Chapter 14 : Death and Deception

Jonouchi gasped for breath, staring at the blade that penetrated his chest. "How..." he whispered. The pain was too much for him to take. He gasp as the blade retracted.

"What's the matter, Jou?" Ichimaru grinned menacingly. "You really didn't think you did away with me in our last fight, did ya?" Jonouchi was sweating furiously. Something wasn't right. He knew that his victory over the former Captain was too easy. He recalled the final impact, remembering how Ichimaru tried to evade as the icicles plummeted downwards. The quick Flash Step that was too late. He remembered Ichimaru's body flashing out of view, but returning to the same spot in which the icicles struck. "A Gigai..." Jonouchi said as it hit him.

"A Gigai? No, Jou. Dat's way too simple. I'm sure Captain Unohana would have easily recognized a Gigai. We had to take it a step further than that." Ichimaru smiled.

"What are you after, Gin? Is it the Soukyoku?" Jonouchi frowned, getting to his feet. He looked to his right. Tosen was also getting back to his feet. He knew Tosen couldn't take Gin on his own. They'ed have to work together. Jonouchi was quickly losing blood. He felt very light-headed.

"I guess dat is what Aizen wrote in the letter." Ichimaru frowned watching the two Captains get to their feet.

"O'kami Suishou!" Jonouchi called, and the ice wolf flashed to his side. The snow that once fell was gone. The atmosphere was getting warm quickly. Water was running onto the ground in which O'kami Suishou stood. He was melting fast. "We've got to end this quickly." Jonouchi growled, running at Ichimaru. He Flash Stepped, appearing in front of Ichimaru, fist ready. Ichimaru just stood, smirking. Jonouchi thrust his fist at Ichimaru, but he was stopped. Someone caught hold of his wrist. Standing at Ichimaru's side was Kaname Tosen.

"Thank's, Cap'n." Ichimaru smirked.

"What are you doing!?" Jonouchi shouted. "Let go of me!" Tosen's knee came up, slamming into Jonouchi's stomach. Jonouchi threw up a great deal of blood, eyes wide with terror. Tosen lifted him into the air by his arm and delivered a kick in the same spot, launching him a good 10 yards away. Jonouchi lay on the ground gasping for breath. He kept coughing up blood, but despite all that, continued to try to get up. He brought himself up to his knees, coughing.

"Give up, Jou. There's no way you're getting past us." Ichimaru said mockingly. Jonouchi growled in frustration. Without warning, O'kami Suishou Flash Stepped behind Tosen and went for an attack while his guard was down. All of Jonouchi's hopes had been drained away in an instant.. His eyes widened with fear. With a quick thrust of Tosen's fist, O'kami Suishou shattered into a thousand pieces. Pieces of ice feel to the ground, Ichimaru laughing.

"Did they really let someone who couldn't even use their Bankai effectively become a Captain?" Ichimaru grinned. Jonouchi felt all of his Spiritual Pressure drain from him. He couldn't move.

"Shall I do away with this trash?" Tosen asked, placing his hand upon his Zanpakuto.

"Naw, he'll die on his own, slowly and painfully." Ichimaru said, turning around. "That wound is too serious. Unohana herself couldn't fix'em."

Ichimaru began walking away, Tosen close behind him. Ichimaru stopped in his tracks, a deadly smirk crossing his face.

"Stop right there!" came a shout. There was a great gust of swirling wind and Kaze Akurei and Kalinda appeared by Jonouchi's side. "What the hell are you two doing?" Kaze Akurei asked, shooting Tosen a deadly glare.

"Our matters are none of your business." Tosen said, turning to face the young Vice-Captain.

Kalinda was at Jonouchi's side, trying to stop his bleeding. "Who did this to you!?" she cried.

"That, lil' girl, would be me." Ichimaru grinned triumphantly.

"You..." she growled. "I'll end you..." There were bright orange flames forming around her wrists. "Rise from the Ashes, Fushicho Musume!" She drew her Zanpakuto and flames burst around her.

"Kalinda, keep your cool. He's the former 3rd Squad Captain." Kaze Akurei said.

"Your just going to sit back and let them do that to your Captain!?" she growled. Kaze Akurei just smirked.

"Of course not." he said, placing both hands on his Zanpakuto. He drew it, blade to the sky. "Eliminate, Haiyaitanin." he said. A swirling wind overtook his Zanpakuto. He pulled his hands away from each other to his sides, and two curved bladed daggers split from his katana. "I've got a lesson to teach Tosen."

"What did he do to you?" Kalinda asked, confused.

"Nothing. Just don't like all his talk about justice." Kalinda smirked. Both rushed the two Captains. The two Captains just stood there and took the attack, getting slashed from the side. Both Kalinda and Kaze Akurei turned. No damage had been done to Ichimaru or Tosen. Suddenly, both Kalinda and Kaze Akurei gasped and fell to their knees. Blood splashed on the ground. Both had large gashes from their chests, stretching up to their shoulders.

"What the hell happened..." Kalinda gasped. Kaze Akurei's vision was fading, but he could see there were three other people, standing where Kalinda and Kaze Akurei had been, next to Jonouchi.

"Who is that?" he asked Kalinda, falling on his stomach.

"No way..." her voice quivered. Kaze Akurei could clearly see the fear in her eyes. "Aizen..."

"What!?" Kaze Akurei growled. "Am I seeing things? Or... There are two of Tosen and Ichimaru...?"

"You're not seeing things..." Kalinda said.

The 5th Squad Captain smirked, holding out his hand. "Break, Kyoka Suigetsu." The two that Kalinda and Kaze Akurei had attacked faded away, and a Zanpakuto appeared in Aizen's hand. Only the Tosen and Ichimaru that was next to Aizen remained.

"What the hell..." Kaze Akurei strained to see.

"My Zanpakuto..." Aizen started. "...is a complete hypnosis. It tricks sight, smell, hearing, touch, and even taste. There is no way to tell it is an illusion." Kalinda groaned in pain. She strained to see. Something had caught her eye. She strained and strained, before realizing what was happening. Jonouchi was slowly, but surely getting up. She was so fear stricken, she couldn't do anything. She watched as he stood, clutching a piece of O'kami Suishou's broken ice. There was a sharp point, extending like a blade. He made a quick thrust into Aizen's back, but it was too late. Aizen Flash Stepped, and stabbing Jonouchi in the side. With a quick sideways twist of the blade, he slashed outwards, ripping the blade out of Jonouchi's side. She heard him scream in pain, and began to cry.

"Nooo..." she cried, watching him hit the ground, motionless. She heard footsteps behind her, but couldn't turn to look. Someone walked right past her.

"Geeze, Aizen. Did you have to be so brutal?" a feminine voice said, sounding sarcastic. She continued walking until she was next to Jonouchi. By that time, Kalinda could see her clearly. It was Anna Sakkidatta.

"Your late, Anna." Aizen said looking to her.

"Yeah, sorry about that. I had a little trouble getting here. Your Vice-Captain, as well as Tosens put up a hell of a fight. But I finished them." She got on one knee, down next to Jonouchi. She lifted his chin up so his eyes met hers. "Sure got your ass kicked, didn't you?" she laughed. "You're such a feeble minded child."

"Leave him alone..." Kalinda growled. "Get your filthy hands off him!"

"Don't worry, I'm not going to steal him away from you. That was all just a game." she smiled innocently as she pointed a finger outward. A large spider crawled from her sheath onto her finger. "I would never keep trash like him. He couldn't defend you, let alone himself. I have no use for a weakling. If you want something so worthless, take him. I never loved him." she laughed.

"You bitch!" Kaze Akurei was on one knee, but still couldn't move. "How could you trick someone like that. You're the lowest piece of trash I've seen by far."

"Trash?" she scoffed. "Look whose talking, wind demon. I chose to help Aizen create his eutopia. It will be best to have Soul Society whiped clean. The rest of you Shinigami are making things worse."

There was a loud roar, and Kalinda and Kaze Akurei looked to the sky. There was a large crack, chips of sky falling down. Large eyes were peering down upon them. Kalinda gasped as several head and arms tore through. Several Gillian class Menos roared reaching through. There was a great beam of light shot from the Menos, illuminating Aizen, Tosen, Ichimaru, and Anna. They reached through, and the four Shinigami Flash Stepped onto the hands of a Menos.

"In the beginning, there was no one in Heaven, not even God. From now on, I'll be the one sitting there." he smiled, removing his glasses. there was a devilish glint in his eyes. He opened his free hand and Kalinda saw a small sphere, encased in a clear box. They began to rise into the sky, beyond the clouds. The skys began to close as the Menos retreated into Hueco Mundo.

Kalinda didn't even think anything of Aizen. Her only concern was Jonouchi's safety. She got to her feet slowly, and rushed over to check his wounds. She paled and sobbed when she saw them. Both his Soul Chain and Soul Sleep were completely severed. She didn't want to believe what she was seeing. She wouldn't. Jonouchi... Was quickly dying, right before her eyes.

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V Dun dun dun... My favorite chapter so far. If you liked it, please review... I dont get too many of those.