A/N: Can you say 'plot'? For those of you who have been waiting to see how this all shakes out, this chapter and the next are the ones you've been waiting for. (Not the chapter you've really been waiting for, but we're getting there~)

Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach. At all.

Chapter 22: Divine grace

On the day of Renteki's gathering, Byakuya did not come into the Division. Instead, he remained in the Kuchiki Manor, and, as planned, sent a messenger to the Sixth around noon when it was time for him to leave Seireitei. Yuzu thanked the messenger, dismissed him, and tried to focus on the rest of her tasks.

It was proving difficult. All in all, it was a quiet summer day, but she couldn't shake the feeling that something bad was about to happen. That she was just waiting for the other shoe to fall.

She signed the last sheet of paperwork on her desk, placing it in the neat pile beside her. When she was done, she stretched her arms over her head and leaned back in her seat, staring up at the office's ceiling. There were only a few more days to go until the wedding, barely a week. They were so close. She wasn't naïve enough to think that these problems would go away after the wedding was over, but it would be nice to have that sort of permanence.

She straightened up, thinking over what she knew. Byakuya was currently the only suitable head of the Kuchiki Clan. If anything happened to him, or if he died without an heir of his own, the next in line was technically Rukia. But Rukia wasn't a Kuchiki by birth, and if it came down to that, many people in the Kuchiki Clan would oppose Rukia's succession. Branch families would come out of the woodwork with heirs that were more suitable. That would fracture and destabilize the clan, giving Renteki Shuntaro the opportunity he wanted to rise up and become one of the Four Great Houses.

That was the scenario that Renteki Shuntaro had likely been hoping for since Hisana died. And one of the ways he could accomplish that, short of actually attacking Byakuya himself, which he didn't have the strength for, was to prevent Byakuya from marrying and having a legitimate heir. Likely, he was hoping that shinigami work would do what he couldn't, and take care of Byakuya for him.

It wasn't necessarily an idle hope. Byakuya was, by definition, one of the strongest shinigami in Seireitei, but even someone as strong as him could be caught unawares. It had almost happened a few weeks ago. It could very well happen again. It wasn't as if the job they worked was particularly low-risk, or that Byakuya went out of his way to keep himself out of trouble.

So that was Renteki's plan, but the wedding would be an inconvenience to him. And it was Yuzu's hope to inconvenience him as much as possible.

She just hated the waiting.

She closed her eyes as a breeze blew in through the open window, breathing it in. Not wanting to show Renteki that she and Byakuya had been alerted to the threat, but also not wanting to take any chances, she'd filled the day's schedule with group drills, hoping to fill the courtyards and open spaces with shinigami and erase any possibility that someone could enter the Sixth unawares.

But surely, if there was an attack that was going to happen, it wouldn't be at the Sixth. Renteki had to know that the headquarters of one of the Gotei 13 would be incredibly well-defended. Renteki Seijuro had been his one attempt at reaching her from inside the Sixth and it had failed. Infiltrating the Sixth further would take time and effort that he didn't have.

If she were doing this, trying to get at an opponent that was too well-defended, hiding behind walls that she couldn't breach…

Well, she would…she would probably try to draw them out. Bring them onto a different playing field.

She was just thinking that when an alarm bell rang, the sharp clang ringing three times to call the Division to attention. Yuzu's eyes widened, and she sat up, reaching for her sword. Before she could even get to her feet, the door to the office opened, admitting two shinigami. One of them, a young woman that Yuzu recognized as an unseated shinigami in Shiyougi's squad, was covered in dust and out of breath. The other, who looked like he had followed the harried shinigami in, was Renteki Seijuro.

"Fukutaicho!" the woman said, dropping into a bow. She overbalanced and nearly fell over. Seijuro caught her by the arms, holding her upright. "In Ginsho—Third Seat Shiyougi's patrol—!"

"Calm down," Yuzu said, turning towards her. "What happened?"

The woman drew in a deep breath. "We were—patrolling in the woods near Ginsho, the 42nd District of Southern Rukongai. H-Hollows. We—were attacked by Hollows. I ran to get help. Sh-Shiyougi-san is still out there."

"How many Hollows?" Yuzu asked.

The woman shook her head, her face pale. "Too many," she said. "Sh—the Third Seat said to tell you, it—it seems like Hollow bait was used. You should know—." She pressed her lips tightly together, falling silent.

Seijuro met Yuzu's eyes steadily from the door. "This is probably the trap," he said.

Yuzu drew in a breath, feeling as if time had slowed. Yes. This was probably the trap. But what were her options? Send reinforcements to save her shinigami without her? Ask another Division to take on the burden while she stayed in her office and hid? No. She couldn't do that. It wasn't about bravery or honor or even duty. If anything happened to Shiyougi's squad or to the people under her command because she was too scared to set out, she would never be able to forgive herself.

It didn't matter if it was a trap. There was only one right answer here.

"Renteki-san, get Shirogane-san and have her assemble her squad. Meet me in the courtyard as soon as you can. We're heading to Ginsho."

Ginsho was close to the center of Rukongai, far enough away from Seireitei to make travel, even with shunpo, difficult, but close enough that it was still reachable. The sort of lawlessness that was rampant in the outer districts of Rukongai had not fully taken root here. The air of the place, surrounded by forests, was more like that of a simple country town than a slum.

Yuzu sensed the Hollows as soon as she arrived, she and the members of the Sixth that she could assemble gathering on a hilltop overlooking the village. The messenger was right. There were too many of them for this to be a simple coincidence. In the time it had taken for Shiyougi's messenger to travel to Seireitei and back, the Hollows were spread out, fighting happening in scattered pockets around the town's outskirts. There were a pair of shinigami on guard outside of a large building, swords drawn.

"What's happening here?" Seijuro asked as they landed. "Where are the Hollows?"

"It's Shiyougi," Yuzu said, looking out over the village. "He probably split them up on purpose, to keep them from gathering and attacking the town. Most of the villagers are probably inside that guarded building."

Shirogane's expression darkened, and she looked back at them. "If Shiyougi-san has split his fighting force…" she said.

Yuzu nods. "It means they won't be able to hold out for much longer."

She reached into her sleeve, drawing out a pouch of black powder. Yuzu dipped her thumb in it, crouching down and tracing a circle on the ground, with four quadrants drawn into the center of it. She gathered up her focus and forced down her fear, taking in a deep breath as she pressed her hands to either side of the circle.

"Heart of the south, eye of the north, finger of the west, foot of the east," she intoned, "arrive with the wind and depart with the rain. Bakudo #58: Kakushitsuijaku!"

Blue light filled the circle, symbols appearing in the flickering light. Yuzu's eyes scanned over them quickly as they flared into life and vanished one after another.

"Shirogane-san," she said, as she studied the coordinates. "There are two battles, one to the east and one to the northeast. Split up your squad as you need to and provide support. Okabe-san, provide support to the battle to the west."

There was a chorus of responses, and then the shinigami behind her disappeared in a flash, leaving her alone with Seijuro. She could feel the young officer's presence behind her as the last of the coordinates flickered and died down, leaving her kneeling on the ground with powder-stained fingers. She got to her feet, aware as she wiped her hands off on a cloth that this was exactly the situation Byakuya had warned her about.

"What about us, fukutaicho?" he asked, and Yuzu noted that he kept his sword close, his eyes on the village. She realized then that despite everything, she had never seen Seijuro fight, didn't even know what his zanpakuto could do, or if he was a brave ally to have in battle.

"There's a Hollow in the village," she said, inclining her head towards it. "Shiyougi-san is somewhere there. We're going to support him."

Seijuro nodded, following Yuzu as she flash-stepped away.

When Yuzu arrived, it was to the sight of destruction. A group of Hollows had breached the village's outer wall, tearing flimsily-made buildings apart in their wake. That there wasn't more death suggested that the measures Shiyougi had taken to evacuate the area had been fruitful. There was a Hollow pawing through the remnants of a house. Yuzu drew Jungetsu from its sheath, slicing through the Hollow's mask in one fluid motion before flash-stepping again.

She moved quickly through the wreckage, barely touching the ground for a split-second before she was off, her heart pounding and grip tight around the hilt of her sword as she scanned the area for Shiyougi.

Seijuro caught her arm when she landed on a rooftop. "Fukutaicho," he said, inclining his head something in the distance. "There!"

Yuzu turned to look. A group of Hollows were converging on one building, clogging the street. If she reached out with her senses, she could just barely feel Shiyougi's reiatsu. And other reiatsus too, Kawamoto's included. Her eyes widened. Shiyougi's reiatsu felt weaker than it should, and that feeling made her blood run cold.

"Reflect, Jungetsu."

The blade in her hands shimmered as she raised it, forming her shikai's dual fans. Yuzu grasped a fan in each hand, letting the sash between them settle over her shoulders, and looked back at Seijuro.

"Let's hurry," she said.

Seijuro nodded, drawing his own sword. He placed his hand on the flat, closing his eyes.

"Pierce," he said. "Shimei."

Light shimmered across the surface of his blade, the sword shrinking until it became a European-style dagger. The blade was slender and pointed, a thin cross-guard separating the blade from the hilt. He exchanged a glance with Yuzu, nodding.

The two of them vanished from sight, heading towards the battle.

Yuzu arrived to find a group of Hollows clustered around the door to a ramshackle building, roaring and clawing at it as they tried to force their way in. The door was blocked by a shield formed out of pure light, a wall of light extending in both directions from the door. Behind the shield, her back pressed up against the door, was an exhausted-looking Kawamoto, her glasses askew and her dark hair falling free from its bindings. She grit her teeth, keeping her arms raised against the crush.

Yuzu watched as a Hollow clawed at the shield. Light flared, throwing the Hollow back several feet into the crowd. It hit the ground, leaping back up to its feet as its fellows surged forward, charging the shield again. The shield held, but there were too many Hollows. Yuzu knew that Kawamoto couldn't hold out for long.

She didn't bother giving instructions to Seijuro, leaping from the rooftop she was standing on and unfurling both of her fans. Yuzu channeled reiatsu into her fans' times.

"Haneame!" she cried, sweeping her fans through the air. Blue needles shot out of the ends, peppering the ground and tearing through the front rank of Hollows. It opened up the space directly in front of the shield and Yuzu leaped down onto the ground, putting herself between Kawamoto and the Hollows.

From behind the shield, Kawamoto's eyes widened. "Fu-fukutaicho!" she said, her voice sounding oddly muffled from the other side of the barrier.

Yuzu glanced over her shoulder at her.

"Don't worry," she said. "We're here to help."

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw two Hollows dissolve into shadows and perish. A third fell as Seijuro moved his hand, his thin dagger piercing the Hollow's masks with sharp precision. He appeared beside Yuzu, dagger raised at the ready as the Hollows rallied around them, sensing new prey.

"Do you have a plan, fukutaicho?" he asked.

"There's a lot of them, but they aren't very strong," Yuzu said, assessing the situation. "Avoid injury and take them out as quickly as you can."

Seijuro gave her a wry smile. "I'm afraid overwhelming force isn't my strong suit," he said, gesturing at his zanpakuto. "But I'll do what I can."

Yuzu returned the strained smile, thinking about how much easier this would have been with someone like Byakuya, someone whose abilities were well-suited to overpowering multiple enemies at once. And then she thought, as she wrapped the sash that bound her fans together around both of her arms for good measure, that that was probably the point.

"I'm in similar straits," Yuzu said, crouching down. "We'll just have to make do."

She leaped into the air as the Hollows charged, channeling all her energy into one fan and opening with a Getsuga Tensho. The crescent-shaped blade swept through the ranks of Hollows, tearing through a good portion of them, but there were still more.

She landed on the ground, unfurling her other fan and using it to block a blow as a Hollow lunged at her. The fan in her right hand, she snapped shut, allowing the energy condensed in the tines to form something almost like a dagger. She swatted the Hollow's face away and stepped forward, bringing the point of the dagger in just under its chin. Yuzu tugged it upwards, the blade slicing cleanly through the Hollow mask.

As the Hollow faded away, she whirled, channeling her energy back into both fans as she snapped the second one shut, hurling it through the air. It pierced straight through the chest of a Hollow that had launched itself at her, and Yuzu wrapped her hand around the sash and pulled, the fan snapping back towards her. A second Getsuga Tensho, this time with her other fan, cleared the space around her in a half-circle.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Seijuro moving through his half of the crowd, stabbing his dagger not at the Hollows but down at the ground. There was a rumble in the earth beneath her feet, and then a briar forest rose up from the ground, thorny vines trapping and engulfing the Hollows directly around him. The thorns kept their battlefields separate, and she didn't have much time to spare to think about him, because the other Hollows were coming.

Their initial assault had taken out about half of the force of Hollows attacking, but the other half still remained, and Yuzu could feel herself starting to tire. She hadn't put Jungetsu through so much stress since the battle with Kyoka Suigetsu, and she could feel the strain in the sword as she ducked and wove through enemies, dodging attacks using a combination of flash step and clever movements while slashing and stabbing through the Hollows' weak spots. Like a broken bone that took time to heal, a zanpakuto that had been broken took time to regain its full strength.

Yuzu only hoped that Jungetsu wouldn't fail her here.

She grit her teeth, throwing herself into the attack and then, thankfully, the tide began to turn, she and Renteki driving the Hollows back with what felt like sheer force of will. She took out the last Hollow with a thrown fan, tugging on the sash to bring the fan back to her hand as the Hollow faded. Yuzu caught it in her hand, swiping it through the air in a flourish.

Then, she let her shoulders slump, breathing hard.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the wall of light shimmer and fade, shrinking back down into the form of a sword. Yuzu watched as Kawamoto sheathed the zanpakuto with shaking fingers, before running towards her.

"Fukutaicho—," she said.

Yuzu offered her a smile. "You achieved shikai, Kawamoto-san," she said.

Kawamoto blinked, looking as if she didn't know what Yuzu was talking about at first. Her eyes widened, and she looked down at the sword at her side. "I—ah, yes," she said. "It—the name came to me when we were being attacked. When I thought we were going to die. Eitenkei. That's…my zanpakuto's name."

"It's a good name," said Yuzu, straightening up. She exhaled, letting Jungetsu return to its unsealed form and sheathing the sword. "You did well, Kawamoto-san. I knew you had it in you."

Kawamoto flushed. Yuzu turned towards her fully, about to ask her to report on what had happened to Shiyougi and the others, when she caught sight of something out of the corner of her eye. Seijuro, who was also sheathing his sword, saw it too. He yelled out a warning, but it was too late. A bony, prehensile appendage pierced through the skin and flesh of her left shoulder, coming from a small, nimble Hollow across the street.

The blow picked her up off of her feet, blood splattering across the ground.

"Fukutaicho!" Kawamoto screamed, running towards her as Seijuro flash-stepped towards the Hollow, eyes narrowed. She saw him draw his sword, cutting first through the appendage and then through the Hollow's mask, and then Kawamoto was kneeling on the ground beside her, hands flailing helplessly as they moved through the air over the injury site. Yuzu struggled to sit up and grit her teeth against the pain as her shoulder screamed, the world lurching beneath her.

"Get her inside," Seijuro said, appearing beside her with his sword still drawn. "Now!"

"R-Right," Kawamoto said. She placed a hand on Yuzu's arm, drawing her to her feet. The movement dislodged the spine still inside her shoulder and Yuzu gasped and swayed as it slid to the ground. She focused on putting one foot in front of the other, letting Kawamoto half-drag, half-lead her into the house while Seijuro watched their back.

Inside, it was dark and empty, with no sign of the house's previous inhabitants. Shiyougi sat with his back to a wall, his zanpakuto standing upright in the ground beside him as he clutched at a wound in his leg. His eyes widened as he saw her.

"Fukutaicho—!" he began.

Yuzu waved him off as she dropped down into a seat against the opposite wall, holding still while Kawamoto, who had found her presence of mind again, peeled back the layers of her shihakusho to examine the wound.

"How bad is it?" Yuzu asked, her face pale.

"It—it will heal," Kawamoto said, "I think."

"You think?" Seijuro asked, coming up behind her.

Kawamoto jumped. "It—you might need a sling for a few days," she said. "I'm not an expert at-at healing, but I can…do something for the pain." Her hands began to glow as she held them out over the injury site. Yuzu let out a breath through her teeth as she felt the pain in her shoulder start to ease, the fire banking to embers. She took a few more deep breaths, trying to find what was left of her composure. Across from her, she was aware of Shiyougi watching the whole scene with wide eyes.

"Shiyougi, report," she said, not having enough energy to soften the request. Sharpness almost seemed to work better in this case. Shiyougi jumped at the tone, his eyes quickly snapping from her shoulder to her face.

"We were—." He shook his head, regaining his composure. "We were doing a patrol exercise in the woods outside Ginsho when the Hollows arrived," he said. "I had the village evacuated and the squad split up to lead them away from the village. I sent Ibara back to the Sixth for help. I also sent a jigokucho to Kuchiki-taicho."

Yuzu nodded. "Good thinking," she said, eyeing the doorway that Seijuro stood watch in. She'd also sent Byakuya a butterfly. If he received the message, if it hadn't been intercepted somehow, she couldn't imagine that he would be far. She drew in a breath, about to ask Kawamoto to bandage up her shoulder as best as she could so that they could regroup with the main host of the Sixth when she saw Seijuro tense. The air of battle-readiness about him was unmistakable, and his stance shifted slightly, the tip of his sword rising.

"Renteki-san?" she asked.

"A messenger, fukutaicho," Seijuro said, stepping away from the door.

A breathless shinigami, a young man she recognized as part of Shirogane's squad, burst into the house. His eyes widened when he took note of Yuzu's injury, but he said nothing, dropping into a quick bow.

"Fukutaicho," he said. "Fourth Seat Shirogane sent me. A farmhouse on the outskirts is almost overrun. Civilians who were outside the village at the time of attack have been sheltering there."

"Who do we have in the area?" Yuzu asked.

"Twentieth Seat Miyata—," Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Shiyougi twitch, straightening up, "—was securing the area. We've lost contact with her. My unit is trying to break through, but we don't have the power."

"Who's close enough to help?" Yuzu asked.

"Out of the people who aren't already occupied?" the shinigami asked. He dropped his eyes to the ground, looking ashamed. "Well…you."

Yuzu held his gaze for a long while, then let her eyes move over the room, taking in the fear in Shiyougi's expression, the worry in Kawamoto's, and the graveness in Seijuro's. As her gaze landed on his, Seijuro's eyes widened.

"You can't, fukutaicho," he said. "You're injured. Send for reinforcements and leave it to them."

Yuzu shook her head, pushing herself to her feet. To Kawamoto, she said, "I need a bandage, as quick as you can."

"Fukutaicho?" Kawamoto asked.

"This is insane!" said Seijuro. "If you go out there and die, my uncle gets his wish. Don't you understand that?"

"We don't have enough time to argue about this," Yuzu said, as Kawamoto pulled a roll of bandages from her pack. "And Miyata-san doesn't have time to wait for reinforcements. I won't abandon her."

"But—."

"That was my decision as your vice-captain, Renteki-san," Yuzu said, interrupting him. She turned to Shiyougi. "Send a butterfly to Shirogane-san and inform her of the situation. Tell her I'm on my way."

TO BE CONTINUED

A/N: Shimei(茨命, lit: "thorn of fate") is Renteki Seijuro's zanpakuto. Its release command is 'pierce'. Its shape is based off a misericorde or mercy blade, the slender knife supposedly carried by knights because it could slide through the plates of a knight's armor and deliver a mercy stroke to one seriously wounded. It requires precision and skill to use well, emphasizing Seijuro's preferred role as a strategist and tactician.

Eitenkei (映天恵, lit: "reflection of divine grace") is Kawamoto Sakako's zanpakuto. It manifests as an extremely durable barrier, reflecting Kawamoto's resilience and protective nature.