A/N: Iba's zanpakutou Gyuutoumaru means meat cleaver. His special attack, Sokunen Zekko, means unholy breach.

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The Heir Apparent
Chapter 17: Terror and Versatility.

Tetsuzaemon Iba stood panting, his falchion-like zanpakutou extended. In front of him the smoke was clearing off his opponent, who had just been forced to release.

'Ho ho, you should have finished me off before I took up my true form, shinigami,' said the Arrancar. 'You'll regret giving me the chance.'

Iba grinned in response. 'Ha, you weren't much of a challenge before. Lets see if I can get a good fight out of you this time, Arrancar.'

'I wonder if you'll still feel this way when you're breathing your last breath!' At that point the smoke cleared enough for them to see each other.

Iba's eyebrows rose above his sunglasses, and he whistled low. 'Phewee, so that's a released form.'

The previously human-sized Arrancar had grown, and changed shape. He was covered in interlocking armoured plates, even on his bald head, and had massive talons on his hands. He looked quite similar to an armadillo. Blood from his earlier wound seeped though the spaces between his armour plates.

'I'll return your pleasantry before I kill you,' he said, 'I am Marsuki Juka, Arrancar no. twenty-nine.' He stood up straight and raised his arms, which looked difficult. His natural form seemed to be hunching over in a ball. 'Now try to kill me.'

Iba stared at him. 'Is this some kind of joke.'

'It isn't, and it isn't a trick either. I'm giving you one free hit to kill me. But you won't succeed.' Juka finished confidently.

No sooner had he said the words when Iba charged with a snarl, swinging down hard. His zanpakutou struck his opponent's shoulder, and rebounded. Iba leapt back, his arms felt like they'd been sprained by the impact. What the hell had happened? Fortunately the Arrancar hadn't attacked.

'Ho ho, that was repayment for letting me release, shinigami,' said Juka. 'It would have been too easy to kill you if you didn't understand. My hierro is as tough as the fifth Espada's was.'

Iba flexed his arms, although they felt tingly there wasn't any permanent damage. 'Heh, thanks for telling me that. I hope you realise you just missed out on your only chance to kill me.'

'What are you talking about?'

'You obviously don't do this very often. There's a trade-off for your defense. I'm guessing at speed.'

'What of it, you can't cut me. That was my weakest point you hit there, my underbelly.'

'And you keep on dishing out the jewels,' Iba tsked. 'You just don't get it, it's obviously you won't be able to catch me easily in that bulky form.'

'It doesn't matter. I'm invulnerable.'

'Wrong. No defence is impenetrable. In this case it's my Gyuutoumaru's special ability that will be your undoing.' He pulled the blade horizontal across his body. 'Sokunen Zekko' The pick in the centre of his blade began to glow.

'You're full of wind, shinigami lieutenant,' said Juka tiredly. 'I suppose the only way to cure you would be to beat it all out of you.' With that he let out an unearthly roar and charged, shaking the ground with his plodding steps.

'Man, you're so slow,' said Iba, and flash-stepped past him. A thin but deep slice opened on the Arrancar's thick thigh, spraying blood.

'What!' howled Juka.

Iba moved, then moved again, and again. In short order there was a mass of cuts over the Arrancar's body, his armoured plates were starting to fall off.

'DAMN YOU, SHINIGAMI,' the Arrancar cried, then his voice lowered to a whimper. 'I can't be cut, I can't. How are you doing this?'

Iba stopped attacking for a moment, and pointed to his falchion blade's pick. 'My zanpakutou's special ability. Using Sokunen Zekko, this part of my weapon can cut through anything. It's best for destroying my opponents weapons, but since that kinda ruins a good fight I barely ever use it.'

'So there's a limit as to how deep it can penetrate?' said Juka thoughtfully, examining his wounds.

Iba nodded. 'Good, you're thinking now. But I just have to cut off your armour until there's a big enough hole, then I can use my main weapon to finish this.'

The Arrancar started to laugh. He laughed and laughed, the movement making more blood pour out of his wounds. 'You think you can make a hole in my armour. Ho ho, that is so precious, ho ho ho.'

He raised a clawed hand, and the fallen armour segments started to glow. They sped back to their place like metal to a magnet, and his body started to glow as well. A second later his armour was back in place and completely repaired, although judging by the blood seeping through the plates; the cuts underneath hadn't sealed.

'You get it now, shinigami,' said Juka, 'No matter how many times you cut me, if you can't deal a fatal wound I'll just keep repairing myself. You can't win.'

Iba sighed. This fight wasn't fun anymore, his opponent obviously had little intelligence, and attacking him wasn't much different to practising his special ability on a slab of granite. But he had a duty to Gotei thirteen, and his mother. 'You'll regret dragging this out, Arrancar,' he said 'Now I'm gonna have to bleed you to death.'

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Tousen flash-stepped, coming at Byakuya low. The noble captain blocked with precision, and sent a cut hissing at his opponents neck. Tousen pulled back in a limbo, and sent a body slash at Byakuya from that awkward angle. He locked blades contemptuously and pushed down with all the force he could muster. Tousen, faltering desperately, leapt and flipped over his head. Byakuya flash-stepped and attacked even before his feet touched the ground. A flurry of furious swordplay followed with Tousen quickly being forced onto the defensive, using contortionist movements to prevent himself from taking crippling wounds.

They broke apart, or rather Tousen pulled away and Byakuya didn't pursue him. The black man was panting and visibly sweating, thin cuts adorning various parts of his uniform. By contrast, Byakuya looked unruffled and untouched, except for a slight nick that had been taken off his left sleeve.

'You fight a lot like my old lieutenant,' Byakuya noted. 'Like him, you train your body to be both strong and flexible, so you can evade the strikes your blade cannot block.'

'Is that so?' said Tousen, catching his breath.

'However, your swordsmanship is just that of a talented peasant. You cannot match me.'

Tousen looked at him clear in the eye, or rather moved his head in such a way that his blind eyes seemed to bore into Byakuya's skull. 'You are a fool if you think that this will be settled by zanjutsu alone. It will be the full extent our abilities that will determine the victor.'

He gave a thin smile. 'You were a member of Gotei thirteen for far longer than I. But it was I who became a captain first. We both know who has more ability.'

'Earlier promotion doesn't necessarily mean greater skills,' said Tousen. 'I achieved Bankai long before you even joined.'

'I know what yours does.'

'So do I, Lord Aizen made sure to keep tabs on the captain's and lieutenant's abilities wherever possible. Let me tell you right now, yours would be ineffective against me.'

'So, you've done your homework as well,' said Byakuya. 'Nevertheless, it would be presumptuous for us to assume the outcome before we have pitted the two against each other.

'It would be rude of me to deny you the right to see it-'

'In this case, not see at all.' he interjected drily.

'-so let me show you my true power,' Tousen finished, annoyance crossing his dark features. 'Bankai.' The ring attached to his zanpakutou's guard grew to nearly as tall him. 'Suzumushi final form: Enma Korogai.'

Byakuya meanwhile dropped his zanpakutou into the ground. 'Ban-kai. Senbonzakura Kageyoshi.' Two rows of massive sword blades grew behind him. At his command, they dissolved into countless scattered blades, just as the world around him went black.

x

Ichigo sealed his sword with a flick, and sheathed it. Around him debris lay everywhere. What could he say, he'd got annoyed with the confined space and so he had just ripped it apart with his overwhelming spiritual power. The jester-like Arrancar Pelos lay nearby, his released form shattered and a terrible wound running from his shoulder to thigh.

'W-Wait,' he called when Ichigo turned to move off. 'You can't just leave me like this, where's the poetry in that? Complete the duel with a perfect coup de grâce, you owe it to me for a good fight.'

Ichigo looked back at him incredulously. 'I owe you? I owe you nothing, Arrancar Pelos. And since I'm the victor I can do whatever the hell I want. So lie there and recover, live! And never attack another shinigami again.'

With that he flash-stepped away, towards where he felt the two massive spiritual pressures suddenly disappear. Having fought against him, he could recognise Byakuya's over any distance, and he couldn't imagine the man using his Bankai for anyone other than Tousen. And since the two pressures had vanished, it probably meant that Tousen was using his Bankai as well.

As he got closer, he saw the huge dome encasing a section of the ruins. It was the same as the one he had seen when he'd first arrived at the scene of the final battle against Aizen, without a doubt it was Tousen's Bankai. Shaped like a stem-less mushroom it was supported by thick chains driven into the ground and attached to metal rings on the side of the dome. He wondered briefly if breaking those chains would weaken or destroy it.

When he reached it, he quickly found Ganju nearby trying to wrap bandages around his cut and bleeding chest, a difficult task. He dropped down to help him, and enquire about the situation.

'Thanks,' said Ganju in a clipped tone which suggested he would rather not submit himself to Ichigo's ministrations. 'I take it your opponent didn't give you much trouble.'

'Not really,' he said, unwilling to admit that he'd only won by sheer power after suffering in a skill contest. If the Arrancar had been any more powerful, he really would have had to use his Bankai. 'So, who is it in there then?'

'Captain Kuchiki,' said the other man as he leaned forward to allow Ichigo to tie off the bandage; he knew well how to apply them since his father was a doctor.

If Byakuya was inside there it was as he'd suspected. But he didn't believe that that man would be able to prevail against the final member of Aizen's Triumvirate. He drew Zangetsu. 'I'm going in,' he announced.

'To do what?'

'Isn't it obvious? To help him.'

'Are you mad?'

'NO!'

Ganju hawked and spat. 'Ichigo, it will be pitch black inside there. What do you think happens when two swordsmen with no means of communicating attack one opponent in the dark?'

Realisation came. 'They're just as likely to kill each other,' he conceded grudgingly.

'Bingo, bright spark.'

'Shut up,' he snarled. 'Or I'll tell old man Yama you're no good.'

Ganju immediately paled. 'Er, okay, so sorry,' he muttered.

'Whatever,' Ichigo said, already feeling bad for the threat. It had been a very low blow, especially since the other man had saved him from potential disaster. To take his mind off it he said, 'So then, what do we do now. Stand around looking pretty?'

'You sound like that fifth-seat with the feathers. All the other battles seem to be going our way,' said Ganju, casting a glance around.

Ichigo was reminded again that his Reitsu sense was still terribly unrefined. He could tell that there were other battles going on, the general direction they were, and that they were between Arrancar and Shinigami. But he couldn't for the life of him tell who was winning.

'I don't remember you being this good at sensing Reitsu,' he noted.

'Nee-chan drilled me quite thoroughly after she decided I hadn't been enough help rescuing your girlfriend.'

'SHE'S NOT MY GIRLFRIEND!'

Ganju grinned. 'You sure about that?'

'YES I'M SURE.' He took a shaky breath to calm himself, and glanced back at the dome. 'I suppose there's nothing to do but wait.'

'And believe,' added Ganju.

x

Kensei was panting, and wiped away the sweat on his brow with his free arm. His combat knife he held ready, in case his opponent made any sudden moves.

'Gaah,' said Wonderweiss, his eyes wide and devoid of malice. So far, he seemed unhurt. But he did have his zanpakutou unsheathed.

'Is that all you've got, Arrancar?' snarled Kensei. 'C'mon, show me your true form already.'

Wonderweiss looked at him for a moment, then let out a ear-shattering 'ARRRRRROOOOOOO'. His sword began to glow brightly, and his spiritual power skyrocketed.

'Good, it would have been dull to defeat you as you were,' said Kensei, and started forming his hollow mask over his face. When that was in place, he said, 'Ban-KAI!'

x

It was so dark inside that Byakuya couldn't see his hand, which he knew was in front of his face. He couldn't even see his own nose. Clapping his hands together created no noise, even though he felt the vibrations run through his arm. Everything was silent and black.

'Do you understand now?' said Tousen's voice in his head. He had no idea where it was coming from. 'This is the terror of my Enma Korogai. It forces you to experience the same darkness I have known my entire life. Since I was born blind, I don't fear it. But everyone else does.'

He felt a blade pierce his side. Immediately he twisted away, so that it only opened a shallow cut. He indicated with his arm so that his thousands of cherry-blossom blades would be directed instantly at where his enemy had come from. Apart from the whipping sensation of a few of them striking his arm on their way past, it seemed as if nothing happened. He couldn't know if he'd hit or not. He suspected though that he hadn't.

A blade sliced him, this time in the lower abdomen. He pulled away, indicating his attack even as he did so. The blade vanished as the petal-blades shot past him. Byakuya felt at the wound as he pulled back, this one was significantly deeper than the last and bleeding quite badly.

'I see you've made your preparations. But they won't be enough. While your ability is destructive, you still need to be able to see where you're directing your attacks. And your defense is wide open without your sight.'

It wasn't just his sight, it was all his senses barring touch and taste. He couldn't even sense his opponents reitsu. But it was true, if he didn't know where to strike then his Bankai wasn't much more useful than an ordinary sword.

'I suppose I have to use it,' he sighed. 'Very well. Senbonzakura Kageyoshi: Sensorscape.'

He couldn't see it, but he knew from his practise that his Bankai was currently changing shape. The countless reflective blades were forming around him, linking together to create long leafless branches; which expanded as they extended with a network of twigs. While the branches were forming, Byakuya called some of the blades to create a sword in his hand. Finally bases of the branches attached themselves to his body.

'What's this?' said Tousen, touching one of the twigs. The blades that made it up were curled inwards so that they couldn't cut. Examining it, he nearly lost his head when Byakuya flash-stepped beside him and slashed. He jumped away, but Byakuya was onto him immediately, and their blades clashed. The branches moved with the noble captain as he changed position, as though they were a part of his body.

Many of the curled blades that made up the branches were touching Tousen's body as they fought, giving way as easily as water. He ignored them, and focused on getting back on the attack. Byakuya though blocked just as easily as if he could see the blows coming, and sent a devastating combination of slashes and stabs that gave Tousen more than one bad cut before he managed to successfully pull away.

'How can this be? How could you…' He sounded flustered and angry in Byakuya's head. Then his tone changed to a thoughtful one. 'It's those branches, somehow they're allowing you to sense through them.'

'There are animals which live under the soil. They never see the light of day, yet still they survive and prosper,' said Byakuya, 'Your Bankai cuts off three of the five senses, as well as the spiritual sense. However, it leaves the sense of touch intact. These branches are all attached to my nerve endings, so whenever you touch any part of them; I can feel it.'

'Impressive. But you're not used to fighting just through feeling. You're still at a disadvantage.'

'Then come, traitor, and find out just how much of a disadvantage I'm at.'

Tousen attacked again, jumping high to come down at Byakuya's head, where the branches weren't as thick. While he was still in midair, Byakuya motioned with his free arm, and the branches moved to surround him. Immediately Tousen held his sword in front of him, let go, and tapped its hilt so that it started spinning around in front of him. Byakuya couldn't hear the spells name or incantation, but there was only one that used such movements; Hado no 58: Orchid Sky. A spell that created a virtual tornado. His opponent hoped to blow away his sensory branches.

But Byakuya wasn't without his own defences. 'Bakudo no 41: Counterspin,' he said, making a circular motion with his hand. It was a wind-type counter for other wind abilities, originally made to be a specific counter for the Orchid Sky spell. It created a stationary circular region of spinning air that absorbed the enemies attack, and was effective at what it was meant to do. But it was ineffective against all but wind-type attacks.

Tousen, seeing his tornado negated, pulled back at the last moment. Byakuya didn't pursue him. 'You fear my blade,' he said. 'Since I have already proven that I am the better at zanjutsu.'

'Like I said, it will be the full scope of our abilities that determines the victor.'

Byakuya nodded gravely. 'That may be so. But my abilities are far superior to yours.'

'You're a fool if you believe that. However, I will compliment you before I end you. You have fought well against my Bankai, which is the most terrifying in existence.'

Byakuya gave a thin smile. 'Before I end you, I will tell you something about my Bankai. It is not the most powerful, the most terrifying, the fastest, or the most deadly. Do you know what its greatest strength is?' He dove forward, clashing blades with Tousen. 'Versatility.'

He indicated with his hand. 'Senbonzakura Kageyoshi: Holdingscape.' Instantly the branches coming out his back disintegrated, and formed restraints around Tousen's ankles and wrists. More blades formed ropes that attached the restraints to the ring of vertical swords that had formed around Tousen.

'What is this?' said Tousen, pulling one hand free with a wrench. More blades immediately reformed the restraint, forcing his arm back so that he was spread-eagled standing up.

'It's useless,' said Byakuya. 'You of all people should understand. Man has faced terror since the beginning of time. They were never as strong as the bear, or as fast as the gazelle. Human beings have no outstanding physical abilities. How then did they survive?' He paused for effect. 'There are two reasons. Firstly, man was far smarter than any of the animals. Secondly, he was versatile enough to adapt to his surroundings, then adapt those surroundings to suit him. That is how man has faced terror and his own weakness since the beginning of time, with versatility and ingenuity.

'My Bankai has no limits as to what it can do, besides my power and imagination. Yours might be deadly and intimidating, but it cannot change and adapt. Therein lies its fatal flaw. All creatures in the history of creation that couldn't change died out. So too shall you.'

He walked up to him, and reached into his pouch, pulling out the black-fate skull with its looped chain. Just holding it he could feel the evil seeping through, he shuddered involuntarily. He placed it around the other man's neck, the chain immediately constricted so that it was secured tightly. 'Goodbye, Tousen Kaname, fallen captain of the ninth division.' He jumped back. 'Senbonzakura Kageyoshi: Pivotalscape.'

At once every single one of his blades broke free of the holding and sensorscapes and formed a huge bubble of seething blades around Tousen. In an instant they imploded with explosive power. Byakuya flashed-stepped backwards, a single petal-blade cutting his cheek on its way past. This was the one time he couldn't control his abilities, directly after the implosion of his Pivotalscape.

He'd expected the dark dome to shatter immediately, after a few seconds of nothing happening he knew something was wrong. He immediately started reforming his Sensorscape, not an easy task in the aftermath of his strongest attack. His branches reattached to him just in time for him to feel Tousen almost on top of him, he had to use an awkward movement much like the other man had been using earlier to avoid it.

He pulled back, but Tousen was onto him immediately. Byakuya was forced to block with a blade that was still forming in his hand, it was cut through, and he took a deep slash over his lower ribs. He flash-stepped away, reforming his weapon and bleeding badly. Tousen shouldn't have been able to survive his attack, what had happened? Then his opponent's face brushed one of his extended branches, and he had his answer.

'You're using your hollow mask, aren't you?' he said, and started forming a second blade in his off hand.

Tousen didn't respond, he just leapt at him, far faster than he had even at the beginning of the fight. He swung down in a huge arc. Byakuya blocked with both blades in an X, but Tousen's blade cut through them both, and carried on. Byakuya gasped aloud, his eyes widening with shock and pain.

He fell to his knees as his heart's blood sprayed into the air.

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