Here we go, Chapter Nine. Enjoy.

Chapter Nine-Bleed for You

Walking back into the arena beside Komamura had a slightly different feeling than the first time. Somehow, the knowledge that Komamura did not share the same affections bothered Jin, but had not shaken his resolve. He was still determined to change Komamura's mind.

After a brief reintroduction, courtesy of Lieutenant Sasakibe, Jin and Komamura faced their opponents. Across the field from them was Toshiro Hitsugaya and Shinji Hirako. Jin scowled. The two "prodigies" of the Gotei 13 were about to face off... In the back of his mind, Jin had always wondered who was stronger. Himself or Captain Hitsugaya.

"Ready, Sajin?" Jin asked, pulling his zanpakuto from its sheath.

"I suppose," Komamura replied as he withdrew Tenken, holding it before him.

Hitsugaya stepped forward, holding his blade in front of him. His mouth moved, saying something to Shinji before moving forward. Jin had scarcely been able to hold his unreleased zanpakuto before him. Their blades clashed and they were battling, slashing at each other. Within a few minutes, Jin and Hitsugaya had found themselves airborne, fighting feet above the ground.

Then it happened; their blades clashed and a chill filled the air. Jin had not even noticed when Hitsugaya had released his zanpakuto, but now Izanagi's blade was covered ice, a long chain wrapped around it. Jin attempted to pull his blade free, but he found himself locked.

"Wow, you're even stronger than people say," Jin complimented. "A real prodigy."

"Thank you, but you're no slouch yourself," Hitsugaya replied. "You're still holding back, aren't you? No Shikai?"

"I suppose if you're fighting seriously, I should too." The blade began to glow. "Take to the sky, Izanagi..." The ice fell from the blade as the weapon shrank and transformed, shattering upon contact with the ground. With the gauntlet fully formed, Hitsugaya skipped backward, still ready for more combat. Then he did something odd...

He started to move around in a strange circle, moving so quickly that he was hard to focus on. But he wasn't even just moving side-to-side. He was also changing his altitude, moving higher, then lower, until finally, Jin had enough.

"Royal Crow Barrage!"

The ten crows flew out from his zanpakuto, taking flight and aiming themselves directly at Hitsugaya who had to alter his movements. He began dodging the crows but there was something off about how he was moving. Jin watched carefully, but he wasn't sure what was wrong.

Then Hitsugaya charged, blade drawn. Jin brought up his gauntlet to defend... but the slash had hit him in his back, cutting the back of his haori and leaving a shallow cut on his back. Jin had quickly moved away when he felt it, but there was something odd. He was watching Hitsugaya carefully, but how had he moved behind him?

"Quite a nice trick you pulled," Jin chortled. "Didn't know you were that fast."

"Fast?" Hitsugaya murmured, and there was something about the way he said it. Jin scowled; this wasn't a battle of speed. Something else was going on.

Hitsugaya charged again and Jin readied himself to block. Then he considered something...

He allowed himself to drop, free-falling until he saw Hitsugaya slash at the air above him. With another slash, a dragon of ice flashed outward from the blade, and Jin pointed his gauntlet's blade up at it. Jin took a deep breath.

"Royal Crow Blast!"

The dragon and blast met in midair, causing the dragon to explode into multiple shards. Hitsugaya landed on the ground as well, and dashed forward, ready to slash again. He charged once more, but another blade intercepted it; a blade that was large, phantasmal, almost ghostly. The large, ghostly blade seemed to be in the right spot, but Jin did not trust it completely. He wheeled around and blocked, this time feeling Hitsugaya's sword scrape along Izanagi's gauntlet.

Without warning, another sword slashed at Hitsugaya from behind; Hitsugaya had barely dodged it, ducking beneath it and moving far enough that he was out of the weapon's range.

"Thanks, Sajin," Jin breathed as Komamura came up alongside him.

"No thanks are necessary, Captain Narukami," Komamura answered. "How's your wound?"

"Painful, but that just means we'll have to end this fight a bit sooner," Jin replied. His eyes scanned the field briefly. Off to the side, he noticed Shinji Hirako, a strange weapon swirling around his hand. The pommel of his sword was an open circle and he could see a pinkish, mist-like substance that seemed to be falling from the blade. "Can you take care of Captain Hirako?" Jin asked.

Komamura looked over. "I could... but can you handle Captain Hitsugaya?"

"I'll have to try." Jin moved forward, readying himself.

Hitsugaya dashed forward and Jin hurriedly made himself airborne, dodging the attack by moving upwards. No sooner had he started to move did a weird smell—something he couldn't place—worked its way into his nostrils. The world around him seemed to be turning, everything reversing. Jin found himself floating upside down now, hovering above the ground with his head pointed down.

Hitsugaya was coming at him, but Jin hurriedly tried to reorient himself. He flipped himself upright and readied himself to block the blow... yet he felt something slash at his shoulder from above instead of below. He tumbled away from the blade when he felt it, but he could still feel it, starting to pierce his skin. He had barely dodged it in time to avoid a serious blow.

"What's going on?" he asked Hitsugaya. "Why is everything so confusing?"

Rather than answer, Hitsugaya sent another ice dragon at him, and Jin readied himself to defend before he felt an impact at his back. His vision swam briefly and he felt himself starting to drift away from consciousness.

"Damn it, quit playing around with me!" Jin shouted. He held out his zanpakuto. "Royal Crow Barrage—times two!"

Twenty crows flashed out from Izanagi's blade, flying outward. They flew at Hitsugaya, swarming around him before Jin realized something; everything seemed to be inverted. Quickly, he wheeled around, redirecting the crows behind him. They collided with something and detonated with remarkable power. A loud shout told him they had hit something... but that did not sound like Hitsugaya's voice.

The energy from the blast dissipated very quickly and Jin realized something; Hitsugaya was not there! His eyes flashed downward where he saw them. Hitsugaya and Shinji battling Komamura, who was just barely holding back the two captains. Angered with himself for being tricked by such a simple ploy, Jin descended at breakneck speed, rushing downward and aiming a nearly-perfectly timed slash at Hitsugaya who barely blocked it.

"You're fighting me!" Jin shouted. "Not Sajin!" With a forceful push, Jin moved Hitsugaya away from Komamura, trying his hardest to push him back. Another shout rang out from behind him and Jin realized that it was the same as the one he had heard earlier. "Hado 1: Sho!" he bellowed, pointing his finger at Hitsugaya who skidded backward, not loosing his balance.

Hurriedly, Jin turned and saw Komamura, his arm cut open and bleeding. Shinji looked to be about to deliver one final blow, but Jin moved first. Arms outstretched, Jin closed his eyes, taking the slash intended for Komamura across his chest. Everything inside him seemed to scream in pain as the blade made its slash put he put his open palm to Shinji's chest.

"H-hado 31," Jin breathed, his breathing becoming more difficult. "Shakkaho!"

The red orb exploded almost as it was formed, forcing the two of them apart. They both flew backward and Jin felt his back hit a hall before the final shreds of consciousness started to disappear. The final sound he heard was a loud roar before finally a blackness started to overcome him...

Enjoy, everyone! Here's Chapter Nine and I hope you like it...