Adult-FanFiction.org : Bleach

Prize of Victory 2
By : NovaAlexandria
Category: Bleach > General
Views: 56255 -:- Recommendations : 2 -:- Currently Reading : 5
Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach nor make a profit from this story
Chapter List
- 94
- 95
- 96
The Beginning of the End

She�d been in charge of the 4th Division for centuries and had been one of Yamamoto Genryūsai�s most trusted and deadly followers. She could handle both the stress of a full-scale battle as well as the arguably more harrowing experience of running triage. Her ikebana and tea ceremony skills only added to her ability to remain calm under intense pressure and close scrutiny.

Thus, it was easy for Unohana to keep her poker face as the day progressed, and to go about her business as if all was normal. When the reports of the explosions and other varied disasters from the Rukongai trickled into her Division, she calmly sent out several of her best units, and with them, the majority of her seated officers to serve as overseers, to tend to any injuries. With the war over, there was no reason to keep them in reserve, even with today�s gruelling schedule.

That got all but two of her Claimed subordinates out of the way and completed �Phase 1,� as she�d labelled each of the steps in the part she�d agreed to play for the Escapees. �Phase 2� started off well enough and also proceeded smoothly, with a tired-looking Iemura coordinating the exams with Sung Sun�s help. Most of the pregnant Shinigami and Arrancar were already here, their mates and �owners� attached to their hips, though some of the ladies arrived alone. A few quick questions on her part revealed that the missing Arrancar males were the ones unable to get out of their guard duties at the Palace or their patrols. It was unfortunate that she couldn�t corner them all, but Starrk had insisted the sires still at large wouldn�t dare think of taking their expectant mates and pets into battle with them. Unohana had to trust him and let it go. There were things she could change and things she could not and she didn�t have the power to demand their presence if Aizen hadn�t allowed it.

She was worried about two couples in particular. On her last run by the front desk, she�d discovered they hadn�t checked in and both had missed their appointment times. Seeing an unseated healer walking towards her with a too-high stack of files, Unohana held up one hand to stop the young woman.

�Aino-san.�

�Yes Taichou?� the girl replied, standing as straight as the heavy pile of folders and papers would allow.

�Have Matsumoto Rangiku and Tatsuki Lindocruz arrived yet?�

The young healer thought for a second and then shook her head.

�I don�t believe so. At least, I haven�t seen Matsumoto-san yet and she�s a hard person to miss.�

Unohana brushed aside the observation, though she privately agreed with it. Out of all of the current cases of hybrid pregnancy, Rangiku�s was particularly troubling. She�d hoped that today�s exam would give her enough ammunition to order the woman into the 4th Division for the remainder of her pregnancy, for the safety of the children as well as the mother. That neither she nor her housemate had shown up on time, especially today, concerned the Taichou.

�Deliver your files and if they do make an appearance, inform me immediately.�

�Yes, Taichou!�

She frowned as she watched her subordinate hurry away and then tried to remember which door she needed to open next. There were too many expectant parents for her to see today to afford her the luxury of fretting about two of them.

�Where are they? I hope for their sakes that Rangiku was too ill to travel. Better to remain in the 1st District than be within the walls today.�

Her remaining staff, led by her 4th Seat Hara Megumi, had already processed most of the samples drawn from the sires, with the final draws underway. Those who had completed their examinations sat in the main hall, enjoying refreshments sent out to entice them to stay. They also shared information, or in the case of the Arrancar sires, boasted to one another about their cubs. A few of her people were on hand to answer any questions the couples might have forgotten to ask during their exams, or that might not be covered in the seminar they thought they were to attend that afternoon. Orihime had also volunteered to play �question and answer�. The human woman was the only mother of a hybrid child available to them presently, and many of the women were taking shameless advantage of her presence. Karin and Nemu were gone and officially, Soi Fon was on duty. The Fourth�s mate, unlike Karin, had had a relatively �scare-free� delivery and with her bubbly personality, she was much more approachable than the voiceless former Taichou. Unohana hoped that Orihime would entertain those she talked to long enough for �Phase 3� to go into effect.

She stole another look at one of the hallway clocks.

Eleven-thirty.

It wouldn�t be long now.

Unohana sighed and found the right door after a short walk. Taking the chart from the file holder attached to its front, she flipped it open to read the information it contained. Omaeda Mareyo awaited her and Unohana was pleased to see the sire of her child, Sementall, had accompanied her as requested. A careful knock resulted in a muffled �Enter� from the other side, and she entered the room. Sementall stood next to his pet, hovering over the pregnant civilian with one hand resting on her lower back in a gesture of comfort. The Arrancar had not Claimed a second pet as far as Unohana knew, but he had sequestered her on the family estate and it made sense that he would be protective of her on these excursions.

�Unohana-Taichou,� Mareyo greeted her shyly. Unohana bowed in return and held up the folder.

�Mareyo-san, Sementall-san, thank you for your patience. As you can imagine, today is a busy day.� Walking to the examination table on which Mareyo sat, she asked, �How have you been feeling?�

�Same as ever. Nothing�s really changed since last time.�

The young woman smiled sweetly at her, one hand going subconsciously to her still relatively flat stomach as she did so. Unlike many of the others, Mareyo wasn�t going to have an abbreviated pregnancy. The latest estimate, based on the projected growth rate of her child, suggested a nine or even ten-month duration, thanks to Sementall�s decidedly equine base animal.

�That is good to hear. If you do not mind, I would like to start today�s session by getting a blood sample from you, Sementall-san.�

�Very well. Can I ask why?�

The Arrancar rolled up his sleeve while Unohana gathered the necessary equipment required for the blood draw. It wasn�t an unreasonable question, one she�d fielded more than once this morning.

�We�re gathering as much information on the Arrancar sires as we can, to help determine the difference between each child�s estimated gestation period, as well as look at the DNA of each party. Would you mind answering some questions, despite the fact some of them may seem repetitive?�

�I suppose,� Sementall grunted, clearly not happy about it, but unable to really say �no�.

�Excellent. The data generated today will help both us and the Science Division as the cubs grow.�

Unohana flipped through the papers in the file until she found a form that she ought to have memorized by now and began her interrogation. Sementall answered them honestly, or at least she detected no falsehood. Mareyo seemed interested in some of his answers, such as how long he had been an Arrancar and about his life as an Adjuchas. Unohana had suspected that such things affected the temperament of each Arrancar. The older ones tended to be more �human� in their behaviour while the younger Hollows exhibited much more aggression. That was one reason Starrk seemed so reasonable, so �laid back�. He was the oldest of them, other than Barragan and he had the distinction of being the only �natural� Arrancar among them, having removed his mask himself, rather than having it removed by Aizen.

Sementall straddled the line on her makeshift �demographic chart,� in the turbulent spot between �teenager� and �adult.� It explained why he�d been abusive towards Mareyo in the beginning. Maturation had as much to do with it as his base animal. Unohana likened him to a new stallion trying to cement his place at the head of the herd. The more certain he was of his position, the calmer he behaved. As her Division obtained more and better information from the sires, the sounder her theory seemed. She looked forward to compiling the data and if all went well, going over it with Szayel sometime in the future.

�Thank you, Sementall-san,� Unohana said as she concluded the questionnaire. �I reiterate, this will be very useful in the months to come as we monitor your child�s growth and development. I hope that later today, after the first seminar, we will be able to get Mareyo in for an ultrasound. There are a few things I want to caution you about, regarding the pictures the device will show and I should take this moment to explain a few of the requests I must make of you. These are things based upon the five hybrid children we delivered in the past and you can crosscheck this with Cifer-san if you wish.

The braided woman held up a finger.

�The first is that the child will probably have some features of your Adjuchas or Resurrección states. So far, we have no reason to believe that the �mingling� of DNA will have any adverse effect on your baby and its development when it comes to their health and their potential mobility. However, we would like to get a picture of your released state for this purpose.�

�Right now?� Sementall asked, his eyes going to each corner of the room, as if measuring the space and finding it inadequate.

�I know some released states can be quite large,� she said and hoped her prompt was discreet enough not to give offence, but strong enough to convince. The Arrancar made a face, meaning that Unohana had been right about the reason for his reluctance.

�This room�s too small and my hooves will damage the floor. Outside might be alright though.�

He pointed with his chin towards the window. A glance through the glass showed paving stones and a small flower garden. That was another reason Unohana had chosen to conduct the exams at this end of the Division. Most Arrancar found it far more comfortable to slip into their Resurreccións outside, in the yard that served this group of rooms. Normally, patients that needed long-term care resided here and the garden provided some much needed sunshine and fresh air. However, these suites had been empty of late, or occupied by short-term convalescents who could easily move into alternate quarters.

Mareyo seemed of two minds about viewing the Arrancar�s released form and as they left the room, Unohana probed for the reason behind her interest and her unease.

�I� I have never actually seen it,� the pregnant woman quietly confessed, following Sementall to the wide door in the hallway that led to the courtyard. They remained on the small porch while Sementall stepped down onto the grassy yard and moved to its center.

Oddly enough, Unohana noted that Sementall seemed nervous as well, his gaze shifting to the woman carrying his child as he drew his Zanpakuto. If Unohana didn�t know better, she would say that the Arrancar was actually concerned about what Mareyo would think of his Resurrección. It was always amusing to see �the ones in control� fret about how their �pets� would take the reveal. She had seen it in quite a few of the other couples that morning. Not all of the Arrancar shared that worry, like Nnoitra or Yammy, but self-consciousness seemed to be the norm, rather than the exception. One, in particular, had become a centipede-based creature, and she understood why he had insisted on showing her his transformation without his pet present. That one, she had decided, was the stuff of nightmares.

�Galope, Argent Ensueño!� Sementall declared.

Mareyo covered her eyes as the power of the change buffeted them, while Unohana brushed a stray leaf from her sleeve. When the wind died, Sementall�s released state stood before them, one hoof pawing at the grass. Unohana had never had the opportunity to indulge in horsemanship, but even with her limited knowledge, she would have described the animal standing in the middle of the green quite fetching. If Mareyo�s pleased gasp was any measure of the young woman�s immediate opinion of this new form, Sementall needn�t have worried about her approval

Most of the released forms she�d seen today were anthropomorphized versions of the respective Arrancars� base animals. In contrast, Sementall�s released state was the animal, from his velvety nose to the tip of his flowing tail. He was easily the largest horse Unohana had ever laid eyes on, though that was where the resemblance to a real horse ended. His coat and mane shimmered and the colour of his hide shifted between white and silver, depending on the angle from which one viewed it. The hooves at the end of well-muscled legs, half-hidden by the feathering over his fetlocks, had a metallic gleam to them. Unohana fancied that they�d ring like bells if she tapped them. They also looked quite sharp, which explained his concern for the floors. The only features that broke up the glittering perfection of the whole were the two hanks of silky chestnut hair that interrupted the flowing silver strands of his tail and his mane. They matched the hue of the long hair he kept in a topknot while in his more �human� form. A glance to the side revealed Mareyo�s wide-eyed, overawed expression.

She bowed to both of them and told the two that she needed to retrieve the camera to take the necessary photos. Her excuse was as much to give them a moment alone, which was why she had deliberately �forgotten� the camera inside. Many of the women hadn�t seen the released states of their mates or owners. Giving them a chance to do so without her there seemed to help with the process of acceptance, or at least, allow them a chance to deal with the shock in private.

In this case, Mareyo seemed willing to worship the very ground Sementall walked upon. In fact, the doe-eyed longing on the girl�s face bordered on fascinated obsession. By the time that Unohana returned with the camera, Mareyo had moved from the porch to the grass beside the silver stallion and had buried both hands in the creature�s long mane. She was also flushed and giggling, her normal reserve gone. Noting the change, Unohana raised the camera and took a few photographs to add to the file, and one for the couple to take home, the latter mostly for Mareyo�s benefit. While she didn�t think the ultrasounds would show that the young woman carried a full-fledged colt, the picture could serve as a reminder that she was unlikely to give birth to a monster either. With the way Mareyo dreamily rubbed her cheek against the horse�s flank, Unohana doubted the girl would care if she delivered a child half as pretty as its sire�s released form. Then again, his looks weren�t the healer�s primary concern.

�Is there anything I should know about this form and its attributes? You don�t have to divulge any special abilities if you don�t wish to share them. Rather, do any of your current features have aspects that your child could inherit? Your hooves, for instance� they don�t look like any I have seen before and I need to know if you think they could pose a danger to Mareyo during the last months of her pregnancy or during labour.�

Those hooves looked like they could tear through steel without chipping. Unohana could only imagine what they might do to a woman�s uterus.

�They are quite sharp, and dangerous,� Sementall stated, bending his neck to look down at his front hooves. His voice had gone an octave lower, but his vocal chords remained intact, despite the physical changes in his form. �Nevertheless, most foals are born with softer hooves and they harden once exposed to the air. I can�t see it being a problem to Mareyo any more than they are a problem to any other mare.�

�Let�s hope he or she comes headfirst then. I�ll make a note of rotating the baby if it presents any other way. Best not to take chances,� Unohana decided and then picked out a different feature.

�What about your mane? I see Mareyo can touch it without being harmed, but that doesn�t look like hair,� she said shrewdly. The horse inclined its head to acknowledge her observation.

�No, not hair. In my sealed state, my mask fragments appear as the crown and upper straps of a bridle, a reminder of a rider�s control over a horse. In this form, my mask reverts to the mane you see and it is I who control the rider.�

Unohana heard the amusement in his voice as he moved his head around to indicate Mareyo, glued to his side and murmuring endearments about how his soft coat seemed �spun from moonlight.� �Once a rider takes hold of it, they cannot let go.�

As if to illustrate the point, he nudged her again. This time Mareyo opened her eyes and Unohana saw how mesmerized the girl appeared. Then, to her surprise, Mareyo gripped the Arrancar�s mane with both hands and used it to haul herself awkwardly onto his back. Oddly enough, the situation didn�t seem to bother the Hollow at all. In fact, he seemed to expect such a reaction. Unohana supposed his ease was due to his Hierro, which would make carrying a bareback rider much less taxing. She raised one eyebrow and fixed him with her best �please explain this� stare. Sementall, seeing it, quickly complied.

�She is caught in my spell,� he confessed, shaking his head and tossing the part of his mane that snaked down his forehead between his ears. �You are too powerful to be affected by the lure, Unohana-Taichou, but those weaker than myself�� He didn�t bother to finish, as the result was obvious. �She will stay like this until the spell is broken or death takes her.�

��or until you decide you want a light snack. I�ll just bet you have a mouth full of fangs to go with that pretty hide of yours, don�t you?� she added silently.

Unohana suppressed a shiver, finally remembering the name of the monster than Sementall resembled. The information he�d given her helped fill in a few nagging blanks.

�So your base animal isn�t so much a horse as it is� a kelpie, or perhaps a pookah?� she ventured. The stallion shook his head and craned his neck.

�Close enough,� he concurred, �although you won�t find much in the way of water in Hueco Mundo. Sand�s a fine substitute for a river or a lake though.�

�I presume you can break the spell yourself?�

The silvery aura around the beast dimmed and then vanished in response to Unohana�s question. His coat, mane and tail dulled, until he resembled nothing more than a large, greyish-white horse with a few shanks of rough brown hair. Mareyo blinked, as if coming out of a nap, but she didn�t appear surprised to find herself astride the morphed Arrancar, indicating memory loss was not part of the enchantment. Embarrassment, on the other hand�

�Oh, I�m so sorry!�

The young woman blushed deeply as her fogged mind cleared enough for her to realize just what she was doing. Sementall looked over his shoulder at her, and brushed the top of her bowed, blond head with his nose, letting her know he was fine with her perched on his back. Unohana cleared her throat and motioned with the camera.

�It is an amazing form,� she proclaimed. It was an honest assessment on her part, easily the most gorgeous released state she had seen so far and it was hard to believe he was a Hollow, since the hole in the middle of his chest disappeared when he shifted into his fully equine form. �I believe I have all the answers that��

She never got to finish as she heard the Palace alarms start their shrill screaming. Startled, Unohana�s eyes flew to the clock on the hallway wall, visible through the glass doors. It was a full five minutes before they ought to have gone off, according to the plan. Before they could recover from their initial shock, the sky darkened and a second set of alarms, louder than the first, added to the cacophony. Even if she�d been expecting it, the Swarm�s invasion stole Unohana�s breath with its scope. Temporarily leaving the couple in the courtyard, she used Shunpo to reach a higher vantage point, landing on the tiled roof of the building to the left.

The view didn�t get any better. The Swarm had indeed used the sewer system to stage their incursion, pouring into the heart of the Seireitei through five large breeches. They formed a cloud overhead that temporarily blotted out the sun. The ground started to shake in earnest and the Taichou watched several massive beetles crawl from tunnels they�d dug beneath the city. The closest beetle sent brick fragments and dirt everywhere as it extricated it huge body from the ground. Then it trundled off, thankfully away from her Division.

Her hand, out of reflex, strayed towards Minazuki before she paused and let it fall. This time, the Swarm was technically there to distract, not destroy. Unohana did her best to put out of her mind the amount of work this would cause her Division when it came to repairing the sewer system. She could worry about that later. For now, she had to enact �Phase 3� and do it quickly. The 4th Division had done its part; all that remained was the protection of the wounded and the expectant. Turning her back on the sight of the Swarm descending on the unprepared city like a plague, she left the rooftop and rejoined her most recent examinees, which presented a different sort of problem.

Mareyo had never witness anything resembling a battle, nor had she ever seen any member of the Swarm. The terror on the poor girl�s face spurred Unohana to action, but not before the Arrancar did his best to try to calm his frightened pet. Sementall reactivated his power, murmuring promises that he wouldn�t let any harm come to her or his foal. His voice, the enchantment and possibly the Claim worked in tandem to quiet Mareyo, until she took on a dazed expression. That was an ability Unohana was sorely tempted to get him to use on some of her patients. There had been many times in the past when the ability to render overly dramatic or angry friends or family members happily soporific would have come in handy.

She would have to speak with him later about it. Like the sewers below, it was something to deal with when the dust settled.

�There is a secure section in this building, built to withstand a siege and nominally for the protection of our patients. Can I get you to take her there and then stand guard?�

She�d worded it as a request, but her tone and demeanour suggested he take it as an order.

�Yes! Where is it?� he demanded, shifting back into his sealed state. Mareyo ended up in his arms and he sprinted to the doorway, an impressive feat when Unohana considered that his eyes never left the growing cloud of insects spreading across the blackening sky. She wasn�t far behind him as they re-entered the building.

She quickly gave him the directions, and without a word, he turned on his heel and ran with a still-hazy Mareyo slung across his shoulder. That was one set of parents out of the way and she could at least tell Marenoshin she�d done her best to keep his daughter safe when next she saw him.

Unohana turned her attention back to the duty at hand, and hurried towards the main conference room where most of the other guests had been milling while waiting for the first seminar to start. They�d heard the alarms and the healer swore the room crackled with tension. She gave those Arrancar the same instructions she�d given Sementall. Like him, the males were more than happy to escort their �pets� to a safe place and defend the Division from the Swarm. Several of the females stubbornly insisted they were well enough to fight, but a few choice words from Unohana and they followed the males, dragging their Shinigami men behind them. It didn�t hurt that Sung Sun, who outranked all of them, appeared at the healer�s elbow and quietly offered to act as a shepherdess for the more reluctant Hollows. Unohana felt guilty playing on their instincts, but she couldn�t have them interfering with Ichigo and Grimmjow.

On her way to secure the main gates, she came across Harribel, who fell into step beside her. Mila Rose trailed behind her Mistress, along with Hitsugaya-Taichou�s 3rd Seat. There was no sign of Apachi, but Unohana guessed that the Third�s other fraccion wasn�t far away.

�Harribel-san, are you ready?� she asked, pitching her voice low. The blond inclined her head to hear the question and then reached up and tapped Tiburon�s hilt with her finger. Sea green eyes scanned the hallway ahead, taking the staff as they raced to their posts.

�I will guard the gate, to defend this Division and encourage any who might have a thirst for gore that their interests will be served best by staying with their women, or at least holding the line beside me,� she dutifully replied, reciting the instructions Unohana had given her earlier. �If I cannot convince them with words, I will convince them with a boot to the head.�

The Taichou kept herself from recoiling at the image, but had to admire the Third�s intent. No one would leave here without Harribel having something to say about it.

�Very well. I too, do not trust that the Swarm won�t turn the tide of battle in this direction. Tides do not always flow the way we wish.�

�Indeed,� the Espada replied wryly. Unohana supposed that if anyone understood �tides,� it would be Harribel. Privately, the healer suspected that the Third�s stance had less to do with her desire to protect the 4th Division than it did her desire to protect Toshiro. The 3rd Division�s Taichou was probably already on the way here, or had run into the Swarm with a contingency of his troops.

�My fraccion and their girls will take up their posts when I enter my Resurrección. We�ll need to move quickly once it�s done.�

She didn�t elaborate on �it;� there was no need and nothing left to do but let them proceed. Unohana left the Espada�s side and strode towards the trauma ward, secure in the knowledge that her Division had all the protection she could give it. She hoped that Yoruichi�s rebels had instructed the Swarm to debilitate, not kill the defenders. That would help keep the casualties to a minimum. She also hoped that, in the heat of battle, the insects remembered to refrain from targeting her subordinates.

�Good luck, Kurosaki-san, Grimmjow-san. Do your best,� she prayed, then added another prayer� this time for a quick and decisive widowing.

The dismay that he felt with the unintentional loss of the first persimmon tree a visitor would see when they walked through the 3rd Division�s gates surprised Toshiro.

He knew that Aizen had assigned him Gin�s old Division as a way to hurt the traitor. Toshiro had never gotten along with the fox-faced Taichou and Aizen was well aware of the hostilities between them. Gin had pampered the young trees he�d planted in the 3rd Division�s courtyard, coaxing their growth along personally. While many thought Toshiro would have torn them out to spite Ichimaru, he�d left them alone. The trees reminded Toshiro as much of Rangiku as they did of Gin, for the two childhood friends had shared a passion for the fruit. Therefore, when an attacking Locust took a direct hit from his 8th Seat�s Kido-filled hands, crashed into the tree�s flowering branches and split its trunk down the middle, a pang of regret hit Toshiro square in the stomach.

�Sorry Taichou! Incoming at seven-o-clock sir!�

Above him, Toku Kenji made a penitent face. He looked in the direction his officer pointed and sent off a volley of his own. This time the Locust dodged his carefully aimed Kido shot and the bug veered off to rejoin the larger cloud seething above his Division. The things were harassing his troops rather than fully engaging them and unfortunately, Toku-san had no idea the Locust�s dive had really been a feint. Still, his Division�s first casualty had been a fruit tree, not a person. It could have been worse.

They were at half-strength as far as personnel. He�d sent his Fukutaichou on the first fool�s errand that came across his desk: the investigation of a forest fire in Zaraki, far to the north. When the young man had asked him why Toshiro felt he needed an officer to look into the issue, he�d hauled out a glare that, in the past, he�d usually reserved for an inebriated Rangiku.

His former Fukutaichou would have laughed at his expression and hugged him tightly.

His current Fukutaichou had taken one look at it, gathered three random Shinigami from the mess hall and promptly fled. Toshiro would venture that Watanabe and his squad were still en route.

His 3rd Seat had divvyed up the rest of the assignments and scuttled out the door to meet with Soi Fon and Mila Rose, leaving the 3rd Division with a dearth of Seated officers. His 8th Seat remained only because he�d been a second pick for an Arrancar with a pregnant pet and his Arrancar was with the rest at the 4th Division. For a Shinigami with terrible organizational skills, the man was a dead shot with Kido, which didn�t bode well for the rest of the trees if he continued to snipe Locusts.

�Try not to incinerate the landscaping Toku-san or I�ll make you replace and replant everything you destroy!� he snapped at his subordinate, who cringed with good grace. Toshiro decided that he really needed to use that glare more often.

Aside from the persimmon trees, the other thing he liked about the 3rd Division was its location, especially today, as it was conveniently close to the 4th Division grounds. Toshiro was a man who believed everyone could and should stand on his or her own two feet. However, the selfish part of him couldn�t help but keep one eye trained on the walls that surrounded Unohana�s domain, where his pregnant mate had gone after breakfast. He felt infinitely better once he saw the dome of surging water cover the 4th Division. When he suggested his troops shift the battle lines to defend the healers next door, no one dared argue with him. The Swarm buzzed all about them, but Toshiro noticed the winged menaces seemed more interested in targeting buildings and walls than the Shinigami defending them, although the opposite held true for any Arrancar the Swarm spotted. The only things that saved those Hollows from the Locusts that latched on them were their Heirro. Of course, Hierro didn�t stop the Locusts from pinning them down and taking them out of the battle through the time-honoured tactic of dog piling an opponent.

Despite his best intentions, he found himself standing next to his mate, who stood just outside of the main gate. Mila Rose was already in the air, guarding the Third Espada, while Eri used Sokatsui to singe any Locusts that got too near her girlfriend. One of Harribel�s golden eyebrows rose slightly when she saw Toshiro, but she said nothing to him as he addressed Iemura. Unohana�s second-in-command led a team of nine Shinigami equipped for relief duty out of the Division�s gate, with two of them carrying the poles for a medical tent between them.

�Iemura-Fukutaichou, is there anything we can do to assist?� Toshiro formally asked. The other officer appeared quite happy to see him. With a quick bow, he indicated the water levitating over the buildings behind him.

�Hitsugaya-Taichou, if it wouldn�t be too much to ask, would you please solidify the barrier Harribel-sama has been generous enough to create? Oh, and leave one or two properly sized holes at the base for our healers and support units to use as an entrance and exit. As long as the Swarm can�t use them, it will be fine.�

�Consider it done,� Toshiro stated. He took a few steps back, breathed deeply and shouted �Bankai! Daiguren Hyorinmaru!� at the top of his lungs.

The influx of power that accompanied his Zanpakuto�s full release was heady stuff. Ice erupted from his shoulders to create his wings and crawled down his limbs, covering most of his body. By exerting a fraction of his power, he wrapped his frigid reiatsu around the water Harribel had suspended over the 4th Division with her Cascada. Beginning at the point where the liquid met the ground, the ice traveled skyward, creating a solid dome in the process. Its shape lent it strength and its thickness would repel all but the strongest attacks.

�Thank you, Hitsugaya-Taichou!�

Iemura saluted him, as did his band of relief workers and healers. Each carried a heavy pack in addition to their Zanpakuto and the standard issue sashes slung prominently across their chests.

�Do you require escorts?�

Toshiro wondered if he shouldn�t send a few more people out with the Fukutaichou. The area below each of the blonde�s eyes had a certain greyish cast that indicated more than one lost night of sleep. Sun Sung wasn�t with her man either, since Harribel had likely ordered her to stay inside the done and help Unohana if the Arrancar inside began acting up.

�I would not say no, if you can spare the warriors.�

The ice shell would easily keep most of the Swarm at bay. It was unlikely Aizen would protest putting up such a defence to protect the 4th Division and its patients. He didn�t think that Unohana need protecting, per say, but even she would fall to the beetle acid if a spray of it caught her off guard while tending to someone.

�The 4th Division is secure. You should see to other areas,� Harribel spoke up.

He glanced her way, discreetly raking his eyes over her body to reassure himself that she was completely fine. She was right, of course. As she was his Mistress, he had to obey her and the only other place of vital importance would be the Palace. Harribel had effectively ordered him to check on that situation, giving him the excuse he needed. If he just so happened to see a chance to kill Aizen, or at least inconvenience the bastard enough for Ichigo and Grimmjow to deal a fatal blow, well, for once Hyorinmaru and he were in complete agreement over something, albeit for different reasons.

He inclined his head, letting her know he understood before he ordered six of his remaining Shinigami to stay with Harribel and support her and her fraccion if necessary. His 3rd Seat was already here and he informed them that they should check in with Tachibana Eri before they took on any insects. Then he motioned to the rest that they should accompany him. So far, the Swarm seemed to be keeping the battle inside the ring of white walls. Toshiro prayed it would stay that way. Leading his troops forward, they started to make their way towards the Palace. He concentrated on taking the large beetles out first, encasing them in ice to contain but not kill them. While the beetles could have forced their way out with acid, they instead chose to �play dead,� which let Toshiro know the Swarm understood its role in the conspirators� plans, and that the lines of communication between the disparate forces remained intact.

�Yoruichi and one or more of those Generals must be holed up somewhere in Szayel�s crystal dome,� he guessed. It was the only place he could think of that would afford them the cover they needed to direct the invasion to best effect. Toshiro already knew his part and sought out Ulquiorra�s eerie black and green reiatsu.

If nothing else, it would give him a chance to ask the Fourth Espada if he could get Orihime�s help in restoring the persimmon orchard.

Her Taichou showed no surprise when the various devices in the Rukongai went off at the appointed hour and the reports of fires, explosions and so forth arrived at the 6th Division. Byakuya barely reacted when she took it upon herself to send out most of their non-pregnant, seated Shinigami to investigate. She knew the noble suspected something was up, because afterwards, he had raised an eyebrow at her choices, but he asked nothing and went back to his work as if it was just another day at the office. He also hadn�t commented on the fact she was clearly tired, nor had he expressed any displeasure when she had declared that she was going to take a nap shortly after the officers� deployments. He had acknowledged her and ceased paying any visible attention to her, which was just fine by Soi Fon.

Byakuya woke her up when he left. The noble had already written out his reasons, and she felt her heart clench for him when she read the note he handed her. Yammy had summoned him home for an �early lunch.� That meant he wouldn�t be in the office when the Swarm burst through the ground half-an-hour hence. Unfortunate, but there was nothing she could do to keep him here that wouldn�t arouse suspicion in someone even as dimwitted as Yammy. The only good thing about it was that the Escapees would know where to find him.

She had nodded to indicate she understood the message, and had managed to hold back her sympathetic expression to let him save face. She didn�t know what sort of abuse Yammy inflicted on the newly reinstated Taichou, but she suspected that it was as bad as or maybe worse than the shit she had seen Barragan do to Yumichika and Ggio. In retrospect, for all of his sick, twisted ways, Barragan had never brought his pets to the brink of death in a fit of unchecked violence. He�d given them a sound cropping and more than once he�d made them endure a rough evening, but the old bastard had never harmed any of them so badly that they wound up on Unohana�s doorstep. Barragan knew how to bend his toys, whereas Yammy mindlessly broke them.

�If all goes well, this will be the last time you will have to suffer his touch,� she vowed as she watched the noble make a reluctant retreat. With Byakuya gone, Soi Fon moved back into the office and went about her business, occasionally glancing at the clock on the wall to keep track of the time. It was hard not to get up from her desk and break the illusion that she was working diligently by pacing back and forth. She still jumped when the combined might of Ichigo and Grimmjow�s pissed reiatsu barrelled into her with the force of a hurricane and the Palace�s alarm system triggered. Half a minute later, the ground rumbled hard enough to cause dust to fall from the support beams in the ceiling.

Soi Fon saw the trickle of dust turn gold as it hit a sunbeam shining through the window. Then the dust and the sunlight vanished and she was out of her chair.

The hands on the clock pointed to eleven-fifty-five.

The invasion was early.

�Those goddamned idiots!�

Cursing silently, she rushed from the office, clutching a set of prewritten commands. Holding it aloft for her subordinates to read as they pounded up to her, she pointed to various Shinigami and assigned tasks on a first-come-first-deploy basis. Thankfully, none of them paused to ask �why� she had the questions ready in the first place, or how she�d known of the Swarm incursion. They simply accepted their orders and obeyed them, a sign that the Academy�s instructors weren�t turning out fools. Now their only job was to stay alive. She hoped they were up to the task, especially when she exited the 6th Division�s main building, and stared up at the locust-darkened sky. The Swarm�s numbers had reduced the beautiful day to gloomy shadow, the sun�s rays barely making it through the multiple waves of constantly shifting bugs.

�Did they empty their entire Realm?� she wondered, shocked at the sheer volume of insects that made up the cloud. Fortunately, her training allowed her to put her feelings aside and she got to work. It wouldn�t be hard to become �lost� in the maelstrom, and once she did, it would be easy to slip away while her troops tangled with the Swarm. Besides, if they needed her to hold their hands, then they didn�t deserve to be Shinigami. She had a mission, after all: find Barragan, and keep him under surveillance.

Keeping her temper in check as she tracked him might prove difficult. She was supposed to wait until Harribel signalled that the plan had worked and that Aizen was dead. She wasn�t the only one who had a longstanding grudge against the skeleton, and admittedly, Harribel�s beef with him took precedence. Soi Fon could respect that, but if she saw an opening, she hoped the Espada would forgive her for engaging Barragan first and removing an open canker from the universe�s ass.

It wasn�t hard to find the megalomaniac, but he wasn�t where she expected him to be at this time of day. Instead of defending the Kyoraku Estate, he was busy protecting the Kuchiki Estate from the Swarm, which she found extremely odd. Once she�d seen him, she cloaked her reiatsu and ducked into the shadow of the nearest wall to hide from the Espada and the Locusts alike. There was no reason to tempt the Swarm. Let Barragan squash the annoying insects and use up his reserves while doing it. Every ounce of power he wasted was one less ounce he�d have when Harribel arrived with her pack.

Maybe they would get lucky and one of the beetles would give the Second a well-deserved acid bath. It wouldn�t be as satisfying as stabbing him in the chest with Suzumebachi, but she wouldn�t complain if she ended up with a front row seat to his agonizing death.

For a brief moment, she thought that maybe the universe had heard her. The vibrations she felt beneath her feet and her back warned her of the approach of one of the heavy beetles as it lumbered its way towards the Estate and the black-robed figure acting as a sentinel. Unfortunately, Barragan wasn�t the only entity guarding the property. The creature stumbled as Yammy�s massive bulk landed on its head. The Tenth�s fist then crushed its thorax with a single strike. The beetle collapsed, its six legs twitching and the Espada leaped from its corpse into the thick cloud of the Locusts bearing down on him, using his meaty fists like giant fly swatters.

From the number of insects, Soi Fon guessed that the Swarm had sent out some kind of call, telling its members that two of its targets were in the same location. The invaders attacks intensified as six more beetles approached the gate from three directions, spraying acid as they went, and the flying contingency moved forward, despite Yammy�s efforts.

Bright pink petals suddenly swirled through the air, announcing the entry of a third combatant to the fray. The thousands of tiny pink blades encased one of the beetles before it could let loose with another spurt of acid. Byakuya appeared on the top of the wall surrounding the Kuchiki Estate, and Soi Fon�s eyes grew huge when she saw what he wore� or in this case, didn�t wear.

The only items covering his nudity were a pouch over his gentiles and the black bands with their clips and she couldn�t help but gape at his clothing. She�d witnessed a number of shameful things over the years that she wished she hadn�t, but this� this was beyond the pale.

While she took in the abominable attire Yammy had forced on her current Taichou, the noble calmly killed the beetle with Senbonzakura�s Bankai. Snarling, the Tenth crushed a third beetle�s abdomen with his foot and the one next to it disintegrated from the inside out, leaving an empty exoskeleton that crumbled in turn. Barragan didn�t bother looking at the remains, eyeing the Locusts overhead.

Ggio suddenly appeared by Byakuya�s side, passing the Noble his haori. To Soi Fon�s horror, he wore a carbon copy of her Taichou�s frightfully inadequate bondage gear.

Her mind froze as she deduced what had to have been going on, as well as the reason behind Barragan�s visit. The two Espada had to have been sharing or exchanging their pets. She�d heard Barragan jealously grumble more than once that Yammy had Claimed the �beautiful noble� first. If anything, she told herself that she ought to be shocked it took this long for Barragan to work a deal out with Yammy to have a chance to screw the Cero Espada�s pet. For Yammy�s part, maybe he had grown tired of his chosen plaything after fifteen years and wanted some variety. Either way, the idea of Yammy mounting Ggio made her stomach churn, enough so that it was a struggle to keep what was left of her breakfast where it belonged: in her gut and not on the ground.

While the nausea distracted her, Byakuya had donned his haori and Ggio had enacted his Resurrección, which explained why he hadn�t bothered to grab anything to cover himself. There was no sign of Yumichika. Soi Fon figured that he�d gone to work that morning. She had hoped that Nanao would send her child�s father to inspect the explosions with his co-Fukutaichou. Instead, it seemed that Barragan was in no mood to allow both of his pets out of his sight, no matter what Aizen had ordered. Nanao couldn�t issue orders to a subordinate that didn�t show up to work.

Soi Fon clenched her fists and took a deep breath, repeatedly telling herself that she would find a way to work around this before Harribel and her fraccion showed up. In that respect, Yumichika�s absence was a good thing. Years ago, Barragan had forced the Shinigami to reveal his Zanpakuto�s true powers. Soi Fon had been in the room at the time, listening and learning. Barragan�s choice in victims today meant that she and Harribel would not have to face off against Ruri'iro Kujaku�s vines. That was the only thing about the current situation she found fortunate. She could do nothing at present for the captives though, so she focused all of her hate on Barragan. He too had slipped into his Resurrección, turning every Locust that came near him to dust as he walked through the sky. It was a terrifying reminder of what she faced, and what failure would mean.

As much as she hated it, she had to sit tight and carefully plan her strike to make him pay for everything he had done to her, her mate, and her friend.

His new Fukutaichou was competent, determined and her paperwork was thankfully legible.

She wasn�t, however, the most subtle person he�d ever known.

Oh, she was perfectly capable of stealth, but she was also notoriously single-minded and this morning was a classic example of how much she let slip through her actions, not her words� not that there were many words, given their shared disability. Still, it was the principle of the thing.

Byakuya guessed something important had occurred, or was about to occur, with the way Soi Fon had dragged her exhausted body into the Division this morning, despite having been fully healed by Orihime a few days ago. She hadn�t looked at or waited for him to assess the incoming reports about disturbances in the Rukongai before sending out the majority of their seated officers to handle problems that he would have assigned to a team of unseated Shinigami. Yes, something was up, but since Yammy hadn�t ordered him to do anything about strange behaviour in his Division, he ignored it. He chose to focus instead on his report cataloguing the latest konso tallies while she took a nap in one of the supply closets, which he allowed only because he thought she needed the rest. Soi Fon never did anything without a purpose and not confiding in him as to the reasons for her actions was as good as an admission.

He felt a flash of fear when Yammy jerked on his spiritual chain, but his sense of reason quickly reminded him that the brute was too stupid to discern his concern for Soi Fon from concern over his officers and the fires in the Rukongai. Moreover, it wasn�t unusual for him to feed Yammy a healthy dose of fear through the Claim. Concern or unease would mean nothing in comparison, since it happened more often than Byakuya wanted to admit.

He let Soi Fon know that his Master wanted him home for an early lunch and returned to the Kuchiki Estate. Several servants met him at the gate and rushed him to his bathing chamber. There, they cleaned him and redressed him in the bondage gear Yammy insisted he wear under his uniform. Fortunately, they allowed him to put his shihakusho back on, which led him to believe that Yammy hadn�t summoned him home to rape him as an appetizer. Instead of the dining room, an edgy servant ushered him to one of the more intimate meeting rooms intended to entertain guests.

What met him there made his spine stiffen.

The stinking brute was there, of course, and a sharp pull on his Claim forced Byakuya to summon Senbonzakura, much to their shared mortification, though both were accustomed to performing the manifestation by now. Barragan Louisenbairn sat beside Yammy with a cup of expensive sake at his lips and an almost naked Ggio Vega loitering at his elbow. At first glance, and from Ggio�s manner of dress, it appeared as if Barragan was here to share bondage tips with Yammy. The former fraccion wore a version of his hated undergarments. However, that didn�t explain the presence of one of his great-aunts once removed and a shy young woman in the plain blue yukata of a servant. His aged relative had a pleased, if nervous smile on her face and the girl looked too petrified to pick up the cup of tea in front of her.

It took Byakuya�s quick mind less than five seconds to put the pieces before him together and five more to try to stifle his disgust. Yammy had summoned him home because his so-called family had found an acceptable girl of noble blood for him to impregnate. No wonder his great-aunt seemed so delighted, he thought with growing depression. Finding the young woman at all must have been a hard task, considering what was left of the Four Noble Houses. Barragan�s presence here meant the girl was probably some distant cousin of the Kyoraku family, far removed from the main branch of the family. She�d likely been a child at the time of Aizen�s Victory. Her age had spared her and her non-descript appearance had helped keep her hidden.

�You have summoned me, Master,� Senbonzakura spoke for him even as they knelt before the two Espada. Yammy jerked a thumb towards the girl, whose lower lip had begun to tremble.

�Your family found a bitch for you to knock up,� he grunted, confirming Byakuya�s suspicions. �So strip and get to it.�

Outrage and horror knifed through him in equal measure, even as his body rose to obey. His aunt almost looked as if she was about to say something, although he guessed that her protests were more about her sense of propriety and not about his unwillingness to do this at all, or the girl�s comfort or dignity. Instead, she wisely read Yammy�s ugly mood, and then rose and bowed her way out of the room to �leave them to it.�

The Tenth hardly noticed her departure. He had turned back to Barragan and they resumed talking about one of those accursed manga the Espada had stolen from Rangiku during some long ago poker night, while forcing Ggio to stand uncomfortably before them like a depraved mannequin.

With the Claim dictating his actions, Byakuya shed his uniform and regarded the terrified girl frozen in place on her cushion. He truly felt for her. His great-aunt might not have told her why she was here, or if she had, Barragan�s involvement meant that, like him, she had no choice at all in the matter.

�Senbonzakura, I have to��

�I know. In this case, I think something should be said,� his Zanpakuto agreed and his unspoken offer relieved Byakuya.

Yammy hadn�t placed any urgency on the order, so he took his time removing his clothing, folding his shihakusho and haori neatly. Meanwhile, Senbonzakura swiftly moved over to her and explained to the poor thing what was going on, including the part about how this order was not something that the noble could resist. She�d grown up in Barragan�s twisted household. She knew what Claims entailed and she had seen the effects of such on the Second�s pets, and his fraccion. The fact that Yammy wasn�t giving him a choice lessened some of the fear and the blame he could see in her eyes, but it was abundantly clear that both of them found the idea of doing such a thing with an audience degrading. The young woman, whose name he still didn�t know, deserved better than this, he thought unhappily.

Byakuya�s hands hesitated over the last bit of real clothing he wore, the pouch over his gentiles. His fingers went for the belt-like clasps, then froze as an ear-splitting alarm rang out, stopping the Espada�s conversation in its tracks. A wave of power comprised of Ichigo and Grimmjow�s reiatsu slammed into the meeting room�s occupants a few moments later. Both came from the Palace. Even as his fingers fumbled with the clasps, he did his best to send at least a portion of his awareness in that direction. From the expressions on the faces of the three Arrancar, they�d done the same.

Yes, it was definitely Ichigo and Grimmjow, and beside them, he detected the fierce fiery red of Renji�s reiatsu. All three were a pleasant tingle on his senses, but the fourth reiatsu signature made him freeze. It was far more powerful than he remembered, but it had been fifteen years since he�d had Rukia�s reiatsu brush against his and he found himself appalled.

Kami, those fools had brought her here! Why would they endanger her like this?

�Looks like the idiots are finally makin� a go for Aizen,� Yammy snorted, rising to his feet and Byakuya fumed. Barragan grunted, completely unconcerned and perhaps a bit pleased with the prospect of Aizen losing.

�Let them destroy one another. It�s none of our affair.�

Yammy allowed Byakuya to stay his hands, but he didn�t dare try to redress just yet. In fact, he didn�t move, could barely breathe. If the Espada thought to go after Renji, or worse, Rukia�. However, the brute showed no sign that he knew Rukia by her reiatsu. He�d only know her on sight, thanks to the incident with Hisana�s picture.

Renji, however, was a very different story.

�Heh,� Yammy laughed. �That redhead�s back, the one Szayel had as his pet!� The Tenth smirked down at Byakuya and laughed harder when he saw the blood drain from Byakuya�s face. �Szayel�s a traitor and I still got a few free slots. It�s open season on the bitch now. Won�t take much to rip off Szayel�s Claim and put mine on him! Bet you would love that, eh, Chicchai Hime?�

This was exactly what Byakuya had feared. The revulsion he couldn�t hide only served to fuel Yammy�s mirth. Barragan rolled his eyes at the Tenth and appeared indifferent.

�Humph, go after him if you want. I see no reason to��

A second set of alarms sounded, this one cutting off both Barragan�s protest and Yammy�s guffawing. Byakuya recognized the perimeter breach warnings set up after the Defence Net had fallen. In fact, one could hear the buzzing of a million insect wings over the alarm�s screeching. Yammy and Barragan immediately vanished using Sonido. Now that there was no need for him to remain manifested, Senbonzakura returned to Byakuya�s inner world. Before he could retrieve his uniform, Yammy forced him to abandon it and follow his Master through the door, leaving Ggio behind with the bewildered Kyoraku girl.

Outside, the sky had gone dark as the Swarm obscured the sun. His humiliation at having to walk through the Kuchiki Estate wearing nothing but a leather pouch took a back seat to disbelief as he stared at the size of the invasion force. Another impatient yank on his leash impelled him to draw his Zanpakuto. Senbonzakura�s cloud of sharp petals filled the air and he used them to defend his home from a beetle intent on dissolving the Estate wall. Before today�s debacle, the mere thought of allowing such creatures near, let alone on, his ancestral grounds would have stabbed at his pride, but now� now he couldn�t care less if the Swarm tore it all down around him. Only then might the Kuchiki Elders appreciate the sacrifices he had made over the last decade-and-a-half. The more likely result would involve the ingrates lamenting their loss and finding fault with him for letting it happen.

Ggio appeared beside him, and presented him with his haori, an unexpected kindness. He pulled it on, and watched as Ggio uttered the name of his Resurrección and took on his released form. That got the Arrancar out of the shameful get-up, something Byakuya wished he could do as well. His haori would have to suffice under the circumstances. Entering the fray, he did as little as the Claim would permit him to do. The insects, surprisingly, didn�t seem keen to attack him, though they threw themselves at the Arrancar with everything they had. The longer Yammy stayed here, the safer Renji and the strike team would be in their bid to kill Aizen.

Byakuya also prayed his Fukutaichou knew what she was doing. There was no way Soi Fon wasn�t somehow involved in this mess. The fires, getting his strongest officers out the way before the invasion, Ichigo and Grimmjow�s foolhardy storming of Aizen�s castle and to top it off, a Swarm attack in the middle of it all was one coincidence too many. He hoped they were prepared for what might happen on the off chance they succeeded.

He had no illusions when it came to the Palace�s main occupant. Killing the usurper wouldn�t solve everything. Should the supposedly immortal Aizen die and the Escapees put the rest of his minions to the sword, there was a very good chance that Yammy would retreat to Hueco Mundo, and drag Byakuya along like a rag doll. However, the few things he still cared about in the Soul Society would be safe. He no longer had any emotional attachment to his family and the Estate was no longer a sanctuary filled with happy memories of his wife, his parents and his esteemed grandfather. It would serve the Kuchiki Elders right to lose him, and any remaining prestige his survival and enslavement had bought them. Maybe Yammy would even take it too far and finally kill him without Unohana nearby to cobble the pieces back together.

It was not as depressing a thought as it might have once been. If that happened, Rukia would never have to see what had become of him. She�d never have to find out about Senbonzakura and the sordid abuse he and his Zanpakuto had endured. She could remember him the way he�d been before the Gotei 13 had fallen, when he still had his pride. He�d been a Taichou, not a voiceless puppet, held in check by Yammy�s threats to rape Senbonzakura to death, or force him to do it.

For the first time, Byakuya felt truly ambivalent about the outcome of a battle, not caring if he made it out of this one alive or not. He couldn�t even spare the effort to wish that one of the Locusts would blind Yammy long enough for a beetle to hit him with its acid stream, knowing that it was a lost cause as long as Barragan was here to back up the other Espada. Byakuya would dive into an acid steam himself before he�d let Yammy use him against Renji, or worse, against his sister.

All he could really do now was dither and hope his half-hearted efforts ensured there were enough insects left over to keep Yammy distracted.

Hugs to those who took the time to review. Very busy and tired on my end. Hope you are enjoying the chapters.
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Prize of Victory 2	By : NovaAlexandria Category: Bleach > General Views: 56255 -:- Recommendations : 2 -:- Currently Reading : 5
Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach nor make a profit from this story

Prize of Victory 2