A/N: So for the people wondering how Urahara meddled…I intended to add it into the story, but the mood suddenly changed on me. So expect an explanation in an omake somewhere, and maybe it will come up again. Sorry. .

Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach. At all.

Chapter 8: A new war

Toshiro wasted no time in starting the battle.

"Sit upon the frozen heavens, Hyorinmaru!" he commanded, ice crystals erupting from the base of his blade to form the white dragon that was Hyorinmaru's shikai. The dragon flew towards Sieg, jaws outstretched, but the Arrancar simply took a step back, sweeping the dragon aside with a swipe of his sword. Sieg's eyes drifted towards the cowering Plus on the ground, and he pointed his finger at him.

"Bala," he said calmly.

Karin immediately flash stepped in front of Kaito, holding her sword in front of her. The blast of energy struck the blade, the shock of impact traveling all the way up her hands. She scowled, but stood her ground, her own reiatsu flaring up as a counterpoint and holding her steady. Toshiro glanced back at her as he landed lightly on the ground.

"Karin, take care of him," he said, looking briefly at Kaito's spirit. Toshiro jumped into the air again, sending Hyorinmaru straight at Sieg. The Arrancar jumped into the air as well, and Hyorinmaru's dragon looped back to catch him as he flew straight at the white-haired captain.

"Got it," said Karin, turning her sword around and preparing to press the hilt of it to Kaito's forehead.

"No konsou!" commanded Toshiro from above, holding his sword out in front of his chest as he blocked Sieg's blow, the two of them locked in combat. "We need his information, and we don't know if he'll make it to Rukongai with his wits intact."

"Then how the hell am I supposed to protect him?" yelled Karin.

As if in response to that, Sieg raised his hand, two fingers moving swiftly through the air. A rip opened in the sky, and with a roar, a Gillian shambled through, its height making them look like a skyscraper against the city's skyline. Karin's eyes narrowed, and she grabbed Kaito by the elbow, pulling him up.

"KARIN!" shouted Toshiro.

"I know, I know!" she shouted back, grabbing Kaito under the arm and flash stepping out of the way quickly as the Gillian opened his mouth, sending out a red beam that tore at the street. She quickly shoved the newly-created Plus into an alleyway.

"Stay here," she said, "And don't move."

"But what are you going to do?" asked Kaito. "They're too strong…"

Karin looked up in the sky, watching as Toshiro and Sieg exchanged blows, each of them matching the other's attacks equally. They moved so quickly that she couldn't see the spaces in between their movements, just the brief times they would come together and the sparks that would come off their zanpakutos.

"What the hell do you think I'm going to do?" she asked, pointing Ongetsu straight out in front of her. "I'm going to fight. Reveal yourself, Ongetsu."

At her command, darkness engulfed her sword's hilt, the blade forming into a familiar scythe. She gripped it in both hands, jumping into the air. The Gillian turned towards her, fixing her with its dull red eyes. Its mouth opened again as it charged up another Cero. Karin scowled, gathering reiatsu around the blade of her scythe. She swung it into the air above her head.

"Getsuga…" she began, her gray eyes glowing with a faint light. Her reiatsu crackled around her. "TENSHOU!"

A large curved blade of reiatsu tore through the air, cutting the Cero down the middle as it formed and crashing into the Gillian from the side. The blade of reiatsu crackled sharply, tearing a deep gash in the monster.

"…an unexplained disturbance occurring in the Udagawa district of the Shibuya prefecture, on Spain Hill, a popular shopping destination…"

Yuzu frowned, looking over the back of the couch and at the TV. The captain was seated on the couch, the two of them having come back to the hotel after their brief shopping venture. Yuzu had come in to ask him what he wanted to do for lunch when the news report had caught her ear.

The TV was showing a gash suddenly opening in a skyscraper, shards of glass breaking and falling to the street as people screamed. Her eyes narrowed. For a moment, she thought she had seen a flash of black robes, before they disappeared from sight.

"That damage pattern…" she said almost to herself as she studied the building. Her heart beat quickly in her chest, and she felt Jungetsu's sudden concern. She couldn't feel her reiatsu, but she knew. She knew in her heart that it was Karin.

Byakuya nodded, his expression serious. "It resembles a Getsuga Tenshou."

"Karin-chan…"

"It would appear so," said Byakuya. His frown deepened, and he rose to his feet. "Kurosaki, prepare for battle. Inform the human of the situation. We will observe, but we will maintain our cover as spiritually aware humans, should we run into members of the New Dawn."

"Hai, taicho," said Yuzu, her expression serious. She placed one hand on her purse, where their Soul Candy dispensers rested. Deep within her, buried beneath the confines of her gigai, she felt Jungetsu begin to stir.

My brother fights. I feel him. Remember the words I said to you…said the zanpakuto spirit. Do not hold back.

If it comes to that…she promised silently. I won't.

A blast of compressed air tore through the alleyway, heading straight towards him. Yasui Tetsuya jumped back into the air, the blast scoring the ground directly underneath him and slamming into the alley's wall. He landed neatly on his feet, his hand going back to the plastic water bottle hanging from his backpack. His eyes narrowed, focused on the girl in front of him.

She was dressed in a high school uniform, her black hair cut short and hanging just below her ear. One of her hands was outstretched, facing him.

Ahead of him, the battle between Hitsugaya Toshiro, Kurosaki Karin, and the Arrancar continued. He could sense their reiatsu through the city streets, and it had been what had drawn him in the first place.

"I can't allow you to interfere in Siegel-san's battle," said the girl, frowning at him.

"Who are you?" asked Yasui.

"Hamano Tomoe," she replied. "Third in command of the New Dawn."

"You're human," replied Yasui. "Why are you siding with the Arrancar?"

"Why do you side with the shinigami, Yasui Tetsuya?" asked the girl in reply. Yasui's eyes widened in surprise, and the girl nodded once. "Yes," she said. "We know who you are. We've been watching Kusanagi for a very long time, at Hanako-sama's orders."

Sama…thought Yasui, feeling a chill crawl up his spine. Why sama…?

From inside his jacket pocket, he felt his phone begin to vibrate. Yasui quickly drew it out, glancing at the name that displayed on the screen.

Incoming call…Kurosaki Yuzu

He raised it to his ear, about to answer. The girl moved her hand again, and a jet of compressed air shot from her fingers, slamming into the fragile phone and shattering it against the wall. Yasui jumped back, a deep frown on his face as he neatly avoided the next blast that came his way. The girl's expression didn't change. She merely advanced, pinning him against the alley wall.

"I don't want to fight you," he said quietly. "We shouldn't be fighting each other. There's too few of us as it is."

"Then you will die here," said the girl matter-of-factly. She drew her hand back, a blast of curved air heading towards him. "And I will rip your chain of fate from your chest."

His eyes narrowed dangerously, and he stepped to the side, the blast of heated air neatly moving past him. "I didn't want to fight you, Hamano-san," he said, his voice cold. "But with that threat, you sealed your fate. I'm not afraid to die. None of us are. But even as a threat, I won't have you making a Hollow out of me."

She pulled back her hand again. Yasui thrust his hand outward, the water bursting from his water bottle and rushing towards her. It sharpened as it reached her, forming three blades that came at her from all sides. Tomoe's eyes widened, and she jumped back, drawing the air around herself in a whirlwind and scattering the water into water droplets around her. The droplets sharpened into needles with a wave of Yasui's hand, flying towards her as the whirlwind eased up.

One of the needles scratched her cheek as it hit, leaving a line of blood.

Tomoe simply smirked, her eyes shadowed by her hair. The whirlwind burst around her, and Yasui's eyes widened as it struck the droplets of water, the heat from the wind vaporizing them on contact. He quickly unzipped his backpack, reaching for another bottle of water. He uncapped it, letting a stream of water pool around him. The temperature in the alley rose a few degrees, coils of steam rising from his collection of water.

"Don't bother," said Tomoe, stepping forward through the wave of heat. "I know your powers, Yasui. You can control large quantities of water and use them in an attack. But you can't create water, can you?"

He took a step back, gritting his teeth.

"I can control the temperature of the air I use, the same way you can change the temperature of your water. But my control exceeds yours. Go ahead, make it as cold as you wish. I can still heat it. And what will you do once your supply runs out?"

He hurled the blast of water towards her. It struck a shield of air, evaporating on impact. Steam shimmered around her for a moment, before getting swept up in a wave of hot air.

"If you think I'm afraid of a glorified air-conditioner, you've got another thing coming," he said, reaching for another bottle.

"Simple bravado," said Tomoe, smirking. "You know that I've won this battle."

Yasui scowled, spilling the water into the air before rushing towards her again.

"I can't reach Yasui-kun!" said Yuzu in an alarmed voice as they ran down the street, staring at her cellphone. The last few calls she had placed had gone straight to voice mail. Byakuya glanced back from where he ran ahead of her, a frown on his face.

"I can sense his reiatsu," he said, after a moment. "He appears to be engaged in battle."

"We need to help him!" said Yuzu, expanding her own senses as well. She caught the faint feeling of Yasui's reiatsu, but it was far away, and not as strong as the impression Karin and Hitsugaya's reiatsu left in her mind. She glanced in the direction it came from.

"There is no time," said Byakuya. "Leave him. He fights only one enemy, and his opponent is also human."

"But—," began Yuzu.

"There is still one Arrancar," said Byakuya, interrupting her. "And we are the only ones capable of defeating her. Have you forgotten that?"

Yuzu took a deep breath, staring in the direction of Yasui's reiatsu flares one more time. She knew Byakuya was right. Of course he was right. There was no way Yasui or any of the members of Kusanagi could take an Espada-level Arrancar. From what she had heard in textbooks, Espada-level Arrancar could be challenges even for captain-level shinigami. And she had felt Catalina's strength before. There was no way of telling whether or not Catalina and Sieg were the only Arrancar they had to worry about either.

But the thought of leaving Yasui behind to fight his own battle tore at her.

If she went to help him, though, she would be leaving her taicho alone against an Espada-level Arrancar of unknown strength, while Yasui fought against an opponent he was matched with.

If Yasui was fighting a human opponent too, then there was only one interpretation of that. The New Dawn truly did side with the rogue Arrancar.

It was horrible, but it was necessary. She took a deep breath, nodding once and following Byakuya down the street.

Yasui-kun…she thought. Don't die…

Karin landed lightly on the ground in the wake of the dead Gillian, Ongetsu's shaft tucked lightly under her arm as the scythe blade pointed at the ground. She looked up, watching as Sieg pushed off with his sword, sending Toshiro flying into one of the nearby buildings. Glass shattered, raining onto the streets below and further inciting the people's panic. She tightened her grip on the scythe's shaft. She pushed off the ground, pulling Ongetsu back and holding the scythe blade above her head.

"Toshiro, the limiter!" she yelled as she brought her scythe down towards Sieg's head.

There was a pause, and then power pulsed from the cloud of dust and glass. The reiatsu pulse blew the glass outward, revealing the Tenth Division captain. His eyes were narrowed, one hand on Hyorinmaru's hilt. The other tugged his shihakusho aside, revealing the Tenth Division daffodil on his chest.

It glowed a bright blue and then shattered, releasing a wave of reiatsu in the air. As it did, Sieg turned around, ducking under Ongetsu's slash and shoving Karin away with a wave of his hand. Karin grunted in pain, but flipped over in the air, sliding on a patch of solid reiatsu underneath her and getting to her feet. Toshiro charged Sieg again, their blades meeting a second time before they pulled apart.

"How about it, Hitsugaya Toshiro?" asked Sieg, pointing his sword at Toshiro. "Will you show me your bankai now?"

Toshiro grit his teeth, glancing once at Karin. She nodded, knowing what he was asking, and flash stepped away, grabbing Kaito and taking him to a farther distance. The Plus seemed to be having a hard time breathing, with all of the reiatsu in the air.

It suddenly grew cold, as cold as winter. Toshiro held Hyorinmaru up in front of him, the dragon coiling behind him. "If that is how you wish to die today…" he said. "So be it."

A small smirk appeared on Sieg's face. "Very well," he said, drawing his zanpakuto back. "Haunt," he commanded, reiatsu swirling around him. "Fantasma."

"Bankai," said Toshiro, his eyes narrowing.

"Daiguren Hyourinmaru."

Boom. Boom.

Twin shots tore through the air as Byakuya and Yuzu rounded the corner into the Udagawa side street. For a moment, the two of them caught sight of rounded pellets with a familiar skull insignia painted on the side, wreathed in blue flames. The bullets struck their gigais in the chests, the false bodies falling to the ground as their spirits flew out of them. Byakuya landed neatly in a crouched position, his eyes narrowed. Beside him, Yuzu flew backwards a little bit more before planting her feet on the ground and sliding back, one hand on Jungetsu's hilt.

The both of them wore their shihakushos in this form, their zanpakutos at their sides. They looked up at the top of one of the buildings, near the painted graffiti murals against the wall.

A young man stood on the wall, his hand on a silvery-gray gun. He had a shock of messy brown hair on his head, and his eyes were a deep brown. As Yuzu watched, he rolled another set of bullets between his fingers, loading them into the revolver.

Beside him stood a familiar red-haired Arrancar. Catalina Falza smirked, holding her zanpakuto in one hand. Its naked blade gleamed in the sun.

Yuzu slowly drew Jungetsu, holding it in one hand as Byakuya drew Senbonzakura from its sheath.

"Good shot, Jin," said Catalina, grinning as put her foot on the ledge over the side of the building and leaned on her knee. The man beside her said nothing, slowly loading the bullets into the gun. "Long time no see, Kurosaki Yuzu, Kuchiki Byakuya." She tugged on her Arrancar robes, pulling them off her shoulder and revealing the beginning of an ugly red scar. "You know, I never got to thank you for this."

Yuzu's eyes narrowed sharply, her grip tightening on Jungetsu's hilt. Byakuya glanced back at her. "Do not allow her to provoke you," he said, his voice low as he watched Catalina.

"Hai, taicho," said Yuzu quietly.

"Did you really think you were fooling anyone with those gigais?" she asked. "Did you really think we wouldn't notice that you were in this city? How dumb do you think we are, stupid shinigami?"

"What is your aim here?" asked Byakuya.

"Our aim?" asked Catalina, laughing. "You're about to die, and you ask us about our goals? Our only goal this moment is to kill you. That's all you need to know." She held her zanpakuto in front of her, her reiatsu flaring. Byakuya glanced back at Yuzu.

"Kurosaki," he said. "The limiter."

"Hai," said Yuzu. She tugged her shihakusho to the side, exposing the camellia-shaped black mark over her collarbone. Byakuya did the same, exposing an identical mark. Their reiatsus began to flare around them, the camellia marks glowing a bright blue before they shattered, disappearing completely.

At once, the entirety of her spiritual powers came back, and Yuzu felt a slow hum of power begin from Jungetsu, traveling through her body and rippling under her skin. Byakuya's reiatsu continued to increase as hers tapered off, and she could feel it as electricity in the air, as soft pressure on her skin, pushing her down and reminding her of the power contained in the shinigami captain that stood next to her.

Catalina gave them a bloodthirsty grin. "Now it's a party," she said, stepping back. "Jin."

Jin nodded, raising his gun and pulling the hammer back as he pointed it at Yuzu.

Byakuya wasted no time. He jumped into the air at the same time as Catalina did, their zanpakutos meeting with a clang. "Kurosaki," he said in a commanding tone as he flash stepped away, following his opponent into the air.

"Hai!" said Yuzu in response, holding her zanpakuto out in front of her. Jin fired, a single shot coming in her direction. The shot exploded into a streak of fire, the bolt heading straight for her. Yuzu jumped into the air, soaring over the bullet and flipping over, so that her feet pointed up and her head pointed towards the ground, her eyes still on Jin. Even in this position, she held Jungetsu up in front of her face, resting her hand on the blade.

"Reflect, Jungetsu!" she commanded.

White light surrounded her sword, shooting around her back and forming the two fans bound by the sash that was her zanpakuto's true form. She felt Jungetsu's power pulse through her as she landed in a crouched position on the ground, keeping one foot in place and using the other to pivot around quickly. "Getsuga Tenshou!" she called, two smaller blue Getsugas rushing up the side of the building towards the shooter.

Jin simply stared at the reiatsu blades as they rushed towards him. He jumped back and away from them at the last moment, avoiding them as they tore through the roof and landing on an exposed piece of stone that was still stable. He held his gun out as Yuzu flash stepped into the air, shooting calmly.

The bullet soared through the air towards her. Yuzu jumped away from it as it formed a bolt of solid ice, flipping over in the air again and jumping straight towards Jin. She raised one fan in a circle, lowering the other one and pointing both blades at him. "Haneame!" she shouted, using Jungetsu's second technique.

The reiatsu bolts that waited inside the fan's hollow tines shot out, forming a rain of needle-shaped blasts of compressed reiatsu that shot through the air, impacting the side of the building and scoring several small welts. Jin's facial expression didn't change as he leaped away from them, the needle-like blades kicking up dust and stone as they went.

Jin raised his gun towards her again, and Yuzu landed on the ground, pushing off of the wall of the Udagawa alley way with her feet before dodging the next bullet. Just as it was in the air, though, Jin changed position, his gun pointed straight at her as she landed on the ground. He pulled the trigger.

Remember your resolve…said Jungetsu as the bullet approached.

I know…thought Yuzu quietly. She held both fans up in front of her, touching their bases together and forming a full white circle. Her eyes narrowed, a white light surrounding the fans.

"…Shinkyo…" she whispered quietly, the technique name a command.

Kiyomizu Hanako felt a shiver run up her arm as the feeling of reiatsu over the city changed, reminding her that now there were four powerful shinigami in play. She watched from the top of the building, folding her arms and surveying the battle with an impassive look in her light brown eyes.

"And now…" she said quietly, her eyes narrowed. "We've given our declaration of war."

TO BE CONTINUED

A/N: Haneame (羽雨, feather rain) is a technique of Jungetsu that is based off of the –getsu family's reiatsu compression abilities. It uses Jungetsu's hollow tines to form a rain of needle-like blades of compressed reiatsu. The number of blades varies, but it basically turns each of Jungetsu's hollow tines into the shinigami form of an automatic rifle.

Shinkyo will be explained in the next chapter. ^^

Ongetsu has special abilities of his own, but those will be revealed later on, because Karin is more of a straightforward fighter, so wait for that.

Fantasma is Sieg's zanpakuto. Its name is Spanish for phantasm.

Omake:

"Ne, Yasui-kun…I've been meaning to ask, what do you carry in that backpack of yours?"

The three of them were walking down the street after their initial meeting with the New Dawn, Yasui carrying his bulging backpack on his back like the weight was nothing. Yasui grinned, slinging his backpack over one shoulder and putting it on the ground. He unzipped it, revealing several plastic water bottles.

"Eight bottles of water," he said, reaching into the backpack and pulling out a small device, a set of earphones wrapped around it. "And my iPod."

Yuzu sweatdropped.

"Um…are you sure that's a good idea?" she asked.

"Why?" asked Yasui, frowning at her. "Why wouldn't it be?"

"Uh…nothing," she said quietly.