspects and an important source of information. We wouldn't want to kill you until we've investigated. But there's one other reason."
He turned to look at them and his voice softened. "Though your efforts were clumsy, the fact is you and your friends were trying to save one of my officers. Honor would not allow me to stand by idly and watch you die."
'Toshiro was right,' Orihime thought. 'The Shinigami don't all want to kill Rukia. There may be a chance we can get them to change their minds!'
Yoruichi sat against the wall of her hideout as Toshiro slept off the drugs she had put in his system. It was night before he awoke.
The first thing he did was grunt in pain and reach for the stomach wound Yoruichi had reopened.
"How are you feeling?" Yoruichi asked.
"Terrible," Toshiro replied, struggling to shake off his lethargy. "What did you do to me-"
His eyes shot open as he remembered the moment Yoruichi plunged her hand into his stomach.
"I had the advantage," he said angrily. "And not only did you not help, but you left everyone there to die."
"Advantage?" she scoffed. "You're pretty strong and pretty smart," she admitted, "and you may have deduced what Byakuya's powers are, but you never had a chance in hell of beating him."
Toshiro sat up. The effort caused him a considerable amount of pain. "Explain yourself."
"The first thing you should understand is that your friends are safe. Captain Ukitake was there, and he would never have allowed Byakuya to kill any of them. Rukia is his officer, and he is an honorable man. You were the only one in danger of losing your life since you were the only one who represented a threat. The others were captured, but they're safe."
That did not cheer Toshiro up. "So now instead of rescuing one person, I have to rescue five."
"They are resourceful, and Uryu is still out there. I suggest you let him worry about them. You need to focus on defeating Byakuya."
Toshiro gave her a quizzical look. "I thought you said I didn't have a chance in hell of beating him."
She nodded. "As you are now. But with a few days' training, you just might manage it."
She led him deeper into the structure, into an enormous cave.
"You know about the release of a Shinigami's sword," she said.
"Yes," Toshiro answered. "It changes shape and becomes much stronger."
"But did you know that your Hyorinmaru can be released to another level?"
Toshiro's mouth opened in shock. He reached bac, drew his sword, and examined it closely.
"No. I didn't know that."
"All Shinigami zanpakuto have another lever of soul release beyond the initial one," Yoruichi explained. "The first level is called shikai. The second level is called Bankai."
"Before any Shinigami can become a captain, he or she must have mastered both of these zanpakuto releases," she continued. "Except for one, every Squad Captain of the Court Guard has had to first master Bankai."
"Zaraki," Toshiro spat.
"Correct. It is a sign of just how highly they regard his power that he was made a captain despite not knowing his sword's name.
"The power difference between Bankai and Shikai varies depending on the fighter's ability and discipline," Yoruichi said, "but it's usually accepted that the Bankai release increases a fighter's power by five to ten times the power of his Shikai release."
"T-ten times?" Toshiro stammered.
Yoruichi crossed her arms. "Now do you understand why you couldn't defeat Byakuya?"
He looked up at her with a steely resolve. "So you want me to train to unlock this Bankai power."
She nodded. "To gain this advantage, it's not uncommon for even a strong fighter to train for over 10 years to achieve."
"I don't have ten years!" Toshiro yelled. "Rukia's going to be executed in less than a week!"
"I know," Yoruichi said. "That's why we are going to use a completely different method."
She held up her hand. "You are going to achieve Bankai in three days."
Yoruichi walked off, leaving Toshiro alone.
"Three days," Toshiro said gravely, "I have to become ten times stronger in just three days."
He held out his sword at the wall of the cave and unleashed a torrent of water and ice from the tip of the blade.
He looked over the pristine blue and white shine of the now iced-over wall. 'I've been terrified of what I can do with my sword's first release. What kind of destruction could I unleash with five to ten times that power?'
Yoruichi returned carrying what appeared to be a wooden cutout of a man similar to a target used in military shooting practice.
"This is tenshintai, a special material specifically designed to draw out the zanpakuto and manifest its true form."
"And this is supposed to help with releasing its true power?" Toshiro asked.
"The manifestation and submission of the zanpakuto is necessary for Bankai," she explained. "In other words, instead of you physically entering the world of the zanpakuto, the zanpakuto must be manifested into our world."
"Normally it takes years to reach this level, but you managed to fight Kenpachi Zaraki to a draw. So it would seem that you have reached manifestation or a comparable level. Already."
Toshiro's brow furrowed in thought. "Hyorinmaru did appear to me during that fight."
Yoruichi smiled. "I thought so. If you stab the tenshintai with Hyorinmaru, it can forcibly manifest the spirit into our world."
"Hmph. I hope Hyorinmaru doesn't mind. Seems a little rude to force him out without asking him," Toshiro observed.
"There is a limitation to this method, however," Yoruichi cautioned. "The zanpakuto spirit can only remain manifested for three days. You will have to defeat the spirit on your own before the time runs out. If you don't -"
"Then everything we've done up till now will have been for nothing," Toshiro said, completing her sentence.
He stepped forward to the tenshintai. "Time to come out, Hyorinmaru."
He plunged his sword into the cutout. There was a burst of winds as the cutout and the sword disappeared.
The temperature in the cave dropped considerably as a gigantic figure appeared from behind Toshiro,.
Yoruichi gasped in shock at the sight.
A great dragon stood behind Toshiro. More than twenty-five feet tall, with a forty foot wingspan, it was bright blue all over except for its glowing, red eyes.
Toshiro turned to face the dragon. "Good to see you, Hyorinmaru."
Master. The dragon said.
Yoruichi looked from the small boy to the enormous beast he commanded. The temperature had dropped so much she could see her breath.
'Damn you and your secrets, Urahara!' she thought. 'You knew what this boy was all along! I would have done everything differently if you had told me!'
Is it time to fly? The dragon asked.
For the first time since Rukia was taken, a childlike grin spread across Toshiro's face.
"To fly, huh? I like the sound of that."