Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach, Tite Kubo does. I do own this story, however.
Love Conquers All
Chapter 15: The Fall of Seireitei
"If you desired our help, Lord Aizen," one of the three men now standing at the foot of Sosuke's throne said, "all you had to do was ask. There was no need to bring your might down upon our Circle and pound it into rubble."
Aizen looked down upon his three former soldiers and smiled smugly.
"I disagree, Zommari," he replied. "I had to see if the three of you were still capable of putting up a fight before I enlisted your aid."
"You doubted us, Aizen?" a one-eyed figure asked, giving his former master a sharp, hungry grin.
"I don't see why I should lend my strength to someone who has no faith in it."
The former Soul Reaper Captain shifted his smile into a smirk.
"Let's just say that there is something in it for you, Jiruga. Revenge upon a certain former Third Espada, for one."
Nnoitra's smile widened and his eye gleamed in the light of the smoldering embers that surrounded them.
"Now we're talkin'."
The final member of the triumvirate flicked the pink hair out of his eyes absently and sighed.
"And what would you have me do, Lord Aizen?"
"You, Grantz," the new Baron of the Eighth Circle replied, "are going to be paying a visit to some of our old friends over in the Human World. I'm trusting you to keep them there, and out of Soul Society, while Nnoitra and Zommari strike against the Seireitei itself."
Szayel chuckled, his brown-orange eyes flashing maliciously.
"Sounds interesting, Lord Aizen. When do I leave?"
Aizen rose and opened a Gate with an incantation, pulling on his Vizard mask when he was finished.
"Now," he hissed. The former Eighth Espada was too shocked by the sight of his former master wearing a Hollow Mask to argue, and stepped through the Gate at once. Zommari looked upon his transformed master with something akin to religious awe, while Nnoitra seemed only slightly surprised.
"You two, come with me," Sosuke ordered, and Nnoitra raised his eyebrow.
"You're seriously taking the time to deal with these insects, Aizen? Leave them to us."
The former Soul Reaper Captain turned and faced the previous Fifth Espada, his dark, Hollowified eyes gleaming with simmering hatred.
"Let's just say I have a few loose ends to tie up, and then I'll leave the rest to you. Come on."
With that, Aizen ripped open a garganta and Nnoitra followed him in behind Zommari, grinning madly at the thoughts of the carnage to come.
"So, first question: If you were Aizen, who would you send to spearhead your attack?"
Grimmjow, Ulquiorra, Nel, Soi Fon and Saika all gave some form of a noncommittal response, and Yoruichi sighed.
"You can't even give a guess? That's just sad."
"I might be able to hazard one, Yoruichi-san," Urahara spoke casually from the doorway, before walking into the impromptu war room and taking a seat by his comrades.
The Captain's Meeting had come and gone with the usual words of vigilance from Captain-Commander Yamamoto, but rather than grab a catnap or burn their energy patrolling these six warriors had instead busied themselves trying to outthink Sosuke Aizen. Needless to say, the arrival of the resident genius was going to make things much easier.
"Feel free to enlighten us any time, Kisuke," the Shihoin princess half-drawled, half-growled as Urahara took his time sipping on a cup of tea. He had always been a sucker for dramatic tension, but now just wasn't the time for theatrics as far as Yoruichi was concerned. The Twelfth Division Captain put down his porcelain cup delicately, clearing his throat before speaking.
"Sosuke Aizen may be absurdly powerful," he began, "but he isn't a machine. He has human habits and instincts, which will ultimately lead to a need for routine."
Grimmjow growled, pulling his newly-acquired zanpakuto partway out of its sheath before slamming it back in.
"Can you just get to the point, Einstein?"
Before Urahara could reply, Neliel took the opportunity to make Jaegerjaques squirm.
"Sounds like someone's on edge because their zanpakuto won't talk to them," she said, and Grimmjow stared daggers at the former Third Espada.
"Oh, it's talking to me all right," he shot back. "All it's doing is screaming at me, nonstop! This 'accelerator' he gave me is some garbage," the blue-haired warrior finished, snarling and glaring at Urahara, who couldn't keep a small smile off of his face.
"It's your fault that you won't try listening to your own soul; Urahara is blameless," Soi Fon chastised her Lieutenant. "Stop bitching and let it talk to you, instead of drowning it out with your gigantic ego."
Grimmjow bristled like a rabid jackal, but forced himself back down into a state of relative calm when he thought about what lashing out at his commanding officer would do his lifespan. Kisuke, sensing that this storm had passed, continued as if he had never been interrupted.
"What I mean is that Sosuke Aizen will seek comfort and strength in what he finds familiar. Aron-san, are there any other Espada who have wound up in Hell following their defeats?"
Saika thought for a moment, then shook his head.
"Not that I know of, no," he admitted. "I found Grimmjow and Ulquiorra randomly; if any other Espada were either despicable or hated enough at the times of their deaths to descend to Hell, they probably wound up in another circle. If that was the case, I doubt I would ever see them. The different Circles almost never interact unless there's a war going on between them, and that hasn't happened since before these two showed up," Aron spoke, gesturing at Schiffer and Jaegerjaques.
Neliel thought for a few moments and her eyes went wide, thin tendrils of fear creeping up her spine like poison ivy as she thought of two people she had known among the Espada who had been more than evil enough to get damned to Hell.
"If Grantz and Jiruga didn't wind up down there, I don't know who would."
The expressions of the former Fourth and Sixth Espada went from slightly stressed to deadly serious in a heartbeat. They both wanted a chance to carve Nnoitra to pieces, and if that eyepatch-wearing scumbag even so much as showed his face in front of them, they would flay it off.
"Who're they?" Saika asked, and Nel explained. By the time she was done, the orange-eyed prince wanted to give Szayel and Nnoitra a thorough beatdown of his own. How beings that unrepentantly cruel could exist was beyond him.
"All right," Soi Fon broke in, "we can assume those two are going to show up. Anyone else?"
Yoruichi spoke up this time, and all eyes turned to her.
"If what I heard of the fight was true, Byakuya began to battle with the Seventh Espada, Zommari Leroux, when he tried to kill Rukia. If there was anything that I know for a fact would make Kuchiki furious, it would be threatening the life of his sister. Perhaps he struck down the Espada with so much rage that he, too, was condemned to Hell."
Ulquiorra nodded his head tersely.
"It is not a certainty," he commented, "but nevertheless, it wouldn't hurt to assume Leroux will be a threat. He is a speedster first and foremost; I would recommend that your fastest warriors engage him as soon as he becomes a factor in the battle."
Urahara nodded, and Grimmjow snorted under his breath.
"Gemelos Sonido my ass," he said, "that guy's a total poser. Stark is much faster than him, by far."
"It's a good thing Stark is in the Maggot's Nest, then, no?" Kisuke said, and the three former Espada stared at the Twelfth Division Captain incredulously.
"You captured Stark?" they said simultaneously in various tones, their eyes wide.
"But he was…" Grimmjow began, and Kisuke smiled.
"The First Espada, yes, I know. But he's also a pacifist, it seems, and as soon as Aizen was defeated he surrendered and laid down his arms."
"He never did like to fight, that one," Nel said, a faint smile on her face, "but he could drink like a fish."
"What of Barragan and Halibel?" Ulquiorra asked, and Urahara gave a bittersweet smile.
"Barragan fought to the bitter end; ultimately, it was Yamamoto himself who took him down. Halibel disappeared in the chaos following Aizen's fall, as did Gin Ichimaru. We don't know where either of them wound up, but we're fairly certain they aren't traveling together."
"That's a shame," Grimmjow said. "She had a nice rack."
"What was that?" Soi Fon hissed murderously, and the blue-haired warrior paled.
"Nothing, sir," he insisted hastily, while Schiffer just smirked. "Nothing at all."
"That's what I thought," the Second Division Captain said, resealing Suzumebachi. The council was about to adjourn when Ulquiorra remembered one more thing that had been nagging at him.
"What of Captain Tosen?"
"Captain Komamura fought with him for quite some time, trying to reason with him," Yoruichi answered. "But when it was clear Kaname wasn't going to listen to him, the Captain ran him through. His body was never found, though."
Schiffer nodded once and was about to flash-step away when his eyes went wide and the hair on the back of his neck stood up. Those three reiatsu… they were each tainted in their own way, but there was no mistaking their cores.
"They're here."
Ichigo, Rukia, Renji and the rest of the gang were just about to open a Senkaimon for the journey back to Soul Society when they felt an all-too-familiar rumbling and an imposing, wrought-iron Gate that led to somewhere much less pleasant than Soul Society appeared hovering in the air before them. Too exhausted to destroy it, the warriors could only watch in stricken disbelief as a lone figure stepped out from the fiery whorl within the Gate and dropped to the ground in front of them. When Ishida and Renji saw whom it was, their expressions changed from disbelief to shock and rage.
"You!" they both shouted, and Szayel Aporro Grantz gave his signature, slightly trilling laugh.
"It's been a while, children," he replied smugly, scanning the group arrayed against him and drawing Fornicaras, the hilt of which had become black due to the excess of negative energy Szayel had absorbed in Hell.
"I see I have some new specimens to play with this time around," he cooed. "What fun! I'm going to enjoy seeing you exhaust yourselves in front of me, Soul Reapers! Sip, Fornicaras!"
Renji and Ishida tried to stop the former Espada from unleashing his devastating resurreccion, but the blows they attempted to inflict on Szayel's swollen form simply bounced off harmlessly.
"He's going to start spewing out nasty black shit in a second," Renji shouted to his friends. "Whatever you do, do not let it touch you!"
Grantz heard Abarai's warning and smirked.
"As if someone as clumsy as you could ever hope to dodge my attacks, Lieutenant. Eat this!"
The former Eighth Espada expelled a veritable geyser of goop, raining it down all around the seven warriors. They weaved and dodged as best they could, but eventually all of them were struck on one part of their body or another by the liquid. Well, all of them except for Orihime, who had beat a hasty retreat when Grantz had transformed and was currently standing behind her shield.
Now the warriors who were fighting had to contend with zombie versions of themselves on top of the currently-manic former Eighth Espada, who was sitting on his throne and watching the whole scene unfold with an insufferably smug grin on his face. Ichigo was tired, stressed-out and pissed off; all he wanted to do was kill this crazy bastard and get back to Soul Society. Hefting Zangetsu in front of him, the orange-haired Soul Reaper began to summon Tensa Zangetsu.
"Ban—"
Renji and Uryuu both knew exactly what was going to happen if Ichigo finished calling out his bankai, and they rushed to shut him up. Kurosaki soon found himself trapped under Abarai, who had hit him with a full-body tackle.
"You don't want to do that, Ichigo," he said. "Trust me."
Kurosaki shoved him off and glowered, getting back up on his feet.
"Why not?" he snapped, still smarting from being blindsided by the red-haired Soul Reaper.
"Because if you release your bankai, every single other clone of you is going to do the same thing!"
Ichigo thought of twenty angry clones zipping around at full speed with his bankai and paled. Fighting so many versions of normal him was taxing; going up against that many in bankai form would be murder. On the other hand, though, Zangetsu was far too slow to contend with the arrows that the clone Ishidas were currently hurling at him. Just as he was about to give up and call out his bankai anyway, a huge blast of blue energy roared in front of him and obliterated the Quincy clone closest to him and four of its brothers. Kurosaki looked over and saw Chad, both arms activated and tearing through the clones like a man possessed. They locked eyes for a moment and the giant flashed him a thumbs-up. Ichigo allowed himself a brief smile before turning back to the skirmish.
Senna was currently clashing with a carbon copy of herself, something she found quite unnerving. She was never this aggressive normally, and was having a hard time keeping up with the vicious strikes and jabs of Mirokumaru. The pseudo-Soul Reaper was used to fighting her enemies at a distance, not up close and personal like this. She began to flag soon enough, and when Senna let her eyes off of her enemy for a moment she soon felt the sharp, burning sensation that accompanied being stabbed in the chest. Looking down, she saw that Mirokumaru's butt-spike had lanced clean through her abdomen.
Far from being defeated or giving up, however, Senna felt the purest surge of rage she had ever experienced welling up in her soul. Letting it break free and rush forth, the dark-haired warrior was soon surrounded by a raging vortex so intense that it shred the flesh clean from the bones of the clone who had run her through. The storm grew and grew, swallowing up everything in its path. Even Grantz was forced to give some ground, but before he was overwhelmed, Senna felt her strength ebb and leave her behind as it flowed from her body completely. The tornado faded accordingly, and as she fell to the ground Orihime dashed out from behind her cover, catching Senna before she hit the ground and laying her down gently. The auburn-haired healer activated her Soten Kisshun at once, heedless of the possible danger she was in. Orihime knew that the dark-haired girl needed healing, fast, and that was all that mattered. The remaining five warriors formed a defensive phalanx around their comrades, daring the clones to attack.
But then all of the copies all vanished at once, leaving the battlefield eerily silent.
"What the hell?" Ichigo said, but his question was interrupted by the voice of Szayel Aporro Grantz.
"This is taking far too long," he spoke, his tone characteristically breezy. The former Eighth Espada funneled reiatsu into his appendages until they had grown to roughly twice the length of a spear, before shooting them forward and engulfing Ichigo, Rukia, Renji and Chad in their clutches. The four fighters were spit out soon after, but even though they had changed at all physically, Grantz had still struck a fatal blow. Four little dolls now sat in his hands, two in each. Ishida and Renji both knew what these dolls represented and charged forward, but Szayel's two giant soldiers that made up his throne lashed out and knocked them backwards onto the shattered rubble.
"My, my, such rash behavior, so unbecoming of specimens," Grantz mused, shifting Rukia's doll so that Renji's was alone in his left hand.
"I think that deserves some discipline, don't you?"
The former Eighth Espada began by twisting both of Abarai's legs harshly, and Rukia winced as she heard them break with a nauseating snap. Renji valiantly bit back a scream, but Grantz was nowhere near finished. Opening up the doll, he took out the small part marked 'Liver'.
"I've heard you can't live without one of these," the mad scientist said.
"Shall we test that theory?"
Ichigo began to move toward Szayel's throne, but the former Espada held up Rukia's doll and Kurosaki froze.
"Interfere, and I crush her."
Ichigo backed off, but the barely contained rage surging behind his eyes was beginning to turn them blue with raw reiatsu. Grantz turned his attention back to Renji's doll, and was about to rupture its liver, but instead he stopped and put the doll aside. He picked up Ichigo's facsimile and opened it, his red-orange eyes shining with malice.
"You're a troublesome one, Ichigo Kurosaki," he said. "I should show you what happens to ants who get delusions of grandeur," the former Espada continued, reaching in to Ichigo's doll and taking out the 'Heart'.
"They get crushed."
Without another word, Szayel smashed the small object and the warriors watched in horror as Ichigo gagged, spat up dark blood, staggered forward and fell to the ground, motionless.
Ichigo Kurosaki was dead.
Around the same time that Szayel engaged Ichigo and his allies in the Human World, Nnoitra, Zommari and Aizen had just entered the Seireitei. They duped Jidanbo into thinking that they were some Second Division soldiers coming back from a patrol thanks to Sosuke's Kyoka Suigetsu. A few quick attacks had brought down the gentle giant, leaving the Gate completely unprotected. Seeing the canvas for their panorama of destruction laid out before him so peacefully, Sosuke could not help but smile at the thought of the entire Seireitei in flames. Pulling on his Vizard mask once more, the former Soul Reaper Captain handed an oddly-shaped dart to Leroux.
"Go set up our first diversion," he ordered, and the former Seventh Espada disappeared with a faint buzz. Aizen then turned to Nnoitra, his smirk showing through in his voice.
"Do what you do best," he said casually.
"What about you?" Jiruga asked, curious.
Sosuke chuckled.
"Like I said, I have a loose end to tie up. It's time I paid a visit to my former Lieutenant."
Nnoitra grinned like a starving wolf and vanished, more than eager to demonstrate just how much power the demonic energies of Hell had lent him. Aizen left as well, on his way to the Fifth Division Headquarters. When he got there, he suppressed his reiatsu to the faintest possible shred and walked through the halls looking for Momo. When he found her, she was in her quarters, looking out of the window and nervously shifting her weight from foot to foot. Aizen was about to call out to her when he felt the imposing reiatsu of Toshiro Hitsugaya drawing near, and fast. Rather than be intimidated, though, Sosuke smiled. This was good, this was very good; he could take out two birds with one stone. Stepping over to hide in the shadows, Aizen waited for the new arrival and prepared his Kyoka Suigetsu. As soon as the Tenth Division Captain burst through the door, Sosuke activated his zanpakuto and smiled.
Toshiro had rushed over to the Fifth Division Headquarters to warn Momo that enemies had been sighted in the Seireitei, but when he took in the scene before him Hitsugaya was horrorstruck for a completely different reason:
Sosuke Aizen was standing behind Hinamori, his sword raised high above his head and ready to plunge through the completely defenseless Lieutenant. The traitorous former Captain looked over his shoulder at Hitsugaya and smirked, bringing his zanpakuto hissing down through the air. Not giving himself a chance to hesitate as images of Momo's broken, bloody form on the floor of Central 46's Headquarters flashed through his head, Toshiro lunged forward and plunged Hyorinmaru right through Aizen's back, saving his best friend and loved one for good.
YOU FOOL!
Hyorinmaru's angry, stricken shout almost brought Hitsugaya to his knees, and Toshiro shut his eyes against the strain. When he opened them again, however, he saw why his zanpakuto had been so distressed as he felt his own heart stop in his chest.
He hadn't just stabbed Aizen.
He had stabbed Momo.
The illusion of both the former Captain and Hinamori had vanished, leaving a dumbstruck Toshiro face-to-face with a shocked Momo, who had turned to face him when she had felt his reiatsu enter the room only to find herself viciously skewered on the one blade she had thought would always protect her.
"Shiro…chan?" she whispered softly, her eyes filled with nothing but stunned incomprehension.
Hitsugaya let go of his sword and stumbled backwards on his heels, too anguished to even make a sound, let alone respond to his best friend's question. When Momo's heart broke and she collapsed, unmoving, Toshiro finally found the strength to speak and let out a howl, falling on his hands and knees and weeping.
Toshiro Hitsugaya had been broken.
Aizen gazed upon his handiwork and had to bite back a laugh; not only had he tied up his 'loose end,' he had tricked someone else into doing it for him and simultaneously removed one of the biggest threats to his attack.
Sometimes, he impressed even himself.
Stepping out of the shadows, Sosuke gave the oblivious Captain a coup-de-grace before vanishing, leaving the dragon to perish next to his fallen loved one. It was the least he could do.
Zommari locked on to the reiatsu of the man who had once defeated him and raced towards it, ecstatic that he would finally be revenged upon that arrogant, self-righteous bastard. Leroux felt the Soul Reaper's reiatsu move towards Nnoitra's location, and when Byakuya Kuchiki was far enough away from the others to be engaged, the former Seventh Espada pounced.
Byakuya felt the foreign reiatsu appear behind him and he halted his stride, turning to face whichever enemy had been foolish enough to challenge him here, on his home ground. When his steely eyes met Zommari's burning ones, Kuchiki's expression morphed into one of rare astonishment.
"You?" he asked, and Zommari drew his sword.
"Me," he said, and Byakuya's eyes narrowed back into their murderous mask.
"I thought even someone as primitive as you would know when to stay dead, worm."
Leroux shifted into an offensive stance and replied.
"I simply could not allow someone as insufferably proud as you to remain breathing, Soul Reaper. Prepare yourself!"
Byakuya smiled to himself; did this fool really think that he could move faster than him, especially after announcing his intentions? There was a reason this Espada had been slain to begin with, and apparently his death hadn't made him any smarter. Kuchiki effortlessly completed the first step of his favorite maneuver, Senka, but as he turned to finish off his persistent enemy he felt an unexpected sting in his arm. Looking down, he saw that Zommari had pierced his bicep with the same dart Aizen had given him earlier. Before Byakuya could even ask what had just happened to him, he felt his stomach churn mightily and he vomited up a mass of black bile, falling to his knees. As Leroux made to leave the crippled Captain and move onto his next objective, he spoke a parting shot that made Kuchiki's blood freeze inside his feverish veins.
"Enjoy becoming a Hollow, Soul Reaper."
Nnoitra smiled in feral satisfaction as he watched the crowd of Soul Reapers amass before him. It was the sight of his former rival that made his blood pulse at a fever pitch, though; he was going to love pounding her into a pulp. Nel stepped forward, unsheathing her zanpakuto and letting it rest at her side. Jiruga noticed her lack of a mask and snorted.
"I guess I shouldn't be too surprised that a whore like you sold out to the Soul Reapers," he sneered. "But to give up your Hollow powers completely? That was just foolish, Neliel. Your hierro was the only thing keeping my blade from slashing you to ribbons, and now it's gone. Hell, I bet that zanpakuto of yours doesn't even have a name."
"It does," the former Third Espada replied calmly, the ever-present kindness in her voice replaced by the hard, steely calm of a veteran warrior facing a duel.
"I don't think you'll have a chance to hear it, though, you slime."
Neliel flashed away and reappeared right in front of her nemesis, swinging her blade down only to have it blocked by Nnoitra's crescent blade.
"You've gotten slower, Oderschvank," Jiruga hissed, breaking his block and readying his weapon to attack. Nel lunged again, but Nnoitra snarled and brutally smacked her aside, watching her form tumble over the pavement in satisfaction before rolling to a stop. Isane ran over to heal the fallen woman, but Jiruga paid her no mind; there was no fun in slaughtering healers. The former Fifth Espada turned his attention back to the Soul Reapers not a moment too soon; Ulquiorra raced forward and lashed out at him with barely contained fury, and Nnoitra just barely blocked the strike. Part of Schiffer's zanpakuto was pressing against his flesh, and Jiruga had to bite back a hiss of pain as the steel bit through his flesh and drew blood.
"I should have done this ages ago," Ulquiorra said, pushing hard against Santa Teresa and breaking Nnoitra's block completely, carving a crimson swath across the former Fifth Espada's chest. Schiffer's eyes gleamed with bloodlust as he gazed over at his wounded enemy, who had jumped away and was now breathing hard in pain and rage.
"You wormy little bastard," Nnoitra seethed, staring daggers at the former Fourth Espada. "How did you cut through my hierro?"
Ulquiorra didn't reply, instead choosing to lunge again and aiming this attack square at Jiruga's head. Nnoitra parried and struck back, but right before the weapon made contact, Schiffer stuck out his hand and spoke.
"Bakudo number 81: Danku."
The barrier was strong enough to not only stop the strike, but also put a notch into Santa Teresa. The former Fifth Espada stared at the obstacle in disbelief, angered that he had been denied his kill.
"How did you do that?" he hissed, and Ulquiorra flashed a rare smirk.
"To be honest, I've never been a lover of swordplay," he replied. "Kido is much more to my liking; those of us with high reiatsu prefer the more spiritual approach to fighting, as opposed to your brutish style of combat. If one fights like a beast, Nnoitra," Schiffer finished, lowering the barrier and raising his other hand,
"It is only fitting that they die like one. Hado number 73: Soren Sokatsui."
Two giant plumes of flame leapt out and swallowed Jiruga whole, and Ulquiorra took a moment to relish in his screams before turning around and walking back to join the ranks of very surprised Captains.
"We need to give him a seat in the Kido Corps," Shunsui told his Lieutenant, and Nanao nodded. Ulquiorra might have been a former Arrancar, but his talent with the demon arts was undeniable. She would have to see just how good he was at some point, but now was clearly not the time for that.
The silence that had settled over the dueling ground was broken almost as soon as it had come by the sound of maniacal laughter, and Schiffer turned back around to face where Nnoitra had stood as the smoke cleared.
"You bastard," the former Fifth Espada's voice hissed, "did you really think that would be enough to bring me down? You didn't even release the full potential of that kido. Don't make me laugh!"
The dust and smoke rolled away to reveal a fully unleashed Nnoitra, each of his six arms wielding a massive scythe. Any scars Ulquiorra might have inflicted were gone, and murder shone like the sun in his single eye.
"Care to try again, scum?" Jiruga taunted, but right before he could launch an attack, a piercing scream was heard off in the distance, its otherworldly tone unnerving enough to cause some of the Lieutenants present to cover their ears. Nnoitra laughed.
"Well, it seems like Zommari didn't fuck it up after all."
Urahara fixed the former Fifth Espada with a hard stare.
"What do you mean by that, fiend?"
Nnoitra chuckled at the question, his voice building into a laugh before subsiding.
"You mean you don't know, Urahara? You can't recognize this change in reiatsu? You were one of the first to see it happen, remember?"
Kisuke's eyes went wide as he recalled the last time he had felt something like this.
"No…" he breathed out, and Nnoitra's grin widened.
"That's right," he answered. "Lord Aizen saved a bit of the agent he used to infect the first ones to cross the line between Soul Reaper and Hollow, the first Vizards. And Zommari just took what was left of it and injected it into the Captain of your Sixth Division. In other words," he finished as the eyes of the Soul Reapers before him shot open in collective horror,
"Byakuya Kuchiki just turned into a Hollow."
Grimmjow, Ulquiorra, Saika, Kenpachi and Yoruichi all left to race towards the monster that was no doubt tearing a swath of destruction through Seireitei that was growing wider with each passing moment.
"Damn you," Kisuke growled, knowing better than anyone the devastation that such a change brought about, and the incurable nature of the condition. Byakuya Kuchiki had just been damned to a fate that Urahara had sworn an oath to never allow again, and the Twelfth Division Captain couldn't help but feel responsible for it. Nnoitra just laughed, reveling in Aizen's second victory.
The best, however, was still yet to come, courtesy of Zommari's special ability.
Karin struggled to keep up with the pace her teacher was setting, and could tell by his urgency that this was not just another lesson in flash-steps. Something had gotten under his skin, and that alone was enough to put the young Kurosaki on edge.
"What's wrong, Sensei? Why are we in such a hurry all of a sudden?"
Gin looked slightly over his shoulder to answer, not slowing his stride one bit.
"I just felt a presence, that's all," he said. "A presence I haven't felt since… well, that doesn't matter now. The point is that we need to get to the Seireitei, and quickly."
Karin's fatigue was building, and frustration began to bleed into her voice.
"Is my brother in danger?" she asked. "Because otherwise, I don't see why all of this sprinting is necessary. Stop being so cryptic and tell me what's going on!"
Ichimaru stopped at that, turning his blood-red eyes on his student in a glare so intense that her breath hitched reflexively in her throat.
"You really want to know what's going on, Kurosaki? Fine. If we don't hurry up and get to the Seireitei soon, the highest-ranking Soul Reapers in all of Soul Society are all going to die. And that's being optimistic and assuming they aren't dead already. Is that 'necessary' enough for you?"
Thoroughly chastised, Karin simply nodded her head and redoubled her efforts while Raitori growled angrily in her head.
I don't know why you take that shit from him, her zanpakuto snarled, and Karin frowned.
'Shut up!' she said. 'You're ruining my concentration. If Sensei says it's important, I believe him. Besides, people's lives are at stake. Do you really not care if they live or die?'
I'm the manifestation of your negative emotions, her sword replied wryly. What do you think?
'Just shut up…'
A few more grueling moments of flash-steps and the pair found themselves within sight of the Gate Jidanbo had been guarding. Seeing the giant lying on his side, bloodied and breathing shallow while his Gate was wide open, Gin frowned.
"Damn it. Come on, Karin, and be ready to fight."
The two of them entered into the Seireitei proper, and the young Kurosaki immediately experienced a pounding migraine from all of the reiatsu in the air. Ichimaru was about to scold her and tell his pupil to stay focused, but one particular reiatsu caught his attention.
It was Rangiku. And she was fighting… Nnoitra?
Oh, shit.
There were several other powerful Soul Reapers there as well, but Gin knew just how much Nnoitra despised female combatants. Rangiku would be one of the first to go down under Santa Teresa, and he couldn't let that happen. Drawing Shinso, the former Third Division Captain turned to Karin.
"I'm afraid that this is where we part ways, at least for now. Where I'm going, you'd only get yourself killed."
Karin gave a sarcastic smile, trying not to let the tension of the moment get to her.
"Thanks for the vote of confidence, Sensei," she quipped, but then she froze as she picked up on one reiatsu she knew almost as well as Ichigo's.
Toshiro was somewhere nearby, and his reiatsu was fading fast. Either he was seriously wounded, or dying. Either way, she had to help him.
"You go get the prodigy," Ichimaru said, as if he had read her mind.
Karin nodded determinedly and the two separated, both anxious for their own reasons.
Gin raced towards Nnoitra's telltale reiatsu, ignoring for the moment the fact that a majority of the people he was about to save would probably just as soon turn their zanpakuto on him as they had on Nnoitra. But his own wellbeing was Ichimaru's last priority right now; there were vermin that needed exterminating. It did not escape Gin's notice either that Aizen had vanished completely, presumably back to wherever he had come from. No doubt he had just wanted to light the fuse, and not take any of the heat when the dynamite finally blew up.
How typical.
The first thing Isshin had taught him was that power was useless if you didn't use it to protect something. For the longest time, that something had been Aizen; but now he was gone, or at least the rational, if sociopathic, Aizen Gin had once known was gone. This new Aizen was clearly bent on nothing but destruction; to be a dictator in an empty empire. Ichimaru felt no reason to protect someone like that, which was what had propelled him, inexorably, to this point. Everything was on the line now. Even if he saved the day, Gin Ichimaru was putting his life in the hands of people who had more than a few reasons to want him dead. And with Ichigo off in the Human World, his ace-in-the-hole known as Karin Kurosaki wasn't going to buy him any sympathy. Nonetheless, he really had no other choice. As the sounds of battle reached his ears, Ichimaru braced himself and turned the corner.
Nnoitra was having a blast. He loved a good fight as much as the next guy, but an unfair fight in his advantage was even better. And with the strongest fighters out of the equation, the former Fifth Espada definitely had the advantage. He was feeling so good he had even resealed his resurreccion, just to give the fleas a chance. That pink-haired brat he'd met before in Hueco Mundo was the first to go, followed shortly afterwards by the prudish one with glasses. Her kido had been even weaker than Ulquiorra's, proving in Nnoitra's mind why women had no place fighting. Some braided tomboy had charged at him and tried to use shunko to take him down, but he dealt with her so easily it was laughable. Finally, after all of the weaklings had been brushed aside, someone came at him with spitfire.
She had steely, blue-gray eyes that just bled killing intent and light red hair that flowed around her face like a wreath of flames. Nnoitra was ready to parry her first attack when all of a sudden her zanpakuto disintegrated into ash. Very pungent, abrasive ash. He reeled back and barked out a few vehement curses as he blinked furiously to clear his vision, his eyes bloodshot with irritation and rage when he opened them wide. He was going to strike before this bitch could reform her zanpakuto to block his attack. Swinging his double-crescent blade down, Nnoitra could almost feel the warmth of her shed blood on his face.
But his strike never landed. In fact, the very last thing the former Fifth Espada expected happened. A blade shot over out of nowhere and broke his weapon in half in a single instant. As the interfering weapon began to retreat, all eyes followed it and were soon staring in shock at a face they all thought they'd never see again.
Gin Ichimaru was staring Jiruga down, his red eyes fully open and mouth drawn flat in a grim line. Shinso halted its retraction when it was the length of a normal katana, and Gin began to walk towards the former Fifth Espada. His black cloak fluttered behind him in the faint breeze, making Ichimaru look like the Angel of Death incarnate.
"And just what do you think you're doing, Nnoitra?" the former Captain asked, his voice colder and more emotionless than any of the Captains had heard before. Matsumoto had only heard Gin speak this way once, the day when they had been children and he had walked out of her life for what they both thought was going to be the last time. Jiruga refused to let his fear show, and faced down his new enemy.
"Ichimaru? What's a little pest like you going to do to me? I can beat Aizen's little lapdog without my whole weapon, no sweat."
At that Ichimaru's mouth twitched and he smirked, but his voice remained icy.
"Is that a fact?" he said, removing his reiatsu-sealing cloak entirely and boosting his power to its highest possible level.
Everyone at the Soul Reaper Academy had known that Gin was a prodigy, and a frighteningly high-powered one at that, but no one, except maybe Isshin Kurosaki, had known just how powerful he was. Not even Aizen had glimpsed Ichimaru at his strongest; in fact, the silver-haired Soul Reaper had purposefully downplayed his ability to keep the Fifth Division Captain from seeing him as a threat. Now, Aizen was no longer his master and this disgraceful worm had dared to attack Rangiku.
There was no need to play it quiet, not anymore.
Gin's reiatsu rolled from him in thick waves, paralyzing some of the weaker Soul Reapers completely and bringing the still-recovering Jushiro to one knee. For Matsumoto, though, the energy felt like a warm blanket on a cold, winter morning, or the caress of a long-lost loved one you thought you'd never see again. In that moment, as the man who had been her best friend for years walked over to the terrified Espada, Rangiku realized just how much she'd missed him; how empty she'd felt without him.
Damn you, she thought, for making me this weak.
Nnoitra could barely stand, and his breath was coming in shallow gasps when he could suck it in at all. What the hell was this guy?
Ichimaru simply looked at the former Espada in front of him with pure disdain, raising Shinso for the decapitating strike.
"Fucking pathetic," he hissed, swinging his blade down with terrifying force and inhuman precision. Nnoitra's head rolled to the ground and his body slumped over to join it, dissipating into the air shortly afterwards. Gin reined in his reiatsu and re-sheathed Shinso before looking down at the kneeling form of his best friend and offering his hand. Rangiku looked flustered for a moment, before regaining control of her renegade emotions and getting up on her own while shooting Ichimaru a very pointed glare.
"Suit yourself, Ran," Gin grumbled, turning his attention to the other Soul Reapers.
They were gradually getting over their shock at seeing the former Third Division Captain turned traitor in front of them, and if Ichimaru didn't play his cards right this would turn out to be a very short reunion. Urahara glared at him, no doubt remembering that night so long ago when they had first 'met', so to speak, in that moonlit field.
"What are you doing here, Ichimaru?" he said sharply, and Gin smirked.
"I thought someone like you would be able to figure that out, Captain," he replied with a hint of his old, mocking tone. "I was saving Lieutenant Matsumoto's life."
Before anyone could ask any more questions, or draw their zanpakuto, Karin suddenly appeared in between Gin and the other Soul Reapers. Toshiro's limp body cradled in her arms, and her eyes were wide and frantic.
"Please tell me someone here is a healer," she said breathlessly, and Ichimaru raised his head to the sky, voicing a silent thank-you to whatever God had been so merciful. His ace-in-the-hole had come through after all; even without Ichigo there to recognize her, Karin's unexpected appearance had saved Gin's skin.
Matsumoto recognized her Captain and rushed forward, all thoughts of her best friend banished from her mind for one incredibly tense moment. The red-haired Lieutenant put a hesitant pair of fingers to Toshiro's throat and a tsunami of relief washed over her when she felt a pulse underneath his neck. She moved aside like a flower stem bending in the wind when Isane gently pushed her out of the way and took Hitsugaya's frail form tenderly from Karin's tenacious grip.
Shunsui was curious about this new arrival, who could use flash-steps and possessed a zanpakuto while seemingly having no reiatsu whatsoever. He saw something oddly familiar in her face, but he couldn't quite place it. Stepping towards her with as congenial an air as he could manage, the floral-cloaked Captain broke the tense silence.
"And who might you be, young one?"
Karin looked deeply into the man's eyes, saw no threat lurking there, and relaxed her grip on Raitori.
"My name is Karin," she said, "Karin Kurosaki."
Karin glanced over the faces of the assembled Soul Reapers, ignoring their looks of shock and trying to locate a head of orange hair. When she couldn't find it, she frowned.
"Would someone mind telling me where the hell my brother is?"
Before anyone could answer the question, there was a titanic spike in reiatsu and a huge explosion erupted in the distance, formed like a supernova and expanding out faster and faster. Moments before they were all engulfed by the flames, Ichimaru formed a prism of golden light in his hands and, hoping it would be powerful enough to get them outside of the blast radius, used the forbidden kido kukanten'i to teleport them all away from the Seireitei.
Zommari paused outside the door to the Captain-Commander's Headquarters, releasing his Brujeria while keeping his reiatsu to an absolute minimum. He was almost certain that he wasn't going to survive this even if everything went according to plan, and he wanted to make sure that he did not just rush headlong into the last mission he would ever perform for Lord Aizen. He would have to be swift, and accurate: grabbing someone like Yamamoto with his Amor ability would not be what one would call 'easy'. Exhaling one final time and focusing his power, the former Seventh Espada used the full extent of his Gemelos Sonido and vanished, appearing on the other side of the door.
The first thing Zommari noticed was that the Captain-Commander's desk was decidedly empty. The second thing he noticed was that one of his arms was now separating from his body, having been slashed off by a strike from Ryujin Jakka. Spinning around, Leroux locked eyes with the ancient Soul Reaper right when a huge gash was carved into his chest by Yamamoto's zanpakuto. Falling backwards, Zommari placed a sun-shaped marking square on the Captain-Commander's forehead.
Feeling the sovereignty of one of the most power people in existence come under his control was exhilarating, and the former Seventh Espada laughed despite knowing that he was about to die. Using the last of his strength to force Yamamoto into unleashing every ounce of his reiatsu at once, Zommari felt the world melt away as the explosion ignited before him and everything went white in a searing blast of reiatsu and pure heat.
As soon as they got Byakuya out of this Hollow form and back to normal, Saika was going to kill him. If he didn't get killed first, that was.
Byakuya's Hollow form was fast, graceful and deadly, just like his zanpakuto, and it was as brash and aggressive as Kuchiki had been when he was younger. When he got slashed up for the tenth time, Grimmjow looked over at his former commander in desperation.
"Are you sure we can't just kill him, Saika?"
"For the last time, Grimmjow," the orange-eyed demon growled as he barely dodged another claw-swipe, "no, you can't kill him. We just need to buy time until he defeats his Inner-Hollow, which I hope for all of our sakes will be sooner rather than later."
"Ichigo told me once that it took him over an hour to master his Hollow," Yoruichi broke in, landing a solid shunko-fueled punch to Hollow-Byakuya's midsection and sending him flying backwards.
"But if I know one thing about Byakuya," she continued, "it's that he hates not being in control of himself. I'd give him another three minutes to finish this beast off, tops."
"I still think we should just kill him," Jaegerjaques grumbled, sidestepping another blow and chopping off the arm that had almost removed his head from its shoulders. Byakuya's Hollow roared in rage and re-grew the arm, lashing out with a vengeance. Ulquiorra tried to pin down the rabid Hollow with a near-constant barrage of bakudo kido, but like Senbonsakura, the Hollow seemed to be able to slip out of any trap and reform itself. Kenpachi was getting annoyed with the whole regeneration thing, and was about to tear off his eye-patch and go for full-on obliteration when the Hollow wretched forward and vomited blood without any kind of provocation.
"I think he's changing back," Yoruichi spoke, and Saika scoffed while gripping his lacerated left arm.
"It's about damn time, if you ask me."
Sure enough, Byakuya's Hollow began to crack and fall away like a cocoon, revealing the Soul Reaper beneath. Eventually only the Mask remained, and its form was decidedly atypical: it wasn't a single, unbroken piece, like the other Vizard's masks had been. In fact, there was really no 'mask' to speak of. The only thing that seemed to mark Byakuya as having Hollow powers at all besides the dark yellow shade of his eyes was a white, bone-like wreath that sat atop his head like an ancient Roman crown, replacing his shattered kenseikan. But this broke into fragments and dust as exhaustion overtook the newly-transformed Vizard, his eyes shifting back to their normal color as he slumped forwards. Yoruichi propped up her friend on one side, while Saika supported the other.
Right as the group was about to flash-step away, the gargantuan explosion triggered by Zommari Leroux occurred and the warriors tried desperately to outrun the sphere of raw reiatsu as it expanded faster and faster. They managed to make it to the East Gate and Ulquiorra, Grimmjow and Saika tore the iron slab clean from its hinges with a concentrated blast of reiatsu. With the last ounces of strength left in them, the battered and weary fighters performed one last desperate flash-step and found themselves mercifully outside of the walls of Seireitei, able to do nothing but look on in mute shock and stunned horror as the place most of them had thought of as impenetrable was swallowed whole.
Back in the Human World
As he watched Ichigo crumple to the ground and lie there utterly motionless, Szayel Aporro Grantz let himself relax and glory in his small victory. That would prove to be a grievous mistake, and the last one he would ever have the chance to make. The former Espada didn't even see where his death was coming from until it was far too late, nor did he ever expect the person who ultimately ended him to be the one to strike the killing blow.
"Koten Zanshun!"
The triangular shield, strengthened substantially by Orihime's shock and anger at seeing Ichigo fall, lanced through Grantz like a diamond-tipped chainsaw ripping through butter. The former Eighth Espada was in two pieces before he could even process what had happened to him, evaporating into thin air completely shortly after that. Inoue's comrades could only look at their friend with expressions of shock and awe on their faces at the unexpected and powerful attack, but Orihime paid none of it any mind. Her thoughts were now focused solely on Ichigo Kurosaki, and making sure he stayed alive.
Summoning her healing spirits, the auburn-haired girl knelt down and got to work. The actual physical damage wasn't that serious and would have been easy to repair on its own, but the large cloud of dark reiatsu surrounding Ichigo's ruptured heart made it much harder to reject. Thinking of an idea, she turned to Uryu.
"Ishida-kun," she said, and the Quincy was by her side in the blink of an eye.
"Yes, Orihime?"
"I need to treat Kurosaki-kun's wound, but all of this twisted reiatsu is getting in the way. Do you think you could draw it out with your Quincy abilities and discard it?"
Uryu adjusted his glasses as he thought. It was a smart idea in principal, but separating the reiatsu of an Arrancar from that of a Vizard was like differentiating between two models of the same car: the differences were there, but they could be quite hard to spot. Normally the risk of failure wouldn't unnerve the Quincy archer at all, but the fact that if he drew too much of Ichigo's reiatsu away he would be all but condemning Kurosaki to death was enough to put even Ishida on edge. Seeing the pleading look in Orihime's eyes, though, and knowing that a better option wasn't going to show up any time soon, Uryu nodded his head and readied his bow.
"I'll give it a try," he said, "but I need some space."
Orihime backed off hastily, and Ishida took a breath to steady himself before diving headfirst into the maelstrom of reiatsu that was Ichigo Kurosaki. The process of finding Grantz' reiatsu was actually much easier than the Quincy had expected it to be; after having been exposed to so much of it in Hueco Mundo, he knew almost every single distinctive characteristic it possessed. Isolating the invasive energy and forcing it into the shape of an arrow, Ishida released the projectile up into the sky and sighed in relief, almost feeling tainted by having handled the former Espada's reiatsu and glad his role was over. Orihime rushed back over and completed what she had started, using her power of rejection to bring Ichigo back to life. When she broke eye contact with her patient to give Uryu a look of heartfelt gratitude, though, the Quincy felt his heart speed up in his chest and his mouth went oddly dry. Forcing himself to remain calm, Ishida tore his focus away from the auburn-haired healer and looked over at Renji.
"Which one of you is going to open the Senkaimon to get us to Soul Society?" he asked, glancing between the red-haired Soul Reaper and Rukia. Before Abarai could answer, Rukia spoke up.
"I'll do it," she said authoritatively, and Renji scoffed.
"You've always sucked at making those things, Rukia," he chided. "If we leave it to you, we'll probably wind up somewhere in the high end of the Rukongai."
Kuchiki glowered, facing down her childhood friend.
"I outrank you, Renji," she shot back, "so I'm allowed to control the Senkaimon based on seniority. And besides, I make perfectly good Gates!"
Ishida cringed as the two of them sank into a shouting match, which was only broken up by an exasperated shout from Ichigo.
"Yo," he said, "are we gonna stand here all day listening to the two of you fight, or are we going to do something worthwhile?"
Both of the veteran Soul Reapers turned and stared daggers at Kurosaki for getting in the way of their squabble, but they also knew he was right. Sighing, Renji shrugged.
"You can go ahead and do it, Rukia," he acquiesced, and the violet-eyed Soul Reaper smiled.
As it turned out, that decision saved their lives.
Rukia opened up the Gate and the seven warriors passed through it uneventfully, avoiding the 'Janitor' completely and winding up on a hillside overlooking the Seireitei in the distance. Rukia felt small tears form in her throat as she realized that this was where she had trained with Kaien Shiba, but she blinked them back.
"Told you we'd wind up in the middle of nowhere," Renji groused, and he began to walk down the hill towards the Seireitei. Just moments after he had started to walk, Yamamoto's immolation began. Frozen in place, the seven friends could only stand and watch as all of Seireitei was engulfed and razed to the ground.
It was Ichigo who broke the silence, and he did so with characteristic bluntness.
"Well," he said, "looks like we're screwed."
And so the three groups of Soul Reapers and their allies found themselves refugees in their own land, exiled by an enemy they thought had long since been defeated. Each of the bands thought of the same place to seek refuge, and slowly grew closer and closer to each other until the entire sum total of the Soul Reaper population was standing in front of the same house. Its big red banner fluttered in the wind and ridiculously high 'chimney' put the Tower of Babel to shame: there was no mistaking who lived here, and she was one of the few friends the Soul Reapers had left.
By now Byakuya had regained his strength and was back on his own two feet, taciturn as ever and sporting a slight limp. Toshiro was breathing more steadily, but he was still slipping in and out of consciousness and Orihime frowned sadly when she saw the severity of the scar across his back. The Captain of the Tenth Division had more than just physical wounds to worry about, however: his heart and soul were still in pieces, and those would take much longer to heal.
The warriors were jarred out of their collective melancholy by a forceful voice shouting out from the doorway.
"Are you idiots going to keep standing there and starve to death, or do you want some dinner?"
Even Kenpachi Zaraki was more than mildly afraid of Kuukaku Shiba, and the group of exiles rushed past their hostess and down the stairs before they got an elbow to the face. Byakuya lingered behind for a moment, regarding Kuukaku with a look that held more emotions in it than Shiba thought the noble was capable of expressing.
"It has been some time, Lady Shiba," he said, giving a slight bow.
"Bah," Kuukaku scoffed, trying to ignore the slight racing of her pulse. "You can can the 'Lady' crap, Kuchiki. Our title died with my brother."
Byakuya gave the barest hint of a smile, and Kuukaku had to struggle not to smack it off of his face.
"Nobility is something one is born with, Lady Shiba," he said, "and it does not wax or wane with popular opinion. Shall we?" he asked, motioning inside the dwelling, and Kuukaku nodded. God, she needed to get away from this man, and quickly, before she just straight up kissed him.
Or, better yet, before she put him into her fireworks launch tube and blasted him all the way back to the ruins of Seireitei without an energy orb to protect his infuriatingly arrogant ass.
Then again, she thought with a wicked smirk as she trailed behind the noble, there was no reason why she couldn't do both.
While the rest of her friends and family were in the main room of the Shiba household eating dinner, Yachiru was sitting out underneath the stars on the grass, alone. The fight against Nnoitra played in her mind over and over again, and each time she felt the weight of her uselessness crush her heart a little bit more. She had been powerless to stop him, and it had almost gotten her killed. What would Ken-chan have thought?
You're being an idiot, deluding yourself like this, she told herself. Now the Seireitei was gone; her home was gone, and everything had been changed for good.
No point in clinging to the past now, not when the past had been reduced to a pile of rubble and ashes. It was time to do what she should have done years ago. Shifting her position and crossing her legs, Yachiru slipped into a deep, meditative trance and the air around her began to glow with pink reiatsu. Weak and flickering at first, it gradually gained strength until it was more than three times her height, and flaring strongly.
And then, slowly but surely at the beginning and gaining speed as it continued, the Eleventh Division Lieutenant began to grow up.
By the time she was done, Yachiru was as tall as Orihime, with pink hair that flowed down to just past her shoulders and a figure that looked as different from the child she had been just moments before as night looked from day. She was now a fully-grown young woman, and as she rose to her feet the Lieutenant found herself glorying in the feeling that she had thought for so long would bring nothing but awkwardness and unneeded emotional baggage. Flashing her familiar grin, which now had a distinctly predatory edge to it, Yachiru stretched out like a contented feline.
"This is more like it," she said, laughing as she thought of the look on Ken-chan… no, on Captain Zaraki's face, when he saw what she had done. That was going to be one for the books.
Author's Note: That chapter was probably the hardest one for me to write so far, so feedback would be highly, highly appreciated. I hope you enjoyed it, and the next chapter shouldn't take me as long to write, although I can't make any promises. The history behind Kuukaku and Byakuya's previous relationship will come to light, Byakuya will start his Vizard training, and Karin might just get the chance to kick her older brother's ass. Come back for the next chapter to see just where our heroes will go from here, now that Seireitei has been destroyed!