A/N: Sorry for lateness. Been at a conference. Also, battle scenes ahead. While fights are awesome, it's no secret that I prefer to write social scenes, so updates may be a bit delayed while I force myself through them. XD

No omake for this chapter because I couldn't think of one, and because everyone important is out here anyway. I have a few omakes in mind, but they all require the mood of the chapter to be less serious. Maybe next time?

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

Chapter 37: Our resolve

Jungetsu's inner world was still, not even a breeze skimming across the surface of the water. Yuzu walked slowly to the surface of the pond, staring down at the spirit that was reflected in it. Instead of sitting, as she usually was, Jungetsu was standing, her feet resting on the pond's glass surface as she looked down at Yuzu from below. Behind her, the moon reflected on the surface of the water, a silver circle whose light reflected against the bone-white trees surrounding the pond, turning the grass a shade of grayish-blue.

You're prepared, said Jungetsu, the words writing themselves on the surface of the pond just below the moon.

Yes, said Yuzu in reply, watching as her own words overlaid Jungetsu's.

Are you sure? asked Jungetsu, a frown creasing her brow. Our enemy is strong.

I'm as prepared as I can be, said Yuzu. She took a breath, hesitating, before taking a step closer to the pond. But Jungetsu-chan, I need to know. Can you help me like you helped me in Inuzuri? I know it hurts you, and I hate to ask, but if Kyoka Suigetsu arrives, I may need your help.

Jungetsu hesitated, her eyes on the glass-like surface of the pond. At length, she closed her eyes and inhaled, seeming to float up, so that instead of standing, she was hovering near the surface of the water, her fingertips against it.

This barrier between us exists only in your own mind, she said. You are the only one who can break it. Only when you understand yourself will you be able to truly understand me.

Yuzu closed her eyes at Jungetsu's answer, letting out a slow breath. That doesn't help me right now, Jungetsu-chan.

You are frustrated because I won't give you the answers, said Jungetsu. But you are looking for them in the wrong place. It is in our nature to be cryptic. If we simply gave our wielders the answers, there would be no growth, no change. It is not my place to give you the answers. It is my place to help you find them for yourself.

Even if it means that we both die today? asked Yuzu.

Even then, said Jungetsu.

Yuzu inhaled, the fingers of one hand closing themselves into a fist. She looked out over the surface of the pond, a faint breeze beginning to stir the water and distorting the image slightly as the surface rippled.

I don't understand who I am, but I understand what I want. I want to protect everyone in my Division. I want to protect the people I love. I'll fight to do that if I have to. But I can't do that if I can't see the enemy.

Then act, said Jungetsu.

Haven't I been acting? asked Yuzu, frustrated now. This whole day, I've been doing nothing but acting. What more do you want me to do, Jungetsu?

Show me the rightness of your words.

Yuzu's eyes widened slightly at those words, her shoulders stiffening. She looked past Jungetsu, at the trees on the other side of the pond, and for an instant, she imagined she could see someone there, standing with his back against the tree. For an instant, the tree above him wasn't bare, but filled with pink petals. For an instant, and then the image was gone.

The rightness of her words.

She exhaled, her fingers slowly unclenching as she looked back at Jungetsu. Her other hand fell away from where it had been curled up against her chest, falling back to her side.

Her eyes narrowed in determination and she launched herself forward, taking a leap and jumping into the water.

She hit the surface with a splash, the water parting around her as she sank into it. She turned, suspended below the surface of the water, and took hold of Jungetsu's arm.

Light flared as her spirit's eyes met hers, and Yuzu opened her eyes.

She was sitting in seiza in her office, her zanpakuto's hilt in her hand and its blade across her lap. The alarm bells were ringing, signaling the break of dawn.

At the sound of the bells, she stood slowly, sliding Jungetsu back into her sheath as she left the room.

According to the scouts, the cloud of energy distorting the air in front of them had started life as a minor ripple, a barely noticeable shift in the air that someone without too much spiritual power would have been able to simply pass by. Now, however, there was no mistaking it for what it was. The cloud seemed to span the whole horizon outside the last district of Rukongai, stretching in both directions as it pulsed and spun wildly, facing those that had come out to meet it.

Ichigo stood at the head of his Division, staring at the cloud with his hand on Zangetsu's hilt. Beside him, Hinamori watched the cloud, her eyes narrowed and her expression grim. Behind them, the remnants of the Fifth Division stood at the ready, standing in the center of a formation that consisted of the Eleventh on the right and the still-arriving Sixth on the left. He watched the Sixth as they assembled, his eyes on the woman that appeared at their head, relaying orders to the small group of officers around her. His scowl deepened, his grip tightening on his sword.

There were more than a few things he didn't like about this situation.

He caught Yuzu's eye as she sent Shiyougi back into the lines, and she flash-stepped, appearing just in front of him. There were dark circles under her eyes, as if she hadn't slept, but her hand was on her sword, her back straight and her expression determined. She didn't look anything like the crying girl he had found in her room just yesterday.

Yesterday…had it been just yesterday? It felt like so long ago.

"Oi," he said. "Are you sure about this? We can trade your guys out for the Tenth, you know."

Toshiro's Division had been one of the least hit in last night's betrayals, and the Tenth as a whole seemed to be bristling for a fight. Yuzu's eyes met his, though, and he already knew that she was going to refuse. When had his sisters grown up so much?

She shook her head. "Thank you, Ichi-nii, but I'm staying," she said. "The Sixth is ready."

"The Sixth is ready," said Ichigo, looking past her at the ranks behind her. He folded his arms. "But what about you? This isn't an ordinary mission, Yuzu."

"I know that," said Yuzu, turning away from him to glance at the cloud. "But I'll stand with the Sixth."

There really was something different about her, he noted, taking in the way she carried herself. Something he couldn't quite place. She seemed…braver now.

He sighed, rubbing at the back of his head. "Fine," he said, looking away from her to look back at the cloud. "Just don't do anything reckless."

Yuzu smiled, looking away from him to face the clouds ahead of her. "I'm not the one who does reckless things," she said.

"Point taken," said Ichigo. He paused as a ripple ran through the air, the distortion in front of them undulating before a light started to shine, the very air seeming to tear itself apart. "It's starting," he said. "Better get ready."

Yuzu nodded. "Stay safe, Ichi-nii," she said, flash-stepping away.

"Yeah," said Ichigo. He reached behind him, lifting Zangetsu and holding it at the ready in front of himself. "You too."

The cloud broke, spilling the first wave of Hollows out onto the ground between it and the shinigami. The Hollows roared, the shinigami of the Gotei 13 shouting in answer.

All hell broke loose.

Ayatori's wires moved through the air, wrapping tightly around two Hollows on either side of Kohaku. She landed on the ground, pulling the wires taut, and they came free as the Hollows died, snapping back towards her and coiling in her hands. She wrapped her fingers loosely around the coils of wire, taking a moment to push her hair out of her face and look at the area around her. Within the first half hour, the ordered lines that they had started fighting in had completely dissolved, shinigami engaging the enemy in teams of anywhere between two to five, with a few high-ranked shinigami taking on Hollows by themselves.

The Third had been assigned to support the Sixth, but she didn't see anyone from either of those Divisions in her immediate area, just an ever-shifting mass of battles being fought between Hollows and shinigami in black and white.

A Hollow shot through the air towards her, and she grit her teeth, raising her hands and calling Ayatori to life. The wires coiled, twisting and wrapping around themselves as they formed a solid shield in front of her. The Hollow struck the shield, its teeth crashing against the metal, and Kohaku put both of her hands up to support the net, pushing back. Wires pulled themselves off of the shield to wrap around the Hollow, pulling it down towards the ground and tearing it to pieces as the wires sharpened. A roar sounded from behind her, and she turned her head, tensing as she noticed another pair of Hollows converging on her from behind.

"Setsuyoku: Tetsuka!" said a familiar voice.

A swarm of metal daggers rushed past her on either side, avoiding her like she was a rock in a river. They punched straight through the two Hollows, banking back around and soaring over her head as they returned to their master. Her eyes widened and she turned, watching as the swarm of metal encircled a shinigami, reforming into a sword.

"Masa…" she said.

Masaryu flash-stepped towards her, appearing in front of her. He glanced over her once, before looking back at the Hollows. "Are you okay?" he asked.

A pang of guilt shot through her when she realized he didn't look her in the eye. "I'm fine," she said, recalling Ayatori's wires into her hand. Her mind went back to that morning, not too long ago. Not for the first time, she wondered what would have happened if she'd stayed, or answered differently.

She shook her head. Now wasn't the time to worry about that. They were fighting a war. She needed to focus.

"Yourself?" she asked, as the Hollows closed in around them, taking a step to the side so that she and Masa were standing back to back.

"Could be better," Masa responded, the sword in his hands shifting so that they formed Setsuyoku's bladed rings. Kohaku watched as the Hollows began to shift and inch closer, bending her knees and crouching as she prepared to strike. This she could do—fight alongside him. After the battle, maybe she would talk to him.

But this was enough for now. It would have to be.

She turned her head slightly in Masa's direction, prepared to ask him if he was ready, when she felt a pulse of reiatsu in the air. Her eyes widened, both she and Masa glancing to the right as a glowing bright Cero tore through the sky, shooting towards them. Masa's eyes narrowed, and he moved quickly, dropping the rings to the ground and grabbing her by the arm.

"Setsuyoku!" he said, pulling her into his chest before she could react. "Kongousai!"

The bladed rings hit the ground and dissolved, forming a dome of steel around them. Kohaku closed her eyes as the Cero struck the dome and caused it to shudder, power arcing through the metal. Amazingly, the shield held, Masa keeping his arms around her and putting himself between her and the attack as the Cero changed the air into a bright shade of red.

As the light faded, Masa looked up, the shield parting enough for the two of them to catch a glimpse of their attacker.

It was an Arrancar, dark-haired and dressed in white, with a sword in his hand.

Sieg.

Sieg's eyes moved over them, his face expressionless. As Kohaku watched, he raised his sword, darkness swirling around the blade. "Haunt," he said. "Fantasma."

Shadow crept up his arm, surrounding him. Masa released her, the remnants of the shield fading around them as they formed the sword again. Kohaku gripped Ayatori's wires tightly, taking a deep breath as the shadows coalesced around Sieg, forming a blast that shot towards them. She tensed, bracing for impact.

"Sit upon the frozen heavens, Hyourinmaru!"

Ice formed in the air in front of them, blocking the shadow. Kohaku's eyes widened as she saw Hitsugaya Toshiro dart past them, landing on top of the wall of ice. He sprang off it, his green eyes narrowed as he rushed towards Sieg.

The Sixth surged forward as the first wave of Hollows crashed into them, Jungetsu's unreleased form slicing into the nearest Hollows' mask, just under the eye. Yuzu pulled the blade free, the Hollow dissolving into motes of dust as Jungetsu cut a path through it. She dropped to a knee as another Hollow leaped through the air at her, stabbing upwards and piercing it just under the neck. Shiyougi's zanpakuto swept through the air over her head as that Hollow vanished, catching another Hollow in the neck as it tried to attack her from behind.

Yuzu straightened up as Shiyougi pulled his sword back, swiping Jungetsu out in front of her and lowering the sword to her side. She glanced back at him as he stood with his back to her, battles springing up all around them.

A roar shook the earth, making both of them look up. A pair of Gillian were starting to stumble out of the portal, making their way slowly towards the ranks of shinigami. Their path took them straight towards the Sixth. Shiyougi's eyes widened, and he looked back at Yuzu.

"Fukutaicho!" he said.

"I see them, Shiyougi-san," said Yuzu, looking up at the Gillians. She looked back at Shiyougi. "Take command here."

"Wait, fukutaicho—!" said Shiyougi, his eyes widening.

Yuzu flash-stepped, cutting him off. As she appeared in the air above the battle, she held her sword out horizontally in front of her, her free hand on the side of the blade. Power surged through her, and in her mind's eye, she saw Jungetsu staring at her, hovering beneath the surface of the water.

"Reflect," she commanded. "Jungetsu."

Blue light spread around the sword, its form changing as she pulled it apart, Before it had finished transforming, she was already spinning in the air, holding both fans in her hand as she plummeted towards the first Gillian. She spun quickly, both fans scoring deep gouges just behind the Menos's mask. It pitched forward with a roar, landing with a shudder before beginning to disappear. Without pausing to look back at it, she formed a platform of reishi beneath her feet, jumping back into the air towards the second Gillian. This one was charging a Cero, its mouth open as the orb of red light gathered inside it. A shinigami was in its path, holding up her sword uselessly to protect herself. The tip of the sword wavered as the Cero grew in strength.

Yuzu glanced down briefly at the shinigami as she leaped towards the Gillian. It was Kawamoto Sakako.

The Gillian let the Cero loose with a roar, red light tearing through the earth at Kawamoto's feet. She screamed.

"Bakudo # 81!" said Yuzu, holding out her left hand. "Danku!"

A transparent barrier rose up in front of Kawamoto, the Cero slamming into it. Yuzu quickly withdrew her hand, swinging Jungetsu's sash back over her shoulder and grabbing hold of the fan. She flicked it open, the reiatsu blades at the end of that fan extending as she fell diagonally across the Menos's front. The move sliced open the Menos's chest, and its head turned to follow her as it felt the cut, the giant Hollow stumbling away from Kawamoto.

Yuzu landed on the ground as the Menos shambled towards her, a Cero glowing in its mouth. She leaped out of the way as the blast came through, feeling the air crackle where the blast had been. As she leaped back, her foot caught a platform of reishi, and she launched herself straight at the Menos, her next two slashes with her fans cutting straight through its mask, one after another. As the Menos vanished, she landed on the ground, glancing over at where Kawamoto had been.

The girl was cowering behind a transparent barrier, the ground immediately in front of the barrier pitted and scarred. The area around Kawamoto herself was untouched, the damage from the Cero spreading to either side of the barrier. Yuzu dispelled Danku with a wave of her hand, and Kawamoto straightened up.

"Fu—Fukutaicho," she said, running over to her.

"Kawamoto-san," said Yuzu, as the girl reached her. "Are you hurt?"

"N-No," said Kawamoto, looking embarrassed. "I'm just—I'm fine, fukutaicho."

"What are you even doing out here?" asked Yuzu, as shinigami of the Sixth swarmed around them. "I thought you were supposed to be in the rear with the kido specialists."

"I—I was, fukutaicho," said Kawamoto, glancing down at the ground. She fiddled with her sword uncertainly. "But we got separated trying—trying to put up a barrier. I—I'm sorry. I—."

"Never mind that," said Yuzu, standing in front of Kawamoto as the Hollows in front of them assembled, roaring in challenge. She looked around, but they were mostly alone here, all of the shinigami in their immediate area too tied up in battle to help. The Hollows had cut off their retreat as well, using the advantage of number to make it hard to get back behind the lines. Kawamoto let out a whimper as a wave of Hollows advanced, crawling on all fours and moving to form a half-circle in front of them. Yuzu glanced at the Hollows, then back at Kawamoto, feeling the reiatsu in the air.

They weren't Menos, not quite, but they were close. Whatever they were, they were too powerful for Kawamoto to handle at her level. She glanced away from Kawamoto, focusing on the Hollows. Her left hand let go of her fan just long enough to swing back, landing flat on the air.

An orange barrier formed at her fingertips, shaping into a cube around Kawamoto. The shinigami's eyes widened as the barrier came to life around her. "Fuku—fukutaicho?" she asked.

"Don't worry, Kawamoto-san," said Yuzu, grabbing hold of Jungetsu's fan as it swung back around. "I'll protect you."

She flicked the fan open, facing the five Hollows that surrounded them as they pounced. Yuzu leaped into the air, barely dodging the press of claws and teeth as she flipped over, looking down at the Hollows from above with her feet in the air above her. She swept down with Jungetsu's fans, the sash flaring out in the air behind her as blue light erupted from the ends of Jungetsu's hollow tines.

"Haneame!"

Hundreds of blue needles shot from Jungetsu's tines, rushing downward towards the Hollows. One of them collapsed, riddled with holes, but the other four sprang apart, one of them leaping into the air at her. She pushed off a reishi platform with her hand, launching herself into the air again and flipping over so that she was right side up. She swept her left-hand fan through the air, shooting a Getsuga Tenshou at the Hollow that had attacked her. The Getsuga slammed into its mask, cracking the white bone and knocking the Hollow back.

At the same time as that Hollow was knocked back, she released her hold on the right-hand fan, throwing it underhand at a Hollow that leaped at her from behind. The Hollow swiped the fan out of the air, but in doing so, was forced to abandon its attack, and Yuzu quickly launched herself forward, forming a platform of reishi under her feet as she neared the Hollow and using it to jump up just far enough to cut a slice across the Hollow's neck, just below its mask. As it faded, she wrapped her arm around the sash that was connected to her missing right-hand fan, the sash elongating as she spun in the air and gave it a tug. The closed fan swung like a pendulum beneath her, moving upward in an arc and slicing through the third Hollow, the one still recovering from the Getsuga, as she poured her reiatsu into it. She tugged at the sash as the fan reached the highest point of its arc, smoothly catching the fan in her hand and unfolding both fans as the fourth Hollow lunged at her from behind.

Yuzu pivoted in the air, catching the Hollow's teeth on the tines of her fans, and pushed back against it, using the momentum to propel her backwards in the air. She snapped one fan closed, pointing it at the Hollow.

"Getsuga Tenshou," she said.

The blast, concentrated as it was by the way the fan was held, shot through the Hollow like a spear, cleaving straight through its mask. That left just one. Yuzu flash-stepped out of the way as the last Hollow came crashing through, hurling one of her fans at the Hollow. The fan and sash acted like a weighted chain, winding around the Hollow twice and securing her to it. As Yuzu appeared in the air, one fan in her hand and the other hand wrapped around the sash, she gave the sash a tug, pulling herself towards the Hollow like a slingshot. Her second fan pierced the space at the base of its neck, and she continued to plummet, falling through the Hollow as it dissolved around her.

She landed on the ground, snapping both fans closed as she turned to face Kawamoto. The shinigami was still standing behind the barrier, staring at her with her wide-eyes and her sword held at her side. Yuzu struck the barrier again, dispelling it.

"Are you alright?" she asked, giving Kawamoto a quick, tired smile.

"Fukutaicho—," said Kawamoto, staring at her. "That was—."

She was cut off by a sudden pulse of reiatsu, originating from somewhere behind the enemy lines. Yuzu's eyes narrowed as she felt it brush against her skin, and she turned, facing that direction.

There was no mistaking it. Kyoka Suigetsu was here.

"Fuku…taicho?" asked Kawamoto, noticing her change in expression.

"Fukutaicho!" shouted Shiyougi, appearing beside her. He had Nagai with him, the both of them looking worried. "Are you okay?"

"Shiyougi-san, Nagai-san, perfect timing," said Yuzu, looking back at Nagai. "Please escort Kawamoto-san back to the kido team. Shiyougi-san, you're in charge here."

"Fukutaicho," said Shiyougi. "What are you planning?" In answer, Yuzu looked towards where she had felt Kyoka Suigetsu's reiatsu. Shiyougi glanced in that direction, his eyes widening in realization. "You can't be serious," he said.

"Take command," was all Yuzu said in reply. She took a deep breath, her grip tightening on her fans. She thought of Byakuya, lying in a bed in the Sixth, thought of Yamagish dead and Azami's request. Thought of Koyanagi and Okada.

Her own reiatsu crackled around her, rising up to meet Kyoka Suigetsu's challenge. She took a flash-step, her team disappearing around her as she surged towards the zanpakuto spirit, leaving the others far behind her.

Rukia swung Sode no Shirayuki with one hand, a pillar of ice rising up to engulf the Hollows that threatened the Thirteenth. Her own Division had been placed behind the Fifth, so they hadn't seen battle quite so soon, but by this point in the charge, the battle had reached them, the stragglers that the Fifth hadn't been able to mop up being quickly dealt with by the Thirteenth's shinigami.

She spun in the air, keeping a one-handed grip on her sword as she sliced through another Hollow. Dark blood hissed and evaporated against Sode no Shirayuki's surface, the air around her shimmering as she swiped her sword out in front of her. The Hollow fell to the ground, already beginning to vanish as she eyed the next wave, flexing her free hand and testing out the flexibility of the gloves her brother had given her. They were a pair of white tekkou, cut in the same style as his own. She hadn't worn them in battle before, not wanting to ruin them.

She wore them today, in part to remind her what she was fighting for.

Her eyes narrowed as she felt a familiar reiatsu spark in the air around her, and she raised her sword, pivoting quickly to the side as a streak of red came through, Catalina's sword clashing against her own. The Arrancar pushed her back, the two of them sliding on a platform of reishi as they moved backwards in the air. Rukia's eyes narrowed, and she raised her other hand to brace Sode no Shirayuki as she felt the force of Catalina's attack.

"Kuchiki Rukia," said Catalina, giving her a grin. "I heard one of our rats got your brother. I was thinking I'd make it two for two. What do you say?"

Rukia's eyes narrowed, and she pushed back, swiping Sode no Shirayuki through the air. The air misted as the sword passed, frost crystals forming in its wake. Catalina landed in the air a few feet away from her, hovering there as she held her own zanpakuto loosely at her side.

"Whoops," she said in a mocking tone, her eyes on Rukia. "Did I strike a nerve?"

Rukia's response was to go into stance, touching the ground four times in front of her with Sode no Shirayuki's point and preparing a Hakuren.

Toshiro gripped Hyourinmaru in both hands, swinging the blade up over his head. The dragon that formed at the end of the nodachi swung over him like a whip, shooting towards Sieg. The Arrancar simply floated out of the way, his form shifting as the attack rolled through. The captain's eyes narrowed as Sieg flew over to his right, becoming briefly corporeal for a moment as he shot towards Toshiro, his claws extended. Toshiro raised his sword, blocking the strike, and Sieg's claws skittered across Hyourinmaru's side, the Arrancar becoming incorporeal again as Toshiro drove Hyourinmaru through.

Sieg floated back, shadows swirling around him as he hovered slightly translucent in the air. "I would have thought you'd remember, Hitsugaya Toshiro," he said. "Your attacks cannot harm me."

Toshiro's eyes narrowed, shifting his grip on his sword to one hand and lowering it to his side.

"You have to change form to attack me," he said. "Which means you can be hit."

"Perhaps," said Sieg, "But the question is, can you take advantage of those fleeting moments?"

Toshiro's answer was to raise his sword as the Arrancar shot towards him, ice swirling around him as clouds started to gather. "Bankai," he said, ice creeping up his blade and forming wings behind him. "Daiguren Hyourinmaru."

The wings folded around him as Sieg shot forward, encasing him in a dome of ice. Sieg's claws struck the ice, scratching gouges into its surface. From within the shield, Toshiro's grip tightened on his sword, his eyes narrowing as he pointed Hyourinmaru at the ground.

"Guncho Tsurara," he said, swinging his sword in an arc.

The ice from the wings surrounding him rose suddenly, forming a flock of daggers that shot out in all directions. Sieg's eyes widened as the ice rose up, and he quickly sprang back, attempting to become incorporeal. The ice closed around his claws, trapping him there, and Sieg stared in shock as two of the ice daggers struck his shoulders, a third slicing a line across his cheek. The wings opened, flinging him back but keeping his claws trapped in ice.

Toshiro shot forward, not giving Sieg time to recover as he swung his sword horizontally in front of him.

"Hyoryu Senbi!" he said, ice overflowing from his blade and forming a crescent. The ice shot towards Sieg, striking the Arrancar in the torso and flinging him back. Sieg's eyes widened as he was flung back, the attack sending him into the ground. Toshiro hovered in the air, still holding his sword as he glanced down at Masaryu and Kohaku.

Kohaku stared up at him, her eyes wide as she felt the rush of cold air from Toshiro's attacks. "He hit him," she said, staring at the cloud of mist and dust where Sieg had landed. "How?"

"His claws…" said Masa, staring as well. "He must not be able to shift if his claws are trapped."

"And Hitsugaya-taicho figured that out all on his own?" asked Kohaku, awed.

Masa said nothing, watching as Toshiro started to descend, heading towards them. Before he could reach them, there was a laugh, coming from the direction Sieg had landed. Toshiro's eyes narrowed, and he turned towards it as both Masa and Kohaku looked in that direction.

Sieg rose from the center of the crater, looking more than a little unhinged. Shadows swirled around him as he hovered in the air, bleeding from cuts on his chest and arms, and from a gash down the side of his face. Ice crystals still clung to the front of his Arrancar uniform.

He looked down at them, flashing them a smile as they turned towards him. Toshiro immediately raised his sword, Masa doing the same.

"Not bad, Hitsugaya Toshiro," said Sieg. "Not bad at all. I suppose it's time I revealed my true form."

Toshiro's eyes widened slightly at that. "True form?" he asked.

"My Fantasma's true form," said Sieg, holding his sword out horizontally in front of him. Shadows began to surge around him, forming the outline of wings and solidifying into a robe over his shoulders. His hair lengthened, spilling down his back as he hovered in the air above them.

"Ángel de la Muerta," he said as they stared at him. "The angel of death coming to stand in judgment over the world."

Reiatsu crackled in the air suddenly, a foot slamming into the side of his face and throwing him to the ground. Sieg struck the ground hard, the earth cracking around him as he slid back.

"You called?" asked a voice from the air. Kohaku's eyes widened, and she looked up.

As the dust cleared, she saw Karin hovering in the air above them, her hand on her scythe's shaft as she landed on a platform of reishi. She was grinning. Before Sieg could pick himself up off the ground, her reiatsu flared, crackling and pressing against the air as it shifted from bright blue to black. She swung the scythe out in front of her, the blade pointing down towards the ground as she gripped the shaft with both hands.

"Bankai,"she said.

"Mukai Ongetsu."

TO BE CONTINUED

A/N: Setsuyoku: Kongousai (切翼: 金剛砦, cutting wings; adamantine fortress) is a technique of Ankoujin Masaryu's Setsuyoku. Kongousai reflects Setsuyoku's fourth form, a shield, and allows him to sacrifice all offensive capabilities to create a nearly impenetrable barrier. Masa cannot use Setsuyoku to attack at the same time as using Kongousai.

Ángel de la Muerta is the true form of Sieg's zanpakuto Fantasma. Its name is Spanish for "angel of death". Mukai Ongetsu (無界 隠月, null sphere, hidden moon) is Kurosaki Karin's bankai.