AN: Observant readers will note that this story was originally slated to have four parts, but the plot demanded a whole extra part to do the story justice. Hope no one minds!

Part 5

Someone screamed and Uryuu whirled in time to witness a Shinigami fall, a white and blue arrow lodged in her chest. There was an urgent shout in the distance that tapered to a shrill cry of agony. To his left, a Quincy roared a battle cry cut short by a sudden stab through the abdomen. The rapid-repeat shoonk of arrows mingling with the clang and slice of metal ringing throughout the city sounded like a lethal kind of music the prince had never heard before. He already knew he never wanted to hear it again.

Everywhere around him was motion. Flashes of black and white and red, so much red splashed across the sun-bleached blocks of stone paving the ground. Alabaster statues propped on sturdy plinths mirrored the massacre, slathered in second-hand gore. The still air was stale with the tang of copper and sweat. Blinding rays of orange light struck out from the setting sun to the west, casting their surroundings into surreal relief contrasted with stretching shadows. There was so much to take in, so many disorienting details, but they had to press on. They were so close to the castle!

The Shinigami army had been rushing and clashing and regrouping since morning. All because Uryuu's speech at the gates had fallen on adamant ears. The prince had done his best to sway his people in favor of peace, but Yhwach's malevolent tendrils of influence were too deeply rooted to nurture the fragile kernel of truce. Yet, he knew it could have been much worse. The legion of King Ryuuken's soldiers had been many times greater than what they were facing, and it gave him hope to think such a large proportion of the realm was on his side. Even if they were too frightened to join the uprising against his uncle.

Another cluster of Shinigami went down under a hail of arrows and Uryuu's eyes scanned the ramparts, lined with some of the city's most elite sharp-shooters.

"Get your men onto the balustrade!" he called out to Renji across a courtyard littered with blood and bodies. "Take out those archers!"

His closest general gave a curt nod and issued orders to his scattered squadron. They were all spread thin—not because they didn't have the numbers to rival Yhwach's reduced forces, but because the battle had spilled into most of the city's streets and even the commercial districts. The majority of Quincy denizens were tucked safely away in their homes, for which Uryuu was very grateful, but those who had chosen to stay were veterans. Men and women he recognized as those who had been fighting since before he was born. They knew the terrain even better than he did and had the type of combat expertise boasted in legend. If the Shinigami had any chance of besting them on their own turf, it would require retaking the higher ground and suppressing the snipers. Otherwise, they would all be picked off long before they could make it to Yhwach himself.

Uryuu shot a man aiming for one of his black-clad comrades and watched him collapse, groaning from a wound that wasn't mortal. Every arrow he fired on his own kin killed him, while also bringing him one step closer to ending the war. He had to keep reminding himself that he was doing this for his people, not to them. Particularly whenever he saw a formerly friendly face contort in misery he caused.

A missile grazed his shoulder, the sudden sting inspiring brief panic. Uryuu rotated to release the string he had already drawn in response. A split-second before the dart hit home, he recognized his target as an older woman who had finished teaching him how to sew after his mother passed partway through the lessons he'd begged her for. The woman gasped in shock as she went down and it took everything in him not to run to her side.

His hand trembled no matter how hard he gripped his bow to steady it.

"Uryuu!" He hadn't realized he'd shut his eyes until they flew open at the frantic call. Ichigo yanked him backward and a pair of arrows embedded into the ground where he'd just been standing. The Shinigami dragged him under shaded cover of a narrow alley and demanded, "What the hell were you thinking, standing out in the open like that?"

"I'm sorry. I just—"

"You're shaking…Are you hurt?"

"No, Ichigo, I'm fine."

"Then why are you bleeding?"

A testing touch to Uryuu's arm made him cringe but he insisted, "It's nothing."

It really was nothing, compared with the ache in his chest and the pounding in his skull. Ichigo gave him a stern look and tore a strip off his uniform to bind the small injury. Then he nudged Uryuu's chin up to study him carefully.

"What's wrong?"

He made a noise halfway between a scoff and a laugh. "What isn't wrong right now?"

"Prince!" a voice hissed from the shadows. Both princes turned to spot a young man's head poking out of an open doorway further down the alley. "Prince Uryuu, come this way, hurry!"

A single step was all he managed before Ichigo stopped him, whispering, "It could be a trap."

"Unlikely. That boy is a squire to one of my father's personal guard. He has known me his whole life."

"Most of these people have known you longer," he argued with a vague gesture toward the city in general, "And they seem perfectly willing to shoot you down."

"I like our chances." Uryuu grabbed his hand and urged, "Let's go."

Ichigo pursed his lips in discontent but allowed himself to be led toward the mystery door. They walked into a cluttered kitchen area, warm from a fire in the brick oven by the far corner. The squire was waiting beside a stack of crates filled with flour and grain. He straightened as they entered, nervously fidgeting with the hat he swiped from atop blond hair.

"The rumors said you were alive but I still can't believe you're actually here," said the boy in a hushed tone. "We went to your funeral, you know. Me and Mr. Black. He sent me to give you a message from his friend."

There was only one 'friend' to whom he could've been referring. Uryuu frowned and coldly stated, "Haschwalth."

Tensing at the name, Ichigo's fingers instinctively wrapped around the hilt of his sheathed blade. "Isn't that the guy you said chased you off in the first place?"

"And saved my life in the process, just days after he murdered my father." The squire grimaced and averted his gaze to avoid the raw fury in Uryuu's. "What could he possibly have to say to me?"

"Y-Yhwach has a mirror…" he haltingly relayed. "A magic mirror that lets him see things. Things like when his enemies will be alone and where they'll be most vulnerable."

Comprehension sparked and Uryuu stole a sharp inhale to exclaim, "That's how he assassinated the king!?"

"Must've been how he almost got you, too," Ichigo indignantly reminded. "I guess Kisuke was right about it being sorcery."

The boy nodded agreement and continued, "That is why he will know when you're coming and how to stop you. There is no way to beat him as long as he can see every action before you take it."

"What are you saying? That I should just give up?" The messenger shrugged. Uryuu's eyes narrowed as he asked, "Why should I believe any of this? If his master is so invulnerable, Haschwalth has no reason to warn me away from the castle and he certainly has no concern for my safety. I'm surprised he didn't find me himself and finish the job Yhwach gave him half a year ago!"

Pale green eyes widened and the boy breathed, "Then, you haven't heard?"

"Heard what?"

"Mr. Haschwalth is locked in the dungeon. He's been down there for months." The crease between his brow smoothed in chilling revelation. Yhwach must have intuited the betrayal once he'd learned the prince was still alive and cast his most faithful subject into the deepest pit he could find. "Mr. Black has been depressed ever since. He only got to speak to his friend by sneaking past the guards one night while the king was asleep."

Uryuu clenched his jaw against a conflicting surge of vindication and sympathy. Ryuuken's killer was paying for his crime as well as his charity. It wasn't wrong, but neither did it seem quite right.

"Magic mirror or no, I won't run away when there is so much at stake. Come on, Ichigo, the path to the castle must be clear by now."

They left the squire behind and ventured back into the fray, such as it was. The scene was much quieter with the bulk of the action having moved further toward the gleaming citadel in the center of the city. Ichigo stayed close by his side, alert for any sign of opposition as they picked a brisk path through patches of carnage.

After everything that had happened, it felt so strange strolling through the place he had always known as his home until very recently. Seeing it spoiled by violence and death made him want to curl up and cry. He didn't have the luxury of sentiment, however, when the man who had ruined it all was still gloating in his tower. That one person could cause so much suffering for the sake of their own avarice was infuriating.

No, Uryuu decided, Yhwach wasn't a person. He was a monster.

"If that kid was telling the truth," Ichigo abruptly began, "If there really is a mirror, what's the plan?"

"The plan is not to have a plan."

A lengthy pause preceded his tentative reply, "Okay, you're gonna have to explain that one."

"Well, the entire concept is flawed if you think about it. How many minute decisions are made before a single action is taken? Thousands of tiny factors add up to produce one outcome or another. The future is in constant flux and no amount of magic can foretell it with perfect accuracy every time. If it could, his second attempt to take my life wouldn't have failed. So, all we have to do is wing it."

"Wing it? That's your plan?"

Uryuu met his questioning gaze and reasoned, "The more chaos we create, the harder our intentions should be to predict. In theory."

"In theory, sure, but in practice? Not so sure."

"Have you come up with a better idea or are you too busy ridiculing mine?" The Shinigami frowned but held his tongue. "Whether the odds are in our favor or his, I have to try. None of this means anything if I don't."

Tilting his head skyward, Ichigo sighed and grumbled, "I already know that. Doesn't mean I like it. Either way, I'm with you."

"Thank you," he murmured. They slowed to a stop near a wide column supporting an outdoor pavilion. "For everything you've done to help me get this far. No matter what happens today, I want you to know how grateful I am to you for believing in me."

"Nothing is going to happen, Uryuu."

"Because you won't let it?"

"Because we won't," Ichigo insisted. "You, me, the rest of the guys, and all the people who came to fight with us. Your crazy uncle is gonna wish he'd never tried to steal your throne."

In spite of all the hardship they'd gone through—and all that they still had to go through—Uryuu smiled.

It warped into astonishment as an arrow skewered the carved stone between their faces. They lurched apart and sought out the challenger, drawing weapons and settling into defensive stances. The bright red mohawk was an instant giveaway.

"Bazzard Black," he grimly greeted. "'Hello' works just as well as an arrow at getting someone's attention, you know." Another alternative hello was fired and Uryuu barely dodged in time. His companion raised his sword and started forward. "Ichigo, wait! This is the man whose squire we just spoke with."

"I don't give a damn who he is, I'm not backing down until he puts his bow away."

"Got yourself a little guard dog, eh? Shinigami, too…You been slumming, Prince?"

Ichigo tensed to lunge. A grip on his sleeve barely held him in check.

"Even if you kill us both, Yhwach won't praise you for it. He isn't the type to reward his subordinates. Unlike my father."

"This has nothing to do with any king," the belligerent Quincy spat, "Yours or mine."

The unexpected claim gave Uryuu pause. If it wasn't about his loyalty to Yhwach, why would Bazz-b attack them? He glanced at Ichigo, practically grinding his teeth out of frustration for a fight, and the motive suddenly became crystal clear.

"This is about Haschwalth."

It wasn't a question and Bazz-b didn't answer, but Ichigo blurted, "What's he got to do with this asshole?"

"I am the reason he has been imprisoned."

"Damn right you are," their irate adversary agreed. "You'll pay for it in blood."

"You're blaming Uryuu for not dying quietly when your buddy tried to kill him? How stupid are you?"

"Shut up, mutt! No one asked you!"

Moving forward to regain Bazz-b's focus, he negotiated, "I won't promise that I would let him go free once Yhwach is deposed. But I swear on my family's name that I would treat Haschwalth far better than the king who abandoned him. He's being tortured, isn't he?" The sour twist to his features confirmed it. "I would never do that to anyone, regardless of the crime."

His stare bounced between the two of them in reluctant consideration. There was a slight lessening of his scowl as Bazz-b asked, "Could I visit whenever I wanted?"

"Under proper supervision." Earning a glare for the stipulation, Uryuu graciously relented, "Though I suppose the guards could still keep watch from the hall."

Ichigo gave him a sideways look, obviously not catching on to the subtext, but he didn't voice the questions etched all over his face.

The Quincy thought about it for a while, tempted. One more thing kept him dubious. "Do you honestly think you could stand against Yhwach?"

"Yes," Uryuu answered without hesitation, "I do. Isn't that why you sent the boy—less in warning, more as a test of my resolve? I trust you have your answer."

Although Bazz-b snorted at his confidence, he caved. "Fine. I won't kill you, as long as you keep your word."

He shouldered his bow and Ichigo cautiously lowered his sword but didn't sheath it.

"Will you help us get into the castle?" tried Uryuu. He had nothing to lose by asking.

"Sure. No problem."

"Hold on, we're supposed to trust this guy now because you promised to be a nicer jailor for his friend?"

"They aren't just friends, Ichigo."

The Shinigami blinked at that. Then it clicked. "Oh."

Rolling his eyes, Bazz-b started walking without waiting to see whether they would follow.

Glowing torches spluttered in the gust of their passing all the way up to the castle's central spire. With Bazz-b's assistance they had reached it in excellent time, but not before the sun had finished setting outside. Thankfully the war raging on the ramparts hadn't deterred staff from dutifully lighting the appropriate halls and chambers as usual.

They were around the corner from a stairwell leading to the tower when Bazz-b suddenly stopped, turned, and shoved Uryuu through the nearest doorway. He didn't protest because he'd heard the faint echo of harried footsteps, too, but Ichigo hadn't.

"Hey, keep your hands off my fianc—"

Uryuu clamped a palm over his mouth and drew him further into the room, away from the open frame where a contingent of soldiers could be seen jogging by mere seconds later. After the threat had passed, Bazz-b regarded the prince in blatant confusion.

"Did he just call you his—"

"Don't ask." It really wasn't worth explaining why a seemingly random Shinigami had casually implied betrothal when Uryuu didn't fully understand it himself. He hadn't said 'yes' yet!

The Quincy shrugged and let the subject drop. He said, "There will be guards posted at the tower entrance. You two stay here while I get rid of them."

It was only after Bazz-b left that he gathered his bearings enough to recognize the room in which they stood. Uryuu went rigid as he stared at a spot on the floor across the room where an elaborately woven rug had once been.

Noticing his tension, Ichigo asked, "What is it?"

"My father…this is where he died." He swallowed against a knot in his throat and tore his eyes from the gruesome afterimage of King Ryuuken lying slain just a few paces away. "My last words to him were bitter. I was angry over something so insignificant and now I can't even…"

"If he was anything like my dad, all that stuff just rolls off like water. His final thoughts were probably of concern for the son he loved more than anyone in the world."

It was a nice notion, if a little unlikely. At least he could still take solace in the fact that they were about to avenge the death of his father, as well as all the deaths Yhwach had caused since his rise to power. Hopefully.

They waited in silence until Bazz-b's return. He strode in from the hall and announced, "The route is clear."

"What did you do to the guards?" Ichigo wanted to know.

"I ordered them down to the battlement as reinforcements. They didn't want to go but I'm a ranking officer, so they had no choice. What, did you think I killed them?" He laughed at their uneasy expressions and addressed Uryuu, "You're on your own from here, Prince. I won't risk openly betraying Yhwach when someone's gotta stick around to break Haschwalth free if you fail."

"I understand. Thank you for helping us get this far."

Bazz-b gave him a wry look and replied, "Thank me by becoming a better king than that lunatic upstairs."

They watched him sweep from the room with evident purpose. Uryuu wouldn't have put it past him to be heading straight for the dungeon. Taking advantage of the confusion, it might have been possible for him to get Haschwalth out before the dust had even settled. Then it wouldn't matter who was or wasn't the kingdom's sanctioned ruler.

The route to the tower was indeed clear, and they hurried up the spiral stairwell to reach a wide wooden double door. Its handles turned unimpeded, allowing an aperture to gape as the room beyond was revealed. Readying weapons, they warily stepped inside. There were no torches burning in metal mounts lining the circular chamber. Instead tall, narrow windows set high upon the domed ceiling let pale moonlight stream into the space. It did little to disperse the darkness but lent the grey stone walls and floor a sickly, bluish cast.

Vague outlines of furniture represented unknown threats as Uryuu's eyes scanned them for a human silhouette. The thought that Yhwach may not have been there never occurred to him. A man like him always had to claim the higher ground, to loom over his underlings and watch them scurry about from a convenient distance. A man like him wouldn't put himself anywhere near the battle if he could stand back and let others do his dirty work. A man like him loved the element of surprise and would wait for the best moment to strike.

"Coward!" he yelled to shatter the silence. "Have you no sense of honor left? Step out and face me!"

From somewhere across the chamber, a deep voice evenly answered, "Honor is for the weak-willed and feeble-minded masses, boy. It has no place in politics."

"Politics? This isn't about politics—this is about justice!" Uryuu moved further into the room as his blood began to rise. "You had my father killed and you think I'm here just to reclaim the title you stole?"

Low laughter reverberated from everywhere and nowhere at once. His glance kept flicking from one shape to another, alert for any sign of movement in the stillness. A single arrow could have decided the outcome, regardless of who shot first, and the bow in his grip seemed far inferior to a shield in that moment. Again, a gravelly voice pervaded the atmosphere but the vaulted dome's complex acoustics made it impossible to pinpoint the origin.

"I have already seen all the ways this confrontation can end. It never bodes well for you." Whirling when it sounded like the words came from behind him, Uryuu felt his heart rate pick up as fear set in. "If I strike at you, your Shinigami will absorb the blow. If I get rid of him first, you leap in to take his place. Either way you both breathe your last in this tower. It is all very touching…and so very futile."

He could feel the pressure of Ichigo's stare on him and he knew what the man was wondering. Even after Uryuu had sworn to put his people above all else, would he really forfeit his life to protect one Shinigami? The prince was reluctant to acknowledge the answer to that question, however, and he had more important concerns to focus on.

"If victory is assured, you have nothing to lose by showing yourself."

"Neither have I anything to gain."

Uryuu grit his teeth against a growl of frustration. By that point, the prospect of firing at random was appealing. Maybe he would've gotten lucky and nailed Yhwach right in his smug mouth.

A sharp inhale on his left kept the impulse at bay. Ichigo's gaze was locked on a target by the far wall and Uryuu stiffened to see a massive, ornate mirror stationed there. It had to be the mirror. Destroying the asset might've been just the thing to shake their enemy's composure. Ichigo began edging toward it and he knew what needed to be done: a distraction was in order.

"We have discovered the cure for those afflicted with the Hollow curse, Yhwach. Does that mean nothing to you? Without major change, what will the Quincy do when our way of life becomes extinct?"

"I will build up my army and finish what our ancestors started."

"You would wage all-out war against Shinigami?" he incredulously gaped. "The very reason for our conflict has been erased! Peace between the realms would be to the benefit of everyone residing within them!"

"You always were naïve." More of that unnerving mirth billowed around Uryuu like cloying smoke. "There is no such thing as peace, boy. Only conquest, domination, and absolute power!"

A sense of despair shrouded his mind as he realized just how dangerous Yhwach really was. The strength of his conviction was astounding, despite being based in profound delusion. Left unchecked, his ambition would reach disastrous proportions. He wouldn't be satisfied until every man, woman, and child on the entire continent bent a knee and vowed fealty. Uryuu simply could not allow that to happen.

He loosed an arrow into the inky abyss and heard it hit something made of wood, not of flesh. Ichigo was mere steps away from the mirror, which was fortunate because the prince had nothing else to say to his uncle.

There was a resounding crash as blade met glass. Before the shards had finished falling, before Ichigo could even lower his sword an arrow struck him in the chest. The force of it knocked him against the wall. He coughed once and went down hard.

"Ichigo!"

"Insolent children," chided Yhwach. "Did you think I wouldn't have seen that, as well? I can have another mirror enchanted at my whim within the week."

The plan had backfired badly and Uryuu was too distressed to anticipate the dart shot in his direction. He barely managed to lean aside at the last instant, sustaining a shallow cut across his cheek rather than an arrow through the eye. Crouching low, he rushed to Ichigo's side, flinching each time an arrow's impact narrowly missed him. Yhwach was toying with them; he had been from the moment they stepped foot into the tower. Otherwise, they would have been long dead already.

Somehow, Uryuu made it to the Shinigami mostly intact. Ichigo was unconscious, but he came to as he was dragged toward the cover of a broad oak desk. The arrow was close enough to his shoulder that it had missed both heart and lungs. He was hemorrhaging heavily, though, and panic threatened to overwhelm Uryuu at the sight. His hands trembled as they snapped the shaft in half and gingerly drew it out. Ichigo groaned from the pain, but it forced some clarity past the shock of injury.

"Shit, I should've seen that coming," he lamented while Uryuu shed his jacket to rip off the sleeves. They made for a decent tourniquet in a pinch. "Did he get you?"

"No."

"Then why are you bleeding?" Ichigo raised a hand aiming for the cut on his face but stopped when the motion pulled at his sore shoulder. "You have to get out of here, Uryuu."

"Shut up."

"No, I'm serious. I'll get his attention so you can—"

"I said shut up, Ichigo," he irritably snapped, unwilling to hear any more of such talk. "I need to think."

If only he could see the target clearly! They would never have a chance if he couldn't spot Yhwach long enough to take aim, but the nearest torch was downstairs in the main hall and there was no other…Uryuu straightened as an epiphany tingled down his spine. This used to be his grandfather's personal study and they had spent countless hours there together. The layout had changed somewhat but one thing that probably hadn't was the spare jar of lamp oil he knew Souken used to keep in the bottom drawer of the very desk he was leaning against.

A flurry of motion followed as Uryuu rummaged for and found the jar before dousing the top of the desk with its contents, attracting a fresh volley for his trouble. Ichigo's eyes lit with comprehension and the prince paused to appraise him.

"Can you move?"

"Yeah," the Shinigami grunted. "Not very fast, but yeah."

"Then be ready."

Uryuu took a bracing breath and dragged the flat of an arrowhead's edge across the rasp of a rough statuette. It took three tries to get a spark. The surface ignited, rapidly spreading across dusty kindling with oil's aid. Within seconds, the whole desk was aflame. They scrabbled away from it, squinting in a burst of light banishing the shadows. Dry wood crackled eagerly, sending flecks of fire to the rug, the chair, and even the bookshelf. Hot coals caught and flared, threatening an inferno. They needed to hurry.

There was nowhere for Yhwach to hide anymore. Uryuu rose and spotted him immediately. His bow creaked from the force of the draw, squeezing a grunt of effort from the desperate prince. The arrow met its mark. Yhwach glanced down to the shaft sticking out of his abdomen as if he couldn't believe what he was feeling. Apparently, he hadn't seen that in his precious mirror.

Still, the old warmonger wouldn't go down so easily. He ripped the arrowhead free with an enraged growl and sent a shot right back. Uryuu was spurred into action. Dodging and shooting as appropriate, he made his way around the spreading fire toward his uncle. Yhwach roared as a dart struck his arm. Uryuu cried out when another sliced into his thigh. They slowly closed in on each other, taking turns inflicting damage in the heating arena until they were both slinging blood and sweat across the floor with each rapid motion.

Scrabbling at his quiver for another arrow, the prince gasped to discover only one remained. Uryuu knew he had to make the last one count, so he steeled his courage and dashed even closer to his enemy. He stopped at short-range and Yhwach mirrored his archer's stance. In that split-second of aiming the arrow and drawing the string, Uryuu realized that taking the shot from that distance meant he did not have time to evade. Yet, the same applied to Yhwach, and his demise was worth any cost.

Anxiety dissolved as he made the decision. Uryuu released his arrow and awaited the inevitable end.

The attack hit with flawless accuracy. His breath froze in his lungs and his eyes widened because a sword burst through the center of Yhwach's chest the same instant Uryuu's arrow lodged in his throat. They had both been too focused on their duel to notice Ichigo moving in from behind. Yhwach's shot went wide, completely missing his stunned nephew, and blood gurgled from his gaping mouth in place of malicious last words. The mad king dropped to his knees, then fell to the floor. Ichigo stood behind him, holding his hurt arm to his chest while the other held his blade's hilt.

Their eyes met across the room, broadcasting hope and the beginnings of triumph. But the fire was releasing a suffocating miasma of smoke as it devoured the furnishings at an alarming rate. Uryuu pointed toward the exit. They ran, stumbling from pain and fatigue and dizziness. The stairwell swam and shrank around them as they rushed down to the lower level, spilling out into the hallway and gripping the wall for support.

It hurt to breathe but Uryuu couldn't stop gasping. Ichigo wasn't much better off, sucking in uneven gulps of air and rubbing soot from his eyes.

"Lighting that fire was genius," rasped the Shinigami, "But it's a miracle we got out in time!"

"If I had known my uncle would—" Uryuu paused to indulge a minor fit of coughing before finishing, "Hide in the dark like an insect, I would have brought a lantern!"

Ichigo snorted, then sneezed, then winced as the movement irked his wound. "Let's go find Hana so he can patch us up before we pass out."

Nodding agreement, Uryuu pushed off the wall and started forward. He watched Ichigo follow suit, except he went pale and tilted sideways without taking a single step. The prince didn't hesitate to help, pulling Ichigo's arm across his shoulders, and they made painstaking progress through the castle to the ground floor.

They were still leaning on each other when they came across a congregation in the main hall. The Shinigami were in the process of establishing a basic camp there and Uryuu wilted in relief because he knew it meant they were truly victorious. The usurper was dead and his loyalists had all been killed or captured over the course of a very long day. Elated in light of good news, he found himself drawing Ichigo into a celebratory embrace.

"It's over," he sighed, holding the prince tighter.

"No," Uryuu firmly said, "It's just beginning."

THE END