Byakuya Kuchiki Unveiled: Chapter 13

Bleach: Byakuya Kuchiki Unveiled
Chapter 13--An Enemy Revealed

Captain TeShiera Setsuke remained motionless in front of Lieutenant Abarai's desk, wondering what it was that had caused Captain Kuchiki's rude and abrupt departure. Was it something she'd done or said? Was his apparent dislike of her a result of what had happened between them all those years ago? But no, she couldn't believe that; he was a captain now. A captain would never dwell on events from so long ago, would they?

But whatever it was, whether it was because he did remember her or not, it was obvious he had a distinct dislike for her. But she would find out why. After that incident, she had been told he had been an angry child when they were young, but had he truly grown into an angry, grudge filled adult as well? She didn't know, but she for one would not allow past childish issues to interfere with any possible current working relationship.

They were both shinigami captains now. The last thing the Gotei 13 needed was two captains fighting amongst themselves, especially when there was nothing to be gained.
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Byakuya Kuchiki wasn't exactly certain what might be happening when he'd flashed away from the squad six barracks. But he'd known what he'd seen and what he'd heard. The thing was, if what he'd heard was a direct confirmation of what he believed he'd seen, he knew Rukia's life was likely endangered.

Coming to a stop just beyond the southern tip of the third division barracks, he had no desire to rush forward and startle his sister any more than he knew his revelation would.

Looking ahead, he could see what appeared to be the objects of his pursuit just beyond the halfway point of the second division. Though he could only sense some small degree of Rukia's spiritual pressure due to her lack of concern about who accompanied her, he sensed nothing from her companion. Clearly, he was currently suppressing his.

Thoroughly evaluating his targets as he moved forward, Byakuya now realized that Captain Setsuke was correct. He couldn't see the shinigami's face, but despite the lateness of the hour, the Seireitei skies were still bright enough that even from his current location, he could see that his subject's attire as well as his hair did indeed look very much like Renji Abarai's. Much like the shinigami that had appeared in his office earlier, had looked very much like her. Clearly Rukia might not notice the deception. The only reason he himself, had any awareness was because of the distinct difference in the actual captain's eye color. Renji's eye coloring though, was brown. Unless Rukia was able to see that same deathly cold stare and understand its meaning, she would be unaware of any potential threat.

What was going on here? Byakuya wondered. Were they being invaded by lookalike… hollows or was this something else? He had never heard of such a thing, but as demented as Aizen was, who knows what he's been up to after having disappeared through that Negación that had been opened by those Menos Grandes during his escape? Had he sent Ryoka to the Seireitei? If so, how many and for what purpose?

"Shinigami," Byakuya called continuing forward. "Move away from her."

They both stopped and turned toward him in puzzlement. "Nii-sama…?" Rukia began her response.

"Is something wrong, captain?" the shinigami mocked as he too faced him.

Byakuya stared into a pair of seemingly familiar, yet cold brown eyes. "You are not my lieutenant," he stated in his usual calm, controlled baritone. Though angered, Byakuya stared directly into Rukia's eyes. "Move away from him," he commanded, knowing she would never disobey his orders.

The unknown shinigami's eyes stared back growing more hostile and cold as they narrowed and his arm lifted, wrapping themselves around Rukia's upper body to prevent her movement as he quickly flashed them both to the squad two barrack's rooftop.

Byakuya quickly followed, flashing in front of them to block any potential escape path.

"Renji," Rukia called out in surprise. "What are you doing?"

"Drop your Zanpakutō Kuchiki clan leader," the shinigami commanded glaring at the sixth division captain.

"Renji," Rukia choked out, surprised to see her friend prepared to attack his captain and her brother, not to mention that the hold he had around her throat was squeezing out her breath.

The duplicate tightened his grip around her neck and began to squeeze harder.

"Renji, what are you doing? You're hurting me, idiot!" Rukia declared attempting to take an awkward swipe at his head, which her opponent dodged skillfully.

"That is not Renji," Byakuya stated brusquely, watching as her eyes widened, despite its fading light. "Who are you? Do I know you?" he now demanded of the shinigami, believing this attack on his sister was actually an attack on him.

"Don't you know? But if you don't know me by looking, what would it benefit you to know my name?"

"You are not Renji Abarai, despite your appearance."

"I'm not? You sure about that?"

Byakuya simply narrowed his gaze without bothering to respond.

"I will say that what you did has haunted me for the past 57 years. But what I will do to you will be a nightmare you will never forget," the shinigami sneered angrily. "I will destroy and take everything you think important away from you."

"You are delusional," Byakuya declared as he considered his words; the same words he'd heard earlier that day--57 years ago.

It was 57 years ago. But I'm certain you never gave it another thought, after you left a shinigami to die for the sake of that reborn human. Did you ever pay for that transgression? Did you let her think you were going to marry her until you got what you wanted? Was she worth it?

"You make claims you will never be able to fulfill," Byakuya declared dispassionately. He had no idea why these shinigami lookalikes had such interest in those events, but more importantly, what was it about them that he needed to remember, unless… "There's only one of you, isn't there?" he surmised. "You were the one in my office earlier, weren't you?" Byakuya questioned, though not understanding how such a thing could be possible.

"Are you asking, or telling?" the shinigami glared his response.

"I am telling you to release that woman if you wish to live." Byakuya declared, unwilling to be swayed from his path. "If you do not, you will soon regret your choice."

"Regret? So you will kill your lieutenant without hesitation?"

"I will kill anyone who dares attack a member of the Kuchiki clan," Byakuya professed bluntly. "And you are not Abarai. That is not his spiritual pressure I sense."

"Spiritual pressure, ahhh yes; but do you even know whose spiritual pressure you sense?"

Byakuya didn't know what that spiritual pressure was. He looked like a shinigami, but now that he concentrated, what he sensed seemed to be verging on a mixture of something else – a hollow perhaps?

"I am disappointed in you Kuchiki Byakuya," the shinigami taunted with a look of haughtiness. "You take the life of a fellow shinigami and you don't even remember him."

Byakuya's eyes widened. There had been only one shinigami whose life he had taken. But earlier, the same subject had been broached; but still that was nearly sixty years ago and though he had somehow disappeared from that meadow, his status remained unknown to this day. But Byakuya knew he could not have been devoured by a hollow because he had sensed no such presence then. But this pressure he sensed now was not Hatsune's and though he remembered the power of his Zanpakutō, he did not have his sword drawn.

"Do you know who you challenge yet, Kuchiki Byakuya," the shinigami now demanded after observing him closely for the past few minutes.

Byakuya furrowed his brows as he studied him. "I know only if you injure that woman you will die here and now."

"Again? You plan to take my life again?" he asked in disbelief. "Well not this time. You have got to know I will not be so easily defeated," the shinigami said tightening his grip around Rukia's neck.

"What are you implying?" Byakuya asked, though he believed he comprehended the underlying meaning of this situation. "I know you cannot be Abarai's brother. He has none."

"What am I implying? You haven't figured it out yet?" the shinigami taunted. "Do you not even remember my words to you?"

"Your words?" Byakuya repeated with disinterest. If this was indeed who he was beginning to think it was, he was certain he was referring to some idle threat he had made long ago. But if this was him, where had he been, and how was his return even possible? He was certain he had died then. "Why do you look like Abarai?"

"Abarai?" the lookalike repeated thoughtfully. "Can you not guess why I do?"

"I do not spend my time guessing," Byakuya declared, unwilling to play this game further. "If you wish to live, you will desist from your actions and release that woman."

"Again? You're giving me orders again?"

Knowing he had to develop a strategy to both rescue and protect his sister, Byakuya continued to consider his options as he attempted to unnerve his opponent. "I don't know nor do I care who you are; but since it is more your desire that I do know than it is mine to know, why not just come out with it." Byakuya stated, certain the shinigami believed he had the upper hand with whatever information he had that he refused to divulge. "But do not think I will continue to repeat myself. If you desire your life, you will release her in the process," Byakuya ordered as he observed his opponent.

The closeness of their proximity forbade him from using his Zanpakutō, but he knew he couldn't even release his Kidō, without suffering the consequence of injuring Rukia in the process. Having just saved her life and hopefully cleared the air between them, he refused to lose her to whoever this shinigami was. But he could see Rukia's moves fading, though he knew it wasn't because she no longer had the desire to fight, as much as because she was slowly losing consciousness. He also knew he would have to react quickly, but what could he do without causing her further injury.

"You took her from me once before, but that will not happen again," the shinigami declared defiantly.

Byakuya's eyebrows twitched with that revelation.

"I am far more powerful than I was. I will warn you though," the Renji lookalike said further tightening his grip around Rukia, whose movements were almost non-existent now. "She will not last long at this rate and you must know you cannot use your Kidō or your Zanpakutō without endangering her as well. So if you want her to live, I say drop your Zanpakutō now Kuchiki Byakuya, and not in your bankai form. I know all about that."

"If you kill her, you must know you will have no further protection."

"And if she dies, you will no longer have Hisana."

"Hisana," Byakuya eyed him suspiciously. "That is not Hisana," he stated, wondering how and why a shinigami of today would mistake Rukia for his late wife. So did that mean this truly was him?

"You lie. You think I don't remember the face of the woman I died for?"

"What are you talking about? How did you know Hisana?"

"Don't you remember? You killed me for her."

Byakuya froze. It couldn't be. "Michio Hatsune?"

"So you do remember. Yes, I am the man you killed because you wanted this woman. So if you want her to live now, drop your Zanpakutō."

"Your memory is not as clear as you think," Byakuya informed him. "That is not Hisana."

"No? Do you think me so stupid that I don't know the face of the woman I laid claim to before you came along," the shinigami shouted as if thinking Byakuya didn't remember who she was any more than he remembered him. "Well, I am back, and since you've already had your fun, I will now have mine. From this moment forward, Hisana will belong to me."

"You will silence your mouth about Hisana," Byakuya commanded slashing his hand outward across the front of his chest having heard enough from this shinigami's foul mouth as a thought began to flitter through his head. He had no idea how such a thing could be possible, but with this shinigami's disrespectful manner of speaking, he had almost no doubts that this was indeed him."You will not speak her name again, or you will die where you stand."

"Will I?" the Renji lookalike continued to taunt him. "How will you do that without killing her?" he asked looking down at the rapidly fading Rukia.

"Why did you appear to me as a captain and how are you able to look like Abarai or her?" the Kuchiki clan leader wanted to know as he continued to consider his potential attack approach.

"Abarai? Is that his name?" the shinigami quipped with disinterest. "Let me say I wanted to get close to you before I destroyed your life. I felt she might be unknown to you since I heard she was a new captain. I thought she would come in handy and what better way to reacquaint myself than to use a new captain or your trusted lieutenant to gain information?"

Byakuya continued to weigh his words. From what he was saying now, he seemed to be indicating that he was from his past; perhaps Hatsune had returned from the dead, but how?

"So do you not remember me yet, Kuchiki Byakuya? I have come back for the express purpose of doing what I told you I would, but didn't have the chance to do before you took my life -- taking away everything you hold dear before I take yours."

Took his life? Byakuya simply glared at him. Clearly, he was as insane now as ever. If need be, he would alert and increase the security detail at the manor and he would forewarn Rukia as well. But then, none of that would be necessary because he would be dead shortly.

"That shinigami you killed, do you remember the power of his Zanpakutō?" the duplicate Renji hesitated as if awaiting a response, but Byakuya provided none; because he cared not. "It possessed the ability to reach inside another's heart and make them believe they were fighting against someone they loved. And of course they would back off, leaving themselves open for his blade even if only for a few seconds."

"You told me if I had not obtained bankai there was no way I could defeat you," the shinigami stated without specifically responding to Byakuya's question. "Well this is now my Bankai, or more appropriately a partial exposure of my resurrection form. Do you remember what you did after taking my life?"

"I'm certain you do, but I'm equally certain you are too arrogant to care. Well I will tell you, regardless. You left me there," the shinigami shouted in anger. "You left my body to be ravished by the elements. Do you know what happened then? I was taken, by the then Captain Aizen and Lieutenant Ichimaru; taken to Huecho Mundo where I was granted a gift."

"A gift?" Byakuya repeated in puzzlement.

"I am certain you know a Zanpakutō is born with his shinigami and dies with him as well. But did you know what Aizen gave me? Well I will tell you," the shinigami glared at the Kuchiki clan leader. "He combined my soul with the soul of my Zanpakutō and the soul of a hollow. I guess you can say I am a Shinigami-Hollow-Zanpakutō; the first and the only one of my kind. I have to admit I didn't like it at first until I learned how powerful I truly was."

Angling his head slightly, Byakuya studied him intently. He could have pointed out that it didn't matter how powerful he believed he had become because there would be no difference in the final outcome. Whatever power he possessed even with his transformation, would likely still be far below the power he, himself, possessed.

"So, you are claiming to be him?" Byakuya asked narrowing his gaze, but having no other desire than to end this confrontation. He was uncertain of this reformed shinigami's flash step abilities, but he was certain he could utilize his own and take his head before he had a chance to comprehend what had happened.

"Aizen said he had tried this once before, about fifty years before me I think, but he didn't quite achieve the desired results, so with me, he added the soul of my Zanpakutō. Thanks to him, I have now transcended the power of a mere shinigami."

"Then it will please you to know that I am no mere shinigami and when this is over, you will once again die by my hand," Byakuya declared, continuing to study him. With that shinigami's preoccupation with him, the Kuchiki clan leader was fairly certain he could easily obtain the advantage. "You are not the only one who has grown more powerful in the past 57 years. But if you are truly one of Aizen's arrancars where is you mask?" If he was indeed a hollow, he had no visible mask. But then neither did that Kurosaki boy until he had gone berserk. Did Aizen have something to do with his ability to transform as well?

"An arrancar? Hahahahe. You think I am a lowly arrancar? Do not insult me. I am a shinigami that controls both my hollow and my Zanpakutō. My kind has no name. I am unique."

"Unique?" Is that how he was capable of looking like Renji now? He may well be in control of his physical entities, but his thoughts were clearly the insanity of a hollow if he truly believed he would defeat this captain. "So, you are saying that twice, you have been given new life. And each time you have deemed it beneficial to squander it?" Byakuya asked, knowing he would have released his Zanpakutō long ago if not for Rukia's safety."

"Squander? I have squandered nothing," the lookalike shinigami shot back. "Whether you wish to believe it or not, it will be me who destroys you, Kuchiki Byakuya!"

Byakuya remained silent as he continued to contemplate his move. There was nothing further he needed to know from him. He needed to develop an approach strategy that would enable him to end this confrontation soon.

"Sōsuke Aizen is an intelligent and patient man," the shinigami lookalike offered. "He tells us there is nothing above our reach. We should strive for what we want and obtain it; let nothing stand in our way," the former fourth seat declared, either unwilling or incapable of remaining silent.

"Did you know I was supposed to make that transition with Aizen and the others, but my death by your hands squashed that for me? In order to save my life, Aizen was forced to transform me when you killed me."

Byakuya realized now, that it was exactly as Yoruichi had said; Aizen had begun his betrayal many years ago, perhaps even before he created those Visoreds she'd spoken to him about. He could not help but wonder though, if he had pursued more details then, could all the recent bloodshed have been avoided? Could Aizen have been stopped long ago? But he would never have imagined that a commoner would possess such delusions of grandeur.

"I know you are well aware that the destructive power of any Zanpakutō attack is a 1,000 times greater when you know its name than when you don't. But did you know when a shinigami merges with a hollow and his Zanpakutō, his power is even ten times that thousand? So my combat capabilities are far above that of any captain of the Gotei 13 including you Kuchiki Byakuya; which means your defeat is imminent."

Byakuya could barely stand the thought of what this shinigami was boasting. "Then you should know that this time when I take your life, it will be your last."

"So you say, but having experienced it before, I know all about your arrogance. Yet, what is that puzzled look on you face? I know what you're thinking. You are wondering if I am truly as powerful as I say."

"No, any look on my face did not display a puzzlement of that nature. If I am puzzled by anything, it is because you say you are the first and only one of your kind," Byakuya stated.

"I am."

"Yet, you also said Aizen has tried this before but did not obtain the desired results."

"He did."

"So doesn't that make you wonder why he stopped with you?"

"What do you mean?"

"You have merged with a hollow?"

"And my Zanpakutō," Hatsune stipulated. "But I would do whatever I had to in the effort to defeat you; the shinigami, who took my life."

"Then you are a fool whose vision has clouded," Byakuya stated with clarity and conviction. "Because I will never lose to anyone who has completely discarded his pride," he said in an almost growl; annoyed to be challenged by such an individual. "Aizen is looking to obtain perfection. If he has not transformed himself into whatever you are, clearly he believes he has failed again. And if he didn't there would have been no need for him to require the Hōgyoku to obtain his desired perfection. But clearly, you are too stupid to realize that you are simply another of Aizen's failures."

"I'll show you failure," the shinigami growled, having completely lost his composure. "Use your Zanpakutō if you dare, Kuchiki Byakuya. Use it and risk cutting her to pieces as well," he said flashing further into the skies. "Or perhaps use your Kidō and freeze us both to see if you can free her that way." he shouted as Byakuya once more flashed up in front of them. "From this distance, with her already weakened state, we would both fall like a rock to our deaths. Unless you foolishly believe you can catch her before she does.  Will your arrogance allow you to admit that you are not truly good enough, or will you simply risk her life?"

If the Captain of the sixth division could kill with a simple glare, he would because the look in his eyes would have killed the former fourth seat in an instant.

But he couldn't, though he was also unwilling to relent as he considered the space between the rapidly fading Rukia and her offender. But it was insufficient to use either his Zanpakutō or his Kidō.

But if this truly was Hatsune from some 57 years ago, which Byakuya was beginning to believe it was; then once more he had overestimated his abilities, much like he had done before. He didn't seem to understand that in their initial encounter, Byakuya had easily defeated him with the power of a lieutenant; now he had the power of a captain. Which meant he had the strategic thinking of a captain with far more weapons at his command.

Despite his warning, Byakuya knew he could utilize any number of Kidō incantations to freeze them both in place and then quickly flash toward him and take his life. That of course, would require extreme movement on his part because Rukia would likely fall from his arms. He though, was certain he could catch her before she hit the ground but if not, he could utilize a Bakudō 37 suspended star to catch her if he had to.

But if nothing else, he could employ the Onmitsukidō Molting Cicada Technique number 3 in which his movements would be so fast, he would leave an after image of himself, allowing him to strike completely catching Hatsune off guard. Though he'd never utilized such an approach as a planned attack, he had simply employed it when an opportunity arose; he'd also had no desire to utilize any techniques he had learned from that demon cat, Yoruichi, after all the headache's she'd caused him over the years. But still, Byakuya knew he would do what he must to save Rukia's life. And if he combined his Cicada with his Senka, he would be able to destroy both Hatsune's soul chain and soul sleep, destroying all of his shinigami powers, thus removing him as a threat forever.

On the verge of executing his plan, Byakuya halted when he caught sight of the new fifth division captain off in the distance moving up behind them. Why had she appeared here? Didn't she know she was adding a complication to an already complicated situation? He wasn't even sure if he was going to be able to save Rukia, but yet here she comes to add her interference.

What was she doing, he wondered as he watched her fiddle around in the sleeve of her hip length kimono. He couldn't say he welcomed this vision. But had she even bothered to size up the situation? Her spiritual pressure was subdued, but the former fourth seat could still likely become aware of her presence. Would she interfere? Shinigami did not usually inject themselves into another's battle. But she was new, perhaps that was a rule unfamiliar to her. But how could that be? She may be new as a captain, but she was not new as a shinigami. She had to be aware of protocol.