Hope you enjoy this chapter, the Kaworu arc will soon be wrapped up. Please do submit your reviews, otherwise I won't know anyone is reading.

Shigekuni's quarters were ripped apart, already fragile and demolished from the previous brotherly battle that had occurred inside of them. The reishi forming the very structural pieces of the building were disintegrated by the full force of reiatsu blasting away from inside of them as Shigekuni and his son released their bankais.

In fact, the building itself was completely disintegrated and blown away into the wind, revealing the two high-level Shinigami and their powerful elemental bankais.

Kaworu's muscles bulged and his spiritual power rose up and down drastically as his body crackled with pure reiatsu.

The knuckles gripping his changing zanpakutō seemed to smolder until it was clear that golden-white kanji were forming tattooed on each finger's knuckle spelling the phrase "VENGEANCE IS MINE" ("Fukushû Suruwa Wareniari") across both hands.

The letters gave off smoke as they were seemingly tattooed onto him with an invisible hot iron, and as his newly changed hands gripped the spear, it began to change as well.

Inazuma seemed to grow longer and thicker, far stronger and sturdier looking and it changed further, obviously no longer a simple cross spear.

The perpendicular trio of blades ending in a sort of curved trident instead much like the blade of a sai.

This new Inazuma glowed with power, as did Kaworu Yamamoto-Genryūsai's trembling form.

This was Inazuma's bankai, Adauchi Raikiri.

Meanwhile Shigekuni's blade of flame had sent a massive wave of fire all around him, even more impressive than his shikai's inferno. The sword had melted completely so it was no longer a katana covered in flame but a straight long sword whose blade was composed completely of fire.

It was a massive sword indeed, its blade almost as long as Kaworu's spear, though Shigekuni held the bankai form casually with one hand as if it were in its staff form.

The blade being composed completely of fire grew and shortened at will as the flames that created it raged all around Shigekuni.

Unlike Kaworu, Shigekuni no longer trembled or felt unbearable pain and energy surging through him in this form. He had come to a complete balance with his sword and gotten used to the immense power of the dragon inside of him.

After all, one accidental gesture on Shigekuni's part with his sword and he could accidentally demolish half of Soul Society. A single twitch, and everyone in this dimension could be turned into dust.

This was Ryūjin Jakka's bankai, Kakijusshigan.

Shigekuni's hair and beard had become engulfed completely with fire, but he didn't seem to noticed or care, sparks flying off of him as he let out a bestial roar. No one in Soul Society had ever seen him like this, at his full power and rage, the usually collected man engulfed with reiatsu and fire.

"ARE YOU PREPARED FOR YOUR PUNISHMENT?!"

Kaworu trembled, feeling his father's immense power and remembering the epic battle they had had centuries ago. No, he had to stabilize himself, he had to maintain. He had grown over the centuries. He was doing this for existence's sake, for Yoruichi, for everyone, he would recreate the world in his image and bring peace and understanding to it with an iron fist of creation.

After all, god's throne was empty, and he deserved the seat! It was his by right!

"I am ready to bring my vengeance into your chest and turn you into ash as you did with uncle Gendo. You are mistaken, no one shall remember you when I remake this world in my own image. You will be forgotten and no one shall come to your gravestone."

"So be it! Let the stakes of this battle be all of Soul Society itself, let the price of this battle be oblivion for the loser! Show me what you've got, boy!"

Kaworu quickly obliged, using his shunpo to rush forward and then send a surging wave of lightning forward towards Shigekuni.

Shigekuni only smirked, ducking swiftly under the lightning and shaking his head.

"You'll have to be faster than that, boy."

"Indeed?"

Kaworu sneered, flashing forward and slamming his spear hard into the ground. It quickly emitted a pulse of electricity that surged out directly towards Shigekuni, threatening to fry him from the feet up.

Quickly jumping over the current of electricity, Shigekuni shook his head, swinging his blade and sending out a massive wave of flames directly at Kaworu.

"It's not enough, boy!"

Kaworu roared in exasperation, swinging his spear in a wild circle to clear away and dissipate the wave of flames and then pointing the weapon in his father's direction.

"I'll show you!"

Shigekuni quickly focused on Kaworu's spear as he awaited the next attack, but it was merely a visual ploy. Instead of using his spear, Kaworu opened his mouth wide and out flew a massive spear of lighting that hurtled towards Shigekuni and then split into smaller lightning bolts that flew in all directions.

The old man let out a grunt of pain as one of the smaller bolts burned the skin on his right shoulder, but he managed to swing his sword about and create a small inferno of fire that blocked the rest of the lightning that Kaworu had fired out of his mouth.

"Tch, still not enough."

Shigekuni felt exhilarated and young because of this battle, truly, and quickly hoisting his sword up he used one of his most creative offensive attacks. Slamming his sword down into the ground, Shigekuni began to pour as much fire reiatsu into the earth as possible. To Kaworu's wide-eyed surprise, the ground around him began to melt and contort as if it were the waves of the ocean.

In an instant, the ground below Kaworu gave way before he could react, melting and burning him an enveloping him like some sort of quicksand up to his waist.

Despite the fact that he was fighting a battle to the death, Shigekuni merely overconfidently let the ground around Kaworu cool so that instead of being burned alive Kaworu was merely entombed from the waist down in solid cooling stone.

"Shit, you bastard!"

"It appears you lack the necessary tact and strategy to fight a battle such as this, boy. Perhaps rethink your philosophies now that you're stuck like a mole?"

"I'll show you…I'm no longer a child, I'll slit your throat from ear to ear!"

Surging with angry reiatsu, Kaworu slammed his hands palm down into the ground and burst out of the stone prison he had been entombed in, cracking it into chunks with his electric power.

"I won't even need my spear! There's a reason Yoruichi was a master of hand-to-hand combat! What she knows she learned from me in sparring matches!"

Slamming his spear into the ground, Kaworu sent a shockwave of lightning surging at Shigekuni. However as it hurtled towards the Captain-Commander, Kaworu didn't bother to pull his spear out. Instead he was already upon Shigekuni with a flurry of wild and fluid kicks and punches.

They smashed and battered Shigekuni's body with bruises, though he weathered the blows well, blocking some of them with the blade of his flaming sword and singing Kaworu at times. However, Shigekuni did say he had to be impressed. His son had made his entire boy into a weapon.

Suddenly, the opportunity Kaworu had been waiting for in his flurry of weak and soft blows from his wild limbs. Landing a punch against Shigekuni's chest, he smiled, pouring in all the reiatsu and lightning pulsing through his body.

In an instant the electric current surged into Shigekuni's heart and disrupted the organ's flow, halting it completely.

Shigekuni hadn't any time to make any other reaction but a gasp for air, falling to his knees and collapsing.

Asuka Kyōraku smiled as she held Shigekuni's trembling hand. For a brutal general, the man could be terrifyingly tender and weak with emotions at times. It was why she loved him so dearly, the tenderness inside of his hardened exterior that she knew was uniquely intuned to her caresses.

"How long will you love me, I wonder, Asuka? How long will this peace last?"

Asuka only laughed, smiling so brightly that it made Shigekuni involuntarily smile back, overcome by the happiness behind that countenance.

"It'll last as long as we're together. My Shige, my love…As long as the Sun, the Moon and the Earth exist, everything will be all right, you will be fine, and humanity shall live on."

Shigekuni gasped as he rose from the ground, his memories failing him and consciousness returning. How long had he been out of it? Why was he still alive? Kaworu stood over the old man, having apparently not taken the time to deliver a final blow.

"I'm alive? Why did you not take my life when I lost consciousness?"

Kaworu only smirked.

"I thought you were dead already, actually, I wonder what got that old heart of you beating again…an old dream of the past perhaps? No matter, I'm not the kind of man to take your life so easily. I'll drag this out and break you piece by piece."

Shigekuni rose, shaking his head and steadying himself on his flaming blade.

"A terrible mistake, son. You should have learned not to hesitate already. Your shall pay for speaking with your heart rather than your sword."

"Tch! Enough talk old man. I also wanted to see your final limit release before you died."

"What?!"

"Surprised I know? Oh, I've learned a great deal about the cursed dragons inside us both. And with that knowledge, I'll rend you apart!"

"Hmmm…it will only be your undoing, child."

Kaworu only let a grunt of annoyance, letting the lightning surge through his body as he swung his spear forward and sent a truly massive wave of lightning fly out of his weapon and sweep out directly at Shigekuni.

It was impressive indeed, though not nearly enough, Shigekuni disappearing and reappearing directly above Kaworu with a roar and swing of his blade that sent down a massive fireball almost as large as Shigekuni's former headquarters.

Kaworu merely slammed his spear against the base of the fireball, but soon found himself nearly engulfed by its flames. Keeping his grip against his spear with one hand, he thrust his open hand towards the fireball he was trying to desperately push back and spoke a full kidō chant.

"Carriage of thunder. Life's terrible flax of sorrow. Return all to dust as it once was, and end mankind's true misery! Destructive Art: 95, Lighting Genesis, Crash Down!"

A massive blast of lightning surged out of his open hand and slammed into the fireball, pushing it back up into the sky and detonating it with a showering fireworks show of hot sparks.

However, while his attention had been on the fireball, Shigekuni had merely used a quick flash step to land behind him and slash his flaming sword at Kaworu's back.

Kaworu barely managed to spin around and intercept Shigekuni's sword with his own spear, the force of his father's swing sending him flying backwards hundreds of feet. Stopping himself, Kaworu moved fluidly, tossing his spear through the air like a javelin at full speed towards his father's face.

As it soared through the air at the Captain-Commander, it crackled and grew with lightning energy, almost like a giant thunderbolt aimed directly at Shigekuni.

However the old man merely let out a grunt of annoyance and used an effortless shunpo to dodge the spear. The spear landed in the dirt behind Shigekuni, who was effectively now between Kaworu and the weapon.

"Like I said, you were never one for tact or strategy. Is that really the best you can do? Toss it at me? What are you going to do now?"

Kaworu simply gave a silent smile and nodded up to the sky.

Shigekuni glanced up at the sky broiling with black clouds and then turned to stare at Kaworu's spear Inazuma. It was still broiling with lightning energy that seemed to crackle up from it directly into the sky and those dark clouds.

"What?!"

The sky itself was darkening and surging with lightning. Shigekuni had no time to react as a massive blast of lightning hurtled down from the sky and slammed straight into his body. He had to admire his son for such tact and strategy, using his own spear as a lightning rod to take his old man down.

Still, it would not be enough.

Slamming his blade into the stone ground, Shigekuni began to melt it just as the lightning surged towards him. When it struck, it instead was intercepted by a freshly created half-dome of cooling lava that had formed up and over Shigekuni to shield him.

Kaworu panted in exasperation, watching as his father had managed to evade death once more. He had used up far too much reiatsu already and Shigekuni seemed almost at ease! At least he had manage to grab his spear in a quick shunpo before Shigekuni had realized it.

I have no choice…

"Releasing first limit…Inazuma…"

He held the great spear Inazuma in his left hand and pressed the tip into his right palm. As if made of air, it sank straight through his palm as if his palm was an endlessly deep pool of water and then simply disappeared.

Kaworu clenched his right fist, his eyes bulging and the veins at his forehead straining with obvious difficulty as his right arm trembled.

Suddenly, the bright golden-white tattoos spelling the phrase "VENGEANCE IS MINE" ("Fukushû Suruwa Wareniari") across both hands that had grown on his knuckles with his bankai started to contort against his skin.

The golden lines began to crisscross and grow, as if the tattoo was somehow sprouting like a vine. They grew up his hand and began to snake and crisscross all around his right arm, these glowing golden lines and symbols searing into his skin as if they were being branded on or tattooed.

It all stopped at his right shoulder, and as the smoke cleared, one could see the intricate and beautiful lines and runes all around his right arm with a new surprising addition.

There seemed to be a glowing wing of electric energy sprouting out of his right shoulder, a single ethereal wing of massive spiritual presence.

Shigekuni only gave a calm smile.

"Perhaps I should respond in turn? What would you do then? It has been centuries since I released Ryūjin Jakka's limits, even the initial one. I believe it would burn all of Soul Society up if I did so, and I don't think I'll need to use it either, boy!"

Shigekuni's retorts were soon cut off as Kaworu appeared directly above him with a vicious shunpo directly behind Kaworu. So fast that Shigekuni had almost been unable to sense him.

The old man barely had anytime to turn around as Kaworu slammed a fist full of electricity directly into his back and sent him skidding away into the ground.

Landing back onto his feet, Shigekuni grimaced, feeling pain from his wounds for the first time in centuries.

"I see, so perhaps you have grown in power. Still…"

Shigekuni flashed away in a quick shunpo and appeared directly in front of Kaworu then, swinging Ryūjin Jakka up in an arc that sliced Kaworu in two pieces from his crotch to his skull.

"…it's not nearly enough…"

The Kaworu that he had sliced in half suddenly dissipated in an illusion created entirely of lightning, the real Kaworu having appeared directly behind Shigekuni and silently elbowed him hard in the back of the head.

Shigekuni let out a grunt of pain, feeling his world and vision swimming from the hard blow to his skull. Rattled, he tried his best to get back onto his feet.

"Not nearly enough, you say? Perhaps my first limit release is too much for you."

Kaworu appeared directly above Shigekuni with his single smoldering wing of lightning, a smirk on his face.

"You're pretty arrogant for a child…don't forget that I perfected the limit releases of my cursed dragon as well. You'll have to prove to me you even deserve to see them, you mere boy!"

Kaworu's response came from directly behind Shigekuni as the Kaworu above him shimmered and dissipated in an afterimage of electricity.

"Is that so?

Shigekuni's eyes widened at the speed and agility, trying to spin around in time to respond. Kaworu was spinning at full force, whipping through the air with his spear which was charging with lightning. The force of the spinning began to create a vortex of air and lightning which suddenly surged out the second Kaworu halted his movement.

The small cyclone of lightning and destructive power surged out towards Shigekuni, who hadn't any time to react, the power of it smashing him hard into the ground and created a giant dust cloud from the rubble.

From within the dust came Shigekuni's tired voice.

"So be it…I'll show you then…"

"Releasing first limit, Ryūjin Jakka."

Kaworu was nearly blown away by the massive pillar of fire that surged out the second Shigekuni had spoken those words. Pillar after pillar of fire surged out of the cloud and into the sky, converging on him.

Dodging as many as he could, Kaworu was suddenly stroke by one of the pillars and sent flying down towards the ground where he made a hard landing albeit still on his feet.

Quickly turning to gaze at the dust from which the fire had come, he saw that it had cleared an his father stood solemnly with bulging muscles and flames enveloping him in the middle of a small crater.

Glowing red tattoos and runes were all over his body, surging with fire as if Shigekuni himself was full of magma. With every breath Shigekuni made, steam and fire blew out as if he himself were the dragon of the sun, Ryūjin Jakka.

Kaworu just stared at him in awe, shaking his head.

"I see…so this is your true power…fascinating. But it won't be enou-"

Kaworu was immediately cut off as Shigekuni appeared in front of him and gave him a harsh uppercut to the face which sent him flying onto the floor spitting blood.

Shigekuni stood over him, the stern father, shaking his head as he burned with flames.

"End this now, Kaworu. Or else you will have to feel my full abilities."

Kaworu merely snarled, leaping up to his feet and shaking his head wildly.

"You'd like that, wouldn't you, you bastard?! I'll never end this, not until you're lying dead at my feet. You think I'm afraid of your flames? You already had me killed once, I'm quite familiar with the infernos of Hell. This is nothing!"

Swinging his spear forward, Kaworu let a massive wave of lightning shaped like a dragon surge out directly at Shigekuni.

The old man shook his head and smiled, feeling Ryūjin Jakka inside of him begging for a duel with Inazuma. Obliging the old dragon, Shigekuni swung his sword and out flew a giant blast of fire with a dragon-like shape out to meet Kaworu's attack.

The two attacks slammed into each other, sending both men flying backwards, but from the flames still burning and singing Kaworu when the attacks had disappeared, it was clear whose power was greater.

Kaworu trembled with seething rage.

He never thinks I'm good enough…I'll show him…I'll kill them all!

"You! You! I'll kill you! I'll kill you!"

Shigekuni merely stared at him an shook his head, sighing.

"Don't do it Kaworu…"

"I'll end this now! Releasing final limit…Inazuma!"

Kaworu ripped his ragged robes aside, his body pulsating and the tattoos snaking up his arm seemingly swirling like serpents themselves as he held his palm in front of his chest. A small circular tattoo lay directly above his heart now, golden and glowing and spinning intricately like the gears of a grand clock around other spirals and circles tattooed on Kaworu's chest.

Hovering over his shoulders were too massive wings of lightning energy which surged with power.

"Hmph, so you did manage to reach your final limit…"

"Now…you're dead…father."

Surging forward with speed far more agile than Shigekuni in his initial release, Kaworu body slammed his father into the ground and began to vicious punch the old man in the face over and over with fists full of lightning, sobbing wildly as he did so.

"Is this all you've got, you old bastard?"

Shigekuni spat blood in his face, shoving Kaworu off of him and swinging his sword towards his son's face. Kaworu merely blocked it with his spear and gave Shigekuni a hard kick to the gut which made the old man double over and spit blood.

Kaworu merely sneered.

"I know this isn't all you've got, dammit! STOP PATRONIZING ME! SHOW ME YOUR FINAL RELEASE!"

"I…promised myself I'd never use it again…not after…that time…"

"If you don't do it, I'll kill you, and I'll take God's throne! Show me!"

"I'm warning you, don't make me do it…"

"Show me what you've got then! Let's end this!"

"I'm not sure you want to see it, boy."

"Enough games, show me what you've got!"

"Releasing final limit, Ryūjin Jakka."

As he spoke those words, the coiling runes and tattoos on Shigekuni's muscular and scarred body began to glow with crimson fire, growing and coiling around his body. Raising his sword into the air, he spoke a phrase underneath his breath to finish off the limit release.

"The dragon of the heavens meet the dragon of the sun…release your true form…Ryūjin Jakka."

The sun above Soul Society seemed to blaze with heavenly fury and suddenly spit out a massive curtain of fire that descended upon Soul Society. It seemed as large as Seiretei itself and surged through the air as if the sky had been set aflame. Luckily for the denizen's of Seiretei, it avoided burning them up entirely, focusing itself as a massive tunneling wave of fire aimed directly at Kaworu.

Kaworu let out a wild scream of pain and terror as the inferno engulfed him. Shigekuni merely sighed, flexing his burning muscles and feeling the energy of the cursed dragon inside of him.

"I warned you…"

Kaworu let out a terrified shout of agony. His entire left arm had been burnt off by his father's final limit release. Behind him, the entirety of the Shrine of Penitence and much of the Gotei 13's headquarters had caught fire and were smoldering.

He stared at the smoking exposed bone of his arm and let out a wild scream, his eyes bulging with fury and agony.

"YOU BASTARD! I'LL KILL YOU! I'LL KILL YOU!"

"As I said, I warned you."

One of Kaworu's golden wings of reiatsu had been torn off completely as well as his left arm, and he began to wobble there in the sky, crashing through it still smoking from the flames that had hit him.

Landing hard on the bridge connecting the Shrine of Penitence to the other buildings of Seiretei, Kaworu let out a gasp. He was finding it hard to stand at all, and Inazuma was raging for more battle and energy inside of him.

"GET UP! I WILL NOT BE DEFEATED BY THAT INFERIOR DRAGON!"

"My-my arm!"

"IT CAN BE REMADE. REMEMBER YOUR GOALS. ARISE!"

Kaworu rose gingerly onto his feet on the bridge, gazing at it as it seemed to be on fire and on the verge of collapse but still holding up.

At the same time he stood up, Shigekuni landed hard onto the opposite side of the bridge, his flaming wings only aiding to the gradual burning and destruction of the Shrine of Penitence and its bridge.

Grasping his spear in one hand, Kaworu let out a vicious roar that shook the entirety of the bridge.

"COME ON THEN! We're both at full power! Let's decide this in one blow!"

Nodding silently, Shigekuni merely raised his long sword, bringing it up to meet Kaworu's trident as they slammed against each other, their reiatsu and power desperately seeking to destroy each other.

Kaworu grit his teeth, putting all his force into his spear as he slowly managed to push Shigekuni back onto the balls of his feet.

"You bastard! I'll make you pay for mother! For uncle! For everyone! For once, you won't be the judge, jury, and executioner! For once you will be punished!"

"You are nothing but fury, boy! Bestial fury and rage! Your urge for revenge will not be enough to kill me!"

"I'LL FIGHT FOR ALL OF THEM! I'LL PUT MY LIFE ON THE LINE!"

The two raised their reiatsu to their highest limits, the power of it shaking all of Soul Society in a violent quake and threatening to snap the bridge they were standing on in two.

Both of the Yamamoto-Genryūsais quickly did the same thing, of one mind as they used shunpo to deliver their final blows against each other and land on opposite sides of the bridge.

Kaworu gave a sad victorious smile, not turning as his father fell to his knees and dropped his long sword, spitting out a massive volume of blood.

Seconds later, Kaworu merely sighed, staring down at his spear Inazuma as it fell into two pieces, sliced completely in half.

"I guess…this is the end…"

Sighing as the massive slash that his father had managed to deal to his chest revealed itself, Kaworu stumbled forward and toppled over the bridge.

No! Yoruichi! No, dammit! For our dream…I must not die…

With his last stores of energy, Kaworu reached out and just barely managed to hold onto the edge of the bridge with his remaining right hand. His position seemed quite dangerous however, as he couldn't hold on for long and the bridge was slowly burning itself into ruin from the battle that had occurred upon it.

Shigekuni Yamamoto-Genryūsai stared at his son holding on for dear life and merely sighed, feeling memories surging once more through his body.

Asuka stared at him through heavy-lidded eyes as baby screamed out into the open air, alive.

This was it, Kaworu would be his name, and he would be the solid evidence of their love.

Shigekuni embraced the small child, overwhelmed by this realization.

"You know…I always loved you more dearly than anything else in my life. Even her. It's why I could never forgive you. My love for you was too powerful, too tender."

Kaworu's eyes widened as he looked up at his father, trembling in shock at the words, barely holding onto the burning bridge.

"Father?!"

"I awaited the moment I could retire and rest in peace, when you would take up my mantle and I could become nothingness with Asuka. But you betrayed that hope for the future, you betrayed all of Soul Society's hope in your potential as my heir. I found that when I was with you, I only hurt you, so it was better that I did nothing in regards to your childhood…you reminded me too much of her."

"You were…afraid?"

"I don't believe that I can be loved by others... I'm not worthy of love. Not anymore."

"Afraid of the shapeless, invisible barriers that separate people…I see…father."

Shigekuni gave a sad smile and reached out for Kaworu's remaining right hand, intending to pull his son up from the precipice, however Kaworu did not take the offered hand. The younger Yamamoto-Genryūsai merely gave a sad smile an shook his head.

"I came looking to create a new world, a new beginning with Yoruichi. It turns out the Throne of God was not meant for me."

"You came close though, son…"

Kaworu chuckled, grimacing in pain as the blood from his many wounds dripped down his arm, loosening his fingers and their grip on the edge of the bridge.

"Back into the abyss, down below paradise waits."

Shigekuni's eyes widened and the old man quickly moved forward to grab Kaworu by the arm, but the flames of his bankai and limit release had already weakened the bridge's structure far too much. Pieces of it were collapsing completely on fire and destroyed because of Shigekuni's attacks.

Finding the bridge creaking aflame and about to collapse, Shigekuni was unable to move forward, watching Kaworu with helpless eyes.

Ryūjin Jakka had burned the bridges of his past and family, once again.

Kaworu smiled sadly, the blood spewing out of his wounds and spraying out into the air.

"Once again, your sword has spoken before your heart. It's far too late. It's best you leave before this bridge takes us both…"

As the bridge began to collapse, Kaworu Yamamoto-Genryūsai's blood flowed out into the open sky, carried on by windborne destiny down onto Seiretei drop by drop.

Soifon stood out amongst her terrified Covert Ops soldiers, trying her best to calm them down. A drop of blood carried by the wind hit the side of her face and dripped down her chin.

Staring quizzically at the blood, she felt its warmth and it reminded her of a warmth she had not felt in a long time.

She felt to her knees and began to quietly sob, her Shinigami underlings crowding around her in confusion as she trembled.

I need you…Yoruichi-sama…

Retsu Unohana stiffened as a drop of blood flowing out across the breeze landed on her forehead and dripped down the ridge of her nose.

Orihime stared at her, confused as it had interrupted their training and healing of the wounded.

"What is it, Captain Unohana?"

Retsu merely turned away, shaking her head calmly.

"Nothing to worry yourself about, Orihime…just another…wounded soul…we must heal as many of them as we can, but remember Orihime…sometimes the wounds they have in their hearts are even more sore than the wounds of their body."

Byakuya Kuchiki scoffed in annoyance and surprise as a drop of crimson splattered against his right ear.

Reaching out with one hand to wipe it off, he noticed it was beginning to stain one of his noble scarves.

Using his other hand to block one of Chad's blasts and send it flying away effortlessly, he ignored the young human and was instead fixated by the blood reacting to the soft fabric of the scarf.

The scarf absorbed the crimson fluid, but it was left stained quite permanently, its fibers changed into a light pink.

How…tiresome…

Sajin Komamura felt the drop first, not knowing what it was exactly. A warm drop of liquid falling against his furry face.

He wiped it away and smiled sadly. Not long ago, he would not have even felt that fluid in the wind, it would have numbly hit his mask.

Yet he had decided he would no longer separate his face and his soul from the outside world. He would take it as it came and live without shame, doing his best to save Tousen's soul.

I will come for you, Tousen. And by that time, Tenken will have the heart to show its true face as well.

Shunsui Kyōraku lay lazily in bandages on the courtyard grounds of his division headquarters. When the drop of blood had splattered against one of his many bandages, he had only noticed it later and assumed it was a sign of one of his old wounds reopening.

Oblivious as ever, he quickly rushed off to medicate himself with some more sake and sexual harassment.

One eye of his kept current of the massive spiritual pressure that was slowly disappearing in the distance, however.

Hmmm. What a pity, he was always so fun to drink with.

Tōshirō Hitsugaya groaned as the drop of crimson fluid against his face woke him up from his unconscious state.

All things considered, being splattered in his own blood with quite a few broken bones, he didn't notice that particular foreign drop of blood. Kaworu had given him a terrible thrashing.

All he noticed was his own shortcomings and his will to change that, to grow up and defend the future.

Dammit Hyōrinmaru, I'll prove it to you someday that I'm worthy of you…I'll prove to all of Soul Society that I'm worth a damn…then I'll win you peace, Momo…

Kenpachi Zaraki let out a wild laugh as the drop of blood carried by the wind splattered against one of the many pointy spikes of hair he had and gently rang the bell.

"Every time a bell rings, an angel gets his wings…Hmph! What a fuckin' pity, I would've loved ta fight ya again, especially now that I know my sword's name…"

Glancing at his blade, he gave a firm smile.

Next: bankai. Ain't that right, Yachiru?

Mayuri Kurotsuchi grimaced as the drop of blood hit his disfigured face, growling in annoyance.

"Nemu! Bring me more of the repair fluid! Damn that Quincy to hell…when I find him I'll wring him into bits and experiment on him until he expires!"

Nemu followed Mayuri's orders, but inside of herself she had a serene smile at her creator's irritation and that proud Quincy's fate.

Jūshirō Ukitake let out a violent cough as the drop of blood hit his right eyelid, making him blink and cough more in confusion.

His two lieutenants quickly flocked to his side, assisting him urgently and begging him to take a seat as his wounds from the previous battles and his already preexisting condition had made himself quite weak.

Smiling kindly, Ukitake merely shook his head and continuing walking forward on his own two feet.

He owed that to all of them, after all. He would stay strong for all of them to make sure nothing like this ever happened again.

Ichigo Kurosaki trembled as the drop of blood splattered against his orange hair and ran down the entirety of his face.

Halibel stood behind him, opening the black void of a gargantuan and beckoning to him from within the darkness.

"Come, so that what happened to him does not happen to you."

Ichigo merely nodded.

I have to go…I have to become stronger…for you, Orihime.

Yoruichi stiffened and burst into tears as a drop of blood splattered against her lips and ran down her chin. It tastes warm and salty still, and despite the strange odds, she knew whose blood it was.

Collapsing onto her knees, she quickly hugged them and began to tremble. Inside of her mind, there was a single smiling face.

Kaworu…

Kaworu Yamamoto-Genryūsai gave a sad laugh and finally let go of the collapsing bridge.

He felt himself flowing through the open air, freefalling hundreds upon hundreds of feet towards the dark ground below, but he could only laugh and smile morosely as he fell into the abyss.

"Yoruichi-chan!"

Kaworu sprang into the open door of his house, embracing his lover and their many children in his arms.

She held him and he felt nothing but warmth and love.

This was the world he had hoped to create with the power of God.

A world of understanding and peace…not one of rigid justice and death.

"But I failed…didn't I, Yoruichi, my love?"

Before the ground rushed up to meet him and darkness enveloped Kaworu, he remembered one last thing.

If I can't have God's throne…then no one can…a world where little Sōsuke Aizen is free to cause chaos is a world where Yoruichi can never be happy…I can't die…not…yet.

Then, all was darkness.

R.I.P. Kaworu

That's the end of the Kaworu arc. Well, nearly, there's probably one more chapter left in it and the arc will be over. Hope you've enjoyed all 25 (26 once it's done) chapters of it.