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The Light of Destruction

Chapter 7

The Stern Ritter 'L' the Light Ichigo Kurosaki calmly walked down the hallway leading to the Emperor's throne room, guarded as usual by a pair of Soldat, their gas masks and darkened goggles giving them something of a sinister air. They didn't acknowledge the Stern Ritter before them, though Ichigo couldn't fault them for that. They weren't supposed to react to anything unrelated to their duty at hand, and as such despite being in the presence of a superior officer their apparent apathy had to be forgiven.

Ichigo fingered the Sanrei Glove on his right hand, surprised despite himself at the faint sense of regret that he wasn't able to use his Vollstandig during the last battle. But then again, as a Special War Power it would probably have been overkill, and by direct order from the Emperor he was forbidden against using it until a certain point in the war.

Ichigo was shaken out of his musings in the next moment however, as the doors to the throne room opened and the two Soldat threw salutes at him. Ichigo gave a polite nod, and after making sure his uniform was in order, he steadily walked into the room, the doors closing soundlessly behind him. With the assurance of a Stern Ritter, he coolly walked down the aisle, and then respectfully knelt down on one knee before his Emperor.

"Ichigo Kurosaki…" Yhwach began the conversation, as protocol dictated. "…I am most impressed by your achievements on the battlefield. You do not disappoint. You have done well, my son."

"I am honored by your praise." Ichigo responded politely. A part of him disliked such formality, but he knew it was only proper. The part of his life where he could recklessly be hotheaded and charged into things without regard for the consequences was over and done.

When I was a child, I thought as a child. But when I grew up, I set aside such childish things.

Yhwach nodded before seating back on his throne. "Now then…" he continued. "…why have you requested this audience? You may raise your head."

"Thank you Your Majesty." Ichigo said, doing as commanded. "At the risk of being impudent, I would like to remind you of my request when I entered your service. Considering the circumstances, I would like to have my friends and relatives brought to the safety of the Vandenreich."

Yhwach smiled indulgently and gave a nod. It did not escape his notice that bringing them to the Vandenreich would effectively make them hostages, and that Ichigo was smart enough to know this. That Ichigo was willing to allow it to happen and would actually be the one to bring them to the Vandenreich was most gratifying. The boy, no the young man, had truly and finally grown to his Quincy heritage.

"Your request is not unseemly." He finally said. "I will allow it. Furthermore you may request one of the other Stern Ritter to assist you in your quest, along with as many Soldat as you need for backup."

"You are most generous Your Majesty." Ichigo said gratefully and with a bow of his head. "I am most grateful."

The Emperor nodded and made a dismissing gesture. "You may go."

Ichigo nodded and rose to his feet, and with a bow turned and left.

"So…" Bambietta began as she walked alongside Ichigo, the two Stern Ritter dressed in casual attire, looking no more than a pair of teenagers out on a date. Of course, whoever mentioned that would probably end up dead, but that was beside the point. "…what are your sisters like?"

"Karin's a bit like me. Actually she's a lot like me." Ichigo admitted. "Yuzu…think Liltotto except without the swearing…I think."

"You think…?"

"I don't really think she's cut out for the battlefield." Ichigo admitted. "But…"

"Yes…?"

"…one thing's for sure." Ichigo said after a moment's pause. "We won't need Gremmy for this. Standard indoctrination for younger Quincy will be sufficient."

"You're quite cold." Bambietta observed. "Sending your sisters to be indoctrinated like that..."

Ichigo set his jaw while they both crossed an intersection. "I don't like it either." He finally ground out afterwards. "But that's standard procedure for Quincy who grew up ignorant of their heritage. Fortunately Gremmy need not be involved, so it won't be so bad. But it has to be done, and I don't need to be reminded how it's a sad part of our reality."

"…sorry…" Bambietta said with genuine feeling. "…I didn't mean to insinuate anything."

Ichigo smiled at her. "Don't worry about it." He assured her. "I know you didn't. You were just making an observation, and I lashed out at you. It's not something a Quincy would have done."

Bambietta smiled back at him. "Alright then…" she began thoughtfully. "…how about this: I won't mention your improper behavior to anyone, and we just forget about this?"

"Deal…!"

The two Quincy shared a laugh, and then came to a stop before the Kurosaki Clinic. "Well…" Ichigo said nostalgically. "…this is home."

"Shall we surprise your sisters?" Bambietta said with an eager smile. "I can sense two Quincy inside, faint of course, but they feel like you, so I assume it's them."

Ichigo laughed, instead heading for the door and opening it without giving a reply. Bambietta shrugged and followed. "Yuzu…!" he said cheerfully, surprising the two girls who'd come out of a backroom, Karin about to yell about ignoring the 'closed' sign on the door, Yuzu following her to try and keep her quiet. "Karin…! I'm back!"

Yuzu screamed and fainted as though she'd seen a ghost, Karin barely succeeding in catching her while gaping at her brother. "Well…" Bambietta observed. "…that could have gone worse."

"…and the teacher said…" Tatsuki was saying to the rest of Ichigo's friends as they walked down the street. "…that he was an idiot…"

She broke off as a pair of white-cloaked and white-uniformed men wearing berets, darkened goggles, and gas masks appeared from nowhere a good distance before them and began to march purposefully towards them. The group looked apprehensive at the sight, and then silently came to a unanimous conclusion as they turned to walk down the street and away from the strangely-dressed men.

No good: another pair of men in identical attire was also walking towards them from that direction. "What's going on here?" Tatsuki demanded. "Who the hell are you guys, and what do you want?"

All four men came to a halt once she finished talking much to her surprise, standing at the ready. At this point another one of them appeared only this one wasn't wearing either goggles or a gas mask. "My apologies for disturbing you…" the young woman said. "…we're here on the orders of Stern Ritter Kurosaki to take you into custody for your own safety."

"Wait, what…?" Keigo spluttered out. "Stern Ritter Kurosaki…? And what do you mean you're taking us into custody for our protection? Protection from what…?"

"It's not my place to discuss that." The young woman said. "Stern Ritter Kurosaki will explain matters to you once we return to the Vandenreich."

She gestured, and the Soldat stepped forward to restrain them. "What the…get your hands off of me…!" Tatsuki protested, with Keigo making a similar fuss. Only Mizuiro didn't seem affected at all, which actually gave the Soldat pause.

"When you mean 'Stern Ritter Kurosaki'…" he asked. "…you're referring to Ichigo Kurosaki, aren't you?"

"That is correct Mr. Mizuiro." She replied with a nod. "As I've said, it's not my place to explain things to you, but we are only here to get you to safety."

"And this safe place is the Vandenreich…?"

"That is correct once again."

Mizuiro looked thoughtful for a moment and then gave a nod. He then turned to his friends. "I think we can trust them." He said. "Ichigo wouldn't get us into undue harm, and I feel like I can trust this woman."

"How sure are you about that?" Tatsuki shot back. "If you haven't noticed, they're trying to force us…"

"They probably wouldn't force us if you hadn't been exuding hostility from the beginning." Mizuiro interrupted her. "Although I can't really blame you for that, those uniforms of yours aren't particularly reassuring, are they now?"

The Soldat leader blinked and then chuckled. "No I suppose not." She admitted. "But then again we weren't meant to look reassuring."

"No…" Mizuiro said with a nod. "…you're supposed to look threatening to whoever your enemy is."

The Soldat leader merely narrowed her eyes, caught by surprise by the boy's unusual degree of insight. "Hey wait a minute…!" Keigo protested. "How can you so easily say that you trust a woman you just met? For all we know…"

"I am very good at judging a woman's personality." Mizuiro interrupted smugly.

"Why you…" Keigo began to say when another one of the masked and uniformed men arrived…and dropped a bloody and obviously-dead ninja on the road beside him.

"Onmitsukidou…!" he reported, his voice muffled through his mask. "They probably know we're here."

"I'll update the Daten immediately." She said. "We have to get these three to the Vandenreich now!"

"W-wait…" Tatsuki protested again. "…we didn't say that we'd…and even then…!"

"Clothes and other essentials will be provided in the Vandenreich." The Soldat leader told her. "Now stand still or you might get lost in the shadow."

"What shadow…?"

The answer literally came in the form of a massive surge of shadow that engulfed and swallowed them up. And then they were gone.

Ichigo and Bambietta alike responded to the Daten update with alarm, the two of them standing up from the couch where they'd been chatting with Yuzu and Karin, along with giving them a watered-down version of Quincy history and Ichigo – and their mother's – involvement in it.

"Ichi-nii…!" Yuzu said in surprise. "What's wrong?"

"They're here." Ichigo snarled. "They used my sisters as bait."

"Ichigo…" Bambietta said while taking out her Quincy Cross and pinning it to her blouse. "…get your sisters ready. I'll buy time."

Ichigo nodded at her, and she blurred with hirenkyaku. "Yuzu…Karin…do you trust me?" he asked them.

Karin didn't know what to think. On one hand she was sure that while her brother had changed to an extent, she still knew that deep down he was still the brother that they knew. But…he was also different. He wouldn't hurt them. He wouldn't allow them to get hurt. But could she trust him?

She glanced at Yuzu, and her heart froze. Yuzu…she had always been infatuated with their brother. It wasn't just a romantic attraction or something along that line, but there was also something between them that prevented her from thinking anything bad about their brother. It also wouldn't let her see anything that had changed Ichigo in ways that they could not and should not accept. She would accept Ichigo no matter what, and trust him regardless.

She would love him regardless of what he did or what he would become.

And Karin knew that Yuzu would follow Ichigo now. And Karin could not let her sister go alone. She had a similar bond with Yuzu as Yuzu did with Ichigo. The freedom of choice for her in this did not exist.

Damn it…

"We'll trust you." she said while dragging Yuzu to their rooms to gather their things. "But you better have a fuller explanation once we arrive at this Vandenreich of yours!"

Ichigo nodded at her as they rushed off. "I promise." He said.

I'm also sorry. But the explanation you will get will change things in ways that will prevent things from going back to the way they once were.

Bambietta tore through the Onmitsukidou, her bad temper rising to the surface as she butchered them mercilessly. She was a Stern Ritter, and had power on par with any of their captains. Small-fry like this were below her.

Blood sprayed through the air, although it would be undetectable and intangible to anyone without spiritual awareness. If any ordinary Humans were watching, all they would see is a young girl with a medal and a sword expertly practicing her skills.

With a cathartic snarl of frustration, Bambietta slit an Onmitsukidou member from neck to bellybutton with a one-handed swing of her sword. She then sidestepped a downward swing of a zanpakutou from behind her, instead grabbing the man's back and throwing him bodily at his disemboweled comrade before blowing the two of them up.

A brief flare of reiatsu was all the warning she got, the Stern Ritter whirling and barely raising her sword in time to block a zanpakutou that would have taken her head clean off otherwise. She smiled.

Finally, a worthy challenger…

Activating Blut Arterie, Bambietta launched a ferocious counterattack, hammering Isshin Kurosaki back with a series of lightning slashes. Slamming his sword to the side, she lashed out with a kick, somewhat disappointed. Despite being a former captain, the man was barely worth the effort.

But then again as a captain, his powers would have to be sealed to a mere twenty percent while in the Living World.

Her blow sent the man flying through several walls, but Bambietta bit back a curse as the man raised his hand as though to flick a finger against her. The Daten had a warning regarding that technique and she barely had time to switch to Blut Vene before she too was hurled back a good distance, coming to rest in a 'throne' of rubble that was once a wall across the street from the Kurosaki residence.

If he'd been at full power, that would have hurt a lot more.

She got to her feet shakily, and then her eyes widened as Isshin appeared before her with his sword cutting down at her. She cursed, blocking by instinct but forced to the side regardless by the sheer force of the blow. She stepped back to get some distance between them, the former captain moving to press her.

"Bankai…" Ichigo said, causing Isshin's eyes to widen in his turn and Bambietta to smile vindictively. "…Senbonzakura Kageyoshi."

"Ichigo…!" the man barely had time to say before a wave of pink slammed into Isshin and sent him flying yet again.

"Ichi-nii…!" Karin shouted in horror at the sight, pulling at his clothes while Yuzu gasped at the sight of something she couldn't see get plowed through the surrounding neighborhood.

"We have to go!" Ichigo said, sensing the arrival of another familiar reiatsu. Sure enough in the next moment the skimpily-dressed form of Yoruichi flickered into view above him, her eyes furious and outraged at what he'd just done.

"Ichigo…!" she screamed. "How dare you?"

Ichigo smirked, shadows flaring around and engulfing him and his sisters, taking them all away to the Vandenreich. Yoruichi's blow shattered the concrete instead, the woman biting back a curse as she avoided a salvo of explosives from Bambietta, a parting gift from the young girl as she too vanished into the shadows.

"Damn…"

"It seems that Ichigo Kurosaki has completed his mission without incident." Haschwalth reported to the Emperor. "No casualties, though the Stern Ritter 'E' has made a request to upgrade Isshin Kurosaki's threat level in the Daten. Even with his power sealed at twenty percent, he was able to press her considerably."

The Emperor nodded, musing on the matter thoughtfully. "The 'E' isn't prone to exaggerating." Haschwalth continued. "Hot-tempered and willful yes, but I believe we should heed her request."

"Very well, make it so." Yhwach conceded. "Isshin is a member of the Shiba Clan. That level of skill and power is only to be expected. Also pass a commendation onto Bambietta as well. My daughter was able to deal with the situation quite well despite a failure of intelligence on our part. She should be rewarded accordingly."

"I understand Your Majesty."

"Oh, and what of Uryuu's mission…?"

"Completed…" Haschwalth reported with some reservation, and the Emperor smirked.

"There was an incident…?"

"…Yasutora was injured during retrieval. Apparently Uryuu couldn't convince him to come along without trouble. Several Soldat were injured as well, nothing too bad, but there were more Shinigami than expected."

"And the Inoue girl…?"

"She has been retrieved." Haschwalth answered. "Apparently she'd been quite willing to go even before the altercation between Yasutora and Uryuu, and she was also the one who patched the former up upon arrival."

"Where is the Yasutora boy now?"

"He is detained. Uryuu has made a request for leniency however I advise leaving Yasutora in solitary confinement for some time until the reality of his situation sinks in. Inoue is currently accompanying Uryuu to meet with the rest of their friends. Of course, I've taken the liberty of giving them the location of their provisional residence."

The Emperor mused on this as well. "Give them limited access to the public areas…" he finally said. "…but also place a guard on them as well. Don't forget to make it clear to them that it will be for their protection against the more…rambunctious members of our army."

"I understand. However I have another concern."

"Oh…? Do tell."

"Uryuu might potentially tell a…less-than-acceptable description of the situation to his friends."

"Let him…" the Emperor said dismissively. "…although I do not believe that to be the case. And even if he does, he knows quite well that it will only make his situation even more precarious than it already is. So long as we have Kurosaki, then we have nothing to fear."

Haschwalth nodded in agreement, quite aware of Ichigo's importance in their plans. "Where is Ichigo now?" the Emperor inquired.

"I believe he is overseeing his sister's reeducation." Haschwalth replied. "According to the Daten, Yuzu Kurosaki will only require minor adjustment, and should be finished within the hour. Karin Kurosaki however might take a few hours to finish."

"I see…" Yhwach said with satisfaction. "…no matter then. Everything is as it should be."

A/N

Sorry for the long wait, but I've been rather busy lately.

Yes, both Bambietta and Isshin were both holding back, as otherwise there would have been a lot more collateral damage. The Soul Society or rather the Onmitsukidou prepared traps for Ichigo and Uryuu, but as usual they underestimated the Quincy and paid for it, both with the lives of their men, and the fact that all their possible hostages are now in the Vandenreich. Whether or not that's a good thing remains to be seen however…

…reeducation…I suppose it's similar to Reaper Indoctrination but without the negative side-effects. Considering that Yuzu seems to be romantically-attracted/unusually-attached to her brother, her reeducation will proceed much quicker. Karin is more independent so it'll longer for her.

Either way, Gremmy will not be involved.

That's all for now…