Chapter 6: Attack

"Two riders were approaching,
And the wind began to howl."
-"All Along the Watchtower"

Gris charged at the small woman before him, eager for blood. So easy, easy, easy. So much fun! His sword ripped through her body, spraying blood onto the wall of the little shop behind her, but something wasn't right. Her soul hadn't been in her body. Where was-

He let out a yell as he felt a blade stab at him from behind, though it didn't puncture his reinforced skin. He whirled around and swung wildly at the little woman, but she was fast, so fast, and she dodged. Gris glared at her, hissing.

Around them the other Espada fought. A little boy with white hair had called a dragon out of his sword and was attacking Noitora, a man with a funny shiny head faced off against Le Roux, a human with a bow and a human with arms that weren't human stood back to back, holding off Szayel Apollo and Halibel, a man in a striped hat was slashing at Aaroniero, and a lady with purple hair was facing off with Grimmjow, grinning. All around him, shinigami and their allies - what should he call these funny people with their high reiatsu? - and arrancar were pairing off, but he was entirely focused on the little shinigami with purple eyes.

There were others here, more powerful perhaps, but the little woman had made Gris angry, and he wanted to kill her first.

-

"Karin, was that...?" Yuzu turned to her sister with tears in her eyes and fear in her face. They were crouching beside the door to the shouten along with Ichigo's less experienced friends, listening to the sounds of battle outside.

"Yeah," said Karin dully. "It was."

-

"Ichigo," Rukia whispered, barely aware that she was speaking aloud, "what did Aizen do to you?"

The creature in front of her - she couldn't think of it as Ichigo, wouldn't let herself think of it as Ichigo, but gods, it had his eyes, only then the creature blinked at her and she realized that no, those weren't Ichigo's eyes. They might have the color, the form of Ichigo's eyes, but they were utterly alien to everything Ichigo was - no, had been. There was something open and innocent in those eyes, something childlike, though it was overlayed with bloodlust and hatred. Ichigo had never been as open as this creature was. Something in Rukia was afraid, something was in awe, and something was, though she couldn't say why, aroused.

"Who are you?" the words slipped out of her mouth before the thought was even fully formed.

-

The little woman was talking, but Gris ignored her, diving at her again with Sagetsu in hand. The slim blade sang through the air, the loops of thin chain that hung from the hand guard and wrapped around his hand clinked loudly.

She dodged again. This little woman was fast. He readied himself to mount another attack.

"Dance, Sode no Shirayuki!" The little shinigami released her sword, and it turned pure white, a ribbon flowing from the pommel.

He froze.

"Pretty..." said Gris, staring at the sword. Where had he seen it before? Why was the sword so familiar? It's wielder he had never seen before, but the sword...

The little woman was staring at him. Was she shocked that he had spoken? He should take advantage of that. Gris dove at the shinigami, Sagetsu ready to cut.

"First dance, tsukishiro!"

A circle of white formed beneath him and he dodged back just as a column of light shot up from the circle. It was pretty, too. So many new things.

Gris turned back to the little shinigami.

-

It was smiling at her. Not a predetory smile, not a hungry smile, but one she would almost label as grateful. What was this thing? What the hell had Aizen done to Ichigo?

-

"That's it!" said Karin, exploding to a standing position. "I can't take this anymore!"

"Karin, what are you - ?"

"Yuzu, get further inside," said Karin, rolling up her sleeves.

Tatsuki made a grab for her but she dodged, swinging through the door and into the street.

"Karin, don't!"

Yuzu tried to follow and Tatsuki was found herself fully occupied with keeping the youngest Kurosaki from following her sister.

"Just get away, Yuzu!" yelled Karin, and then she was dead to the world, concentrating every fiber of her being on the incantation Rukia had taught her.

"Ye Lord! Mask of blood and flesh, all creation, flutter of wings, ye who bears the name of Man! Inferno and pandemonium, the sea barrier surges, March on to the south! Way of destruction thirty-one, shot of red fire!"

A ball of red rocketed towards the Ichigo-thing, hitting it in the side of the head and causing it to stumble. The thing's eyes snapped towards Karin and it charged at her, growling deep in its throat.

Kurosaki Karin knew at that moment that her brother was dead, and that she was about to join him.

Then Rukia was in front of her, sword raised, meeting the Ichigo-thing's blow and stumbling back under its power.

"Karin, run!"

She wasn't going to run. She was going to kill this thing that had devoured her brother and spit on its body. Karin repeated the incantation. Another ball of fire impacted on the thing's shoulder and it staggered again.

"Bitch," it growled , slamming Rukia into the side of an adjacent building and advancing on her. Karin took up her stance, ready to fire once more, and then again and again until this thing was dead.

The Ichigo-thing paused, its eyes clouding over. It seemed to be listening to something in the distance. It whirled around towards its fellows.

"Master says its time to go home," it called out, sounding both disappointed and somehow eager.

Karin was halfway through her incantation when the arrancar disappeared.

---

Hey guys. Sorry this took so long. My most excellent beta, ILuvsBakura, had finals. We all know how evil those are. Also, I've got a new Bleach AU mystery up called "This Ain't My Revolution." Check it out and please review. I haven't been getting a very good response to it. Could someone tell me what I'm doing wrong?