A/N: Hi you! I'm back. And so is teh plot.


The expression on Rukia's face was one of terrified disbelief. Snowy white Sode no Shirayuki still clasped in one hand, her body doubled over the width of Kladias's... forearm.

The upturned forearm disappeared into right below the center of Rukia's ribs. The wrist and the hand reappeared out the other side. The five fingers huddled close to the center finger, the tips of the five blades coming together to form a haphazard single point. Crimson chunk of something and surprising amount of dark cherry-red liquid clung to the hand, the fingers and the metal.

A competitive combat, the dangerous game of tag had finally come to a halt, in a rather unexpectedly.

Gravity kicked into gear and the clinging blood began to sag.


Shinji was onto Kladias before anyone else, tackling her away from Rukia. The arm came free with a haunting squelch, and Rukia's limp form start to fall-

Ichigo was vaguely aware of a shout leaving his mouth as he reached his arms out to catch her-

Sensation of being hurtled through the air, bones of his body rattling as ground smashed onto his back. Blurry pieces of dirt and grass flew up. Not even pausing to groan at the sudden impact, warrior's reflex sprang him back to his feet immediately, adrenaline kicking in in full. He leaped backwards as something dove down at him-

Sode no Shirayuki?

The zanpakuto had plunged tip-first into the grass the exact spot he had been. A single drop of dark liquid on the blade trailed down its pure white perfection-

"I am sorry, Kurosaki-san!" Kira cried from farther away, as he gently hastily stepped down onto the grass along with Isane, Nanao and Hinamori. The four of them were surrounding Rukia, who had just been finished being lowered gently onto her back. As pale yellow light was done filling the rectangular space formed by the four shinigamis, Isane hurried up to Rukia's side and kneeled down, her face mask of a trained medical professional she was, hands rolling up the sleeves of her shihakusho as the fingers began to glow with white light.

The remaining three raised their to their sides to steady the yellow light field, and Kira continued, "I had to knock you away. If you had caught vice-captain Kuchiki like you would have, it would have worsened her con-"

"Whatever!" Ichigo didn't want to hear it. He sprang to a run towards them - please please please don't let her... not after what she's gone through not all the odds they've beaten together she couldn't possibly just... just like that, she can't be-

Ichigo cried out as an invisible force jerked the center of his body back, three feet from the yellow lightfield. He started forward and the it happened again, force throwing him back farther away. Anger boiling up, he looked up to spot Kira's hand outstretched towards him. Ichigo opened his mouth to scream to cut it out for the sake of his sanity, because all those Kido control was starting to piss him off BIG time and the way it was going, the Kido-freak was going to pay for it-

Kira's hand gave a twitch-

Ichigo choked as the air was cut off in his throat, as if a leash had clasped around his throat. Sense of deja vu flashed, but he shoved it back, more immediate concerns at hand. A feeling foreign reiatsu around his neck told him that leash was exactly what had happened to his throat.

Humiliation flooding into the whorls of anger, he glared at Kira as menacingly he could manage and reached behind to grab Zangetsu - and swore silently(only because his air supply was cut off) as his hand clenched thin air - he had left it behind the protection field when he jumped up.

"Kurosaki-san, please! Calm yourself down! You are putting Rukia-san's life in danger!"

The last bit of information, along with a hint of genuine panic in Kira's controlled voice, froze Ichigo from letting loose his brewing hellfire of fury.

The panicky wielder of the leash explained hurriedly, as if afraid Ichigo would just go on and lose his head anyway, "Her pathway between the Hakutsui and Saketsu - the sources and the supporting points of reiatsu - had been pierced. The injury to a normal shinigami body is big enough of a problem already, but in case of Rukia-san's, she had been inflicted serious damage from powerful enemies around the two pressure points in the past, making the areas around extremely fragile to any further damage."

Flashbacks - Aizen's fingers, plunging into the base of Rukia's neck to retrieve the Hougyoku. Streets of Karakura, a hand sinking into her abdomen. Grim expression on Byakuya's face as he retold Rukia's battle with an Espada.

Ichigo could see the point, but what'd that have to do with his proximity to her?

It was as if Kira had read Ichigo's mind, "You possess a very, very powerful reiatsu, Kurosaki-san. And you have absolutely no control over it. Vice-captain Hinamori, vice-captain Ise and I are considered above others when it comes to the control, but yet vice-captain Kotetsu, being one of the top medical experts in Seireitei, is the only one who is able to approach vice-captain Kuchiki safely. Come any closer, and you will disrupt the very flow of Kuchiki-san's life force."

Kira twitched his hand again and the choker around Ichigo's throat dispersed. Even though he seemed to think Ichigo an impossibility when it came to kido, he apparently didn't think him stupid enough not to understand the severity of the situation.

Ichigo stood rooted to his spot, nails digging into the palm of his hands, every muscle of his body paralyzed with... fear? Worry? Desperation? Ahh...!

Rukia looked so pale. Too pale. Violet irises had blank, clouded looks about them. Ichigo's heart gave a terrible lurch when his eyes took in the dark void below her ribcage. Darkness. Crimson. She's losing too much blood.

This couldn't be happening.

Rukia isn't going to die, she isn't going to die, she isn't going to die she isn't going to die she can't be dying she-

She twitched?

"She's relapsing!" Isane yelped, white glow of her hands brightening and horror flickering across her face before it resumed the expressionless mask. Hinamori's face whitened, and Nanao, who had her back to Ichigo, stiffened.

Ichigo blenched. His throat, having been closed up on itself long ago, tightened even more. He didn't need his doctor of father to provide the simplified meaning - Rukia's situation's just got more complicated. Complication =/= good.

Kira's yelp was one of disbelief, "That can't be! This is the first time Colonel Kurozachs has inflicted any notable damage onto Kuchiki-san-"

"I don't know! I can't figure it out!" With that, Isane started an incredibly rapid stream of words Ichigo couldn't catch. The white light that had been surrounding Rukia flashed to neon-green. And just like that, Rukia froze.

Hinamori choked out a gasp and Kira gawked at Isane as if she had just committed a murder. Nanao stayed still.

Isane took in a deep breath, eyes closed, "*Jikanteishi. Thank heavens that they lifted the ban on the spell last year. Time is running out for Kuchiki-san - we need Captain Unohana." her head jerked up to address her fellow officers, "I'll maintain the healing rectangle. Hinamori-san, Ise-san, Kira-san, please prepare a **Koukanteni - I wouldn't be suggesting it if there was any other way!" she cried as the three of them flinched in unison, "To the 4th division headquarters. Step into the healing rectangle, give the Koukanteni everything you have, and we just might be able to teleport the section."

Giving into the medical expert, the three shinigamis jumped into the yellow lightfield and whipped around, backs to the middle.

"Hey, what the- wait a sec!" Ichigo started forward -

And of course Kira's invisible barrier tossed him back.

Tremendous reiatsu built up around the five shinigamis seconds before brilliant green light flooded Ichigo's vision. He scrunched his eyes up, arms flying up to his face in an attempt to keep from being blinded for the umpteenth time in the day.

Tick-tock. The reiatsu vanished. Ichigo lowered his arms and reopened his eyes. Swore out loud as he saw black.

Few eyeblinks, and the blackness shrunk to dots. Disappearing few more seconds later.

A shallow, healing-field sized crater was all that remained of where the five shinigami had been standing.


*Jikanteishi : Kido - Temporal Statis is the actual translation, let's just call it Time-Stopper the sake of simplicity...

**Koukanteni : Kido - Spatial Displacement the actual translation, Teleportation the simplified version.

Tessai had used those 100-years ago, to save the Vizards from hollowifying completely. Back then it was forbidden, in here the ban's been lifted when the Vizards joined the Seireitei forces.

See ya!

Edit: Oh yeah. Kladias's shikai sketch is up on my deviantART page - link is on my profile, image is the featured one. Though I, being the usual me, forgot to draw the blades on the leg. *SPOILER ALERT* since the second stage hadn't been revealed yet here...