The moment Rangiku and Nanao heard Lieutenant Kotetsu's alert they were on their feet and running for the door. If Kinta hadn't asked if he could come too they might have left all three children alone.
"I have to help the Captain!" Nanao argued.
"I have to-Gin!" Rangiku could not even say what she feared, but she had to go. She had to stop Gin from helping Aizen.
"You just had a baby, Rangiku! You can't run out into the middle of a fight!" Nanao protested.
"And you're under house arrest-I'll be careful, I swear, but I've got to go!"
"You heard Kotetsu; it doesn't count any more! People could be in serious trouble, and I can-"
Nanao was interrupted by a distant rumble, possibly buildings collapsing or some sort of explosion.
Rangiku's eyes went huge. "Shiro-chan's out there," she said softly.
Nanao looked from Rangiku to Kinta and Aiko playing with blocks on the floor, and then to her hand on the doorknob. "Paper, scissors, rock?"
Fire then ice and now all of winter? Kyoraku would have bet money neither Toshiro or Yamamoto would use their powers at full strength within the city. Both had abilities that could threaten hundreds if not thousands of lives, and neither was the sort to forget that.
"It's not right," he said softly. Then he started running. "It's an illusion! I'll stop them-you stop Aizen!"
Ukitake didn't try to question his friend. He was out of earshot within seconds anyway.
Kyoraku could move quickly when he decided to, but he knew he wasn't going to make it in time. As he watched, the massive ice dragon swirling around Toshiro rose well over a hundred feet in the air and Yama-ji raised Ryujin Jakka in its katana form.
"Bakudo 81: Danku!" Kyoraku shouted, sending a barrier between the two warring captains.
The barrier wasn't as strong as it could have been, sent from a distance, but it took some part of Ryujin Jakka's unmatchable power before shattering. Then the ice dragon was struck, evaporating almost instantly.
In that instant, just before the flames struck Toshiro, the entire world seemed to shift. The line of buildings burnt by Yamamoto's first attack were no longer burnt, but only broken by Toshiro's icy response. The sky was not black with storm clouds and the icy chill vanished from the air.
Toshiro was not holding Hyorinmaru up in defiance as he had seemed to be only an instant earlier. He had struck the zanpakuto in the ground beside him, at the center of an enormous barrier of ice, and he was not even watching the roaring flames as they crashed down on him.
Kyoraku reached the boy before Yamamoto. It took the general a moment to absorb the sudden change in scenery and to comprehend that Toshiro's massive attack had been nothing but an illusion to force him to respond.
Kyoraku let out his breath in a sigh of relief as he dropped to his knees beside Toshiro. The boy was scorched but not nearly as badly as he should have been. Hyorinmaru, still standing where he had thrust it into the ground beside him, was blackened and looked like it might crumble to dust if anyone touched it. The zanpakuto had taken nearly all the force of the attack and saved its master's life.
And now that he was next to Toshiro, Kyoraku could see why Toshiro had not tried to dodge or taken any other action to save himself. The marks of Bakudo 77 were nearly completed on his arms. He had been trying to contact someone, and he had believed that was more important than his own life.
"This is Aizen's doing," Kyoraku explained, even as he wondered what Toshiro had seen that had him attempting a complicated Kido in the middle of a fight. "He used illusion to set the two of you against each other. Ukitake broke the illusion but not soon enough."
Yamamoto frowned at the fallen boy. Only moments ago he had appeared dangerous and powerful and absolutely determined to fight to the death, but now he looked like an innocent child, wounded as no child should ever be with burn marks across his hands and face and his hair singed. He looked quite pitiful and Yamamoto knew as well as Kyoraku what the marks on his arms were. He had not been fighting; he had been trying to reach someone.
"When did I get so old I replaced thought with obedience to orders? You and Jushiro both tried to warn me about Aizen. If I had listened, I would never have been driven to turn my sword on a child," Yamamoto said, as he looked down at Toshiro. "See that he's taken to the Fourth. I will deal with Aizen."
Tosen dropped to his knees as the black Getsuga passed through him and he coughed up a spray of bright red blood. Ichigo stumbled backwards yanking at the half mask on his face.
"Get off!" He shouted as it shattered into fragments.
Nearly a dozen shinigami were watching him in disbelief. The Ryoka had transformed into something nearly hollow and defeated one of their captains. It was impossible and not one of them had any idea how to react. Even Rukia just stared.
Ichigo turned slowly to look at her; Renji was between them standing before her like some sort of guard, but he didn't care. He was just relieved to see that she still looked alright.
"What was that announcement before?" Ichigo asked. "Do we still need to run?"
At that moment everyone suddenly felt the force of an overwhelming reiatsu, greater even that Ichigo had felt when he came face to face with Zaraki Kenpachi. Every gaze shifted to a single figure walking down the road. He was a tall man, but he had a gentle appearance, and he wore a captain's haori.
"Who the hell are you?" Ichigo demanded, raising Zangetsu once more.
The man smiled slightly. "I see you are already feeling the affects of the hollowfication process, Kurosaki Ichigo," he answered.
"What?" Ichigo demanded.
"A side effect of Urahara's 'training'; you have gained not only shinigami power but a measure of hollow power as well," the captain said. "You should be careful working with Urahara Kisuke. He doesn't always share all necessary information."
"That's Captain Aizen," Renji shouted at Ichigo. "He's the one who wants Rukia dead."
AIzen's smile grew. "I don't care about Rukia at all," he said.
"That's right," Yoruichi agreed loudly, from her perch on a nearby rooftop. "You got bigger plans than just murdering an innocent girl."
"Plans very much like your lover might have had," Aizen answered. "If he'd had the courage to face his creation."
Beside Yoruichi, Soifon made a very sour face, presumably at the mention of Yoruichi's lover.
Yoruichi let out a laugh and slapped her knee. "That's Kisuke for you! He has all sorts of ideas, but he never does have the guts to follow through."
"Yoruichi-san, what's he talking about?" Ichigo demanded.
"One o' Kisuke's toys, turned out to be more trouble that it was worth, but it couldn't be destroyed. The dumbass tried to hide it. He locked it away in Rukia's soul, seemed to think no one would find it there, but Mr. Ambitious here's pretty f-ing determined-oh, and Kisuke said to tell you he was sorry if you found everything's his fault, so sorry, Ichigo." Yoruichi was somehow smiling at the end of her speech.
"What about the hollow-whatever thing?" Ichigo asked, seeing as Aizen had also suggested that was Urahara's fault.
"He's sorry about that too, but, you know, you really couldn't expect much, trying to force your shinigami powers to unlock. He did tell you it was dangerous."
Ichigo just blinked. He really had no response to that.
"It looks like we made it on time," Captain Ukitake said as he appeared on a rooftop with Nemu by his side.
"Hey, Shiro-chan, long time no see!" Yoruichi said with a casual wave.
"It is good to see you again, Yoruichi-sama," Ukitake answered with a polite nod. Then he smiled. "Have you met Nemu?" He asked, pulling the lieutenant of the Twelfth forward. "My wife."
"Nice to meet you," Yoruichi called back. "And congratulations! You caught a good one!"
"Caught?" Nemu asked, looking back at Ukitake in confusion.
"Are you finished?" Aizen asked abruptly.
"Sure," Yoruichi agreed. "You wanting to tell us about how clever you are or what you're planning to do next?"
His eyes narrowed. "Shihouin Yoruichi, you are the single-most grating female I have had the displeasure of meeting. Urahara Kisuke is a man of many mysteries but the one I find most difficult to comprehend is why he endures your continued companionship."
"And Ichimaru Gin's your best buddy-where is the pasty bastard, anyway? You finally figure out he was laughing at you not with you?"
Aizen smiled indulgently. "I'm afraid it's going to be awhile before Gin-kun is going to be much use to anyone-but, tell me, Yoruichi, how are the skills of the 'Flash Goddess' these days?"
He vanished abruptly with a burst of shunpo, and Yoruichi followed after him, but she was immediately sent flying with a single strike and Aizen came to a stop beside Rukia, catching hold of her immediately.
It had all happened too quickly for anyone else to react. Even Ichigo in bankai hadn't been able to catch up, and he rushed after Aizen an instant later, He brought down Zangetsu, in a single fierce strike, and Aizen stopped the blade with one finger.
Yoruichi was swearing and rubbing her head where it had collided with a wall, while everyone else was staring at Aizen and Ichigo. Ichigo's own hand was bleeding from the force of blow, but Aizen was unharmed.
"You imagined you were strong, now, didn't you?" Aizen said. "You have only reached the beginning of the path to true power."
"Perhaps, you would prefer an opponent a little further down that path, eh, Sosuke?"
Everyone turned to see General Yamamoto had appeared on the edge of the destruction. He looked old and feeble, leaning on his cane, but his reiatsu, even cloaked, was enormous.
Aizen watched the old man move slowly closer.
"We will ask the children to leave so we can fight without anything to hold us back. You may show me the full-extent of your power," Yamamoto told him.
Aizen took a step back, dragging Rukia with him. "Maybe another time, General," he said as he and Rukia were enveloped in a strange light from the heavens.
Author's note:
That didn't end quite how I'd intended. It just kinda worked out that way. I think I was having too much fun writing Yoruichi-I had no idea she was so much fun!
Anyway, I intend to end this story in a couple more chapters, but having let Rukia get kidnapped makes it look like I've committed to a sequel. I probably will eventually write through the Winter War but my family has been making demands about ever getting to see me without my iPad, you know, at all, so I'm going to take about a month's break from publishing after this is done