Chapter Fifteen

Penitence and Sacrifice

The world seemed to slow down for Hiroki. He had been battling Sadao when they both noticed Chiyo's clones disappear. They had looked over at Chiyo who appeared unharmed. Hiroki had then glanced back at Sadao who had a furious expression on his face. It was the first time Hiroki had seen the man so expressive with his anger. Suddenly, the Splintered leader had shot past Hiroki who hadn't reacted in time to stop him. He had moved to catch up but it was too late. Sound disappeared, and Hiroki's vision narrowed as he watched Sadao plunge his blade into Makoto's stomach.

Hiroki hadn't realized he had shouted her name until after his shout was over. Sadao removed his blade and moved back a few meters, allowing Hiroki to move to where Sadao had been. He dropped his sword and caught Makoto as her legs buckled. She put a hand to cover her stomach.

"Hiroki?" she asked. "What happened? I don't…why…"

"Don't talk," Hiroki replied, keeping his focus on her face and not on the injury. "Save your strength. We're going to get you help. They have a Squad for healing. We just have to get you there."

"Don't worry about me," she coughed. "Just stop Sadao. No matter…" Her eyes slowly closed.

"Makoto!" Hiroki shouted, water forming in his eyes. "Wake up. Don't do this. Makoto!"

"You won't have to mourn long," Sadao said from behind Hiroki. "After all, you'll see her again soon."

Hiroki turned to Maiko, "You're the quickest out of all of us. Please go find a medic. Hurry!" Maiko just looked away from him, shame on her face. "Maiko?"

"She won't help you," Sadao said. "She now sees what happens to those who betray me. Besides, you arrived too late to save her brother. Why would she waste her time saving someone you care about?"

"That's enough," Hiroki responded through gritted teeth. He slowly laid Makoto on the ground who was no longer moving. He picked up his sword and stood up, holding it tightly.

"Her death is your fault," Sadao continued.

"She's not dead."

"If you had just joined us, then she wouldn't be-."

"SHE'S NOT DEAD!" Suddenly, a pillar of Reishi surrounded Hiroki and an immense blast of spiritual pressure was released. Since Makoto was lying right at Hiroki's feet, she was within the small safezone from the blast. The rest weren't though. Chiyo and Maiko were physically pushed over a meter backward while Sadao, even in his Duality form, had to raise an arm to shield himself.

When it settled, Hiroki stood there with the same wings as the other three that were using Duality. Other than that, the only other difference was the white ribbon that had wrapped itself around his right arm was now around his left arm as well, stopping at his wrist. It had also turned from white to gold and was shining slightly.

"How did…?" Sadao began to ask, eyes widened, before composing himself. "Doesn't matter. It doesn't seem to have enhanced your Bankai. You will still die. Just like Mako-."

Sadao didn't see the fist that connected with his face until knuckle met nose. He was blasted several meters away, crashing into the rooftop of another building. Before he could realize what had happened, Hiroki was standing above him, sword ready to come down. Sadao quickly put out his hand and several bolts of Reishi lightning from above came flying down, slamming into Hiroki and shooting him backward giving Sadao time to stand up.

Hiroki regained his balance right as Sadao sent even more bolts flying toward the nineteen-year old. Hiroki summoned a massive amount of the blue flames around his blade and sent it toward the bolts. Where they collided, the projectiles vied for control before combining and creating the largest explosion yet. The building that they had been on was obliterated. When the smoke cleared, the two combatants launched at each other, Sadao with lightning streaking behind his blade and Hiroki with flames from his weapon. The blades connected, one trying to force the other back.

Sadao managed to force Hiroki's blade down enough to send a bolt of lightning into his chest which shot Hiroki back a few meters. This was followed by Sadao using Hirenkyaku to get behind Hiroki to slash him in the back, but Hiroki managed to use Hirenkyaku himself and get high above Sadao. Hiroki then sent another more of the blue Reishi fire toward Sadao in a column. Sadao motioned with his hand and the fire began to be absorbed into the sky through his Bankai. By the time it reached him, it was only a small flame which Sadao knocked to the side with his sword. Sadao then held up his hand again and Hiroki had to start dodging several Reishi bolts. He had to use Hirenkyaku multiple times across the sky to accomplish this. As he did, he glanced down at Hitsugaya's battle.

The Captain of Squad Ten was starting to breathe harder as he kept an eye on Akane. Akane sent all five tendrils from one of her hands toward the Shinigami. Hitsugaya managed to block them by moving both of his wings in front of himself. He then moved backwards since he knew those tendrils would just snake through any opening in his defense. He glanced up at the petals behind him. Half of them had disappeared leaving six remaining.

"I'm sure your little flowers mean something," Akane said. "Probably a time limit, but it doesn't matter. You won't get the chance to use whatever it is." She sent all ten of her tendrils this time. They all slammed into Hitsugaya, breaking through his wings and slamming into his body. He had a look of pure shock on his face.

"Finally," Akane muttered.

"Finally what?" a voice said behind her. Her eyes widened as she turned to see Hitsugaya standing a few meters behind her completely uninjured. She looked back at the Captain she thought that she had hit. The entirety of that Captain suddenly turned to ice and shattered.

"How?" she asked, her eyes narrowing in anger.

"Zanhyō Ningyō," he replied. "A perfect ice clone. Though I can only use it once so I tend to save it for the end of battles."

"Except this isn't the end."

He held his sword out, pointed directly at Akane, "Sennen Hyōrō." A dozen thin ice pillars several meters tall surrounded Akane. Hitsugaya turned his blade counter-clockwise and the pillars came rushing in, slamming into Akane and trapping her within one very large pillar of ice.

"I'm sorry," Hitsugaya said as another one of his purple petals shattered. "I should have done a better job of trying to convince you to stop." He turned to look at the battle still raging between Zaraki and Takeo. Then he heard a cracking behind him. He slowly turned and saw the ice in the pillar beginning to crack throughout. Suddenly it shattered, sending pieces of ice of various shapes and sizes crashing toward the ground. His eyes widened as he saw Akane standing there breathing heavily. Her hair was completely disheveled now, and there were rips in her robes where Hitsugaya could see cuts and bruises though they were healing themselves.

"I told you this isn't the end," she said, her eyes full of fury. Another of Hitsugaya's petals broke apart and disappeared. He had four left.

"How?" Hitsugaya asked.

Akane motioned, bringing attention to her tendrils, "I can solidify these, though it requires quite a bit of effort. Shall we continue?"

"Even though you survived, you're in no shape to continue fighting," the Captain replied. "If you stop, I can tell you what happened twenty years ago."

"I'll be the judge of whether or not I can keep-," She interrupted herself by taking a step and stumbling.

"You may not have any actual injuries, but you're exhausted." Another one of the petals broke. "And I should warn you: once the last of these disappear," he pointed at the remaining petals, "you will die."

Akane took a deep breath and Hitsugaya could see much more Reishi than before flowing into her blue wing. She stood up and no longer looked exhausted.

"Thank you for allowing me the time to regain my breath," Akane said. "But now, we will finally end this battle." Hitsugaya watched as her tendrils shot for him. He moved his wings to block but then saw the tendrils begin to harden. She was solidifying them again, and he couldn't do anything to stop it. Half of them missed him, but the rest crashed through his wings and hit him. He felt two of them go through his right shoulder and two more go through his left leg. The fifth went through the left side of his chest.

Akane brought her tendrils back leaving Hitsugaya bleeding and his wings broken. He looked up at her as his wings began to reform. Unfortunately, his injuries couldn't do the same as his wings so he continued to bleed. Suddenly he felt even more cuts form around his body. Akane saw his confusion.

"That's right," she said. "You haven't actually seen what my Bankai can do, have you? Though I guess you did see the aftermath from that one Captain. He had a lot of past injuries, and from what I felt, so do you. Even some life-ending injuries. It's a wonder how you survived those."

"All you've told me is that I can't allow you to touch me again," Hitsugaya replied as he readied his sword in front of him. Another one of the purple petals shattered. "All I have to do is wait until those final two disappear. But as for you, I will ask again. Please stop fighting. Twenty years ago, we had a different Captain for Squad Five."

"It doesn't matter what Captain you had," she responded. "All that matters, the only thing that matters, is that we were ignored. And we won't be ignored any longer."

"That Captain was a traitor," Hitsugaya blurted out. "He probably didn't want your group interfering with anything so he didn't report you."

"Then why not report us and have us killed, or why not just try to kill us himself? If we're dead, then we wouldn't be able to interfere no matter what. Explain why he wouldn't do either of those things."

"I…I don't know."

"So you claim to know what happened twenty years ago, yet you can't tell me the reason it happened. It doesn't matter if he was a traitor or not. He was still a Captain of the Court Guard Squads, thus the Soul Society is guilty by association." Another of Hitsugaya's petals broke leaving him with only one now.

"I will ask one final time for you to stand down. If you do, then I'll talk with-."

"No." Hitsugaya watched as Akane solidified her tendrils once again. "Your most powerful attack couldn't kill me, so now you're pleading to stop the fight."

"You're wrong." The final petal shattered followed by another release of Hitsugaya's spiritual pressure along with a freezing wind. When it settled, Hitsugaya stood in a small crater of ice and was now tall and a bit lanky, now resembling an adult instead of his normal child-like appearance. His wings, tail and the ice that had encased his limbs were gone, but there was still ice covering his shoulders, forearms, and knees. Because of his new size, the opening in his robes was spread a little further apart, revealing his chest and the bottom of his robes came up halfway up his shin. It would have looked a little ridiculous if not for the calm, serious expression on his face.

"I thought you already released your Bankai?" Akane asked hesitantly.

"I did," the Captain answered. "This is my completed Bankai."

"Then how are-?"

"I had to age myself up to be able to control it. Though the aging is temporary, it'll last long enough."

"You're Bankai couldn't stand against me before. Increasing its power won't change anything." She shot the tendrils toward the Captain. He simply placed his sword at his side, the tip of the blade touching the ground.

"Thank you for giving me enough time to build up," Hitsugaya replied. "Shikai Hyōketsu." It was over in less than a second. Akane had been flash-frozen, tendrils included. Hitsugaya walked up to her and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"I'm sorry," he said before giving her a small push. She tipped over and when she hit the ground, much like an ice sculpture, she shattered.

"Akane!" Takeo shouted from across the tower. It was the first time Takeo had shouted during the fight. He went to move toward Hitsugaya, but Zaraki jumped in front of him.

"Did you forget that you're already fighting me?" the Captain of Squad Eleven asked angrily. "No one else will interfere."

"Damn it, I have to-."

"To what? You and I both can see that she's dead. Now if you want to avenge her, you'll have to get past me." He brought his blade down and Takeo was forced to block.

"How can you still fight with all of your wounds?" Takeo asked.

"What's the point of getting wounded if you don't win?" Zaraki laughed before attacking from the side this time. Takeo blocked that as well.

"I don't understand, but I do know that you can't take too many more hits before you're done." As if on cue, Takeo pulled one of his blades from the block and stabbed at Zaraki, aiming for his chest. The Captain moved slightly so that the blade went through his shoulder instead. Zaraki jumped back which forcibly removed Takeo's weapon.

"Honestly, I'm starting to get bored," Zaraki said with a wide, evil grin. " So how about this: This will be my last attack. He placed his left hand below his right hand. Takeo realized at that moment that this Captain had been swinging this massive axe/cleaver with one hand. Though he wasn't sure how an extra hand would help, he knew that if this was to be the Captain's last attack, he'd have to put his all into it as well. He brought in a ton of Reishi through his blue wing and readied himself.

Zaraki lunged, his blade held high over his head. Takeo used Hirenkyaku to get behind the Captain and stabbed him through the back, right where the Captain's lungs should have been. Zaraki stood there, his weapon still above his head, and coughed up a large amount of blood which splattered over the ground in front of him. Takeo sighed, figuring that it was over. But it wasn't.

Zaraki suddenly turned. Before Takeo could dodge as he had used up most of his energy with his last Hirenkyaku, Zaraki's blade had already crashed through his armor at his waist and continued through his body. He blinked for a second.

"Oh," Takeo simply said as the top half of his body fell to the ground, quickly followed by his legs.

"That was fun," Zaraki laughed. The laughter soon turned into coughing and he fell face-first toward the ground where he remained unmoving, his eyes closed but with a large grin on his face. Because his eyes were closed, he didn't see Hitsugaya approach. The Captain of Squad Ten looked down at the Captain of Squad Eleven and rolled his eyes.

"I still don't know why you're like this," Hitsugaya said, then glanced over at the group of Splintered that still remained on the tower. Chiyo and Maiko were kneeling around Makoto, trying to stop her bleeding. Hitsugaya made his way over.

"Move," he demanded. Maiko and Chiyo both looked up at the Captain, tears on their faces.

"We won't let you kill her too," Maiko replied, her face red and serious.

"Ten minutes ago, you were ready to kill her for her betrayal. But I'm not here to kill her, I'm here to help before I revert back to my normal self." He knelt down and placed a finger on Makoto's wound. Ice froze over the opening. "That should stop the bleeding, but she still needs medical attention. Pick her up and follow me."

He stood up and walked away before either of the other two could reject his order. He headed back to Kenpachi and did the same then went over to Kensei who was still sitting at the edge of the tower. He just barely managed to freeze his wound before his completed Bankai wore off. There was a rush of cold air, and he was back to his normal size. Kensei winced as he stood up.

"I can walk on my own," he grunted. "Though it looks like you'll have to help me carry Captain Zaraki." He looked at Hitsugaya's wounds. The small Captain had several and they were still bleeding, but he ignored them.

"Looks like a lot of us are going to need some healing," Kensei added as he lifted one side of Zaraki.

"I can't tell if you're trying to be funny or not," Hitsugaya replied while lifting the other side. While both had managed to lift the unconscious Captain, it looked a little silly due to height differences.

"Let's go," Hitsugaya directed the command at Chiyo and Maiko who were both carrying Makoto and had just caught up to the three Captains.

"What about those two?" Chiyo asked, her eyes looking toward the sky. As soon as she finished her question, a massive blue pillar of fire shot into the air.

"We're in no condition to help anyone right now," Hitsugaya replied.

"And what's to stop me from killing the three of you right now?"

"Nothing really. Though if you do, there's nothing stopping the other Captains from killing you, so I guess we'll just have to trust each other." He began to walk toward the exit of the tower. He knew it was going to be a long walk.

Hiroki slammed into a rooftop. He slowly opened his eyes to see Sadao hovering above him, hand outstretched. Hiroki quickly used Hirenkyaku to move. Half a second after he did, several bolts crashed into where he had just been. He moved back into the air.

Hiroki had a plan. Unfortunately, that plan involved him having to get rid of Sadao's Bankai. Makoto had already told him what Sadao's Bankai was before they arrived which meant that somewhere in those clouds was the canopy of the Splintered leader's umbrella. The storm above that absorbed Reishi originated from that canopy. If he could destroy it, the storm would disappear. Of course that was easier said than done as everytime he moved into the clouds, he found himself having to dodge multiple bolts of Reishi lightning. He needed a way to find where the canopy was located.

He glanced down at the fights happening beneath him. He looked right as Hitsugaya flash-froze Akane. Hiroki silently cursed himself. He was hoping to avoid another Splintered dying, but he was too late. He looked over at the other battle raging. He saw Takeo stab Zaraki before Zaraki quickly bisected Takeo. Hiroki clenched his fist as he watched Zaraki and the halves of Takeo fall to the ground. He turned his glare on Sadao.

"Are you happy now?" Hiroki asked in a low tone. "Akane and Takeo are both dead because of you."

"You're wrong," Sadao replied. "I did not deliver the killing blow. Your Shinigami friends did. And when I finish you off, they're next."

"What's the point of still fighting? Akane, Sho, and Takeo are dead. Hitoshi is missing, and it looks as if Chiyo and Maiko have switched sides. You're alone, Sadao." Hiroki watched as Sadao gripped his hilt tightly.

"Maybe right now, but there are other Splintered out there that haven't been discovered yet. I will find them, and there will be a new group. But only after I finish you off. I cannot suffer traitors, or anyone new I recruit could get the same idea in their head."

"So you won't stop fighting?"

"Not until you're dead."

"Very well." Hiroki raised his sword above his head. He pulled in as much Reishi as he could; more than he had ever done before. He then willed the Reishi to his sword where it became the blue flames. Finally he released it all though not at Sadao. Instead, he sent the flames in another large pillar straight into the sky.

Sadao chuckled, "Are you stupid? My Bankai will just absorb all of that Reishi, further empowering myself. But go ahead: waste your energy."

Hiroki released the pillar into the sky for one reason. As the blue fire Reishi went through the clouds, it started to be absorbed into the storm clouds, yet it had one other effect: it forced the clouds to part momentarily. That's when Hiorki saw it: the canopy of Sadao's umbrella located far above him.

Sadao must have realized what was happening as he lunged for Hiroki the moment the umbrella top became visible. Hiorki was expecting that though as he used Hirenkyaku to zip into the air through the space that his Reishi fire had opened up. He had to be fast though, as it was rapidly closing. Sadao was sending bolts flying across the open space causing Hiroki to have to dodge every now and then. Fortunately, everytime Sadao tried to unsuccessfully stop Hiroki, it would slow him down instead. He finally stopped and used Hirenkyaku to catch up.

Hiroki was only a couple of meters away from the umbrella when Sadao grabbed onto one of his legs. Hiroki kicked, but Sadao refused to let go, and Hiroki could feel himself start to get dragged backward. He only had one shot at this. He released the grip on his sword, allowing it to fall some and the now-gold ribbon that was wrapped around his arm to untangle. He gave it a moment before grabbing the ribbon. He then, with all of his strength and some momentum, curved his Zanpakutō around. The sword flew through the air in an arc before meeting the canopy. The Sharpness blessing allowed it to cut straight through the canopy.

There was an explosion of spiritual pressure that originated from the now divided umbrella top. The explosion blew away the storm clouds, making the sky open again. Hiroki smiled but then realized that he was falling. He turned his body and managed to use Hirenkyaku to get to the tower's rooftop below. When he landed, he saw that Hitsugaya and the rest had already left. The only ones who remained on the rooftop that weren't dead were himself and Sadao who stood a few meters away.

"I suppose you think you've won," Sadao chuckled.

"Not yet," Hiroki replied. "There's one more thing that needs to be done."

"Oh?"

"Your punishment. My final blessing."

"You can certainly try," Sadao shouted before lunging for Hiroki. "My Bankai may be broken, but I still have my Quincy abilities."

Hiroki calmly held his sword out in front of him, straight up and down, before turning it one hundred and eighty degrees so that the tip faced the ground.

"Final Blessing: Penitence and Sacrifice," Hiroki commanded.

The blade of Kamihime glowed brightly before the Kanji for the blessing appeared on it. Suddenly four large blue Quincy crosses appeared in the air above Sadao. One slammed into his left hand, forcing it to the ground. Then a second hit his other hand causing him to let go of his sword. The other two slammed into each of his feet. He was kneeling on the ground while facing Hiroki.

"This is the first half of the final blessing," Hiroki said as he approached Sadao. "It forces you to kneel in repentance."

"It doesn't matter," Sadao said. "I'll just absorb it like with other Reishi."

Hiroki was silent for a moment before speaking again, "Did you know that there's an invisible string that connects spiritual beings that use Reishi Manipulation to the Reishi itself? It's how we can manipulate Reishi in the first place."

"What are you talking about?"

"Normally that string is invisible and intangible, even to those who can see Reishi."

"I asked you a question."

"The second half of my final blessing is called sacrifice though I'm not the one who sacrifices anything."

"Wait, are you saying you-." Sadao was interrupted as Hiroki made a slashing motion above Sadao. Sadao's eyes widened as he could no longer feel the flow of Reishi.

"Your Bankai is destroyed," Hiroki calmly stated. "And now you can no longer manipulate Reishi. You have no abilities to call on anymore." The Quincy crosses that held Sadao to the ground shattered but the former Splintered leader didn't move.

"Why not just kill me?" he finally muttered. He glanced over at the pieces of Akane and then over at the halves of Takeo. "Why not give me the same fate as my closest allies?"

"Because then it wouldn't be a punishment," Hiroki replied before resheathing his blade and reverting back to his original self. "And I'm not a killer. My purpose was to stop you, and I've done that. There's no reason to go any further."

"You're more ruthless than I originally thought," Sadao smiled sadly. As Hiroki stared as Sadao, Shunsui suddenly flash-stepped in next to them.

"I see that this fight is over," he said grimly. "Leave him to me, Hiroki. You should go see Makoto in the Squad Four barracks."

"Wait, is she-?" Hiroki began to ask, eyes full of fear.

"No, she'll live. But you should still go and see her."

"Thank you," Hiroki let out a breath in relief before using Hirenkyaku to leave the tower. He wasn't sure where the Squad Four barracks were, but with all of the injured from the invasion, he was sure he could find it quickly. When Hiroki had left, Shunsui moved to stand in front of Sadao.

"So you're the leader of the Splintered?" the Head Captain asked.

"Former," Sadao simply stated. He had moved back to resting on his knees.

"I thought I should tell you that we figured out what happened twenty years ago. I think you deserve to know."

Sadao remained silent.

"Twenty years ago, a member of Squad Five discussed things with your leader at the time before reporting it to his own Captain. His Captain at the time was Aizen Sōsuke. This Captain betrayed the Soul Society a couple of years ago though he had been working against us for decades before that. We assume that the squad member that had talked to you was killed to keep your existence a secret."

"How do you know all of this?"

"Because he told me himself. He's imprisoned here. I approached him when I had a hunch he was involved somehow." Shunsui sighed. "Turns out, I was correct."

"And what of me? Are you going to imprison me along with this Aizen?"

"No." Suddenly Shunsui was past Sadao. Sadao barely saw the Captain move. "Hiroki may not be a killer, but I'm more merciful." Sadao smiled right before his head rolled off of his neck, hitting the ground with a thud.