I'm estimating anywhere from 5 to 10 chapters remaining on this story. I really don't want to end it, its sort of my best story I've ever written. But I realize that all good things come to an end. Let me know what you think. This is where the major fighting starts. And don't be surprised if some battles you weren't expecting happen. I also had to remove two pairings that I had no way of of squeezing in. Maybe there will be a sequel of some time down the road where I can work them in. Who knows what the future holds. Onward!

Chapter 26: The End of A Lie

Unohana reviews the latest report on her desk. She clenches her fist in victory. Renji had survived. Soul Society could pull through this. She called for a butterfly, and sent Byakuya the message to have Renji come to the 4th division. She would examine him, and hopefully between her and Mayuri, they could come up with a vaccine. She stood from her desk, to deliver the good news to Isane. She steps out of her office and hears something that makes her blood go cold. It wasn't anywhere close to her, but somewhere, there was a scream. She turns, and goes back to retrieve Minazuki. She dashes out of her office and toward the sounds. As they grow louder, she can tell the sounds are working their way toward her. And that meant it could only be one person. She turns the final corridor, and is face to face with Kenpachi Zaraki. He's covered in so much blood, that in the brief moment she had, she feared for the lives of his division. And then their blades met. She felt the old thrill of battle slide over her. Zaraki's blank eyes almost looked surprised to have his killing momentum stopped. It had been some time since she'd had to battle all out, and she was surprised with how easily her strength seemed to come back to her. She shoved him away almost effortlessly. "And so the beast becomes more beastly," she says to him. She didn't use the softened tones she'd adopted since she'd become Retsu. She used her normal voice. Zaraki shook his head. "Perhaps this time, I won't have to try so hard not to kill you," she muses. Zaraki's head shook again. Surprised, Unohana realized something in Zaraki was fighting the urge to kill her. But it was too late, that she knew. Even if he weren't completely caught in the killing haze that came with the infection, just crossing blades with him once again threw her over the edge. And her division. There was no forgiveness. Their blades met again. And again. Unohana let lose the reiatsu she'd so carefully held back, and the walls around them crumbled. The hiding members of Unohana's squad were driven to their knees, suffocating. Unohana no longer held pity for them. Her only thought was getting to a place large enough for them to finally fight the way they were meant to. Grabbing Zaraki by the throat, she flashed them away from the shattered remains of the hospital in fourth, to the large gap between divisions 2 and 3. The earth was still scarred from the last battle in this area. Between that of Ichigo and Renji. Unohana felt the itch to fight Ichigo next. She knew she was lost then, to the battle lust of all of those of the 11th division. She threw Zaraki away from her, and he slid back a few hundred feet. Zaraki's eyes cleared for a fraction of a second. "Ya-" he managed to get out, before the haze took back over, and he was running to meet her, their blades coming back to met out deathly blows. Their blades crossed and the two leapt back from each other. They came together again and again, a dance set from long ago.

One hour prior.

Kenpachi slammed his fist on his desk, and Yachiru scurried away from him. "Get out of here, damn it Yachiru this is the last time I tell you!" he shouted, his voice gruff. The fever had started hours ago, and his little ward hadn't left his side. But he felt his control slipping. The voice of his Zanpakuto had started not long ago, urging him to kill. Urging him to leave a path of bloody destruction. Urging him to a destination he didn't know. Yachiru slipped through the door, just as he couldn't bear the voice anymore. He felt it, the snap. And he felt himself becoming caged inside his own damn head, while his body stood from the desk, and went towards the door. He knew if he went that way, that he would come across Yachiru. And he couldn't. He fought with everything he had, and managed to turn his body, and burst through the wall, but he could only hope that it had saved the girl. His consciousness faded.

Still caged in his mind, he came to, finding himself slaughtering his way into fourth division. He had no idea why his body had taken him here. But as he turned the corner to find Retsu, he felt a strange sense of horror. He knew it had something to do with the way the damn woman had made him feel lately. And he knew he was going to kill her now. But she stopped him. Effortlessly. She pushed him away just as easily. And then she spoke. "And so the beast becomes more beastly." That voice... was not the voice of Retsu. Pain lanced through him, and he shook his head, only a little surprised that his body followed his mind. That voice was hauntingly familiar. He couldn't quite remember where he knew it from. "Perhaps this time, I won't have to try so hard not to kill you," Retsu/not Retsu added. The pain crossed him again. Like fire in his skull. He wanted to grab his head in his hands, but the most his body did, was shake its head again. And then he lost what little control he had. Their blades crossed twice more, and a reiatsu so achingly familiar exploded across his being. Something so strong it crumbled walls. He barely noticed the remaining members of the Fourth Division suffocating around them. And then Retsu/not Retsu grabbed his body's throat. The strength of the grip resembled nothing of the gentle touch he associated with the woman holding him. And then they were in a different place. She threw him away from her. And he knew. "Kenpachi Yachiru" he said in his head. Vaguely noting that his body had partially spoken as well. And then they fought. It was a no holds barred death match, of that he was sure. It could never be any different for them. He felt it when she cut deeply into his side. And he saw himself cut her just as deeply. They would kill each other. And he knew that if he could, he had to stop it. He couldn't kill her, so soon after he found her. And he couldn't just die either. So again, he fought for control of his body. And then he felt the fever break. It was the most blessed feeling ever. And he was surprised he could feel that way. Instead of blocking Retsu's next blow with his blade, he caught her wrist. He squeezed tightly, and held on. She struggled to pull away from him. He dropped his Zanpakuto and grabbed her left shoulder. "Retsu stop." he said sternly. She continued to struggle against him. She been just as lost in the battle as his illness driven body had. And she was healthy. For now. His blood was all over her. He had to take her... somewhere. But first he had to stop her. "Retsu!" he exclaims. Removing the hand from her shoulder, he grabs her face. Their eyes meet, and Retsu stops, sagging. They both sink to the ground.

She wasn't sure what brought her back from the bloodlust. Whether it was him calling her by her softer name, or the fact that he held her face. She noticed all of the blood around them, and was horrified by the fact that while he was now better, she was infected. She noticed the deep cuts they both suffered. They wouldn't last if they just continued to bleed out like they were. And the whole area they were in was just another way to spread the virus. "Mina – Minazuki," she stutters, feeling faint. The giant manta ray swallows the two of them up.

Szayel tinkered with the giant 'portal' he'd built out of pieces of his lab. He powered it up, hoping it would work this time. Neliel was with him. The open area in the middle made a tearing sound, for just a few seconds, then sputtered, and disappeared. Neliel's shoulders dropped. Frustrated, Szayel flopped down in a chair. The computer monitor he glared at, was a flickering image of places in Soul Society. Where 20 minutes ago, they'd found out that their was what looked like civil war going on. And running through it was their Hime. They had to get back there somehow.

Neliel stormed out of the wreckage of Szayel's lab. Down the various hallways, dodging debris as she went. She was furious. Ulquiorra was supposed to keep her from doing stupid things. Maybe they picked the wrong person to protect her. She had no idea what was going on in the stoic hybrid's head. A door flew open ahead of her, and the infuriatingly arrogant Nnoitra sauntered out in front of her. She needed to let off steam. Fingering the crack in her ram's skull, she approached Nnoitra. "You and me. We're going to fight. And you are going to swear not to hit this again," she said staring up at him. She'd pointed only briefly to the skull. But the grin that slid across his features answered her question. He was up for what she offered. He grabbed her wrist, and suddenly they were in the remains of the old training room. He threw her across the room, and as she hit the wall, the slightest gasp escaped her throat. She dashed back in front of him, her hand on the hilt of Gamuza. But as she started to pull the blade from its sheath, his hand on her waist stopped her. He threw her back against the wall again, the same sound escaping her throat. And then he was in front of her; teeth, lips and tongue on her neck, and she lost herself in an entirely different way of letting off steam.

And there.