DV: So, the end has come. Bleach is over, with a rushed and unsatisfying ending. I wonder how many fans Kubo drove away at the end like that? On the bright side, he doesn't seem to a next generation story planned like Kishimoto, so there's that. Yeah, not even Star Trek did a next generation story well, I think.

US- I dunno. I think Niigo would be a totally cool anime protagonist! As clearly the only way to name children characters is change the first syllable of their name! But in all seriousness, beyond our mocking of the source material, a thousand apologies for the wait. Hopefully we'll be a bit more regular in our updates.

Maybe?

DV: Perhaps. Both of us are rather busy, so we write when we get chances, which, unfortunately, doesn't happen every week or even every other week always.

US- But rest assured, the writing happens, and when we have stuff for you, it'll be released. Now, enough of the unscheduled delay. On with the show!

Disclaimer: Do we really look like we own Bleach? For one thing, there is two of us. Pretty sure Kubo is just one dude. Because if he actually was a team of crackshot mangaka, then why the fuck did it take so long for him to finish Bleach?

Byakuya I

Byakuya Kuchiki, the Captain of the Sixth Squad, had noticed that he'd been had almost immediately.

Certainly, it had been unexpected. With reports of Kurosaki Ichigo rushing through the Seireitei with his band of Ryoka like a natural disaster, he hadn't anticipated even the possibility of stealth. He should have noticed the signs: distortions of light, minute fluctuations in spiritual presence, the sound of breath or heartbeat.

Instead, he had been downed with a single Kido spell, unable to put up a resistance as he hadn't seen the technique coming.

The only positive factor in this engagement was that he had been fundamentally underestimated. The noble was well known for his beautiful Zanpakuto and his graceful speed, but he was also one of the few Shinigami in the Seireitei to qualify as a Kido Master.

He had been downed by that spell, but it wasn't nearly enough to keep him down.

Minutes after being tugged into unconsciousness, the Captain had been able to sense the Kido gripping him and suppressing his mind and body, then had ruthlessly tore it apart. In as composed a way as possible, he had climbed to his feet, and swept his gaze across his surroundings with eyes of steel.

He had been dragged inside, but had suffered nothing. "Foolish. Had the shoe been upon the other foot, I would have done what needed to be done, rather than this pitiful half measure. When I find the intruder, I will crush their chances of victory."

With nary a word, he walked further into the tower, towards the goal he knew they would be aiming for- his sister, or rather the criminal Kuchiki Rukia.

His feet followed the path to her cell that he had memorised, and as he got closer his worries grew larger. When he found the first fallen guard, he knew things were dire. With his spiritual senses he found one of the guards far enough away to escape the fate of his brethren, and Shunpoed sharply towards them.

"You there." he began, shocking the guard he had appeared before.

"C-Captain!" He snapped to attention. The captain noted his disheveled state, and concluded that he had been spacing out while on duty. Had he been here under other contexts, Byakuya would have made sure to sternly chastise the man.

"At ease. Quickly, lock the tower down. We have an intruder, one I will confront. Alert the other guards and send word onwards." Byakuya preferred to handle this alone, but he wasn't a fool. Getting backup from other Divisions might be necessary.

Especially since Kurosaki was in no way capable of doing anything stealthily, and doubted that he had any friends with any talent in that area either. This, of course, meant the intruder was an unknown, one skilled enough at Kido to ambush him. A dangerous foe indeed.

XXXXXXXXXX

There was no doubt now- the intruders had found Kuchiki Rukia, as proven by every unconscious guard in the area that he could sense. He could sense them now- two individuals, one much stronger than the other. The real surprise was Rukia, whose spiritual presence seemed different. Perhaps stronger, stranger and more unnatural than before.

A momentary stab of worry, one which he immediately discounted and ignored. He wasn't worried for his sister. No. He couldn't be. He was instead anxious for what they were doing to the prisoner, and what this meant for the Thirteen Court Guard Squads.

Silently (Truly quietly, as he had masked his presence, equipped his own cloaking Kido spell, and was actively dampening his footsteps through a useful spell he had learned from Soi Fon), he approached the cell.

Within, a young man stood guard while a man in a suit had shoved something into his sister!

Without thinking, the words were already upon his lips. "Byakurai."

The guard's eyes opened at the words, and he quickly reacted to the shot of thunder aimed at the man who dared impale his sister. It's known to be impossible for an average man or even an average Shinigami to move faster than lightning, so it was just unfortunate that Byakurai wasn't truly a bolt of lightning.

The guard leapt between the scum who dared touch his sister- prisoner, rather- planting himself between the scum and the bolt. Then, a flash of blue light (Bakudō No 8: Seki (Repulse), he identified), and he deflected the spell into the wall. The scum didn't even react to the loud sound, too engrossed in mutilating her, and so he fired thrice more silently.

The guard struggled to react. On the other foot, fighting an invisible foe is difficult, even once you've identified their presence and could observe them spiritually, and so he could barely react as the spells were fired. Even so, he stood resolute, guarding the man in the suit as he worked. All shots were blocked, but Byakuya wasn't a one trick pony.

A single Shunpo to close the distance, and then a final Byakurai strike to the chest as he batted a summoned blade away with one hand.

The guard looked down at his chest in surprise, eyes wide, then mouthed fuck, before responding with a wordless cry of his own which released a blast of wind head on in return.

Byakuya dashed back, moving with the force rather than against it. For a moment he waited, seeing what would happen, and then the strange ritual stopped. The man in the suit withdrew his hand, which now held a shining, impossible gemstone, while Rukia collapsed to the floor with a bloody hole through her.

The Captain's eyes narrowed. They would pay.

"Heh. He's done. Finally" Snorted the guard, leaning into a wall for support while he fingered his wound. "Wounded already? Daaaamn, don't tell me that for this adventure I'm that guy? Yeah. I'm that guy."

Byakuya didn't care for his tone, "You should have really underestimated me less, stranger. That Bakudō spell was far too weak to keep a Kido Master such as me knocked out for long, and while I applaud you for being able to plant it on me in the first place, if you had wanted any chance of victory you should have slit my throat when you had the chance."

The salary man pocketed the jewel, and turned around, finally noticing the new presence, "Byakuya Kuchiki. A valid point. Then again, you shouldn't overestimate your own ability. Everything is done for a reason. Even if it's not always clear at the start."

"Oh f-fuck off Minato." The guard spat. The Captain observed carefully, probing for weaknesses "We got cocky and you underestimated Kuchiki, end of. Don't you even dare and pretend this was part of the script!"

So it was the man in the suit, Minato, who had cast the spell? Interesting.

"Since when were you under the impression this wasn't part of the plan, Marcus?" retorted Minato.

Marcus looked the Byakuya, with pleading eyes "Please, oh please, take me into custody. I'm not sure if I want to be on the same side as this wannabe any longer."

If he was any less composed, he would have shaken in anger. "How dare they mock me like this when they dare to invade the Seireitei, my home, and throw the whole city into chaos. How dare they go against the law, and dare to try and rescue this criminal. And how dare they hurt her!"

"I do not have time for this nonsense. State your name and your purpose, then submit yourself to my custody to be tried by the full might of the law, Ryoka. But first… you can hand over that jewel."

Because whatever they desired enough to steal from her body must have been important, and brought to mind just how it had gotten in there, why it was there, and who had placed it there?

Minato looked at him, examining, "Why should I? You have no need of it, nor does it belong to you. Furthermore, you do not possess the power to take it from me by force on your own."

"Once more you over-estimate yourself. Did I not overcome your pitiful spell and bring your companion to his knees?"

"Hey! Hey!" Marcus yelled. "...still standing. Technically."

He ignored him. "It it my responsibility to bring you in, and either you will come willingly, or through force." Byakuya unsheathed his sword, a motion practiced a million times over his long years of disciplined training. "But first, I tell you again, for the last time. State your name and purpose, and then surrender."

Marcus looked into the eyes of Minato, and a wordless moment passed between the two, before the former spoke. "Welp, we're screwed. So... who plans to heroically sacrifice themselves while their ally flees with his tail between his legs?"

Minato sighed before drawing two blades, "In theory, I should leave since I have it. But I can certainly take on Byakuya while you...frankly can't right now."

"Tis only a scratch. Merely a flesh wound…" Marcus muttered, and Byakuya puzzled over his words.

"It makes no difference, I won't let either of you leave. Soon the reinforcements will be here, and will close off all avenues to escape."

Minato gripped his tanto, holding it sideways, "Hadō No 63: Raikoho (Thunder Roar Sear)."

Byakuya's only response to someone careless enough to use such a destructive spell in a confined space was a minute widening of his eyes. Nevertheless, it was easy to counter.

"Bakudō No. 81: Dankū (Splitting Void)." The spell struck the shield, but did little to stop the walls around shaking and the dust falling from the shaking ceiling, "Do you really care so little about your life to attempt such a thing? Dankū can block most Hadō, surely you are aware."

"Don't care! Too busy running, you noob!" Cackled Marcus, the voice from behind him. Byakuya's eyes widened for a second, the Raikoho had been a ruse! Rising around him was thick, heavy, red smoke, originating from where the duo had been standing, but was now surrounding him too.

He saw now- Marcus had used his allies averting shot to active some variant of Bakudō No 21: Sekienton to pour copious amounts of smoke into the corridor to mask them, and they had sprinted behind him while he was stationary yet occupied with blocking the spell. Even now, he could see more red smoke flooding out from where Marcus was running to.

"A Sekienton which produces constant smoke rather than a single explosion? Ingenious. Perhaps Marcus should have been the one to try and subdue me. Clearly he has some worth." Byakuya couldn't halt any longer though, he had to pursue the intruders before they-

Behind him, Rukia Kuchiki coughed rapidly. He turned, and saw her sprawled on the floor, not even protected in the slightest bit from the close up Raikoho, and still weak from the bloody hole in her torso.

If Byakuya left, she could die.

But if he stayed to try and administer some basic healing until someone from the Fourth Squad could arrive, then the intruders would escape.

Either way, he was damned. He shouldn't have cared what happened to Rukia; she was a criminal who had broken the laws and would likely be executed anyway, while it was his duty to justice to track the Ryoka. But when she was bleeding out on the floor, he couldn't deny it. He couldn't deny his wife's last request.

Rukia Kuchiki, regardless of her circumstances, was his sister. What sort of a man would he be to leave her to die?

But what kind of Shinigami would he be to let those enemies of the Seireitei escape with that suspicious jewel?

"Just what should I do?" He wordlessly cried.

Seconds passed as indecision gripped him. He needed to decide. With every moment Rukia grew weaker and the Ryoka were further away.

In the end, it was an obvious choice. Byakuya Kuchiki made his decision.