The Fall of Darkness

[Shukumei Onigata]

Shukumei now having finally broke the chains that held most of her power back was now ready and able to bring Ryouji back to his senses. Truth be told, she was worried about the return of his inner hollow, she was certain that he defeated it long ago but it wasn't the case now, for he was running rabid. She lowered her head and thought back to a few minutes before she left the Urahara Shop

---Enter Flashback---

"Shukumei are you certain you want to do this alone? We would be more than willing to assist you in helping Ryouji turn to normal."

Shukumei finished wrapping the ribben in her hair which kept it in a ponytail. Truth be told she knew that she didn't have to do it alone, but she feels responsible for what happened all those years ago with the hollow that turned him into that monster. If she wasn't so frightened, if she wasn't so afraid then Ryouji wouldn't have felt the need to protect her and fall victim and become one of them.

"No matter how much time passes Kisuke, its still my fault for what happened to him back there. This is something I have to do alone. When he becomes a hollow, there is an emptiness that lurks inside of me, like something is missing. I have to fill that emptiness again. The other captains gave up on him, but I will not."

Kisuke lowered his head, he knew that there was nothing he could do to stop her from going. Shukumei grabbed her Haori from the rock she laid it on when she was training and looked at it. She placed her left arm into it and then her right before sliding it up on to her shoulders.

"When its over, Will you allow me to bring him here to recover?"

Kisuke nodded and Shukumei raised her hand to wave goodbye to them. She didn't know what condition either of them would be in after this battle would be over. With what Aizen did to him, who knows what would happen who knows how much stronger he's gotten but she knew she had to be the one to do it.

---End Flashback---

Now all that was left for her to do was to play the waiting game. She was growing impatient, this wasn't a normal battle by any means, and she had to be careful not to seriously injure Ryouji. She wouldn't forgive hersel if something happened to him again

[Azumi Onigata]

Appearing out of what seemed to be thin air. Azumi and Ryouji who appeared to behaving in Azumi's presense. Azumi who at this point was exhausted from maintaining a high level forbidden spell for as long as she has stumbled forward and collapsed to her knees in front of Shukumei. She was out of breath and sweating. How long has it been since she's used the spell she could not say but it tired her out just the same.

She glanced up at Shukumei who was wearing her game face while staring at Ryouji. Azumi wished that it didn't have to come down to this but what could she possibly do to stop it. This was her family fighting she hoped that the last group battle would have ended with Ryouji and Yuri fighting but inner turmoil followed this group around like nothing she's ever seen before.

After having caught her breath, Azumi stood up and sighed before looking over at Ryouji, he was still perfectly composed even though he wasn't himself, the hollow mask...scared her it was evil looking. He was in there somewhere and she hoped Shukumei would be the one to bring him out of it. She approached him slowly and placed her left palm on the right side of his mask. Mask or no mask, Underneath it all he was still the man she's loved for an eternity.

She lowered her hand from the mask and moved away from the scene. Sitting down on the ground, Azumi took a deep breath before raising her arms slightly Once they were about even with her chest level, she began to perform several sets of hand seals. Once the series of hand seals, Azumi formed a Triangle with fingers. A rather large barrier appeared around Shukumei and Ryouji inside. The barrier itself was seven layers and should keep the damage inside and in a rather small area.

"Be careful you two. I don't want anyone else being hurt."

As much as she did not want to watch this, she knew that she had no choice though her primary focus was to keep the barrier intact, if they managed to hit it in the right spot, it could easily shatter.

[Shukumei Onigata]

[This is going to be a combined post since it will be a short battle there is no need for me to log both accounts to post several times. This post will advance the plot which will eventually lead to the releasing of the original six.]

Once the barrier was up and secured. Shukumei continued to stare her brother down. The only thing she could think of was how afraid she was when the hollow was attacking her and how Ryouji attempted to protect her which resulted in this.

Cloaked in a black aura of spiritual energy 'Ryouji' began to struggle to break free of the bindings he was placed in. Shukumei had to stay on top of her game if she didn't want to get seriously injured but even then would it be enough?

The hollow's reiatsu could be felt and even it worried Shukumei, it was strong, thick and full of malice, she hasn't felt anything like it. Shiva's reiatsu didn't make her worry this much.

"Azumi add another layer to the barrier seven layers may not be enough"

Azumi watched as Ryouji attempted to break through the bindings. She had to look away because she didn't like seeing Ryouji that way. She performed another set of hand signs and reinforced the barrier in addition to adding an extra layer to keep all of the damage to a minimum.

With a loud roar, 'Ryouji' managed to break through the first layer of bindings before knocking off the link bolts which comprised of the second layer which Azumi had Yuri perform.

'Ryouji' roared loudly before vanishing from sight. Shukumei gasped before vanishing with a Flash step of her own. Azumi watched from the outside of the barrier, unable to follow the quick movements that both Ryouji and Shukumei were doing.

Eventually the twins met in the center of the barrier with their fists colliding with the other as they both attempted to punch each other. As their fists connected with each other, a burst of combined Reiatsu exploded from within the barrier causing. Azumi performed several sets of hand signs again, and reinforced the barrier and added additional layers to keep it all contained. She could still feel it, it honestly scared her how strong both of them were.

Shukumei grunted and jumped back quickly. It felt like she punched a brick wall and tempered steel at the same time. It felt like she broke her hand because of how hard the hollow's hierro was. She didn't have time to worry about it now however...

---Inner Battle---

Ryouji and his inner hollow continued to battle Ryouji however was taking all the damage and getting knocked down, but with each knock down he continued to stand up and continue fighting. The inner hollow could not understand why nor did he care, he was having fun kicking the current king's ass.

"Give it up Ryouji, you can't beat me. I am the superior!!! Why do you resist the inevitable!?"

Ryouji raised his head slightly and pushed himself to his feet. It was a good question, why did he refuse to give up. It would certainly be a lot easier for him to give up, but admitting why he refused to give up was going against his nature but it was something the Hollow deserved to know.

"If you asked me that question two years ago, the answer I am about to give you would have been different. I didn't have a reason to fight back then. I would follow my orders without question even though I knew that I was being used to test the extent of my loyalty and my strength. Now....now things are different. I have a reason to fight now and no matter how many times I am knocked down, I will get back up and keep fighting. It does not matter how strong the opponent is. I now have someone to protect...I have someone who needs me to live!!"

Ryouji gripped his Zanpakutou tighter. He can't believe he was going to say admit this but it was something that had to be said.

"I don't care about my life...but her life is everything to me. I fight to protect her. I admit it and I swear on my life that I will continue to fight for her. She is everything to me!! She is my reason for living and I swear on my honor and my strength that I will beat you because she's waiting for me!!!"

Ryouji flash stepped and appeared above his inner hollow. His inner hollow glanced up and jumped into the air, both of them gathered an immense ammount of reishi to the point where both of their Zanpakutou's had begun to turn black. The distance between them had grown smaller and both of them were ready to strike the other down to claim victory...

---Outer Battle---

Shukumei was thrown back into the barrier after being thrown by 'Ryouji' She was honestly running out of options and she couldn't continue to take to much more damage. She couldn't help it any longer, she had to fight back. Gripping the hilt of Tatsumaki. Shukumie performed a flash step and quickly appeared in the air above 'Ryouji' Shukumei raised Tatsumaki above her head, the spirt fabric which guarded the blade had unwrapped itself completely.

Shukumei brought down the blade with all of her might, but it was stopped by the hollow's hand. Shukumei narrowed her eyes as the blade was stopped so easily. It was then tha the mask and the hollowfied skin had begun to crack and crumble away. Ryouji's eyes had changed back to their original color. Ryouji pulled the blade down on to his mask and forced it to break away returning him to normal. Shukumei jumped back and watched as Ryouji fell down onto his knees while panting for air.

It was over, he won the battle with his determination to protect the one thing he loved and cherish more than anything else in this world and the next...his wife Azumi.

"Where...is Azumi?"

Azumi lowered her hands and lowered the barrier and pushed herself up from the ground. She was so happy that it was over and she didn't have to watch them fight any more. She ran over toward Ryouji while shouting his name. Ryouji pushed himself up off of the ground and stumbled toward her. However this heart touching moment was about to be interrupted by an uninvited guest. As the two prepared to embrace one another, a large explosion took place behind them.

Following the explosion a rather large ammount of reiatsu could be felt which caught all of their attention. Ryouji moved Azumi behind him and pulled his sheathed Zanpakutou from the sash around his waste and gripped it tightly.

The smoke was so thick that they couldn't see through to the other side. After what seemed like an eternity of waiting, the smoke had started to lighten and they had gotten use to the reiatsu, they waited to see who it was and Shukumei and Ryouji knew that it wasn't Shiva...

[Grimmjow Jeagerjaques]

After the smoke cleared two Arrancar were standing on the opposite end of the Shinigami. One was smirking viciously while the other carried a much more serious aura about him. The arrancar who was smirking stepped forward with his hands in his pockets.

"Hope I wasn't interrupting anything important. Now which one of you weaklings is Azumi Oni..whatever. It doesn't matter. The real question is which one of you Shinigami is the strongest?"

Grimmjow's smirk widdened tremendously as he awaited an answer from either one of the Shinigami but he didn't get one. Were they purposely making this difficult for him or was this just how they were. Its not like it mattered, he was going to take the girl back but he wanted to have a little fun first.

"I ain't gonna ask you again, which one of you is the strongest?!"

It was at this point where Gerade stepped in front of Grimmjow and approached the Shinigami. Gerade had better things to do with his time than allow Grimmjow to be impulsive and act the way he usually does.

"My name is Gerade, of Mistress Shiva Ramera's fraccion. You sir are Ryouji Onigata, a former member of Aizen's espada, the tall one is Shukumei Onigata, mother of our mistress Shiva and you the frightened one must be Azumi Onigata, wife of Ryouji and the shinigami exile rumored to be the keeper of time. Our mistress requires your aid, please come with us."

Gerade pointed and touched a small portion of the air behind him. It began to ripple before tearing open revealing a Garganta gate which would take them back to Las Noches, where Mistress Shiva awaits.

Grimmjow on the other hand was bored and tired of all the pointless introductions. Rather than do things Shiva's way he wanted to do them his own way. Without word or warning, Grimmjow thrusted his left hand through Gerade's back and chest and lifted him off the ground slowly. Gerade was twitching and coughing up blood while attempting to speak.

"That's the difference between your master and me. I do things my way and I don't care about the casualties caught in between. I came looking to kill and thats exacrtly what I'm gonna do and you ain't gonna stop me. See ya!!

Grimmjow tossed Gerade over his head as his right hand began to crackle with a red energy, it wasn't long after that Grimmjow released a huge cero which destroyed Gerade rather easily. He laughed having enjoyed that a little to much though he didn't really care about the consequences.

"Now lets get down to business..."

Grimmjow used sonido and vanished quickly it wasn't to long before he appeared in front of Ryouji who didn't have enough time to act, the only thing he could do was push Azumi out of the way and so he did and Grimmjow made him regret it with a kick to the stomach that lifted him off of his feet and sent him bouncing down the street before skidding to a complete stop. Shukumei rushed forward but Grimmjow cut her off with a well placed elbow which lifted her off of the ground the same way causing her to cough as she tried to breathe.

"That was too damn easy and you have the nerve to call yourself Shinigami? Pathetic, you're even weaker than Gerade!!!"

As Shukumei started to fall, Grimmjow thrusted his foot into her stomach kicking her against a building which she crashed into. Using Sonido again Grimmjow appeared infront of Shukumei and began to let off punch after punch, alternating between her stomach and her face. Blood was being coughed up repeatedly with each punch to the stomach before he stopped finally allowing her to hit the ground.

She curled up into a ball while wrapping her arms around her stomach Azumi was in tears, she didn't know what to do and she tried to attack Grimmjow but it was already very apparent from the way he delt with Shukumei and Ryouji that she was nowhere close to being considered a match for Grimmjow.

He turned around and grabbed her by the throat and lifted her off the ground slowly. She tried struggling but there was nothing she could do. Grimmjow caught sight of the locket she was wearing around her neck and ripped it off before dropping it on the ground.

"I'm not gonna waste any more time trashing you weaklings. Lets go woman"

Grimmjow lowered her down to the ground and began dragging her by her neck. She was crying and screaming for Ryouji, but he wasn't moving, eventually the two walked through the Garganta and it closed up behind him. While it was worth it to fight, he was still disappointed that neither one of them gave him a challenge like he hoped they would. Now Azumi was in Shiva's clutches and there was nothing either of them could do at moment but lay there beaten up at the hands of Grimmjow.

[Jiro Seiki]

Everything just seemed so new. It had been such a long time since he had stepped foot in the living world. As of right now, he was only there for recreational purpose, oblivious to what was going on. As Jiro was walking around, he could immediately sense a strong Reiatsu, looking off in the direction it was resonating from. "That can't be Captain.. It seems more Hollowish. Perhaps a quick look will set my mind at ease." There were other reiatsu, but it seemed so faint but yet familiar.He flash steps over to the direction, skidding to a stop once there.

"Captain Shukumei!" Worried to see her like that, he goes over to her, about to pick her up when he noticed Ryouji also on the ground in the same condition. I remember him..He was the former captain..Captain Shukumei's brother.. Thing is.. It's gonna be hard to carry them both.. But I have to. The first thing that came to mind was to try to get in contact with his Captain to establish her location so he can take these two there. Taking out the Soul phone, he attempts to make contact. "Captain, you there? I was here on a vacation of sorts until I sensed a strong reiatsu and checked it out. It seems Captain Shukumei and her brother are badly injured. Where are you? A shrine? Oh, a barrier is up.. Where should I go? Urahara? Yeah, I'll do that. Can you fill me in what's going on?"

So the conversation continues after a while, and Jiro hangs up, putting the phone away. "Well guys, looks like we're stuck at this Urahara's place until you two recover. I dunno if you guys can hear me or not, but Captain says she's gonna stay at the shrine in case the enemy hits there." He then kneels down, getting Shukumei under one arm and Ryouji under the other. "At least she gave me directions. Let's get goin' alright? Sooner you guys are back on your feet the better." He then Flash steps over to Urahara's with the twins in tow. If someone could do this to two captain level Shinigami.. do we really stand a chance? It's not like I'm giving up or anything.. It just seems so bleak.. However.. The best thing I can do is make sure these two stay alive. For their sake and Captain's as well.