Disclaimer- I do not own Bleach

Chapter 26

Then We Break

There was a crater around the chair Sayomi still sat in. The ground was indented, the monitors nearest her shattered and broken beyond recognition, just gaping black holes. The energy rolling off of her in waves was dark, angry, spiteful. And dangerous, very dangerous.

She rose slowly from the chair, her white hair whipping around her as tendrils of blue and black swirled erratically around her body. The air was thick, heavy with the rage that was so palpably radiating from her entire being. When she turned to face Aizen her eyes were no longer their usual shade of pale blue, the irises no longer white, but the darkest black and her pupils had taken on a yellowish tint. Her Hollow mask was coalescing over the left side of her face, feline-like and menacing.

"Maybe we should all just calm down," Gin said calmly, stepping away from the wall he had silently been leaning against as he watched his baby sister break. Her inner Hollow had been struggling for release since she had left Hueco Muendo under the impression that he was dead, and it seemed it had finally won. Or perhaps Sayomi had even unlocked the door, let the beast out so she could fight. Even if she lost herself, fighting was better than staying as she was; defenseless and broken. At least the Hollow inside of her gave her a chance.

Sayomi turned her head towards her brother, her mask now covering the majority of her face. She stared at him for a few moments before tilting her head back and releasing an earsplitting scream that was full of nothing but pure hate and loathing. The Sayomi her brother knew was gone, there was now a rage filled monster in her place.

It felt as if she had been plunged suddenly, and without warning, into an icy pool of black water. She gasped for breath, her body numb from the sudden intensity of the coldness. The numbness wore off quickly, the cold no longer bothering her. It was actually comforting in an odd sort of way. Made her feel safe and protected, warm even as ironic as that was. It was the darkness that was frightening. Unyielding and oppressive, she felt almost as if she were drowning in the black mire around her.

Engulfed in such never ending blackness it was easy to lose track of all of your senses. She knew her eyes were open, but she could see nothing. She could feel her body, but nothing beyond that. Her other senses were in much the same state, while she knew she possessed them she could not actually use them in any capacity. They were rendered completely useless in the darkness. There was no sensation of time passing, either. It was as if everything was suspended, frozen in the black blanket of nothingness, just as she was.

Sayomi was aware that she had been possessed and taken over by her own rage, but she could no longer feel that rage. All she could feel was a sense of despair, lonely and deep. Aizen's mental torture, combined with the viewing of the deaths of her young friends, meant she had lost hold of the few threads of her own sanity that she had managed to grasp so tightly to. Now she had let herself fall into darkness, had let that darkness take over.

She closed her eyes against the violence of the extraordinary darkness.

"Breathe…"

The clashing of swords, the swishing of fabric, and the whistling of small blades that danced in the air created a symphony of sounds as Byakuya clashed with Zommari. To some the outcome may have already been decided, Byakuya was not one to lose after all. His pride wouldn't allow it.

In spite of his pride, the fight was not an easy one. He had to use techniques he had not used since his childhood, when he and Sayomi had both trained under Yoruichi. It angered him to have to use the steps taught to him by his former teacher, but the technique had saved his life at the cost of his haori which fluttered uselessly to the ground.

It was then that Zommari decided on releasing his zanpakuto, which gave his lower body a strange pumpkin like shape and fifty eyes appeared over the surface of his body. According to him, each eye was able to control whatever it saw.

The Espada had then taken control of Byakuya's left leg. Byakuya was not one to be overpowered or outsmarted easily, he had simply sliced the tendons in his legs to keep from walking forward as Zommari had wanted. His leg wasn't under his control, that made it his enemy and he had no problem eliminating it. His blood splashed onto the ground, but his face remained impassive, though there was a slight trace of irritation now that his unconscious sister had been threatened since Zommari had turned his attention to her.

The sudden arrival of a young boy from the Fourth Division caused a moment of confusion as he stumbled to a stop several feet behind Byakuya. The Sixth Division captain had moved to stand before his fallen sister, he glanced briefly at the new arrival, Hanatoro Yamada, who was blinking dumbly at the scene he had stumbled upon. He then ran to Rukia's aid after being told rather bluntly that he was an eyesore by Byakuya and to get out of the way unless he wanted to risk being destroyed by him.

It was while Byakuya was speaking to the boy that a black flower blossomed on the white glove that covered his left hand, catching the Kuchiki off guard, but not for long before he sliced through the tendons and muscles of his arm. His blood splattered over his face and stained the expensive scarf that he was never without. After slicing his own arm, he used a simple kido spell to thrust Rukia out of the way of the fight so that the boy could attend to her wounds.

It was as Byakuya realized his error, noticed Rukia moving against her own will, that the sudden and intense eruption of spirit energy disrupted the fight between he and Zommari.

"Sayomi.." Byakuya frowned thoughtfully, staring off in the distance where the spirit energy had emanated from.

The force of it was incredible, but it was tainted and growing darker by the second. Sayomi had lost control of the thing she had kept locked inside of her mind for almost an entire century. There was no telling what would happen to the woman he loved if she continued to spiral out of control.

He looked at Zommari, gray eyes stormy and hard. "I'm afraid I'm losing my patience with this fight. I would like to conclude it as soon as possible. I hope you don't mind..." He trailed off, raising his Senbonzakura up before his face.

"I really do think we should all try and calm down," Gin advised, watching as Sayomi tilted her head back and let loose an animalistic roar. His baby sister was very quickly losing herself to the Hollow she had kept locked away, and while she was already barely recognizable as a white mask formed over her face and creeped down her body, she still had some humanity left. It just wasn't enough to hold out against the rage of her inner Hollow, not for long.

"I did say I would break you, Sayomi," Aizen stated, smirking as the white haired woman lost control.

Despite the immense amount of power rolling off of her, Aizen didn't appear to be even slightly bothered. He watched her as she descended into insanity, waiting for the right moment to prove his point.

"It didn't even take as long as I had expected. I would say I'm disappointed," Aizen sighed. "But you were always rather sentimental. Plus, you were already breaking and I only needed to exploit the cracks that began forming the day Ulquiorra attacked you and Urahara released you from the gigai he had imprisoned you in. Now all I need to do is finish what I started.. and kill everyone you've ever cared about."

The incredible pressure of her spirit energy made the room tremble, the walls creaked and cracked, the equipment that wasn't already shattered began to fold and bend beneath it. Through it all Aizen was unperturbed while Gin looked mildly uncomfortable, but otherwise nonplussed.

"It will be such a delight to watch you rip apart Byakuya Kuchiki," Aizen taunted lightly.

With a screech of anger, Sayomi flew at Aizen. Her fingernails were elongating even as she attacked with ferocious intensity. She flew at Aizen time and time again, claws slashing and tearing the air, but her attacks could not hit him. She was not in control, she was fighting as if she were an animal. There was no method or sense of fluidity to her moves. She was simply attacking for the sake of attacking.

"This really is too easy," Aizen said, shaking his head.

He grabbed Sayomi's hand that was soaring at him, intending to impale him. There was a sickening crack before she howled in pain as the bones in her wrist snapped apart and the tendons tore.

"Now, perhaps you would like to listen to a little proposition I have for you," Aizen told the rage filled woman who was glaring at him. There was flicker in the animal-like eyes and the Hollowfying Sayomi pulled her mangled arm away, watching Aizen suspiciously. "Yes, you not your host."

Off to the side, Gin shifted uneasily as Aizen smirked and the illusion of the security room broke apart to reveal a pedestal on top of which sat the Hogyoku.

The darkness around her suddenly came to life. She could feel it vibrating against her skin, hear it humming as it began to rush around her. The mire she had been suspended in was quickly becoming like the ocean during a hurricane, a dangerous roiling blackness that could rip her apart or drown her in an instant.

As the darkness around her grew more and more restless, so did she. She was becoming more and more aware of herself, of the fact that her inner Hollow was in control while she let herself begin to fade away in the background. Only now she was aware that her inner Hollow was not in control, at least not entirely. The thing's hold on her mind was loosening, but it didn't feel as if it were by choice.

"Breathe," she thought to herself again, closing her eyes.

"I'm here, Sayomi," Fuyu replied, his voice distant, but still familiar and comforting.

Sighing in relief, she reopened her eyes. The blackness around her felt just a little less oppressive. "He's won... I let him break me…"

"You're too stubborn to break, little hime, and he hasn't won, not yet," he answered. "You may have let your Hollow out, but you can put her back in her place. You've done it before, you can do it again."

Sayomi frowned. "The last time I had to battle it out with her it took hours and I don't have hours. I don't even know if I have minutes, Fuyu."

"You don't need to defeat her right now, you just need to regain control."

"To what end, Fuyu? He's won. So many people I care about are dead and I can't fight him."

"He hasn't won, little hime. You need to focus and regain control."

"There's no point-"

"You're friends aren't dead, Sayomi, but they will be if you don't shut up and listen. You and I are partners, we can regain control together and we can at least keep your inner Hollow at bay long enough to get out of here. Or would you like to see the results of the Hogyoku on someone such as yourself?"

She blinked into the darkness, Fuyu rarely ever spoke to her so harshly. When he did, she listened and that was what she did now especially since his mention of the Hogyoku had made her feel an intense fear.

"Breathe… Just breathe…"

With a frown on his handsome face, Byakuya looked off into the distance. Only moments ago he had felt Sayomi's reiatsu as she was overcome by her rage and, in turn, her inner Hollow. Her reiatsu was once again violently fluctuating and he could sense Sayomi, his Sayomi, fighting against the bonds of her inner demon. The question was whether or not she was going to win while also battling Aizen, a battle he could sense wasn't going well for the possessed women.

"Brother? Is everything alright?"

Byakuya barely glanced over his shoulder at his sister who was receiving medical treatment from Captain Unohana, Lieutenant Isane, and Hanataro Yamada.

"Weren't you told to remain silent?" He asked coolly.

Rukia frowned at her brother's back. She had felt the fluctuations in reiatsu, too. She may not have known Sayomi well, but she was quite certain that the reiatsu she felt had belonged to the white haired women that her brother loved.

"We should treat your wounds as well, Captain Kuchiki," Captain Unohana advised softly, rising from beside Rukia to approach the Sixth Division captain. When he didn't appear as if he would allow it, Unohana added, "The sooner your wounds are treated the sooner you can help her."

Byakuya's eye twitched, but his face remained otherwise unmoved as he continued to stare into the distance.

Gin looked between Aizen on the platform and Sayomi on the floor. The Hollowfication process that his sister was undergoing had halted, the bone-like substance that had begun to encase her was crumbling to the ground around her. His little sister was quickly being released from the madness of her inner Hollow, but he didn't know what that meant for any of them because he didn't know who would emerge from the shell Aizen was destroying.

Another scream tore from Sayomi's lips, this one much more human than the one before it. Her head that had been bowed rose and she looked up at Aizen with nothing less than pure loathing. Her eyes were wrong, though. While one was a stormy blue, the other on the side her Hollow mask still clung to was dark and animal-like.

Lifting a hand to point shakily at Aizen, Sayomi unleashed a cero. While it wasn't incredibly strong, it was enough to make Aizen lose his concentration on the Hogyoku and instead use his energy to deflect the blast. Instead of tearing him apart, it smashed through the wall to his right leaving a gaping hole into a hallway.

"I don't like being manipulated," she said, her voice that was usually soft and cool was now tinged with a roughness that hadn't been there before. "Though I must say, it's quite interesting to be out here while she's screaming away in here." She lifted a hand and tapped a finger to her head.

Aizen offered a welcoming smile that didn't reach his eyes. "I'm Aizen, you are?"

She tilted a brow smugly. "I know who you are. Not impressed. Just because the other one let you break her doesn't mean I plan on allowing the same thing."

"So Sayomi is still alive in there, is she?" Gin asked curiously, causing the thing in his sister's skin to swivel its head towards him and level her dark feline eyes on him.

"Unfortunately," she drawled in reply. "You must be disappointed.. You were trying to combine the two of us so we existed as one, weren't you?"

"You could say that," Aizen replied vaguely. "This may not be the outcome I expected, but that doesn't mean we can't make the most of the situation. After all, I was kind enough to release you from your prison."

The thing's eyes flickered angrily and her teeth clenched as she hissed through her teeth. "So you would chain me? I'm not a pet."

"No, of course not. However, I do think we can help each other."

Eyes narrowing suspiciously, the woman frowned. "How's that exactly?"

"How do you feel about Soul Reapers?" Aizen inquired.

She made a face as if she had tasted something vile. "They're disgusting."

"There happens to be one causing me some trouble. Perhaps now that you're free you would like to test out your abilities."

The grin that formed on her face was gleeful. "That does sound fun. Just who is this nasty bug you need my help with?"

"Byakuya Kuchiki."

Her eyes flickered, the usual blue fighting for dominance. "I won't..." She was shaking, her hands clenched at her sides. With the Hogyoku no longer trying to manipulate the line between her Soul Reaper and Hollow selves, Sayomi sagged tiredly, breathing heavily as she struggled to maintain her hold on her sanity.

"Well, isn't that interesting. Not quite broken yet, I see. I think I've underestimated you, Sayomi," Aizen said, staring down at the woman shaking on the floor. Not all of her Hollow mask had dissipated. Part of it still clung to her face. "Though perhaps it wasn't a total loss."."

Reaching a shaky hand to her face, Sayomi tore the last remaining piece of her mask away. "I'm not like your pet arrancar and espada, Aizen, you can't make me like them," she managed to growl while struggling for breath, her entire body trembling with emotion. "I'll kill you."

"You may be stronger than I anticipated, Sayomi, but that changes nothing now," Aizen replied. "You will be mine."

Finally looking up from where she sat crumpled on the floor, her blue eyes widened. Aizen's hand was hovering over what could only be the Hogyoku and black ribbons of some substance was leaking from it and disappearing into his hand.

There was a moment of panic, of absolute fear of what might happen should the Hogyoku be used on her, again. She had no idea of what the outcome would be, but struggling as she was with her inner Hollow she didn't think it would necessarily be good. The panic receded slightly when she noticed a twitch of Aizen's hand and glanced up at his face to see he was trying to hide a scowl. Her brother, beside him appeared confused and he glanced at Sayomi oddly before giving the slightest smile. It was sad and tore at her heart.

Aizen was distracted by the Hogyoku, something was wrong and it didn't appear to be doing what he wanted it to.

Gracelessly shoving herself up from the floor Sayomi tried to flash-step out of the room. Her surprise at being able to do so was short lived as Aizen appeared in front of her. He was taller than she was, stronger, and much more harmful. Her right arm was hanging uselessly at her side as she stared up at him feeling what little glimmer of hope she had slip away.

"Well, isn't today just full of surprises," he said, he sounded vaguely amused.

A small defeated sob escaped her without her permission and she sunk to the floor, cradling her arm to her chest. There was nothing she could do against this man, this monster of a man, that kept stealing every bit of good that there was in her life.

"What do you truly know of the Hogyoku, Sayomi?" Aizen questioned, vaguely curious but also smugly arrogant.

"It is supposed to blur the lines between Hollow and Shinigami. Make them pliable," she answered, trying to shakily rise to her feet. When she nearly toppled over on her wobbly knees, Gin appeared beside her to steady her.

"It's quite impressive that you managed to regain what little sanity you have left," he mused. "Although I suppose it wasn't so much you as it was the Hogyoku. Did you know that it's supposed to bring about the desires of those near to it?"

The Hogyoku was an object that shouldn't have existed, even if it had saved her life and the lives of the other visoreds. The power contained within the orb was immense and it's limits were still not fully known. At least not to her knowledge.

"It's been doing what I've desired.. Until today. To be honest, I wasn't quite sure what would happen if the Hogyoku was used on you while you were in your Hollow form. Since you're already a Soul Reaper with the power of a Hollow, I thought that it would perhaps alter the balance and tip the scale more towards Hollow. At which point I hoped you would be, well, less inhibited to the ways of life here and the world I plan to create."

"Go to hell," she managed to rasp out, staring at the floor and refusing to look up at the man that was taking her life from her bit by bit.

"Now, now, that wasn't very polite," Gin chided lightly, stepping beside Sayomi and putting a hand on her head. "She's had quite the day, our little Sayomi."

"She has, hasn't she," Aizen replied, he seemed to be almost thoughtful. "Perhaps she needs some rest. You should help her to her room, Gin."

As Gin helped her up from the floor, Sayomi avoided looking at Aizen. Her friends were dead, her body and mind were breaking, and her chances of survival were very quickly diminishing. He had finally truly isolated her from everyone she loved and cared about. There was no one coming to save her.

She could feel herself beginning to crumble, she leaned into Gin and he wrapped a consoling arm around her shoulder. She felt raw, numb almost. As if every nerve and muscle in her body had been overused and over stimulated until they were left exposed and vulnerable.

"Sayomi," Aizen called after them, forcing them to stop a few feet down the hall. "You've always been a stubborn one, always fighting and standing up for what you believed in. I admire that in you, but you must realize that you can't fight me forever. No one is going to be able to save you, you are alone. You have Gin and I, of course, but the longer you fight the harder you'll fall."

Something in his words, how he said no one was going to be able save her, struck some chord inside of her. Her senses were still hazy and nearly useless, but she tried to focus them out, further and further, searching for something, but finding nothing. She was too weak, too exhausted. All she wanted was to sleep, but the idea of sleep frightened her. She was afraid that any possible respite she would find in sleep would be ruined by nightmares of the deaths of all of her friends, of Byakuya.

"Byakuya," she murmured, the outline of a memory forming within her tired mind.

There was a sudden release of spiritual pressure that nearly knocked the wind out of her. She knew that spiritual pressure, she knew the man that it belonged to. And he wasn't all that far away. The wind was fully knocked out of her as she realized it wasn't just Byakuya she could sense, but Ichigo, Orihime, Uryu, Rukia Kuchiki… Everyone she had thought dead, murdered violently while she was forced to watch. They were alive. All of them. Without even a thought, she flashed away from her brother and Aizen.

"Let her go, Gin," Aizen said, turning away and beginning to walk towards the great hall he favored so much. "We have other things to worry about. Besides, I warned her.. The harder she fights, the harder she'll fall."

Gin frowned, but kept control of his emotions and simply followed after Aizen as he was expected to. The man was right, they had other things to worry about.

Navigating the paths and halls wasn't that easy, the place was immense, after all. She needed to go up, she knew that much and when she finally found a stairwell she climbed it without a second thought. When she emerged she was in yet another hall, but she was closer now. She took off in the direction of the spiritual pressure that had flared so strongly moments before but was now fading slightly. She was close, so close now. Except that she had to slide to a stop when the hall she turned down was blocked by fallen debris.

Frustrated, she simply raised her palm and spoke calmly, "Sokatsui."

A blue ball of energy leapt from her palm and slammed into the debris, pulverizing much of it and causing the hall to fill with dust and smoke. She ignored all of that and flashed through the opening she created, ahead of her she could see what looked like daylight and strongly sense the presence she had felt.

When she flashed out of the broken hall and into the daylight, she was momentarily blinded by the sudden onslaught of brightness. Her senses, however, didn't let her down. She sensed an attack, the soft swish of fabric, the hum of steel slicing through air, and she quickly called upon Fuyukaze.

She would have easily stopped the blade slicing towards her had her hand not screamed in agony. She dropped Fuyukaze and fell to the ground, her attacker's sword stopping only centimeters from her throat. Overwhelmed by the pain in her hand she had somehow managed to forget that Aizen had mangled, she didn't look up immediately. Besides, she already knew who was standing over her. She just didn't know if he was truly real.

"Sayomi?" Byakuya questioned. He sounded uncertain, doubtful, suspicious.

"Fuyukaze," she murmured, the sword erupting into a spray of silvery white flakes before reforming in the shape of a simple chain link bracelet with a blue ribbon running through the links. Even if he doubted who she was, and she couldn't blame him for that, he couldn't deny her bond with Fuyukaze. The zanpakuto answered to her and only her. When she finally looked up at him, her eyes widened. His left arm was hanging at his side, blood dripping from his useless fingertips. His left leg, too, was damaged.

When Byakuya offered her his unwounded hand to help her up, she took it and let him pull her to her to her unsteady feet.

"You are real, right?" She asked quietly, reaching up to lightly brush her fingers through his hair, across his cheek.

She knew that Byakuya was alive, that he hadn't died in the visions she had seen. They were simply shown to her to hurt her, to break her. Seeing him, though, feeling his touch and his presence were like a dream it was so surreal. The last few hours where a blur, the last few minutes more so. She wasn't sure what to believe and what to question. Aizen was very skilled at deception and she feared that this was just another of his attempts at breaking her.

"The first time you managed to transform into a cat with that woman, you were so excited that you climbed into the trees. Only to later get stuck when you could no longer hold the transformation."

Blinking at Byakuya, Sayomi choked on something that was a cross between a laugh and a sob. "You and Yoruichi laughed for months. I was so angry at you two."

She leaned into Byakuya's chest while he used his free hand to brush her hair away from her face.

"You were never very frightening when you were angry. A hissing kitten is still a kitten, after all."

The relief she felt, the little bit of hope it brought to her, made her remember just how tired she was. She could feel herself sagging more into his chest, clutching to him, not wanting to let go because she was afraid that when she opened his eyes he would be gone and this would turn out to be nothing but a dream.

"Sayomi?"

"Don't leave. Please.. please don't leave," she pleaded, tears slipping from her eyes as she struggled to remain standing to keep her mind from going blank because in that blackness was nothing but torture.

"Never," he whispered, lightly kissing the top of her head. "Will you be alright?"

"I'm not entirely sure what Aizen was attempting to do by using the Hogyoku on me while Hollowfying, but it's pushed the balance I've maintained out of whack. It's not going to be easy to restore, the lines between us seem.. thinner."

Byakuya frowned at the top of Sayomi's head. It was obvious she was not only wounded, but exhausted. He could still feel the erratic thrum of reiatsu as her inner Hollow attempted to regain the control it had held so briefly. He worried about what might happen should she lose consciousness.

"I hope I'm not interrupting, but perhaps we should take a look at those wounds now, Captain Kuchiki. That hand as well, Sayomi." It was Captain Unohana, she and her lieutenant along with her fourth seat had been on the opposite side of a fallen pillar.

Nodding tiredly, Sayomi made to step away from Byakuya to allow Unohana to treat her broken and mangled wrist. As she did so, the world spun violently around her. Dropping to her knees, she cringed as her damaged wrist made contact with the ground. The jolt of pure white hot pain it sent through her caused her vision to go black and she slumped sideways, her consciousness claimed by the darkness.

Byakuya easily lifted the white haired woman in his arms in order to place her in a more suitable position where Unohana could treat her wounds. The woman and her apprentice easily, and quickly worked to repair the damage to Sayomi's wrist. Sayomi remained unconscious as the healers finished and then turned their attention to his wounds.

"Will she be alright?" Rukia asked, raising herself into a position and glancing at the unconscious white haired woman a few feet away.

"Her visible wounds are healed, but it's the internal ones that concern me. Considering Sayomi's unique make up I'm worried about her. Her reiatsu is still very unstable and it's hard to say when she'll wake up… and who she'll wake up as," Unohana answered, a concerned frown creasing her brows.

"What do we do?" Isane asked. They had completed their work healing those who needed it here, but there were still others in need of assistance.

Rising, Unohana dusted her hands off with a sigh. "We've done what we can here. We should move on."

"Brother?" Rukia questioned hesitantly.

Byakuya glanced at his adopted sister, frowning. "You should go, as well. There are more fights to come."

"What about Sayomi?" Rukia asked.

"Don't worry about her," Byakuya replied.

"Good luck, Captain Kuchiki," Unohana offered. "Isane, Hanataro, let's go."

Byakuya and Rukia watched as the three left, Rukia was hesitant to leave, but she was also worried about the others and could do them no good while sitting on the ground.

"You should go, the others will need your assistance," Byakuya advised.

"But-"

"Go," he cut in somewhat forcefully.

It was then that Rukia realized that Sayomi was beginning to stir, only her reiatsu was all jumbled and confused. The woman was waking up, but it seemed uncertain who should be waking up as.

Rukia thought of protesting again, but knew better. She nodded a quick farewell to her brother and leapt away, disappearing into the distance. She could feel Byakuya's eyes on her, watching to make sure she was leaving and not attempting to help him. His back was to Sayomi as the woman blinked her eyes open with a growl.

There was a rush of air behind Byakuya, the sound of a sharp blade slicing through the air. He reacted instantly, pivoting on his heel and raising Senbonzakura to block the blade that had been slicing towards his head.

Eyes narrowing, Byakuya pushed Sayomi away and straightened. "And who might you be?"

The thing that was not Sayomi cackled. "This should prove to be fun."

Byakuya watched as the thing's eyes fluttered, the irises changing color as Sayomi struggled to take back control of her body. When she failed and the thing shook its head as if to clear her thoughts, he sighed.

"I don't have time for this," he said blandly. "If you want to die then, by all means, attack me."

"You would kill your precious little Sayomi? How cruel."

"You are not Sayomi."

"But she's still there, you know. Fighting and screaming, it's really annoying. I guess this must be how she felt all those years when our roles were reversed." She shrugged. "It's only a matter of time before I get her nicely tucked away in a little cage somewhere she won't ever escape from. This guy's not very happy about it," she complained, holding up the shimmering blade of Fuyukaze. "He's trying to fight me and help her. It's not working out as planned for him."

For a moment, Byakuya simply studied the woman before him. She looked like Sayomi in almost every way except for the eyes. Sayomi was still clearly fighting for control, but something had changed and given her inner Hollow more power than it should have had.

He attacked without warning and with nothing less than intent to kill. His movement startled the woman, but she reacted quickly, using Fuyukaze to block his strike and push him away. He attacked again and each time their swords connected he could feel the fight in Fuyukaze's blade, the trembling of the sword that wanted its master back in control.

"There's only one master of that sword, and it isn't you," Byakuya observed before raising his own sword.

In that moment there was a sudden disturbance in the air, a slight change in the way it felt as the wind blew around them. Then Aizen's voice began to speak, bringing the fight to a halt as both paused to listen to the words spoken. Byakuya with a blank look while Sayomi's eyes flickered, conflicted and torn between listening and fighting against the voice that belonged to the one that kept trying to break her.

"Hello my dear invaders, can you hear me? I thought that I would congratulate you all for your continued success in defeating the members of my Espada. As well as inform you that as of now, we will commence our invasion of the human world. I am leaving Orihime Inoue in the fifth tower, if you would like to retrieve her, she is no longer useful to me and you are free to make your attempt. As for Sayomi Himura, as strong as she may be I'd like to remind her that the harder she fights, the harder she'll fall."

In the pause that followed a deep growl was released from the throat of the thing in Sayomi's place, it's claw like hand curling tightly around the hilt of Fuyukaze.

"Well, how about we get down to business. In just a few moments I will be standing on the throne of the heavens. All that needs to be done now is to eradicate you all. Which should be easy since the strength of the Gotei thirteen lies in its thirteen captains. Three of those captains have defected and four have been imprisoned here, effectively cutting the strength of the Gotei in half and leaving them virtually powerless." At that moment, the garganta that allowed the soul reapers to enter Hueco Muendo, closed, trapping them all.

The connection was suddenly severed and the air went back to normal. Byakuya glanced at the woman before him, she was clearly struggling as she breathed raggedly and clutched tightly to her sword. He sighed, being trapped in Hueco Muendo changed things for those who had gone there to help. It was irritating and he was impatient.

"Scatter, Senbonzakura," he commanded, of the zanpakuto he still held before him.

As the blades erupted into the air and dove for the woman, she glanced up, caught off guard. She hesitated, but recovered, trying to command Fuyukaze to shatter and stop each of the approaching blades. Only nothing happened. The sword would not obey her. She tried to leap out of the way, but there was no avoiding the oncoming tide of biting blades no matter how hard she tried to evade them.

Byakuya watched the blades enclose around the woman, slamming her to the ground causing there to an eruption of sand into the air. There was a brief moment he thought the blades would simply rip her apart, but then there was a gust of freezing air and all of the blades exploded away from her.

Breathing harshly, Sayomi dropped to the ground. Blood slipped down her arms and cheeks to drip on to the sand beneath her. When she looked up at Byakuya, her eyes were once again their natural color.

"Thanks for the help, but next time I would appreciate it if you didn't try to kill me," she huffed.

"That woman talked too much."

She nodded her head, shrugging a shoulder. "She is a bit noisy." When Byakuya strode over to her, she released a tired breath. "While your attack forced her to release control back to me in order to survive, I'm still going to be struggling with her for awhile. I'm not the only one struggling, though…"

"Hey, Kenpachi," Ichigo said over his shoulder at the large captain of the eleventh squad. "You said my job was to protect my home, right? Well, you're wrong. My job is to protect my friends."

"Huh? What's your point, kid?"

"My point is that you're on your own," Ichigo replied before pushing off from the ground, creating an explosion of sand as he propelled himself towards the fifth tower and where he could sense Orihime and Ulquiorra with her. He could tell that Sayomi was near by as well, but he was having a harder time getting a clear reading on her as he sped towards a collection of tall, gray towers.

"So what should we do?" Renji asked, scratching at his fiery red head of hair.

Uryu frowned, he was standing now and staring off into the distance. "What we came here to do," he answered evenly, adjusting his glasses. "Help our friends."

After several minutes of simply resting and staring up at the sky, Sayomi grimaced as she slowly pushed herself up into a sitting position. Her head was pounding, there was quite literally something trying to fight its way out of her mind and it was incredibly unpleasant. Groaning, she rested her head on her knees. She could sense the fights taking place all throughout Los Noches. Not far away Nnoitra was fighting, and quickly losing to, Kenpachi while elsewhere Uryu, Renji, and Rukia fought with the Exequias. The fight that was just starting, though, the fight between Ichigo and Ulquiorra had her nervous.

"Everything is so jumbled… I can feel everyone's reiatsu, but part of me can't believe they're real. I saw everyone die. I saw you.. I... killed you. Over and over. He made me watch.. Made me believe.. Made me feel every emotion tenfold..."

"It wasn't real," Byakuya reminded gently.

"I know, but it felt real. Every second I had to watch you suffer, every cut I saw inflicted on those children… It all felt so real. It still does, I still see you dying time and time again. See the looks on the faces of everyone as they died in agony.."

"Stand up," Byakuya said, offering a hand to Sayomi.

The distraught and dirtied woman took in a deep breath as she raised her head, briefly staring at the offered hand before releasing the breath and taking Byakuya's help. She closed her eyes when his arms encircled her and she rested her head on his chest, listening to the steady thrum of his heartbeat.

"What now?" She asked after several moments of just listening to Byakuya's breathing, his heartbeat, and feeling his warmth. " Aizen's begun his attack on the world of the living and we're all stuck here."

"The fight here is far from over," Byakuya replied.

Sighing, Sayomi stared up at the fake sky above Los Noches before stepping away and glancing down at herself only to cringe. She was covered in sand and smears of blood. Her clothes looked like they had been through a tornado and her hair was a knotted mess. "This is going to be a very long day."

Tweaking a vaguely amused brow at Sayomi, Byakuya looked off into the distance. There were two fights that were ongoing, one between Ichigo and the Espada, Ulquiorra and another between Rukia, Renji, Chad and an unknown Arrancar. Ichigo's fight was his own and he had no intention of interrupting. The other fight was proving to be problematic, but the trio was not yet overwhelmed.

"We should find the others," Byakuya finally said to which Sayomi simply nodded her agreement.

"I didn't miss all of the fun, did I?"

Turning her head, Sayomi glanced back at the sound of the new voice to see that Captain Zaraki stood several yards behind them, grinning maniacally. On his shoulder clung his small lieutenant, Yachiru.

"What are you doing here?" Byakuya asked blandly.

"I finished my fight, thought I'd find another."

"He's lost," Yachiru piped up with a girlish giggle.

"I'm not lost," the large captain grumbled in irritation.

"I don't think that matters right now. We should stick together and find everyone else. We need to try and find a way out of here," Sayomi offered tiredly. "It's probably best to head towards where Ichigo is fighting, with how much reiatsu is coming from that area I think everyone will be drawn it like a beacon."

"As long as there's a fight," Zaraki replied.

"Fight, fight!" Yachiru cheered happily. "More fun for Kenny!"

Sayomi sighed and glanced at Byakuya. "Shall we?" His eyes met hers for a moment, she could see the concern for her well-being, but she ignored it and flash stepped away. She was tired, broken, fighting an internal battle she still risked losing, but she needed to help her friends and she need to find a way out of Hueco Muendo where the influence of her inner Hollow was stronger.

As Aizen, Gin, and Tousen stepped into the sky above the world of the living the gathered Soul Reapers stood defiant and strong. The war they had been waiting for was beginning and it would be over in a matter of hours now, for good or ill. Their enemies were appearing before them as Aizen smirked and looked smugly triumphant.

Even when engulfed in a prison of flames, the man continued to look triumphant. He had no doubt that he would be victorious. He knew he would be sitting on a throne no one had ever dared tried to take within hours.

While Aizen was trapped in his fiery prison Soul Society fought, hard, but it was quickly becoming apparent that they were at a disadvantage. With several captains trapped in Hueco Muendo with Ichigo and his companions they were noticing the lack in their combined strength. They needed help, but they feared they wouldn't receive it. At least not in time.

They were wrong...

"We owe a lot to Kisuke...and to Aizen," Shinji said, his tone unusually serious as he looked up at the sky above Karakura Town.

Kensei, Love, Rose, Hachi, Lisa, Hiyori and Mashiro all rose from where they had been sitting as well. There was an ominous air about them all as they silently head for the door with every intention of breaking through the barrier that had been erected around the fake Karakura town and join the fight against Aizen.

Shinji chuckled, glancing over at Hachi as the large man completed a spell that would allow them to pass through the barrier around the fake town of Karakura. He let his serious demeanor fade away as a break appeared in front of them, revealing the destruction that had already begun. "Well then, let's get this party started."

~A/N~

Hello! I've had this chapter nearly done for awhile, I just kept losing track of where I wanted it to go. I ended up settling for a middle ground. I know it seems fast paced, that was one of my worries, but these events take place within a day and I was hoping that the urgency would show in the chapter. I'm not sure it did, I'm still on the ropes about this one...

Anywho, hope you all enjoyed. Look forward to more next month. :)