Chapter 13

Invasion: Pt Two

Maiko slammed Suì-Fēng's head into the ground. After the death of her brother, Maiko had lost control of her Reishi due to pure anger, and she was absorbing more for Hirenkyaku than she had ever done before, making her several times faster than normal. Suì-Fēng, being incredibly quick herself, could barely keep up. Maiko lifted Suì-Fēng by the back of her head and glared at her.

"You killed him," Maiko said.

"You're invaders," Suì-Fēng replied, spitting out some blood. "I'm only following my responsibility as a Captain of the Gotei Thirteen. What's your excuse for all the Shinigami dead in the streets?"

In response, Maiko, with a strength even she didn't realize she had, picked up the battered, bruised, and bleeding Captain and flung her over the edge of the tower. Suì-Fēng was too injured and incapable of moving as she fell. She closed her eyes waiting for impact…but impact never came.

She slowly opened her eyes and saw the ground a couple of meters below her. Then she realized she was being held and glanced up. The first thing she noticed was the white fingerless tekkō that covered the back of the hand that was gripped onto the collar of her robes. Her gaze continued up before reaching the face of Byakuya, staring down at her. His expression was his normal one of arrogant indifference though there appeared to be a hint of annoyance in it.

"What?" she asked, anger in her tone.

Byakuya was quiet for a moment before replying, "You're heavier than you look."

"Excuse me?!" Suì-Fēng shouted before the other Captain let go, and she was dropped the last couple of meters. She landed on the ground and immediately wrapped an arm around her waist as it was still sore. She went to say something else, but the Captain of Squad Six was already making his way back up to the top of the tower using Shunpo to keep himself on the tower as he climbed. He landed lightly in front of Maiko who had now turned her glare toward him.

"Wait…" She began, "Weren't you imprisoned?" She turned to face Sadao and the rest of the Splintered, and saw that the Senkaimon was indeed open. The rest of the Splintered were staring at it as well.

"It appears that we have another traitor," Sadao said, turning toward the two fights occurring. "It makes no difference. We've already incapacitated two Captains. What's another two? Maiko: take care of him." Maiko hesitated for a second, but then nodded and turned back toward Byakuya.

"I'm sorry," she said. "This is what Sho would want."

Byakuya drew his blade, held it in front of him, and responded, "Scatter, Senbonzakura." His Zanpakutō's blade seemed to separate into hundreds of what appeared to be Cherry Blossoms leaving only the hilt of his sword in his hand. They swirled around him like a cloud before he directed them, using his hand that held the hilt, toward Maiko at an astonishing speed. The blossoms flew toward Maiko who reacted just in time, dodging to the right. But then Byakuya directed them again, and the blossoms changed direction quicker than Maiko could fully react. She managed to dodge most of them again, but a few hit her arm. Where they hit, she could feel them cut her. They weren't cherry blossoms, she realized. They were blades.

She began to run in circles, letting the blades follow her while keeping an eye on Byakuya. She was looking for an opening, and at first she couldn't find one. The blades appeared to be too quick and too small for her to fight against them. But then she noticed something. There was a small gap between the blades and Byakuya. Of course, she mentally facepalmed. He wouldn't want his own blades to hit him so there's a safezone. I just have to get into it.

She moved back and forth, dodging the blades that continued to come after as, other than his arm to direct the blades, Byakuya didn't make a move. She figured maybe he couldn't move which was fine. She would use that to her advantage. As she moved and dodged, she steadily made her way closer and closer until she saw the opening. She used Hirenkyaku to get even closer and lifted her sword to attack. Byakuya suddenly pointed his left hand at her with two fingers out.

"Byakurai," he stated. Lightning shot out of his fingertips towards Maiko. Maiko stopped in surprise and turned as the lightning shot past her. She then held out her hand and absorbed it as it was made of Reishi.

"Did you forget that we can absorb Reishi?" She asked, turning back toward her opponent. Her eyes widened as she saw that he was now a few meters away from where he had been, his blade reformed and pointed directly at the ground.

"It was a distraction, and even I have to admit that you're too quick for my Shikai," Byakuya replied, letting go of his sword. "Bankai: Senbonzakura Kageyoshi." His Zanpakutō fell from his grasp and seemed to phase into the ground, sending ripples out where it met as if it had fallen into a pool of water. Suddenly the surrounding area grew dark and from the ground rose two rows of several giant blades. Each of these blades then shattered into the Cherry Blossom-looking blades from before. Except now there were thousands upon thousands more. There were too many to even try and start to count.

They all flew at Maiko at once, surrounding her on all sides before rushing in to meet her in a pink wave of death. She managed to use Hirenkyaku to get above the killing zone, but the wave just changed direction, and once again she was on the move, trying to dodge even more blades now.

"Maiko, retreat," Sadao called out. "You're not fit to fight him." He sighed and turned to Akane. "You know what to do."

Akane lightly placed her hand on his cheek and smiled, "Of course." She removed her hand before walking toward Maiko and Byakuya's fight.

Maiko looked like she wanted to say something, but stopped herself. She lowered her head and used Hirenkyaku to go back to Sadao. When she got to him, she fell to her knees and began to cry. Her anger had disappeared, replaced by despair and the realization that her brother was gone. Sadao looked down at her, but didn't say anything.

As Akane approached, she drew her sword and held it with both hands, "Bankai: Ayatsuru Higanbana." Her Zanpakutō glowed blood red and it seemed to dissolve and cover both of her fingers. When it was finished, all ten of Akane's fingers seemed coated in red.

She continued to walk toward Byakuya. He directed his wave of blossoms toward her, but she didn't move. Instead, she walked into the wave. Byakuya's eyes widened as he saw her get covered in cuts. She should have been dead with the amount of cuts, but she placed one of her hands to her chest and within a second, the wounds glowed and resealed themselves. She continued to slowly walk toward Byakuya, healing herself over and over again. Byakuya found himself moving back slowly, trying to keep Akane out of his bankai's safe zone.

"Enough of this," he said. "It's absurd that you have forced me to show you this, but you have left me little choice. Ironic that the last time I used it was to stop another invader. Senkei, Senbonzakura Kageyoshi." Suddenly all the petal-blades stopped and began to come together, taking the form of thousands of pink, glowing swords in four rows. Each row floated above another to create four circles surrounding Akane and Byakuya. Byakuya put his hand out and one of the blades flew to his open hand. Once he grabbed it, the glowing stopped and the blade now resembled Byakuya's sealed Zanpakutō.

He and Akane moved toward each other at the same time. He swung his blade, but Akane held out a hand and let it hit. It buried itself into her hand, but Byakuya could already see the healing begin before he could even remove the sword. Then Akana placed her other hand on Byakuya's chest and two cuts appeared: one on his shoulder and one on his arm. He quickly disengaged, moving back. The cuts weren't too deep, but they were bleeding.

That's not the problem, he thought. How did she cut me? He studied her, but saw no blade or weapon of any kind. He came to the conclusion that it had to do with her Bankai, but he was still unsure of how she did it.

"You're wondering how I was able to cut you," She said, her expression and tone both calm.

"All that matters is that I stop you," he answered.

"Oh? Well…if that's what you believe then I guess I have no need to explain it."

They both moved toward each other again. As they got closer, Byakuya used Shunpo to get behind Akane and aimed his blade at her head. Once again, she stopped it though this time it was with her arm. Normally Byakuya's blade should have cut clean through her arm, but with her healing abilities, his blade was forced to stop halfway through and began to be pushed out. She spun around, removing her arm from the blade and she once again grabbed him except this time it was on his left arm. Byakuya could feel cuts open up on his stomach this time. Like the last ones, they weren't deep, but still caused him to bleed.

Is she transferring the wounds I've given her? He asked himself. No. They're in different locations and aren't nearly as deep. It has to be something else.

"Are you still wondering how I can injure you?" Akane asked. "Would you like me to tell you or will you continue these futile attacks? Any wound you cause upon me, I can heal. I won't ask you to surrender. I know that that would be an insult to you, but you can allow me to make your death quick. Please."

"You're correct," Byakuya replied. "Asking me to surrender would be an insult, but so is assuming you have already won this fight." He charged again.

"I thought you would be smarter than this," Akane sighed and stood still, waiting for the attacks.

When Byakuya got close, he swung again which Akane blocked again. Then Byakuya held out his left hand and another one of the glowing swords came to it. He immediately stabbed it through Akane's stomach. She coughed up some blood before reaching out and grabbing Byakuya's left arm. Suddenly he felt immense pain in his left leg and he slightly buckled before moving back again. Akane grabbed the blade that was within her stomach and pulled it out. Her body immediately began to heal again. Byakuya glanced down at his leg and realized the muscles and tendons in his leg were severed. That's when a thought came to him, and the more he thought about it, the more true it seemed. He turned to Akane.

"You can open anyone's past wounds," he claimed.

"Maybe I was too quick to judge your instincts," she smiled sadly. "You are correct. I can find scars from past wounds both on the inside and outside of the body and reopen them. I can do this to any spiritual being as your Reishi flow is slightly different around past wounds. All I do is simply change that flow and the wound reappears. Oh, and it's no use trying to hide the wounds I haven't yet opened. The first time I placed my hand on you, I found all of your past injuries."

"Then it is probably for the best that I don't extend this fight," Byakuya said. He placed both hands on the hilt of this sword and held it out in front of him. "Shūkei: Hakuteiken." There was a blast of spiritual pressure around Byakuya which turned into a white pillar surrounding him. Then all of the blades around the two combatants seemed to get sucked into the sword he was currently holding which became bright white. Pure white wings formed on Byakuya's back with a halo-like circle of the same color connecting them.

"Very well," Akane simply replied and braced for the incoming attack. Byakuya charged, a streak of white spiritual pressure appearing behind him. He raised his sword to deliver a devastating blow. Right before the attack occurred, Akaned moved slightly to her right and put up her left hand to touch Byakuya as the blade came down. There was a massive explosion of pressure and wind from where Byakuya's blade connected.

When the wind dispersed, the results of what had happened became clear. Akane stood there, her entire left arm and shoulder gone. She put her right hand up to it. While it had begun to already heal, it would take some time and her healing capabilities didn't mute the pain. Byakuya stood a few meters behind her.

"Damn," he muttered. Several wounds appeared over the entirety of his body and blood sprayed everywhere before he fell to his knees. He took deep breaths and appeared close to passing out though he still gripped his blade tightly. Akane reverted her Zanpakutō back to its original form and slowly made her way in front of the fallen Captain.

"If you're wondering why I've reverted back," She said. "It's because I've opened up all of the wounds that I found, and the only way I can injure you now is by using my sealed Zanpakutō. At this point, I could just leave you to die from blood loss, but I'll make it quick instead."

Akane raised her blade to deliver the killing blow when suddenly she had to adjust her positioning to deflect the incoming attack. She turned to see a short, petite female Shinigami holding the attacking blade. The Shinigami had her black hair cropped in a bob that hung about her face and several strands that hung down past her purple eyes. She wore the normal Shinigami uniform and fingerless white tekkō that were very similar to Byakuya's, except her's extended up past her elbow. Her uniform sleeves had been shortened to just reach her upper arms and she wore a Lieutenant's badge around her left arm. It had the kanji for the number 'thirteen' above a symbol of a snowdrop flower. Her entire Zanpakutō was white with a guard resembling a circular snowflake and a long white ribbon that came from the pommel.

When Akane moved back to put distance between the two of them, the Shinigami moved to stand in front of Byakuya, clearly trying to protect him. Akane noted the furious expression on the new Shinigami's face and realized that there had to be a connection between her and Byakuya.

"Who are you?" Akane asked. "And who is he to you?"

"My name is Kuchiki Rukia," Rukia replied. "I am the…Lieutenant of Squad Thirteen."

"Well you're not in the same squad," Akane continued, noting the pause Rukia gave before admitting to her Lieutenant status. "You still haven't answered my second question."

"He's my brother."

"Then you should take him and leave. One brother has already died today, and if he doesn't receive medical attention soon, your's will die as well. Though I guess when everything is said and done, it won't matter."

"Not until I've finished what he started."

Akane glanced at her arm which wasn't fully healed yet. It had ceased healing itself when she reverted her Zanpakuto back to its sealed state. She thought that she'd be able to take care of Byakuya then go and heal her wounds, but she wasn't expecting interference. She knew that she was currently at a disadvantage.

"Tsugi no mai, Hakuren," Rukia said as she stabbed the ground. Where she stabbed, a circle of ice appeared. She then stabbed the ground four more times in front of her in a semicircle. Ice particles began to flow from the puncture marks and build up at the tip of her blade. She took a battle stance before releasing the ice build-up in an avalanche of cold air toward Akane.

Akane used Hirenkyaku to move to her right just before the blast hit where she had been standing. The ground where she had been was now flash-frozen. She looked back at Rukia who was already headed for her, blade at the ready. Akane had to put her sword up to block, but with only one hand, her normal strength was halved at the moment. She could feel her block starting to give. She only had a few seconds before Rukia would overpower her. She was quite surprised at the power behind the tiny Soul Reaper.

Suddenly Rukia took a foot to the face and flew to her right. Akane turned to see Maiko standing there, her own sword in hand. Maiko reached out her other hand to help Akane to her feet.

"Thank you," Akane said before putting her sword in front of her. "Bankai: Ayatsuru Higanbana." Her sword dissolved once again though it only covered the hand that existed this time. Her other arm began to heal itself again. Akane and Maiko both turned to face Rukia who was already back on her feet. Rukia held her sword out in front of her.

"Bankai," Rukia said. "Hakka no Togame." Along with the release of spiritual pressure, there was also a freezing cold wind that blasted throughout the air. When it died down, Rukia stood there with not only her Zanpakutō's physical appearance changed, but her own as well.

She now wore a white, ankle-length Kimono with lined patterns. The robe had an attached ornate collar, edges, and shoulder design along with long, wide sleeves. There were long flowing ribbons tied at her back creating long loops. Her hair was now white with a half-crown of ice that was extended around the back of her head. Finally, she had a small ice-flower formation on top of her robe at the center of her chest, and her blade was now made of transparent ice. She looked hauntingly beautiful.

Akane and Maiko watched as a mist formed from where Rukia was and started to expand outward toward them. They began to back up, both wary of what might happen if they touched the mist. They could feel the cold emanating from the mist even without having to directly touch it. The two separated, Maiko going left and Akane going right.

Then, without warning, the mist flash-froze and there was a large pillar of ice in front of Maiko and Akane. They both used Hirenkyaku to get behind the pillar where Rukia was still standing. Since the mist was gone, they both rushed toward the small Shinigami. Akane got there first and reached out to touch Rukia. Her hand landed and a wound opened up in Rukia's stomach. But then Akane realized her hand was getting colder and looked down. It was beginning to freeze solid. She quickly pulled away before noticing that Maiko was still coming in for the attack.

"Maiko, stop!" Akane shouted. If it was almost anyone else, they wouldn't have been quick enough to pull back. Fortunately for her, Maiko's strength was her speed and her reflexes that went with it. Right before she could land her hit, Maiko used Hirenkyaku to move away. Unfortunately, when she did, due to the suddenness of it, she lost her balance and fell on her back.

Rukia put her hand on her now open wound. It was bleeding pretty heavily. She glanced over at the two enemies. She also looked back to Byakuya who was still lying on the ground and was also bleeding. She knew that he needed medical attention quickly, but Squad Four was busy taking care of the Shinigami in the streets below. She also knew that her Bankai had a time limit or it could seriously injure or even kill her if she wasn't careful. She looked back at Akane who was staring at her arm. The freezing that started at her hand must have moved up by now.

Akane, realizing what was happening, knew she alone couldn't do anything about it. She thought about cutting off her affected arm, but her other arm hadn't fully healed yet so she couldn't wield a blade with that hand at the moment.

"Maiko, we have to retreat," Akane said. "There's nothing either of us can do if we can't touch her."

"I…you're right," Maiko replied reluctantly. They both used Hirenkyaku to retreat until they found themselves back next to Sadao.

"You need to cut it off," Akane told Sadao. Sadao did so without hesitation. Akane let out a yell of pain, but quickly muffled it. Sadao knew that Akane wouldn't ask that if she didn't have a good reason. Also her Bankai would continue to heal her even without both hands since the healing aspect of her Bankai was actually throughout her entire body. She couldn't hurt anybody without her hands as the offensive aspect was through those, but she wasn't entirely helpless either.

"She's dangerous," Akane said, breathing heavily. The three watched as Rukia's ice pillar crumbled.

"Her Bankai is, yes," Sadao responded. "But that's about to disappear. If you look at the ice around her, you can see it slowly starting to melt. I could be wrong, but I feel that's an indication of her reverting back to normal. Besides, it doesn't matter. You took care of another one of their Captains as did Takeo though it appears he has his hands full at the moment with another one." They both glanced over at the battle going on between Zaraki and Takeo.

Zaraki seemed to be on the offensive and didn't appear to be letting up. In fact, he was being over-aggressive and Takeo was taking advantage of it. Every time there was an opening, Takeo would make another slash in Zaraki's body but the large Captain didn't appear to be fazed in the slightest. There weren't any visible cracks in Takeo's armor either, so at the rate they were going, Zaraki would bleed out long before he did any actual damage to Takeo. Zaraki finally stopped and took a step back.

"As fun as this currently is," he laughed. "Let's make it more so. Drink, Nozarashi." The only reason Takeo wasn't blown away from the release of spiritual pressure was due to his Bankai. When the dust cleared, Zaraki stood there holding a massive axe/war-cleaver hybrid with a long, cloth wrapped handle. The top of the blade had a brass cover with a green tassel attached to the backside. Zaraki moved his head side to side, cracking his neck and grinning.

Zaraki raised his new weapon above his head before bringing it down on to Takeo. Takeo moved to block it with his blades. Nozarashi cut clean though Takeo's blades and slammed down onto his shoulder. His surprise when his blades broke grew even more so when he saw a crack appear in the armor around his shoulder though it didn't break apart.

Takeo moved backward, putting distance between himself and Zaraki. He also managed to put Kensei in between the two of them as well, hoping that Zaraki would hesitate with another Captain in the middle. Zaraki simply walked up to Kensei and lifted him up by the collar.

"You're in the way," the Captain of Squad said nonchalantly before tossing Kensei close to the edge of the tower.

"What the hell was that for?" Kensei shouted after he landed.

"Like I said, you're in the way." Zaraki turned back to Kensei. "I hope you have other tricks up your sleeve because this fight will be over with much quicker than I was hoping."

"You would toss your fellow Shinigami to the side? A fellow Captain? How are you a Captain of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads?"

"Easily. I killed the guy before me and took his place."

"How barbaric."

"Are you going to keep talking or are we going to fight? Though it appears you don't have a weapon."

Takeo looked at his broken blades. It was true. He currently only had his fists to use against the Captain. Also he knew that more hits like the last one, and his armor wouldn't last long. But until Sadao told him to retreat, he would continue to fight. He took a battle stance.

"It's not over yet."

All of a sudden, a few things happened. The first was that three figures came shooting out of the Senkaimon. The first figure, a short, white-haired Captain, landed near second figure moved to the side after entering, taking note of the battle before her. And the final one shot straight for Sadao who turned around to block the incoming attack. Sadao stared into his opponent's rage-filled, determined eyes.

"Hello, traitor," Sadao greeted Hiroki.