Finally, the power of Jikan and Kuukan shall be revealed! XD Sorry for making you wait, guys.

HarunaOno: It's okay. Thanks though :)

necro (Guest): Yeah, it would be cool if we knew what Kyouraku's Bankai is, and yes, it would most certainly be interesting and ironic.

Chapter 8: Suzumebachi vs. Jikan/Kuukan

Amina sighed impatiently. "They've been fighting using hand-to-hand combat for a while now," she grumbled, "I'm bored."

"But Saki-chan used Kido a while ago..." Hanako said.

"That was only one Shakkaho!" Amina shouted, jumping up and down, "I've seen plenty of those, dammit!"

Hanako gave up trying to calm down her older sister and sat quietly in her seat, hugging her knees while watching Soifon and Saki attack each other with Hakudo. Kyouraku offered Amina a cup of sake, which she took and downed in one gulp. Soon, those two were chatting and drinking, the battle in front of them completely forgotten. Ukitake gave Kyouraku a disapproving look but didn't bother doing anything to stop his friend.

Meanwhile, Saki and Soifon finally jumped apart. Soifon was just slightly out of breath while Saki didn't look any different than when the battle first started.

"How can you keep up with me?" Soifon asked Saki, her eyes glaring accusingly at her opponent.

"My teacher taught me Shunpo in the few years we trained together," Saki answered.

"Captain, you can do it!" Lieutenant of the Second Division, Marechiyo Omaeda, yelled from his seat.

"Tch. I don't need your support, Omaeda," Soifon snapped, drawing her zanpakuto.

"Huuuh?! Captain, you're so mean!" Omaeda complained. Soifon spared her lieutenant an annoyed glance and flash-stepped behind Saki. She placed the tip of her zanpakuto at the latter's throat.

"Sting all enemies to death, Suzumebachi!" Soifon commanded. Her zanpakuto immediately transformed into a stinger-like weapon that covered up Soifon's middle finger. Unfortunately for the Stealth Master, Saki looked completely unaffected by the fact that Soifon had released her Shikai.

"You're not going to win," Soifon declared, pulling back her right arm to drive the point of Suzumebachi into Saki. She brought her arm down, and a few seconds later, blood splattered the ground at the feet of both Soifon and Saki. The pair immediately jumped apart, landing on opposite sides of the field to gaze at each other warily.

A Homonka appeared on Saki's right shoulder. She merely cast an indifferent glance at it before returning her stare to Soifon.

Meanwhile, Soifon had been stabbed in the right shoulder. It wasn't a deep wound, and Soifon pressed her hand to it in an attempt to stop the bleeding. Damn it, she thought, I didn't know she had hidden weapons, but at least I managed to get her with Suzumebachi's Nigeki Kessatsu. "You're done for now," Soifon said confidently.

Saki's only reply was the blue aura that began to glow faintly around her body. Soifon quickly took on a battle stance, ready to retaliate to any movements Saki might make. However, the black-haired girl just stood there, allowing the blue aura to envelope her. Then, to Soifon's horror, the Homonka on Saki's shoulder began to fade until it disappeared completely.

"What did you do?" Soifon was unable to comprehend the banishment of the butterfly-shaped stamp.

"Nothing complicated," Saki replied, "I merely returned my body to the condition it was in yesterday."

"What?" Soifon exclaimed in shock and dismay, her eyes widening.

"You heard me." Saki raised her unreleased zanpakuto and placed her hand next to the tsuba. "Materialize, Jikan to Kuukan." She quickly swiped her hand in a straight line away from the handle and the blade appeared where her hand had been. She proceeded to separate the two daggers, holding Jikan in her left hand and Kuukan in her right.

Soifon gnashed her teeth together, and the two charged at each other, weapons held high. Suzumebachi and Kuukan met with a loud clang. They were held in their positions for a while, neither woman willing to back down. Then, Saki pointed the tip of Jikan's blade at Soifon. An orb of blue energy began to charge at the point. Soifon let out a barely audible gasp and jumped into the air, just in time to dodge the beam of energy that shot out from the orb.

"Temporal Blast," Saki explained to a surprised Soifon, "Jikan condenses time energy into a ball and shoots out the energy at the target. Anything struck by the attack will either die instantly, or the time around it is sped up until it kicks the bucket and withers away." The tree that had been struck by Jikan's Temporal Blast slowly lost all of its leaves, and soon, the wood became rotted until the dead plant dissolved into bits of blue particles that vanished into the surrounding space.

"If Jikan has a special move, am I right in assuming that Kuukan has one, too?" Soifon asked.

"You are absolutely right," Saki said, "But I'd rather not use Kuukan's move in a battle."

"Why not?"

Saki positioned Kuukan in front of her. "Because it will be instant death if it hits, and even if it missed, there would be a massive disturbance in the flow of spatial particles. Too many of Kuukan's move, and this dimension could collapse." With that, she leapt into the air, daggers aimed at the small captain.

Soifon used Suzumebachi to block Kuukan, and when Saki jabbed at her with Jikan, she grabbed onto Saki's right forearm and used to swing herself out of the way of Jikan's attack. She then attempted to stab Saki in the back with Suzumebachi, but the latter raised her right foot and halted Soifon's arm in its tracks. However, Soifon merely flexed her wrist and the point of Suzumebachi sank into Saki's leg instead. As quickly as it appeared, the Homonka vanished again as Saki returned her body to its condition yesterday.

Soifon made an impatient noise. Suzumebachi's Nigeki Kessatsu wasn't going to have any effect. Soifon really didn't want to go to any extreme measures, but now, it didn't seem like she had any choice. She took off her captain's haori, revealing the sleeveless uniform of the commander-in-chief of the Onmitsukido. White, pressurized reiatsu began to swirl around her, creating a strong gust of wind. Soifon smirked.

"Shunko."

Next chapter: Out of Control Bankai