Chapter 9

Four more nights had passed, all of which had resulted in vastly similar results, save for that Captain Ukitake hadn't had another attack since their first night. All the Captains had spent nearly five hours under Kibōyūwaku's control with no one getting any closer to breaking free. Their desires had varied only slightly, but ultimately, Kibōyūwaku prevailed in keeping them from resisting.

However, each night also resulted in a new non-bleeding wound that would appear from whatever Kenpachi was fighting and each morning, Captain Unohana would have to treat them both. The only reason she had let the wounds slide, was because the petite Captain was so skilled with healing, there wasn't be a scar left behind.

That seemed to be the only good thing, as she had yet to gain control during her Shikai, which ultimately lead to Kibōyūwaku kissing each and every one of them in some form, or another.

Now, faced with her fifth night, Nyruki scuffed along the stone path surrounding the Kuchiki koi pond, with her arms crossed and a storm threatening overhead. The sky was a sickly black, starless, and flashing every so often with blinding white from the lightning that ached to reach the ground. The air was filled with the scent of approaching rain, electric and uneasy, and each time the flash temporarily blinded her, she would blink and miss seeing the bolts.

"I'm never gonna get this." Nyruki grumbled to herself, kicking a small stone back into the pond with a low splashing plunk.

"I'm sure the fish appreciate that." Said a sudden voice from behind her, startling Nyruki to jump in surprise.

She instantly relaxed when she noticed the long, windswept white hair falling around his right shoulder and with a kind face that had been decorated with an identical smile.

"Shit... I thought Captain Kuchiki was about to murder me." Nyruki blew out a nervous breath as her arms dropped to her sides.

"He wouldn't have said anything. You would have just fallen over dead, if not severally injured." Ukitake grinned as he pulled his hair back behind his neck.

"Thanks for that. That makes me feel better." Nyruki scoffed and rolled her eyes.

"I apologize," He laughed, "What's bothering you?" He added, resting a hand on her shoulder.

"Self doubt. We've been at this for almost a week and nothing. None of us have made any progress." Nyruki said, recrossing her arms as she looked down at her feet.

"Well, that's not entirely true. I haven't had an attack so that's positive isn't it?" Ukitake smiled.

Nyruki shrugged, "Yeah, it is."

"Oh, come on now, Flower. We'll get it. We just need more time is all." Ukitake said, taking his hand back as he ducked his head to get a better look at her saddened face.

"I wish I could believe you, Papa. Apparently I still don't have the will to take over when I release her. I swear, if I have to kiss you people one more time-" She growled, tightening her grip on her upper arms.

"Relax, Nyruki. I didn't think I was that bad at it." Ukitake joked simply to ease the tension, but it still painted a blush across his cheeks.

Nyruki's face met the palm of her hand, "Seriously?"

"Again, I apologize. I was simply trying to ease your tension is all. I've had to look passed them myself." Ukitake said, hiding his hands in his sleeves.

"I know. Me too." She sighed.

"Is it still the fear of the power she gives you?" He asked.

"I don't know. I really don't. This is my power and there's nothing that can change that, so why can't I take control?" Nyruki shrugged.

"That's a question only you can answer, I'm afraid." Ukitake said softly.

"I know." Nyruki sighed again.

A stiff gust of wind began to kick up from the nearing storm, and she was about to shiver when a warm arm wrapped around her shoulders to protect her from the chilly wind. After four years, it had become a welcomed gesture and she no longer flinched from Ukitake's actions of comfort and support. Now, they were what they were supposed to be and not what they had been.

"Come on. Let us get inside before the skies open up." Ukitake said, still smiling, as he began to lead her to the training room.

Inside, it was far warmer and lit with candles to ward off the encroaching darkness from the angry heavens. An ultra low and distant rumble rattled through the sky, so deep that Nyruki could feel it in her feet. The captains had all just arrived, with the exception being that of the captain of Squad 12, whom had yet to receive a single training session and that worried her more than the storm outside did.

"When is Captain Kurotsuchi going to attend?" Nyruki asked as she sat down to remove her footwear.

"I have approached him regarding his absences, but he continues to give the excuse that he is far too busy." Said Byakuya, already sitting on the bamboo matting with his hands resting on his knees.

"I don't know about the rest of you, but I'll go to bat for Nyruki if Mayuri never shows." Said Kyōraku, lounging on his side with his head cradled in his hand.

"As will I. She's working hard to train us and it wouldn't be fair for her to fail her objectives because that madman didn't bother to show up." Ukitake said, sitting down next to his best friend.

"As will I." Byakuya said simply.

Nyruki couldn't help the soft smile as she padded into the center of the familiar circle, "That means a lot to me."

"Lets get this started. I might have it this time." Soi-Fon said, taking in several long, calming breaths to ready herself.

"I admire your confidence, Captain." Nyruki said as she rolled out her neck a bit.

"Take notes, Nyruki." Byakuya said, but his tone lacked any sort of bite, instead sounding more like words of encouragement.

"Of course, Captain." Nyruki nodded, "Alright. Every one ready?" She added after she blew out a breath.

She was met with varying degrees of yes with a few nods as she pulled her Zanpakutō from its sheath and, as she had always done, brought the silver blade to her lips.

"Fall into desire; Kibōyūwaku." She spoke softly, letting her lips graze over the steel.

As it had always done, the blade began to glow with an intense white before disintegrating into the ultra fine mist that swirled around her as if it was stuck in orbit. She stood still, watching the mist curl and creet up her body like a lover's hands until it drifted into her nose and mouth, beginning her internal battle for supremacy.

As the mist vanished into Nyruki's body, the captains watched and waited, giving her a chance to gaining control. She had begun to battle within herself for the throne, and just that yesterday eve, she had nearly wrested it from the spirit of Kibōyūwaku, only to fail at the last second which turned her eyes a deep shade of crimson. She would try again tonight, and they would wait, and watch, and believe it or not, hope that this time, she would succeed.

Suddenly, Nyruki's whole body began to quiver, shaking as if she was stricken with the worst fear ever to exist. Her head threw back, painfully far as she began to gasp and choke, spurring two of the captains to leap to her defense as she fell to the bamboo mats.

"Nyruki!" Ukitake yelped as he raced to her side, reaching her in time to catch her as she fell backwards.

Nyruki's entire form had gone ridged, her breath choking and short as if she were drowning. He tried to pick her head up to open her airway, but the muscles were too stiff and prevented him from doing anything but hold her against him, cradled in his arms.

"Hold her still!" Byakuya said firmly as he knelt over the quaking woman, placing his hands on either side of her neck.

Ukitake did just that as he shifted his hold so that her back was against his chest and her face was blindly screaming up at him. Here, he could see that her eyes had rolled into the back of her head, turning them completely white which actually began to frighten the well seasoned Captain.

"Listen to me, Nyruki. Listen to my voice." Byakuya said, holding her head and using enough of his strength to at least pry it forward enough to see into her white eyes, "She has no hold on you. She is your tool of death, yours to command. You are the master, the one whom makes the rules, the one whom she must follow. You are the one she belongs to and it will forever be that way. Do not let her win in this battle for your soul. Fight her. Fight back and assume the command that has always been yours."

Nyruki continued to choke and gasp for air, but her arms had begun to shakily rise from her side to clutch at his wrists. Her body shook, her skin paled and her nails had begun to dig into Byakuya's flesh. He never even flinched from the pain as he continued to stare into her eyes, waiting and hoping that this time, she would win her internal struggle.

With a loud sucking gasp, Nyruki's back arced hard, throwing her head back into Ukitake's chest as the air surrounding her began to glow with a soft lavender. However, the sheer weight of her spiritual pressure did not crush down on them. Instead, it was soft, lightweight and just enough to make itself known.

In an instant, Nyruki fell limp against him and her hands released their hold on Byakuya's wrists to flop lifeless to the floor.

The training room was silent, the most silent that any of them had ever heard it. It hung over them like a heavy winter's blanket, stifling and constricting, but it was soon broken by the low groans from the woman still supported in Ukitake's arms.

Still holding her head, Byakuya just watched as her eyelids began to flutter.

She drew in a long breath as she finally opened her eyes, but what looked back at Byakuya was not golden yellow, or crimson, but one of each.

"Nyruki?" Byakuya asked quietly, removing his hands from the sides of her neck.

"I'm... It's me. It's Nyruki, Captain." She said with airy words, blinking the blurriness from her different colored eyes.

Finally releasing the breath he had been holding, Ukitake released his tight grip on her and helped her to sit up.

"You did it. Are you alright?" Ukitake asked, brushing aside a white lock of her colored hair that had fallen free of her jet black ponytail.

Nyruki nodded, "Yes. Yes, I'm fine. I'm in control." She gulped.

"Your eyes... One is red while the other is gold." Byakuya said, returning his expression to unreadable.

"But I'm in control now. This is me." She said, holding her head in her hand for a moment.

"Well done, Nyruki-chan. Well done." Kyōraku said with a genuine smile stretching across his lips.

Nyruki looked up from her hand, "How is this gonna work now?" She asked, her smile fading nearly as fast as it had appeared.

"I'm ok with how we've been doing it." Kyōraku said, earning a glare from his white haired best friend.

"Of course you are." Ukitake growled.

"He's correct. We tried the blanket mist and it took several minutes to take affect. The direct delivery is our best option." Byakuya said, surprising everyone in the room.

"I'd rather do the blanket mist." Soi-Fon grumbled, crossing her arms.

Before anyone could say anything else, a ball of that very mist crashed into Soi-Fon's face, splattering in a puff before wisping down her throat and drawing the life from her eyes in the same instant.

"Huh... That worked." Nyruki said, looking down at her hand and flexing her fingers.

"That was awesome." Kenpachi chuckled.

"You have new ways of delivery now?" Ukitake asked with a soft smile.

"I guess so. Lets see what else I can do." Nyruki grinned.

As Ukitake and Byakuya backed away to return to their spots, Nyruki rose to her feet and picked up the blade-less handle of her Zanpakutō. She held it to her lips again and uttered the very word that would allow her to turn them all.

"Ban... kai; Shin Kibōyūwaku!"

With a soft aura of lavender, more mist swirled around her before entering her own body, but this time, she didn't drop in convulsions like before. Her eyes remained, one red, one gold, as she began to throw balls of mist at the other captains, mixing each shot with a martial art.

She spun and shot out two balls simultaneously from her mouth, having placed her finger over her lips to split the balls and hit Kenpachi and Unohaha square in the face. She shot another ball of mist from her mouth like a dragon that rocketed into Hitsugaya, wisping down his nose and mouth with a subtle hiss. With a flip backwards, she shot out another and hit Sajin Komamura before landing on her feet facing her last three targets. She had successfully turned them in less than ten seconds.

"Nicely done! That's the kind of stuff we wanna see!" Kyōraku beamed, clapping his hands at the display.

"This is great!" Nyruki said with a wide smile.

"It is. Is there hope for the standard delivery?" Kyōraku grinned with a glean of mischief in his eye.

Instantly, Nyruki blushed and rubbed the back of her neck, "But... I uh... Um." She stuttered.

"I would prefer direct as well. The hold is stronger and more of a challenge." Byakuya said, which earned several looks of shock from the other three.

"Yeah. I... I guess we proved that didn't we." Nyruki blushed, continuing to rub the back of her neck.

Ukitake pinched the bridge of his nose, "Yes, I'm afraid we did." He sighed.

Nyruki's blush continued to burn against her cheeks, "Um... Alright... I guess." She gulped.

She blew out a nervous breath as she stepped up to the Captain of the 8th division and knelt down in front of him, nervously biting her bottom lip. She wasn't able to look into his brown eyes out of her nerves until a gentle hand cupped her chin and made her look.

"I don't bite." Kyōraku said, accompanying his words with a sweet smile.

Again, Nyruki blew out her nerves, but she rolled her shoulders back and ignited her determination. That would get her through.

"I know." She whispered.

She didn't give her mind a chance to question any longer as she leaned forward and brought her lips to Kyōraku's, gripping either side of his strong jaw. Her stomach warmly churned as his lips matched hers, dancing and pressing just as hard and he had even beat her to the punch of slipping his tongue into her mouth to separate their lips.

That is when she took the opportunity to unleash her power as she slowly exhaled, drifting the mist from her body to his. She broke the kiss in time to see the half lidded look in his brown eyes. They were full of desire, cloudy and blurry and she knew that his vision was turning black. He was falling under her spell and it was only confirmed when the twinkle in those same eyes went dull.

The nervous churn in her stomach returned to the front of her mind as she stepped in front of Ukitake, whose pale cheeks had colored with the barest of pinks. Throughout the years, he had been like a father to her, had helped teach her and mold her into something far more confident. She felt wrong and the only thought that brought some sort of comfort was that they weren't bound by blood.

"Ready?" She asked as she knelt down in front of him.

Ukitake took in a long breath that filled his ravaged lungs, but nodded as he managed a soft smile. He raised his hands and gently grasped the sides of her neck, guiding her to him until their lips met in the tenderest of kisses.

His lips were warm and like velvet, full of life in clear defiance of his illness. They danced with hers with ease, unaffected by nerves that spiked hot in her stomach. They were comfortable, like the warm rays of the sun after a violent storm and she slowly exhaled the softest of moans through her nose as she let the mist begin its task of taking him.

Again, she broke the kiss in time to see the blurry look in Ukitake's eyes, how they seemed to be unseeing, but still managed to see her right in front of him. The mist was creeping into his awaiting mouth and soon dulled his eyes into blank slates that were solely under her command.

Down to the last of her thralls, she lightly licked her lips to wash away her last two kisses before braving a look at her current Captain, whom was silently sitting with silver eyes watching.

"May I make a request?" Byakuya asked, his steely expression unwavering from its gaze.

"Sure." Nyruki said softly.

"This is your first time being in control, and I would like to see the real extent of your abilities." He said, never moving an inch from his spot.

Nyruki nodded, "Alright."

She rose to her feet and faced her latest victim whom was simply sitting, hands on his thighs with a thousand yard stare in his dull brown eyes.

"Come to me." She said, her head softly tilting to the side.

As commanded, Ukitake rose to his feet and took the couple of steps towards her, resting his hands on her hips as he looked down at her, still with the blind stare in his eyes.

"Do you see him?" She asked, pointing to Byakuya.

Ukitake slowly turned his eyes towards the man, eyes blind, but still aimed in his direction. He only nodded once to serve as his answer.

"Bring him to me." She said, caressing the nape of his neck once before he stepped away.

In a flash, Ukitake appeared behind Byakuya and swooped down, trapping his arms behind him as he yanked him up to his feet with a strong pull. The thrall forced him to step forward before he even had a chance to steady himself on his feet, presenting him to the woman as if he was a prize and pushing him over to make sure his stance remained unsteady.

"Good." Nyruki whispered, her different colored eyes half lidded as she stepped in close to her unturned captive.

Byakuya's eyes narrowed briefly, but they remained on her as she placed a gentle hand on his chest.

"Will that do?" She asked, her voice a whisper in the ultra quiet of the training room.

"They will do anything you ask of them." Byakuya said, his voice just as low as hers.

Nyruki finally tore her eyes from his gaze, "I could make him do... whatever to you and all I would have to do is tell him to. Now do you understand why I fear this power?"

"Only those who fear their own power are capable of resiting its corruption." Byakuya said with his arms still locked behind him from the taller Ukitake.

Her hand still resting on his chest, she knew that he could feel the gentle shake that had taken hold of her. Fearing her power was just something she was going to have to get used to. There was no changing that fact and there was no hiding it from the captains, especially the one standing in front of her with silver eyes. He was right though, right in that this fear that gripped her, that held onto her with unwavering strength, would protect her from falling into its darkness.

Sighing, Nyruki finally lifted her head and looked up into his eyes, "Wise words, Captain."

"Proven words." Byakuya said.

She simply nodded and went stiff as she realized her hand was still resting on his chest, just at the base of the small V that exposed his skin. She jerked her hand away and crossed her arms as she looked away out of embarrassment, not wanting to see the gaze looking back.

"You still have to turn me." Byakuya said, not struggling to free his arms from captivity.

Nyruki blew out another breath, but waved her hand to dismiss her servant, "You may sit, my pet."

The body of Ukitake simply released its hold on Byakuya, allowing him to stand up straight, and went back to where he had been sitting, never once saying a word, if he could at all.

With a soft exhale, Nyruki blew the mist into her awaiting palm, but when an elegant hand grasped her wrist, the mist instantly blew away and harmlessly vanished.

"I believe I said direct delivery." He said, releasing her wrist.

"Captain... I'm not sure I'm ok with that. You're my captain." She said softly, crossing her arms again.

That same elegant hand reached out and lifted her head to look at him with fingers against her chin. They were surprisingly gentle despite their complete ability to take life. His eyes were low, half lidded and his lips were a hair's width apart as he looked at her. His other hand reached out and fluttered over her hip until it came to rest on her lower back where it pulled her into him with just enough strength to keep her from resisting.

"I said direct." Byakuya said ultra lowly, as that was all that was needed for her to hear him.

Nyruki's breath stuttered as it left her lungs, nervous and shaking. Being close to him only rolled her stomach with the sharp sting of acid, but despite that, her hands raised and rested against his chest.

"C-Captain-" She exhaled and gulped.

"It's alright to fear your power, but you have to embrace it." He whispered, the hand that had been cupping her chin now resting against the side of her jaw.

Nyruki found that her words had left her. No amount of wanting to scream, or speak would be capable of producing the necessary sounds to form those words that were running, sprinting through her head.

There, being held against him, his hand on her cheek, she stretched her neck up to meet his awaiting lips, consciously for the first time. They were unbelievably warm, and so soft that their touch seemed only a dream to her; Feather soft and soothing. They were skilled in their ability to move with hers, having taken the lead which left her with the rare feeling of being powerless.

Her arms crawled up his chest and wrapped around his neck, bringing the great Byakuya Kuchiki closer as she finally realized that she had yet to turn him, having gotten lost in the sensation of his lips against hers. She softly exhaled to unleash the mist, only then hearing the baritone moan emanate from his long neck. The sound caused her to suck in a long breath to hide the pounding in her chest, but being that close to him, she was sure he could feel it against his own.

After a minute, a long minute, she broke the kiss and looked up as the last of the mist entered his body through slicked lips. His eyes were still vibrant, full of life, and they watched her without blinking. Her eyes flicked down to his slightly reddened lips, admiring how they still managed to stay as straight and unmoving, but at the last second before his eyes dulled, the corners twitched up.

Did he just... smile?