Disclaimer - I do not own Bleach

A/N - warning: the previous chapter was revised so if you haven't read the new version you might want to go back and do that because some things changed.

Chapter Fourteen - Last Resort

The battle with the demon was not going well for the Shinigami, who had no way to contact the Seireitei and request assistance. Kyouraku smirked as he used his twin blades to block a particularly fierce blow from the demon. "You'd think that they would notice that there's a huge battle going on out here."

"They've more than likely noticed," Ukitake said as he rushed to his best friend's aid. Using his dual wield zanpaktou he launched a wall of water toward the demon, hoping to buy his friend enough time to recover. "But since we weren't supposed to come out here in the first place we'll more than likely be left to deal with this on our own."

"You're probably right."

Fighting hard to catch his breath Hitsugaya once again raised the blade of Hyourinmaru and swung the sword in an arc in front of him. Shards of ice, razor sharp and glinting in the sunlight, flew from the tip of the blade and flew toward the demon. The beast noticed the attack mere seconds before the ice struck and, slinging out one arm, he blocked the attack.

Little beads of blood rose where the shards of ice struck however the demon seemed completely unphased. The only thing that the attack did was cause the demon to change it's target. Sneering wide enough to show a row of razor sharp fangs the beast turned and flew toward the young Captain of Squad Ten.

"Captain!" Matsumoto exclaimed as she watched the demon sink it's fangs into the flesh of her captain's left arm.

"Bad move," Hitsugaya snarled, his narrowed eyes focused on the demon. Raising his reiatsu to an alarming level the young captain used kidou, meshed together with his own icy reiatsu, to freeze his own arm. With the demon still attached.

A couple of fangs snapped as the demon pulled himself free, snarling profanities as he leapt away from the boy.

Using the demon's momentary lack of concentration to her advantage, Midori leapt from her spot beside Toushirou and rushed toward the demon. The blade of her zanpaktou began to glow at the same time that the mask again grew to obscure her face. This beast had threatened her newly reclaimed family and for that he would suffer. Screaming in rage the woman swung the blade of her zanpaktou.

Hitsugaya's eyes widened in shock as he watched his mother attack the demon like a woman possessed. He had thought that she fought hard during their battles but from the look of her now it would appear that he had been wrong.

That was nothing compared to this.

The two fought, their movements barely visible, however Midori proved to be no match for the demon. Using one of it's huge claws the beast knocked the woman back. She flew through the air and crashed into the remains of the tree.

"Midori!"

Toushirou jumped to his feet, fighting to maintain his balance after so many years of lying dormant in the tree, and rushed to his wife's side. Blood trickled from the corner of her mouth however she smiled softly as her gaze fell upon the concerned brown eyes of her husband.

"Toushirou-san."

"I'm glad that you're okay," he whispered as he pulled her head into his lap.

Seeing red Hitsugaya once again rushed toward the demon, swinging the blade of Hyourinmaru with far more speed than he had managed earlier. The sight of Midori sailing through the air had brought about far more rage than he would have expected and now he was more determined than ever to put a stop to the demon.

Before anyone else got hurt.

Seeing this as their opportunity the others rushed toward the demon and joined in the fight. And yet even with three captains and one vice-captain, the demon still managed to maintain the upper hand. Dodging attacks the demon laughed as he knocked Matsumoto back.

The Squad Ten Vice-captain screamed in pain as she fell to the ground.

"Matsumoto!"

Hitsugaya was instantly at his vice-captain's side, helping her to rise.

"I'm okay captain," Matsumoto said in a quiet voice, getting to her feet. She couldn't believe that he still had the energy to help her, and to fight for that matter. He was covered in injuries and was losing blood at an alarming pace. Breathing hard it was a miracle that the young boy could still stand, let alone continue to fight.

If this battle didn't end soon then there was a very real chance that the young boy wouldn't make it.

"Midori," Toushirou said, gazing down at his wife with a concerned expression in his eyes. He had been watching the battle and was now afraid that the demon was going to emerge victorious. "Is there. . . isn't there something that we can do to help them?"

Midori's gaze shifted back to the battle and she watched in horror as her son, the child whom she had already caused so much suffering, was pinned to the ground by the demon. Her teal eyes shifted back to Toushirou, the man for whom she had risked everything. She could tell, by the look in his eyes, that he desperately wanted to do something to help with the battle. But what could he do? He wasn't even trained as a Shinigami.

That thought caused a memory to surface from Midori's own training as a Shinigami and suddenly she knew. There really was a way for the two of them to help with the battle and yet. . . "There. . . there is one way that we can defeat him."

"What is it?" Toushirou could tell, by the tone of Midori's voice, that the move would be a costly one.

"There is a kidou spell that I learned about in the Academy," Midori explained. "Using it, and our life force as the energy to power it, we can defeat the demon. But. . . the cost is a high one."

Toushirou's gaze once again shifted to the battle and he took in the injuries that everyone had suffered. None of them had managed to withstand the battle without injury however the one in the worst shape by far was the little boy who shared his looks.

"My only regret is that I never got to know him," he whispered, his gaze locked on the face of his son.

Knowing that Toushirou had made his decision, and knowing that she would follow him anywhere, Midori nodded. Getting slowly to her feet she held out her hand to him. Toushirou immediately took the hand that she offered to him and Midori marveled at the feel of it. It had been so long since she had been able to touch him and she would give anything if only they could stay like this.

But their son needed help.

He needed them and for the first time Midori vowed that she would be there for him and would protect him from the harshness of the world. She knew that she had been an abysmal mother and she regretted that insanity had stolen her reason and also her son. But this was her chance to make things up to the child that she should have cherished and instead slaughtered.

Toushirou saw the grief that was hidden in Midori's eyes and he pulled her into a loving embrace. Midori sighed as she placed her head on Toushirou's chest and allowed him to hold her for a minute. This was the moment that she had been waiting for since the day that he had left her, never to return.

A scream from Hitsugaya brought the couple back to the here and now and, determined expressions on their faces, Midori and Toushirou stood hand in hand. Looking on their child, who was bravely battling against the demon, they made their decision.

They would face their destiny head on, with no regrets.

A/N - and there's chapter fourteen. Hope you enjoyed, please leave a review and tell me what you thought. Til next time, this is Hitsu-taichou signing out.