Chapter 42: Round 2

"You truly never knew me at all."

Kirara's words cut Natsuki as surely as her Zanpakuto would have. For a moment, all she could do was stare at the woman, stunned into silence. Kirara met her gaze with that same simmering fury that she'd felt from the moment Natsuki had tried to attack Haruki.

Then Natsuki's senses returned to her full force. She could feel her Captain fighting not too far from them, and she knew it was her turn to do the same. So she grit her teeth and raised her Zanpakuto as she dismissed Kirara's words. If the woman had decided to throw away their friendship, then she wouldn't cling to it.

She was Squad 11. Fighting was more important than anything else, and that applied to Natsuki just as much as it did any other member. She didn't say anything else. The time for talk was over. So instead, she charged in, straight towards Kirara, who blocked her Zanpakuto once more. However, this time the strength behind it made Kirara's eyebrows furrow as she felt herself being pushed backwards.

"Bounce, Tsuki no Usagi!" Kirara resisted cursing and instead pushed to the side as Natsuki's Zanpakuto began to glow. It grew larger and larger until it was as big as Kirara, if not larger, and slammed to the ground hard enough to embed itself deep in the tiles. "Special wartime orders, thanks to you Ryoka. We're freely allowed to release our Zanpakuto without repercussions," Natsuki sneered at her. Kirara didn't talk as she studied the massive Zanpakuto in Natsuki's hands. It was more of a claymore now, and pure white in every aspect.

Natsuki was serious this time, and Kirara was glad for it. She knew about Natsuki's Zanpakuto - she'd told her all about it a long, long time ago. Tsuki no Usagi didn't hold any special abilities - it was just a bigger, more powerful sword, but Natsuki was lethal when wielding it.

The loud crashing sound of her Zanpakuto smashing through the ground echoed for a large distance as Kirara dodged Natsuki's followup attack, somewhat impressed by how easily she was able to use the blade that was almost as big as her. There'd be no walking away if she took a proper blow from it, so Kirara knew she had to be careful. One wrong move and she'd lose a limb.

"Okay, okay," Kirara landed nearby, once again narrowly avoiding the massive blade. "If you're going to take this seriously, then I should too," she said, and Natsuki scowled at her.

"Your Hakuda isn't worth shit against my Tsuki no Usagi," she said loftily. Any other time, Kirara would have given it a try. But she had to stop Natsuki and catch up to Ganju and the others before anyone else found them. So instead, Kirara gave a faint smirk, and raised her Zanpakuto to point directly at Natsuki. "Wh…" Natsuki lost her confident look. All she could do was stare, unable to believe what she was seeing.

"Hakuda maybe, but this?" Kirara held her gaze evenly as a dark haze surrounded her. "Since you've never seen what my Zanpakuto is capable of, well…it might be worth something," she said. "Confuse my Enemies, Kokoro no Kage!" she then threw her Zanpakuto into the air. Natsuki followed its path, and as it reached its apex in the air, Kirara leapt up to catch it. The moment her hand wrapped around the handle, she vanished.

"What the hell? Now you choose to show off your Zanpakuto?" Natsuki demanded loudly as she looked around for Kirara. She'd completely vanished. "Or was it a trick to get away from me? Because you know I'm not going to stop until you fight me," she promised, before feeling the strange pressure that was now Kirara's Reiatsu. Instantly she whirled around, striking with her Zanpakuto, only to find nothing there.

"I know you won't," Kirara's voice came from behind her, and was followed by the sharp pain of a blade striking down Natsuki's back. She didn't cry out as she stumbled forwards, blood splattering the ground around her. "Consider this a way to get to know me," in the time that it took Natsuki to recover and turn, swinging once more, Kirara had vanished once more.

Natsuki's heart thudded against her chest as she tried to work out just how Kirara was moving around so erratically. There were too many places for her to hide, so Natsuki stood her ground and let Kirara come to her. Her eyes widened as she spotted Yumichika standing nearby. He was still worn out from his loss, but had tracked her down when he'd realised she'd gone to challenge her friend again. He stood nearby, not interfering as he watched.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Natsuki snapped at him. "You're too late, I'm going to-" she stopped and turned quickly as she felt Kirara rush at her, yet once again she had vanished in that time.

"What's this? You need a cheerleader now, Natsuki?" Kirara reappeared a short distance away, holding her Zanpakuto by her side. It hadn't changed as much as Natsuki's Shikai had, maintaining the same size, only with a wicked curve to it. Blood dripped from the tip from where she'd slashed Natsuki.

"Shut up," Natsuki spat. Kirara smirked, and Natsuki glared at her. "Why now? After all that time of keeping it secret, why would you show me your Zanpakuto now?" she demanded, and fought the words that threatened to follow it up. She'd already called Kirara a killer twice now. Something stopped her from throwing it out once again, even if Kirara had been the one to sever ties with her.

"I kept my abilities secret for a reason. If you used your brain for something other than fighting for more than two seconds, you might work it out," Kirara shrugged, and vanished once more. Natsuki cursed.

"Didn't trust me even back then? If I was that unbearable to be around, then why put up with me?" she demanded as she looked around. "You were plenty cosy with Captain Otoribashi back then. You could have just spent all your time with him, or even Captain Hirako-" Kirara appeared in front of Natsuki swinging her blade, and Natsuki just about blocked it.

"It's not always about you, you know," she said flatly, and when Natsuki shoved her away, Kirara vanished once again.

"This isn't much of a fight, so much as it is a game of tag," Yumichika commented from the sidelines where he watched, not interfering in their fight. "There's nothing beautiful about the way she fights at all," he said, and heard a quiet laugh behind him.

"There is no beauty in fighting, Feathers," Kirara had appeared behind him with a dangerous smile on her face. He whirled around quickly, not having sensed her approach. "Not for someone like me," she said, and vanished once again. Her Shunpo was incredible, and Yumichika couldn't keep up.

"Hey! I'm your opponent, remember?" Natsuki shouted, and cursed when she felt Kirara's presence once again. She was circling her, not moving any closer.

"I'm well aware," blood splattered from Natsuki's arm where Kirara caught her, dancing away as Natsuki aimed for a counter attack. "Don't worry. I won't harm your cheerleader. He's not worth my time if he can't even stop Ganju," Kirara laughed, staying within view this time. She lunged at Natsuki, who let out a growl and suddenly dropped her Zanpakuto with a loud metallic thud. Unprepared for the move, Kirara couldn't back up in time before Natsuki's fist collided with her cheek.

Barely managing to keep a hold of her Zanpakuto, Kirara was knocked off her feet and hit the ground, rolling along. She bit back a snarky comment, already having gone overboard with her comments as she taunted Natsuki. She needed to end this soon and catch up to the others.

"You're fast, but still can't take a hit," Natsuki said as she lifted her Zanpakuto again. Kirara scoffed, pushing herself back to her feet. She used Shunpo once more to vanish from sight, and Natsuki braced herself. This time, when she sensed Kirara rush her, she spun, bringing Tsuki no Usagi with her. She moved faster than the massive claymore seemed to allow, and Kirara winced as the blade caught her shin as she dodged just in time.

"That Shikai…I can't figure out what it does," Yumichika murmured to himself as he watched Natsuki defend herself. It wasn't looking good - she was holding her own against Kirara, but she was forced to retaliate in defence with counter attacks, when her true power lay in pure offence. And judging from Natsuki's own wary look, she couldn't quite work out what Kokoro no Kage's power was either.

Kirara took a breath from her next hiding spot, waiting for the right moment to strike. Her leg stung where she'd been caught by Natsuki's blade, and she berated herself for being careless. Natsuki might not be a Lieutenant anymore, but she was once, and Kirara doubted she'd let herself stagnate in the last 100 years. If she could just get her to drop her Zanpakuto, Kirara would win.

With another deep breath, Kirara darted out with more Shunpo, appearing so quickly around Natsuki that she created after images, all while her Reiatsu swirled and made Natsuki's head spin. Her senses were in overdrive, and she couldn't pinpoint just where Kirara was going to attack from.

Pain raked up her arm when Kirara managed to cut her once again, slicing up most of her arm so her blood started to soak her robes. Natsuki ignored the pain, and let go of her Zanpakuto with that hand to swing up, catching Kirara with a backhand before slashing upwards.

Kirara's eyes went wide as she felt the tip of the blade sink into her skin and cut through it, creating burning pain that almost forced a scream from her lips. For a moment, everything seemed to slow, and Kirara thought she might be in trouble.

Then her senses were ablaze, sharpening everything. Every little movement Natsuki made, Kirara noticed. In a beat, she sheathed her own Zanpakuto to launch herself forwards.

Natsuki had been convinced that her strike would have been enough to force Kirara backwards, having felt her move hit true. Blood flowed from the cut across Kirara's stomach that was by no means a shallow cut, staining her white top and dripping to the ground. Instead, she punched her hard in the stomach and spun before kicking up, catching Natsuki on the chin with her knee. It had seemed like Kirara couldn't take a hit, judging from how she'd fallen after one punch to the face. Yet now, she was fighting like a woman possessed, abandoning her Zanjutsu to fight solely with Hakuda, and it was nothing like before.

Natsuki couldn't even dodge the attacks that bombarded her, and a crunching feeling in her chest told her that a kick had broken at least a few of her ribs. Struggling to breathe, she fought back with a feral scream, managing to punch Kirara exactly where her blade had cut her. Her hand came back sticky with Kirara's blood, and she punched again just as Kirara did the same.

For a moment, it felt like they'd hit a stalemate. Each had a fist to the other's face, the impact enough to be felt nearby. Then Natsuki staggered away, and fell to the ground.

"Shit…" Kirara hissed as the pain started to catch up with her senses, and she put a hand to her stomach where blood was streaming freely. It was getting hard to focus with how much she'd lost, but she had enough left in her to call on her Kaido, closing the wound to stop the bleeding at the very least.

"No…you're not…getting away," Natsuki growled as she slowly got back to her feet. Kirara glanced at her, lowering her hand as a grim look crossed her face. A second later, she was back in front of Natsuki, kicking her hard enough to shoot her across the last of the courtyard so she crashed against the wall, smashing it to the point where she almost broke straight through it.

"Shit…" Kirara hissed. She'd meant to put enough force behind her kick to put her through the wall, but her injuries were catching up with her, and that strange focus that had allowed her to power through her injuries was already vanishing.

"You're not leaving," Yumichika called out, his own Zanpakuto drawn as Kirara started to walk in the direction that she'd seen Ganju and Haruki vanish. She glanced at him, having forgotten that he was even there. A true member of Squad 11, he'd stayed on the sidelines and just watched as Natsuki lost. She almost laughed.

"Has Natsuki told you much about me, Feathers?" she asked instead, lifting her gaze to watch him coldly. "For example, who I used to be?" with that question, Kirara was beside Natsuki, who was slumped against the wall unconscious, and drew her Zanpakuto again, pointing it at Natsuki. Yumichika's eyes narrowed with a wariness that told her exactly what she needed to know. "If you don't let me go, I'll kill her," Kirara said simply.

"You'd kill your own friend while she's out cold?" Yumichika demanded, baffled by the woman he'd been watching. He'd only come to make sure that if Natsuki lost again, she could be dragged off to be healed. "You know she stepped down as a Lieutenant because of you," Kirara stopped at that comment, and turned to him slowly. He watched her with an openly cold look.

"What are you talking about?" she frowned, not understanding.

"When Captain Zaraki took over, she requested to be given a lower seat. It was because you weren't there, and it took the fun out of being a Lieutenant," Yumichika told her what Natsuki had admitted one night after once again drinking way too much. At the time, she had said it was so Yachiru could take the spot, but the truth had been that she didn't care about the position.

"How Natsuki manages to be both perfect for Squad 11 and yet such a terrible fit is beyond me," Kirara muttered. She'd never even thought about Natsuki's reasonings for taking a lower seat.

"She gave you the honour of a no-holds barred fight, and yet you have the disgrace to threaten her now?" Yumichika's gaze was still cold, and Kirara arched an eyebrow at his words. He was too sentimental, just like her. It was almost funny. She let a cold expression settle on her face as she pushed the thoughts from her head.

"Here's the deal. I hate you Shinigami. I hate everything you stand for. Peace has made you indolent. You can't even handle a couple of Ryoka without falling apart. Three Lieutenants under arrest, a Captain only focusing on the strongest Ryoka among us, and someone manages to allegedly kill Aizen right under your noses?" Kirara scoffed. Yumichika just watched her without speaking, finding that he disliked everything about the woman standing there. He couldn't understand how this woman could be someone that Natsuki believed to be her best friend.

Kirara sighed when he didn't speak, and returned her Zanpakuto to her sheath. "I have no desire to kill anyone. Truly. But if I'm forced to," a cold look shone in her eyes. "I won't hesitate," with that, she was gone, and he didn't pursue her.

"Well, Natsuki?" instead, he looked at Natsuki, whose eyes slowly opened. "Do you think she's guilty?" he asked the question that he knew had been on her mind from the moment they had heard about Captain Aizen's death. Natsuki slowly got to her feet as every breath was agony, and Kirara's words repeated in her head.

"No," she said softly. "Yumi, I think something truly horrible happened a hundred years ago," Natsuki realised, and he frowned at her words. "And whatever it was, it's linked to whatever the hell is going on right here and now."

The rest of the way towards where Rukia was being held was quiet, with very few in sight. Any Shinigami who were keeping watch were knocked out - a telltale sign that the three had already passed through.

"Well, saves me some trouble," Kirara murmured to herself. She didn't stop, despite her aching, tired body that begged for a rest. She'd healed the worst injury, but she hadn't put too much effort into it, needing the energy to press on.

Finally she reached the Senzaikyu, finding the door wide open. Her eyes narrowed as she heard their voices inside, and landed lightly by the door. "You're just asking to be locked up inside with her, idiots, I-" Kirara stopped at the sight in front of her. Ganju was holding Rukia up by the scruff of her plain kimono, lost in his fury as both Hanataro and Haruki tried to pull him off.

"Kirara!" Hanataro cried out as he saw her. "Please, help! Ganju, he-"

"You…" Rukia breathed, staring at Kirara. "I know you. You were in Ichigo's class," she remembered Kirara.

"Ganju…" Kirara ignored them and slowly approached Ganju to rest a careful hand on his arm. "Talk to me. What's going on?" she asked him carefully. Her touch made his eyes dart to her, but his fury didn't quell.

"She's the one…she killed my brother," Ganju snarled, turning his attention back to Rukia. She looked resigned, as if accepting that he was going to kill her. Kirara gave her a hard stare, not seeing any denial in her expression.

"If someone like a Kuchiki killed Kaien, don't you think there's an explanation?" Kirara's question made both Ganju and Rukia look at her quickly.

"How do you know…" Rukia breathed, but Kirara ignored her.

"We didn't come all this way, risking our lives to kill her right here and now, Ganju," she focused on the man in front of her. "Ichigo trusted us to save her while he fights, remember? Do you really think Kaien would want you to stain your hands with her blood just for the sake of his memory?" Kirara's challenge made Ganju growl and turn to her.

"Why you-" he snarled, but when he met her gaze, some of the fury had faded. However, before Kirara could talk him down, someone else's pressure slammed into them, leaking through the open door to pass the Sekkiseki walls of the prison.

"Shit," Kirara was sure she had said that word more than anything by this point, recognising the angry, deadly Reiatsu that announced the arrival of another foe. She didn't need to turn around to know who was walking down the bridge straight towards them. She knew it, both from his brief visit to the World of the Living, and from long ago. "Byakuya Kuchiki," Kirara hissed as Ganju finally released Rukia, who looked as terrified as the others.

"Oh no, not him…" Haruki hissed as he took a step back, unable to stop himself. "Of all the Captains to find us here," he breathed, terror making his skin go clammy. Kirara had clamped her eyes shut, her back to the wall as she weighed out her options. So far, nobody she'd encountered held enough weight for Kirara's return to hold any merit. But a Captain, and the head of one of Four Noble Houses, was probably the worst.

"It's no good…there's no way we could win. Maybe we should just beg for our lives," Ganju gave a grim chuckle.

"What are you saying, Ganju?!" Hanataro ran in front of him, looking terrified. "Let's run away with Miss. Rukia!" he pleaded.

"You idiot! Do you see any way out?!" Ganju snapped at him.

"He's right," Haruki breathed, his hands shaking as he reached for his Zanpakuto. "Captain Kuchiki is blocking the only way out," he pointed out. The Captain had stopped halfway down the bridge, as if waiting for them to decide what to do.

"Are you telling me to risk my life for her?!" Ganju pointed at Rukia, who stared at him with wide eyes.

"No," Kirara's voice was quiet, but it earned their attention. She opened her eyes, and let out a resigned breath. "There's only one option I see for this. Ganju, you're a Ryoka. He'll kill you where you stand, Shiba or not. Hanataro and Haruki will be traitors in his eyes, and me?" her laugh was dark.

"Then what?" Ganju demanded, not understanding what she was thinking.

"Kirara, you can't!" Haruki on the other hand, seemed to grasp it. "You're injured!" he gestured to her beaten body, not having missed it when she had arrived.

"And Byakuya Kuchiki is far more powerful than any of you," Kirara replied. "I'll take him on, and you lot take Rukia and run. Find Ichigo," she told them, only for Hanataro to grab her arm.

"You can't!" he pleaded with her desperately, trying to hold her back. "I only got you back, you can't die now!" Hanataro pleaded with tears in his eyes. Kirara smiled softly, and patted his head.

"I knew you'd get all the personality in the family, kid. You've got a good heart, but if you want to save Rukia, then you have to let me do this," Kirara easily pulled out of his grasp. Before he could try to stop her, Kirara walked towards the doorway, away from the stifling feeling of the Sekkiseki suppressing her power.

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