Countdown till final :3
This chapter comes with an art, you know hot to get to my DA folder by now, I hope so at least.

The stranger turned around to leave and just as he wanted, Shiro followed after him with a load of questions on his lips.
"Who are you? What's that about our father? As far as I know I hadn't a brother and couldn't have gotten one, because my father died in a raid of the slayers when I was a fledgling."
"In a way we purebloods are all brothers and sisters, don't you agree?"
The stranger answered vaguely.
Rukia who also followed after him, asked the man, who wore a blue changpao.
"How exactly is Ichigo in danger?"
Calmly the man explained.
"Father plans to use him to turn the world into an all out massacre, and become the only survivor, together with his Eve. When all became but a sea of blood, he'll create a new race after his image."

"Ichigo would never do something like that."
"Not of his own volition. Did you never notice, that the S.I.N, like you now call them, who roam in this vicinity, have a relapse at the same time his condition gets worse? He won't do it on his own accord, but should he fully lose his reason, it can affect S.I.N.'s all over the world and they'll begin to run amok."
After a short pause he added.
"You saw it happen once already. Hundred years ago when his blood wakened."
The stranger had led them outside the tower and down the street toward the harbor, while he spoke.

"You seem to know a lot about it. Do you know where they came from, to begin with?"
"Yes. Those who become a S.I.N. are either descendants of slayers who got turned, or Vampires who consumed the blood of such."
Abruptly Shiro stopped and stared at the mans retreating back.
"Aren't there only a few of these who call themselves slayers? I thought there were just the twenty we made peace with."
The stranger stopped as well, turned back to Shiro and explained.
"No, It's twenty who awaken, because they have the soul, that matches with their blood. But a great part of humankind has a slayers blood in them."
Shiro thought about it and summarized.

"So, when Ichigo loses it, the S.I.N.'s will go on a rampage, and create new S.I.N.'s in between. Of course V.A.S.T. and the councils will react to it, and eliminate the threats until only they are left over. Anger will rise between them and they blame each other for what happened, to the point of taking each other out."
The stranger nodded and added.
"The councils will blame Ichigo, and the Shichi Shikei together with your council will be the only ones to have his back. Eventually he will rip you apart in his maddened state though. With only him left, father will kill him and inaugurate a new era."
Shiro grit his teeth and began to run.
"I won't let that happen. Be he my father, or not. I won't let him destroy everything we worked so hard for."
The stranger caught up to him and took the lead again, until he suddenly stopped and looked around, disoriented.

"What is it?"
Rukia asked, reaching with her hand to the gun in the holster at her hip.
"I lost them. The trail ends here. We have to search around and hope to find a new one."
"Fuck! How could you lose it? Acting high and mighty you...you... Who the hell are you anyway?"
Shiro yelled, throwing his hands out in frustration.
The stranger smiled mildly and headed onward, keeping the course toward the harbor.
"I thought you had long since hit on it. It is sad, really, that only the name carried through time. I am Kuchiki Byakuya."
Shiro couldn't help himself, but gape.
The ancestor stood before him, and called him brother?

Somewhere, in the small room Ichigo was held captive in, the orangette had been chained to a wall.
His arms were getting numb from being held over his head the whole time.
Streams of dried blood covered his bared upper body, the female blabbermouth had torn his black shirt, and he was getting thirsty.
The woman was watching him with a huge grin and still had small trail of blood in the corner of her lips.
"Ne, you really taste good. Almost like the fruit you share the name with. I could suck you dry, but he wouldn't like that."
Ichigo let his head hang.

He chuckled lightly, his face hidden under his bangs.
The laughter ended and his head snapped up, fixing her with his eye, though his vision became blurry.
"Hey girly, What's your name?"
"Benerice Gabrielli. Why do you care?"
Ichigo chuckled again and a sneer grew on his lips.
"I wouldn't want to write 'greatest bitch of the 22nd century' on an anonymous tombstone."
Benerice stood up an grabbed the still grinning Ichigo by his hair.
"You sure get cocky, when you're running dry. I long to see how you get in the last stage."
Ichigos grin widened and his fangs started to show.
"I'll rip you apart before."
The woman returned the grin, then frowned and kicked him in the ribs.
Ichigo was robbed of his breath for a moment.
"Don't get in over your head. You're just a tool for our plan."

Somewhere a door opened and the male part of the duet came in.
"How far is he?"
"Getting close. One more time and he'll be ready."
Pained and dizzy Ichigos mind slowly caught up.
"You want me to turn into a S.I.N.."
The overly talkative woman answered to his conclusion.
"Correct. You'll go on a little rampage and all these Sins will follow suit. We'll have a huge blood party and start anew after everything is over."
Anger and bile rose in Ichigo.
He could feel himself getting weaker and worse by the minute.
At this rate he'd play into their hands and like he was now, chained in a barely lit room he couldn't do much to avoid it.
He didn't know how much time had gone by already, but the woman was right that he was close to losing it.
Ichigo began to struggle and growl, like a mad dog.
"Oh, see? See? It's starting."
Benerice said with a high voice and jumped around in joy, while the man just watched calmly.

"I...won't let you..."
Ichigo pressed out.
Fighting against the boiling blood inside him, he pulled himself up with his last strength.
"What are you...?"
The woman started but the question died in her throat, as Ichigo yelled.

"I am not letting you have your way!"

He pulled his body high enough, to stand straight on weak legs and move his arms almost freely.
Before the villains could react he, bit himself in his right upper arm and let his blood flow out.
"Stop it!"
Benerice tried to pull him off, but Ichigos willpower gave him enough strength to withstand her, until the moment he lost consciousness.
"Damn!"
The woman cried out.
"The boy isn't as dumb as I thought."
"What do we do now?"
The man turned around and left toward the door.
"We'll wait. When he wakes, before the help, he bet upon, arrives, he'd done us a great favor."
As he stepped through the door, he laughed heartily.

"What an amusing gamble."

Chapter 25
End