Chapter 27 - The End of a Lonely Dream

Soul Society - Seireitei

"Stop," Hashirama said, turning to look behind them with a concerned scowl. "What on earth is that…?"

Nel felt it, too. An ocean of crushing spiritual power that felt both unmistakably Hollow, but also completely alien. She did not recognize it, however, so simply shook her head slightly, with a light shrug. It was far enough away from them that she did not feel immediately threatened, though whatever it belonged to was not something she wanted to come face to face against. She had never felt such potent reiatsu from anyone aside from Madara's resurreccion.

"Damn it." Ichigo's voice came from the small of her back, where his head hung. "That's Captain Soi-Fon fighting it. We have to go help her, or that thing's going to tear her to pieces!"

"No, Ichigo," Hashirama rebuked, firmly. "I will not allow you to assist the Shinigami. We will return Orihime's hairpin, rescue your friend - if they wish to be saved - and return to the Elemental Nations."

"What?!" Ichigo balked, fighting to wriggle himself free from Nel's shoulder. "But Soi-Fon is in trouble! We can't just sit back and watch her die-"

"Ichigo." Nel's tranquil voice was surprisingly firm as she gently set him down on his feet. Her piercing gray eyes locked onto his own. "These are the same people who ordered your friend's execution, right? The same people who locked you up in the middle of this deadly struggle for the crime of asking a few questions?"

Ichigo's heart sank as he processed Nel's words. They were tragically poignant. "But… They are my friends," he protested, weakly.

Hashirama placed a reassuring palm on Ichigo's shoulder, closing his eyes and inclining his head in sympathy. "As Madara was mine. Yet, we must consider their actions in the present context, free from the lens of past attachments. You have my sympathies, Ichigo, but the Shinigami have abandoned you. That fact should have been painfully clear from the moment Urahara used you and Orihime's inherent trust in them to strike against Madara."

Ichigo's lips twitched as his breathing quickened. He did not know how to respond to Hashirama. He was aware that he had been taken advantage of, but he couldn't possibly sit back idly, knowing someone he knew was about to be killed.

"Let's move," Hashirama ordered, gesturing to Nel, who made to pick Ichigo up again.

"No." Ichigo shook his head as he took a hopping step back. "I'm going to help Captain Soi-Fon."

Nel huffed in annoyance as she moved to pick Ichigo up again, though he simply hopped back further.

"No, Nel. I know it sounds stupid, but I have to help her," Ichigo said with a pained expression. "I'm a substitute Shinigami, and my remaining family, the Shibas, are here in the Soul Society. These are my people."

"How are you even going to get there?!" Nel demanded, pointing to his bound limbs. "And even if you do manage to make your way there, what do you expect to do without your zanpakuto? And with your arms and legs locked up like this? Even if you were at your best, you are no match for-"

"Soi-Fon was the one who placed these Sekkiseki bindings around me in the first place," Ichigo cut in. "She has the key, and she also has my substitute Shinigami badge. Once I'm free, I can just use the badge to enter spirit form, and Zangetsu will manifest as usual."

Hashirama let out a bark of laughter. "So there is a method to your madness, after all."

Ichigo shot him a glare. "For the record, Hashirama. Even if I had nothing to gain from this, I would still go and help Soi-Fon."

The Hokage's Clone crossed his arms, smiling wryly. "That still leaves the problem of how you're going to get to her."

"Help me, damn it!" Ichigo cried. "We're wasting time here. Every second we waste is one more second Soi-Fon has to deal with that monster!"

Hashirama raised his hands placatingly. "Alright, alright Ichigo. I'll take you there. If worse comes to worst I can give you a hand, too. Nel, you head on toward Orihime. We'll meet up with you as soon as we can."

"No way!" Nel exclaimed, pouncing onto Ichigo with a tight hug faster than he could react, "Whoever that Hollow is, it's much stronger than you - even in your Bankai. If you fight it, you'll just end up adding yourself to the casualties!"

"Peace, Nel," Hashirama placated in his soothing bass. "I may just be a clone, but I am confident that I can keep Ichigo out of harm's way."

Nel hesitated briefly, drawing in a sharp breath in preparation for further protest, before finally just sighing and nodding in resignation. She wanted to stay with Ichigo, but she knew how powerful Hashirama was, and couldn't imagine a situation where they couldn't at least get away. She didn't particularly want to join in a battle against a Hollow, to save a Shinigami, either.

Hashirama clapped his hands together, before placing them against the ground. "Wood Style: Wood Dragon Jutsu!" As the serpentine construct spiraled out of the earth, Hashirama tossed Ichigo atop its head before leaping up next to the boy.

"Hold on tight, Ichigo," he said with a smirk as the dragon began to move, carving out a trail of rubble in the Seireitei as it forged toward the direction of Ulquiorra and Soi-Fon's battle.

With Ulquiorra

As the green lance closed in on her neck, Soi-Fon closed her eyes, accepting her fate. The speed of this Espada in his fully released form eclipsed even her Shunko. There was no hope for her now, no point resisting - she was soundly beaten.

Yet, instead of pain, or the sweet embrace of death, Soi-Fon started as she felt a gust of wind brush past her exposed back and shoulders. An instant later, the sound of crashing rubble rang out behind her, and a familiar, albeit irritating cry of "Captain!" freed her from her fear-induced stupor.

"O..Omaeda…" She breathed, as the lumbering man touched down beside her, offering her a steadying hand. His morningstar chain was fully extended, and the Hollow was gone. The flail was obscured by a cloud of dust some distance away as it appeared to have struck true.

"Captain, are you alright?" The burly Squad 2 Lieutenant boomed. "Hang tight. The Onmitsukido were right behind me. They'll be here any second."

"Yeah… Thanks, Omaeda." Soi-Fon felt disgusted as she took his hand and pulled herself to her feet. Her disgust was partly because she had needed Omaeda to come to her rescue, but more so because for a few, crucial moments, she, a Captain of the Gotei 13, had been frozen in fear. She had truly sunken into despair, having played right into the sadistic Hollow's hands.

"Be careful, an attack from you is unlikely to put him down for long," she warned, and her Lieutenant nodded. They both carefully watched for any sign of movement from the rubble, until it suddenly exploded upward, and Omaeda stiffened.

"What's wrong? What do you see?" Soi-Fon asked, and when her Lieutenant did not reply, she felt a sudden wave of frustration overcome her. Now was not the time to be cryptic and dramatic. "Oi Omaeda, if you have something to say…" She trailed off as she saw a pool of dark liquid pooling at her Lieutenant's feet, and her blood ran cold.

Marechiyo Omaeda was tossed aside like a ragdoll, and in his place stood the bat like Arrancar. Ulquiorra was uninjured, having freed himself from the rubble and plunged his claws into the Squad 2 Lieutenant's chest faster than Soi-Fon's eyes could follow. He flared his wings as he shook his right hand dry, splashing thick droplets of Omaeda's blood across the pavement.

"Vice-Captain Omaeda!" Another voice cried out, and in an instant, scores of black-garbed stealth force members surrounded Ulquiorra.

Soi-Fon blanched. "No, get out of here. All of you!" She screamed.

At that moment, Ulquiorra retracted his wings again; the motion drawing the attention of every Shinigami present. He slowly surveyed the Omnitsukido surrounding him, before finally resting his gaze upon the downed Omaeda.

"So this is the extent of a Vice-Captain's powers?" He droned. "How pitiful. Are you all here to join him in death?"

Soi-Fon knew the abilities of each of her Stealth Force Elite; she had trained them personally, after all. Every man and woman present here was in the elite, first-responder branch of the executive militia.

Loyal to their last breath in service of the Gotei 13, each individual was deadly in their own right. They were also the same people whom Yoruichi had dispatched within seconds during the Ryoka incident before Rukia's execution, and Yoruichi had not been striking to kill. The Hollow they had surrounded had no reason to hold back; the Onmitsukido did not stand a chance.

When her forces did not move, instead drawing their own weapons, Soi-Fon cried out again: "Run, you idiots!" but she winced as her voice was drowned out by a series of sonic booms, followed by the cries of her men. Even while fully concentrating on the Arrancar, she could barely register his movements beyond a distorted, neon green blur as his energy lance tore through her forces with effortless ease.

As the chaos subsided, Ulquiorra twirled his lance, dramatically flaring his wings again as he set himself down before Soi-Fon. A light, clinking sound accompanied every step as each clawed digit drummed against the pavement. "Do you see now, Shinigami, how futile your resistance is?" He said, walking toward her slowly until he was practically breathing down her neck.

"Go to hell," Soi-Fon spat, readying Suzumebachi. She knew it was futile, but if she was going down, she would take one last stab at the bastard. She owed that much to her Omaeda and the Onmitsukido, at least. Then she did a double take, frowning in confusion as the death marks left by Nigeki Kessatsu were nowhere to be seen.

Seeing her eyes scanning across his body, Ulquiorra nodded in understanding. "I see you are looking for the tattoo that denotes my Espada rank. This is a form that not even Lord Aizen has seen before. It has not yet been ranked."

Soi-Fon noted as an afterthought that the large number 4 on the Espada's left pec had disappeared. So he is obviously stronger than number 4, is that what he's saying? She thought, not bothering to correct him.

"Bankai; Kokujo Tengen Myo'o!" Sajin Komomura's voice roared as his armored giant descended atop Ulquiorra. He was aiming to crush the Espada under its feet, though when Ulquiorra moved out of the way, a mighty blade slashed toward the Espada. Ulquiorra evaded the strike, driving himself into the air with a flap of his wings. He noted the 7th Division Captain's arrival with a light scoff.

"I am wasting too much time here," Ulquiorra mused, weaving through more upwards slashes from Kokujo Tengen Myo'o's massive katana. He had no concerns about the cumbersome Bankai; he did not doubt that it was powerful and could cause serious damage if he were to be struck by it, but it was barely faster than Yammy. He was confident that he could evade it without issue even with his eyes closed. Opening his pesquisa, he noted that the third, face-painted Captain that had been with them had not moved from where they had originally clashed.

He observed the two Captains below him as they exchanged some words, though he could not discern them from where he was. Deciding he needed to end this battle quickly and bring news of Gin's betrayal to Aizen, he focussed his reiatsu into his palms. Something primal within him desired to show the Shinigami exactly how outmatched they really were. As he readied his ultimate technique, he recalled Aizen's orders to kill as many ranking officers of the Gotei 13 as possible, and felt something akin to pride. He would end this mission having dispatched two Captains and a Lieutenant, he was sure of that.

Cupping his hands together by the fingertips, a bright green spark of light danced into existence between his palms. Drawing his hands out slowly, the light shaped into the form of another energy lance. This one, however, shone brighter than those he had conjured before; small trails of unstable, green reishi swirled off of it even as it waxed and waned with each breath of wind that blew by.

Both Soi-Fon and Komomura readied their Zanpakuto, Kokujo Tengen Myo'o mirroring his wielder's defensive stance, as Ulquiorra brandished his new weapon slowly. Then, with a quick twirl, he reversed his grip, holding it like a javelin, and cocked his arm back.

Soi-Fon screamed something incomprehensible, frantically looking around for cover as she realized it was a ranged attack, but it was too late. Sajin Komomura dove on top of Soi-Fon, and the giant followed suit, shielding them both with its armored body.

"You think that will be enough to protect you…?" Ulquiorra muttered. "You are mistaken. Lanza Del Relampago."

The words did not even reach the Captains' ears, as Ulquiorra's lance blazed toward them at a velocity that put sound to shame. In a flash, the world around them erupted in a crackling, blue explosion. Moments later, a shockwave stronger even than what Madara had used against the Captains flattened trees and rocks alike further than the eye could see, and a deafening sonic boom split the skies.

Ulquiorra covered his face with his wings, bracing as the tempestuous winds wailed around him. As the blast dissipated, he touched down, observing his handiwork with satisfaction. "I should remember not to set this off in such close proximity to myself in the future," he observed to himself.

The armored giant summoned by the Squad 7 Captain lay on its side, collapsed in an unmoving, smoldering heap. Neither of the two Captains were anywhere to be seen, and Ulquiorra assumed that they had simply been vaporized by his attack.

No sooner did that thought leave his mind than a metal chain shoot into his peripheral vision. It snaked around his torso and neck, its sudden appearance surprising him enough that he did not immediately think to evade.

Before he could open his wings, the chain snapped tightly against his body, binding them against his back. Ulquiorra instinctively reached up to claw at the chain around his neck, but found that he could not as his arms were similarly bound against his sides.

"Now, Captain!" A hoarse voice shouted from behind him. Fighting against the chain, he turned toward the source of the voice. The burly Vice-Captain that had blindsided him with his flail now had it wrapped around his own forearm, pulling as hard as he could to keep the Espada snared. He was bleeding freely from the chest, where Ulquiorra had plunged his claws, though his strength was mighty despite the injury. He must have been shielded from the blast by the armored giant! Ulquiorra thought, calculating the angle of where he had dumped the vice captain, and extrapolating it against where he had thrown the Lanza Del Relampago.

Ulquiorra acknowledged his oversight, but despite that, he found the fact that he had been caught off guard absolutely unacceptable. "You are a sneaky Shinigami, as cumbersome as you may look," Ulquiorra hissed, annoyance ripe in his voice as he struggled against Gegetsuburi's chain. The balding man did not respond, digging his heels into the ground as he pulled harder against the chain.

"Q-quickly, captain!" He stammered, voice heavy with exertion. His grip loosened slightly as his body was wracked by a coughing fit, fresh blood spurting from his mouth.

Ulquiorra used the respite to turn, facing the man directly. "Your Captain is dead, and you are not long for this world, either, judging by your condition. Why resist…?"

The man smiled, baring his bloodied teeth as he pulled tighter on his chain again. "Die, you arrogant Hollow."

Ulquiorra stared at him blankly, not comprehending where his confidence was stemming from. It was then that he noticed a strong wind had begun rushing around him again, in the direction of where his Lanza Del Relampago had struck. A slight pit forming in his stomach, he narrowed his eyes, craning his head backward to look in the direction of the fallen giant.

Almost on cue, the scorched arm of the giant was kicked aside, revealing the source of the strengthening gale. Ulquiorra squinted at the bizarre silhouette, and then recoiled in surprise. It was Soi-Fon, cloaked in a pillar of electric blue reiatsu. She was bloodied and battered, but very much alive, and even when the pillar of energy surrounding her dissipated, her reiatsu still steadily rose.

"Bankai… Jakuho Raikoben."

Her feet were planted wide apart, slightly bent at the knees, and her entire right side was encased within a thin, golden, cross-like contraption twice her own height. Thick black markings ran down the entirety of its length, and as Ulquiorra looked on, he heard a loud hissing, alongside what appeared to be eight tufts of steam being purged from its horizontal beam.

She lugged the contraption a few steps to the side, until there was no debris between herself and Ulquiorra. The object, though only about ten feet tall, appeared to carry a colossal amount of mass. The very earth beneath them shook with Soi-Fon's every step as she planted it into the ground before her like a crutch.

Ulquiorra turned to face the Squad 2 Captain, as he analyzed the situation. "I see. Your Bankai creates a dense, powerful shield. So that is how you managed to survive my Lanza Del Relampago," he noted, confidently. "In that case…" With a flick of his wrist, a second, similarly glowing energy lance materialized into his right palm. "Let me try again."

The Squad 2 Captain's determined eyes glinted through the slit of a similarly golden hued, metal faceplate as she locked onto her target. From where the steam had been released, eight golden, aerodynamic fins emerged, clicking into place as her spiritual pressure continued to soar. She had no time to be worried that Ulquiorra could generate another of his destructive lances; all she could do was count on Omaeda to keep the Espada pinned, and hope that her Jakuho Raikoben fired first.

It was then that Ulquiorra realized that the Captain had leveraged the horizontal, finned object until it was pointed directly at him, and his eyes widened in sudden recognition that he was in danger. Pressing his Lanza Del Relampago hard against the chains around his torso, he redoubled his efforts to free himself. The chains around him sizzled as they began to melt.

Right as he cut through Gegetsuburi, a new, crushing pressure from his back drove the breath from his lungs. Two hairy, muscular arms had reached around him, thick fingers locking across Ulquiorra's chest in a bear hug. He felt something pounding in his chest, as he squirmed against the grip. Thinking fast, he stabbed his lance backwards, and a pained groan told him he had struck true.

"Stay right there. Don't move." He said to Soi-Fon as he worked on freeing an arm. "I would rather not set this off near myself again."

He would feel the warm blood from the gravely wounded Omaeda slick against his back. The man's strength faltered briefly, allowing him to free his wings, but his arms and the rest of him was still trapped. As Ulquiorra kept his eyes trained on the petite Captain before him, he saw pained sympathy flash across her eyes as he drove the spikes in his wings into his assailant's back.

Omaeda grit his teeth as pain exploded in his upper traps. His arms were burning with exhaustion, and his body was being pulled apart by the talons embedded inside him. He clenched his teeth hard, roaring with conviction as he shoved all thoughts of his own wellbeing from his mind. He knew he was a goner, so instead focussed only on tightening his already crushing grip around his foe. Ulquiorra squirmed harder, eyes wild in alarm, now, but Omaeda's grip held firm.

"You talk too much, Hollow," he wheezed, blood seeping freely from his mouth through his punctured lungs. Seeing the rear of Jakuho Raikoben erupt in a fiery conflagration, Marechiyo Omaeda felt relief that his service had finally come to an end.

He knew that he had been a lackluster officer; in fact, it was open knowledge to the entire Gotei that his own Captain despised him. However, at that moment, as Jakuho Raikoben left her cradle, Soi Fon's eyes met his own, glistening with respect as she brought her hand to her temple in a final salute. Omaeda smiled, staring victory in the face as the missile rocketed toward them. For the first time in his tenure as the Squad 2 Lieutenant, he was proud of himself, knowing that he had lived up to his father and played a crucial role in the elimination of one of Aizen's Espada.

With Starrk

"So you don't like fighting, and don't have any qualms with us… So why," Kyoraku huffed, pausing as he dived beneath another Cero, "Why fight for Aizen?!"

Starrk allowed Lilynette to recover as she fired another volley of Ceros, but he knew from the lack of explosions that none of them had struck true. "Because," he answered with a grunt while sidestepping a flurry of stabbing strikes; "Even if I don't enjoy it, I am strong. And those who possess power should fight for the sake of those without."

Kyoraku disengaged briefly, confused as he retreated a safe distance with a shunpo. "Are you saying you view Aizen as someone 'without power?'"

Starrk shook his head, chuckling at the misunderstanding. "No. Of course not. I'm talking about my brethren." His smile faded. "The countless, innocent Hollows in Hueco Mundo who struggle and fight for their lives for every waking minute. The very same Hollows that you Shinigami hunt and kill with impunity!" He dashed forward with a Sonido, and as Shunsui prepared to defend himself, Starrk doubled his speed, leaving a series of afterimages around the Squad 8 Captain.

"Impressive moves. I know a girl who can do something similar. She's a Captain, too, you know? A little petite, but boy is she a looker," Kyoraku said, not intimidated by Starrk's display. "She'll be in charge of locking you up before your interrogation."

"You're not trying to kill me?" Starrk said, firing Ceros toward the Squad 8 Captain from all directions.

"You're the Primera Espada. I'm sure we could extract some useful information from you regarding Aizen. But if you make it too hard, then I'm afraid I might just have to kill you."

Starrk narrowed his eyes. Ceros were clearly not working. "Don't get ahead of yoursel-"

"Bushogoma!"

Starrk stopped his assault instantly, dodging away as twin blades of wind sliced toward him. "So you could keep up with my speed, huh? That's a problem."

"I can see you well enough," Kyoraku replied, rubbing the back of his head. "Though I don't know about keeping up. You avoided my Bushogoma, after all."

"Hm."

"Back to what we were talking about before… You're a powerful Hollow - the most powerful, in fact, according to your rank," Kyoraku corrected himself. "So why do you care about what happens to other Hollows? Don't you all kill and eat each other in a bid to grow stronger?"

"I have not consumed a single Hollow in my conscious life," Starrk began, his voice thick with a surprisingly human amount of emotion. "But I have killed more Hollows than you could possibly imagine… And not because I wanted to. Lord Aizen opened my eyes to the possibility of companionship. He alone showed me that existence was not a bleak and lonely hell. He alone accepted me, asking for my allegiance."

Shunsui Kyoraku's eyebrows shot up. "That's it? You fight for him because he asked you to?"

"A Shinigami like you could not possibly understand the crushing solitude of millenia."

"Millenia, huh? So you're an old dog like me," Kyoraku mused, scratching his stubble. "It mightn't be quite as long in the years as you, but I've lived a while, too. Just like any other old soul, I've paid my dues in pain and loss." His voice grew sympathetic. "Aizen doesn't care about you, Coyot-"

"Do not waste your breath, Captain. Nothing you could ever say or do could make me trust you, and even if I did, I would never turn against Lord Aizen," Starrk interrupted. "Your Gotei 13 was formed to keep the order and balance of Souls between here, Hueco Mundo, and the world of the living."

"Indeed."

"But you kill us Hollows, going so far as to form battle parties to hunt even newborns," Starrk continued. "We do not hunt you. We only hunt to survive. Where is the balance in that?"

Kyoraku could see where this was going. He sighed, shaking his head helplessly as their words had reached another impasse. "Your 'newborn' Hollows can sometimes be multi story buildings in size, and have an appetite to fit. Are we meant to just let them feast indiscriminately?"

"And that is why Lord Aizen seeks to combine our worlds. Arrancar do not have the instinctual hunger that enslaves regular Hollows. Give us the Oken, and these difficult dilemmas are struck from existence." Starrk's words almost had a pleading tone to them, now. "Every living being can exist on the same plane… There will be balance, true order!"

"That is not order, or balance." Kyoraku narrowed his eyes. "That is chaos. The dead and Hollow must not mingle with the living. Aizen will be destroying the cycle of life. I'm afraid I cannot allow such a thing."

"There must be compromise in any regime, but one thing is clear to me," Starrk admitted, his guns dissipating into a pack of hundreds of blue, reishi wolves. "The Gotei 13 is what it is because of us. The existence of Hollows is what fuelled the growth of your military."

Shunsui Kyoraku looked above. A shadow had fallen over them, courtesy of a thick formation of clouds passing over the sun. He smiled.

Two, glowing blue reishi swords materialized in Starrk's hands, and he slowly wrapped his fingers around them. Raising his reishi swords in a perfect mirror to Kyoraku's own stance, he narrowed his eyes when he saw his foe smiling. "We built the Gotei 13, Captain. At the price of our blood, our lives and our very souls." He sank lower into his stance, gathering his reiatsu. "And we shall tear you down; at equal cost. Then there will be balance."

"You are terribly, terribly mistaken, Coyote Starrk." Kyoraku sighed, stabbing sideways into the cloud's shadow.

Before him, Starrk fumbled, groaning in surprise as the tip of Katen Kyokotsu's blade shot out from his chest, directly above his hollow hole.

Seireitei - Squad 4 Barracks, Infirmary

Orihime was in the process of gratefully accepting her hairpin back from Nel, when the door was violently flung open. Gin Ichimaru burst into the infirmary, Shinso extended, its tip trained at Nel's throat.

Only seconds earlier, he had seen the Arrancar entering the same room, which Isshin confirmed was where Rangiku was being held. He had stopped his strike only because it did not appear that Nel was there to harm anybody.

"Damn it, Ichimaru. Grab a hold of yourself," Isshin cried as he, too, barged inside the room. "Nel is a friend. Let her go."

None were more shocked by their entrance than Nel herself. As Gin slowly retracted Shinso, she gulped. "L-lord Ichimaru?" Before she caught herself, steeling her gaze. "No…Gin Ichimaru. I hear you sold out your comrades."

"Gin? Is that really you?" Rangiku croaked from her bed, and at the sound of her voice, Gin scrambled to her side, forgetting all about Nel.

"I'm here, Rangiku," he said gently, habitually lifting his hand to place on her arm. He stopped himself, however, when he noticed just how bandaged up she was. "Mayuri Kurotsuchi…" He muttered, eyes shining dangerously. "He's a dead man."

The reunion was interrupted by a deep rumbling, however, that soon escalated into a full blown earthquake. Gin held onto Rangiku's bed tightly, leaning over and shielding her from debris that rained from the ceiling as Nel protected Orihime.

"What's going on?!" Orihime asked frantically.

"...That's Ulquiorra. Cuatro Espada." It was Gin who replied, smiling slyly. "Don't think he ever particularly liked me. So he was hiding that kind of power all along…? What could have prompted him to bring it out now?"

From the open door, they had a full view of a huge, neon green explosion, moments before howling winds wreaked havoc with the loose papers and lighter objects in the room. Isshin, the only one among the five who was not preoccupied, swiftly dashed to the door and pressed it shut. He wore a grave look on his face.

"Nel… I don't know what possessed you to come into the Seireitei alone, but judging by your behavior, you're not helping Aizen, are you?"

"...No, I'm just here to return Orihime's hairpin," Nel answered sheepishly. "I didn't come alone, though. Hashirama created a clone to come with me, and we just broke Ichigo out of prison."

Isshin nodded. "I believe you. So where are they now? Why isn't Ichigo with you?"

"Well, Isshin…" Nel looked distinctly uncomfortable at what she was about to say, but she took a deep breath, bracing herself for the news she was about to relay. "They went in Ulquiorra's direction once they sensed who he was fighting against. Apparently someone called 'Soi-Fon', who has the keys to the special stone cuffs Ichigo was in."

Isshin's face paled. "My son's locked in Sekkiseki, and he's heading towards that? Damn it." He glanced between Gin, Rangiku and Orihime, and then at the door, helplessly torn as to what he should do.

"Captain. It's okay - go and help Ichigo. Gin will protect us," Rangiku said softly from her bed.

Orihime yelped when Gin turned toward her, accidentally meeting the silver haired man's gaze. She averted her eyes quickly, but something drew her to do a double take. The former Squad 3 Captain's eyes were open; beautiful, azure orbs shining with sincerity and determination as he nodded. "I'll protect the girls. I swear it. Just make sure you bring the key back for Rangiku, too."

Isshin scowled at the implication that Soi-Fon would be dead, and considered how much he could really trust Gin. His mind screamed at him 'not at all,' but that was based on his knowledge of the man before today. Recent events have forced him to acknowledge that, at the very least, the outward image Gin had portrayed during his time as Captain of the 3rd Division was a facade. He didn't know nearly enough about the man's motives to trust him under normal circumstances, but his son was potentially moments away from death if he hesitated in indecision. And so he chose to place his faith into the misguided, lovestruck man before him.

"Gin. I'll hold you to that," he said as he turned to leave.

"Wait," Nel said. "Are you sure you should go to them alone?"

"I should be fine," Isshin asked, raising an eyebrow. "Besides, isn't Hashirama there, too?"

"Let me come with you. Just to be safe."

Isshin frowned. Leave Gin alone with Orihime and Rangiku…? His first thought was that it was madness, but then he considered that perhaps it was for the better. Nel was clearly put off by Gin's presence, and Gin likely would be on guard and icy toward the former Espada, too. Truth be told, he was fairly confident based on what he could sense that he could defeat Ulquiorra, but if any reinforcements arrived, he might be in trouble. Having Nel with him certainly couldn't hurt.

"Alright, but let's hurry. We've wasted enough time as is." With that, Isshin and Nel disappeared out the door with their respective flash steps, toward the direction of Ulquiorra and Soi-Fon's battle. No sooner had they left than a second explosion and resulting earthquake hit the infirmary, further destabilizing the instruments in the room.

"Another one?! What's going on?!" Orihime exclaimed, losing her footing as the ground shook. She grabbed ahold of Rangiku's bed to steady herself.

Gin looked out toward the direction of the battle with a slight smirk. "That feels like Captain Soi-Fon's Bankai. Impressive. I thought she would have just rolled over and died, with how powerful that previous attack was."

"Gin, please," Rangiku sighed.

As Orihime looked down toward her, she realized that she had again forgotten to continue her treatment once Gin and Isshin had arrived.

Then, as she extended her arms to summon her Soten Kisshun, a black, gloved hand grabbed them. Gin immediately drew Shinso as a dark haired, wooden figure clad in red, plated battle armor slowly rose up from the ground.

"Joining the Shinigami, now, are we?" Madara Uchiha asked, voice laced with contempt. He was behind Orihime, so she did not know whether he was talking to her or Gin, but she responded anyway.

"I'm healing a wounded friend." She didn't feel fear, despite the oppressive amount of reiatsu Madara was projecting. She knew this man. She'd dined and drank with him, and she trusted him. She was glad he was here.

"And what about you, Gin Ichimaru?" Madara asked, voice impassive as he continued to hold onto Orihime's wrists.

"Whatever do you mean? Rangiku is an old friend of mine, too. That-"

"Silence," Madara ordered, and Orihime grimaced as the pressure on her wrists became painful.

"You set us up. Delivered us squarely on a silver platter to the Shinigami," he growled lowly. "Yamamoto himself confirmed as much."

Gin blanched. Could Captain Commander Yamamoto possibly have been… He extended his senses north, and to his confusion, felt the Head Captain's reiatsu still locked in battle with apparently no opponent. Then how is Madara here?

Striking those questions from his mind, his breathing quickened, mind scrambling to find a way to navigate this situation. "Madara. I can explain everything to you, after we heal Rangiku and get out of here. I was originally only going to take some of the lower ranked Espada here to weaken Aizen's forces. You were never meant to be a part of this."

Madara let go of Orihime and crossed his arms, drumming a finger on his bicep. "So even the realm of the dead is infested with backstabbers and traitors. Your pathetic ilk follows me like the plague." He looked down at Rangiku, tilting his head slightly before recognition dawned on his face, and he began to laugh.

"What's so funny?" Orihime asked.

"So the hand of fate finally decides to gift me a morsel, hmm?" Madara said. "You will not heal this Shinigami, Orihime. She was the Shinigami who almost killed me when I first awakened as a Hollow. There was no question asked… no consideration for the confused state I was in. Only blows laced with killing intent, fuelled by mindless, Shinigami prejudice."

Gin's eyes widened in realization as he recalled the Squad 10 report on where Madara was first discovered. A seated officer had been injured, and Rangiku had confronted the Hollow before he escaped via garganta.

"Come, Orihime. In a moment of clarity, the solution to my Infinite Tsukuyomi has presented itself to me," Madara continued, opening a garganta as he spoke. "Let us return to the Elemental Nations. I would extract the One Tails from his Jinchuriki and have you heal him. If your powers can prevent his death, then perhaps Hashirama and I need not stand as enemies, after all."

He turned to Rangiku, then, leaning menacingly over her bed. "And you…" He said, staring into her defiant eyes. "You will die a slow, painful death, in retribution for all the Hollows that have been claimed by your sword. Let your ashes lay as a warning to all Shinigami who would strike indiscriminately against us. Tsukuyomi."

Rangiku stiffened, before growing limp as the Genjutsu took hold. Madara was not done, however, as his eyes glowed even brighter red, boring into Rangiku's soul with his Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan. "Amaterasu."

Rangiku screamed, thrashing helplessly as the black flames erupted all over her body, eroding it with horrific speed. Its sinister tongues licked across her bandages, clothing and flesh alike, leaving behind a trail of soot in its wake.

It appeared to those watching that only a few seconds had passed before her body was consumed by the Amaterasu, but in those mere seconds, she had suffered its burning agony for three entire days, crucified upon a barbed cross within the Tsukuyomi.

As the smell of burning flesh permeated the small infirmary room, Madara walked into his garganta. "Come, Orihime. Gin, I will hear your explanation now." Orihime was aghast; she collapsed to her knees, eyes wide in horror as she covered her mouth with her hands.

Madara looked over his shoulder emotionlessly as he saw Orihime not moving. He turned back toward his garganta with a sigh. He didn't have time for this. "Come, girl. The sooner I revive the ten-tails-"

Madara froze as he felt an extremely familiar sensation of coldness spreading out from his chest. Orihime, who was directly between Madara and Gin, also stiffened, and as Madara craned his neck back, grimacing in pain, he saw a sliver of thin metal connecting himself and Orihime. Grabbing the tip of the blade that had speared him in the back, his eyes followed it all the way through Orihime's abdomen, and back into the hilt in Gin's hand.

Gin Ichimaru's eyes were empty, and his mouth was wide open in a wordless cry. The woman he had dedicated his everything to for the past 110 years had been burned alive before his very eyes. It had been so sudden. So meaningless and so ruthlessly casual, as if Madara had done the same thing hundreds of times before.

As he watched Rangiku's body desecrated by the black flames, seeing her helplessly thrashing against her restraints, he had been frozen in shock. His mind had refused to process the reality of it until all that had remained of his love was a pile of ashes upon the infirmary floor.

In that one instant, Gin's life as it had been became void; in that one instant, he was reborn as a vicious avatar of vengeance with one singular goal - the death of Madara Uchiha.

Even Aizen no longer mattered. Aizen had merely stolen a fragment of Rangiku's soul. Madara had taken all of her. She would never smile again. Never call his name longingly or disappointedly. From that point on, Rangiku Matsumoto had been reduced to nothing more than a memory. Madara had taken everything from him, and he would return the favor.

As he released Shinso into its Bankai state, he shot the god-killing spear into Madara's back, conveniently using Orihime to conceal its trajectory. Madara needed Orihime for something, and from what Gin could remember, he had displayed some affection toward the girl. For that, she could die, too.

Retracting Shinso, Gin dashed behind Madara with a Shunpo, digging his fingers into the puncture wound on the Arrancar's armored back. "Kill. Kamishini No Yari."

Madara's eyes bulged as the flesh in his torso melted away. He could not roar in pain, as he no longer had lungs to do so. He could not turn to face the killer who had stabbed him in the back. The only thing he could do was glare into the gaping mouth of the Dangai, his jaw working uselessly as his vision slowly faded to black. The garganta closed before him, spitting his dying body back into the Squad 4 infirmary room.

Gin decimated Madara's body, slicing it into ribbons in a flurry of strikes. "Hado No. 73 - Soren Sokatsui!" He hissed as he disintegrated Madara's remains with the kido.

A flash of light from behind him caught his eye, and he turned to see the tell-tale orange glow of Orihime's Soten Kisshun. The wound he had given the girl was non-fatal, but he would rectify that presently.

Appearing before the girl with a Shunpo, Gin picked her up by the neck, and squeezed. His own, hate-filled blue eyes locked into Orihime's frantic hazel ones, and in the back of his head, his own words to Isshin only minutes ago echoed accusingly.

"...I'll protect the girls. I swear it…"

Orihime struggled to speak, but she could not make a sound as Gin had already crushed her throat. The silver haired man screamed a guttural cry into the heavens, cursing the Soul King, Aizen, Madara and the universe itself; the perpetrators of this endless tragedy of existence. He felt Orihime strength fading as her kicks became weaker and the nails that dug into his hand gradually loosened their hold.

"Gin!"

And then, like a wave of icy water, a voice he craved at that moment more than life itself washed away his vengeful trance. He slowly turned his manic, bloodshot eyes behind him, and as the last vestiges of Soten Kisshun's reality rejecting barrier faded, he saw Rangiku, freed from her bindings, without a single cut or bruise upon her body. He had seen her eyes filled with fear before, but for the first time in his life, he knew that the fear was directed at him.

Orihime's heart pulsed for the last time, and he dropped the corpse in his hands. She had not used Soten Kisshun for her own injury… With her last breath of her reality rejecting powers, she had brought Rangiku back instead.

North Rukongai - District 80, Zaraki

As in tune with Sage energy as she was, Harribel had subconsciously tethered her senses toward Madara. She felt, then, when his distinctive energy signatured flared for a brief moment, before suddenly growing erratic, and then disappearing so quickly it was as if someone had smothered it.

At the exact same time Madara's signature disappeared, she sensed Gin's reiatsu flare to a level beyond what she had thought the former Captain capable of. A sickening feeling came over her as she spiraled away from a cleaving blow from Nozarashi. She had spent too much time fighting Kenpachi. She had realized some time ago that it was impossible for her to win. The mad Captain only seemed to grow more excited as the fight went on, and her own strength was waning.

"Haaaahahahah!" Kenpachi howled in laughter, also turning his head south. "So Gin really came through for us in the end, hey? Well then, shark lady. What do you say to finishing this in one, final blow?" He slowly placed his free hand onto the hilt of Nozarashi, and Harribel scowled as unpleasant memories came flooding back.

She charged toward Kenpachi, while reaching into her skirt pocket for a small, cube-like object. She feinted, baiting Kenpachi to strike, and knowing that the captain would not bother blocking or dodging an unarmed blow, she reached toward him with her free hand, forcing the Caja Negacion into his mouth. She would never dream of punishing any of her fraccion in this way, but she carried one with her as it was required to do so.

Based on his power, he'll be sealed for 20, 30 minutes at best. Hang on, Madara. I'm coming!

Harribel took off in the direction of the Seireitei, hoping against hope that she would arrive in time to make a difference.

AN - Don't hate me! This interaction between Madara/Gin/Rangiku/Orihime has been planned since near the beginning of the story. Orihime has to go because, like a lot of you have pointed out (and Madara remembered, this chapter) she could quite easily heal Mito once the nine tails comes out, undoing any tension in that plot point. Hopefully the progression here seems organic enough.

Next chapter will feature Ichigo with a long-overdue power up ;) pretty sure most of you will know what it is, given the events of this chapter. Wonder who he'll be fighting, though heh. Also, the plot twists are only just beginning. There're a few more bigstory beats to this arc. And then it will be the final arc of this fic. It will end before the TYBW arc in canon, but I do have plans once Cour 2 of the anime finishes to come and write my interpretation of the TYBW based on the events of this crossover fic, too. Will see how it goes.

Responding to Reviews:

GHETTOKINGKAI: thank you for your passionate analyses of the chapters! With this fic, a lot of things may not make sense or may seem very contrived, but do give me the benefit of the dobut that I will address them later. I.e planting 1 plot point early before expanding on it later for dramatic effect. Hopefully the progression of the Soi-Fon/Ulquiorra fight here makes sense. Ulquiorra is INCREDIBLY arrogant. And Soi-Fon surviving the lanza del relampago due to Komomura shielding her is clear enough.

Narugoat: The cleaner and the Dangai will have a role re; time travel, but I don't have plans of bringing naruto/sasuke into this fic, unfortunately. Maybe, though. Will see where the story goes, later.

Witcher: Ichigo is going to get his challenge next chapter for sure. I'm trying to stay away from having too many of the same fights as in canon. Starrk vs Shunsui just seems like it has to happen 'cause of how well their personalities play into eachother, but I'll be sure to do my best with the Ichigo fight next :P

KuramaUchiha7: At the moment, the Madara in my mind is similar to Shinigami Aizen when he first appears in Fake Karakura Town, but no he would definitely lose to Aizen's Hogyoku forms right now. As for Madara's plans...well revealing any here will be spoiling next chapter :P Stay tuned!

Kronus96: Zetsu and Kaguya's role in this fic will become clear in the next arc, but yes. He's definitely slipped up a bit already.

MadaraLimboClone: Heh, you guessed right. Hopefully the progression of events in the infirmary don't seem too contrived. An explanation will come next chapter, which I'm very excited to write, actually.

JustDusty: Of course, of course. The bodies have already begun to stack up. Despite that, though, the ending for this fic that I have in mind is a happy one, but one that I want to feel 'earned'.

Obamna: Don't worry! I don't kill off major characters without at least showcasing the majority of their known abilities. Now that she's used her Bankai, though...