Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach, or any of its characters. I do, however, claim ownership of this specific story, and my OCs.
A/N: Thanks again to everyone who has reviewed so far, and made last chapter tied for the highest-reviewed installment with eight reviews! The story's at 92 total right now on the road to 100… you know what to do: drop some feedback!
Love Conquers All
Chapter 18: Dusk
Orihime sat with her legs dangling over the edge of the porch, looking out at the sun as it began to move in a downward slope towards the horizon. Normally the kaleidoscopic blur of oranges, reds, purples and blues sculpted into various shapes by the immense clouds would be enchanting enough to put a smile on her face, but Inoue wasn't smiling. In fact, her brow was furrowed in a rare frown, an expression that made even the birds stop singing out of concern. Whatever had caused the effervescent girl to become so morose, it had to be serious. Eventually the frown relaxed, but in its absence Orihime's eyes were full of such abject hopelessness they made the frown look like a smile in comparison. A squirrel sauntered up to her with an acorn, looking up at her with a slightly cocked head and an expression that said 'You clearly need this more than I do, kid.'
Inoue gave a weak smile and shook her head, and the squirrel hesitated for a few heartbeats before shrugging and scampering off. Her eyes were dry, but in a way Orihime wished she could find a way to start bawling; at least that would be a way to get rid of the knot that had winding its way around her heart and constricting it day after day since she had seen Ichigo and Rukia share the kiss the auburn-haired human had always wished to have. If that grief wasn't crushing enough, her nature wouldn't let Inoue avoid feeling guilty over the fact that she was jealous of her friends' happiness. The three-pronged assault of sorrow, shame and envy was grinding Orihime's normally ebullient soul down like a gigantic whetstone.
All she wanted to do was break down, crawl into a corner and weep like she had the day her brother left her. But the tears refused to come, almost as if they were mocking her pain. As she was about to get up and plod back into the comforting embrace of her bed, the weight of someone sitting down next to her jolted Inoue out of her thoughts. Glancing over, she saw the white shroud of the Quincy.
"Are you injured, Ishida-kun?"
Uryu gave a bitter smile that the girl next to him couldn't see, and shifted his glasses back into their normal position.
"Not at all," he replied. "I just enjoy the sunset, but I hate watching it alone. It's much nicer when you share its beauty with someone, don't you agree?"
Orihime found herself nodding slightly as if by reflex, her soul's weariness causing her body to pick up the slack. She was about to speak, but something in Ishida's voice told her that he wasn't finished yet, a suspicion that was affirmed a moment later.
"In my experience," the Quincy continued, his tone calm as always, "it's the same with grief. When I was little, I used to bottle up all of my anger and frustration, until it screwed up my aim so much that my grandfather refused to train me any longer until I told him what was wrong."
Ishida paused again, but he was so focused on making his point and prying Orihime from the grip of melancholy that the archer didn't hear or feel Inoue scooting closer to him, to within arm's reach.
"He'd haul me up to the top of a hill we would train near, and we'd watch the sunset," Uryu continued. "He'd pester me until I told him what was bothering me, and as much as I thought it was weak to rely on someone else, Sensei's words always seemed to make me feel better, if only for a few hours…"
Ishida was cut off by a wrenching sob, which still pained him even though the archer knew it was a good sign; one he had honestly been expecting. What he hadn't expected, though, was for the grey-eyed girl to grab his shoulder and turn his torso towards her, far enough to let Inoue bury her face in his shoulder and cry the rest of her tears out there. The Quincy archer got over his initial shock and used one of his arms to delicately embrace the quivering girl, his heart breaking slowly behind his steely blue eyes. He knew that Ichigo was far too naïve and in love to know what he was doing to his friend by being involved with Rukia, but that still didn't completely stamp out the urge Uryu had in that moment to riddle the orange-haired Soul Reaper full of holes. For Orihime's sake, however, he managed to keep himself under control.
The auburn-haired human would have never thought Uryu Ishida to be the comforting type, but there was something about the warmth in his touch that spread throughout her and gently, painlessly eased the tears from her eyes. Inoue felt her sobs grow less and less frequent, and soon enough the fit had passed altogether. Just when she thought she was stable, however, a completely different type of tension settled in to replace the heartache that had bid her farewell. Orihime was now presented with a choice: stay where she was and seize this opportunity as a chance to pick up the pieces, or get up and leave, abandoning her friend's comfort and crawling back to the deceptively gentle embrace of self-pity.
Ishida felt himself stiffen as Inoue shifted in his embrace, but quickly relaxed before she could come to the erroneous conclusion that something was wrong. Orihime scooted so that she was side-by-side with the archer once again, making sure not to displace his arm while at the same time putting one of her own arms around his waist and resting her head on his shoulder with a contented sigh. Two could play this game, apparently, and Uyru had absolutely no problem with turnabout. The pair looked out at the sky stretching majestically before them, and for a few moments every concern ceased to exist.
"You're right," Inoue said softly, closing her eyes, "it is much nicer when you share it with someone."
The Quincy next to her smiled, a gesture that slowly grew into his first legitimate grin ever. Maybe he would be able to forgive Kurosaki for being so clueless, just this once.
Rukia could hear the flies buzzing around the tree branches, smell the beads of sweat trickling down her forehead and feel the hairs on the back of her neck rise millimeter by millimeter. Her adrenaline was pumping way past overdrive, and the barrage of information her accelerated nerves were sending to her brain was almost enough to overwhelm the Captain. It was only thanks to years and years of training in the noble art of being completely impassive that Kuchiki was able to keep her breaths from coming in gasps, and she waited with tensed muscles for the right moment to break out of the zanpakuto's grip. When Rukia felt the blade ease up on her neck the slightest of fractions, she flash-stepped a few strides away, turned and drew her sword all in one smooth motion. She could have tried to run, but the violet-eyed Soul Reaper knew that in this situation, Halibel would have been the fox and she the hare. So Rukia stood her ground, trying to keep her grip on Sode no Shirayuki from shaking. The Arrancar's eyes narrowed.
"Impressive flash-step," she said evenly, before her eyes narrowed to slits.
"It comes as no surprise, then, that the Commander-General would send you to assassinate me. But I promise you, such a futile effort will only end in your death."
Before Rukia could open her mouth to refute Halibel's words, the former Second Espada had vanished with a buzz and reappeared within arm's length of her, bringing her zanpakuto down with cold precision. Rukia barely managed to block the strike, too flush with adrenaline to be scared about the fact that she was fighting the second-strongest Arrancar in existence. The force of the impact shot up her arm all the way to her shoulder, and Kuchiki silently cursed her habit of fighting with one hand on her sword rather than two.
Then again, there were certain advantages to having a free hand in a duel.
"Hado number 4: Byakurai!"
The bolt of lighting would have torn through Halibel's bicep if she hadn't vanished with a buzz a split second after the spell had been cast, but that was exactly what Rukia had been counting on. She had been given a window only a few seconds wide, but that was all she needed.
"Dance, Sode no Shirayuki!"
The Captain felt a wave of power flow through her as she released her zanpakuto, and she smiled; now, the fight was that much closer to even. As she got into position to perform her first dance, though, Rukia felt the tiniest fluctuation of reiatsu behind her and spun around, the clang of steel ringing through the calm forest as the zanpakuto clashed again. This time, however, Kuchiki didn't have to worry about controlling her breathing: the slight of a blade millimeters from gouging out her right eye was terrifying enough to steal her breath completely.
"You can only hold me at bay for so long, young one," the former Second Espada said coldly as she put more pressure on the white blade keeping her from victory.
"Take the offensive, or kneel and allow me to take your head."
Rukia growled from deep within her throat, Halibel's unnerving calm succeeding at drawing out her rage at being so effortlessly dominated. Pushing back with all of her strength, the young Kuchiki broke away from the Arrancar once again. Barely repressing her desire to charge forward and rain down strike after strike in retaliation, the Captain used her respite to unleash something much more fearsome.
"Bankai: Inverno Furioso."
The burst of reiatsu threw Halibel off-balance, and the wave of razor-sharp icicles that was launched at her two heartbeats later was enough to force the Arrancar off of her feet, back-flipping through the air with feline grace to avoid being thoroughly lacerated. As soon as she was back on solid ground, which she noticed had now completely frosted over, Halibel felt the edge of a blade constructed entirely out of ice pressing insistently at her throat.
"Who's cornered now, Arrancar?"
The former Second Espada did not dignify the taunt with a response, and simply stared daggers at her enemy with her sharp green eyes.
"Finish this, Soul Reaper," Halibel spoke after a tense moment, her voice gaining an uncharacteristic edge. Rukia put more pressure on her sword, stopping only when she could feel the vibrations of her opponent's pulse travel through the ice of her blade and into her hand.
"I will, trust me," the young Kuchiki answered. "Right after you tell me what you're doing here."
The glare in the former Second Espada's eyes relaxed, but her stance remained as taut as a tightrope.
"Before I begin my tale, here's a word of advice, young one," Halibel said.
"When you have the chance to defeat your opponent, do not let it slip through your fingers."
Rukia had barely finished unraveling the implications of that statement when Halibel vanished from sight. The next sensation the young Kuchiki felt was a sharp pain in her side as the Arrancar's knee slammed into her with the force of a charging bull, sending her crumpling to the ground with an agonized grunt.
"So inexperienced," the former Second Espada opined as she kicked Rukia with enough strength to lift her off of the ground and send her flying into a nearby tree, which cruelly broke her momentum and more than a few of her bones. As she slumped to the frozen earth, the young Kuchiki heard Halibel's next words and felt like she was being eviscerated by Senbonsakura.
"What an incompetent assassin. You are a disgrace to that haori you wear, young one. But do not worry; I shall restore its honor by freeing it from your unworthy hands."
She could feel fluid of some kind creeping into her lungs and the taste of something bitter hanging on her tongue, but even in her battered state Rukia forced herself to look up at her executioner; Byakuya would never forgive her if she lacked the pride to stare her enemy in the eye. Not even flinching as she saw the blade come down in its fatal arc, Rukia steeled herself for the moment of blistering pain that preceded the tranquility of death.
Halibel cut a deep, but intentionally non-fatal diagonal slash across her opponent's chest, like a cat toying with its food. The Arrancar paused as she heard Rukia cry out in pain, allowing herself a moment to reflect on the tragedy of the situation: that such a brash, inexperienced Soul Reaper had been sent to claim her head. Yet, the true loss was that this warrior was not without promise; she had fought well, only to be defeated by the former Second Espada's superior level of skill. Now all of that potential had been scattered to the winds, and this violet-eyed Soul Reaper was about to meet her end. Giving a small sigh, Halibel brought her blade down again and prepared herself for the messy aftermath.
"Cry out, Suzumushi."
The sound-wave rippled out from its epicenter and rushed over the Arrancar and her prey, knocking them both unconscious. Tosen stepped out from the shade of the trees, wearing the now-tattered uniform he had been given under Aizen and sporting a rather large swath of bandages over the spot where his old friend Sajin had run him through during their final confrontation. That blow had been excruciatingly painful, but Kaname had clung tenaciously to the last ragged threads of his life-force, determined to keep them from slipping away. A series of desperate, adrenaline-fueled flash-steps had brought him to these woods. It was here that he had slipped into a coma, a last-ditch mechanism on the part of his soul to retain vital spirit energies and keep him alive. Yamamoto's explosion had jarred him awake, still injured but much healthier.
And now Kaname Tosen, Captain of Soul Society turned traitor, was standing over a very potent bargaining chip in the form of Rukia Kuchiki. If he played his cards right, it wouldn't be unreasonable to assume that he could trade her for amnesty; Tosen had no illusions about the likelihood of his reacceptance into the Soul Reaper ranks, but something was better than nothing. At least this way, he wouldn't have to worry about glancing over his shoulder every five seconds to see if Komamura or Hisagi was lurking behind him with an unsheathed zanpakuto.
Kaname ignored the fallen Arrancar for the moment and slung the injured young Kuchiki over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. He was preparing to flash-step towards the place where reiatsu was the strongest when it felt like he'd just been hit head-on by a charging rhinoceros. Tosen barely had enough time to register who the massive wall of reiatsu belonged to when the tip of a slim, sharp zanpakuto was pressing insistently against his back, threatening to punch right through his heart and out the other side.
"Drop her right now," Ichigo Kurosaki's voice intoned with deadly seriousness, "or I will skewer you where you stand."
The former Ninth Division Captain stood motionless, trying to discern any possible weakness in the orange-haired Soul Reaper's stance. There were none to be found, however, and Kaname realized that if he didn't comply with Kurosaki's demands he probably wasn't going to make it out of this bind in one piece.
That didn't mean he couldn't twist this to his advantage, though. Far from it. Letting Rukia's limp body slide back over his shoulder, Tosen was careful to angle it so that if Ichigo didn't move his black katana Kuchiki would be shorn in two. Immediately after he felt the pressure ease on his back, the traitor Captain ripped open a garganta and dashed through it, closing it swiftly behind him.
Kurosaki didn't allow himself time to be angry that his enemy had escaped: Rukia was in horrible shape, and healing her was his only concern. Laying her down gently on the frozen leaves, Ichigo took in the severity of Rukia's wounds and felt an inexplicable, primal rage well up in him. His instinct was screaming at him to find the person who had done this and tear them to shreds for daring to mar his loved one. But the Soul Reaper hastily repressed that emotion, instead focusing on patching up Rukia's wounds before she bled to death.
Ichigo didn't know any healing kido to speak of, but he did remember his first fight with Kenpachi, when Zangetsu had told him that reiatsu could be used to staunch the bleeding in wounds during an emergency. The Soul Reaper wasn't sure if the method would work with someone else's reiatsu, but at this point he was willing to try anything. Concentrating as hard as he could, Ichigo treated it like casting a kido spell and formed a grip on his raw spiritual energy. Once he had it under control, he forced it to flow from his body into Rukia's wounds. A small sigh of relief passed Kurosaki's lips as he saw the blood flow slowing and stopping, but Ichigo compelled himself to stay focused; any slip-up could reopen the gash that threatened to rob the prone Soul Reaper of her life.
Several tense moments passed before Rukia's eyes fluttered open, and the orange-haired Soul Reaper felt a huge weight roll off of his chest he hadn't even known was there.
"I…Ichigo?"
"Shh, it's all right," he answered as encouragingly as he could. "Don't move; you're pretty beat up."
The young Kuchiki forced a faint smile onto her lips, but it quickly morphed into a grimace as she felt pressure being placed on the sizable wound by a pair of weathered, but gentle hands. The initial sensation of discomfort was rapidly replaced by grateful relief as Rukia felt the pain ebbing away from her, and if she had been aware of the intimacy of the situation she might have had the decency to blush. As it stood, though, the violet-eyed Soul Reaper just sighed and rested her head on the frosty ground.
Rukia's feeling of tranquility evaporated faster than boiling water, however, when her head turned to the side and she saw Halibel's body splayed out on the leaves.
"You are a disgrace to that haori."
The words slammed back into her like a hammer, and the young Kuchiki couldn't help but agree with them. The fact that she had held her own, even for such a short time, with the second strongest Arrancar in existence never occurred to her; the only thing she felt then was the bitter, crushing sensation of defeat. Halibel was right; she didn't deserve to wear the white of a Captain if all she was going to do was soil it with her blood.
Ichigo felt Rukia go unsettlingly limp beneath his hands and his brow furrowed in consternation. The sense of gloom she was exuding was palpable, and she normally reserved this level of self-pity for when she was about to be executed. As soon as her wound had been closed up, the orange-haired warrior propped his loved one up against a tree trunk and leaned over, placing a gentle but insistent kiss on her lips. As he had hoped, the contact was enough to break Rukia out of her lethargy as she returned the action, if only temporarily. Ichigo felt the bitterness seep back into her kiss, and he broke away from her sharply.
"Okay, midget," Kurosaki said sternly, using his favorite nickname to grab her attention, "spill it."
Rukia looked at him strangely, affecting an air of ignorance.
"What're you talking about, Ichigo?"
Ichigo was about to reply when he found the words stopping in his throat, choked back by the wave of fury rising from the pit of his soul. This must have been how Rukia felt when he had tried to hide the effect Karin's death was having on him; he had bared his soul to her, warts and all, and now she refused to do the same for him? The blatant hypocrisy made him want to scream.
"You know exactly what I'm talking about, Rukia," he half-growled, and the violet-eyed Kuchiki flinched at the genuinely harsh tone she almost never heard Ichigo use towards her. Rather than shock her out of her sadness and back to reason, though, Kurosaki's plan backfired as Rukia only sunk deeper under the weight of her guilt at failing to beat Halibel, which was now compounded by her failure to be honest with Ichigo.
"She was right," the dark-haired Soul Reaper sighed, looking away from her loved one. "I am a disgrace."
As Ichigo glanced over and saw Halibel lying on the ground, it only took him a few heartbeats to piece everything together. When he turned his eyes back to Rukia, his harsh frown had been replaced by a look of compassionate understanding.
"Rukia," he said, his strong but mellow voice compelling the shamed Kuchiki to look up at him. Her eyes were wide, apprehensive and almost child-like; Ichigo would have even found the expression cute if it hadn't been so heartbreaking.
"Listen to me, midget," Kurosaki continued, relieved when the nickname brought a frown to her face.
"You just faced down the Second Espada and came out alive. She beat Toshiro half to death and almost got the best of Captain Ukitake, Rukia; don't be ashamed that you lost to her. That doesn't make you a disgrace in the slightest, and if I ever see you beating yourself up over it again I…"
Ichigo found his tirade truncated unexpectedly by a passionate kiss, and decided that Rukia had gotten the point as he relaxed and reciprocated. Several seconds passed before they broke apart, the bond between them that had wavered only moments before now reaffirmed, and stronger than ever.
"You talk too much, idiot."
The orange-haired Soul Reaper smiled at that, and took Rukia into a gentle, calming embrace.
"Don't you ever go off like that again without me, okay? And don't say that you were trying to prove you could take care of yourself," he preempted, shutting the young Kuchiki up before she had even begun. "The whole point of being in a relationship is trusting the other person to have your back at all times. I know you're strong enough to protect me when I do something stupid, Rukia; you don't have to prove anything to me, ever. You got that, short-stack?"
Kuchiki smiled, something that Kurosaki couldn't see, but heard in her reply nonetheless.
"Of course I do, you idiot," she answered. "Unlike you, my skull isn't a foot thick."
"Very funny," Ichigo said dryly, before rising to his feet and pulling Rukia up with him.
"Let's go home."
Rukia looked over at the Arrancar, who was beginning to stir, and her grip on her loved one's shoulder tightened.
"What're you going to do about her, Ichigo?"
The brown-eyed Soul Reaper smiled cryptically.
"I wouldn't worry about her, Rukia," he replied lightly. "It looks to me like someone's coming to take care of her."
The pair promptly vanished at the speed of Ichigo's bankai, leaving Halibel alone in the clearing. A few moments later, another figure appeared with a buzz and stood over the prone Arrancar.
"What did you get yourself into this time, kid?"
The former Second Espada forced herself to roll over, blinking a few times to clear the hazy image above her and recognizing the very familiar face.
"Stark," she said evenly, but with the faintest hint of a smile.
The former First Espada grinned back.
"The one and only."
Halibel was about to ask her comrade just how he had gotten out of the Maggot's Nest when another face popped into view, wearing a huge grin despite the slightly haggard look on her face and the messy condition of her short, bright green hair.
"Hey there, Halibel! Long time, no see!"
The blond Arrancar sighed, wishing that she could pass out again.
"Lilinette," she greeted impassively, with an undercurrent of sarcasm. "You're still perky as ever."
The young fraccion sighed, putting her hands on her hips and pouting childishly.
"You never lighten up, do ya?"
Halibel's eyes narrowed, a look Stark knew all-too-well. Sliding deftly in between the two females, the former First Espada scooped up his green-eyed comrade and, ignoring her uncharacteristic exclamation of protest, held her in his arms as Lilnette opened up a garganta. Before he stepped through it, however, Stark sought out Ichigo's potent reiatsu and formed a bridge between himself and the frighteningly powerful Soul Reaper.
"Thank you for sparing her, Kurosaki."
The Arrancar heard a carefree chuckle echo in his head, and smiled.
"Don't worry about it," Ichigo's voice replied. "Let's just say you owe me one, and leave it at that."
"Fair enough."
Severing the connection, Stark stepped through the garganta, followed closely by his fraccion, who closed it behind them like a curtain.
Grimmjow arrived at the Shiba household with one final flash-step, cradling his superior's body like it would break in the face of a strong wind. Unohana must have instinctively sensed Soi Fon's weak reiatsu, because she came running out at once and tried to relieve Jaegerjaques of his Captain. The former Arrancar stayed her hand, however, and looked her straight in the eye.
"Heal her," he said, in a gruff voice that was halfway between a command and a plea and heavy with barely-concealed concern. The Fourth Division Captain gave the blue-eyed warrior a placating smile and gently but firmly lifted Soi Fon from his arms before flashing back into the house. Sighing as the combined fatigue of the day's events finally hit him, Grimmjow meandered into the room Unohana had put his Captain in to for treatment and pulled a chair over to her bedside, collapsing into it and falling asleep mere seconds after his hand had subconsciously sought out Soi Fon's, closing around it protectively.
Ise Nanao woke up from her nap and untangled herself from the arms of her Captain, smirking at the disappointed groan he emitted despite being asleep. Reaching over to the nearby nightstand, the Eighth Division Lieutenant grabbed her glasses and put them on, sighing in relief as the room came into focus. Her mood soon shifted to anxiety, however, when she noticed that the item she had always put next to her glasses, her book of kido incantations, had gone missing. Frowning dangerously, Nanao got up and squared her shoulders with a huff before marching out of the room, determined on finding the thief and teaching them a lesson.
When she found out who it was, though, and what they were doing with the book, all Ise could do was smile as she walked towards the thief, her anger melting away.
Sitting on a couch in the main room of the Shiba house, Yoruichi Shihoin was flipping through pages of the kido book with one hand while the other rested gently on her belly.
"Ye lord, mask of blood and flesh, all creation, flutter of wings, ye who bears the name of Man! Inferno and pandemonium, the sea barrier surges, march onto the south! That's hado number 31, Shakkaho," she said quietly but intently, before noticing that she wasn't alone. Looking up, the former Second Division Captain beamed a smile.
"Hey, Lieutenant. Sorry I took your book without asking, but I didn't want to wake you and I was sure you wouldn't mind."
"Not at all," Nanao said as her smile widened, taking a seat next to the golden-eyed princess. Realizing what spell she had just heard, the bespectacled Soul Reaper raised a single, elegant eyebrow.
"Don't you think it's a little early to be teaching the little one kido, let alone Hado incantations?"
The Shihoin princess gave a particularly feline grin at that, her fanged canines glinting mischievously.
"Gotta start him somewhere, Lieutenant. Besides, I'm pretty sure I'll be fine; it's not like he can speak yet."
Nanao couldn't keep her curiosity in check, and spoke.
"How are you so sure it'll be a he?"
Yoruichi shrugged.
"Just a feeling."
A moment of companionable silence passed before Nanao spoke again.
"So, have you thought of any names?"
Yoruichi gave a small smile.
"Saikafu, maybe."
Ise considered the aptness of the name: One way of writing Saika's name meant catastrophe or calamity, which definitely fit what had happened to the Soul Reapers after the half-demon had showed up again. Saikafu, on the other hand, meant renewal, or rebirth: it honored the name of his father, while simultaneously marking a new beginning.
Before Nanao could say any of these things out loud, however, a large and distinctly unsettled reiatsu appeared very close by. Yoruichi knew it as well as she knew her own, and rose to her feet in an instant.
"Kisuke…" she breathed, before flashing away, no doubt to see what had so upset her best friend. The Lieutenant merely gathered up her book and shuffled rapidly away from Captain Urahara's reiatsu, before it rubbed off on her and ruined her good mood.
The Shihion princess soon stood in front of her blond-haired friend, and was torn between sadness and horror at what she saw. Benihime was unsealed and streaked with blood, the same dark liquid that rolled down his arms before dripping onto the floor. His eyes were still slate-gray, which meant that he hadn't gone as far as to unleash his bankai, but the simmering rage that surrounded him like a dark shroud spoke volumes as to what the Twelfth Division Captain had been doing.
"Kisuke?" she asked hesitantly, more than a little disturbed by his seemingly sociopathic attitude at the moment. It was almost like Kisuke was looking straight through her, focusing on something she couldn't see.
"We need to talk, Saika."
The voice was blood and iron, a tone Yoruichi had only heard a few times in her life and one that still sent chills down her spine. It wasn't as ethereally creepy as the voice his bankai gave him, but in some ways it was more unsettling: Urahara was in complete control of his emotions and he still sounded more bloodthirsty than a vampire. Yoruichi spun around and found herself staring right at a single orange eye, which was glittering with something halfway between agony and pure malice.
"Very well."
Urahara vanished and Saika made to follow him, but Yoruichi wrapped a slim hand around his wrist and held him fast.
"Saika," she said, trying not to sound pleading. "What's going on?"
The half-demon prince averted his gaze, pulling his wrist from her grasp.
"I'm sorry, Yoruichi," he said lowly, before vanishing. The purple-haired princess felt herself go lightheaded with confusion and anger at being left on the outside of something that was clearly important, walking slowly over to a chair and sinking into it with a sigh. What the hell was going on?
The ex-Captain was pulled out of her thoughts abruptly when she felt a tremor rise up from within her, but it also felt like it was outside of her. The expectant mother quickly connected the dots and placed a hand on her abdomen, tracing gentle circles as she murmured softly to her unborn child. The tremor soon calmed, and Yoruichi sighed heavily. He wasn't even out of the womb yet, and already her son had been affected by the mercurial moods of the two most important men in her life.
"I know," she whispered, "I know. It'll be all right, little one. Trust me."
"How long have you known?"
Saika met the steely stare and set his jaw defiantly.
"Known what?"
Kisuke sprung forward with a savageness that caught the demon prince completely by surprise, pinning him against the wall.
"You know what I'm talking about, Saika! Benihime told me that your days were numbered; how long have you known you were going to die? Was it before or after you took Yoruichi's heart away from her? You're just going to break it again, you bastard!"
Saika wanted to shatter that bitch of a zanpakuto into a million pieces, but he knew that countering rage with rage never ended well.
"You misunderstood her, Kisuke," Aron replied as calmly as he could with a hand around his neck. "I'm not going to die soon, something much worse is going to happen to me. Ask your harlot of a sword if you don't believe me."
Urahara's grip around his neck slackened, and Saika watched with bemusement as the emotionally turbulent Captain closed his eyes briefly to commune with his zanpakuto. His eyes opened against shortly thereafter, most of his anger replaced with detached, almost scientific curiosity.
"All right," he said as he exhaled wearily, "I'll believe you. But if you're not going to die, then what the hell was Benihime talking about?"
The orange-eyed half-demon frowned, angry at having to revisit such a painful truth again so soon after it had shattered him the first time.
"You might want to sit down," Saika began.
A few minutes later, Kisuke's mouth had dropped slightly in shock and most of his anger had faded into the background, but something still rankled him.
"As sympathetic as I am to your… situation, Saika," he said, "do you realize how selfish you're acting?"
"Trust me," the prince shot back, "if I had any other option I would choose it in an instant, but I don't. You do understand I'm talking about Yoruichi's life here, right?"
"Believe me, I do," the blond Captain insisted. "But even if she survives this, you're leaving her broken-hearted and without a father to raise her child, which is your responsibility as much as it is hers."
"You think I don't realize that?" Saika answered, anger spiking in his voice. "The last thing I want is to do to that kid what my father did to me, but it's much more important that the child have its mother than its father."
Urahara's face was impassive.
"I hope you know how weak that sounds, Aron."
The half-demon prince all but snarled, barely keeping his temper in check.
"If you can think of a perfect solution, I'm more than willing to listen."
Kisuke could only shrug.
"I never said there was one," he answered, "but I would at least tell Yoruichi what's going on… if she's going to have to deal with losing you, it'd be best if she knew why, rather than being left in the lurch and possibly blaming herself for something completely out of her control."
Aron was silent for a few tense moments before he sighed, gripping his hair with both of his hands.
"You're right," he admitted. "Still, either way this sucks."
The Captain sighed.
"Them's the breaks, my friend," he said, pitying Saika's plight even as he hated him for breaking Yoruichi's heart again. It wasn't like he had a choice in the matter, but still…
"Oy!"
The shout got Urahara's attention and he blinked, embarrassed. Clearly he had missed something important.
"Sorry, what was that?"
Saika gave a bittersweet smirk, as if he had read Kisuke's thoughts down to the letter.
"I said, you're going to have to look after her once I'm gone. I'm going to ask Byakuya to be the kid's godfather, but you know Yoruichi better than anyone else, even me. If there's one person who'll be able to help her through this, it's you."
Once again the Twelfth Division Captain felt like a schizophrenic, torn between solemnity and happiness. As always, though, he reined in his emotions and nodded gravely.
"I understand."
Aron got up, inclining his head curtly.
"That's good to hear. If you'll excuse me, I'm off to break the news to Byakuya before I go get eviscerated by a certain black cat."
Urahara couldn't help but give a small chuckle at the image.
"Good luck."
"Thanks," Saika replied, chuckling in kind. "I hope I don't need it, but knowing my life, I'll need more than you can give me."
"Byakuya, get up. You've been lying there for hours."
When the man lying next to her did nothing more than give a childish moan of refusal and pull the blankets tighter around him, Kuukaku smirked and decided to bring out the big guns. She was one of the only people who knew of this particular weakness, and she was prepared to exploit it to its fullest extent. Snaking her good arm under the blanket, she ran the tips of her fingernails over the left side of the elder Kuchiki's abdomen, right below his ribcage.
The reaction Shiba got was even better than she had expected, probably because the man hadn't been tickled since they'd been together so many years ago. Jerking like he'd been hit with four shots of byakurai, Byakuya shot up into a sitting position and glared at Kuukaku, who only laughed harder when she saw how cute his disheveled hair made him look.
"You should see the look on your face," she forced out in between laughs. "It's perfect."
"Somehow, I do not believe I'm missing much. Please tell me you have something to discuss, and did not wake me just for the sake of doing so."
The sea green-eyed woman frowned before playfully ruffling Byakuya's well-kept tresses, another thing she knew annoyed him to no end.
"You're always so uptight, Byakuya. Aren't you going to let yourself unwind, now that the Four Noble Houses technically no longer exist?"
Kuchiki arched an eyebrow at the unexpected question.
"What do you mean?"
Kuukaku huffed, muttering something that sounded like 'And you call me stubborn' before raising her voice and speaking directly to her former fiancé.
"When the Seireitei crumbled, the Nobility crumbled with it. The Families ceased to exist, Byakuya. As far as Soul Society is concerned, you're just a guy who happens to have the last name of Kuchiki.
"What I'm asking you is if you'll finally drop this icy, regal bullshit routine of yours, now that you don't have appearances to keep up."
The head of the Kuchiki clan, which now numbered a total of two people, was silent for several moments as he stoically appraised the woman sitting crossed-legged next to him. Kuukaku found herself becoming more and more tense as each second ticked languorously by, but right when she was about to snap something soft and fluffy slammed into her face and bowled her over.
"What the hell was that?" Shiba barked as she sat back up on the bed, only to find Byakuya looking back at her with an unsettling gleam in his eye, a small smirk on his face and a pillow clutched in his hand.
"Does that answer your question, Kuukaku?" he asked, with just enough amusement in his voice to piss off the woman beside him. If there was one thing the elder Kuchiki knew how to do, it was push Shiba's buttons.
"Why you little…" she growled, picking up a pillow of her own and lashing out at the grey-eyed man. Byakuya flashed away at the last possible moment, reappearing off of the bed, standing right behind Kuukaku.
"You were always so predictable," he said as smugly as he could without laughing, and was going to continue taunting the delightfully temperamental Shiba when he felt Saika's reiatsu at the door and his playfulness vanished at once, his mask back in place.
"I have business to attend to, my Lady," he said formally, "but I will return shortly."
Before Kuukaku had even been given enough time to protest, Byakuya was gone.
The air was still for a few moments as the Sixth Division Captain absorbed what he'd just been told, until he broke the silence almost hesitantly.
"What would you have me do, my friend? It appears that your situation is, regrettably, inescapable."
"I know that, Byakuya," Saika replied with a touch more force than he had intended, sighing in exasperation as he regained control of his temper.
"Look," the half-demon prince amended, "I'm sorry I snapped at you, and no, I didn't call you here because I needed a shrink. When my kid is born, I want you to be his godfather."
Kuchiki was quiet once again, simply nodding his acceptance; a feeling of fatalistic finality had settled over the room, and the Captain was loath to break it. There was one thing that piqued his curiosity, however.
"How do you know the child will be a boy?"
Saika could only shrug.
"Just a feeling."
With that, as smoothly as he had come Aron vanished, no doubt off to break the grim news to his loved one.
Urahara had just managed to get himself back to a state of relative emotional equilibrium when he felt distraught reiatsu speeding towards him like a cheetah. Soon enough Yoruichi had appeared in front of him, saying nothing as she clung to her best friend like her life depended on it. No words were spoken by either of them, because none were needed: Kisuke knew exactly what his friend required, and he was more than willing to give it. She shed no tears, and barely made any movement whatsoever, but Urahara could tell that Yoruichi was incredibly upset.
No doubt Saika had dropped the bombshell right on her unsuspecting head, and the Shihoin princess was still reeling from it. After several moments, the golden-eyed woman sighed and spoke, her voice unusually hollow.
"It's not fair."
Urahara tightened his end of the embrace ever so slightly, hoping to convey his support, before replying.
"I know," he said, "but that's life for you. Think about it like this: would you have preferred that Saika had just left you a note and vanished off into parts unknown, rather than telling you the truth to your face?"
"I guess not," Shihoin replied after a pause, "but that still doesn't make it any easier to take."
"I'm not saying it'll be easy, Yoruichi-san," the Captain spoke as he let her go, pleased to see that her normal resilience shone once again in her eyes.
"Just remember that we're here to help you through it."
A moderate smile was the scientist's reward.
"Thank you, Kisuke," the former Captain said as she turned to leave. "I'll remember that."
A moment later she was gone, and Urahara allowed a smile to pass over his face. The atmosphere was still one of sadness, no doubt, but at least this modicum of hope had been salvaged from the gloom. Yoruichi was still strong, as she would always be, and that was what mattered the most to the Twelfth Division Captain.
"I'll look after her, my friend," he said to no one in particular, "but something tells me she won't need it."
Ulquiorra had been working up the courage to ask Neliel a very important question for the past few days now, and had finally overcome a very atypical bout of anxiety. Right as he was about to speak to the woman he was currently playing a heated game of chess with, though, a voice sounded in his head that brooked no argument.
"I have something I must discuss with you, Ulquiorra. Now."
The former Fourth Espada finished his move and placed Neliel in checkmate, producing a frustrated-yet-endearing growl from the former Third Espada. Before she could challenge him to another rematch, though, Schiffer lifted a hand to stop her.
"There is something I must take care of," he said levelly. "I hope you won't mind postponing your next loss for a while."
"You're just trying to weasel out of getting beaten this time," the green-haired Soul Reaper retorted, and Ulquiorra flashed an incredibly rare smirk before vanishing.
When he arrived by Saika's side, Schiffer noticed that Grimmjow had also been summoned.
"No doubt you two are wondering why I have called you here, when you two are no longer technically mine to command," the half-demon prince said.
"The reason is that I'm not going to be here for very much longer, and I wanted to square some things away with you guys before I left. First and foremost, consider any debts or obligations either of you feel you owe me to be dealt with; I'm not going to be around, so no one would be here to collect on those anyway.
"Also, I must ask you two to not follow me where I must go; your place is here now, with the people you love, not buried among the damned.
"It was an honor to have known and to have fought with each of you, and I can only hope that Fortune is less of a bitch to you than she has been to me."
With that Aron vanished, leaving the two former Espada more than a little confused. Grimmjow was the one to break the silence, his tone surprisingly devoid of his trademark growl.
"Guess that makes sense," he said, with a tinge of melancholy in his voice. "The General never struck me as a guy who liked goodbyes."
As Jaegerjaques flashed away, Ulquiorra did some reflecting of his own.
"Wherever you're going, Aron-sama," he said, "I hope you find what you're looking for."
Saika stopped flash-stepping in the middle of a city street, making sure that he was surrounded by nothing more than empty, condemned buildings and the husks of the buildings-to-be that would replace the derelict ones once construction was finished. Hopefully this far out, no one would get injured while he did what he had to do. Sitting down with his legs crossed, the demon prince put one hand to the ground and concentrated as hard as he could, sending his message through the spiritual barriers that separated the Human World from Hell. Once he was sure it had gone through, Aron rose to his feet and drew his sword. Seconds afterwards, he felt another presence materialize behind him. Not even turning around, he addressed the new arrival.
"Hello, Aizen."
The former Captain's voice was just as calm, and as courteous as always.
"Prince Aron. I was wondering how long it would take you to issue your challenge."
Saika turned around, facing his enemy head-on.
"You'd be surprised how liberating it is to have absolutely nothing to lose," he said nonchalantly, and Sosuke smiled.
"Shall we see if that freedom makes your blade any sharper, Prince? It seems quite dull to me."
Aron smiled.
"I guess you shouldn't have stopped wearing those glasses, then." The smile then vanished from his face completely, replaced by a grim line of determination.
"Prepare yourself, Aizen!"
With that Saika charged, and the clash of their blades resounded throughout the desolate ghost town.
A/N: Man, that was a tough chapter to get onto the page, sorry it took so long. Halibel's fight with Rukia and Urahara's conversation with Saika were the hardest parts to get right, so I hope those came across at least palatably. Also, don't freak out over Byakuya's OoC-ness towards Kuukaku—as soon as Soul Society gets its bearings again, you can bet Kuchiki will be back to upholding the laws and setting the standards of behavior like he always has. Then again, it might take a while for that to happen; you never know. Also, if Orihime struck any of you as too soft of a character in the beginning of the chapter, don't worry... she'll be back on the horse next time.
I also felt kind of cheap writing Halibel, Stark and Tosen out like that, but they'll be back for sure later on, most likely in the sequel. There's probably only going to be about two or three more chapters to this story, so to all of you who have come this far and offered words of encouragement and suchlike, thank you very much.
Oh, and drop a review. Every time you do, an angel gets its wings.