A/N: Sometimes, when we write stories, we get some scenes right and some scenes wrong. It's come to my attention from more than one reviewer that the piano scene was a bit of a misstep. Thank you for that. ^^ I'm not going to make excuses for it, because when you write a rough draft, you write what feels good to you at the time, and sometimes you get it right and sometimes you don't. If I do decide to rework this after it's finished though, I'll rework that scene and make it more IC.

Thanks for continuing to stick with the story though! And above all, thanks for the constructive criticism that helps me get better. (Flamers stay away, not that I've had problems with those. .)

Regarding Byakuya, he's not completely oblivious. He is aware that Yuzu is showing signs of infatuation, but he's ignoring them, thinking she'll grow out of it. He just started paying attention now, though, so he thinks it's a new development. She's keeping anything deeper than signs of infatuation locked up tight inside, and he hasn't seen those yet.

Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach. At all. Kusanagi and the New Dawn and the plot are mine though, please don't steal.

Chapter 9: The opening act

Shadow moved up Sieg's arm, darkness engulfing the white of his Arrancar clothing. Toshiro's reiatsu flared in response, ice curling up his arm and over his back as the wings and claws of his bankai formed. Twelve petals of ice shaped in the air behind him, a reminder that his bankai would fade away once all twelve petals crumbled.

Karin landed on the rooftop of a distant building, lowering Kaito to the ground. He landed on the rooftop on his hands and knees, gulping in air quickly. Karin ignored him, staring at Toshiro. Dark clouds had begun to gather in the sky, lightning flashing in the distance. She pulled her shihakusho tighter against herself, her face set in a scowl as she looked around her.

It looked like Tokyo was about to get a freak snowstorm.

Toshiro's reiatsu didn't affect her the way it affected Kaito, but it was strong. She was aware of that much, and she knew that he was still holding back.

"The-the weather…" said Kaito once he had collected himself.

"Aa," said Karin, frowning. She inclined her head towards Toshiro. "It's him. His zanpakuto influences it."

"He's that strong?" asked Kaito, getting to his feet.

"He's a captain of the Gotei 13. Of course he is."

Sieg dashed forward through the air, rushing at Toshiro. In his released form, he was small—his size not altered by the release of his zanpakuto, but he was small in the way Tensa Zangetsu was small—strong power compressed into a small area. He was a wisp of black shadow that shifted in the light, his fingers tapering off into claws. The only white part of him was the fragments of his mask. They had crept up over his hair, going over his face. His eyes shone bright red beneath them.

Toshiro moved smoothly out of the way of Sieg's attack, but the Arrancar was fast. He changed direction in the air quickly, appearing just behind the Tenth Division captain. Toshiro whipped around, bringing his arm down in a slash. Fragments of ice burst from the air, heading towards Sieg. He jumped back, neatly avoiding each strike and weaving through the large shards of ice. Toshiro didn't relent, a wave of frozen hail curling under his arm as he moved it slightly and rushing straight for the Arrancar. Sieg seemed to falter for a moment, but dissolved into shadow as the ice struck him, the shadow coiling around the blast of ice and heading straight for Toshiro. He moved out of the way, jumping back as the coiling masses of shadow formed scythe-like blades, sweeping down at him. They reformed in the air, forming the shape of Sieg again.

Karin scowled as she watched the fight, leaning Ongetsu's shaft on her shoulder so that the scythe blade curved over her head. Her eyes narrowed as she saw some of Sieg's shadows coil behind Toshiro as Toshiro charged at him, and her grip tightened on Ongetsu, grabbing the shaft with both hands. She flash stepped, disappearing from the rooftop.

"TOSHIRO!" she yelled in warning, as she reappeared in the air behind him, bringing her scythe down. Ongetsu's blade gleamed wickedly for a moment as the scythe cleaved through the shadows, cutting them and causing them to disperse. Toshiro looked over her shoulder as Sieg leered at her, moving his hand and recalling the shadows. Toshiro scowled, turning back to Sieg and rushing forward again towards him.

"Rats should learn to stay out of the way," said Sieg as he flew backwards through the air, putting distance between himself and Toshiro. His voice sounded distorted and layered in this form, as though he were speaking through a bad connection. He raised his hand, firing a Cero off to Toshiro's right. Toshiro turned his head as the flash of red flew by, his eyes widening.

"Karin!" he shouted.

Karin scowled, holding Ongetsu out in front of her. Again, the blade gleamed with its own unearthly light. "Quit screwing around!" she yelled, swinging the scythe in a half-circle around her. Ongetsu's blade cut through the Cero blast, leaving a visible gash in the shape of a half circle. The blast dispersed, and she could feel its reiatsu crackling in the air around her.

She flash stepped in front of Sieg, her scythe pulled back and raised above her head. Karin brought it down with a shout of effort, and Sieg's eyes widened briefly from beneath his mask as the tip of Ongetsu's blade pierced the shadow. He jumped back, transforming into shadow and leaping twice away, before reforming. He hovered in the air, a mass of shadow with a vague human-like form, but a thin cut had been torn in his arm, coiling shadows leaking out from it like smoke.

"How did you cut me?" he asked, his tone angry.

Karin scowled and said nothing, feeling Ongetsu's power thrum through her as she glanced back at Toshiro.

"Toshiro," she said. "He's using his reiatsu as a cloak He can't be hit when he transforms into shadow."

"Aa, I noticed," said Toshiro. "But you can cut him?"

"Ongetsu can," she said. "As long as I can reach him."

"Understood," said Toshiro, nodding briefly. He flash stepped from her side, appearing in the air above Sieg and slashing his sword downwards towards him. A single petal behind him crumbled away, ice fragments blowing in the wind.

"Tch."

Yasui scowled as Tomoe reflected his last blast of water, steam rising in the air. He had been trying to sneak an attack in behind her, but it looked like she was using the wind both as a shield and as another pair of eyes. As soon as the attack reached her sphere of influence, she cut it off, smacking it out of the air like it was nothing. The temperature in the alley had risen several degrees, so that it was hot. Beads of sweat formed on his forehead, water he could detect but not use in large enough quantities. Above him, dark clouds gathered. He could feel the water gathering in the air, promising some sort of precipitation, but it wasn't coming fast enough.

His backpack felt uncomfortably light. He did a mental inventory as he took a step back. Three bottles of water left.

"You look like a man that's out of options," commented Tomoe, that infernal smirk on her face as she stepped forward, sending a coiling mass of hot air towards him like a whip. It caught him in the chest, and he gasped as it threw him back against the wall, scalding some of his exposed skin.

"Not quite yet," he said under his breath, reaching into his backpack.

At once, all the water in the three bottles burst forth, and he shouted, gathering it in his hands and pushing it out towards her. The large amount of water coiled, forming an arrow. Tomoe took a step back and quickly threw up a shield, but the water formed a point, the twisting mass striking the shield and punching through it. It struck Tomoe in the chest, and her eyes widened. She screamed, flying back and striking the alley wall before slumping onto the ground.

Yasui took a deep breath, his empty backpack falling back on his shoulders. It was a long shot, but he'd hoped that if he just used a large amount of water at once, Tomoe wouldn't be able to evaporate it. He stepped back, about to head towards Hitsugaya's fight, when Tomoe's hand twitched, a blast of air rushing straight for him.

Yasui's eyes widened as he felt it come and he leaned over backwards, the blast soaring straight over his head. He could feel the heat of it as it passed, and he straightened up, watching as she shakily pushed herself to her feet, taking deep breaths.

"You hurt me," she said angrily. "You hurt me! You'll pay for that!"

She moved her hands, a large blast of air heading straight for him.

Sieg met Toshiro's sword slash with one of his shadowy blades, jumping away from the attack and transforming into shadow as another barrage of ice shards came towards him. The minute he transformed, Karin flash stepped in front of Toshiro, Ongetsu pulled back. She slashed, and the shadows immediately reacted, narrowly avoiding Ongetsu's blade as they scattered into the air. The shadows twisted away from Karin, and Sieg reappeared, flipping over in the air just long enough for Toshiro to move in, slashing down with Hyourinmaru.

This time, the attack caught him in the chest, throwing him back into a skyscraper. Glass shattered and steel buckled from the impact, a wave of shadows rising up to conceal Sieg's form. Karin appeared in the air beside Toshiro, then darted off to the left as a coiling mass of shadows seeped out of the wreckage, letting out a shout as she brought Ongetsu's curved scythe blade down on top of it. The shadows banked, narrowly avoiding Ongetsu's attack this time.

Sieg reformed, sporting a long gash down his chest. The moment his form shifted, Toshiro moved in, rushing towards him and bringing his sword up over his head.

A blast of gold energy rippled through the air, coming towards them. Karin's eyes widened as she felt it, and she turned her head just in time to see it rise up from the top of one of the nearby buildings. She raised Ongetsu's sword, prepared to attempt to cut it out of the sky, when she felt another blast of reiatsu counter it, this one blue instead of gold and mostly uncontrolled. It felt like the blasts of reiatsu she had first used, back before she had enrolled at the Shino Academy.

Kaito.

She grit her teeth, turning towards the rooftop the attack had come from. A man stood there. He looked about the age of the members of the New Dawn, with dark hair and a heavy black coat. His hand was extended towards them, and a slender chain hung lightly around his wrist, a single stone glowing a brilliant amber. He could have been a human, if it wasn't for the fact that his eyes shone a bright gold.

Sieg scowled, glancing once at the man before nodding. Before either Karin or Toshiro could stop him, he disappeared from sight, reappearing beside the man. The two of them vanished, and Karin's eyes widened, raising Ongetsu above her head. "No you don't!" she shouted.

"Karin!" shouted Toshiro, stopping her. He was looking at the rooftop where she had left Kaito.

A thought occurred to her, and her eyes widened, glancing back at the rooftop. Kaito stood there, reiatsu crackling around him as he breathed hard, one hand over his chest. His reiatsu crackled around his Chain of Fate, and she saw it quickly shortening, the links crumbling away and disintegrating.

"Shit," she swore under her breath. Expenditures of power and emotional events caused the chain of fate to shorten. How could she forget that?

"Get him through the Dangai, quick," ordered Toshiro. "I'll meet you on the other side."

Karin nodded, flash stepping over to the rooftop towards Kaito. Toshiro watched her go, waiting just until he saw the first signs of a Senkaimon opening before he darted off to where he felt the others' reiatsu flaring as well.

"Shinkyo."

Yuzu brought the image of her inner world to mind, of Jungetsu's face reflected in the serenity of a pond of water. As soon as she gave the command, she saw Jungetsu close her eyes, exhaling soundlessly and falling down, down into the deep. Her own image, standing in front of Jin, rippled.

The bullet rushed towards her and it struck her in the heart, transforming suddenly into a sharp blade and impaling her on it. Her eyes widened, her back arched, her mouth opened in a silent scream. It was the perfect image of a successful attack, the perfect portrait of a killing move.

Jin's face remained expressionless, but he silently lowered his gun.

And then the image rippled outward just as Yuzu's body began to fall, starting from the point of impact. The image began to dissolve into curling wisps of light, fading away like mists.

Jin's eyes widened, and he turned his head to look behind him.

Yuzu appeared in the air, her own eyes narrowed and light trailing behind her as she swung her fan around, aiming for his chest. He jumped back and slid along the edge of the rooftop, the fan's blade opening up a line in the fabric of his jacket. She landed on the ground and pivoted quickly as he shot twice, two bullets heading straight for her. Again, they struck their marks, one hitting her shoulder and the other hitting her in the arm. She recoiled, but just like before, the image began to fade away, and she appeared in the air next to him, her eyes glowing blue as she gathered reiatsu to herself.

Jin raised his gun up and pointed it straight between her eyes. He pulled the trigger.

The gun clicked and the barrel shifted, reminding him that it was empty. At the last minute, Yuzu snapped the fan in her hand shut, striking him in the head with the blunt edge. Jin recoiled and stumbled back, nearly falling of the roof, but Yuzu grabbed him with her other hand as she landed, pulling him back on and towards her.

Above them, the battle between Byakuya and Catalina continued to rage, the air filled with alternating blasts of red and pink as Catalina fired Ceros and Senbonzakura's blades tore through the air. Jin immediately pulled himself away from Yuzu, emptying out the barrel of the revolver with a click. The shells scattered to the ground as he quickly loaded six more bullets into the barrel, firing a quick shot at her. The shot struck her in the chest, but again the image faded away, revealing Yuzu standing behind him. Her hand shot out, covering his eyes as she pulled him to her.

"Bakudo # 41," she said quietly. "Inemuri."

Jin took in a sharp breath. She felt him struggle against her for a moment, before his breathing evened out and he slumped to the ground, asleep. She took a deep breath, stepping away from him and pressing a hand to a small cut that had opened up around her right arm. He actually had managed to graze her with a bullet, once.

"…Dispel," she muttered under her breath, the curtain of light around her fading away as Jungetsu resurfaced from the pond again.

The Heart's Mirror—Shinkyo. A technique that projected an image of the target's strongest desire at the moment of activation, while simultaneously concealing anything in the environment that might contradict that illusion. The effect only lasted a few seconds, so outside of battle, it was difficult to use. But when used in the heat of battle, when the opponent usually desired little more than to see their attacks connect, it became a formidable defense.

Used correctly, it would hide her presence while the opponent saw their attack connect again and again. It left them chasing her reflection, the image she left behind.

It was Jungetsu's true power, born from her soul.

Illusion.

"I don't like using that technique if I can help it…" she said quietly as she stepped over to Jin's sleeping form, prying the gun from his hands. "…Illusion-type zanpakutos bring up bad memories in Soul Society, I think…Gomenasai. I know it's unfair. But I promised I wouldn't hold back."

That said, her eyes narrowed, and she turned her attention towards Byakuya's battle with Catalina.

"Hado #73! Soren Sokatsui!"

Her eyes widened in surprise as another voice shouted the attack, twin blasts of reiatsu suddenly heading straight for her as she stood on the rooftop.

Yasui sucked in a breath of air, clenching his fist as he felt her drive him further down to the ground. He moved his fingers, attempting to draw moisture from the air, but it was no use. A few droplets appeared at the end of his fingertips, fading away in the current of hot air around him. He let out a grunt of pain as she pushed harder, the wind driving him into the ground.

He was out of water, and she had a limitless supply of air. The storm didn't look like it would be coming any time soon, and he had nothing left to fight with. At this rate, it was looking hopeless.

If she turns me into a Plus…he thought to himself, looking up through the hazy curtain at Tomoe. I'll have enough of my reiatsu freed for one single attack. I might be able to fight her with that…but it'll shorten my chain. I'd need to find a shinigami fast…

It was a grim thought, but it was fast getting to the point where a last resort might be necessary. She took a step forward, her eyes hard, and Yasui understood at that moment that she intended to be close by if he died, so that she could stop him from attacking, and possibly rip out his chain of fate. His fingers twitched again, and he felt for it, the small vial of water he kept hidden in the straps of his backpack, just in case.

He couldn't become a Hollow. He had enough water, just enough…to sever his own chain and get away.

If it came to that…

"Yasui!"

Yasui looked up at the shout, gritting his teeth and raising his head against the pillar of wind that drove him downwards into the ground. Hitsugaya appeared in the air above him, his haori fluttering behind him as he touched down lightly on top of the nearest building. He raised his sword, swinging it in an arc, and suddenly a swirling maelstrom of ice formed in the air, crashing down towards them.

Tomoe's eyes widened, and she jumped back away from the impact point. But the ice didn't target her.

Instead, it zeroed in, surrounding Yasui.

Yasui grinned, pushing himself up to his feet the rest of the way as he was suddenly engulfed in ice.

The ice melted and parted, a huge wave of water encircling him and drifting upwards, so high that it nearly reached the top of the alley walls. Yasui stood in the center of the deluge, his hands outstretched on either side of him and his palms facing upwards.

Tomoe's eyes widened further in terror, and she took a step back, raising her arm to protect herself. Yasui tilted his head upwards slightly, his eyes fixing on the shinigami captain as he flash stepped away. It looked like he would not be moving to Soul Society today. "Arigatou, Hitsugaya-san," he said with a grin, turning his eyes back to Tomoe. They narrowed dangerously, and the grin disappeared from his face.

"Now, where were we?" he asked, the walls of water beside him remaining completely still. His frown deepened. "Oh, right," he said, a small smirk appearing on his face.

"You were losing."

He swept his right hand out in front of him, the water sweeping towards Tomoe and flooding the alleyway. She took a step back, her arm pulled in front of herself. The water parted around her, steam rising up in a billowing cloud as it reached her.

Behind the wave of water, Yasui moved, jumping into the air with a shout. He pulled back both of his hands behind his head, adjusting his grip as if he were holding the hilt of a sword. As he came down, he slashed forward, the remainder of the water funneling into his hands as it crashed against her shield head-on.

The shield shattered with a hiss of steam, and Tomoe's eyes widened as she was suddenly swept away in the flood.

The Soren Sokatsui thundered through the air, leaving reverberations in its wake. The light slowly faded away, revealing a large crater on an empty rooftop. Byakuya reappeared on the alley's ground, his arm around his fukutaicho. He slowly lowered her to the ground, his eyes narrowed as he faced the figure on the rooftop.

Catalina had stopped as well, and was now staring at her.

From this height, it was difficult to see, but there was no mistaking the proud bearing and slender figure of Kiyomizu Hanako, the leader of the New Dawn. That was what Byakuya saw with his eyes.

But his spiritual senses told him another thing entirely.

"…This reiatsu…" he murmured under his breath.

"Taicho?" asked Yuzu, looking up at him with a questioning frown. He said nothing, watching as Hanako disappeared from sight. Catalina grinned, sheathing her zanpakuto.

"Looks like we'll have to save this for another time," she said, grabbing Jin's limp form around the waist and wrapping his arm around her shoulder. "See you then, Kuchiki Byakuya." She vanished.

Byakuya's frown deepened, and he held out Senbonzakura's hilt, calling his zanpakuto's blades back to him. They arrived, reforming the katana. He sheathed it in a single movement, glancing back as he felt the approach of two familiar reiatsus. Beside him, Yuzu frowned, but followed his lead, returning Jungetsu back to its sealed form and sheathing it as well. He looked back at her, a questioning look in his eye as he watched the Arrancar make off with the unconscious human shooter.

She looked away, understanding his question. Her silence was answer enough.

She was saved from him questioning her out loud by the arrival of Hitsugaya Toshiro. The Tenth Division captain appeared at the mouth of the alley, rushing over to them. His zanpakuto was sheathed, but the air still carried with it the cold of winter and the promise of snow, a residual effect of the earlier battle.

"Hitsugaya-kun!" said Yuzu at his approach. "Where's Karin?"

"Soul Society," said Hitsugaya. "I sent her back with an informant."

"Was this informant human?" asked Byakuya.

"He was," said Toshiro, emphasizing the past-tense. He frowned, looking over the remnants of battle in the ruined alley, and at their gigais lying motionless on the ground. "I see you two ran into some trouble as well."

"Some," replied Byakuya coolly.

The other presence arrived, running around the corner of the alley. Yasui Tetsuya was fit for a human, but he was still only human, and he was out of breath. To his credit, he didn't double over to catch his breath, instead leaning against the alley wall and trying to regulate his breathing.

"Yasui-kun, what happened?" asked Yuzu.

"Ran into the New Dawn's third in command," said Yasui once he had caught his breath. He wiped the sweat from his brow with his sleeve. "We had a bit of a fight. I couldn't find her afterwards."

"Kiyomizu Hanako appeared," said Byakuya. "She seemed to be leading a retreat."

"They'll be back," said Toshiro. "They weren't fighting us seriously. That was a test run."

"Agreed," said Byakuya, nodding.

"What should we do now?" asked Yuzu.

"We return to Soul Society," said Byakuya. "We discuss the matter thoroughly and offer the soutaicho our report. After that, I would imagine the Onmitsukido would be sent out to thoroughly search the area."

"If I were Kiyomizu Hanako, though, I'd be long gone," said Yasui with a frown.

"There is always that possibility," said Byakuya. "But as Hitsugaya-taicho has said, they will return."

"I'll keep Kusanagi on the alert," said Yasui, frowning. "We might be able to have Kasumi-chan scan the city, see if that gives us any leads. I feel kind of bad about asking her to do it when she just joined, but…" He shrugged. "If we have to."

The two shinigami captains nodded. Hitsugaya thrust Hyourinmaru into the air, forming the familiar outline of the Senkaimon around the sword. As he watched, three jigokuchos floated out of the gap between the doors, one butterfly flying over to each shinigami. Toshiro's alighted on his shoulder, Byakuya's hovering just over his ear. Yuzu reached out a hand, allowing her butterfly to land on her finger.

Byakuya moved first, heading through the gate. Hitsugaya followed behind him. Yuzu moved last, glancing back at Yasui.

"Good luck," she said. "I'm sorry you have to get involved.

"Don't worry about me," said Yasui, grinning. "If anything, you should worry. You don't get a second chance if you die."

She frowned, but nodded, following the captains into the Senkaimon.

"I'll take care of your gigais," promised Yasui.

The gate closed, returning them to Soul Society again.

"…What's the point in being a shinigami?"

The man stood with his back to her, his dark hair blowing in the wind as he stared down at the streets of the 67th District of Rukongai. Even in memory, he seemed unreachable, one hand resting on the powerful sword at his side. She knew what that sword was and what it represented. She took a deep breath, her hand clenched close to her chest.

"You get all of this fancy recognition, and for what? So you can sit in Seireitei and live easy? The shinigami don't care about us. Why in the hell would you want to be like them?"

"…They'll just betray you. Everyone will."

"…People like us, we have power. We don't need them. We can survive for ourselves."

"Are you listening to me, Kin?"

"Kin?"

"…Kin!"

"Iwase!"

Kohaku's eyes snapped open, and she took a deep breath, bracing her hands on the desk on either side of her and pushing up. Abarai Renji, captain of the Third Division, stared down at her, a frown on his face. Her heart thundered in her chest, her eyes wide and her breath coming in short pants. Her glasses were askew, and the papers on the desk in front of her were slightly disheveled.

"Oi, have you been asleep this whole time?" asked Renji, frowning and folding his arms. "Izuru's been waiting on that duty roster for twenty minutes."

"T-Taicho," she said, once she had collected herself. She fixed her glasses, taking another deep breath and tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. Kohaku stared down at the desk, her senses slowly returning to her.

Right. She was Iwase Kohaku, fourth seat of the Third Division, and it was still office hours. She was a shinigami. Had been a shinigami for ten years now. That portion of her life was history.

But it had been so long since she had had that dream…

Not since her first day at the Shino Academy…

"Gomen…" she said, snatching the duty roster up off the top of the desk. "I fell asleep for a bit but it's done. I'll get it over to the fukutaicho right away."

"Sheesh," said Renji, waving his hand dismissively. "Just don't let it happen again."

Kohaku nodded absently, running out of the room and heading towards the administrative office, the duty roster clenched in her hand.

TO BE CONTINUED

A/N: Shinkyo (心鏡, heart mirror) is an illusion-type technique used by Jungetsu. It is Jungetsu's third shikai technique, and its ultimate shikai technique. It projects an image of the target's current desire for a few seconds, while simultaneously hiding any contradictions. It's an effective tool in battle, because it renders the opponent unaware of Yuzu's actual position and unable to determine whether or not their attacks are actually hitting. However, because it is based on the target's actual desires, it can be overcome by sufficient mental and emotional control, and requires the wielder to be constantly alert and to time activations well.

While Shinkyo only reflects the desire of its target, its effects are seen by everyone, and not simply the target.