Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach, or any of its characters; those are property of Tite Kubo. I do, however, claim ownership of my OC, Saika.
Love Conquers All
Chapter 6: Breakthrough
"Kisuke Urahara," the aged voice of the Captain-Commander spoke out, "do you know why you are here?"
Urahara's gray eyes glinted seriously in the dim candlelight; in the presence of his former commander, all traces of the humorous, eccentric shop-owner had vanished as though they had never been.
"No, Commander Yamamoto, sir," he answered, his tone clipped, "I must confess that I do not."
Kisuke thought he saw the edges of Yamamoto's mouth curl up into the slightest of smiles, but then it was gone.
"I would have assumed that someone of your intellectual prowess would have been able to put two and two together, Urahara," the Captain-Commander said, "but it appears that I have woefully miscalculated. Has your time in the Human World really affected you this much?"
Kisuke's eyes narrowed as he tried to divine Yamamoto's meaning, but he came up empty. Still, his expression was not threatening, so Urahara allowed himself to relax the slightest bit. The old man sighed.
"As much as it gladdens me to see you again after your long and regrettable exile, Urahara-san, I have matters I must attend to. As such, I will make this brief. The Captain of 12th Division, Mayuri Kurotsuchi, was slain in the final confrontation with Aizen, as I am sure you know. The ranks of the 13 Captains are already decimated enough; it will not do to have yet another hole in our armor, should a threat to Soul Society emerge again. As the former captain of 12th Division, you unquestionably have the most experience with the Squad out of anyone in Soul Society. Will you consent to take the post up once again, for the greater good of Soul Society and the Seireitei?"
Kisuke blinked hard, staying silent for several moments as he struggled to figure out if he'd heard right. Become captain again? At one time, that had been his greatest wish, without a doubt, but things had changed.
"I can understand if you need some time to think, Urahara-san," Yamamoto said, shocking the former captain out of his thoughts, "but try not to take too long. I expect to hear from you within two days."
Kisuke bowed and quickly exited the Captain-Commander's chamber, his hands shaking slightly as bottled up tension washed over him.
"Soul Reaper robes suit you, Kisuke," Yoruichi said from down the hall, leaning against a pillar and smiling. "Then again, pretty much anything would beat that getup you wore in the Human World."
"They do feel… comforting, I will admit," Kisuke said, allowing himself to feel a bit of pride and joy at his homecoming.
"So, what's up? Don't leave me quivering with anticipation over here."
"Yamamoto-sama offered me the captaincy of 12th Division."
Yoruichi coughed in shock, taking a moment to gather herself while Kisuke just looked on, smirking.
"He what-now?" Shihoin sputtered, eyes wide. "That's great news, Kisuke!"
Urahara sighed.
"I guess," he answered, looking very tired all of a sudden. "It's just been so long since I've been here, and now to have this just dropped in front of me on a silver platter… it's a bit much to take in all at once."
"Just get some sleep, Kisuke," Yoruichi encouraged. "You'll think clearer in the morning, I'm sure."
Urahara nodded, which was followed quickly by a yawn. Grimacing, he said his farewells and lumbered lethargically towards his temporary quarters. Yoruichi went the other way down the hallway, so caught up in her own thoughts that she didn't see the person racing towards her as she turned the corner until it was too late.
"Ouch!" the figure shouted as it tumbled over, hitting the wooden floor hard. "Watch where you're going, damni…"
Yoruichi had recovered from the impact, and now found herself looking down at a flustered, shocked, and now furiously blushing Soi Fon.
"L—Lady Yourichi…" she said, the rest of her tirade vanishing in an instant. Yoruichi smiled, holding out her hand. The 2nd Division captain took it gently, almost reverently, and rose to her feet.
"Sorry about that, Soi Fon," the Shihoin princess apologized. "I wasn't looking where I was going."
"No, no, don't apologize, Lady Yoruichi; I was being careless."
Yoruichi gave her protégé a warm smile, before walking over to a bench with her and sitting down.
"So, what're you doing up so late, Soi Fon?"
The captain sighed.
"Omaeda got his soul chain and soul sleep severed by one of the Espada during the final battle of the war, and since then I've been doing double duty. I swear, if I could beat the energy back into that fat, lazy, good-for-nothing slob…"
"You would have done it a long time ago, I'm sure," Yoruichi said with an amused chuckle as she ruffled Soi Fon's hair, thinking about how similar she still was now to all those years ago.
"What are you doing right now?" Yoruichi asked, concerned when she saw how dark the circles were under Soi Fon's eyes were. The captain yawned and stretched, leaning subconsciously against Yoruichi's shoulder.
"Just running these reports over to 11th Division," she said sleepily, holding up a bound package of papers. Her grip on them loosened and they fell, caught by Yoruichi before they hit the ground. The golden-eyed princess looked down and noted with a smile that Soi Fon had fallen asleep with a contented smile on her face and was now snoring lightly. She took the captain in her arms and flash-stepped to the 2nd Division quarters, putting Soi Fon down to sleep before pocketing the reports for the 11th Division. Yoruichi decided to just deliver them herself; besides, she had something she needed to talk to Kenpachi Zaraki about.
"It appears she's gotten much stronger, no?"
Grimmjow scoffed.
"I think the boss is just a pussy. No way could she stand up to him if he was giving it his all."
"I heard that, asshole!"
Grimmjow smirked, but offered his master no apology.
"Just be thankful I don't have my zanpakuto, you son of a…" Saika murmured, Grimmjow's barbs only making him fight harder against Rukia, who was starting to get shaky.
"Why are you caving in now, Rukia? Fight me!"
"What does it look like I'm doing?" Kuchiki growled, striking harder.
"It looks like you're going easy on me," Aron replied, parrying a thrust and knocking Sode no Shirayuki out of Rukia's hands.
"Don't hold back because I'm a friendly face," Saika insisted, sheathing his sword as Rukia went to retrieve Sode no Shirayuki. "If you wish to achieve bankai, your fighting spirit must be pure, determined, and unfettered by any hesitation whatsoever. When you strike, you must strike to kill."
"I know, Aron-sama, I just…"
Saika smiled as a frustrated look came over Rukia's face.
"You should be thankful you weren't born a killer, Rukia," he said. "You have compassion, and that is something that can be a far greater asset than it is a weakness. But you also have to learn to temper your compassion, and not to let it get in your way. Fighting to save your friends is positive, but not fighting because you fear someone you care about will get hurt is the epitome of weakness. All the same," he finished with a sigh, "I think I have nothing more to teach you. You have almost achieved bankai; I can feel that much just by standing here, but you need a final catalyst to push you over the edge."
Saika thought for a few moments, until he glanced over at Grimmjow and smirked wickedly.
"Jaegerjaques, I need you to call someone up here for me, and be sure to tell them that it's you."
Grimmjow's eyes narrowed in suspicion; the boss only got like this when thinking up some diabolical prank to play on one of the lieutenants.
"Who do you want me to call?"
"Yiratsu."
Grimmjow's eyes widened in shock, then narrowed in annoyance.
"Are you fucking serious? He'll try to kill me again! Just like the last time I saw him, and the time before that! He just won't stay dead!"
Saika grinned.
"Are you afraid, Grimmjow?"
The former sixth Espada gave Saika a look hard enough to cut steel, but he refused to give an inch. Eventually Grimmjow sighed and agreed, readying himself for a fight.
"Oh, don't worry, Grimmjow," Saika assured him, "Yiratsu isn't going to be fighting you. He's going up against Rukia."
At this, Grimmjow smiled as well, but it was Ulquiorra's turn to be surprised.
"Are you sure, Aron-sama? What if she dies?"
Saika regarded the green-eyed warrior for a minute, an odd look on his face.
"Ulquiorra, are you telling me that you're concerned for Rukia's wellbeing? How… emotional of you."
Ulquiorra recovered at once, his mask back in place.
"I merely don't want all of our effort to go to waste, Aron-sama. That's all."
Rukia noticed an odd look in the former fourth Espada's eyes whenever he glanced at her, though, and resolved to ask him about it later. Come to think of it, he'd been acting oddly since the day she slashed his arm up…
"Oi! Rukia, pay attemtion!"
She snapped up at once, dropping her train of thought and staring Saika right in the eyes.
"What is it, Aron-sama?"
"I'm calling up a mid-strength demon for you to fight against. My hope is that, in a real fight to the death, your fighting spirit will peak and you will achieve your bankai. Are you prepared to face this enemy, completely on your own?"
Rukia felt her heartbeat spike, but she breathed in and calmed it down. There was nothing to be afraid of. She could do this. She would do this. She smiled.
"I just have one question. Why is Grimmjow so scared of a mid-strength demon, if he's supposed to be one of the strongest there is?"
"Yiratsu holds a bit of a grudge against Grimmjow, Rukia, and has sworn to one day kill him. Thing is, Yiratsu is quite a tenacious fighter, and he's managed to hang on by the slightest of threads every time Grimmjow blows him away."
"But why would someone want to pick a fight with Grimmjow?"
Saika shrugged.
"Good question. Why does he want to kill you so badly, Grimmjow? You've never told us the story."
The blue-haired fighter tried to avoid the question, but after all three of them pressed him, he coughed up the answer.
"I slept with his girlfriend."
Saika smirked, while Rukia looked completely unsurprised and Ulquiorra smacked his forehead with his palm.
"Yeah, that'll do it."
"Classy, Grimmjow."
"You disgust me."
"Hey, hey!" Grimmjow shouted, defensive. "She came onto me, damnit! And it wasn't even worth it anyway, that bitch is crazy."
"Whatever you say, man. Just get him up here so that Rukia can master bankai and we can spend tomorrow training with it."
Grimmjow looked like he wanted to strangle Saika, but he closed his eyes and reached out through the reiatsu pathways, looking for the demon. While that was going on, Saika erected a powerful barrier and let Rukia inside it, sealing off the entrance afterwards.
"Good luck."
Rukia smiled, but said nothing as she drew her sword and settled into a stance, waiting for her opponent.
"Here he comes," Grimmjow called out, and a hole opened up within the barrier. Rukia almost gagged at the stench and the dark reiatsu, but she kept her cool. Soon enough a disheveled, lanky man stepped out of the rift, a sword with a serrated edge and no sheath hanging by his side.
"Who the hell are you?" he snarled, a feral look in his eyes that kicked Rukia's adrenaline into overdrive. "Where's that bastard Grimmjow?"
"My parents were married when I was born, fucker!"
Yiratsu's head whipped over to stare at Grimmjow through the barrier, but no matter how many times or how desperately he pounded on the wall, it wouldn't give. Rukia got fed up with watching the pathetic display and let her reiatsu out in a pulse, grabbing Yiratsu's attention.
"Who're you, woman?"
"My name is Rukia Kuchiki," she said sternly, "and I'm going to be the one who kills you."
Yiratsu waited for a moment as the words sunk in, and then he began to laugh manically.
"You?! You, kill me? Hahahaha, stupid cur, that's not possible. What can someone like you possibly do to someone like…"
"Hakuren!"
This time, rather than a large, unfocused rush of ice, a single, concentrated blade shot out from the edge of Rukia's sword as she swung it, cutting off Yiratsu's right arm. The demon clutched the stump and wailed, while the three men outside the cube looked on eagerly.
"Do you really think she's got it in her, Saika?"
Aron smiled.
"Unless Yiratsu starts taking her seriously, she might not even have to use bankai at this rate. Pathetic. And to think he used to be one of my 3rd ranked officers… what was I smoking?"
"Well, there's no accounting for taste."
"Will you two shut up?" Ulquiorra said, the rare display of emotion stunning the other two into silence.
"What's with him?" Grimmjow asked, and Saika just shrugged. Meanwhile, back in the barrier, Yiratsu had just gotten to his feet, practically foaming at the mouth.
"You… you bitch!"
"Are slurs the only things your pitiful mind can come up with? Stop moaning and fight me!"
"Die!"
The demon charged blindly at his opponent, rage giving him tunnel vision. Rukia just waited for the right moment and, smirking, sidestepped his rush while swinging her sword at the same time. The bottom half of Yiratsu fell to the grass while the top part kept going, landing a few paces away. Rukia wiped the blood off of her zanpakuto and sheathed it, finally exhaling. Just as she began to walk toward the exit, though, a sinister cackle forced her to turn back around.
"You think this is over, woman?" Yiratsu seethed, having finally reached the spot where his lower body had fallen. "This isn't even close to the end!"
Rukia watched in mute horror as the two halves joined together again to become whole, the grizzly sequence ending with the demon rising to his feet and drawing his sword.
"You got a lucky shot off on me when I wasn't thinking, Kuchiki harlot," he spat, "but I won't make the same mistake twice. Now come, and I will show you my true power!"
A fierce blast of reiatsu almost knocked Rukia over as the demon tapped into his energy, and she kicked herself for thinking it would be that easy.
Well, Shirayuki, she thought, this is it. Are you ready?
The zanpakuto pulsed, its killing intent razor sharp.
Whenever you are, Rukia.
Rukia noticed that her zanpakuto had finally called her by her first name, and she smiled.
"Then let's end this!"
If there was one thing that you could not be if you desired to rule over something as vile and unruly as Hell, it was a fool. Mortos, Baron of the 8th Circle, was most definitely not a fool. Looking down into his own private Seeing Pool, Mortos observed the cocky, newly-promoted General Aizen relishing in some kind of private victory.
"No doubt you plan to assassinate me, you pathetic human whelp," the Baron growled in a voice that would have made Barragan cower.
"Unfortunately for you, I do not die so easily. You will not be the first to have tried so foolish an action, and you will certainly not be the first to succeed, Sosuke Aizen."
With that declaration, Mortos turned around to look at the wall behind him and laughed loudly: on it were mounted all the heads of those who had tried to take his life in ages past, and a spot had just been carved out for Aizen.
"Mail call!"
There was a crash in one of the rooms, followed by a yelp from Yachiru and some rather choice expletives courtesy of Kenpachi Zaraki. Yourichi couldn't help but smile at the haggard face of the grumpy captain, who was obviously very pissed at having been woken up so abruptly in the dead of night.
"Whoever you are, I'm gonna kill you so dead…" he mumbled, not seeing who exactly was in front of him.
"You'd have to catch me first, Kenpachi," Yourichi shot back with a smirk.
Zaraki's visible eye snapped open at the sound of her voice and he froze in his tracks, not sure what to make of the scene in front of him.
"Yoruichi? What the hell are you doing here?"
"Running an errand for a particularly overworked captain," she answered, "and I also have some questions for you."
Kenpachi looked confused for a moment, but then his face cleared up and he smiled sadly.
"No doubt they're about the ceremony for your dearly departed lieutenant in a few days?"
"Why haven't you ever gone, Kenpachi? In all of these years, I've never seen your face even once!"
"I could say the same for you, kitten."
Yoruichi's eyes went wide at that, but then she regained her composure.
"I was there," she said softly, a trace of guilt in her voice, "I was just there after everyone else had left, because I didn't want to get found out. What's your excuse, Zaraki?"
Kenpachi shrugged.
"I never saw the point of mourning someone who wasn't dead. It's a waste of energy."
"What!?"
The 11th Division Captain stayed perfectly unmoved in the face of Yoruichi's outburst and waited for her to calm down before he continued.
"Just answer this one question, Shihoin. Did you ever see Saika actually die?"
"Yes, damn it!" Yoruichi shouted, tears forming at the corners of her eyes. "I saw him get dragged down to Hell, you bastard!"
"But did you see him die?"
Yoruichi had relived that moment in so many nightmares that recalling it now was as effortless as breathing. There was the Hollow, at least an adjuchas if not higher. Byakuya was seriously injured, and the Hollow was diving in for the killing blow when, all of a sudden, Saika dove in front of him and took the hit, like the noble, kind person and complete fucking idiot that he was. The rest of the sound was drowned out by the echoing of her own screams in her ears, but Yoruichi could see that Saika still had the strength to land the killing blow against the Hollow despite his own wound.
Or at least, that's what it had looked like. The beast was still alive, and before she and Byakuya could get their friend to safety, the adjuchas grabbed him and was pulled down into Hell, carrying Saika along for the ride. Releasing one last incredible pulse of reiatsu, the orange-eyed lieutenant had managed to slow time to a crawl and look his friends in the eye, tacitly saying goodbye. Right before he had plunged completely under, he had tossed Yoruichi his zanpakuto, and sent her a message through the connection between their reiatsu.
"I'll be back for this, Yoru. Keep it safe."
And like that, he was gone.
But Zaraki had a point, no matter how twisted and improbable it sounded: Saika could still be alive, despite residing in Hell. She looked deep into Kenpachi's eyes and replied.
"No, I didn't actually see him die. But what's your point, Kenpachi?"
"I'm just saying that if there's one person I knew who could survive in a place like that and possibly muscle his way out of there, it would be Saika Aron. He and I weren't friends by any stretch of the imagination, but I'd be lying if I said he was anything less than the most tenaciously intense opponent I've ever fought, and that includes Ichigo. That guy was one crazy son of a bitch."
Yoruichi smiled sadly, her eyes looking through the wall behind Zaraki and deep into the past.
"He was something else, wasn't he?"
Several Years Ago
Yoruichi and Saika raced each other to the 1st Rukon District, a competition that Yoruichi won, but not by as much as she'd expected. As they stood in front of the Great Wall, the young man with orange eyes could only marvel at how impressive the structure was. Yoruichi let him stare for a few moments, a smile on her face at his display of childlike wonder, before she snapped her fingers right next to his ear to get his attention.
"Yah!" he shouted, jumping sideways and clutching his ear.
"What the heck was that for?"
The Shihoin princess laughed.
"If you're that stunned by the walls, we're gonna be in the Seireitei for hours and hours unless you stay focused. Let's get going, eh?"
Yoruichi took the lead when they approached Jidanbou, but when the giant saw Saika standing there, he was shocked.
"It can't be," he said, "but you look so much like him… are you the son of Ryu Aron, young man?"
Saika bit his tongue until it bled, but he kept his tone under control.
"Yes, I am. My name is—"
"Saika, did you honestly think I'd forget you?" Jidanbou asked, indignant. "Why, I remember when you were just a baby. Your mother, spirits rest her soul, just could stop showing you around the Seireitei. She saved me from an awful sickness once, many years ago, but I never had the chance to thank her…"
Jidanbou's voice drifted off as he reminisced about the past, but he had opened the gate and so Yoruichi walked towards it, preparing herself for another long, boring stay as captain, chock full of bureaucracy, politics and talk. When she noticed that Saika wasn't walking behind her, though, she turned and saw that he was just standing there, a sad look on his face.
"Oi, Saika, what's wrong?" Yoruichi was getting a little annoyed; if she had to keep babysitting this kid…
He looked over at her and blinked, shaking his head to clear it with a sigh.
"Nothing, nothing," he said, not convincing anyone. "I was thinking about my mother, that's all. Let's get going."
Yoruichi felt bad about being angry with someone for remembering a dead loved one, but still, everything had its place and its time. Getting too engrossed in the past kept you from enjoying the present, and life was too short for that. The pair walked leisurely through the wide streets of the Seireitei, taking the time to get to know each other a bit better. After all, Saika reasoned, if they were going to be working together, it would be best if they got along. Yoruichi assumed that, like all males, Aron had an ulterior motive for wanting to get to know her, but she let it slide. In all fairness, he did have a point.
"Really? Byakuya recommended me to you? That was awfully charitable of him."
Yoruichi snorted.
"Trust me, Saika, when Byakuya does anything, it's never out of charity. Ever. He recommended you to me because you have talent and the capability to succeed, not because he was throwing you a bone like a dog."
"So you think I'm talented, huh?" he asked with a grin Yoruichi would come to know so well, a slight gleam in his eyes. Shihoin shook her head and chuckled.
"You're all the same," she answered, but when she looked over at her companion again, she noticed that his attention was riveted elsewhere. She looked over and saw what had caught his eye: two men in Soul Reaper clothes were having a fight, but it seemed rather one-sided and the loser was taking a bunch of hard blows.
"What the hell did you think you were doing, spilling that tea on me? You 4th Squad rat, I should string you up and beat some respect into you!"
Saika saw that the meathead's insignia was that of the 11th Squad, 3rd seat, and his eyes narrowed. He took off before Yoruichi could stop him, blocking the next punch with his forearm. The 11th Squad soldier was not amused, to say the least.
"What do you think you're doing, peasant?"
Saika's face held no trace of the friendliness that had been so apparent around Yoruichi; his eyes were as hard as the steel of his zanpakuto.
"I could ask you the same question, prick. Beating up on someone who can't even fight back? What's the matter, you compensating for something?"
"Why you little…"
The 3rd seat made to draw his zanpakuto with his free hand, but Saika kneed him in the gut and grabbed away his sword, tossing it over onto the ground. The 4th Squad soldier, astonished at his good fortune, mumbled a hasty thanks to his protector and sped on down the road, leaving a cloud of dust in his wake. The 3rd seat, meanwhile, had picked up his sword and began to advance on Saika, his pride stinging and rage clouding his head. Smiling hungrily, Aron tossed his zanpakuto to Yoruichi, who snatched it out of the air. The Shihoin princess was sure that Saika knew what he was doing, but she couldn't keep her heart from beating a bit faster than normal.
Right before the 3rd seat brought his sword down and split Saika in two like a fish, the orange-eyed fighter released a pulse of his reiatsu on full blast.
Yoruichi reeled as it hit her; she had only felt something on par with this once, and that was from Kenpachi Zaraki, captain of the 11th Squad. The 3rd seat, who was completely unprepared for something like this, sunk to the floor like a sack of bricks, stammering for mercy. Saika responded by letting up his reiatsu, but was far from done with humiliating this guy.
"How does it feel to be on the other end?" he said, his voice as malicious as Yoruichi had heard it. When the blubbering wreck didn't respond, he grabbed the front of his uniform and hauled him to his feet.
"I asked you a question, you worthless coward. How does it feel to be on the other end, helpless, as someone without an ounce of restraint pounds away at you? I bet it doesn't feel very good, does it? Answer me!"
"N—No!"
"Thought not, asshole" Saika spat, before throwing the guy so hard he left in imprint in the concrete wall. Exhaling, he walked back over to a gaping Yoruichi and took back his zanpakuto.
"Overkill much, kid?"
Aron shrugged.
"He had it coming."
Yoruichi couldn't really argue with that, but she was still disturbed by the sudden change in demeanor that Saika had exhibited. Raw power was one thing, but if he let it control him instead of the other way around…
"I see some things will never change, my friend," a new voice spoke out, and Saika turned to behold a much older, more careworn version of a very familiar face. As much as he wanted to be relaxed around his friend, though, he understood the principles of formality. Bowing low, he greeted the new arrival.
"Lord Kuchiki," he said, rising again. "What an unexpected surprise."
"Not quite," Byakuya replied, the hint of a smile on his face. "That pulse of reiatsu you let go just now could have woken up the dead. I wouldn't be surprised if the other captains are calling a meeting right now, trying to figure out just what that was."
Saika smiled.
"But you knew."
"Like I said," Byakuya replied, a rare smirk gracing his face, "some things will never change. Now, shall we go explain to Commander Yamamoto that the explosion of reiatsu was not an adjuchas, but rather an impetuous brat who couldn't keep his reiatsu under control?"
Saika's smile grew into a grin.
"You're rather chipper today, Lord Kuchiki. What, dare I ask, is the occasion?"
"I met my wife last night," he said, flashing a grin of his own before the three of them vanished.
Present Day
"He never did have good control, that kid. Especially when he was trying to impress you."
Yoruichi smiled at that, remembering fondly the ridiculous grins her lieutenant would flash her whenever he had done something he so maturely phrased as 'totally awesome.'
"You got that right."
Zaraki stretched out and popped his back into place, groaning.
"Well, this has been nice and all," he said, "but would you be so kind as to go away, so that I can get at least an hour of sleep?"
Yoruichi nodded, said her goodbyes, and walked towards the door. Right before she left, though, Kenpachi called out to her.
"Did he ever tell you?"
She looked back over her shoulder, a quizzical look in her eye.
"Tell me what?"
Zaraki shook his head ruefully.
"Never mind. If he didn't tell you, he obviously had a reason."
Yoruichi turned around all the way to face the captain and squared her shoulders.
"You can't just leave me hanging like that, Kenpachi. Did he ever tell me what?"
The 11th Division captain heaved an uncharacteristic sigh.
"If I tell you, you'll probably hate me forever."
"Just…say…it."
"Fine, but don't say I didn't warn you."
Shihoin felt her heart speed up in her chest…
"Saika was in love with you."
Her heart might just as well have exploded. Looking like she'd just been gored by a 2-ton rhinoceros, the golden-eyed princess staggered out of the room and flashed away, the pile of mail in disarray on the floor.
"Told you so," Zaraki said as he walked back to his bed and passed out.
Yoruichi appeared on the roof of the 2nd Division Headquarters, where she and Saika had spent so many nights looking at the stars. Now, in light of Kenpachi's revelation, his demeanor during those moments was so painfully obvious to figure out. Back then, though, she had willfully ignored it because, in the deepest recesses of her heart, she knew she returned his feelings. But she was afraid, too scared to admit it because it had been so foreign to her at the time, and because she was already betrothed to someone else. But if he had just said something, anything, to show her how he had felt it would have made all the difference in the world…
To devastated to scream, Yoruichi simply let rip a massive pulse of reiatsu, hoping that wherever Saika was, living or dead, he would hear the one thought raging within her soul:
"Why didn't you just tell me?!"
Back in the mysterious dojo, Ichigo and Renji were still slugging it out with the creature that seemed to be a combination of their two bankai. After what felt like a whole day of fighting, all three warriors were near the end of their endurance. The creature seemed to know every technique of Renji and Ichigo's bankai, and used them with impunity. It was a miracle that they had fought this well, but the two friends knew they couldn't keep it up for much longer. Just as he was about to give up hope, though, Renji thought of an idea so crazy that it just might work. He had noticed that the weird creature could channel the energies of the Getsuga Tensho through the sword made of bones, producing an even stronger blast as a result. The next time they had a respite from the fighting, Renji told Ichigo his idea and Ichigo grinned, the fighting spirit surging back into his veins.
"We'll only have one shot. Try not to screw it up, Kurosaki."
"It's not me I'm worried about, pineapple."
Renji was about to reply, but a Getsuga Tensho blast ripped their cover out from under them. Ichigo readied himself one last time and shouted.
"Now!"
"Hikotsu Tiaho!"
"Getsuga Tensho!"
The dark wave of the Getsuga Tensho surrounded the creature that was Renji's bankai, being absorbed by it and channeled into its own attack. The resulting blast was terrifyingly power, blowing the back clean off of the massive structure and obliterating the mysterious enemy. As it disappeared, the energy that had composed it reformed to make a spirit gate, pulsing with dark energy. After catching their breath and waiting for their energy to return after such a draining attack, the two Soul Reapers looked at the gate warily.
"Do you think we should…"
"I mean, I don't see why not…"
"It does look pretty scary, though."
"Would you rather deal with the scary gate or a furious Captain Kuchiki?"
Renji's eyes widened.
"Good point. Let's hurry."
Looking at the sunlight and the blue sky one last time for good measure, the pair rushed through the infernal rift, ready to cut through anything on the other side.
"C'mon, woman! At least try to make this fun for me!"
Rukia was fighting with all of her strength, but no matter what she did she couldn't find a way to put Yiratsu down for good. Every time she landed a solid cut, he simply repaired what had been damaged and kept on coming. Now completely on the defensive, Rukia was frantically blocking every strike, afraid that the blade would shatter at any moment. As the next blow landed and began to cut through Sode no Shirayuki, Rukia closed her eyes and waited for the end.
When the pain did not come, though, she hesitantly opened her eyes and found herself in her spirit world, an icy plain stretching as far as the eyes could see. A snowstorm pelted furiously down on the plain, obscuring the sky.
"You do not trust me, Rukia."
Rukia looked over to see a woman standing next to her, dressed in a robe of the purest white dotted with shimmering crystals of ice. She turned to face the young Kuchiki, her white eyes sad.
"Even after all we have been through, as close as we have become, you still do not have faith in my ability to defend you."
"That's not true!"
"Then why are you afraid of me shattering?"
Rukia became indignant, but couldn't think of a reply because, well, there wasn't one.
"My point exactly, Rukia," the spirit of her blade continued. "You must trust me with your life, as I trust you with mine. I will defend you against all harm, if you will only focus your heart and soul completely on piercing those who would bring us down. Rukia, I will only ask you this one more time. Do you trust me?"
The Soul Reaper's face became calm and focused, her eyes truly clear and sharp, utterly devoid of fear, for the first time in her life.
"Absolutely."
Sode no Shirayuki gave her a radiant smile, and the sky became clear once again.
"Then prove it to me."
Saika sensed the massive spike in Rukia's reiatsu and grinned from ear to ear.
"Grimmjow, take down the barrier," he ordered. "I want to see this."
The blue cube evaporated right as Rukia forced Yiratsu back with a mighty swing of her blade, giving her just enough space to unleash her…
"Bankai!"
Sode no Shirayuki floated in front of Rukia for the briefest of moments before shattering completely, covering its wielder in a cloud of ice particles.
"Wait, isn't a bankai supposed to be a good thing?"
"Just watch, Grimmjow," Aron insisted with a smirk.
Suddenly all of the particles converged on Rukia, a blast of reiatsu emanating when the transformation was finished. When the smoke cleared, Rukia was wearing a cloak of the purest white that froze the ground it touched and a breastplate of armor underneath that, crowned in the center by a glimmering shard of ice.
"Inverno Furioso!"
Yiratsu was taken aback by the sheer force of her reiatsu for a moment, but when he saw she had no sword he began laughing madly.
"What? That's your bankai? You don't have a sword anymore, you dumb whore! How're you going to kill me, huh?"
Rukia shifted into a battle stance, giving her opponent a look that suddenly made him very sorry he'd ever insulted her.
"Sode no Shirayuki is my armor," she said, reaching out with her sword arm, "and the water is my blade."
Rukia flexed her hand and the water vapor in the air condensed into a gleaming, razor-sharp katana made of pure ice. Yiratsu raised a skeptical eyebrow.
"Really? That's it?"
Suddenly Rukia vanished, reappearing behind Yiratsu. A moment later, his arm froze solid and shattered. When he tried to regenerate it, though, he failed.
"What did you do, woman?!"
Rukia chuckled, turning to face her enemy.
"Weren't you listening? This," she said, raising her ice katana, "is not my blade. The water is. All of it."
Comprehension dawned on Yiratsu and his eyes widened as Rukia raised her free hand and prepared the finishing blow.
"Oh, shi—"
"Distruzione Blanco!"
A thick cloud of water vapor swarmed all around the hapless demon, encasing its prey in ice before splintering into countless fragments. No trace of the demon's reiatsu remained in the aftermath. Rukia relaxed and surrendered her bankai, reforming Sode no Shirayuki and sheathing it. Saika stepped forward, clapping his hands.
"Well done, Kuchiki," he praised, "well done indeed! Now," he said, stopping his clapping and drawing his sword,
"We make it stronger."
Author's Note: All right, so some pieces have moved into place and others are well on their way. I hope Rukia's bankai was sufficiently badass, and it'll get stronger the more she trains with it. Ichigo and Renji are finally in Hell, so that should be an exciting journey for them. And what will happen to Aizen's plan for domination now that Mortos is on to it? That's what the next chapter's for! Hope you enjoyed it, and as always, please review, it keeps the wheels turning.
Translation Note: 'Inverno Furioso': Furious Winter. 'Distruzione Blanco': White Annihilation. I used Italian instead of Japanese, because I can't speak Japanese, while Italian is another story.