Chapter 17: Pandemonium 2/2

"That's very sad, yes," Erza said, nodding, wondering how to put on the right air of respect toward the dead man in question- she knew well how personal grief felt, but she didn't have much experience handling other people's deaths. It made her feel uncomfortable.

"But why are you this worked up? Were you friends with him?"

"Don't you know, sis?" Renji said, his voice between angry and upset, "Rukia was his student. They say…" He hesitated, took a deep breath, and continued, "they say her sword was what killed him. She's not been arrested, but… sis, she can't be in a good way."

"So why are you here talking to me?" Erza asked.

"I tried- she wouldn't respond," Renji mumbled. "Shit… her eyes looked dead, sis. She really liked that guy, and… it's bad enough to watch somebody like that die, but to have to-"

"Let's not jump to conclusions," Erza said sharply.

"What can I do, Erza?" Renji pleaded, sounding a bit helpless.

"Renji," Erza said, looking him in the eye, "somebody dear to you is in pain. You do not know how you can help. Correct?"

Renji nodded.

"I'm not exactly an expert on people," Erza said, trying to think of some decent advise- that was the silly thing about being a teacher to somebody; people just assumed you knew things and it never occurred to them that you might just be ignorant and lost, too…

"Look, not everyone handles something like this the same. But… when it was me, I was nearly lost. It was Kotetsu Isane who pulled me out of there, and I hope her, or somebody like her, will do the same for Rukia. I'll say this- nobody in that position should be alone. Visit her when you can, and don't leave unless she tells you to."

"But what am I supposed to say?"

"You don't need to say a thing, Renji," Erza said firmly. "You just need to be there. Make her feel she's got people left in this world. That kind of pain can take you to some dark places without people to help you carry on. If she'll have it, talk to her. If not, just sit there until your ass cramps up. Understood?"

"…yes, sis," Renji said, nodding. Wordlessly, he turned around and walked out.

Erza watched him leave, and hoped she hadn't made some sort of mistake.

Life- or rather, afterlife- was hard, unfair, and then you died. That was Kuchiki Rukia's conclusion when, some two months after Shiba Kaien's death, she stood alone among the corpses of her comrades. She had failed to live up to the standards of her onii-sama, had never become a worthy member of the Kuchiki. She had endured that failure for a long time, even gaining hope of overcoming it under the tutelage of Kaien-dono. That hope had died with him, that dire night… when her sword had run through his chest.

She had been given counselling. The ever-smiling, ever-frightening Captain Unohana had insisted on it. But no amount of treatment could make the black hole in her chest go away; nothing could stop her dreams from his accusing face staring down on her. For that reason, she had joined a terminator squad the moment she was deemed fit for duty. It was dangerous work, and people often died- and deep down, she had felt that suited her.

Then there was today. A high risk assignment; hollow infestation out in the Rukongai. There had been five of them going out that morning, to fix a tear between the realms- reportedly with dozens of hollows having spilled out, and more coming.

It hadn't been dozens. It had been well over a hundred. They couldn't run; there were hollows far too strong and fast for that. A distress call had been sent out immediately by the squad's leader, and a struggle for survival had begun, a desperate defensive fight, a mixture between running and battling with their lives at stake. For a while, it had worked. For some time, quick and smooth team work had kept them alive, with one hollow after another being slain as they constantly changed position, using everything in their arsenal to stay alive.

Then tenth seat Tumika had lost his arm to a vicious, snake-like beast hitting him from a blind spot, and he had been overrun in seconds, torn to pieces. One by one, the other three had been taken out- skewered, ripped to pieces, killed with sword in hand while slaying as many in turn as they could.

Now it was only her left.

As Rukia watched the wicked-faced horde of hollows move to leap at her one final time, a seething mass of teeth, claw and writhing bodies, she thought how strange it were, that just a few months ago this would have been horrifying. Now, it was strangely... pointless. Apathy was the last she would have expected, but it was all she could muster. She could not manage to care that her squadmates had died. She could not manage to care that she had no way out. She could not even manage to care about the large, bleeding gash in her side, which had already dyed a large part of her shihakusho quite red. She could see them move, slowly like the predators they were, and her vision went blurry. Slowly, she lowered her sword, waiting for the inevitable.

It felt right. Just... let it happen, and all the pain would be gone. It wasn't like she was killing herself. She had carried on, she had fought hard, she had done her best. It hadn't been enough. She was oddly fine with that.

Her vision faded, and she sunk to her knees, closing her eyes. It would hurt- but just a little more pain, and then... then, she'd be wherever Kaien was. Was there a life after the afterlife? She would find out. The shrieks and growls of the hollows came ever closer...

But then, one moment passed another, and the inevitable somehow didn't happen. The sore, throbbing pain in her side made itself reminded with each heartbeat, and Rukia felt almost disappointed- what the hell was taking them?

She opened her eyes, looked up, and... she saw and felt it. Two powerful shinigami, taking the full attention of the horde. Forcing herself to focus, through the pain and dizziness, Rukia looked at her saviours- the far-too-late reinforcements from the Gotei itself. There was the white-haired fourth seat of squad Ten, Lisanna Strauss- and by her side, the tall and fiercely red-haired third seat of squad five, Erza Scarlet. They stood only a couple dozen paces away, their swords out.

"You ready, Erza?" Lisanna said, staring intently at the horde before them. The hollows seemed curious about the new arrivals, slowly spreading out in a large arc, to surround them.

"Let's do this."

"No." Erza said, her sword already changed into two blades. "There is a survivor over there- take her to the field hospital, now."

"She's half dead," Lisanna bit back, "and if I go save her, you'll be overrun. Those aren't your everyday hollows, Erza- I'm counting nearly forty old, strong huge ones, and there's three gillians, and a damn Adjuchas too!"

"Do it," Erza said, her tone leaving no room for disagreement.

"I'm not letting you die for no reason-" Lisanna tried, but Erza cut her off.

"I hate to do this to you, but I am third seat and you are fourth. I am in command of this mission, so go save her- that's an order!"

"Really, Erza?" Lisanna said frustratedly.

"Sorry," Erza said regretfully. "Get her out of here, then come help out. Okay?"

"Son of a..." Lisanna murmured, and dashed toward Rukia. "Are you badly hurt?" She said to her.

"I'm..." Rukia said, lamely pointing to her side. "I... I don't think I can stand."

Lisanna looked around her; the hollows were gathering. "This might hurt, but we don't have any time," she said, sheathed her sword, and hastily picked Rukia up in a bridal carry. It hurt, but not especially more than it had before, and Lisanna sped away.

"I'm coming right back, Erza!" She snapped, as she started running, "so stay alive till them, you hear me?"

"I'm not dying here," said Erza, mostly to herself. There was a lot of them... but she was not going to die. It was not an option. Not waiting for them to pounce, she readied her swords and charged into the awaiting horde. She cut once, twice, three and four times, her arms working with furious precision, leaving seven hollows maimed. There was no time to go for a killing blow each time- she was outnumbered enormously, and her only advantage would be speed. Her weapon immediately changing to a spear, she sped forward, leaping over one hollow after another, even using them as stepping stones, she aimed for the first gillian. It was enormous, bulky and slow, bigger by far than even the Adjuchas- which, for now, seemed only to observe. The gillian looked down on her, red eyes glimmering with malice as it opened its mouth. Cero- she knew what it was before the red energy had even begun to gather.

Not stopping now, she dashed forward, running up the body of the hollow in defiance of all physics known to man. The ball of red energy was growing, but Erza had no intent on letting it fire. In a last spurt, she launched herself forward, spear pointed straight at the monster's mask. She felt the impact as it collided, rattling her very bones, and for a fraction of a second she feared her weapon would break. Then there was a gratifying crack, as the monster's mask fractured, pierced by the tip of her spear. It had not yet broken, though- only partly fractured. Wrenching the spear out, she let it form into her axe, Breaker. With a fearsome swing, she cut into the fracture, and the hollow screamed- a deafening, shrieking roar, chilling her to the spine- as it began to dissolve. It collapsed, and Erza let herself fall to the ground, landing with her weapons already switched to the double swords.

She panted. That had already taken a lot out of her- the gillian's mask had been thick and tough. But there was no respite- a horde of smaller hollows were charging her way, leaping on all fours. Not waiting to let them come at her, she ran to meet them, her swords ready and waiting. Carving through them with the power and experience of veteran, her blades worked furiously, slashing a gruesome, bloody pattern through the beasts. In a matter of seconds, nearly a dozen hollows fell over, dead or dying, and Erza was not even slowing down.

Crying out with a fierce shout, deep down from her gut, she jumped forward to face a group of Huge hollows, her swords changing into an axe again. A monster with a bulky body and long, spiky arms roared, slashing at her. It received a severed arm for its troubles, and the next moment Erza had smashed the blade of her axe into its mask. It fell down, beginning to decay immediately. Still looking for a new opponent, Erza jumped forward again. Breaker was hungry still, and she had the battle of a lifetime ahead of her.

Rukia saw it, as she was being carried away- that fierce, strong woman, jumping into a suicidal fight with no hesitation. Why? For her? Why would she be worth saving? Would she die too, because of her?

Thinking these despairing thoughts, Rukia drifted off into unconsciousness.

It had been hours, surely hours, since she had started this. Every muscle in her body ached; she had broken two fingers and probably more than a few ribs, and one of her arms almost hung limp at her side, her willpower just barely keeping it moving. Her clothes were torn and ripped, to a point where her shirt was less of a shirt, and more a collection of stripes. As it flapped in the wind, it might have looked attractive to a male onlooker, if not for how each tear came with a wound, soiling what was left of her uniform with red blood. Thick, clotting blood kept running into her eyes, from a nasty cut to her forehead.

She could barely hold Breaker, her huge bearded axe, which she had swung with a tired, mechanical energy the last hour or so, like a weary woodsman chopping into a tree's trunk.

And all around her were the disintegrating corpses of hollows great and small. Bits and pieces of them were flung all over the dirty ground, blood and ichor staining the grass. There were mounds, veritable mounds, of decaying dead flesh, huge hollows with their tongues hanging lamely from their dead jaws, stacked on one another as they had fallen before her fury. She hurt, badly, but she had won.

Well, almost.

"Well, well," said the Adjuchas, towering over her, "you managed to kill all of them. Impressive."

It was huge in size, massive, over a hundred feet tall, its body a flaming red, with bull-like horns jutting from its mask. Its muscles bulged from its arms, grotesquely disproportionate in size compared to its smaller legs. It looked like a deformity, a still-born, misshapen freak of nature. Its mask was the typical bone white, except for three black triangular markings under each eye. Its teeth dark and sharp, it looked every bit the nightmare it should.

"Impressive? I thought you'd be angrier about losing your followers," Erza grunted, wearily raising her axe again. It was a monstrosity, to be sure... but she had fought a lot of monstrosities, and even now, she felt no fear. Caution, sure- but looking at it, even though it was grim, she felt only a cool calm, assessing the situation before her.

It was large, very large, but she knew from experience they could be deceptively quick. Adjuchas class, with reiatsu bigger than hers- but judging from its emissions, with inferior control of it compared to her; a major flaw to exploit. Adjuchas, the second highest stage of hollow evolution- it was old, experienced and wicked, no doubt. To do this, she would have to be very precise; there would be no room for mistakes.

"Angry?" The hollow said, letting out a low, rumbling laugh, nearly deafening her. "I am grateful, Erza Scarlet of the Gotei. That they died by your hand will mean that consuming you will mean all the more." He put one paw forward on the ground, and leaned in, preparing to pounce. "Trash like them can be replaced. But to think..."

"Think what?" Erza said, carefully taking a few steps back, reading the beast's movements.

"To think that Aizen-sama holds you in such esteem, yet he has not ordered any of us to not harm you." He let out a low, evil-sounding chuckle. "Does he value you so little?"

"I wouldn't have said yes even if he asked me to." Erza said defiantly. That's right, drag it out... if there was one thing about old, experienced and particularly evil hollows, it was their tendency to gloat. If Lisanna came back before he could move, this was sure to be a victory.

"Aizen-sama does not take requests, he commands," the hollow chortled. "If you have not seen this, then you are naïve!"

Immediately, before he had even finished his sentence, the hollow charged forward, in great and vicious strides on his massive arms. One claw came down on her, and Erza quickly rolled under it, ignoring the screams of protest from her aching body. Quickly, she burst into a sprint, drawing on her last energy reserves, trying to quickly reach its face. She dashed forward in a weak half-shunpo, and though the beast saw her, reeling back, she was able to make the jump, get up-

but then it failed, her foot crying out in pain, her jump half-hearted and weak. Before she could even hit the ground, the hollow's claw had hit her, slamming hard into her side, sending her tumbling. Struggling to stay conscious, she rolled across the ground, bleeding from new places and hurting even more in older ones. Even so, she forced herself to stand- get up get up get up GET UP or he is going to kill you! Get up!

Struggling to keep her balance still, she stood on her feet, just barely holding on to her axe.

Never falter!

She heard the voice of Tetsu no Tama's proud warrior spirit in her head, and nodded resolutely. Never run away, never surrender- not for something as small as your life. Grasping the axe resolutely in both hands, despite her fractures shoulder and broken fingers, she began to walk against the hollow, which was raising its hand against her again. The walk turned into a jog, turning into a pained run, and she charged to meet its strike head on. As its hand came down upon her, she focused what energy she had left to the blade of her axe, and let it bite into the hollow's flesh, hard. The hand split in two where she cleaved into it, and the monster roared with pain, pulling its hand back.

Quickly, Erza grabbed on to its thumb, and let herself be propelled up, up... and just as she was high enough, she jumped forward from the monster's hand, brandishing her axe for a wide, arcing swing. The adjuchas growled, trying to react, but before it could move out of the way, she had hit home, all her remaining reiatsu channeled into this one strike. It bit into its neck, crushing through muscles, sinew and blood, brutally severing the head from its body. Her axe breaking, Erza fell to the ground... and raising her head, managing no more than that, she saw the hollow's head lying close by, its body toppling like a cut-down tree trunk. Blood spilled out on the ground like a dark red river, and Erza let herself have a breath of relief. She had won, just by the skin of her teeth.

Rukia was not sure how long it had been since she had passed out- but judging by the burn in her side, probably not very long. Deciding not to move any more than she had to, she raised her head, looking around. She was lying on a field bed, elevated just a foot or so over the ground. She saw light from outside, dull and fading- twilight, judging by its shade, meaning that she had been out for a few hours. She was in a tent, she could see, dark in colour and with the fourth division's insignia on its walls. Reinforcements had come with medical aid as well, it seemed.

Rukia shifted a little, and felt a jut of pain from her side- and, she noticed as it died down a little, from her arms and legs as well. She was more beaten up than she thought… but the pain had been dulled by a lot- probably some painkiller drug. She was covered in bandages, she noticed.

Then she remembered. She had been ready to die. She had been completely without hope, not even wanting hope… and then there had been that Erza Scarlet, her old teacher, swooping in and taking on a horde all by herself. Was she…

No. She was much too tired, much too weak, and in too much pain to deal with all that right now. Closing her eyes, Rukia lay still on the field bed, feeling the thumping of her heart and every little jolt of dulled pain it brought. It was a surprisingly effective distraction. It couldn't last forever, though- sometime later, maybe minutes, maybe an hour, she heard a rustle at the tent's entrance. Opening her eyes, she looked to see what it was. She saw a jot of red through her half-closed eyelids, and raised her head, looking more carefully.

It was Erza Scarlet, looking like she had been run over by a rockslide of particularly large and vicious rocks. Her uniform was gone, replaced by a clean, white robe, stained a little by her own blood. Her head had been wrapped in bandage, her left arm was in a sling, her right hand has wrapped thickly with bandage, the two lowest fingers kept straight by a splint. Her chest, her legs and arms were thick with bandage, and she was still bleeding from a few cuts here and there. After her came Kotetsu Isane, looking worried as Erza sat herself down on a field bed opposite of Rukia.

"…you have a concussion, seven rib fractures which could puncture your lung, a fractured and almost disjointed shoulder, two broken fingers and a sprained wrist to go with it, and dear lord you have more lacerations than I care to count!" Isane said insistently, with a fussing, determined tone that oddly reminded Rukia of a worried older sister, "and no, none of them are 'just flesh wounds', Erza! It doesn't matter you're strong- shinigami can get infections too! You need to stay down, and don't move around!"

"All right, all right," Erza mumbled, lying down on the bed. "Take it easy… you saw to all of that yourself, didn't you?"

"Yes," Isane said, nodding and firmly pulled a cover over Erza, until it reached up to her chin, "and now I have to make sure you don't undo it yourself! Good grief, Erza, you are so reckless!"

"Take- take it easy, all right?" Erza mumbled, sounding oddly submissive. "I promise I'll stay down, if it'll keep you calm. Okay?"

Isane sighed frustratedly. "I'd like it better if you stayed down because it's the right thing to do for your own wellbeing, but I suppose it will have to do. I have to go make a preliminary report to my captain now- don't go anywhere."

"You got it, boss," Erza said weakly.

Looking skeptical still, Isane nevertheless walked out. Rukia lay still there, looking at her. Erza looked like she had been through hell… and well, fighting at least a hundred hollows at once, that sounded pretty hellish. It was amazing that she was still alive.

Grunting, Erza propped herself up to a sitting position, putting a finger over her lips.

"Don't tell Isane," she murmured, "she'll pop a vein, and I don't want that on my conscience."

Rukia didn't reply, not really knowing what to say. Erza looked her in the eye, and her brows furrowed a bit.

"Rukia," she said. "I remember teaching you how to use a sword."

Weakly, Rukia nodded.

"I don't remember teaching you to give up."

"What?" Rukia murmured.

"Saw it in your eyes," Erza nodded, "just sitting down, waiting for it to happen. Seen that look before, there's no mistaking it."

"You have no idea." Rukia said flatly. "I saw all of them die, all of them, and I did my worst… and you have the nerve to say I was giving up?"

"Weren't you?"

"…no." Rukia said.

"A word to the wise, Rukia- you're not that good at lying. Least not right now," Erza said, shaking her head. "And you know what? I think I do have an idea. Losing people you love, being almost dead, despair… I think I know about that." There was a firm look on her face, not judgmental, not angry, but very decisive. "I lost my three best friends along with my whole class. I lost my entire world- tell me Rukia, do you remember the people you left behind when you were alive?"

"N-no…" Rukia mumbled. "I was too young."

"Well, I do. I remember Natsu, I remember Gray, I remember Lucy. I remember Master Makarov, Mirajane, Jellal, Cana… you don't know any of them, but they were all irreplaceable. Everyone I ever knew, my entire life and future, I lost that when I died, and I don't think I'll ever get it back."

"Um… that's awful." Rukia said awkwardly. It was a lame reply, a much too tame thing to say- but what could really do that justice?

"But I got back up on my feet," Erza said, nodding to herself, her voice a little softer now, "yes, I kept going. I accepted that my friends weren't going to be there anymore. I made new friends, and when they died, I still kept going."

"…why?" Rukia mumbled quietly, feeling tears at the corners of her eyes. "Why do you keep going when you lost that much? I-I lost Kaien-dono, and it hurts so much- overwhelmed by emotion, she stopped talking, tears flowing down her cheeks.

"Because it's not over till it's over," Erza said simply. "I know that doesn't sound very profound, but it's how it is. Either you keep going, or you lay down and die. Nothing else to it. I kept going… I almost didn't, but I had help. You got people who love you, Rukia- and it might not feel like it right now, but there's things that make life worth living. It hurts- it really hurts, and it never goes away, not ever, not all of it- but that it hurts means you had something worth remembering. Move yourself forward, Kuchiki Rukia. If you feel like you let somebody down, then live for them. Use your power to make it up to them, whatever it takes. I sure as hell don't think Kaien would want to see you dead."

She lay back down, seemingly tired out from her lecture, and the tears flowed slowly from Rukia's eyes. Keep going, was it? Keep going, or lay down and die…

She still had friends left. Maybe… maybe it wasn't time to give up just yet.

Erza, for her part, lay back, keeping quiet. She was in that familiar state of hurting all over, in every place she could imagine hurting and some she didn't even know could hurt. This was a state she had experienced plenty of times both before and after having died, enough so that it was almost routine. As she drifted off into a drug-induced sleep, she wondered whether that really was a sane way of looking at pain.

Then, before she knew it, she was in a familiar place- the great cliff, with a magnificent tree growing from it. Her soul realm, the home of her zanpakutou, Tetsu no Tama. He had redecorated a good bit since she had first dispelled the cloud of dust- the mountaintop was now the foot of a resplendent marble stair, leading into a huge marble hall, shining white, its roof supported by exquisitely carved pillars. Erza sighed, looking at the ridiculously glorious sight of her zanpakutou's home, and walked up the steps leading towards the hall where he made his home. The hall itself had all sorts of comforts, fitting for a king- couches, divans, magnificent tables with great bowls of wine and fruit. At the center of the room, of course, was yet another stair, leading up to a brightly shining golden throne. Erza couldn't help but look at it with a little bit of disbelief, and a little bit of distaste- her zanpakutou was so very much like her in so many ways; honourable, straightforward, firm of principle, proud- but in so many others, he was… not. When had she ever wanted glory and wealth like this?

"I can hear all your thoughts, you know," the zanpakutou said, disinterestedly fiddling with a grape. How he had grapes in this world, Erza had no clue.

He wore splendid gilded armour, like what she had once worn in life- but bigger, more elegant, covering every part of him, down to the fingers and toes- except his face. He would be considered handsome in her world, with his well-sculpted features and short, spiky blond hair, and that very arrogant expression on his face that for some mysterious reason appealed to a lot of women.

"Tetsu no Tama," Erza said, giving a quick bow. He was very keen on respect, Erza knew, and would sometimes withhold his power for small slights- something that had left her being very careful with her manner of speech.

"You wish to speak with me?"

"Yes, in fact," the zanpakutou said haughtily. "You are changing, Erza. We are changing." In his hand, Render appeared, the black greatsword long and fat with power. He pointed it at Erza. "You have taken a new path."

"Yes, things are changing," Erza said resolutely, "but is that for the better or for the worse, in your opinion?"

"I have no idea," Tetsu no Tama said dismissively, Render disappearing in a puff of black smoke, "but I do know it will lead to something grand. This Aizen… do you truly trust him?"

"With all my heart," Erza said firmly. "He will lead us to a-"

"Yes, yes, spare me the lecture," he said, taking a sip of wine. "I am not opposed to a bit of loyalty to a lord you believe in. But do not let him lead your way of thinking, Erza- you must follow because you see it to be right, not because he tells you it is."

"Obviously," Erza replied. "Was that all you wanted to talk about?"

"There is plenty to talk about." He said, smiling contentedly. "You just recently took your first life, Erza."

"Don't remind me." She said, balling her fists. "I had no choice-"

"There you go as always, deprecating yourself!" Tetsu no Tama snapped. "Of all the masters I could have had… you finally show the courage and maturity to know when death is necessary, and your instinctive reaction is to flagellate yourself to no end. This is why I will not give you my true power, Erza- every time you do something worthy of being my true master, in every regard, you step back. Are you afraid of me, Erza? Are you afraid of my power?"

"If your power means treating death as something unimportant, then I do not want it." Erza said coldly. "I'll make do. I'll make do, even if you took away all my power."

"Hn." The spirit took another sip of wine, and lazily gobbled down a couple of grapes. "And that, Erza, is why you still wield my power. Even when challenged by me, your own soul, you stay true to yourself. But take warning… the future may take you down a path that creates a new you, and that future you may not be worthy of my power."

"Isn't that always true?" Erza shot back. "Is that not always a possibility, for everyone?"

"True enough," the spirit said, nodding. "But I won't scold you too much. After all, you have moved up in the world… when will you upgrade from that tacky little room? A woman of your stature deserves far better."

"It's no more than I need." Erza said, smiling a little. This was a familiar verbal spar- Tetsu no Tama liked to demand the finer things in life, and Erza had little time for that.

"But, Erza…" Tetsu no Tama said, sounding grave. "Take heed. You destroyed something you found reprehensible not long ago. But in doing so, have you considered you might be destroying a part of yourself?"

"All the time, Tetsu no Tama. All the time."

He nodded. "We will speak again, Erza. For now… your audience is over."

And then, she felt the sudden rush of being thrown out, out of the palace, out of the realm itself- that blasted zanpakutou, and his arrogant way of treating it like his own personal kingdom! With a start, she woke up, feeling the pain of broken bones. Slowly, and with some effort, she went back to sleep again.

It was a few days later, when the worst of her injuries had been cured- through extensive medical kido, and more than a few scoldings from Isane- that she was well enough to be up and about. Captain Unohana had still insisted on her not returning to duty for a few days, and Erza was not about to defy her- but lying down had never been her forte. The news had spread across the Gotei, what she had done… people kept giving her excited looks, murmuring to themselves, and not in a bad way. It was like a not-so-bad version of what had happened after the massacre.

Right now, though, it was night, and she had been called out to meet Aizen. Out into the cool night she had walked, her bones still aching, her fingers still on a splint, but undeterred. Pain like this was nothing.

They were waiting in a square not far from fifth. In normal circumstances, she would have been unsure about such an open meeting place- but the power of Kyoka Suigetsu was something else, she had to remind herself. Out in the open, a clear moon shining down on them… conspiring rebellion. She was part of this now, and it was something that never stopped feeling strange.

Aizen stood there, flanked by Tosen and Ichimaru.

"Welcome, Erza," Aizen said, shooting her a small smile. "I am glad to see you on your legs again, after such a tremendous display."

"It was foolhardy," Tosen scoffed. "Not only did she risk her life needlessly, but she drew attention to herself- Aizen-sama's orders were clear, woman!"

"Silence, Kaname," Aizen said. His voice was quiet, gentle, but Tosen shut his mouth immediately.

"Ya gotta admit though, that was quite somethin' for a lil' girl without a bankai," Ichimaru said, smiling the same creepy smile as ever. "The hundred-slayer, I heard 'em call her. Yer makin' quite a name for yerself."

"If there is a problem-" Erza said, but Aizen cut her off with an assuring gesture.

"Don't mind them, Erza. This is exactly the sort of thing that might be expected of you- to suddenly become quiet and discreet would be far more suspicious for you. Be as you are. There is no need to worry. Besides, it was impressive."

"Thanks, sir," Erza mumbled.

"This is still more than necessary." Tosen dared remark. "Especially in light of the bombings…"

"Kaname, your petty jealousy would befit a schoolgirl better than a lieutenant of mine." His tone was gentle, but his words were sharp, and Tosen fell quiet.

"Is there a risk, though?" Erza asked. "I wouldn't want to have caused you trouble…"

"There is no risk." Aizen said calmly. "The second division is clueless. The reigning theory is that there were terrorists from the Rukongai somehow bypassing our defenses- something I planted evidence to support."

"…I see." Said Erza. "So, um, why did you call us out here?"

Aizen looked at her. "Ah, yes- let's not distract ourselves any further. The reason I called you out here is simple: the captain of division three is retiring soon due to a long time illness, and Gin will replace him."

Erza blinked. "He- he will? But can he…"

"Wouldn'tcha know it, I got me a bankai," Gin said lazily. "They say I'm a proper genius who deserve t'be at the very top of fings. So say at least five captains now. Goin' t'be fun, running me own division. Don't' it sound fun?"

Erza felt a sinking feeling. This man, in charge of others?

"Gin is still loyal to my cause, of course," Aizen said, noticing the look on her face, "and it serves us well that he is in a position of power."

"If-if you say so," Erza mumbled. "I mean, you'd know best, I guess…"

"That, of course, leaves the position of vice-captain vacant," Aizen said.

"Oh?" Erza said. "Do you have anybody in mind- oh."

"Well yes, who else?" said Aizen. "I can think of no better second in command at my side."

"You are sure, sir?" Erza said. "I mean…"

"You mean what, Erza? You are my third seat. You are the natural choice." Said Aizen.

"…I suppose I just didn't expect it." Erza murmured. "I- of course I'll accept!"

"Very good. I look forward to working with you." Aizen said, saying the formal phrase a bit mockingly.

"I'll do my best." She said resolutely. She had come this far- sure, "vice-captain" was just a rank, but she had climbed far and high now. She was leagues and leagues from where she had first started… and under Aizen's wisdom and guidance, she would go much further still. She would gain her bankai too, become the best she could be… and one day, they would create that better world.

Just you wait, she thought, to all the lost friends she had ever had, to the ones she had left behind in life and the ones she had left behind in the afterlife, just you wait. I won't have lost you for nothing.

Finally, Erza has reached the level of vice captain! Well, lets be honest, she's finally reached the RANK of vice captain. Erza was a powerful as one for quite awhile. How long ago? Ever since she saved her students from those huge hollows back in chapter 13.

Her power at this point is high vice captain to low captain rank. In a battle of Reiatsu, Erza surpasses Mayrui. but no other captain. She couldn't beat him as she is now, but that's due to his bankai, and THATS only due to his poison. Still, she's come a long ways, and she'll continue to climb even further.

I mean, she killed 100 Hollows! Several of them being gillians, many huge hollows, and a freaking adjuchas . I think that's a fair assessment.

I hope you all liked that scene at the beginning. For the longest time, Erza had just assumed all hollows were monsters. But as she learned here, she now knows that's not the case. Special thanks to Greatkingrat88 for that, he came up with that scene all by himself.

Also, I figured it was about time we got Rukia more involved in this. I wanted to do so earlier, but we couldn't find a way to do so without things being written...well, awkwardly. But we have it here, and that's all that matters.

Anyways, I sincerely hope you enjoyed this chapter. If so, Please leave a review on what you enjoyed about it, I would greatly appreciate it. Likewise, if you had any issues, please, tell us. We don't shy away from Criticism.