Stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid! Miyako kept saying to herself. How could I have gotten so careless? Miyako, you idiot! I can't believe I did that. I can't believe I did that!
Her heart was beating incredibly fast, but it wasn't because she was using shunpo. She was breathing hard and she felt the butterflies in her stomach again, and the pounding in her chest wasn't going away. The feeling scared her. It was a feeling of total weakness. Taiyoukousen had warned her. Renji had intoxicated her somehow. She kept running through the streets of Seireitei, unsure of where to go.
I had dishonored him, she thought in dread. I'll have to fight him. I'm going to lose. He must think of me as a simpleton, a silly little girl, unfit to run as 4th seat for 11th squad. Unfit to be a Death God. I can't believe what I have just done.
The further she ran, the more her dread turned into anger. Mostly anger for herself, which had developed from her earlier defeat, her absent-mindedness in front of Captain Zaraki, Maki's death, and her unusual and confusing feelings towards Renji.
I will not give in to this nonsense, she clenched her teeth. I'm in 11th squad. Get your act together, for God's sake. There's nothing else to do except become stronger.
Miyako stopped running and slammed her back into the wall, breathing hard and pounding a fist against the bricks. She must have gone at least two miles from where she was originally posted, and the streets were empty. She leaned against the wall and dropped her head back, gazing at the stars and the half-moon.
Fuck, she thought. With every word and thought, she pounded her hand against the wall. Shit, shit, shit, shit!
Footsteps made Miyako snap to attention. She turned her head and faced the road ahead of her, but it was empty. She couldn't feel any approaching spirit force, but the footsteps slowly got louder. She gritted her teeth and gripped her soul slayer. She walked out into the middle of the road and faced the sound of the footsteps.
A large, dark-skinned man with short red hair and a short orange mohawk turned a corner just several yards away from Miyako. He was dressed in human clothes and had a strange contraption around his neck. Although it appeared as if he were just taking a stroll, Miyako knew better. He was one of the Bount, and he was probably conducting some sort of surveillance around Seireitei. She couldn't feel any sort of spirit force from him, and she braced herself in the middle of the road. The Bount stopped walking when he noticed her.
Miyako unsheathed her soul slayer and held it in front of her. "You're not permitted any further, ryoka."
The Bount examined her for a bit, then sighed. He looked tired. "I don't want to fight you."
Miyako narrowed her eyes. "You chose to fight us when you invaded Soul Society. You have no choice now."
"I mean it, girl. Stand down. I don't want to hurt you."
Miyako smirked. "Hurt me? You can't hurt me. I can endure pain just fine, Bount. The question is; can you?"
The Bount crossed his arms. "You're not like the other Death Gods. Who are you?"
Others? Had he defeated other squads?
Miyako shrugged. "You must know you're going to die if you're so interested in my name. We never introduce ourselves to our opponents unless we know we're going to defeat them."
The Bount didn't reply.
"Very well," Miyako said with an angry grin, "if you wish to know the name of the person who will kill you, so be it. I am Miyako Ichinose, 4th seat of the 11th squad, and I'm going to make you wish you had never infiltrated Seireitei."
The Bount's eyebrows shot up and he took a step back. "….Ichinose?"
Miyako glared at him with hatred. "That's right. I'm sure you knew my brother, Maki. Tell me, Bount, are you glad that he's dead? Are you glad that he died for your pathetic little cause? Are you glad that you've twisted him against his own sister?"
The Bount stared at her with utter surprise, then his eyes turned sympathetic. He swallowed, then said hoarsely, "I honestly didn't know. Kariya…"
Miyako shook her head and interrupted him. "Do you think any of that shit matters now? I would never give an ear to your words, ryoka."
The Bount straightened. "I suppose not."
Miyako readied her stance and lowered her head, staring at him with dark eyes. "I can't guarantee you this will be a quick death."
The Bount slowly pulled something out of his pocket and held it in front of him. Miyako narrowed her eyes. It was a large, metallic-looking ball.
"Show yourself, Daruku," the Bount said in a soft, deep voice.
The ball immediately started to multiply and twist into pointed objects, larger spheres, and even little balls with spikes. They rearranged in midair and started to assemble into a long, praying mantis-like creature. Miyako sucked in a sharp breath as she watched.
Damn, she thought. I wasted too much time talking, while I could have cut him down. Now I've allowed him to take out his weapon.
Not wanting to waste any more precious time, Miyako lunged at the foreign object and struck. The last sphere, which had formed in the shape of a teardrop with small balls at the side and spikes at the top, attached to the head of the body and green eyes glowed back at Miyako. It blocked her strike quickly and knocked her aside.
Miyako stumbled and spun around, ready to counter. In front of her was a strange, spidery-looking object, larger than its Bount owner and heavier than a boulder. It dropped to the ground with a large thunk, and its legs dug into the concrete as it landed, creating tiny cracks that spread out over the road. It glared at Miyako and smiled.
"Hiyee," it said in a sultry voice. It was the sound of a woman's voice and it had a slight metallic echo. "Ooooh, she's a pretty one."
Miyako narrowed her eyes and readied her soul slayer.
"Go easy on her, Daruku," the Bount instructed it. "She's Maki's sister."
Miyako curled her lip. He had just delivered an insult to her, even though he hadn't known it.
"Aww," Daruku pouted. "I wanted to have some fun tonight! Why are you holding me back? It's so boring."
"Stop talking and fight!" Miyako roared. She jumped and brought her soul slayer down, but the creature hadn't moved. Instead, Miyako's soul slayer met its back with a loud clang, and Miyako gasped after the impact.
"Oh yes, I meant to tell you…I'm impenetrable," the creature cooed at her. "Now, it's my turn!"
With a hard swipe, a metal leg came crashing sideways into Miyako's gut, sending her flying down the road. She landed hard on her side and got up immediately.
Impenetrable? Miyako thought. It's impossible. There has to be a way…
"What are you just standing there for?" the creature called out. "Have I beaten you already?"
"You'll know when I'm dead!" Miyako screamed and shunpoed right behind the creature. It let out a surprised screech and Miyako forced a ton of spirit force from her blade, letting it slice through one of the creature's legs. The spidery creature wailed and cried out as half a leg landed with a loud, ringing crash.
"My beautiful leg!" it shreiked.
Miyako responded with another slash, taking off a second and a third leg.
The creature, Daruku, wailed and cried, but as Miyako stepped back and readied another attack, Daruku's loud screeching turned into a high-pitched laugh. Miyako gritted her teeth and narrowed her eyes.
"Foolish girl," it snickered. "Didn't I just tell you that I was impenetrable?"
The chopped off limbs started to melt into blobs and floated back towards Daruku's body, regenerating its legs. It raised a front leg and pointed it at Miyako.
"My turn," it hissed again.
With sudden speed, the creature lunged forward and bashed into Miyako, slamming her into the adjacent wall. The wall crumbled from the force and Miyako's wind was knocked out of her. Suddenly, another blow came from across her face and Miyako slid sideways.
Miyako's left shoulder was throbbing, but she attempted to move anyway. It still moved. It wasn't broken. Clutching her soul slayer, she stumbled up, wiped the blood from her lips, and readied her stance again. She tasted blood in her mouth and it made her grin. For some reason, she felt her reiatsu growing. It had been an incredibly long time before she really had an all-out fight. Her battle with Maki was personal and she purposely held back. This battle was to the death. There was nothing an 11th squad member loved more to get the adrenaline pumping. She glanced past the creature at the Bount, standing still with his arms crossed. He hadn't moved a muscle since the fight began.
"How brave you are," she mocked nastily, "to stand by and do nothing. I've heard of the Bount using their dolls to do all the dirty work."
"It is simply how we fight," the Bount replied smoothly. "Much as you Death Gods have your soul slayers."
"Master doesn't want me to hurt you too much," Daruku said in a low voice. "Don't try my patience."
"Be quiet, you doll bitch," Miyako sneered angrily. "If you're going to kill me, then go ahead and kill me."
Daruku did a high-pitched gasp and growled. "You'll pay for those words!"
"Daruku!" the Bount yelled at it. "Control yourself."
"Did you hear what she called me?!" Daruku cried, acting stung.
Miyako lunged towards the Bount. If I destroy him, I destroy the doll, she thought. Two birds with one stone. I'm tired of playing this fucking game.
She tried shunpo and appeared right beside the Bount. His eyes grew wide and her blade was nearly at his throat when Daruku suddenly shot large metal balls at her.
"Ah, ah, ah ah!" the doll chided her. "No cheating!"
Miyako shunpoed to avoid the metal balls, which flew past her at enormous speed and crashed into the walls, making brick, rock, and dust fly everywhere. A metal ball caught her in the lower leg and altered her trajectory in the air, sending her sideways. She growled in pain from her leg and landed on her hands and feet. Luckily, the ball hadn't hit her hard enough.
Dammit, she swore under her breath. Surely more Death Gods would have arrived by now. They would have felt my reiatsu. Unless…
"Hey!" she called out to the Bount. "You said there were others! What have you done to them?"
"They're fine," he replied gruffly. "I didn't hurt them."
They're unconscious or in the hospital, Miyako assessed. How many did he get? "Why not kill us?"
"Hey! Stop talking! I thought you wanted to fight!" Daruku yelled and lunged at Miyako again. Miyako blocked a strike with her soul slayer and countered, but it was no use. Her blade met the creature's head with a loud clang and it responded with a growl.
"Not good enough!" it snarled. With a hard swipe, Miyako was sent sideways into the wall again, but she tried a kido attack.
"Destructive Art number four, white lightning!" she screamed.
The pulsing reiatsu and the bright kido attack was enough to signal Renji he was heading in the right direction.
"I definitely feel the Bount!!!" Claude cried out, bouncing along Renji's hip. "We're going the right way! Very close, Renji! Ohhh, I'm worried about that Miyako girl! I can feel her spirit force as well! What on earth is going on over there?"
Renji narrowed his eyes and ran faster.
The bolts of magic zipped and sparked across the road, and even though Daruku couldn't be harmed, it appeared agitated by the electricity and stumbled backwards. The Bount was shielding himself and Miyako used the opening to her advantage.
She lunged towards the Bount and was about to strike him down when Daruku caught up behind her.
"I said no cheating!" it screamed.
Suddenly, the burning, searing pain erupted into her left side again, just as it had done when she fought with Maki. Blood spurted out her front side as Daruku jabbed its sharp, front leg through her upper left backside and stopped her in midair from harming the Bount. Miyako screamed out in pain and anger and the doll dangled her in front of the Bount. It started laughing and tossed Miyako aside like a rag doll. A trail of blood was splattered across the road as she fell and rolled. She moaned and growled loudly, mostly out of sheer disbelief she was hit in the same place twice. Her right hand clenched into a fist and she forced her head up to stare at the doll and its Master.
"I told you not to hurt her, Daruku!" the Bount roared.
"I stopped her, Master, from hurting you," the doll apologized nonchalantly. "Don't worry, she's still alive."
Miyako breathed hard and struggled to move. This time, she didn't hide her pain or anger. She loudly cried out and groaned from the enormous searing pain in her shoulder. Captain Unohana said that if enough strain had been put on it, it would shatter again. It finally had. Her growing anger was pushing out of her abdomen and erupting as loud growls from her throat, and each time she clenched her teeth and struggled to get up with each breath, she felt her pulses of reiatsu getting bigger.
"Son…of…a…bitch!" she breathed angrily. "Not again!"
The Bount and Daruku eyed her warily. They were surprised that she was standing up. The look on their faces was enough to make the situation worthwhile. Miyako started to smile. Her harsh breathing and the immense pain throbbing from her shoulder made her wince, but her smiling wince eventually turned into laughter.
The doll glared at her. "Eh? What is so funny?"
Miyako stood up straight, her left arm hanging lifelessly at her side, dripping blood. Her eyes were menacing and her laughter was dark. She gripped her soul slayer with her right hand and held it up in front of her face.
"No," she laughed softly. "Not again. Not this time."
The Bount and the doll stared at her in confusion. Daruku started to laugh.
"She's gone crazy," she giggled joyously. "Can't I kill her, Master? I can put her out of her misery."
The Bount didn't reply. Instead, he narrowed his eyes. Her stance looked familiar.
"Burn brightly…." Miyako said softly as she closed her eyes.
Nothing happened. The Bount and the doll stared at her, dumbfounded.
"Shinkirou, Taiyoukousen!" Miyako screamed in anger. (1)
Miyako's soul slayer flashed, just as before, and suddenly emitted a bright, burning light. The Bount and his doll shielded their eyes and the doll screeched in anger, but the light was too bright. There was laughter, probably laughter only Miyako could hear, but it was Taiyoukousen's laughter of pleasure.
The light was so bright and so hot, that Miyako's soul slayer started to glow orange from the heat. She clenched her teeth and jabbed her soul slayer towards her wound to cauterize it. It seared and sizzled and she cried out in pain, but at least the bleeding stopped. She wouldn't leave a blood trail.
Eventually, the blinding light ebbed away into just light, but the heat did not. It was like a scorching hot day, and the Bount slowly blinked. He looked around, and Daruku was just as confused as he was.
"What happened?" Daruku growled. "Why did she yell out like that? Did she kill herself?"
The Bount stared straight ahead. They were surrounded by bright yellow light, as if the sun was directly overhead, but Miyako slowly appeared in front of him as his eyes adjusted.
"Daruku," he ordered.
"Understood," Daruku grinned and laughed. It took two steps towards Miyako, however, and stopped short. Miyako's shimmery silhouette disappeared.
"What…?" The doll choked out. Suddenly, Miyako's blade came slicing into the upper midsection of the doll, and it screeched out in surprise and pain. The midsection had been cleanly cut through with an orange, burning slice mark left behind. Its rear end fell down with a thunk and Daruku growled in anger.
"You're getting on my nerves, girl!" it screamed. It still had four arms and could move around easily, so it ignored regenerating its rear and squinted around in the bright light. Miyako's figure appeared on top of the concrete wall, silently standing there, smiling.
"I've got you!" it hissed, and took a swipe at Miyako. Its foreleg sliced right through Miyako's silhouette, but nothing happened. It stared dumbly at the image. It wasn't the real Miyako. Daruku let out a high-pitched growl and swirled around. Suddenly, there were dozens of Death Gods, and they all appeared out of thin air. They all looked like Miyako.
"What's the matter, Bount doll?" the mirages asked Daruku. They all spoke simultaneously and echoed. "Don't you like the sun?"
The Bount crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes.
"Damn you," the doll cursed. It lunged towards another image and swiped at it, but the image grinned back. "Where are you, Death God!?"
"Daruku, get back down here," the Bount called out to it.
Daruku obeyed, but as it stood next to its Master, it growled in anger and shot out hundreds of small, metal balls towards the mirages. Most of them hadn't moved, but there was one distinct image that appeared, disappeared, and reappeared in different places. Miyako was using shunpo to avoid the balls.
"There she is!" Daruku cried. "Master, let me kill her!"
"No," the Bount replied curtly. "Just make her stop this zanpakuto trick so we can leave."
Daruku bowed and the mirages all simultaneously took a fighting stance. Some were standing in midair, some were standing on the road, and some were standing on top of the wall ledge.
"Renji," Claude whispered. "Let's get in there and help her!"
Renji and Claude had arrived only minutes earlier, but they sat upon a high rooftop overlooking the fight. Renji hid his spirit force so they wouldn't be noticed, and he and Claude sat there silently.
Renji shook his head. "No."
"Wh…what?!" Claude looked appalled.
Renji watched as Miyako set her jaw and gripped her soul slayer tightly. He knew which one she was, and he examined her reactions. "This is her fight," he replied softly.
The doll tried the same trick again, shooting small and large balls at the images, but this time Miyako anticipated the move. She used a larger amount of her spirit power to control her mirages and they all disappeared and reappeared with her, moving as she did.
"Damn," the doll swore. Before it could react, one mirage, which was the real Miyako, let out a yell and sliced horizontally, cutting its limbs in half. The doll cried out and fell forward, scraping its chin along the road, and Miyako sliced again. The soul slayer cut Daruku in half again, leaving the head attached to a small torso and two mangled limbs.
"Aiyyeee, this is getting annoying," Daruku yelled. "Mark my words, girl, I'm going to make you hurt!"
"I told you that I can bear any pain!" Miyako yelled through clenched teeth as she sliced off the doll's head. The doll screeched as the teardrop-shaped head rolled, lopsided, across the road. Miyako set her eyes on the Bount. He stared back at her, knowing what was coming, but he didn't move. Breathing hard, Miyako gripped her soul slayer and twisted her wrist, turning the blade to the side, ready to slice at him.
"Daruku…" the Bount started.
"Okay," the doll's head replied from the ground. "Understood."
All the pieces began to liquefy and move. Miyako narrowed her eyes. It was regenerating.
"Too slow!" Miyako screamed as she lunged towards the Bount.
Her blade was almost to his head, but it was stopped short with a loud clang. It reverberated through her arms and she stared ahead in surprise as the metal doll had melded into a thin wall in front of the Bount. It had formed a barrier around him.
Shit, she swore. Metal balls oozed out of the barrier and shot towards Miyako. She managed to shunpo her way out and landed on top of the concrete wall, staring back at the Bount and his doll, which had slowly managed to meld back into its original, whole form. One last rouge ball had hit her in the left side, jolting her but not enough to make her cry out.
At this rate…I'm not going to stop him, Miyako breathed hard. He's getting all his energy from Soul Society's spirit particles. She still had managed to keep her spirit power high enough so her soul slayer was still emitting the sunlight effect, and her mirages were now crouching over one knee and breathing hard as she was…except…
Her wound had reopened. It was still bleeding from the backside, and she had put too much strain on the front. Blood was dripping down her left arm, onto the road.
The doll hadn't hesitated this time. Its green eyes narrowed and looked at each and every mirage, until suddenly it appeared right in front of Miyako.
"You're bleeding," it hissed.
A surge of pain through Miyako's lower jaw and lips told her that she had been punched, and she flew backwards. The doll whipped one of its limbs onto Miyako's back, sending her sailing into the pavement below. The mirages dissipated and the heat and light vanished.
"Now, Renji!" Claude begged in a panicked voice. "Ohh, this is not good!"
Renji gritted his teeth. All right.
Miyako's cheek rubbed against the rocky pavement and she blinked to try to regain focus. She had hit her head, hard. She felt hot blood trickle down her temple and she struggled to get up, shoving her right elbow below her body for leverage and lifting her head up. Daruku stood over her with a leg raised, ready to crush her head.
"Daruku!" the Bount barked loudly.
The doll sighed wistfully and backed away.
"Are you finished?" the Bount asked Miyako gruffly.
Miyako spat blood in reply.
"I didn't want this to happen," the Bount said. "I truly am sorry, Maki's sister. You've brought this upon yourself."
"That's bullshit, and you know it," Miyako hissed. "And I am no longer Maki's sister."
The Bount glared at her for a moment, then he held out his hand. The doll slowly backed away. It was about to form back into its small ball-state when it let out a gasp. Renji had suddenly appeared in front of Miyako.
She tried to focus, but all she could see were the legs of a black shinigami robe, followed by Daruku's green-eyed glare, and the Bount behind it, staring coldly at the Death God. She couldn't see him, but she knew by his spirit force that it was Renji.
"I don't need you to relieve me, Renji," Miyako groaned as she struggled to get up.
"I'm not relieving you," Renji replied in a flat tone.
"I am," Captain Hitsugaya suddenly appeared before Renji.
Miyako forced herself to glance up. "Captain…"
"Abarai, take her out of here and check for any more injured residents," Captain Hitsugaya ordered. "Clear this area out. Matsumoto is already helping most of the residents to 4th squad."
"Yes, sir," Renji replied.
Renji stepped over to Miyako and waited. He was reluctant about picking her up, because she seemed adamant about standing up on her own. She bowed her head and tried to push herself up with one arm, and slid her knee under her body to slowly sit up.
"What in the hell are you waiting for?!" the Captain barked at them. "Go!"
Renji bent over and gingerly put Miyako's right arm over his shoulder. He lifted her up and she tried to stand, but her legs wouldn't obey. She had pushed herself so hard and so far, that her body couldn't move any further. She furrowed her brow and her breath was raspy. Her eyes closed from the pain. This time, it wasn't like the fight with Maki. This time, everything hurt. Her face, her chest, her shoulders, her legs. This time, she gave it her all.
I had nowhere to go but up, Miyako thought. I couldn't do anything else but to become stronger.
Renji lifted her legs into his arms and she moaned in pain. Her breathing was short and sharp. Her head lolled back and Renji tried to adjust her so she could rest upon his chest.
"Miyako, lift your head."
Miyako tried twice, but her neck throbbed with pain and numbness. "I…" She gave Renji a weak chuckle, even though her eyes were closed. "I don't think I can."
Captain Hitsugaya raised an eyebrow at her. Crazy-assed 11th squad.
Renji, however, knew why she was smiling. Immense pain meant that she had fought well.
"Do it," he ordered.
Miyako held her breath, lifted her head, and rolled it onto Renji's chest. She exhaled and let out a soft cry of pain.
The Captain turned and placed Miyako's dangling left arm on her body as he kept an eye on the Bount and the doll. The doll just stared back with a mischievous grin on its face, but the Bount was motionless.
"He's cute," the doll cooed. "Master, can I fight him?"
Captain Hitsugaya twitched at the word 'cute.'
"Now, get out of here," he said to Renji quietly. "I'll finish this."
(1) Shinkirou - Mirage