Hey, i'm sorry i took so long to upload a new chapter, but i am really really busy...it will most likely be like that for the rest of the year. :( Luckily, now is the one week break so hopefully, i have time to post more new chapters!

And thanks to everyone of you who love this story and support me. I really really do appreciate you! R/R

Disclaimer: I do not own bleach.

Skye

I spent the past two days in the holding cell sleeping. There was nothing much I could do anyway. I couldn't meditate since Hotaru no hikari was taken from me; I couldn't think much because my brain is not functioning; I couldn't escape as I'm forbidden to perform any kidos. I just lay back and blank out.

However, today is different. I heard from the guards that Rukia's execution is pushed forward, and it starts today afternoon. I sighed. How am I going to save her when I'm locked up in this confined area? I can only hope that Ichigo succeeds.

"You don't look good, you know that?"

I perked up at the sound of that familiar voice. "I'm dying of boredom. Where did you go?"

"Training myself so that I have a chance to beat Byakuya."

I stiffened as I heard that name. "So are you saving me or what, Renji?" Focus. Focus.

"Yeah. I promised to save Rukia with you." He grinned. "Seems like someone cast another kido around this area while you were locked up. It's okay, I dispelled the kido. Do you still need me to help you break out or can you do that by yourself?"

I rolled my eyes. "Stand back." I stretched my right hand forward, palms up facing the steel bars, with my left hand grabbing my right wrist. "Hado spell 31, Shakkaho."

I fired a ball of red energy and walked through the hole created by those bent steel bars.

"Before we go, I need to get my zanpakuto."

"You don't have it with you?"

"Our captain locked it up."

Byakuya

"Sir, I have a message from the detention centre. The prisoner, Minori Skye, has just escaped from her holding cell, with the help of Abarai Renji."

I waved him off. This was expected from Skye. I had calmed down after two days of thinking. I shouldn't waste my time being angry with her. I took one last look at my deceased wife. "I'm going now Hisana."

Skye

"Let me get this straight. You escaped, went to train secretly, achieved bankai, just to fight Byakukya?" I asked unbelievingly. "You got your objective all wrong, idiot! You are supposed to be doing all that to save Rukia!"

Renji scratched his head. "I am. But don't you realize that? In order to save Rukia, I need to be able to defeat Byakuya!"

This is what I feared. I thought. That's when we felt it.

"This…this reiatsu…" Renji's sweat dripped onto the ground as he uttered.

I swallowed. "…Byakuya…"

"Where do you both think you're going?" There he is, standing on the roof, looking down at us.

I cursed my luck under my breath. "Holy shit. What a good timing."

At least Renji is brave enough to reply him. "We are going to save Rukia."

"No you're not." Byakuya stated simply.

"We are going." Renji argued. "Won't you let us pass here peacefully?" I leave all the talking to Renji because I know that no matter what intelligent things we say, Byakuya is not going to let us go in peace.

"I won't say the same thing twice."

"Renji, prepare youself." Before I even get to finish my sentence, Byakuya appeared behind us.

"Skye!" Renji narrowed his eyes before blocking Byakuya's zanpakuto with his own, protecting me from the blow. "Who's the one who should prepare? You didn't even draw out your zanpakuto!"

"Well, are you fighting him or not?"

Hotaru no hikari! I exclaimed, half listening to Renji's talk about senka. I don't really want to fight…

"Make up your mind, Skye. You are here to save Rukia, not offer compassion."

I bit my lower lip.

"Look at you. What are you so confident about? With that level of strength, did you really think that you can break my blade? Scatter, Senbonz…"

I heard Byakuya gasp. Wow they already started battling. And Renji became stronger, indeed. He prevented Byakuya from releasing, and released his own zanpakuto without calling it's name…

"Renji you're strong." I smirked.

He grinned back at me. "And you realized it now. Go and save Rukia." He turned back to Byakuya. "Bankai!"

I jumped up to the roof, coughing.

"He can't defeat Byakuya, Skye. You know that."

"But…it's his battle! He waited for a long time for this! I reasoned with Hotaru no hikari."

"We both know that he just achieved bankai, so he can't stay in that form for long and he haven't learn to full his full power yet."

I squinted my eyes to see Renji. He doesn't look afraid anymore. I smiled to myself. You're right, hikari. But this isn't just about saving Rukia. I'm not taking away Renji's once in a lifetime chance to defeat Byakuya. I may not share his enthusiasm, but even I know that it's his fight.

Byakuya

"It's time to end this, Kuchiki Byakuya."

Renji thought he knew my sword inside and out, but he haven't seen my bankai yet. I noticed Skye standing on one of the roofs watching us battle. I had thought that she would help Renji, but apparently this wasn't the quiet and calm Skye. This Skye, with eyes that are alive, is the 'real' one.

After using two kidos, I decided to end this meaningless fight with Renji. "Put away your sword and you will live…unless you're still dreaming about defeating me. Did you forget, or did it not occur to you that I also have bankai?"

Skye

I already predicted the outcome, but it still shocked me to see Renji like this. Worse than how he looked after fighting with Ichigo. Renji tried to push up his bloodied body.

I watch in horror as Renji swung his katana towards Byakuya. It didn't pierce through Byakuya, because it broke. And then, just like that, Renji fell on the ground.

"Congratutions, your fang actually reached me." Byakuya threw his white scarf on Renji.

He glanced at me. "So are you going to surrender or do you want to turn out like him?"

I shunpoed to the ground and knelt beside Renji, covering my mouth in shock as I surveyed his injuries.

"You should have expected this from the very start. Now, regain your composure and let me fight! That Kuchiki actually had the nerve to do such things…"

"Hikari, don't."

"Take a rest. I promise you, we will go and save Rukia together." I said quietly to Renji. With that, I drew my katana and shunpoed in front of Byakuya, who blocked my direct attack with ease.

"You are a fool too, if you think you can defeat me." Byakuya pushed me back.

My eyes glinted. "I may not defeat you, but I didn't fight you to survive." I angled my sword, preparing to attack. "You are a very strange man, Kuchiki Byakuya."

I appeared at his side and tried to cut him horizontally, but shunpoed behind me and cut my shoulder.

"You are not as strong as I thought, Skye. I had high expectations of you, after all you defeated a captain before."

"I had high expectations of you too, but now I realized that you are nothing but a cold bastard." I spat.

"Watch your tongue, Minori." Byakuya said, making no move to attack me. "I will not forgive you for saying such things. You are nothing but a pest."

"Well, if I'm a pest, then you're no better. What do you call someone who forces a kiss onto the pest?" I asked calmly, although a rivulet of indignant venom ran through the words. You are not the only one who can say that. And I will not forgive you for calling me Minori.

It feels so good to see Byakuya with an utterly shocked expression on his face. His lips parted slightly, hands twitching and face flushed.

I used this moment to attack. "Hado spell 33, Sokatsui."

Before it hits him, Byakuya vanished. I raised my zanpakuto as he appeared a few feet behind me.

"Chire, Senbonzakura."

"Release me! You can't defend yourself against that!" Hotaru no hikari screamed at me.

"Bakudo spell 39, Enkosen!" I summoned a shield of condensed reiatsu to block my front.

"Argh…" I gasped at the sudden impact, where the small blades of Senbonzakura cut through my back. I placed my weight on my katana as a balanced myself.

"Why did you not heed my advice? Now you are hurt! You are going to lose like that…Skye! I don't care whether you want to hurt Byakuya or not, but your objective is to save Rukia!"

Rukia. I was supposed to save her, but in the midst of facing Byakuya, I forgot. I lifted my katana off the ground. This fight, from the very start, is about Rukia. Like it or not, I need to win because of Rukia.

"Shine, Hotaru no Hikari!"

I watched as we are surrounded by blinding white light. Byakuya closed his eyes. He dropped his zanpakuto. "Bankai."

This is bad. Terrible. Disastrous. He activated bankai without prompting? I watched as my light dimmed and finally disappeared. He stopped my shikai just like that.

"Chire, Senbonzakura kageyoshi."

"Use bankai now! You will be even worse than Renji if you fight him in shikai."

"Bankai!" I said quietly. I can feel warm light surrounding me. I did not want to use bankai on Byakuya. I didn't even want to fight him. For some reason, it hurts me to know that we are fighting. It hurts me to know that he actually use his bankai on me. I am torn between two decisions. One, to let him defeat me so as to spare me the pain of dragging this battle. Two, to fight with my all and save Rukia.

Then, a thought struck me. Maybe Byakuya was forced to choose sides too. He just chose the opposite from me.

Byakuya

Everything happened so quickly. It wasn't really a surprise when she activated her bankai. I have been looking forward to seeing her bankai, but not like this. I never pictured us fighting, fighting for real. Even after what she said to me, I didn't want to hurt her.

The light faded. One glance at her, and I am awe struck. The person standing in front of me, is it really Skye? Her shinigami robes turned white, and she's now wearing a cloak made of entirely white feathers. Everything on her is white, except for hair, which is now light purple. A feathery hood covered her head, but her hair was pushed in front of her, shoulder length on her left, and waist length on her right. Her fringe was longer and covered her right eye. She is the exact replica of…an angel.

She didn't give me time to admire her form. Raising her zanpakuto, Skye shouted, "Defy, Hotaru no Kiete Hikari!"

Her reiatsu raises in an unbelieving rate, and before I knew it, Senbonzakura, with all the thousands of small blades, were floating around me. Her glowing white sword is now pointing at me, directing my blades. "What did you do, Skye?" I tried to maintain calm and decipher the situation at the same time.

"How does it feel, to be injured by your own attack?" Skye asked me bitterly.

Something in my head clicked. "Your bankai…It controls your opponents' attacks."

"For someone who is so sure of himself, you don't look so sure now."

"You do not really expect to defeat me just like that, do you?" I asked casually, though I'm mentally panicking how to stop her control. I tried to call back my zanpakuto, but it doesn't react.

"Why?" She cried out. "Why are you not saving Rukia? She is your sister! You can't get another Rukia anymore if this one dies! She will be gone. Do you understand? GONE!"

"I am well aware of that." Quickly, I shunpoed away from my surrounding blades, ignoring the pain of my own blades cutting through me. If I can't use my katana…

"Bakudo spell 63, Sajo Sabaku."

She tensed. Releasing her control over my sword, she yelled, "Bakudo spell 81, Danku!"

I made use of the time where she blocked my kido and shunpoed behind her. Closing my eyes, I pierced my blade through her.

Skye

Everything happened in a slow motion. Too caught up in my own emotions, I forced myself to use that advanced kido spell in which I still do not have much experience with. Focusing on controlling my kido, I didn't notice Byakuya appearing behind me and then, I feel something tear in me. It wasn't painful, at first, just me wondering what the hell was going on. And when I finally looked down, and see something red on my white hakama, I knew. That's when I felt the agonising pain in my stomach.

I reached out my arm, trying hard to grasp something solid before I fall on the ground, unconscious. Everything disappeared from my sight except for one face.

Byakuya

I am the only one looking as her blood stained her white shinigami robes. It was a small red circle at first, but it spreads rapidly and in a few seconds, it grew into a blood red camellia. Her eyes, filled with rage when she activated bankai, now filled with sorrow as she desperately reached out her arm.

Without registering a single thought, I grabbed her arm and pulled her towards me, for the second time. Gently, I placed her body on the ground. Her sword clattered as it fell from her grasp. Her shinigami robes turned black and her cloak disappeared. All that is left are feathers, a pile of white feathers spreading on the ground, some dyed in red. I touched her face, so soft, so warm.

"I'm sorry." I whispered.

Her eyelids fluttered for a second. "There's nothing to be sorry about."

And with that, she let go of my hand.

Skye

I don't know how long it took for me to regain consciousness. I blinked as my eyes adjusted to the sudden light. Groaning, I raised my right hand over my head to block the sunlight.

"Skye. Skye. Hey, are you alright?"

I opened my eyes again. Light, a myriad of colours, flooded in. It took me a while to focus on the person in front of me.

"Ren…ji." I managed.

"Good. You're fine. Listen. About Rukia…"

Hearing her name, I feel immediately awakened. "Rukia! How is she? Is she…ouch…argh…"

I bit my lower lips as I tried to stand. Renji helped me up. "I don't know. I'm heading over now. Can you take care of yourself?" He gave me a onceover. "You are not in good shape."

"I know." I said as I struggled to raise my heavy arm to secure my katana behind my back. "Okay. Let's go and save her."

"No." Renji stopped me before I could take a step forward. "I will save Rukia. You're hurt worse than me. Go to the 4th division. I'll take care of everything from now on."

"Sheesh. You don't have to grab me this hard. It's not like I will struggle or anything..." I complained. "No matter…I need to save her…"

"You don't. I will take care of that. Go and treat your wounds now." Renji said, this time more forcefully. "Listen to me, Skye. You can't do anything in this condition. I need to go now. The execution is almost starting…"

"I know. Just go." I replied agitatedly.

As I walked to the 4th division, I attacked my brain, trying to find answers to my actions. Why did I get so emotional? Why didn't I put in my all to save Rukia? Why am I in this state?

"The answer, my dear, lies in the man who happens to be your captain." Hikari said.

"Stop roaming free in my head." I forced my zanpakuto away. However, she's right. Kuchiki Byakuya is the answer to all my problems. He occupies more and more of my thoughts. I thought of the last words he said to me before I fainted. Was it 'I'm sorry', or 'Forgive me'? And he almost killed me. I gritted my teeth at this.

But, no matter what despicable things he did, I forgive him. I don't feel like stabbing him in the chest, which I would if he is not Byakuya. I shook my head, chasing away these thoughts. But how could you risk Rukia just not hurt him?

Then, suddenly, something infiltrated my thoughts. "This is futaicho Kotetsu Isane of the 4th division speaking. An emergency situation has occurred. This emergency transmission is under the authority of Unohana taicho of the 4th division and myself. Please listen carefully, everything I am about to say…is true."

I shunpoed to Soukyoku hill with Hotaru no Hikari in released state.

"Skye, are you okay? You don't have to worry, everyone is rushing there. Rukia will be fine."

"No she will not! And this is not about Rukia!" I screamed in my mind. "That bastard…I knew it!" I pressed on my wounds to lessen the pain.

"Skye…"

"Stop it, Hikari! I am going to ask for a reason this time, since that son of a bitch is not going to die."

Hotaru no hikari quieten down, noting that I want to be left alone. In fact, there is nothing I want more than being left alone. I don't want to know anybody anymore. No one I knew stayed in my life forever. I came to an abrupt stop as I reached my destination. Salvaging the sight in front of me, I could do not but gasp.

Renji and Ichigo were there, lying on the ground, and of course, covered in blood. Rukia. Where's Rukia? I forced myself to look for her, preparing to see worse things. And I did. Byakuya was there too, on the ground. His kenseikan was not on his head. I pinched myself, making sure that all these things I saw was true.

"Ahh…Minori san! It's a pleasure to see you here! Do you want to witness the death of Kuchiki Rukia with your own eyes?" I saw Aizen holding a terrified looking Rukia by her neck. "Try again, Gin."

"Shoot her, Shinsou." I watched in horror as Gin's zanpakuto shot forward. Not thinking twice, I shunpoed forward and blocked his extending sword just before it hits Rukia. I heard it. The small cracking of my zanpakuto as it breaks.

"Skye chan!"

I didn't reply Rukia as I stared at the man before me. The man I once knew. His smile was no longer there. "Gin."

"What are ya doing here, Skye chan?" His wide, mocking smile returned. "You're badly hurt!"

"Why?" I croaked. "Why?" I repeated louder.

"My my, looks like you are having a small reunion. I hate to spoil the party, but we need to go soon, Gin. Why don't you kill her too?" I heard Aizen's menacing laughter.

Ignoring Aizen, I lowered my broken zanpakuto. "Ichimaru Gin! Answer me!" I shouted, covering my mouth with my free hand. "Why?" I felt pain wash through me, so different from the physical one Byakuya inflicted on me hours ago.

"I'm sorry, Sora chan." Gin's smile faltered slightly. "Shoot her, Shinsou."

"Skye chan!" I heard Rukia scream behind me. I saw Gin's zanpakuto inching towards me. But I could do nothing. I did nothing. I just stood there, waiting for the pain to come. My eyes never left Gin's face. Everything, all the promises, all the betrayals, all the sorrow, all the grieve, all the walls I built came crashing down on me.

When a heart breaks, it's silent. I always thought it should make the loudest sound in the world, or something ceremonious, like the clashing of the cymbal. It feels so violent, like a shark thrashing in the ocean, a mother bear howling, that my body shakes uncontrollably. But no, no matter how broken it is, how painful you feel, it's silent.

I watched in silence as his zanpakuto pierced through me. Surprisingly, I felt nothing. No pain is as unbearable as how it feels like when a heart breaks.

That's the end for now...I think my chapters are not very long, what do you all think? Please review and give me motivation to write! I really need them! thanks a lot. 0.o