A/N: This chapter marks the official halfway point in this story, and the end of the Hunt for Tousen Arc. Next is the Countdown to Crowning arc, after which I think you can guess if you've been following what's happening.

Sorry this took a while, my beta kept telling me to make it more epic. I think I've got it as good as its gonna get now. By the way, there's a big note at the end of this chapter regarding some of the spells and Nanao's abilities. Read it if you want to know how my made-up stuff fits into the Bleach canon. If you don't, no sweat.

x

The Heir Apparent
Chapter 18: Cats Play with their Food

'Empower, Espiritu de lucha,' cried Stil'ecras Nurvan, steam rising from his body as his zanpakutou disintegrated. Bony plates formed on his forearms and the sides of his lower legs, shaping into arm and leg blades. His hollow-bone half mask meanwhile expanded into a full-faced one, adorned with far more teeth.

Nanao adjusted her glasses. 'Interesting. This is the first time I've got to see an Arrancar's release. You must be getting desperate if this is what you're resorting to.'

'Shuttup,' he barked, 'I'm just sick of you defending. I want to get this over with, so I can find another shinigami, one that fights properly.'

'It couldn't possibly be because you're losing?' she said coolly.

The Arrancar was singed badly over his chest from a direct hit of her Kido, and a section of the skin on his scalp had been ripped off by a powerful attack he'd barely avoided. That wound was bleeding badly despite its small size.

'That's it,' he growled. 'Now I'm MAD.'

He charged at her, stabbing with both hands at once. Nanao ducked, and blocked the lower one. He had moved so fast that she wouldn't even have been able to block that had it not been for zanpakutou's ability. The Arrancar's release had undoubtedly increased his strength and speed greatly. He also seemed to have worked out that while she could block any number of attacks no matter how fast they came, her dagger couldn't be in two places at once.

'Hado no. 1: Sho!' she cried, pouring all her power into the attack. Nurvan was knocked back spinning several meters, he dug an arm into the ground to resist the movement. He was back on his feet a moment later, looking annoyed.

Nanao was breathing heavily from the sudden exertion. 'There's…too much…difference. You're…too strong.' she panted. 'I suppose…no choice,' She glanced down at the sand, where a few drops of the Arrancar's blood had splattered during their last engagement. She stabbed her zanpakutou into it. 'Exact your price, Ryuuseiken second form: Furochi.'

Her dagger began to grow with red light as she withdrew it from the sand. It widened, then split down the middle into two thinner blades; which gained wicked looking hooks on the end. She held the second weapon in her right hand, in a backhanded grip. The glowing subsided, revealing stained maroon knives with a wood-grain burl like an authentic katana, or Damascus steel.

'What did you say?' said Nurvan, 'Is this your Bankai?'

'Please, I'm far from that level. This is the second form of my release, Furochi. It can only be activated when my zanpakutou has tasted its enemies blood.'

'If it isn't a Bankai, then-' said the Arrancar, and attacked again. This time Nanao was able to defend easily. 'So, now that you have two weapons you can block my attacks.'

At that point Nanao ducked low and slashed up with her blades. Nurvan pulled back, but not before the knives gashed his forearms. He cried out in surprise, then growled angrily and attacked again. Nanao stepped into his kick, blocked it, and set her other blade into his side. He howled with pain, and slashed down with his arm blades. She blocked those as well, deflecting them upwards, and sent two more stabs into his chest.

They broke away, and Nurvan fell to one knee. 'Damn you, bitch shinigami. How can you cut through my heirro?'

Nanao held the blades in front of her in a line with the bases touching. 'Once Ryuuseiken has tasted your blood, it knows you intimately. There is no armour it cannot pierce, and no defense it cannot break.'

The Arrancar stared at her, then smirked. 'If that's the case, EAT THIS!' he cried, extending his hands in front of him. Red energy started to pour in from the area around.

Cero! she realised, and a strong one too. He seemed to be trying to end it with one blast. She began an incantation, while tracing symbols in the air. 'Sounds of emptiness, fires of rock. Raze the land, sever the unworthy upon an altar of green sandstone. Raised upon trials and torments, to be strengthened and purified. Bakudo no. 81: Splitting Void.'

A rectangular wall appeared in front of her just in time to stop the huge Cero blast, which hit it with force that she could feel even from behind. Her barrier held firm though, and the Cero soon started weakening. She immediately began another incantation.

'Sprinkled on the bones of the beast! Sharp tower, red crystal, steel ring. Consuming gale, twist and destroy without respite. Countless weapons, fall to the earth and begin your slaughter. Hado no. 88: Flying Dragon-Striking Heaven-Shaking Thunder Cannon.'

The spell smashed through the dregs of the Cero, and sizzled towards the Arrancar. He didn't have time to do anything more than widen his eyes in horror. There was an ear-splitting explosion. When the smoke had cleared, there was a deep crater in the ground, and no sign of the Stil'ecras Nurvan.

Panting heavily, Nanao looked down at her blades, which were turning silver. That was a sure sign that her enemy was no more. She put them together and flicked her wrist, resealing her weapon to its stiletto form, and sheathed it inside her robes. Then she checked her hair, she hated having a mussed hairstyle after a fight. Once she was satisfied that it was all in order, she went to find her companion, who was cowering under a broken wall nearby.

'It's over,' she told him, when she finally got him to take his hands off his eyes.

'An-and Nurvan-dono?'

'Dead.'

'You're scary, doncha know?' Dondo said, but got up anyway to follow her.

She took that as a compliment. 'Thanks,' she said, wiping sweat off her brow, 'Now, lets go and find the others.'

x

Ichigo was sitting on the sandy banks among the rubble with Ganju when Grimmjow and Nel arrived. They weren't alone, they had brought Hinamori, Pershe and - who was that? Another Arrancar! His hand immediately went to his blade.

'Relax, Ichigo,' said Nel, 'This is the former Privaron Espada Gantenbainne Mosqueda, he's agreed to help us.'

'Why?' he said suspiciously.

'The war is over, and my loyalty was never to Tousen-sama; may god forgive us,' said the red afro Arrancar.

'Would have been more fun if he'd fought,' muttered Grimmjow. Was that blood around his mouth? Actually, he didn't want to know.

Ichigo glanced across at Hinamori, she didn't seem injured although her outer robes were ripped at the front; as though someone had grabbed her deftly. She met his gaze angrily, as though daring him to say something. He wasn't sure if this was an improvement in her condition or not.

Nanao's arrival with Dondochakka drew his attention from her. They were both unhurt, he was pleased to see. Now the only ones who hadn't concluded their fights were Kensei and Iba. Oh, and Byakuya in the big dome.

He smiled a greeting, but her attention was diverted. She paled and gasped, pointing behind him. Ichigo swivelled, just in time to see Byakuya fall out of the side of the dome. Even from a distance he could tell that he was badly injured. He immediately flash-stepped to his side, the others just behind him, and gently eased the noble captain onto his back.

He was cut in numerous places, but it was the deep vertical slice from his collarbone to his groin that caught their attention immediately. He was bleeding, which meant he was still alive, but he was barely breathing. Ichigo had a sick suspicion that he was dying.

'Get back, I'll see to him,' said Nanao in a commanding tone. She pointed to Grimmjow and Hinamori. 'You two, go and retrieve the medical pack, it should be where we hid it.'

'I'll help too,' said Nel, 'I have some abilities.'

'I wonder how he got out in that state,' said Ganju, in awe.

Ichigo barely heard them. Byakuya was dying, this wasn't how it was supposed to happen. How could this be happening? His vision went red as anger replaced disbelief. Tousen was going to pay for this with his life. He drew his zanpakutou with a jerk, threw the sheath onto the sand, and whispered, 'Bankai. Tense Zangetsu.'

The release was unlike his normal explosion of power, perhaps to make up for his furious simmering emotions. His sword and robes simply glowed and changed, a short blast of air was all that followed. He turned towards the dome, silently donning his mask.

'NO,' cried Nel, 'ICHIGO, DO-'

And he was through, in the silent world of blackness. He carried on walking forward, counting thirty paces, before stopping. 'TOUSEN,' he shouted. 'WHERE ARE YOU, TOUSEN.' He couldn't even hear the sound of his own voice.

'So, you rush in like a fool,' said a voice in his head that he supposed must belong to Tousen. 'But then you were always the one I wanted.'

'Because I killed Aizen?' Ichigo growled.

'Yes, you killed my Lord. Also because you denied justice being done to Kuchiki Rukia.'

'Shut the fuck up, you set it all up!'

'Regardless of our actions in that event, she still committed a serious felony. While the sentence for that is normally not soul destruction, it is death. Do you know why Soul Society pardoned her? It's obvious, they wanted you as an ally; something they could only guarantee if they spared her.'

'So what?' said Ichigo. 'You think I care about that justice bullshit you're mumbling about. I protect my nakama and those who need my help. I hate people like you who betray those close to them the most. Hell, you killed your only friend, Komamura. What does that say about you, eh?'

'He stood on the wrong side, it couldn't be helped,' Tousen sounded oddly regretful.

'You bastard, you're alone now. I would leave to suffer in your loneliness, but I can't risk you hurting anyone else.'

He started moving at maximum speed, which he was sure the other man wouldn't be able to match, sending slashes in all directions. Hopefully if he moved fast enough his enemy wouldn't be able to target him, and it could only be a matter of time before he connected. Once he knew where his enemy was he could unleash the full arsenal of his abilities.

'Interesting tactic, but it seems to be based on the assumption that I cannot hit you at that pace.'

At that moment, he felt a blade pierce his side. He immediately swung at where Tousen must be, but didn't hit anything but air. Another slice ripped at his chest, he pulled away and slashed back. This time he connected with his opponents sword, but when he followed up with other attacks he hit nothing. Realising that he made an easy target standing still, he started moving at high speed again.

Again a cut slit his side, and he wasn't able to return any successful attack. He was bleeding badly now, he could feel the blood making his robes uncomfortably wet. Another hit the back of his leg, obviously aiming to hamstring him. He pulled away before the wound was too deep, but had to negate the chance to counter. How had Kenpachi done this again? He'd allowed Tousen to stab him through and held the blade there. He doubted that the black man would be making the same mistake again.

'Do you understand now? It does not matter if you can move faster than I if you cannot see me. All I have to do it carve pieces off you until you cannot move. You can only guess at the angle I'm coming at.'

'Bastard,' Ichigo growled.

Tousen was right, at this rate he wouldn't be able to continue for much longer. Already he could feel his strength draining from blood loss. There was only one option left, he would have to use his Resurreccion form; something he hadn't wanted to resort to. He was sure he could win in that form, it was just so much more powerful, but at the same time to use it to defeat Aizen's lackey… Well, it's not like he had any choice anymore.

He placed his hand in front of his chest. But before he could do anything, he felt his senses expand. Or more accurately, his sense of touch expand. He felt in front of him, it was like there were hundreds of thick veins attached to his skin, made of pieces of metal. Was this one of Tousen's abilities? No, that didn't make sense, why would he help him?

'So,' said Tousen, 'Even after I let him live he still had to interfere.'

Aha! Now it made sense. This was one of Byakuya's abilities which he was using to help him, probably the one that had been mentioned in the captain's meeting way back. But for him to be maintaining his Bankai in such a state… was that even possible? He thought that one lost their hold on their ultimate when they were near death. It couldn't be good for Byakuya to be doing this, he had to finish this fast.

He could feel where Tousen was. It was a strange sensation, akin to someone brushing the top of his hair. He flash-stepped and attacked. He connected with his opponents blade. Now that he was closer he could feel his opponent much more easily, he could sense his stance and every single movement. He sent a flurry of attacks at him, which the other man just barely managed to block before pulling away.

'Heh; takes a bit of getting used to, this attacking by feeling,' said Ichigo, spinning his sword on its chain. 'I think I've got the hang of it now.' He caught the handle and charged in to attack.

He sent a flurry of overhead strikes at Tousen, which were blocked and desperately avoided. Ichigo increased his speed, Tousen battled to keep up. He tried to pull away twice, but Ichigo wouldn't let him and kept raining in attacks while following his retreat. Tousen finally tried an attack of his own when Ichigo slowed down a few of his strikes, stabbing at his chest.

Ichigo caught the blade, ignoring the fact that it was cutting into his palm. 'Getsuga Tenshou,' he said, slashing with his sword.

The black moon-fang hit Tousen across the lower ribs, and ripped deep. He was lifted off his feet, and fell facedown on the ground, twitching and shaking. Around them the black dome heaved and moved, light piercing through. It seemed like Tousen was also trying desperately to maintain his Bankai after being severely wounded. Then it shattered.

'Byakuya,' Ichigo called out. 'Whatever it was you were doing, you can stop it now. It's over, thanks to you.'

x

Nel looked up from her patient, who was now looking considerably less strained. Even still, he dangerously pale, and they hadn't been able to seal up his major wound with the field equipment they had. He needed proper medical attention, but she was certain he would survive long enough to reach it.

Ichigo approached them. He retrieved his scabbard and sheathing his sword. She smiled and leapt at him, locking her arms and legs around his torso. 'Ichi-gooo!'

'Oof, Nel,' he cried, trying to disentangle himself from her. 'Whad'ya think you're doing?'

'I'm just so happy that Ichigo is alive,' she said softly.

'Thanks, Nel,' he said, smiling at her before turning his head towards her patient.

She released him. 'Ichigo, you're bleeding!'

'It's nothing. How's Byakuya?'

'We need to get him back to Soul Society.'

He nodded. 'Then let's go.'

'Not so fast,' Nanao butted in, 'We still haven't completed the mission.'

'But I beat Tousen,' said Ichigo with a frown.

'We haven't sent him to hell yet. Did you see the gates?'

'Well, no, I guess not.'

'Then he hasn't gone there yet.' She crouched down by Byakuya. 'Can you hear me, Captain Kuchiki? We need the black-fate skull that you were carrying.' She stooped to listen to what he said. 'He says he put it around the traitor's neck.'

'It wasn't there when his dome shattered,' Ichigo piped in.

'Then he must have taken it off, duh,' said Nel.

That prompted a search for the small item. It was Ganju who found it, using his sand-magic to unearth all the small solid objects buried in the area. Ichigo picked it up and placed it around the badly wounded traitor's neck, who tried feebly to resist. Nel winced, he was nearly ripped in half by the huge rent, only his spine holding his lower and upper body together. Tousen was trying to say something, but all he succeeded in doing was coughing up mouthfuls of blood.

'Well, what now?' said Ichigo when nothing happened. Nel shook her head, she didn't know.

At that point Kensei and Iba flash-stepped into view. Iba had a few light scratches, but Kensei looked like he'd been dragged through a dagger-thorn bush backwards. He must have had a well matched battle.

'So, you beat him,' said Kensei, seemingly ignorant of his wounds. He slapped his fist into his palm. 'Now, traitor, you will finally get the justice you so richly deserve.'

'Um, do we have to kill him now?' said Ichigo.

'No, just beat him to within an inch of his life, and the skull will do the rest.'

'WHAT, I can't do that.'

'I can,' said Grimmjow, moving to stand in front of Tousen. He lifted him up by throat, then punched him into the ground. 'That is for interfering with me,' He kicked him hard enough to send him flying. 'That's for insulting me.' He caught up with him and stamped on his back in line with the wound so that his spine snapped with a loud crack. 'And that's for my arm!' he roared.

Nel turned away, she couldn't watch this. Unfortunately she couldn't block her ears from the screams and sickening thuds. 'I'm going to take your brother back to Soul Society,' she said to Ichigo, who looked sickened at the sight.

'Sure. Wait, brother?'

She smiled. 'You know, brother captain.'

'Right,' he said suspiciously, and muttered under his breath, 'Why is everyone making out like-' he realised she was listening and cleared his throat. 'I'll come with you.'

'You can't,' said Kensei. 'As leader of the expedition you have to make sure the sentence is carried out in front of your eyes, even if you don't enact it yourself. That is the rule.'

Ichigo didn't look pleased. He took a deep breath, clenched and unclenched his fists and said, 'Fine. Nel, take Byakuya and the rest of them back, then come back. Hopefully by then Grimmjow will be finished.'

Kensei, Ganju and the lieutentenants had made a stretcher out of Ichigo and Byakuya's haori and a pair of crystalline branches they had cut off the trees, and were ready to go. Grimmjow meanwhile was still beating up the hapless Tousen while Ichigo looked on, fighting to quell his horror and disgust at the scene.

Before they left, he called out to them. 'Momo, you're staying behind to patch me up. Get some bandages from Nanao.'

'I could do it, it's not a problem,' said Nanao quickly.

'I think that Momo should do it,' said Ichigo sternly. A very pregnant silence followed.

x

A few minutes later, they had gone through the portal, and Ichigo was left with Hinamori watching Grimmjow. He turned to Nel's Fraccion and the Afro Privaron Espada guy, 'You guys take a hike, okay?'

When they were gone he turned to Hinamori. 'Well, you going to bandage me up or what?' She kept her eyes downcast while she worked. 'You've conducted yourself adequately on this mission,' he said, 'But I'm not convinced you'll be up to your work as a lieutenant when we get back.'

'I will, watch me,' she growled, tightening up the bandage she was tying until it was almost painful.

'So, you've got over this whole Aizen puppy-love thing,' he said, hoping his callousness would elicit a response.

'I HATE YOU,' she screamed suddenly.

Before he had a chance to respond, a pillar of black energy shot into the air; followed by two tall stone gates with skeletal guardians. Ichigo had only seen the gates of hell once before, but he recognised them instantly. The gates creaked open, Grimmjow jumped back. Chains shot out of the fiery depths, to wrap around the traitors neck and limbs. Tousen was sucked screaming into the abyss. Then the gates creaked shut, and sealed with a boom. Cracks started to form on them. Finally they shattered into countless pieces; which dissipated in the air.

Ichigo immediately felt his heart wrench for him, but quickly steeled it. It had to be done, where Tousen was now he wouldn't be able to hurt anyone. He turned attention back to Hinamori. 'Hate me if you want, that's fine,' he said slowly, 'I don't like much you either. But we're not required to be friends, are we?'

'I'm going to get stronger,' she said fiercely. 'You'd better watch your back, because one day I'll be strong enough, and then I'll avenge Aizen-taicho.'

Ichigo doubted that she would be that strong even if she trained for a thousand years. It was a hollow threat, and she didn't seem to have her heart in it. Perhaps she'd truly seen the light. 'Fine, train every day and get stronger, then challenge me when you're ready.'

'I will,' she said.

Ichigo nodded and smiled inwardly, thinking of Renji's obsession with surpassing Byakuya. Then again, it had motivated the redhead to improve.

'You two finished having your love-chat,' said Grimmjow, sauntering up to them. He was covered in blood, not his own.

'We weren't doing that,' Hinamori exclaimed, going red.

'Sure,' said the blue haired Arrancar, and indicated with his thumb. 'Buzz off for a bit, the big boys need some man-time.'

'I'm not going to fight you now, Grimmjow,' said Ichigo when Hinamori had moved off. Besides being wounded he couldn't trust himself to hold back, not after seeing the Arrancar behave so mercilessly. He was grateful though that he hadn't been the one to have to beat Tousen when he was down.

'Che, figured you'd say that. You'd better come by soon for our rematch.'

'You mean it's alright?' he said, surprised.

'You're just lucky, shinigami, I'm in a good mood today.'

'Right,' said Ichigo. Perhaps Grimmjow had simply had enough fighting to sate his appetite for a while. 'Just so you know, you and Nel have to keep us informed on what's going on here after we go.'

'So the shinigami won't be coming after us?'

'No, you're being officially recognised as allies of Soul Society. You're the king now, like you always wanted. How does it feel.'

'Kinda sucks, since it's only cos your place endorses me.'

Ichigo wasn't sure if he was overstepping his authority or not, making a decision like this. But he would be damned before some other shinigami came hunting these guys just because they were hollow, not after they'd helped him like they'd done.

A Garganta opened, and Nel reappeared beside them. 'If you're the king of Hueco Mundo, then I'm definitely the queen.'

Ichigo looked from one to the other. 'So if you're the king and you're the queen, you mean that you guys, well-'

'NO,' they shouted in unison, red in the face.

Ichigo had the mad desire to laugh. But that probably wouldn't have been a good idea, judging by Grimmjow's facial expression. Unless he wanted that rematch right that instant.

Nel gave a delicate cough. 'Ichigo, you ready to go.'

Immediately images of clean, temperate, urbanised Seireitei filled his mind. After spending such a long time in the sandy wasteland of Hueco Mundo, he desperately missed the place, and his friends. 'I am,' he said.

'You'd better not forget about that rematch, or I'll invade Soul Society to find you,' said Grimmjow.

Ichigo laughed.

'You think I'm joking?'

Ichigo stopped laughing. 'I'll come back to fight you. It's a promise.'

x

A/N: A few notes on things I've added.

Hado no. 32, Orb of Yellow Fire, is my own creation. It's based on the fact that 31 is Shot of Red Fire (the most commonly used mid-level kido attack), and 33 is Blue Fire Crash-down (Rukia's favourite). I couldn't imagine Nanao, a kido master, using the same old spell as every other less-talented lieutenant. By the way, it is canon, according to Tite, that she is a kido master; although we haven't seen her fight yet.

Hado no. 88 Flying Dragon-Striking Heaven-Shaking Thunder Cannon (good golly gosh that's long!) and Bakudo no. 81 Splitting Void are both canon spells. Their incantation hasn't been shown though, so I made it up, using similarly random phrases to the ones used for the canon spells. The first half of Hado no. 88's incantation comes from the weaker version of the spell, no. 63 (Thunder Roar Cannon). This is because Hado no. 73, Twin Lotus of Blue Fire Crash-down, uses the same first half of the incantation as no. 33, Blue Fire Crash-down. (Interestingly, in the manga it was ALSO given no. 63, meaning that there were two Hado no. 63s. It's one of a few times the anime has had to correct the manga.)

Onto Nanao's Zanpakutou. This is a bit more interesting. So you know, this is by far my favourite that I've created. Actually this description gives you a bit more information then you got in the story!

Name: Ryuuseiken (Flowing-water blade)
Release word/phrase: Willingly I give.
Requires the touch of the users blood.
Appearance: Long double-edged dagger with a black line down from the centre to the tip. Guard wraps around the holding hand, like a cutlass.
Ability/s: Forms invisible flows around the user. Any attack that touches a flow, provided that flow is within the users reach, will be immediately blocked. Ryuuseiken will be drawn to it like a magnet instantaneously. If the attack is a physical one, no matter the power behind it, it will be nullified to nothing. If the attack is energy based the defense will still activate, but Ryuuseiken has no more advantage than any ordinary zanpakutou.

Second form: Ryuuseiken Furochi (Blood-flows Flowing-water blade)
Release word/phrase: Exact your price.
Can only be activated at the touch of the enemies blood.
Appearance: Twin hooked knives with a wood-grain burl the same length as her dagger. They generally take on a maroon shade, but that is determined by the colour of the opponents blood.
Ability/s: Ryuuseiken retains its defensive abilities, but gains counterattack abilities as well. As soon as the defense is activated, the blades will counter provided the opponent is within range. The counterattacks are equal to the amount of attacks blocked. Attacks cannot be stored, they happen immediately or not at all. A counter from Ryuuseiken Furochi is practically unblockable, due to the intimate knowledge the enemies blood imparts. The counter ability also bypasses the common rule that someone of low spiritual pressure cannot cut someone with higher, there is no being that Ryuuseiken Furochi cannot cut.

Some of its weaknesses: In its initial state, it has no attacking abilities, so it is naturally difficult to reach second release. It cannot defend the lower leg, or behind the back. It gives no advantage against Kido or Cero. Against a much longer weapon, such as a spear, the counter ability would not work if they don't come within range.