Author's Notelake

Sorry, sorry! I've left you guys hanging for over a month. Bad me! This chapter fought me a bit and the internet is too distracting! But I was also kinda busy doing prep for and going to Salt Lake ComicCon! It was AWESOME! If you went, you might have seen me as a dual blade shikai Ichigo. I also got to meet JONNY YONG BOSCH! It was super cool. He said that he was also sad that the anime is over and doesn't get to the Thousand Year Blood-War arc. Um, and once a month might be how things go now because college starts tomorrow and I have no idea how that'll effect my schedule. So, yeah.

Anywho, enjoy the chapter!

I fire off another icy blast at the monsters that have dared to attack my nii-sama's temple, freezing two of them solid and catching a third's arm in the ice block. They had come suddenly in the night, attacking us and going after the seals. Our defense would be laughable with their numbers if it weren't for our individual strength. Three fukutaicho class shinigami, one of the more powerful fullbringers out there, and me, a should-be-a-seated-officer-but-nii-sama-won't-allow-it level shinigami, versus an ungodly amount of small-fry, near-hollow yokai with a couple of stronger ones thrown in to spice things up. Yeah, this fight sucks.

I dodge a set of claws, retaliating with a slash of my zanpakuto, cutting its arm open. We've been lucky enough so far to keep them bottled up in the statue garden where the majority of the Sealed are lesser yokai and animalisticly stupid. Our opponents have broken several of the seals, but we've done a fairly good job defending them. For once I'm glad that nii-sama insisted that we did a full check back then, seeing as the restrengthened seals are giving tonight's visitors trouble.

I slay another of our attackers before jumping back and up onto one of the building's roof for a small breather. That stuck up Quincy or the flaming moron would be really useful right about now. Numbers are our only problem tonight. Renji has already sent word to nii-sama, but it's hard to say when he'll get here, so until then we just have to hold out.

As I prepare to return to the fray, I notice a cloaked figure slipping through the fray, heading further into the temple grounds. I tilt my head as I try to figure why they would head that way, there's no seals over there, just our living quarters. Wait… Orihime! When we noticed the attack force, I told her to hide in her room. I take off quickly to try and head them off. There's no time to tell Renji or any of the others, it's up to me to protect her. I finger the Chappy pin on my shirt. 'I'll give you your stupid pin, just do me a favor and keep Inoue safe in return, okay?' Of course I agreed, I would have done it without him telling me, but there was something in his eyes that made it feel like a contract. Well, I'm certainly not going back on that promise.

I land lightly in a courtyard and a few moments later the cloaked intruder enters. He comes to a stop before me, and I notice he is taller than Ichigo, but shorter than Renji.

"Heh. And here I thought we brought enough fodder to keep you all busy." He says in a snide tone. "Oh well, I like it better this way anyway. It'd be damn boring if I didn't get to fight." I can hear the grin in his voice and it has all of my senses on high alert.

"What are you here for?" I demand, staring him down.

"If you wanna know so bad, then beat the answer out of me!" He shouts, arms spread wide as if inviting me to attack. "Course your friends will find out anyway, but it'll be after I've killed you!" he roars, charging forward. I side step the spear hand he aims at my chest, crouching down to get in close and swing my blade up at him. He quickly twists away, allowing space between us. It is in that slight reprieve that I feel the warmth trickling down my face and the red stain on his fingertips.

He charges forward once more and I swing my blade, a circle of cold air forming on the ground. In a second, a pillar of ice erupts from the circle, catching him in it. I stare wide eyed, heart pounding in my chest, at the hand that is centimeters away from piercing my chest. It doesn't so much as twitch, even when I nudge it with my zanpakuto. Satisfied that he isn't going anywhere until I unfreeze his ass, I turn away to go back and help the others.

That was a mistake.

The sound of shattering ice reaches my ears and I barely turn in time to block his blade from splitting me from shoulder to hip. I grit my teeth against the pain of his sword getting into my shoulder and slip back out from under his blade.

"What'sa matter? Did'ja think you beat me with that little move back there? Think again!" He taunts me, taking pleasure in my shock.

We exchange a flurry of blows. I can tell that while his fighting style is rather instinctual and unrefined, comparable to Ichigo's style, he out classes me in strength and speed. It takes all my skill to keep up with his pace and avoid the blows that would break my guard. He still slips in some small strikes, leaving lines of blood. I do my best to blast him with Sode no Shirayuki's cold, but my ability to do so is compromised quite heavily by my constant need to move at full speed. I have no time to truly internalize her chill, much less adjust to moving in the dead state of her absolute chill.

He laughs manically as I struggle to hold him off. "Come on, shinigami! At least give me a challenge!"

We exchange blows again. It just drives in further that I am battling at a disadvantage, but I will not give in. My pride as well as the need to protect my friend denies me that luxury. So I soldier on, blocking and dodging as best I can. If nothing else, I'm lucky that this guy is more interested in fighting me than continuing further into the temple grounds for whatever it is he's after, unless his actual goal is killing me. Then I'm screwed.

I pull back, trying to get some distance between us. It seems to be working until I stumble, falling backwards onto my behind. My attacker does not fail to try to capitalize on my blunder. A powerful two handed overhead strike aimed for my head, blade reflecting the moonlight.

"It's over, shinigami!" he shouts, as the blade descends. There is no time to remove myself from the path of his blade, so I do the only things I can: I brace my blade and take the attack as best as I can.

Something is off. Something is wrong about how his blade hit my mine, but before I can try to figure it out, a cloud of pink slams into his side, blood splashing to the ground.

"Nii-sama!" I breathe out, looking behind me to see his noble form illuminated by the moonlight. We're saved. Relief floods my system. Nii-sama is a taicho, no invader stands a chance against him.

"Get up, Rukia." he quietly demands, voice calm and sure. I quickly scramble to my feet, wincing as my movements pull at some of my wounds. None of them are serious but they still hurt like hell. "Go back, help the others. I will deal with this one."

"Hai, nii-sama!" I sketch a quick salute. "Ah! You should know, Orihime's back in the bedrooms. We took her there at the start."

A roaring scream comes from my attacker as he launches himself at nii-sama. Nii-sama nods his head, directing his swarm of blades to battle my attacker. "I see. We'll deal with those problems later. Now go."

"Hai!" I dash back to the main battle, confident that nii-sama can handle the intruder. I throw myself back into the mess of a battle in statue garden, slashing and bringing down crazed yokai left and right. There are so many and we could certainly use nii-sama's swarm of petal blades, but I know that it's more important for nii-sama to take care of the more powerful intruder.

I cut down a naga, but I was too late to prevent it from releasing the seal on a lesser oni trapped in a statue. The oni comes to life, shedding its stone shell as it swings at me with a back fist. I duck under its arm, only to have to bring up my blade to block its second punch. That feeling that something is wrong is back as its fist impacts my blade. I move quickly around it, dodging its wild swings. In truth, I'm scared to try blocking again. That feeling of wrong bothers me, scares me, beyond belief. I'm not sure what's wrong, but I don't want to make it worse. I dance around the oni, waiting for the opportunity to finish it off. Finally, one of its punches throws is over powered and throws it off balance. I dart in and cut its chest open, freezing it. I skip back, watching the oni freeze over.

Crack.

My eyes travel down my arm, my hand, to the pure white Sode no Shirayuki. The upper half of the blade flashes in the moonlight as it descends towards the ground, independent of the lower half. An agonized scream echoes through my head. I barely notice that my own throat is going raw from my own harmony with the scream that no one else can hear.

Then the pain hits.

It is bone crushing. It feels like I've been split in half myself. It burns through my blood. Everything is agony, every breath, every beat of my heart. I think I've hit the ground, I can't tell through all this pain.

Please… make it stop… make it stop… make it STOP!

Her scream pierces my every thought. It breaks my concentration, my calm. It is a cry of absolute agony, one that I have heard before and chills me to my core. I hurry back from where I have just finished dealing with the intruder, only to see her fallen on the ground, eyes wide and ragged breathes escaping her. One of the beasts who dares to defile my home looming over her.

The chill of fear is overwhelmed by fury. Fury at those that harmed her, and fury at myself for not protecting her as I promised I would. I channel this fury, shaping it into strength, and send my many blades swarming over those that would defile my home and pride. Their pitiful cries do little to sooth my wrath.

Once the area is cleared of all vermin, I withdraw my blade. The anger ebbs as I turn my attentions back to my downed sister-in-law. My fear for her condition clouds my senses and I pay the price when her original assailant cuts me from behind. Pain flashes, sharp and hot, across my senses, not helped by my quick movements to block the next attack. Steal clashes as I struggle to hold him back. This one is tenacious, I'll give him that. To have been hit by Senbonzakura as he was and still continue to fight would take immense strength and a high tolerance for pain. Just as I fear my strength will prove ineffective, I am saved by my loyal fukutaicho as he attacks from behind the assailant. Renji only catches the edge of his tattered cloak, but it is enough that he is no longer pressing down on me. I prepare to release my blade once more when, with a quite curse, the assailant flees. I curse myself for being in no condition to follow the attacker.

"Sorry, I didn't get him, sir." Renji quietly apologizes. He turns to help me, but I can tell the moment he lays eyes on her. "Rukia!" he shouts, rushing to her side. "Rukia! Can you hear me? Say something!" He shakes her shoulders a bit before rolling her onto her back to check her injuries.

"What?!" Having rolled her over, Renji has revealed what I feared when I heard her scream. Her once pure zanpakuto is now split in two. "Oi! Rukia! Come on, wake up! Answer me, damn it!"

Renji keeps pushing at her, trying to awaken her, to get her to respond, but the chances of that are low. There is a reason that a broken zanpakuto is often considered fatal. The pain of the spirit that has merged with you dying is more than most can handle, so while it is possible to break the bond and spare the wielder from sharing in death, it rarely occurs. We need a Smith to fix her zanpakuto, to save her, but will they do it? Help the one who killed one of their own? And even if they would help, will they make it in time? The chance that she will not be saved, that they might not make it in time, chills me to my very core. I swore to my dear Hisana that I would protect her sister, and yet I have already failed. No. I have not failed yet. There is still time, still a chance, so I must act.

"Abarai-fukutaicho." I command, but he does not respond. "Abarai-fukutaicho." I try a little louder, yet he does not stop his useless actions. "Abarai-fukutaicho!" I finally have his attention as he looks up at me, lost and scared. "Take a gate to Seireitei and get Unohana-taicho. She will be able to slow down the… mortality process. Also, send out a request to the Smiths so that Rukia's zanpakuto can be repaired." He continues to stare at me like a lost child. "Do not sit here. Go!"

"Y-yes sir!" he says with a quick salute before hurrying off.

As the other officers gather, I have them move Rukia inside, careful to make sure all the blade fragments are gathered. I wait at her bedside for Renji's return, having sent the others to check our damages and start preliminary reports. They were not happy, but understood.

"Kuchiki-sama…?" a soft voice asks from the doorway. I turn slightly to see the Inoue girl standing there, a first aid kit clasped against her chest. I raise an eyebrow, which she takes as a sign to continue. "Y-you're bleeding. An-and that's not good, so if you don't mind," at this point she is staring at her feet, "I'd like to at least give you so-some first aid. Rukia-chan wouldn't want you to neglect yourself for her."

I quietly watch her fidget, peaking up before she looks back down again. After the unbelievable things she has seen tonight, she is still willing to treat us so normally? She is a rare kind of person and her kindness is a blessing to those around her. "You may do so."

She quietly shuffles in as I turn my attention back to Rukia. To break a zanpakuto is a difficult feat. The man I fought earlier was the strongest I could sense and, with the amount of power he was using, he should not have been able to break her blade. Was it a special skill? No. It couldn't have been, or why not use it on my own zanpakuto? These questions and troubles plague my mind. How cou– I let loose a hiss as Inoue-san teases my shirt free of the large cut across my back, breaking me from my thoughts.

"Sorry, sorry." she chants. "Um… I n-need you to take off y-your sh-shirt so I c-can treat your w-wound be-better, K-Kuchik-sama." she stutters, nerves apparent. I comply with her request and she continues my treatment. I utter no sound as she applies disinfectant, nor wince when she swabs the wound. Her ministrations fall into the background as I continue to question my failure. I do not hear her announce that she's finished treating me, barely register when Matsumoto lays a haori over my shoulders. It is only when Inoue-san places a washcloth onto Rukia's forehead that I look up, questions in my gaze.

"Eto, Rukia-chan looks like she has a fever, s-so I thought a cool washcloth might help." She mumbles, nervously wringing her fingers.

"It certainly does help, and I'm sure I can help Rukia-san some more."

I whip my head around to find Unohana-taicho gracefully gliding into the room, Renji hovering behind her. She settles on the other side of Rukia and begins her administrations. I watch her skillful hands go to work, a soft blue-green glow enveloping them as she works.

"You know that I can only slow the process, Kuchiki-taicho." she says, eyes never leaving her patient. "I would say that she has eight hours, ten at best, to have her zanpakuto reforged before she dies." Both Renji and Inoue-san gasp at this revelation.

"Renji, how long until the Smith arrives?" I ask turning to him.

He seems to choke a bit at this question and my eyes narrow. "Sir! I, um… I don't know, sir." He says looking guiltily off to the side. "When I made the request, they said they didn't know where the Smiths' current residence is, but that as soon as they find it, they'll send word."

"I see." is all I say. It is all I can say. Without a Smith, Rukia will die. Eight hours is barely long enough as it is, and who knows how long it will take to find Shiba Kukaku and Ganju. This is practically the worst situation possible. The Gotei doesn't know where– the Gotei doesn't know, but I can think of two who might. I immediately rise to my feet and head for the door, there is no time to waste.

"Kuchiki-taicho! Where are you going?" Renji says.

"To get help." I reply, sliping my arms through the haori's sleeves as I glide out of the room.

I briskly walk to our Gate, tugging my key out of my pocket and slipping it into the lock. I take a fortifying breath. Where I go is not a place for the naïve or weak willed. It is not pleasant and the price I will pay is horrible, but I must go. I will not fail Hisana. I turn the key, open the door, and step through, prepared for the torture that awaits me.

"Haven't seen you in a while… Byakuya-bo."

"You have failed."

"Sorry… Aizen-sama." he pants out.

"I did not ask much of you, Grimmjow. All I asked was that you bring me one girl, yet you cannot do something as simple as this? I even sent you on a night when Kuchiki Byakuya wasn't present, and still you failed."

Grimmjow quietly growls before replying, "That's bullshit! Kuchiki's the bastard that got in the way! It's not my fa–"

"That's enough, Grimmjow." Aizen calmly cuts him off. "It seems that it was a mistake to send you on a mission like this. They will be on the lookout now." He lets loose a tired sigh. "It seems I should have entrusted such delicate plans as kidnapping to someone else. Next time, Grimmjow, if I order you to kidnap someone, either come back with them or come back dead. Ami clear?"

"Yes sir." Grimmjow begrudgingly replies.

So that's the chapter. I can't help but think that Byakuya's kinda melodramatic inside his head, maybe. I don't know, but it does make him kinda funny at the end. Yep. For those wondering, Grimmjow cracked Rukia's blade and when she kept fighting it kept getting worse until that final blow was too much and it split. Oni's have thick skin so she had to swing extra hard.

Please comment/review to tell me how I did.