"Howl,"

I looked up into her umber eyes that glistened with the reflection of the moonlight—the firm resolve they had attempting to crack me. This was a new beginning; it was now that I'd rid myself of cowardice, and stand tall and fierce. The first step? Not backing down from the inner piece of myself.

"Musei no Koe!"

The borrowed zanpakutou I had in my right hand immediately complied; changing into the two Trench Knives with golden spiked knuckles in each of my hands. As soon as they materialized, I bolted toward her—the splashes of my heavy, fast-paced footsteps in this flooded realm the only sound I could hear other than my breath as I focused on the Woodland Queen ahead. She didn't flinch—merely awaited my attack with that same intensity as she had during our battle with Koizumi Fumiko.

I attempted a slash at her with my left hand, making sure to reel it back to add as much muscle as I could muster to aid in my attack. She parried me by catching my attack with the blade in her left; seemingly with about as much effort as a toddler halting a tossed balloon.

"You're open,"

In a quick motion, she came in with her right at a slash at my torso. I parried it with the knuckles of my other knife just in time, but her force against my own was like a fly against a kami-damned fly-swatter. The bones in my hand cracked, but that wasn't the only audible sound I made at the contact; as her thrust pushed through my useless block, the tip of the knife she held slashed my torso just deep enough to make me waver in and out of consciousness through my screaming.

"Silence."

Before I could push myself back—or let alone think—a pump of her reiatsu did the job for me in a rough thrust that had me fly back and skip across the lake in the same fashion of a skipping stone.

I laid there choking on the water that I sucked in from trying to catch my breath as she approached. The water beneath us rippled, and soon turned into waves that overthrew me completely. I struggled to turn myself, the pain from my torn torso preventing me from doing too much more than propping myself up with a single palm.

"One attack is all it takes?" Musei no Koe asked upon her halt in front of me.

In an instant, something from beneath me took hold of me; wrapping around my legs and emerging around me with a sadistic aura implying a heavy desire for torture in this game. I was then heaved up by my legs and swung around like a child's play thing—the tear in my torso deepening and causing screams of absolute agony in the process.

What was I supposed to do in this situation? I didn't know any kidou like Toushirou or the others did, and I couldn't even—

"This is the best you can do?"

She commanded the flaccid branches that held me to slam me to the water's surface.

"Did you think that because I brought you here, no harm would come to you?" She commanded the entity to whip me against the surface again—my ribs cracking on impact of the glass-like floor beneath the surface.

Kami, I couldn't take much more of this. Amidst that, I tried focusing my thoughts on thinking about just how in the Hell I was supposed to get out of this—the most I could muster at the moment was thrashing around.

She commanded me to be flung clear in the opposite direction, and mid-air, she met me with those golden knuckles of her Trench Knife. Her attack hit me on the right side of my face as intended—blood gushing from my ruptured cheek to choke me as I faded in and out of consciousness from the hit. My ears rang, and fear completely dominated me at her prior words—she wouldn't kill me…would she?

"Has the strength and courage you possessed died with Koizumi Fumiko?" She questioned as I hit the ground; the impact creating rough waves that crashed back into me.

She was going too far with this training—wasn't the whole point of it supposed to be for me to learn properly rather than winging-it like I had been? I looked up at her stern eyes, and I knew the answer to my prior question based on just her aura alone.

"If your life must be on the line in order for you to take this seriously, then so be it." she flipped her left Trench Knife with a quick motion before pointing it at me. "I'll give you to the count of three. If you cannot at the very least impact me, you won't survive the upcoming battles—I'd much rather put you out of your misery now than have anyone else do it."

She—she wasn't—

"One,"

She was going to actually kill me.

"Two,"

I couldn't die here—I had to—

"Three."

She charged at me without using her actual speed; ready to deliver the finishing blow with minimal effort.

I felt like a cornered animal. It wouldn't have mattered if I'd gotten up to run—she would catch me, and kill me almost instantly. I couldn't die—the small pride within me that had been smothered almost entirely by the ruthless events still somehow remained lit, and I couldn't let it burn out at all costs. I had to live—I had to take revenge for Mai, for Miyuki, for myself.

Adrenaline spiked within me, and I pushed myself to my feet even with the immense pain from my slivered side and punctured face. I had less than five breaths before the end, and instinct dominated me. I felt my own reiatsu within me; small, but somehow enough to still notice. Previously, I'd taken a shortcut to get it to help me control the wood; lighter fluid to a fire to make it roar temporarily rather than building and strengthening it by creating more of a foundation. I wanted to do things the right way, but with her coming at me like this, I'd have to risk it again—an all or nothing leap.

I twisted my body to the left, and used momentum to swing my right leg through the water in a full circle; that reiatsu I forced surging through me to amplify my action in making the water harshly spurt like a geyser-wall high enough to block her view—the distraction for my attack.

I couldn't see her with the wall I'd made in that split second, but nevertheless, I continued with my poorly improvised attempt at an attack. As soon as my right heel set on the ground, I channeled reiatsu into my left foot to spring forward through the water—my grip on my knives so tight from how risky this move was that it felt as if my knuckles would pop from the pressure.

If this was my last chance at survival, I had to give it my all—just as I'd done with that Hollow; with that man; with Koizumi Fumiko. If I couldn't do this, then every death has meant nothing—not even Miyuki's, and not even Mai's.

I burst through the water; my left hand at eye-level and my right thrust out in front of me and spaced away for the move I was going to make.

She saw my move coming as I knew she would, and quickly threw up her fists to parry the attack—seemingly as if to humor me more than actually take me seriously. She had no change in her facial expression from earlier—her lack of faith in me just riling me up, and fueling me with confidence.

I separated my hands outward, and began the inward slash as the first stage of the attack. As she braced for the impact, mere milliseconds before the execution of the maneuver I changed the attack completely. I brought my knuckles together in a quick motion; the blades that were supposed to remain parallel to my forearms for the attack now pointed forward, and side by side. I extended my arms to finish the true intended stab attack, but alas…

As my blades punctured into her abdomen, the upper hand I thought I had was made perfectly clear in that moment.

She could have evaded that attack easily; a simple side-step with her speed would have served her well, and would have had me barreling forward to accept open retaliate from behind. The thing about it is, she let the attack come to fruition, and she did it for one reason only.

To slice clean across both of my eyes.

Immediately I fell to my knees; screaming bloody murder as the blood from my slit eyeballs rushed down my face. My body began reacting automatically—my hands releasing the damn knives still stuck in her in an attempt to—

"Stop!" Musei no Koe screeched at me.

My scream stifled down to whimpering yelps as my hands hovered; still weaved through the fingered holes and shaking violently from just how much fucking pain I was in.

"We are in the middle of battle—never let go of your weapon!" She scolded viciously.

This…this was fucking...

With a scream of anger and pain, I gripped the hilts and yanked them out of her as ferociously as I could before rolling back and away from her. I finally managed to plant my feet down and get to a squatting position, and faced what I thought was her direction as I sucked in air in short, frantic pants.

"Y-You," I began—fury and hatred taking over, "Just what in the fuck is wrong with you?" I spat at her in an angered roar.

She coughed, and I could hear her spit before she casually responded. "Your attack was reckless in every sense of the word." She began, indicating to me that she hadn't been directly in front of me, but a few degrees northeast of my direction.

"While it could have been evaded, it was a great opportunity for a lesson—never do that again unless your opponent is unable to respond."

All I wanted to do was touch my eyeballs and smother out the pain in hope that when I removed my hands, my sight would be restored. Then again, feeling the sliced cherry-tomato-like orbs that bled down my face didn't sound too enticing either—I couldn't even control my damn eyelids.

"You've finally discovered how to tap into and use your reiryoku," she continued—cutting off my rambling. "At least amidst your amateur attack, you were able to—"

"Shut your Kami-damned fucking mouth!" I sneered at her. "You're over here talking about lessons like you actually are sticking to your word and training me like you were fucking supposed to, but you're only trying to kill me! What's next? You wanna lop off my Kami-damned legs? How about slitting my throat? What kind of fucking ally are you? What happened to the honesty? The pride? The—"

"My pride and my words are—and always have been—valid. This is your training—you chose this difficulty when you refused to show me the strength you know you possess. If coming at you with the intent to kill is the only way you learn, then so be."

"And so I've lost my eyesight for all eternity during a fucking training session? Have you lost your—"

My left ear caught movement—startling me enough to disrupt me.

"We're still in the middle of battle, Akinoyo," Musei no Koe took a deep breath. "Remember the circumstances before you run your mouth,"

From behind, I was whipped several feet forward. Without my sight, I felt as good as dead. I couldn't even land on my feet, or try to maneuver my body for the least painful fall—all I could do was be thrown around like a useless poppet.

I crashed into the ground face-first—my nose more than likely broken and my lips cut with the landing. I couldn't believe what was even happening—couldn't believe that after everything, she would choose to do this.

"Although it was primarily a lesson, you have wounded me, and for that I will reward you. From here forward, I will only use one attack against you." I could hear her steps coming toward me even with the rough waves from her last attack still disruptive. "Now that you have learned how to call upon your own power, utilize it to evade my attacks."

"You gotta be fucking shitting me!"

"Your next lesson will be etiquette—your speech is repulsive."

"Fuck off!" I coughed.

As soon as the words left my mouth, a loud rumble sounded beneath me. If I had to take a guess, she was summoning the trees submerged below us to surface. I couldn't pinpoint where exactly the sound prominently came from other than beneath me, but it nevertheless was one of the most frightening experiences since I couldn't see it coming.

I got to my feet, and quickly prepped for what I was sure was my last chance. I brought both hands up to my face—index fingers out and pointed to swipe the blood off my cheeks. As quickly as I possibly could, I did my best to write the kanji on both my wrists.

"How intellectual of you,"

All areas around me erupted—the sound of the water channeling and clapping fiercely against the surface had me immediately take a defensive position. I fully expected the harsh claps to banish after a few seconds, but they kept sounding as if they…

She summoned all of them purposely to cloud my most important sense.

As—what I assumed were—thick, flaccid vines or roots struck the water's surface in uncoordinated patterns, the dominatrix spoke. "If you can get one more connect, your training will be over for today. And if you cannot, well—I'll leave your intellect to draw your own conclusion." I could've sworn I heard a scoff, but I had bigger problems to worry about.

A splash got me on my right arm, and so I immediately jumped as far left as I could possibly manage in my blinded state. Bad move—upon my landing, I was struck in the gut with a blow I felt was as terrible as a slice from a blade. I flew back from it, and landed directly into another one of them.

This one moved from its position after the fact, and when that happened, my legs were ceased again and I was flung forward to crash land into the ground.

There was no way I could do this. There were too many, and even with vision I wouldn't be able to escape this. It was hopeless, I couldn't—

"Have you learned nothing?"

A loud slap sounded directly next to me—one of the vines missing me just a small increment. The blow was so forceful that I was blown back by it—the water beneath me spiking up enough from the attack to shoot me through the water.

"This next attack will be the deciding factor—make your choice."

Make my choice?

There wasn't any choice applicable for me to make at this point—she'd wounded me, blinded me, and trapped me like a Kami-damned rat. It looked like all I could do at this point was just lay here and let her take my life. Just because I could use my reiryoku or whatever hadn't changed anything—so what, I could make my attacks stronger, and possibly become faster? How was that supposed to—wait a minute.

I rolled out of the way—the tendril whipping the spot I'd occupied not even a second later. I didn't fly back this time, but kept my ground amidst the higher-powered attack.

I focused on the sound it made, and focused on imagining it's movement. I called on my own power to course through me, and quickly thrust myself forward to stab the root. It wasn't the same, but in that moment it was like when we had to make our first sacrifice—utilizing the tree we'd merged with to use as a map.

As soon as I'd stuck my blade into the life-form, it was like I'd never lost my vision in the first place.

The entire area lit up like an enchanted wonderland—the once dark water that only glistened with the moonlight, now a vibrant electric blue with an intensity that would've made me squint if I had actual vision. The wooden, rogue-ally I had my knife in was that same gold as before; the glow of it like millions of fireflies on crack from just how bright it was. I didn't have time to enjoy the scenery though—I had one mission, and one mission only—find the bronzed Devil in I.

Before I could get a chance to look at all, the damn thing revolted—whipping me up in the air before I could make any moves. I held onto my knife for dear life—pumping my reiatsu into my arm so I could withstand the violent jerking. It was only a matter of time before she would command it to slam me down—I had to take a shot.

I let myself feel the reiatsu of it, and once I felt like I had a good enough understanding and visual, I called out, and pumped a bit of my own reiatsu into it.

With my left, I firmly thrust my palm downward, and instantly it obeyed—flopping down to smack against the ground. Quickly, I used my other knife to help mount myself atop it for the landing. I made it in time before it squashed me, and immediately retracted my left knife out of it to command it.

"Make haste,"

A presence to my right, and a presence to my left. I had no choice—I yanked my remaining knife, and channeled my reiatsu to help me jump as high as possible. In that moment, all vision was lost—I was mid-air and had no idea if I'd even survive the fall. Immediately I thought of how I'd called upon them during the last battle, maybe if I did that—

It came from beneath me; the same two that just tried attacking. Shit—how did she do that damn phasing thing? It was too late—they snatched me like a frog catching a fly. They reared back down almost diagonally, and as I descended to what would for sure be the finishing blow, a thought crossed my mind: if I was able to sense these things headed toward me—why wouldn't I be able to sense her?

I'm such a damn fool.

I withdrew my arm as quickly as I could, a yank so hard I almost cut myself with my own knife on the way out. With a flat-palmed thrust forward, I was able to halt one of them to a complete stop—the other by default unraveling and continuing in its path to slam fiercely against the water. I thanked Kami I was able to stop one at the very least.

I focused so hard my teeth felt like they were going to crack from how hard I clenched them. There was no avoiding it—she hardly let me have time as it was, and I'm sure she could retake this entity in a blink if she really wanted to. My control was limited and slipping, but I had to push past that if I wanted to make it out of here alive.

It felt easy enough to sense what was directly in front of me, but searching was another story. Slowly, the surrounding vines came into my candle-lit range—I had to focus immensely so that the tiny-flame could at the very least grow into a torch.

One of the tendrils within range reached for me—with a quick flick of my wrist, I commanded the one still wrapped around me to dodge by moving forward. As if accepting the challenge, she sent four more of them at me at once. I was still up in the air at least a half a kilometer, and the only thing I could think of when they came at me from each direction was to command the one holding me to recede back to the ground. It quickly complied, pulling me back down with a speed that I hadn't known I'd instructed and stopping abruptly at the water's edge.

The top half of me flipped over where I was held from my torso; the force flinging my upper half over as badly as crashing face-first on the bar-top on a drunken night in heels. At my gasping breaths due to the wind nearly getting knocked out of me, a small, two-toned chuckle caught my attention. My head-whipped south—I had her.

In between two of her guardians she stood—arms crossed and stance firmer than stone. The boss' reiatsu was calm rather than suffocating as I'd expected it to be, but to my surprise, it seemed like there was a bit of looseness to it—amusement?

Without another second to lose I commanded it to release me. Once I was on the ground I commanded it to straighten, and hopped on before commanding it in her direction. Kami only knows how I'd be able to pull this off—there was no way in Hell I could command more than this piece of timber I was on, and with just my senses to aid me, it was like a shot in the dark.

Her reiatsu left the spot and ascended upward rapidly—her leap making me internally cringe because she was baiting me for a chase I was more than likely bound to lose. She proceeded to throw more obstacles my way, and with how fast I was already going, one wrong move could be my last. Sticking my knife back in for a better grip, I did my best to maneuver my ride to dodge. I was able to evade direct harm, but the damage the entity I controlled took was too much for me to keep pulling it any further—I'd have to ditch this one and try to take another. The only problem was how fast she had them attack—I couldn't afford to stop without immediately suffering the repercussions or flying off.

"Shit," I cursed aloud.

I maneuvered my body to a crouch with my feet in between where my knives stuck out of the wood. I mentally prepared myself, felt her out the best I could, and launched myself out of there entirely with the reiatsu pumping out through my feet.

I heard an amused scoff from that damned Queen of Deceit as I ascended toward her.

"Do you honestly believe I would remain in the same spot? What will you do when I am out of your reach?" she lectured—leaving the spot as I knew she would.

The chances were low, but I had to try. After I passed her in altitude, I waited for the moment I'd start to descend.

"Here goes nothing!"

I pumped that reiatsu back to my feet; straining immensely to stop myself mid-air—it wasn't working.

I panicked.

Why wasn't it working?

"This is the last hint I'll give you," Musei no Koe shouted as I plummeted down. "Flash-step only works when you can manipulate reishi—not your reiryoku. Reishi composes mostly everything—keep that in mind."

Shit.

Shit shit shit shit sh—how in the Hell was I supposed to do that? I'd never heard of reishi—had Toushirou ever talked about it? What the fuck was I supposed to do now? I didn't have to have eyes to know I was high enough to not survive the landing.

She said reishi composes mostly everything—everything…everything…

The beakers I'd heard about in the lab—The Shinwa? Why the Hell hadn't I thought about that until now?

Quickly I found it's presence within me—faint and partially dormant, but there nevertheless.

"Help me!" I screeched in a last resort.

I stopped tumbling instantly. I hadn't hit the ground, but instead remained in the air as I'd originally intended.

"Use of The Shinwa is prohibited," Musei no Koe appeared in front of me; her voice thick with reprimand. "This training—"

I immediately suspended her via The Shinwa—froze her as she had Kurotsuchi-Taichou the last time. I didn't even flinch when I snapped her arm in half.

I knew she wouldn't scream, but the sharp intake of a cry along with her ulna snapping was more than enough to satisfy me.

"Oh, I'm sorry—this training what? You mean this extermination? Sorry, since that's the case then it's anything goes, and I'll be fucking damned if I give up now after everything I've been through!"

I'd gotten so emotional throughout this entire battle. I was shocked my tear ducts still worked—the surely bloodied saline running down my face.

"Say it's over—say it's over or I'll—"

"You'll what?" she cut me off.

All control I had with everything was gone—my very breathing halted.

"Kill me? Don't be ridiculous—right now, you couldn't kill me if you tried,"

She snapped her fingers, and the second the noise finished reverberating through my ear drums I plummeted to the ground below; my lungs now capable of oxygen intake and heaving to catch my breath. I practically belly-flopped onto the water, and to my surprise sank down into the murk rather than being stopped by the invisible floor as I usually was.

Panicked since I didn't know how to swim, I freaked and started flailing like mad while holding my breath as best I could.

"Calm down, Akinoyo," Her tone had anger, but it lacked that bite it hard mere seconds ago—her called demeanor only amplifying my panic.

"Get a hold of yourself! Breathe! You can breathe here!" It couldn't be more clear how quickly that anger came back with annoyance.

I went on a trusting limb and took a quick, sharp inhale as a test—upon it working, I panted like a damn dog.

"Open your eyes, and look at me."

I hadn't noticed with the freak out of drowning I was just having, but now that I was catching my breath, I didn't feel any pain anywhere. I cautiously touched my eyes to make sure that they were in fact in tact before I even attempted actually opening them, and when the answer proved to be true, I blinked as if nothing had even happened.

The Queen floated in front of me; her hair luscious and vibrant with the water we were in, reminding me of some type of wanna-be mermaid that actually was pretty damn entrancing. Her arms—not broken, mind you—were crossed over her chest, and the look on her taupe-drenched eyes had a look I hadn't seen before.

"Your training is over for today, Akinoyo, but I would like to make one thing absolutely clear to you," she began. "Thanks to The Shinwa, we are unique compared to others—without a strong mind and body, The Shinwa can very well take over completely. Without the power of the seal, the chances of it running amuck are increased well over tenfold, and let's not forget our enemy lusting for its power," she shook her head.

"You came in here today with a child's determination—light-hearted, and almost innocent. While a part of me wishes I could once again instruct you with that simplicity, it is not a luxury either of us can afford. Today marks the beginning of a new chapter—the determination of a conqueror is what you must have from here forward if you want to save your loved ones and yourself. Do not come here and expect leniency from me—come here with your all, and regain the knowledge and skill you once possessed, and mold it to keep pushing to greater heights. Don't make me regret my choice to forgive you, Akinoyo—don't fail me again,"

I had every damn right to be mad at her—to shun her, and use her strictly for my benefit with zero regard for her or her emotions. Part of me wanted to, but I knew the feeling was unjust and wrong.

I exhaled with a shake of my head. "I'm still bitter at you, but I understand. I know what you're doing is for the best, and I understand that this isn't going to be easy. I can clearly see the resentment you still have toward me, but even so, I'm going to make this clear right here, right now, " I looked up at her stern eyes with my own—I wouldn't, and couldn't afford falter.

"Even if we don't make it out of this situation alive, I'm here, and I'm not going anywhere—I'm not going to abandon you. I'm going to mold myself to make you, and everyone else proud that their assistance wasn't for not—I will rise to the occasion, and I won't give up no matter how much I want to roll over and die. Above all of this, what I want you to know more than anything is,"

I approached her, and placed a heavy hand on her shoulder.

"I am never going to fail you again."