A/N: I give you – chapter five! Because I know how eager you've all been! (I like to believe it, alright? It makes me feel better…LOL) *ahem* Yeah, anyway, apparently when I have nothing to say, I get kinda goofy…so go ahead and ignore me and go read the chapter!
Disclaimer: Bleach still does not belong to me. Characters you don't recognize do.
Second Chance
Chapter Five: Final Conflict
Iori had fallen, having been easily overwhelmed once Ichigo released his bankai, and Ichigo held his position at Orihime's back.
From the moment Iori had been defeated his remaining comrades had been acting strangely. They had pulled back from their battles and were gathered together, warily watching their opponents but not actually attacking. It was as if they were waiting for something.
Orihime had since finished healing the five men, all of whom were conscious once again, and so she sheathed her zanpakutou and pushed easily to her feet. She turned around to take in the new situation and, after a moment, stepped up beside Ichigo. "What do you think they're doing?" she asked softly, absently lifting one hand to tuck back a strand of hair that had fallen loose from her bun.
Ichigo kept his eyes on their enemies but his voice was hushed when he replied, "I'm not sure. They all pulled back after I defeated Iori."
"Uh, what should we do, sir?" one of the newly-healed Soul Reapers asked from behind them.
Lifting his voice to be heard by them, Ichigo replied, "Hold your ground for now." Then he lowered his voice once more and said, "If they're waiting for reinforcements – which is what I'm thinking – we might have a problem. The men you just healed can handle more fighting, but the rest of the team's looking pretty tired. The six of us could have difficulty holding them back if anyone like Iori joins up with them."
Orihime glanced around, easily seeing the truth of his words.
Her Eighth Seat was busy healing a couple of fairly-injured men, but many of the others were too weak to continue fighting for long. Fatigue had begun to set in, and many were covered in scrapes and bruises – a few were even dripping blood. If they were attacked by a fresh round of foes the fight would not go in their favor.
Still, Ichigo had been wrong on one deduction. "Seven," she corrected quietly as her gaze flickered back to their enemies.
Ichigo cut a sideways glance at her, for a moment not knowing what she meant. When he realized her intent his eyes narrowed and he said firmly, "No. We need you covering our backs, not in the field."
"I appreciate your concern," Orihime said, offering him a small smile, "but it's my decision to make. I'll help however I can."
"You can help best by letting us do the fighting," Ichigo replied stubbornly. He knew that – technically – he had no authority over her, but he refused to let her fight.
Before she could respond to his declaration their attention was drawn to the line of brush just behind where their enemies had gathered. Suddenly a large number of men – not Soul Reapers, but others like the ones they'd been fighting – were bursting through the foliage. By numbers alone they would surely be overpowered.
"Fuck," Ichigo mumbled as he did a quick head-count. Even if he relented, and allowed Captain Inoue to fight, there was almost no way they'd win. Unless, of course, none of them were very powerful.
An older man, with a sheathed sword strapped to his back, stepped forward and looked around the battlefield. His gaze quickly landed on Iori, and lingered for a moment, before he looked back out at the Soul Reapers. Hardened eyes finally settling on Orihime he asked, "Which of you defeated Iori?"
Orihime opened her mouth to respond, but she wasn't fast enough.
"I did," Ichigo replied firmly, his grip on Tensa Zangetsu's hilt tightening as he met the gaze of the man who'd spoken.
"Identify yourself, Soul Reaper," the man requested coldly.
"Ichigo Kurosaki," he replied, "Lieutenant of Squad Thirteen."
"Thirteen," the man repeated. "Interesting. I heard the Captain of Squad Thirteen was an old, sickly man, not a beautiful young woman."
"You're partially correct," Orihime said calmly. "I am Orihime Inoue, the Captain of Squad Four."
"Ah," he said, as if her explanation had answered everything. "So you're the reason none of your team have suffered any fatalities, then."
"You know an awful lot about Soul Society," Ichigo cut in pointedly.
The man turned his focus back to him. "As a matter of fact, I do, boy. But that's not what matters here."
Before he could continue Toushirou's team burst through the foliage, behind them, coming to a stop just a dozen paces from their gathered enemies. Toushirou cut a glance toward Orihime and Ichigo, unsurprised to note that Ichigo had released his bankai or that the majority of her team was on its feet.
The man who'd been speaking glanced over his shoulder at the interruption. "Welcome, Captain Hitsugaya. If you'll be patient a moment, we're almost ready to begin."
"Begin what?" Toushirou asked with narrowed eyes as he returned his focus to his enemies.
The man made no attempt to respond as Ikkaku and his team suddenly appeared, roughly between Ichigo and Toushirou's team, with Ikkaku himself in the front.
"Looks like we've caught up with you," Ikkaku said with a smirk as he rested his released zanpakutou over his shoulders.
Renji's team was next, coming to a stop on the other side of Toushirou's team. Only a handful of men had come with Renji, and Rukia was not among them (though she hadn't stayed back without argument).
Before Renji could say anything, however, Shuuhei and his team joined the gathering, flash-stepping in across from Ikkaku and effectively surrounding their enemies.
"Doesn't look like you planned this too well," Ikkaku taunted, grin broadening.
The man who'd spoken before allowed his lips to curve faintly upwards. "Are you so sure about that, Captain?"
"If you're going to make a move," Toushirou began, shifting his hold on his zanpakutou, "then stop stalling. We aren't going to sit around and wait for you to do something."
"No," the man said casually. "You've waited long enough." Reaching up, he pulled his sword from its sheath, and everyone tensed. It didn't take a genius to know that nothing good would come of him releasing his zanpakutou – and, at this rate, it was safe to assume that the sword was a zanpakutou.
After holding the sword in the air for a moment, he smiled and pulled it down, spinning it around and then plunging the blade – up to the hilt – into his own stomach.
Every Soul Reaper's eyes widened at the unexpected move.
The men behind their ringleader suddenly dropped to the ground in an obviously-rehearsed maneuver.
"Seek your revenge," the ringleader choked, blood dribbling from his lips. The name of his zanpakutou was lost in the subsequent surge of power that exploded from the blade that was buried in his body.
Unstable spiritual energy began swirling around him, the level of the power increasing rapidly. And then the energy seemed to freeze, hanging in mid-air around him for a long moment before suddenly exploding outward in a violent rush.
As the energy rushed forth, condensing as it moved into a visible attack, Orihime again released her zanpakutou. The attack slammed into her Shiten Koushun less than a foot away from her and Ichigo, who stood more forward than the rest of their team.
Shuuhei and Toushirou managed to conjure a danku, protecting themselves and their teams from the condensed energy blasts, but only barely.
Renji and Ikkaku's teams scattered, mostly re-converging behind the other three teams, with most of Renji's men diving behind Toushirou, and most of Ikkaku's opting to hide behind Orihime's shield. Renji and Ikkaku took to the air and used their own zanpakutous – backed by their spiritual pressure – to protect themselves.
The Captains of Squads Nine and Ten kept their shields in place as Orihime's Shiten Koushun returned the attack back to their enemies.
When the energy had receded, and the dust settled, it was obvious that some of their foes had not survived the backlash. But their ringleader seemed to have emerged unscathed, as he was standing – fully healed – with his zanpakutou in hand. He was frowning, eyes skimming over the body-count of his fallen comrades, before he lifted his eyes to the Soul Reapers.
After a minute his gaze settled once more on Orihime, whose shield was still firmly in place. "I presume that the backlash of my attack was caused by that shield of yours."
"That's right," Orihime replied.
"How very convenient," the man sneered. "But, unfortunately, as that energy originally resided within me, it cannot harm me. However, as you seem to have killed some of my friends, it would seem I have to kill you."
Narrowing her gaze ever-so-slightly, Orihime replied calmly, "Then I hope you have something more impressive than that attack you used a moment ago. Because something like that will never touch me."
The man took a step forward, and the other Captains and Lieutenants tensed in anticipation. "Oh, I have many tricks you haven't seen yet, woman. Perhaps I'll show you another before I remove your head from your shoulders."
"Do you have a name?" Ichigo asked suddenly, his voice low and strangely even, eyes narrowed on the man.
"Of course I do," he replied, switching his gaze to Ichigo. "But you haven't earned it."
Ichigo closed his eyes for a moment and said, "That's too bad. I'm sure we're supposed to at least get the name of the idiot leading an opposition against us."
"I beg your pardon?" the man asked curiously, one eyebrow lifting ever-so-slightly.
Brown eyes opening once more, Ichigo said, "The only one about to die…is you." As he finished speaking he vanished entirely from sight for an instant, reappearing in the air on the other side of Orihime's shield and above his enemy.
The man took a half-step backwards, clearly caught off-guard by Ichigo's speed, and began to lift his sword to defend himself.
Ichigo wrapped his left hand around Tensa Zangetsu's hilt once more and brought the black blade down, crying, "Getsuga Tenshou!" The black getsuga erupted from the blade in an angry burst that seemed to match Ichigo's mood, crashing powerfully into the man, and knocking several of the other surviving men backwards.
"Move, now!" Toushirou commanded, flash-stepping forward as his bakudo-shield vanished and engaging one of the other men. Rangiku and the others gathered behind him quickly jumped into action to obey his order, and the other teams followed suit immediately.
The numbers were reversed, and the Soul Reapers now had the advantage.
Ichigo was once again overwhelming his opponent, though this time the reason why was not long in coming. It seemed that the ringleader's zanpakutou release exploded nearly all of his spiritual pressure outward in a vicious attack, and that initial attack was intended to be enough to at least incapacitate his enemies. He wasn't supposed to have to keep fighting for any duration afterward, and so his counterattacks were nearly non-existent.
As Ichigo pulled back, preparing to deliver the finishing blow, Toushirou interrupted, appearing beside him and saying, "Lieutenant Kurosaki, stay your sword if you will."
Ichigo hesitated, clearly torn between his instinct and his duty to obey, before standing upright and lowering his weapon to his side.
Toushirou turned his attention, then, to the man Ichigo had defeated, and his gaze hardened. "You are to return with us as a prisoner of Soul Society. It would be in your best interest to surrender, and explain why, exactly, you were leading a veritable army in opposition to us."
The man glared as best he could at the silver-haired Captain. "I'll never surrender to a Soul Reaper," he growled.
Toushirou sighed, grumbling something under his breath, before he turned to glance back at Orihime and said, "I can handle this from here. Would you please go and take care of our wounded?"
Renji landed between Toushirou and Orihime and looked to her before saying, "I know there are others who need you, but would you check on Rukia? She got hurt during the explosions."
Concern flooded Orihime's face and her shield vanished. "Oh, of course!" She glanced back, then, to her Eighth Seat and said, "Go to where Captain Hisagi's team was stationed first and see if the others need help."
"Yes, Captain!" he said, bowing before turning and running off.
Orihime spared another glance to the men still being secured before starting forward and flash-stepping away.
Orihime slowed her pace when she had neared her destination. The rest of Renji's team was in sight, including Rukia, who was currently resting against a thick tree. Her eyes were closed, and no one was near her. It was clear that once her condition had stabilized the members of Squad Four had turned their focus to others who needed their help.
As Orihime took another step forward she suddenly realized that she was not alone. Eyes widening in surprise, she turned her head and asked, "Ichigo?"
Ichigo, who was half a step behind her, stopped as well and said, "There's no guarantee that it's safe to move without someone to watch your back. Captain Hitsugaya and the others have things pretty well wrapped up back there, so I'm sticking with you."
"Oh," Orihime said automatically, blinking for a moment before she smiled and said, "thank you."
Together they turned, then, and started toward the gathered Soul Reapers. Orihime went straight to Rukia and knelt beside her, quickly analyzing her to determine the extent of her injuries.
Rukia's eyes dragged open a moment later, sensing that she had company, and she smiled weakly at Orihime. "Captain…Inoue, I'm glad to see that…you're alright."
Orihime smiled as her Souten Kisshun formed over the smaller woman. "Of course I'm alright! I hardly got dragged into the fighting at all, and Ichigo protected me. But it's nice of you to worry. Now you just hold still for a minute, and you'll be good as new."
Rukia chuckled weakly, her laughing eyes shifting to Ichigo, who was scowling as he watched the Soul Reapers move around. He was standing a few feet to the side, giving them a semblance of space, but he had undoubtedly heard every word. And Tensa Zangetsu was still held at his side. The more things change…the more they really do stay the same.
"Ichigo protected you, huh?" Rukia said with a choked laugh. "Well, it's good he was useful."
Without turning his head Ichigo cut his eyes to the side and aimed his scowl at Rukia as he asked, "What the hell's that supposed to mean, midget?"
Rukia smirked, her energy already visibly increasing, and replied, "Just that it's good to see you didn't crack under pressure or anything."
"Tch!" Ichigo began, "That would never happen and you know it!"
"How was I supposed to know? This is the biggest thing that's come up since you've been a Seated Officer," Rukia returned with a taunting smirk.
"I suppose you have a point," Ichigo said with an exaggerated shrug. "Some people have horrible judgment."
Rukia spluttered at the insult, before recovering and falling into light laughter. "Alright, alright, you win this round. I'm glad you're okay, too."
"Don't talk like you were worried," Ichigo replied, looking away again. "Of course I'm fine."
"Right," Rukia said, "Captain Inoue was there to take care of you."
Ichigo said nothing, merely returning to scowling at the sight before them. He hated that Orihime had had to waste energy on healing him. And he especially hated that, in doing so, she had nearly gotten hurt. He had promised to protect her, and then she had been forced to protect him.
Rukia recognized the look on his face, though it was one she hadn't seen in nearly a century – and it wasn't quite as intense as the version she remembered. But she recognized it nonetheless, and despite the meaning behind it, she felt herself smiling faintly. Something had changed, if only slightly, and it gave her a spark of hope she hadn't known she was waiting for.
"All better!" Orihime suddenly declared as her Souten Kisshun retreated.
The sudden declaration earned both Rukia's and Ichigo's attention as they looked over at her for a moment, before Ichigo redirected his gaze to Rukia and Rukia glanced down at herself reflexively. Rukia smiled, then, and looked back to Orihime. "Thank you, Captain Inoue."
"You're very welcome, Rukia," Orihime replied easily as she pushed to her feet.
Rukia followed suit, sheathing her sword as she stood.
Orihime cast her gaze outward again, taking in the status of the other injured Soul Reapers in the area.
At length, she said, "It looks like the others will be alright, so I think I'll check on the other teams and see how they're faring."
As Orihime moved, headed towards the stragglers from Toushirou's team, Ichigo paused long enough to look back at Rukia. "I'm going with her," he said. "Renji's with Captain Hitsugaya and the others if you're looking for him."
"I figured," Rukia replied with a nod.
Ichigo nodded back and turned, starting after Orihime.
Rukia watched them go with a smile.
After Toushirou had interrogated and secured the man in charge of their enemies, the others had taken to rounding up any stragglers.
They found a few scattered men hiding out in the surrounding shrubbery who had probably been attempting to plan a rescue, but there weren't nearly enough of them to put up any sort of a fight.
Once they were all properly secured, Toushirou, Shuuhei, and Hiryu went to investigate the building that they had been staying in. Hiryu led the way once they arrived, with the Captains flanking him silently.
They moved efficiently through the large building, searching each room and sifting through randomly discarded papers as they found them. In one of the larger rooms, which had clearly been used as a sort of meeting hall, they found detailed diagrams of the Seireitei. There were numerous maps which, when placed together, connected to form a large map of the entire Seireitei.
There were also up-to-date blueprints of the individual barracks for Squads One, Two, Four, Eleven, and Twelve. Either they had informants in those squads or – more likely – it was a hit-list. They had deemed those five squads more dangerous for whatever reason.
After they had sifted through the entire stack of papers, Toushirou said, "Let's roll these up; I think the Head Captain will be interested to see all of this."
With nods of agreement Hiryu and Shuuhei went to work carefully rolling up the diagrams they had discovered.
Once that was done, and the documents were safely stowed away in a tote that Hiryu had had folded away within his uniform, the trio continued through the building.
They were making their way back through the building, having gone through each room carefully, when Shuuhei asked, "Captain Hitsugaya, do you honestly think we've captured all of them?"
"No," Toushirou replied easily. "And I think that when the remaining members of this group discover that we've apprehended one of their superiors they're going to be angry. We'll be lucky if the maps we found are the only copies they have."
"I was afraid you'd say something like that," Hiryu commented as they approached the entrance.
"I imagine we'd also be lucky if all they did was mount a rescue-attempt on their captured comrades," Shuuhei added darkly.
Toushirou inclined his head marginally, leading the way out of the building as he said, "Yes. Undoubtedly we'll need to increase security measures at the gates, and around Squads One, Two, Four, Eleven, and Twelve at least."
Hiryu smirked faintly. "I'd like to see them try breaking into our barracks. The Captain would probably kill them herself."
"And they'd be stupid to try and ambush Squads Eleven or Twelve," Shuuhei agreed.
"That's true," Toushirou allowed. "And Squad One is fairly well defended already, but security will definitely need to be added for Squad Four, though I'm sure the Head Captain will see to that herself after we give her the information we've gathered."
The men were silent for several moments as they continued to walk, before breaking into a run to more quickly return to the others.
They slowed down once again when they neared where Ikkaku's team had been stationed, coming to a stop altogether when they were only several feet from Ichigo, who was standing again slightly off to the side of where Orihime worked.
Orihime and Ichigo looked over when they arrived, and Toushirou said, "We'll be leaving as soon as you're ready; we've gotten everything we can. Is there anything we can do to help?"
"Oh, no," Orihime replied with a smile. She returned her attention to the Squad Eleven man she was healing as she added, "We shouldn't be much longer. Go ahead and meet up with the others, we'll follow as soon as we're done."
Toushirou inclined his head. "Alright." He offered a silent nod to Ichigo before turning and continuing on the way to the others. Shuuhei and Hiryu followed silently.
When they were well out of ear-shot, Shuuhei mumbled, "If things had gone differently, we wouldn't have to worry about protecting Fourth."
"There's nothing that can be done about it now," Toushirou replied, his tone not unlike Shuuhei's.
Confusion was evident in Hiryu's voice as he asked, "What are you talking about?"
Both Captains slowed as they turned surprised eyes to him. It was Shuuhei who asked, "You don't know?"
Hiryu cocked an eyebrow and replied, "Obviously not. My Captain isn't exactly the chatty type."
The two Captains exchanged a long look while Hiryu watched them, his confusion mounting with every second of continued silence.
Eventually, it was Toushirou who turned his attention back to the Lieutenant and asked an unexpected question. "How well do you remember the Winter War?"
Little over an hour after the fighting had stopped, Orihime and Ichigo (who had finally dropped his bankai) returned to the large group of Soul Reapers and captured (largely unconscious) outlaws. Behind them trailed a number of lower-ranked Soul Reapers, all of whom had needed healing.
"Sorry we took so long," Orihime apologized as they approached.
Rukia, who had long-since joined her husband and the others, turned and smiled as she replied, "I think we can forgive you, Captain Inoue."
"Is everyone ready for travel?" Toushirou asked.
"Yes," Orihime said with a nod.
"Good," he continued. "We have a lot to report to the Head Captain, so let's get going. I sent Hiryu ahead to let them know we're bringing prisoners."
Organized shuffling suddenly took over as everyone prepared to transport the men they had taken into custody. Once they were ready the group set off for home. They still had a lot to do before their day was done.
To Be Continued…
A/N: Whew, this chapter was actually a bit difficult…but hopefully it ended up working well! (That's a hint – you should review and let me know how much you loved it! LOL) Anyway, don't worry, we're nowhere near done – this was sort of the set-up. So hopefully you'll continue on to chapter six!