Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach.
"THERE'S NO END TO them, taichou!" Rangiku cried out while slashing one of the opponents.
"Damn it..." Toushirou cursed, taking a wary step back as the enemies' number overwhelmed them. "What are they?"
"Maybe Takashi-san forgot to mention them..." Rangiku speculated, though there was a hint of doubt in her voice.
"Or maybe he doesn't know about them." Toushirou's eyes narrowed. "Sit upon the frozen heavens, Hyourinmaru!"
Rangiku grinned. "We'll have to end this quickly, huh?" She fell back just as one tried to slash at her with his katana. "Growl, Haineko!"
Ashes and ice instantly covered a wide area, annihilating all their opponents at once.
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THEY WERE MEN DRESSED all in white and wore masks presumably to conceal their identity. They had no reiatsu, but their numbers seemed infinite.
"Man, this is troublesome," Shinji remarked with a frown while cutting up several enemies on his side. "They ain't even usin' their katana."
"Their purpose is to prevent us from going any further and to annihilate us once they overwhelm us with their numbers," Byakuya analyzed quietly.
Shinji's frown deepened. "So they're tryin' to wear us out? Damn bastards."
"They are not completely unreasonable. We are trespassing into their world. It is only natural that they take us on."
"..." Shinji shook his head, choosing to focus on the fighting. "Let's just get this over with. Collapse, Sakanade."
Byakuya watched as Shinji managed to incapacitate all of the opponents on his side in one strike.
"Hey, Kuchiki," he called out, grinning. "We can't kill 'em, right?"
Byakuya gave a curt nod.
"Fine then."
At that moment, one of the enemies prepared to strike Byakuya from above.
The latter, however, merely gave him a disinterested glance.
"Scatter, Senbonzakura."
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A CRY OF PAIN alerted Komamura as he hastily slashed two opponents at once.
"Hisagi!"
Aforementioned person gritted his teeth, but continued to use Kazeshini without a word.
"Are you all right, Hisagi?" Concern flashed briefly in Komamura's eyes.
"...Yeah. Don't worry about me, Komamura-taichou."
The latter gave a nod. "Good, then."
Shuuhei glanced at him. "Komamura-taichou..."
"What is it?"
"I have a plan."
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"KEN-CHAN," YACHIRU SPOKE UP with a pout, "these guys are boring."
Kenpachi huffed in agreement. "You got that right. They aren't even on par with normal shinigami. Weaklings."
"Their only advantage is their numbers," she piped up. "So we should get them out of the way really fast so that we can find Ichi!"
"Then I'll finish this up quickly," Kenpachi grumbled.
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"THEY MUST BE SOME sort of guards that fend off intruders," Rukia said, gritting her teeth as she performed Hakuren on a large group.
"Yeah, you might be right about that," Renji murmured, unsatisfied by his useless progress. They just keep on coming... "I wonder why Takashi-san never mentioned them, though."
Rukia said nothing in response. She was too preoccupied with her thoughts.
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"OKAA... SAN...?" ICHIGO MURMURED in disbelief, his eyes never leaving the familiar face in front of him.
"Ichigo..." Masaki said softly, taking a step towards her son.
He inadvertently took a step back.
She noticed this. "Ichigo... I'm sorry," she said quietly. "I caused you to come here... to this world that's extremely risky to the ones who don't belong here."
"Okaa-san..." he murmured.
"I saw you, Ichigo," she said quietly after a few moments of silence. "I saw you blaming yourself for my death. The death which you did not cause."
"But—" he started to protest.
"I am responsible for my own death," she interrupted firmly. "You did not kill me, Ichigo. It was my own choice to save you. Because you're my son." She gave him a tender smile. "And I would do it over and over again just for you."
Ichigo's eyes watered. "Okaa-san..." His voice was a strangled whisper.
Masaki opened her arms. "Come here, Ichigo-chan."
Without hesitation, he ran towards her and hugged her so tightly like he never wanted to let her go.
"I'm sorry... I'm sorry..." he said in a choked voice, repeating the words over and over like a chant.
She chuckled. "Silly boy... I should be the one who's sorry..."
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"WE DID IT," RANGIKU said happily. "We did it, taichou! There isn't anyone left!"
Toushirou sighed. "They were such a hassle, though..." he muttered.
They were about to set off again when suddenly they were separated by a white wall.
"What the—" Toushirou began.
"Taichou!" Rangiku shouted, shocked.
He gritted his teeth in frustration. "Matsumoto!" Without further ado, he began to chant, "Sit upon—"
"Shirou-chan?"
Toushirou froze mid-chant.
Then, very slowly, he turned towards the direction of the voice.
"Hi—Hinamori...?" he said in disbelief.
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RANGIKU GRIPPED HER ZANPAKUTOU tightly. "I'm going to cut this wall, taichou! Growl, Hai—"
"My, my," a sly voice said, "you've become a little aggressive..."
She froze. That voice...
"...Rangiku."
She slowly turned towards the person she had spent the most of her childhood with.
"G—Gin...?"
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"THAT TAKES CARE OF it," Shinji said in satisfaction.
Byakuya turned and started to walk away.
"Oi, Kuchiki, let's go togeth—"
Suddenly a white wall came between them, completely separating them from each other.
"What the hell is this?" Shinji said, his eyes narrowed. "Some kind of barrier?"
Byakuya's voice responded. "Scatter..."
Shinji sighed. Here it comes.
"Senbonza—..."
Shinji froze, staring at the wall in disbelief. "…Kuchiki? Oi, Kuchiki! What the hell happened?!"
He received no reply.
"Oi, Kuchiki! Answer m—"
"Shut up! You're so loud, baldy Shinji!"
"Shut it, Hiyori! I don't have time to—" His eyes widened. "Wait... Hi—Hiyori...?"
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"YOU..." BYAKUYA SAID IN pure disbelief.
The dark-haired woman merely stared at him with a hesitant, soft smile on her face.
"Byakuya-sama..."
"Hisana..."
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SHUUHEI AND KOMAMURA STEPPED backwards until their backs bumped into each other's.
"Hisagi…" Komamura said slowly. "I'm glad that your plan worked, but…"
The man before them took out his zanpakutou.
"…now that those strange men are gone, they've been replaced by…"
Shuuhei gulped inaudibly, his palms sweating. "Tousen-taichou…"
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"OI, YACHIRU," KENPACHI CALLED out flatly. "You all right there?"
The bubbly pink-haired girl laid a hand on the white wall that separated them. "Mmhm! I'm okay, Ken-chan!"
"Good. Now step back because I'm gonna—"
"Ken-chan!" a bubbly voice whispered in his ear.
Kenpachi blinked in surprise and turned towards the direction of the voice. "…Yachiru?" he said in confusion. "What're you doing here?"
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BLOOD SPURTED OUT OF the newly-acquired wound on her shoulder. "K—Ken-chan...?" she murmured, looking up at said man who was grinning down at her maniacally.
"You're gonna die here right now," he drawled, his grin never fading, "Yachiru."
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"WHY... ARE YOU DOING this...?" Renji said, gritting his teeth as he blocked the tiny man with his zanpakutou.
"I'm sorry, Abarai-kun," Orihime said sadly, "but you're Kurosaki-kun's enemy. I have to stop you no matter what."
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RUKIA WAS SPRAWLED ON the ground, sporting a wound on her shoulder.
"K—Kaien... dono..." she whispered.
The former 13th Division's Vice-Captain kneeled in front of her with a sorrowful expression on his face.
"I'm sorry, Kuchiki," he said quietly. "I really am. But... I can't let you go any further."
"Kaien... dono..."
With one last sad look, he pressed Nejibana to her throat. "Farewell, Kuchiki."
A/N: And that's it for this chapter. Normally, this should be longer, but this just seems like the best place to end it.
I'm bad at fight scenes. Sorry. -.-