A/N: I apologize for the irregular update schedule. Imma be real honest here...I've been having a rough couple of months. The crawl in bed and do nothing and be sad all the time kind of rough. That being said, I'm trying to get my groove back and not be stuck in a rut as much. I'll try my best to get the chapters out as much as possible. I hope ya'll are still with me (If you aren't, nobody can blame you and I totally understand)...

Please review. Love hearing your thoughts :)

The Red Tie That Binds

by Sands

Chapter 12 – Instinct

The training Yoshina so desired came in the form of a joint operation between Squad 13 and Squad 6 back into the World of the Living. The specifics were not given exactly but she was to aid in clearing any hollow activity around Karakura Town in preparation for the Winter War. They were not telling her everything, and she was well aware of the fact, but she understood. Something was underfoot. Something big. For now, she could only play her part.

In the so called mysterious absence of Rukia Kuchiki and Renji Abarai, it was assumed that Yoshina, being the 4th seat of squad 13 would lead the operation.

After a restless night, plagued with recurring nightmares, she joined up with the others at her own squad's senkaimon to be completely disabused of the notion. The Captain of Squad 6 himself was to take the lead.

Their eyes met for a fleeting moment. She was the first to glance away. She couldn't bear to look at him without seeing the rejection on his face. Without seeing how he wanted to be rid of her. She understood him perfectly but that didn't mean understanding made it hurt any less.

"In Lieutenant Abarai's absence, I would be taking over," he announced, carefully leaving out the part that Renji's absence was his doing. "The mission is simple. We are to clear out all the hollows around Karakura Town. Be ruthless and efficient." Then he glanced at her, directly, though he spoke to the group at large. "No distractions. Time is of the essence. Stay on point. Understood?"

She didn't join in when the assigned team answered in a unanimous, "Understood, sir."

Then the gates opened, and the team moved out.

The mission indeed was quite simple. They expected no disturbances of the arrancar variety considering the possible upheaval at Hueco Mondo thanks to Ichigo. So it was just minor level hollows that they had to contend with.

To expedite matters, the team was divided into smaller groups to cover more areas simultaneously. She was paired up with two other members from squad 13 – fairly capable and amiable men who were focused on their duty and mission.

Byakuya...no, Captain Kuchiki was a few miles away with his own squad. She wondered half heartedly if he made sure she stuck close because he didn't believe in her ability to carry her own weight in the mission.

She desperately needed to prove him wrong. It was possible that he had heard from Captain Hitsugaya about her failure upon the earlier visit to the World of the Living. She hated that he knew that. It made it even more imperative that she did beyond what was expected this time around.

But well laid plans always have a way of crumbling around her.

The scream had come from a short distance away, alerting the already weary trio. Instinctively, recognizing the following roar as that of a hollow, they sped their way to the source.

A whole soul sat on the ground, a little girl, trembling and crying. Two large hollows, larger than they had fought up to now, were prowling towards her, menacingly. Yoshina knew her Zanpakuto could not be relied upon for combat so she motioned for her comrades to head on while she focused on shielding the little girl.

"Please," she whimpered, clutching Yoshina.

"Shh..." Yoshina hushed, grabbing the child and flash stepping away from the battlefield.

Once they were a safer distance away, she knelt down to be on eye level with the child. "Are you alright?" The little girl nodded, wiping the tears away and meeting Yoshina's gaze bravely. Yoshina smiled. "Let me perform the konso."

Startled, the child's eyes widened. "Konso?"

"It's nothing to be afraid of," Yoshina reassured. "It won't hurt at all. And then you'd be in Soul Society, where all the souls find peace."

In typical child-like manner, the little girl asked, "Will I also find mommy there?"

Yoshina didn't know how to answer that, not knowing how and when the child had even died. But time was of the essence. As compassionate and helpful as Yoshina wanted to be, she had no time to explain or delve into a deeper conversation. So she simply said, "I hope so." Then with a reassuring smile, she laid the hilt of her Zanpakuto on the child's forehead.

The girl disappeared in a glittering dissolution of her spirit, ascending to Soul Society. Yoshina hoped for her safety and peace. But there was no time to dwell on any of it. She had to regroup with her team.

Yoshina had not taken even two steps to back where she had left her comrades when a pair of red eyes gleamed at her from the darkness. Her hand tightened on her sheathed zanpakuto, as the single pair turned out to be a dozen more lurking.

With a sinking feeling, she realized that she was surrounded.

Feelings didn't matter, she reminded herself. She was here, and so were they. There was nothing to do but fight her way through.

She let the logical part of her brain takeover. There were at least a dozen or so hollows surrounding her. The ideal weapon of choice would be Inazuma with her Shikai but it was unreliable. Her training had improved as had her bond with the Zanpakuto but it was nowhere close to being perfect. So she chose to let it remain sheathed and relied on what she knew always worked.

"Hado number 4, Byakurai," she said, letting the reiatsu transform to kido and hit the approaching hollow.

With ease and practice, she blocked out all other sensations and simply let her instincts takeover. Firing one kido spell after the other, some almost simultaneously, she fought. Hollows fell. Yet she remained surrounded.

Where were these things coming from? She wondered bleakly. For every hollow she eliminated, it seemed there were two more to take its place. She didn't understand. Their investigative scans had not revealed such intensified hollow activity.

The ring of hollows seemed to get closer. The radius maintained between them and her seemed to be diminishing. They were closing in on her, and increasing in numbers. Dozen had become twenty.

There was no way she could battle them all. Not just with kido.

A hollow lunged at her as another behind her tried to claw her back. It happened too fast that she couldn't flash step away. Not that there was any space to flash to. But the attack never connected.

A curtain of pink surrounded her, separating her from the hollows around her. The curtain looked strangely like tiny sakura petals.

She glanced up to see Byakuya on the sky above her, attacking hollows that had gleaned of his presence with one hand, and shielding her with the other manipulating one half of the sakura like blades.

Relief was swiftly followed by shame.

As much as it warmed her heart to know he cared to protect her it was a blow to her pride.

I don't need you to protect me.

Any further thought was interrupted with a scoff. One that came from within. "He's not doing it to protect you actually," Inazuma said. "Your Byakuya is telling me to do my job. That man's nerve."

What? Yoshina wondered in disbelief.

As usual her Zanpakuto ignored her. "Call on me. Call my name, Yoshina," Inazuma told her. Sensing her residual fear, and doubt, she added. "I need you to survive. I know you can't control me yet. So put your faith in me. Let me protect you."

Yoshina did not know what exactly to do but she unsheathed her Zanpakuto nonetheless. The moment she did so, the pink blades fluttered away towards Byakuya once more. She wanted to glance at him but there was no time.

"Here goes nothing," she murmured to her sword. "Illuminate, Inazuma."

The lightning that crackled across the blade seemed deadlier and intense than ever before.

She closed her eyes. Around her, she felt the hollows get closer but she paid them little mind. Instead she felt for the reiatsu in the air. She felt for the reiatsu within. She saw them increase in vibration around her in her mind's eye. Inazuma urged her on, and for once, Yoshina put her faith in her inner strength. In that moment, all the doubt, all the fear...all of it ceased to matter.

She let the energy vibrate through her.

Eyes still closed in concentration, she didn't see the result of her power. But Byakuya couldn't look away.

Instinctively, he flash stepped away, knowing somehow that he had to put distance between him and Yoshina. That his survival depended on it.

The atmosphere around him pulsated, electrified.

And in a flash of bright illumination that seemed to transmit over the air itself, lightning struck mercilessly around her in bolts. He couldn't count them all but it was more than that was necessary.

Everything around her was obliterated. Ash.

A gross overkill.

When Yoshina's eyes opened, she was greeted with silence. The roars of hollows rampaging in blood lust had ceased. The hair on her arms stood up due to the residual static in the air.

There were singe marks where the hollows should have been.

Did you do that? She asked her zanpakuto, her mind not believing what her eyes could see right in front of her.

"We did that."

The satisfaction did not last long. A familiar reiatsu interrupted with a slow clap.

"So this is your true power," Fierro remarked. "You destroyed my hollows with a single strike."

"Your hollows?" Yoshina asked. And it made sense instantly. It had been a trap all along. A well laid trap to isolate her from the team.

Everything else seemed to disappear as she faced Fierro. She didn't know him by that name. She did not know him by that form. But she did know him. The pull of that reiatsu had haunted her for so long. To forget it would be nigh impossible.

"Please. Don't." Yoshina did not know what she was asking for.

He smiled at her. A baring of teeth, devoid of any pleasant emotions. "Lord Aizen explained. Our history, I mean. It makes sense now why he chose me. I was naught but a meagre hollow but I was chosen to be transformed into an arrancar in the service of Lord Aizen. I suppose I have you to thank for that."

Yoshina could only stare as he spoke. She felt the familiar numbness seeping through. The fear taking hold.

"You have to fight, Yoshi," Inazuma urged. For the first time, her Zanpakuto seemed genuinely overwrought. She remembered him too. Memories like that did not fade. They remained imprinted to one's soul.

She raised her sword.

Fierro laughed openly. "Don't be foolish," he taunted. "You can't kill me." Then almost as an afterthought, he added, "You won't."

Her sword wavered. He wasn't off the mark.

Byakuya watched the interaction impassively. He did not understand what exactly was going on but he waited for Yoshina to seize the moment and fight the arrancar. He knew she was powerful enough. So the taunt made no sense. The arrancar was strong but with what he had witnessed of Yoshina's power, it would be easy for her to defeat him. His instincts told him that with utmost certainty. And his instincts were never wrong. Yet Yoshina hesitated. He didn't understand it.

Things were descending to dangerous territory and Byakuya had to intervene. He had to before Yoshina's momentary hesitation ended up costing her life. While she was wavering in her will to fight her opponent, the arrancar's intentions were crystal clear. He was here to kill her. One way or the other.

Byakuya didn't care about propriety or rules of engagement in that moment. He let Senbonzakura at the arrancar in a rush.

Startled, but cautious, Fierro instantly moved out of harm's way. His eyes flashed at Byakuya angrily as he settled down next to Yoshina.

"I know you! You keep interfering Captain Byakuya Kuchiki!" Fierro raged at him.

"If you know who I am, you must also know that battling me is futile," Byakuya said calmly. Senbonzakura hovered threateningly around them. The blades were just one hand motion away from shredding the arrancar to pieces.

"No!" Yoshina gasped, halting Byakuya.

It was the moment of hesitation that Fierro needed. "Pathetic," he screamed, before he disappeared into the night.

Byakuya moved to follow the arrancar but before he could even take a step forward, Yoshina collapsed next to him.

All thoughts of chase left his mind. "Yoshi!" he exclaimed, grabbing her, fearing the worst.

But her reiatsu was steady, if a little drained. He did a quick scan of her vitals through a kido spell and found that she was fine.

He held her anyway. The darkness around her eyes seemed more pronounced. He didn't understand what had happened but he concluded that the use of her own power to such an extent had exhausted her. She would need more training to properly be able to control it without causing it to drain her reiatsu. That however still didn't explain her whole interaction with that arrancar.

He had read the accounts from the previous recent mission to the World of the Living. This arranar had fit the description mentioned in Captain Hitsugaya's. The one called Fierro Endocruz. This went deeper than just fear in the face of battle, Byakuya realized. Yoshina had fought just fine before the arrancar had showed up. Her hesitation, her uncertainty had something to do with Fierro. No matter how much he tried, he couldn't fit the pieces. All he knew was that they had history.

It seemed that even Yoshina, who always seemed gentle and open, had dark secrets of her own.

By the time her eyes fluttered open to meet his own, the rest of the squad had found their way back to them. Disoriented, she stared up at him.

"Are you alright?" he asked. She wanted to think it was his worry over her that compelled the words but she knew it was all in the name of the mission. He needed confirmation of her well-being to check up on the rest of the team. So she gave a nod in the affirmative.

Byakuya left her to find her own bearings and conversed with the others as to the status of the mission. Yoshina rose to her feet, dusting the stray leaves and such off of her. Inazuma had reverted back to her sealed form and she sheathed the sword once more.

"You did well," the Zanpakuto remarked.

Yoshina closed her eyes. It doesn't feel that way.

"Don't think about that," Inazuma urged gently. Then she effectively changed the subject. "You figured it out, didn't you?"

Yoshina couldn't help the smirk that took over her lips. I did. Despite what had happened, despite the interaction with Fierro, she had made progress.

She let her mind wander to that moment when the electric current had passed through her body to amplify and release in a frightening burst of lightning. You had taught me how from almost the first day. I thought you were talking in riddles. I thought you were crazy. And in that moment, when it was between fighting or dying, it made sense to me. It finally made sense to me.

Don't let it pass through your heart. Use your gut. Instincts. You meant that literally.

"I'm glad you figured it out in time," Inazuma whispered solemnly.

The thought of losing Yoshina terrified her. There was a reason why she had always held back from letting the power awaken in her soul reaper. One wrong move and it could literally mean death. There was no slow way to master it. It was always all or nothing. Inazuma smiled a bit at that. All or nothing should be Yoshina's catchphrase in life. Was that not how she went about everything?

Careful, Yoshina warned. You almost sound like you actually care about me. Your bitch face is slipping.

"Unlikely," Inazuma rumbled. "And wipe that smirk off your face, girl. You look stupid."

It seemed the mission was done. While they'd been engaged in battle, the rest of the team had cleared out the remaining hollows. In slow sure strides, Byakuya walked towards her.

She was the first to speak. "Thank you, Bya - Captain Kuchiki," she said, correcting herself in time.

He was silent, and she knew he'd just ignore her as was his custom. But his voice reached her clearly. "The mission cannot fail because of one person." Dismissive. Insulting. As usual. Then he continued, "Your power. It is...quite... something."

She watched him walk away. This was as good a compliment as she was bound to get from him, she realized.

"You need to get yourself together. This is very unbecoming," Inazuma grumbled internally.

Yoshina simply kept smiling. Inazuma felt something warm in her chest. With distaste, she realized it was probably pride.