Chapter Fourteen

Duality

"I will give you one chance to surrender," Sadao said.

Hiroki pushed back off of Sadao's blade and landed a few meters away next to Makoto. He stared around the battlefield and took in everything. He could hear the shouting and screaming below the tower as Chiyo's clones continued to invade throughout the streets. He saw Byakuya and Kensei laying on the ground with the former not moving and blood pooling around both. He noticed that Akane's right arm was completely gone as well as her left hand, though that appeared to be healing itself. He realized that there were two people he didn't see.

"Where are Sho and Hitoshi?" He asked Sadao.

"I don't know what's going on with Hitoshi," Sadao answered. "He went off to fight. As for Sho…" He glanced over at Maiko, and Hiroki followed his gaze. Maiko's expression was one of depression and she couldn't even look up at Hiroki.

"No," Hiroki whispered.

"Sho's…gone?" Makoto asked hesitantly.

"Yes," Sadao replied. "He's dead."

Sho was never Hiroki's favorite. The constant taunts coupled with the multiple fights they had made sure of that. But he was hoping to get here before anyone died. The only person he was truly intending to stop was Sadao. He figured if he stopped the leader, the rest would stop as well. But he was too late. One of the Splintered was gone, and another was possibly gone as well. He suddenly had a sinking feeling that they wouldn't be the last. He shook his head to clear those kinds of thoughts.

It's not too late for the rest, he began to think. If I stop Sadao now, maybe the invasion will be over. He glanced over at Hitsugaya. The small Shinigami was talking to a female Lieutenant Hiroki hadn't seen before. The Lieutenant nodded, then lifted Byakuya over her shoulder which Hiroki was a little surprised at due to the difference in size. She then used Shunpo to move to the exit of the tower before leaving. Hiroki also noticed that, where she had been standing, there was a large patch of slowly-melting ice. He'd have to ask about that later though. He turned his attention back to Sadao.

"I'm going to stop you," Hiroki said bluntly.

"You tried before," Sadao responded. "A little over an hour ago. You failed. Are you saying that you became strong enough within that one hour to stand up to me?"

"You're damn right I did," Hiroki smirked before holding his blade in front of him with two hands. Sadao began to take a few steps back out of caution. The other Splintered noticed him do it and followed suit. Makoto also moved away.

"What did you do?" Sadao directed the question at Makoto.

"I taught him how to achieve the strength to stop you," she responded.

"Bankai!" Hiroki shouted. The release of pressure was so strong that even Sadao had to put an arm in front of his face to block the wind. He then had to close his eyes as an extremely bright golden glow came from where Hiroki was standing as if the sun was now in front of them. When the glow subsided, they all returned their attention to the nineteen-year old.

His hair and robes had turned completely white. His robes had also become sleeveless and were tighter around his body. The white ribbon that came off the pommel of his Zanpakutō was now wrapped in a criss-crossing pattern up his right arm to his shoulder. The Zanpakutō itself appeared to be the same though the golden letters that appeared on its blade read, "Shifuku."

"Shifuku no Kamihime," Hiroki stated after everything had settled down.

"So you have become stronger," Sadao said. "It doesn't matter though because you're still not-." Suddenly he had to lift his blade to block Hiroki's incoming attack. Hiroki was faster now than he had ever been before, using a much more Reishi-laden Hirenkyaku to do it. Sadao then noticed that Hiroki's blade was starting to cut into his own. It was now his turn to push back and put distance between them. He glanced at the chip that was now in his sword.

"So you can use all of your blessings at once and at a much higher level than before," Sadao said calmly. "Very well." Hiroki watched as Reishi from the clouds above flowed down onto Sadao's sword, covering the edge of the blade in a fine line.

"You're not the only one with tricks," Sadao continued. "Let's see if you can do that again."

"My Shikai gives me the usage of one of three blessings," Hiroki said calmly. "Speed, Sharpness, or Hinoken. And you're right. I can use all three at once now." He set his sword aflame with blue fire to prove his point. "But there's a reason Shifuku is shown on my blade."

"Are you saying that you have a fourth blessing?"

"I do, but it's reserved for later. For now, I'll beat you into submission." Then Hiroki lunged for Sadao. When both blades collided, so did the Reishi surrounding them and there was a small explosion though it didn't affect either of them. They both shot into the air, their blades colliding over and over again. With each connection, there was another small explosion sending mini shockwaves throughout the air. They also moved incredibly quickly. Only the Captains, Maiko, Takeo, and Akane could keep up. Makoto and Chiyo only saw flashes in the sky with each explosion.

"They're so fast," Makoto muttered.

"And to think he only figured out he was a Splintered a few days ago," Chiyo chuckled.

"He is not one of us," Akane replied, glaring at Chiyo before turning her gaze on Makoto. "After all we've done, this is how you repay us. Though I guess it's to be expected. We did ask you to betray the one you have feelings for after all. If you had asked me to betray Sadao, I would rather die."

"I do not have-," Makoto began to shout.

"Oh, shut up," Chiyo interrupted. "It's clear to see you like Hiroki. But that doesn't matter right now. If you haven't noticed, there's three of us against you. Oh, and don't try to use your Bankai. It's made of Reishi and Sadao's Bankai would just absorb it, so we wouldn't be trapped for long." Somewhere in the air, Hiroki and Sadao connected blades again.

"I wasn't planning on fighting any of you anyway," Makoto shot back. "I just want this fighting to stop, and for us to go back to the World of the Living before any of the rest of us die."

"You know that that's not going to happen, right?" Akane said. "Think of all of the Shinigami we've already wounded or killed down below. They'll never let us just leave."

"That's what Hiroki is trying to do though. He's trying to stop Sadao, and stop this pointless invasion so none of the rest of you join Sho."

"Be quiet," Maiko snapped, her hands clenched and anger evident on her face. "You don't get to say his name. Not after you betrayed us as well. If he was still here, he'd be devastated at your actions." Another explosion rocked the air.

"Enough," Akane yelled. "I will take care of Makoto." Both of Akane's arms had regrown, and both of her hands were once again covered in the red from her Bankai. She began to move toward Makoto who reached down to grab the hilt of her own sword.

"She is not your opponent," a voice called out from behind the group of women. They all turned to see Hitsugaya standing a few meters away, his own sword in hand.

"Maiko, Chiyo, keep an eye on Makoto, and make sure she doesn't interfere," Akane ordered before moving toward the Captain. "We've already taken care of three of your fellow Captains. If you surrender now, I'll make your death quick and merciful."

Hitsugaya gripped his hilt with two hands, "Bankai: Daiguren Hyōrinmaru." Ice flowed from his Zanpakutō and up his right arm where it formed into the shape of a dragon's head, encasing his arm, and hand, and hilt of his sword in ice. The ice then continued over his shoulders where wings of ice sprouted from his shoulders, met each other then continued down into a serpentine tail. The ice continued down his left arm, encasing it and his left hand while forming a claw at the end of it. The ice even went down both of his legs, and his feet were also encased which, like his left hand, ended in claws. And even though all four of his limbs were covered in ice, the only part of his robes that were covered were his right arm. Finally, three purple flowers of ice, each with four equal petals, appeared to float just behind him.

"I assume that that means you're rejecting my offer," Akane said. "Very well." She lunged for him, her right hand outstretched. Hitsugaya moved his blade to block Akane's hand. Upon connection, Akane then moved her left hand around, but Hitsugaya moved one of his wings to block that as well. Akane had to move back.

"Guncho Tsurara," Hitsugaya said and an array of ice daggers formed in front of him. He swung his blade which caused the daggers to fly right at Akane. Akane turned her body and put her hand in the air to block any headed for her face. One of the daggers slammed into her hand, but the rest flew past her, eventually hitting the ground and shattering.

She grunted as she pulled the dagger from her hand which started to heal. But Hitsugaya wasn't waiting. When Akane looked up from pulling out the dagger, Hitsugaya blade was headed for her. She just barely managed to use Hirenkyaku to move away.

I can't break through his ice to hit his body, Akane thought. I'm faster than him, but that doesn't matter if I can't touch him. Just my luck to have to face another ice-type. I wonder how Takeo's doing? She glanced over and her eyes widened at what she saw.

Takeo had his arms up, continuously blocking incoming swings from Zaraki. Every hit cracked his armor more and more. If the onslaught continued, he would be defeated in only a few minutes. Akane glanced up at where the latest explosion from another connection occurred between Sadao and Hiroki. She sighed.

"Sadao!" She shouted. "We have to use it!"

Sadao and Hiroki crossed blades again, each trying to push back the other. Sadao glanced down at Akane and then over at Takeo. Damn it all, he thought. He moved and put distance between himself and Hiroki.

"Fine!" Sadao shouted back at Akane before using Hirenkyaku to land on the ground. "Takeo, Akane: it's time. I was hoping to save this for later." Takeo and Akane also used Hirenkyaku to stand near Sadao.

"What's going on?" Hitsugaya called up to Hiroki who was still in midair.

"I don't know," Hiroki replied. "But be on your guard."

"I hope it means they get stronger," Zaraki grunted. "Because so far, I'm not impressed."

"There is something that only Splintered can accomplish," Sadao said. "Due to our heritage, we can manipulate both the Reishi within and without. You see this in our Zanpakutō and our Quincy abilities. Unfortunately, normally, each half of our heritage tries to vie for control over the other. But what happens when both types of manipulation become perfectly in sync: when our heritages combine and work together. That is when a Splintered can achieve Duality."

Suddenly a pillar of Reishi formed around each of the three Splintered veterans, and an explosion of spiritual pressure also came from each. When it all settled down, the three stood there. The first noticeable thing were the wings on each of their backs that appeared to be made from Reishi. They each had an identical set with one of the wings black and batlike and the other was blue and feathery. The black wing seemed to be pulling Reishi from within their body, circulating it throughout the wing, and looping it back into the body while the blue wing appeared to pull Reishi strands from the air into itself and then sending it into various locations on the body and beneath their feet. Where the blue wing sent Reishi, blue lines formed across their body almost like circuits.

And while that was where the similarities stopped between the three, each had their own individual differences. Takeo's armor had repaired itself, and his blades had reappeared though they appeared to be made from refined Reishi instead of metal. Meanwhile, tendrils of various sizes and made from Reishi appeared from the tips of each of Akane's fingers. Finally, Sadao's appearance remained unchanged, but above, in the clouds formed from Sadao's Bankai, Hiroki noticed blue streaks of refined Reishi that resembled lightning striking throughout the sky.

"This is known as Duality," Sadao said. "It enhances our Bankais, but that is not where its greatest strength lies." Suddenly Sadao was in front of Hiroki who could barely react in time to block. "It's in the fact that we no longer have to concentrate to manipulate Reishi. The wings on our back allow us to do it subconsciously. Oh, and you're welcome to try and absorb them. But you'll find that they regrow pretty quickly due to the flow that they use." Sadao was now behind Hiroki who couldn't turn in time and was kicked in the back, sending him flying into a rooftop nearby.

"Hiroki!" Hitsugaya shouted, but was not given the opportunity to go check on him as Akane was quickly upon him. She did the same lunge as before which the Captain blocked. Akane once again followed it up by moving her left hand around to strike the Captain, and he once again moved his wing to halt the attack. Instead of Akane moving back, she stayed and the tendrils from her fingers began to make their way over Hitsugaya's wing and toward his body. This time, he had to disengage and jump back.

Hitsugaya recreated the ice daggers and once again sent them toward Akane. Akane moved her hand and the tendrils whipped through the air. The Captain's eyes widened as the tendrils cut through the daggers, slicing them into pieces which lost their momentum and fell to the ground where they shattered. Akane used Hirenkyaku to get behind the Shinigami and reached for his head. Suddenly the tail that was attached to his wings shot back toward Akane who had to dodge at the last moment to avoid being hit.

The Captain spun around, and while Akane put her hand to block the incoming sword attack, it never came. Instead, Hitsugaya used his momentum to slam the edge of his left wing down onto the Splintered member. Akane grabbed it with her right hand, and her arm started to shake a little as she tried to prevent the wing from crashing into her. The Captain then used that moment to try and stab her, but she held up her left hand to stop the blade. The Zanpakutō stabbed clean through the palm of her hand.

A burst of ice came from where Hitsugaya had stabbed Akane, and Akane's hand was now encased in ice which almost immediately shattered along with her hand. She had to retreat again. Once she was a few meters away, one of the tendrils on her remaining hand moved and touched the stub where her left hand used to be. It began to heal, and Hitsugaya watched as it healed at over three times the speed it had before. Before the Captain could react, his opponent's hand was fully formed again.

"That's impressive," Hitsugaya stated.

"Not as much as you think," Akane smiled sadly. "I can only regrow entire limbs with my Bankai, and only my own. When we fought each other twenty years ago, I saw…well, it doesn't matter what I saw. I couldn't help heal anything more than cuts and bruises. If my Bankai was better, I could have done so much more for them."

"You seem to want to help heal people, not kill them," Hitsugaya replied. "So why are you helping with this invasion?"

"Because of what I saw twenty years ago. If we hadn't been rejected by your fellow Shinigami, we wouldn't have fought each other, and we would be living happily in our home."

"We told you. We have no records of you asking us for help, not even twenty years ago."

"I saw Masumi talking to Shinigami. I know that you knew about us, and yet nothing on our end changed. That tells me that either the Shinigami we talked with didn't report or you're lying. There would be no reason for that Soul Reaper to not report it. If anything, he would've told his superiors where to find some half-Quincy men and women. We did know about your…distaste for the Quincy, so while there was a risk we'd be attacked, at least it would have shown that you knew about us. But to just ignore us completely, as if we weren't worth your time." She clenched her hands tightly in anger.

"What Shinigami did you talk to? What was his name? What Squad was he a part of? If we knew this, we could find him and figure out what happened."

"I never learned his name as I wasn't privy to his and Masumi's conversation. But I did overhear something about him being in Squad Five."

"Squad Five? Twenty years ago, that would be…" Hitsugaya's eyes widened in horror and realization. "Wait!" He shouted, but Akane was already lunging for another attack.

"We're tired of waiting!" She yelled in response as she continued to send tendril after tendril against Hitsugaya who had no choice but to dodge and retreat with every attack. "We waited for twenty years! That may not be a long time for a Shinigami, but for us, who are a part of the World of the Living, that's a significant amount of time."

"Damn it, stop!" The Captain yelled, trying to stop the onslaught. "I think I know what happened twenty years ago!"

"Enough with the excuses," Akane shouted back. "Right now, the only thing you should worry about is defending yourself."

Damn, Hitsugaya thought. I know he's someone involved in all of this, but how do I convince them to stop fighting? Especially when one of them just has to be Captain Zaraki. He glanced over at the nearby fight when he thought of the other Captain.

Zaraki was still fighting as wildly as before, but Takeo was holding his own. Everytime Zaraki would chip away at Takeo's armor, it would almost immediately repair itself. Meanwhile, Zaraki couldn't break Takeo's blades like he had before, and everytime the swords cut the Captain, a new wound opened up. Though that didn't appear to slow him down. Instead he just laughed and continued fighting.

"This is a hell of a lot more fun now," Zaraki shouted while grinning maniacally. While he couldn't cut Takeo's blades in half like before, everytime he hit, a notch would appear in one of the Splintered's weapons. Though that was quickly covered up by Takeo absorbing more Reishi. The Captain couldn't get an advantage on his opponent.

Zaraki brought his blade down, and Takeo put his left arm up, using one of his blades to block the incoming attack while simultaneously stabbing his other blade through the Captain's stomach. Zaraki coughed up some blood, but then reached out with his left hand and grabbed Takeo's right wrist. Takeo tried to break free from the grasp but found that he couldn't. Zaraki then started to put pressure on Takeo's arm and blade using his Shikai weapon. Takeo watched as the Shinigami's weapon started to slowly slice through his blade. He pushed his other blade further into Zaraki's stomach hoping the pain would force the Captain to release his grip, but it was to no avail.

Zaraki's blade was now completely through Takeo's other sword, and was currently pushing down on his armor. He could even see cracks starting to form. He watched as it tried to repair itself, but the armor couldn't keep up with the damage it was receiving. He knew that if he didn't do something soon, his armor wouldn't hold and he'd probably lose his arm. He glanced at Zaraki's grinning face and wondered at what kind of monster he was facing.

Suddenly a bolt of the Reishi lighting from above slammed into the front of the Captain, coming down through the narrow space between the two combatants. Zaraki was thrown back from the impact, forcing him to release his grip on Takeo out of surprise. The Captain stabbed his weapon into the ground to keep himself from flying any further back. Blood came flowing out of his stomach wound where Takeo's blade had been. He and Takeo both glanced up into the sky where Sadao was hovering in midair, staring down at them. Zaraki then, seemingly ignoring the large wound, lunged for Takeo to continue the fight.

Sadao's attention was quickly diverted from the fight below him as Hiroki appeared behind the Splintered leader, his sword coming down in an overhead arc. Sadao quickly turned and blocked, then motioned with his hand. More lightning came down and hit Hiroki, sending him careening toward the ground below. He managed to use Hirenkyaku at the last moment to avoid impact then used it again to get back near Sadao for another attack. Their blades connected again.

Makoto, Chiyo, and Maiko could barely keep up as they watched the three simultaneous battles. The fight between Akane and the Captain of Squad Ten looked evenly matched though the Captain seemed to be more focused on defense. Anyone watching the fight between Takeo and Zaraki would think that Takeo was winning due to all the injuries the Captain had, but Zaraki continued to attack. Finally, the fight between Hiroki and Sadao seemed incredibly one-sided. While Hiroki could dodge most of the lightning that Sadao threw at him, it quickly became abundantly clear who had the advantage as Sadao seemed quicker, stronger, and more experienced in swordplay.

"We have to stop this," Makoto pleaded to the other two women. "In case you haven't noticed, we haven't dealt with all of the Captains yet. And who knows how many allies they may have as well."

"We told you that it's too late to stop this," Chiyo chuckled though there seemed to be no humor in it. "Besides, if we win, Sadao said that he'd help me find my mother."

"And we have to pay them back for killing Sho," Maiko added, glaring at the battles in front of her.

"I understand you're upset," Makoto began.

"No, you don't!" Maiko shouted. "You don't know what it's like."

"I don't know what it's like? Maiko, we've all lost somebody close to us. If we hadn't, we wouldn't be in this group. The Splintered is not just a group of people who are half-Shinigami, half-Quincy. We are a group of people who have suffered, and the suffering brought us together. But now Sadao is weaponizing our trauma to make us fight."

"You wanted to fight too! Back when we planned all of this, you agreed. So why are you so against us now?"

"Because…" Makoto hesitated, glancing up at the battle between Sadao and Hiroki. "Because I don't want anyone else to die."

"It's a little late for-."

"Do you think they'll let us go?" Chiyo interrupted Maiko. Her question wasn't sarcastic either.

"I don't know," Makoto answered. "We did injure a lot of them. Possibly even killed them."

"Not 'we'. Only I did that. To be honest, I didn't want this fight either. Like I said, I'm only doing it because of Sadao's promise, but…" Chiyo looked into the sky. "I'm not sure we'll even win this now. All they have to do is stop me, and our army will be gone. I didn't think this battle would be this…long. Of course we were all expecting you to keep those three Captains contained."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be. Honestly, I'm tired. Tired of fighting and betrayal. But I'm mostly tired of having to run from place to place. Do you honestly think that Hiroki could convince them to let us go?"

"I don't know. But he has a better chance of doing it than the rest of us."

"You realize that Sadao won't stop, right? Even Akane and Takeo might not. They've been through too much and waited too long to surrender now."

"I know, but if you get rid of your clones, the rest of the Gotei Thirteen can help stop them. Probably without killing them too."

"Are you seriously thinking about this?" Maiko asked.

Chiyo just nodded, "I'm sorry Maiko, but it's over. Revert." She spoke the command, and the Reishi rays from her Zanpakutō gradually stopped and all of her clones, one by one, dispersed into clouds of Reishi before drifting off.

"I guess that's that then," Maiko said sadly before turning to Makoto. "I guess all we can do now is hope you're correct." She just stared at the ground.

Makoto turned to Chiyo to thank her before noticing something coming in from behind. Makoto quickly moved forward, throwing Chiyo aside. Makoto's eyes widened as she stared at Sadao who's blade was through her stomach. Behind Sadao and moving toward him, though not quick enough, was Hiroki shouting something she couldn't make out.

"I don't suffer traitors," Sadao said before removing his Zanpakutō.