Chapter 27:
"Yukiko...don't listen to him! Yukiko!"
Everything seemed to be moving in slow motion for Shinji as he watched the gap between the two slowly disappear. He sincerely hoped Kensei hadn't noticed her appearance yet, though he couldn't fathom why he wouldn't. Still, one thing rang clear in his mind. They'd failed to save her again. Kisuke had warned them this was one of the outcomes, they'd seen what he'd been trying to do. Looked like his conditioning had finally taken root. The Yukiko he knew and had trained was long gone...now she was also an enemy.
His hand closed tighter over his hilt preparing to rush the pair during their distracted moment, but something made him pause. For an instant he thought he felt a fluctuation of power and saw right through Aizen. But what did that mean?
In the blink of an eye, there was a battle cry that struck the area and blood flew into the air, breaking the illusion of time slowing. There was Aizen, standing with one hand over his left side, blood seeping between his fingers. The traitor's eyes were now narrowed in pain, though he still seemed amused. What had just happened? Who hurt him? Where did Yukiko go?
"Ugh! I can't believe I said all that!" Shinji followed the sound of the voice until he spotted Yukiko standing near Ichigo. She shivered and seemed to almost be dry heaving. "Ugh...I think I'm gonna be sick."
"Ume...?" Ichigo said nervously. He looked really worried as he looked her over.
"Hey, Ichigo," she greeted, smiling at him. "Sorry about all that. I didn't really mean it. I was just acting a part so Aizen would drop his guard. Guess I didn't do a good enough job."
"What do you mean? You hit him pretty hard it looks like," he said, his eyes darting momentarily toward their enemy.
Yukiko shook her head. "I was aiming to run him through the chest," she explained with a sigh. "But I panicked at the last minute and he caught on. What I did was just a glancing blow; probably hurt and is definitely bleeding, but not enough to really be a threat to him." She paused and shivered again. "And now I feel like I need to shower in bleach or something...probably brush my teeth with it too. I just feel so gross all over."
"Yukiko...what the hell was all that?" Shinji demanded, as he flash-stepped to her side. "Are you still you or did you actually lose it and are on his side?"
"Hey, Shinji." She smiled sheepishly at him and scratched the back of her head. Then she bowed fully at the waist, her hair hiding her face. "I'm really sorry if I freaked you out, but you know what they say, "to fool your enemy you must first fool your friends". I thought it'd be worth it if I managed to deal a fatal blow, but then his illusion went in for that kiss and I lost my nerve. I'm so sorry."
Shinji blinked a few times at her explanation before starting to laugh. "You really scared us back there," he said in relief. "For a moment, I thought we'd actually lost you."
Yukiko smiled and scratched the back of her head nervously. "Sorry about that. I didn't mean to worry you so much." She lowered her hand and gripped the pommel of her sword. "But I promise, I will not allow Aizen to win."
"Heh, good to hear, Yukiko," Shinji said, turning his attention back to their enemy. "Glad to have your help, though I'm not sure what all you can do."
"Oh, I don't plan on fighting him directly."
Shinji turned a wary eye toward her as she released her blade. He noticed Soi fon, Shunsui, and the squad 7 captain were also looking at her in uncertainty. "Why's that?" he asked slowly.
She grinned, her energy spiking. "Because, I won't be much help if most of my energy is going to be used canceling out his illusion."
Shinji stared for several moments trying to understand what she meant, before remembering her explanation from before. When her wind clashed with Aizen's water based zanpakto, it created... He spun around, seeing the Aizen holding his bleeding side in pain with ripples passing through parts of his body. Behind the ripples, nothing. Beside him, were ripples spreading over nothing, but behind it stood another Aizen with a frown on his face and no sign of any pain. Through the lower spaces, the Vizard was able to make out where her blade had cut him. It was shallow and hardly any blood had been drawn.
"I see, so you intend to make it possible for them to see me," Aizen murmured. "Do you honestly believe that eliminating my illusions will be enough to earn you a victory?"
"Of course not," Yukiko answered, pumping out as much of her wind energy as she could. "But it should be able to keep the likes of you from dragging the injured into the fray again." She glanced over at Shinji who was all smiles at this, brandishing his sword once more. "Captain Hirako, I leave the rest to you."
Shinji chuckled as he and the rest of the captains present prepared for battle once more. "Oy, I'm not a captain anymore, remember. Just call me Shinji."
He caught her smile as she nodded. "Of course. Got get him, Shinji."
With her encouragement, Shinji led the charge. Although they were one captain short, the fact they no longer had to worry about his illusions reinvigorated their forces. The remaining captains swarmed Aizen, attacking in coordinated efforts. The blonde Vizard felt that although they were still having issues striking their enemy, he at least wasn't getting any decent shots in either. They were keeping him on the defensive and that meant something. Then, Aizen suddenly released a powerful hado that flew in between their fighters and flew off toward the rest of the city. At first, Shinji believed he'd just missed and it would dissipate or plow harmlessly into a building. But as he chanced a glance at its trajectory, he realized it did have a target.
"Hiyori!" he shouted, spinning around to try and make it in time. In doing so, he opened himself up and felt a gust of wind against his back. At the same time, a wall of wind appeared in front of the attack, allowing it burst against it. Seeing as how Hiyori was safe, he glanced back and saw a similar appeared behind him.
"Shinji, keep your focus on Aizen," Yukiko called out. He looked over at her to see a confident smirk appear on her face. "Leave the others to me. I won't let anyone else get pulled in."
Shinji's grip tightened on his sword. He had to stay focused, and that meant trusting that Yukiko would be able to keep up. So he turned his attention back to his enemy and returned to the fight. The group took turns attacking, trying to play off the supposed openings that were created after each one, but no matter what they did, it seemed as if Aizen was still one step ahead of them.
Eventually, Aizen seemed to get bored with them as he began cutting each and every one of them down. With each fallen captain, the rest grew nervous and tense, making it easier for him to cut the next, until the only opponents left were Ichigo and Yukiko. Shinji cursed as he slowly fell, blood spilling out from the cut on his chest. Even with Yukiko making it possible to know exactly where he was, he still bested all of them.
"I'm sorry, Yukiko," he thought, his body striking the ground hard. "Looks like I still couldn't win. Maybe, maybe you can succeed where I couldn't."
"H-how is this happening?" Ichigo asked in shock.
Yukiko felt her body begin to shake at the sight. Her friends, falling before her one by one. At the sight she felt a few of the doors within her burst open and she stumbled holding her head with one hand. She was loosing them all again.
"Yukiko, snap out of it! He's coming!"
She managed to shake off the images just in time to notice the presence standing right behind her. In a flash, she snagged Ichigo's robes and pulled him with her, jumping away from Aizen's swinging blade. Luckily she was able to avoid the blow, but still felt his blade tear through the cloth on her left arm.
"Ume, you alright?" Ichigo asked worriedly.
She took a few seconds to calm her breathing and shake off the rest of the images, forcing them back once more. "I'm fine, Ichigo," she answered. Glancing at her arm, she could see his blade and torn through the cloth, but she narrowly avoided his blade reaching her skin. "I know I'll never fully be rid of the images he forced on me, but I won't let that hinder my fight."
"But with the other captains gone, how are we supposed to win?" he demanded.
"Simple, we stick to what they had planned," she answered, moving her fans into a more offensive stance. "Only this time, I will force an opening. Make sure you take it."
Before Ichigo could respond, a surge of energy ripped through the area accompanied by several pillars of flames erupting into the sky. "That will not be necessary!" Yukiko felt her blood chill at the voice and nervously drew closer to Ichigo. "I will finish this myself."
"H-Head Captain...Yamamoto," she breathed. "Not sure if I'm happy he stepped up or scared."
"Do not think I've forgotten your insubordination, ex-fifth seat Yukiko," Yamamoto said loudly, drawing his sword, allowing flames to coat the blade. "You will receive punishment when we return."
"Hehe, yes sir." Sweat ran down her forehead from her nerves and the heat of the surrounding flames. As a precaution, she took a deep breath and formed a wind barrier around each group of people she could find. She knew it wouldn't do much against his flames, but at the very least it should keep them from affecting the rest directly.
Before Yamamoto could bring his flames against Aizen, they vanished. Moments later, the childish Arrancar attacked him from behind, though now he was in his released form. Yukiko watched in concern as the head captain was assaulted by a dozen arms protruding from the Arrancar's shoulder. Something was bothering her. The flames had disappeared, but they had to go somewhere, you couldn't just erase the head captain's flames.
As he destroyed the hollow, leaving nothing but the head behind, it clicked. As if to reinforce what she'd just realized, Aizen explained how the flames had been devoured by the Arrancar, the pillars and the flame prison he'd made at the beginning of the fight. She could see the head captain had realized what it meant for the hollow to be defeated and rushed towards it as fast as he could.
"He's not going to make it in time. I have to do something!" Yukiko thought, trying to figure out how to protect the surrounding people from the impending explosion. But there was no way she'd have the strength to stop the power of someone as powerful as Yamamoto.
"There is. We've been working on it for months. Now's the time to put it to use." Soyokaze's voice filled her mind as she watched almost in slow motion the head captain rush the Arrancar who was beginning to expand.
"You mean...bankai. But we still can't hold it for long and our control isn't great."
"I know, but all we need is one attack. What do you think will happen if we can him Aizen directly with that blast?"
Yukiko's eyes went wide and she tightened her hold on her blade. Making up her mind, she crossed her fans in front of her and allowed her energy to explode out from her, wrapping her in a cocoon of wind. "Bankai." The cocoon vanished, revealing her floating with a pair of pure white wings. "Amatsukaze."
Just as she emerged, the hollow burst, releasing a massive wave of flames. Yukiko took a deep breath and her wings flapped, drawing in large amounts of wind from all around and compressing them into a ball. At the same time the expanding flames slowly began shrinking. The larger the ball of energy grew, the smaller the flames became, until there was nothing left.
By this point, Yukiko was straining to maintain the energy she'd gathered and pointed it toward the traitorous captain. The ball of wind energy shot toward him, growing larger as it traveled and striking him. Upon impact, an explosion of wind expanded outward, blocking him from view.
"Good shot! I believe we may have finally bested him."
"Don't get too excited, Amatsukaze. Aizen's been able to defeat every captain that's come up against him. It would be stupid to think that one attack did anything." While Yukiko chatted with her sword, she glanced around herself until she spotted Ichigo standing not to far away, completely unharmed. "Well, at least we managed to keep anyone else from getting burned."
"That was an impressive attack." Yukiko froze as the voice sounded from her side. She could see in her peripheral a white uniform and knew she was in trouble. "Are you looking for further punishment, Yukiko?"
As his words crashed over her, she suddenly felt like her body was being stabbed over and over again. She could feel the fear creeping into her mind, making her want to curl up to protect herself from any more pain. However, the images in her mind of the Vizard she cared for and the three shop owners, helped push it to the back of her mind, though it still lingered. Using it, she did bend forward, holding her head and began moan and mutter in fright. She could hear Ichigo calling out to her and used the use of her name to keep herself anchored while continuing her charade. When she felt she'd drawn him close enough, she suddenly lifted her wings, causing several jets of compressed wind to fly toward him.
"Do you really think I would have risked coming here if I couldn't keep from falling to you?" she taunted, leaping far away from him. She could see where his outfit had been torn by her attack. Which one though, she was unsure. However, the torn cloth allowed her to see where she had been able to reach him and cut into his skin, as shallow as they seemed. Actually, now that she took a second to look, it seemed as if his wounds were closed, like he wasn't bleeding at all. What was going on?
"Yukiko, we do not have much time left in this form," Amatsukaze said, her pure white wings glistening in the soul reaper's mind. "We must end it now."
Yukiko inwardly swore and leapt to the side when Aizen brought his sword down on her. Her wings blocked each attack, but only just. The weight behind his blows kept pushing her back and she felt the fear pressing in. She wasn't strong enough, wasn't skilled enough, Aizen was going to win again. Her time in bankai was running out, and she couldn't get a single shot in. What was she supposed to do?
Suddenly, Aizen was able to knock one of her wings aside and brought his sword across her chest. She felt the sting of her flesh splitting at the contact and shouted in pain, followed by the sensation of her energy fading. Her wings vanished, turning back into her blade in one hand. Then Aizen caught her by the shoulder and held her tightly in place as he slowly moved his blade toward her.
With her energy spent, she could do nothing as she felt his blade slowly begin to slide into her chest. "I had intended to use you against these worthless soul reapers," he murmured. "However, you were able to overcome 100 years of conditioning. What a waste. Oh well, I suppose this just means you'll pass before any of your friends."
As he spoke, his blade moved forward, dragging a shout of pain from Yukiko. It separated flesh, causing warm blood to drip down her front, then muscle, and finally reached the bone. Even her bones could do nothing to restrict the movement of the blade as it continued moving forward. Then it reached her lung and she coughed, blood filling her mouth and sliding down her chin. This was it, she was going to die.
A single tear fell from her fading eyes as a though flitted through her mind. "Sorry, Kensei."
Shippoman: Nothing's working, not even Yukiko's bankai was able to do anything to change the tide of the war. Now she's fading and Kensei's unable to do anything to save her. Stay tuned for the next chapter to find out how this all ends. The next chapter may end up being the last...or there may be one more. But either way, please remember to R&R.
Edit: Added a pole to my profile. Please use it to tell me if I should continue the story after the fight with Aizen or not.