The Rule of Two: Execution

The Coming of Age
The sky was a bright grey color as the equally reflected shade of the boat floated along the waters of the vast Pacific Ocean. Off in the distance was a thin strip of land nearly 6 miles long, and near it's edge rested a great mountain that was circular in shape, and had a very wide and flat top. The island was rather lush and green, but no trees could be seen.

On the boat rested three passengers with a single driver. They had been at sea for nearly a day, yet they all appeared to be rather calm and normal. The most notable of them was the large, indian pose sitting Kafiezial, his position remaining the same since they had left Okinawa. His eyes remained closed as he spoke to the other male passenger.

"Iwo Jima is it now? I never thought we'd be coming back to this place again." he said with a calm tone.

"Me, neither...." Qilin commented, his arms folded across his chest and one of his legs shifted over the other. His raven hair gently billowed in the light winds being created by both the travel as well as the environment around them. "I honestly thought we would end up someplace else. But I almost forgot that we had this place..." He turned his head towards the silent Evelyn, giving an encouraging look and smile. "Sorry if you just turned in over there. None of us were expecting the welcome party the Black Wolf gave us to turn up, so...."

"It's fine...." Evelyn answered smoothly. "I've always been a nomadic woman when it comes to life, so there's really no change."

"The life of a nomad tends to leave one better connected with the world." Kafiezial added to no one in particular.

He then opened one of his eyes and looked in Qilin's direction. "I'm going to assume that you haven't come back here since the time that we finished forging Surebachi's interior?" he said, his voice not changing.

Qilin shook his head. "Nope." He admitted, leaning over the boat in order to get a better view of the approaching island. "Never thought I'd needed to use it again ever since that...."

Evelyn's expression took on a surprised composure. "Surebachi...?" She repeated in question, "looking" over at the two for an explanation.

Kafiezial opened both eyes and looked in Evelyn's direction. "Surebachi is the mountain on Iwo Jima. About a century or so ago, Qilin and I, along with several others, reconstructed the interior of the mountain to house a sort of "training area." Here we fought and practiced, or just outright fooled around."

He chuckled slightly at his next sentance. "The unique thing about it is that we designed the mountain's interior to have a sort of "time warp" effect to it via methods that I would rather not explain. It would take days just to explain how it started. But Surebachi's interior completley dispells the effects of time. You could stay in there for a year and only a day will have passed in real time."

"I wanted to use it in the case that I couldn't satisfy a certain time limit under normal conditions." Qilin added. "The inner workings have a certain pattern and concentration of spiritrons within. These spiritrons within the dominating presence of the atoms in the Material World are influenced and warped to the point where their presence can alter the very area's "sense" of time. Just a mistake turned into one of the greatest inventions created...."

"So I hear...." Evelyn commented, giving an appropriate nod. "Will there be anything there to undo the damage to my arm? Although I can risk fighting with one hand, I prefer not to."

"Last I checked there was a medical area somewhere in that mountain." Kafiezial said, his eyes closed as he retained his meditave pose. "We'll fix it as soon as we get there, you have my word." he said in his signature calm voice. Clearly he cared for Evelyn's well being, but it wasn't to a deep extent. His attitude was one of friendliness, he cared for all that he considered his friends.

"Thank you..." Evelyn said softly.

Right as the words left her mouth, the boat landed on the shore of the island, Mt. Surebachi just a little ways from them. Kafiezial then stood himself up. "Well we'd better get moving, I hear a storm coming." he said as he began to walk off of the boat and onto the greyish colored sands.

Slowly, Evelyn stood up from the boat, picking up her staff in her lone hand as she did so. She hopped off, her sandals landed on the sandy grounds of the island. Qilin followed suit with a more jubilant air, letting out a whistle as he stretched. He turned back towards the driver, giving a wave.

"All right, thanks for the ride!" He exclaimed, to which the driver gave an acknowledging nod. With the passengers evacuated, he gunned the boat again and drove off, the vehicle making its away across the waters and away from the island.

As the trio trecked up towards the entrance to the bottom of the mountain, Kafiezial stopped and looked up to the top of the mountain and watched the American flag gently flowing with the wind. "I'm glad we didn't take that down." he said to Qilin, who was behind him. "It gives the mound a strange sense of...freedom."

"What...?" Because Evelyn couldn't see, it was natural that she would inquire as to what they were referring to.

"The American flag." Qilin answered. "I'm surprised it's still lasting with the times, long as it's been...." He folded his hands behind his back, a slightly innocent look on his face. "Hope that this won't be an exception, though...."

The Visored then came up to a large boulder in the side of the mountain facing them that looked as if it was obviously placed to block an entrance. "We really have been away from here for a long time..." he said as he used his right hand to push the boulder out of the way with little effort, making the large rock roll to the side just enough to where they could all get inside. Kafiezial moved out of the way and allowed the othe two to enter first.

"Ladies first."

Qilin grinned, stepping aside for Evelyn to enter. As she walked by him, she stopped to give him an acknowledging nod before stepping inside. He followed in afterwards, knowing that Kafezial would just trail behind them.

As he continued to walk, his eyes couldn't help but drift to the woman that was walking in front of him. Although the kimono she wore was nonetheless made not to show off anything, he couldn't help but note the curves of her hips and legs as she walked. The split in the bottom of her kimono that showed off part of her leg wasn't helping his thoughts. Idly, he wondered if Kafezial hung in the back, knowing that Qilin would suffer.

However, he kept his cool composure, eventually drifting his gaze to the side.

Kafiezial then let his crow fly into the cave along with them before rolling the boulder back into place. The hall would have been completley darkened had it not been for the glowing blue light balls that appeared to be that of a lightning bug when viewed from afar.

"Not like this is going to stop him, but oh well."

As he thought to himself, Kafiezial slowly followed the other two companions. His crow quickly flew off of his shoulder in exchange for that of Evelyn's right shoulder, gently perching on her with it's body facing the direction that she was walking in.

"How does it not dig its claws into her shoulder while it's doing that?" Qilin wondered, watching the crow's movements as it landed on the woman's shoulder. She didn't show much reaction to it, seemingly expecting the movement of the animal. If the crow was truly digging its talons into her shoulder, she wasn't showing any emotion or reacting in any manner. She could certainly put on a mask when she wanted to.

The Visored then came closer to the duo and eventually he passed them both, reaching and putting his left hand on a stone shaped door. With a blue glow, the wall disappeared and revealed a surprisingly advanced medical room with various pieces of equipment. Kafiezial then looked back to Evelyn and Qilin.

"Here is where we can get your arm patched up." he said to Evelyn, before turning his attention to Qilin. "I assume you remember how this stuff works?"

"Yeah, yeah, don't start talking to me as if I have Alzheimer's." Qilin muttered. "I'm not an old geezer...." He folded his arms across his chest, walking over to stand beside Evelyn as she remained silent.

"Not like me you aren't." Kafiezial humorously added, slightly amused at his friend's annoyance.

"Will you be going somewhere?" Qilin questioned him, looking over in his direction. "We'll need at least one person to oversee this and make sure everything's going perfectly. I mean...." He shrugged nonchalantly. "It's no big deal if you're busy, though...."

Kafiezial held up his left hand to stop the man's words, his voice reassuring. "Don't worry. I'm here to stay until this mess is all resolved."

As they talked, Qilin looked out of the corner of his eye. Evelyn had her face turned away from them, politely trying to stay out of the conversation. He shifted his face towards her, a sheepish smile on his face and a hand scratching the back of his head. "I'm sorry about this. I normally have Tamafune tend to this kind of stuff, considering you're both female and all, but time is of the essence."

Evelyn turned her face towards him in return, quirking an eyebrow at him. "It's just my arm. There's no need to worry about an issue such as privacy, is there?"

"Well...."

Qilin's shoulder's sagged, his voice trailing off as he looked for the right words to say. He turned his gaze towards Kafezial, aware of how he acted around the likes of women. "Kafezial, do you mind giving us a moment to talk between each other?"

"Sure..."

Without another word, the Visored vanished from view, his crow now flying off of Evelyn's shoulder and off into the back of the cave.

"Now, then..."

Qilin turned towards Evelyn, who had taken to sitting on the bed with one leg shifted over the other. He folded his hands within his sleeves, his eyes closed. "I called Kafezial out of the room because he'd be too much of a...well...gentleman, to ask directly." He explained, one eye opening as he approached her. "Matter of fact, I'm not really sure that he'd be too thrilled in what I'm about to ask you."

"Which would be...?" His light and casual tone, despite his words, was making Evelyn a bit wary.

"Aside from your arm..."

Reappearing outside of the cave, the Visored leaned up against the wall and crossed his arms, his crow flying around the island aimlessly.

''Ah Qilin. You never cease to amaze me...''

His thoughts trailed off as he looked to the distance and saw a shadowy figure, letting his crow land on his left shoulder like Evelyn did to it previously.

Whoosh....

Letting the crow fly off, the figure Flash Stepped in front of the unstartled Kafiezial, his black trenchcoat drifting behind him as he looked up to the Visored with an almost sheepish face.

"...Master."

It only took several seconds.

In those few seconds, however, a miracle had taken place. Visually, it seemed to have come right out of a horror movie.

Evelyn's stump of an arm first started to bubble like a liquid. Then, skin, muscle, and bone began to stretch out in a wild and frantic manner as if trying to escape her body. At first, it looked like only thickened strands of flesh lumping together. However, once those strands merged, they began to expand to the width and length of her arm. The muscle and bone were sealed under smooth skin, and it wasn't long before the hand and fingers formed. Within an extremely short time, every thing was back into place aside from the sleeve that had been torn off.

Qilin grinned, clearly pleased with his work. He stepped back, allowing the woman to work out her arm and test it. "There! Good as new, as if it had never been cut off in the first place!" He exclaimed. "I'm certain there won't be any issues in the long run... unless, of course, you end up getting it cut off again..."

"I'm not foolish enough to make the same mistake twice." Evelyn said simply, resting her healed arm in her lap. "But, thanks for the concern." She allowed herself to slowly get off of the bed, grabbing her staff and holding it in its usual standing position.

"Right..." Folding his arms across his chest, Qilin turned away from her. "Like I said, the offer's still up whenever you decide to come back. I can understand you're probably not comfortable at this particular time, and that's fine. But... do make sure you decide and not leave me out of the loop, kay?" His last words were said with a rather joking tone, and it made Evelyn smile a little.

"Of course..."

"Now, then, let's get to Kafezial... the poor guy probably felt like he's been waiting for hours..."

"...You seem to have grown boy."

Kafiezial's position hadn't changed as he began to converse with his former apprentice. His eyes were half-lidded slits and his arms were crossed as he leaned against the rock wall, his voice calm and collected as usual. Rushifa stood straight up while looking up at his towering master.

"I have to grow up sometime, don't I?" he said while letting a slight smile crack his face.

"Have you grown though?" Kafiezial said back, retaining his pose. "From what I see before me, you're still the lost and confused boy that came to me years ago."

Rushifa's face then became sheepish once more and he looked down, his voice solemn. "Look, about what I've been doing..."

His master cut him off before he could say anymore. "You've been on quite the killing spree, from what I've heard." he said with his same voice. "I guess you really are lost now. Did my teachings tell you nothing?"

"They taught me to find my own path." Rushifa added, still looking down. "I thought that I was on the right path. I thought that making them all suffer for their ways was my destiny. Trying to change the world for the better...but...." He then looked up towards Kafiezial with a slightly less sheepish face. "...something's come up now, and I find my resolve hindered further."

The Visored chuckled slightly, the look in his apprentice's eyes gave it all away. "You love her, don't you?"

Rushifa's eyes widened in surprise to his master's ability to read his face as if hearing his own thoughts, but it went back to a calm and somewhat happy voice. "I've never met anyone like her in my life. Temari I cared for sure, but Brina is just...."

"She has an affect on people. Let's leave it at that." the Visored said in good humor. He then looked down at his apprentice with a serious glare afterwords. "I know why you're here Rushifa."

His apprentice gave an equally serious look. "When you start a storm..."

"...you have to finish it." Kafiezial finished, putting his right hand on the boulder guarding the cave entrance. "Maybe there is hope for you yet." he said as he pushed the boulder aside, revealing Rushifa's form to whoever could see from the inside. "Go ahead. Just try not to hurt Qilin any."

"Thank you, master." Rushifa said as he looked into the cave, his form standing straight up and his trenchcoat flying around behind him.

Needless to say, it didn't bode well for the people that happened to see him.

Qilin and Evelyn immediately stopped in their tracks like deer caught in head-lights. Their expressions conveyed nothing but surprise, but Qilin's expression was more prominent. "Wait a minute, Kafeziel?!" He exclaimed, blinking repeatedly. "Look, you may have a neutral hand in this, but really, opening the door for him? Don't just show him the way to us!!"

The Visored looked back into the cave with his eyes closed, his head poking out of it's side for them to see. "I didn't open it for him, I opened it for you." he said, with a hint of amusement towards his friend's reaction.

Multiple anime veins appeared on the back of Qilin's head, and he fixed a comically angry glare at Kafezial with piranha-like teeth. "You're a liar! Go and die. Please, just go and die now!"

Despite Qilin's comical mood, Evelyn remained silent. Her focus was on Rushifa and Rushifa alone as he stood outside the cave doors. She took in a deep breath, exhaling softly. She could feel that familiar anger stir within her, her hand gripping her staff tightly. However, she now understood. Her daughter really had a presence within his heart, and he had a presence within hers. It was just too late to kill him or be killed without consequence. Unless they stopped their arms, this would only end in tragedy.

But she couldn't ignore the fact of what he had become. He had taken many lives just to reach her, both innocent and guilty. He had come all of this way just to hunt her down and end her life. He had made her his amusement and his entertainment, turning his own revenge into a game of cat and mouse. It was despicable and without pride. At these thoughts, her eyes slowly opened up to reveal an angered, blank stare in her enemy's direction.

This could only end one way.

Rushifa's gaze was equally solemn as his blood red eyes looked straight into Evelyn's blank ones, his right hand gripping the black handle of his katana tightly as he slowly began to unsheathe it, letting the scabbard fall lifelessly to the ground.

"Evelyn..." he said with an empty voice. "...top of the mountain. Meet me there."

WHOOSH!

With a Flash Step, he vanished from her "view", presumidibly reappearing at the area he previously stated. The storm Kafiezial mentioned earlier becomeing more and more visible.

Calmly, Evelyn kicked off her sandals and let them collide against the rock wall. With Rushifa gone from her sights, her expression lightened up as she looked towards Kafezial. "Kafezial... if I am to be killed... and if you happen to see my daughter or husband again..." She said softly. "Please... tell them I love them. They deserve to know that much, after how I left them behind..."

The Visored's body was in full view, his arms dangling at his sides as he acknowledged her request. "You have my word." His eyes then closed as a breeze calmly made his hair flow to his right side. "Remember Evelyn. Listen to the wind when it beckons you."

"I will..."

That being said, Evelyn tracked the boy's signature and used a Flash Step to instantly appear a distance in front of him.

Though she could not see, she could feel the wind picking up as the storm approached. A chill went down her spine at the feeling, her kimono billowing softly in the winds. It only served to fuel her fire, mentally preparing her for the battle that was to come. She swung her staff out to the side, revealing the three-pronged blades of her Yari. Throughout this, she had a smile on her face, her eyes still open as she "looked" at Rushifa.

"I thought you would be more excited..." She commented. "This will be the last time we'll get to see each other, so it'd be better for one to savor every second of it."

"There's nothing to savor." Rushifa solemnly said, his eyes nearly as blank and solemn as Evelyn's. "I finally realize that all of my actions leading up to this moment were no better than the one that you commited on me." He backed up from her a little, not out of cowardice, but to give them both space. "I don't want to fight you. I don't hate you any more for what you had done to me and Temari. But I started all of this back with that train in Tokyo. I need to finish it."

"Noble words..." Evelyn remarked, brandishing her Yari in a preparing stance. "It's a shame that I don't agree. You may have changed your mood. But it still doesn't change the fact that you killed so many. You and I both know that you'll never redeem yourself. You chose this path, so you'll just have to face the consequences. Whether that means death at my hands or retribution by someone else, I don't know. But, I will only ask one thing of you."

"And what would that be?" he said back to her, a slight smirk coming across the right side of his face.

"If you live through this... if you hurt my daughter in any way... I'll be there to chop your head off."

She had said it. Her forgiveness of her daughter... her forgiveness of him... both of those had been conveyed into one single statement. It was a genuine statement, despite her guarded and composed tone. Now, she simply waited for his response, even as the storm continued to gather over them.

Rushifa's face became shocked, she actually approved of their relationship?!

He shook the thought aside and closed his eyes, bowing his head before her in a respectful manner. "I promise. I'll keep her safe from any harm that may come to her." he said to her in a respectful tone.

"See that you do..." Evelyn twisted her Yari around, her body tensing up as she did so. Her hands moved and her wrists flicked, spinning her weapon around in a preparing manner. "But that's only if I don't kill you first. So if you're going to fight me, fight me with what you had before. I won't settle for anything less."

Then, she lunged.

No longer did she hold the elegant and natural grace that she had in their first two fights. Now, she was attacking with the ferocity and aggressiveness of a tiger. She swung with immense speed and power, holding nothing back as she struck again and again. With each and every blow made, her heart raced in excitement. If there was anything that Rushifa taught her, it was to enjoy battle while she could still participate in it. She would never tell him, of course... but she was going to enjoy every bit of the fight instead of letting her killing desire overwhelm her.

Just this once, she would let go of herself.

He didn't need to be told twice.

Letting his fight loving grin take over his expression, Rushifa held up his glistening white katana with it's hilt facing the sky with both hands in a blocking position. The two weapons slammed into each other just as a bolt of lightning struck the distant ocean, it's booming thunder noise reflecting the impact just at the right moment.

Switching his weapon from left to right to continue his blocking motion, Rushifa's arms shook with every blow that he blocked. Clearly Evelyn was trying to enjoy herself, and it was only appropriate that he do the same.

Finally swiping his weapon to his right and parrying one of her oncoming blows, Rushifa then brought his sword back towards her, aiming to hit her around her throat area.

Woosh...

The woman stepped back accordingly, the blade passing by her throat. She could feel the slightest wind on her skin chill that area as the metal was swung. But she didn't allow herself to stop, continuously flipping her spear as well as her body in order to keep the pressure on her opponent.

Rushifa was slightly taken aback by Evelyn's willingness to continue her assault. Even he knew that this was somewhat odd for her. But he shook the thoughts aside, retaining his grin as he continued to block her strikes.

Ducking to avoid one of her horizontal swings, Rushifa squated down and pushed his right foot towards her, aiming to trip her and leave her exposed.

With the shift in movement, Evelyn bent her knees briefly before performing a frontward leap, her body flipping around in an elegant flip. One of her hands kept twirling the Yari in a pinwheel, mirroring the move she had used in an attempt to corner him in the train. The weapon spun like a fan, threatening to split his head open with its user's cutting strength.

Rushifa was forced to duck his head further down to avoid the swing's lethal edge, though he could feel a slight cut come across the top of his head as he did so. Had he been just an inch higher his head would have been split like a melon.

Twirling himself around like a top, Rushifa spun around to meet where she would land, thrusting the point of his sword towards her form.

Clang!

The blade clashed with one of the corner created by one of the right angles of the three-pronged blade, batting it away and allowing for Evelyn's safe landing. She twisted herself around in a retreat, flipping her Yari over her head before swinging it off to the side in a readying position.

Rushifa regained his standing position, pointing his blade at her as rain began to fall on both of them. "Having fun yet?" he asked in a playful manner, his fight loving grin remaining.

"And here comes the rain..."

Slowly, Evelyn allowed herself to stand back up, closing her eyes once again for a moment as she readied her weapon in a more defensive stance. The droplets picked at her skin with a cold feeling every time they hit her body, and their influence made the wind feel even colder. But it didn't phase her any. It might as well have been a mild aggravation made by nature, as far as she was concerned.

"If I didn't enjoy this..." She said, keeping her serene tone. "I would have never bothered to fight you in the first place."

"Fair enough." Rushifa responded, still smiling as his sword began to glow with a bluish hue.

"Put them down, Puraimaru Gunsuringa!"

His elegant katana transformed into his large, gun cleaver sword hybrid that he was infamous for using with a flash of dark blue energy.

"You know...ever since we've started fightning, I've not had the chance to see your Zanpakuto's release any..." he began while holding the weapon pointed at her, his hair now soaking wet and hanging all around his head. "...why is that?"

"It doesn't suit my fighting style..." Evelyn said simply, pointing her blade at him in response. "I prefer not to use it in combat directly unless I have to. It's nothing but a hindrance to me."

"If increases your power...you just might need it here in a few minutes."

CHITOW!!!

He then discharged an augmented Kido Bolt in her direction, before quickly lunging at her form, aiming to throw her off balance with the two seperate attacks and leave her vulnerable.

All Evelyn had to do was shift her body to the side to avoid the attack before stepping back into her normal pose. She thrust her weapon forward at his approaching form, using the bigger length of her weapon to her advantage in order to keep him at bay.

Rushifa spun himself horizontally to the left, barely avoiding her thrust before regaining his footing and spinning around from the right side, his blade positioned to cut her in half.

Mirroring his movements, Evelyn spun in order to evade the strike. His blade nicked her clothing on its flight path, but there was no damage done to her at all. She had evaded the attack literally by the skin of her clothing, her movements precise and controlled with each and every step that she made. The wind and rain could not unbalance her spinning form, nor could it stop her Yari's revolving path as she swung it in an elegant spin attack.

As he met her strikes with his own defensive moves, Rushifa remembered all the times that he had with Evelyn when he was just a boy. How he constantly annoyed her with his attempts to see Temari, and how he began to view her as his own scolding mother, a mother that he never had, and how she began to see him as a wild and aloof son. It was at this point in time that he remembered how much they truly cared for each other deep down, how their lives were ruined and seperated, and how the gap between then and now was full of nothing but hatred and resentment. But finally, he remembered...

...just how much he actually cares for Evelyn now.

The woman could see that.

Even now, as she continued to engage him in combat, she couldn't feel the killing intent to the degree that she had felt before. There was no malice or anger in his attacks anymore; just plain resolve. It was impossible to think that what he had said before was nothing more than a lie to catch her off-guard. He really didn't want to kill her, but he wanted to finish what he started back in the train. But what would it mean in the end?

Would she kill him?

Would he kill her?

Their weapons clashed together with a powerful burst of wind, lightning bolts struck the distant ocean and the rain seemed to stop with their powerful lock.

Rushifa then pushed himself away a good 20 meters from her and held his sword towards her with both hands, it's sharp blade beginning to bristle with cyan energy tendrils.

"I've only used this one other time. If there's anyone I would want to use it on for the next time, it would be you, Evelyn..." he said, just before the ground around them began to shake as he looked up at her with his red eyes changing to silver.

"BANKAI!!!!!"

A massive beam of blue energy then shot out towards Evelyn's form. If she didn't move it would undoubtably devestate her.

Of course, she moved.

But only by a hair.

As the energy raced by her, she could feel the very power it exerted lick at her arm. She was silhouetted by the shot, her body's detailed darkened into a thick shadow. What penetrated through the darkness that briefly overtook the area were her widened eyes. But because the visual darkness had consumed her, this gave off an eerie and frightening image to stare at; a shadow figure, staring at its victim with eyes exported straight from insanity.

Of course, Rushifa gave off an equally terrifying image as well.

When the blast cleared, Rushifa was now holding a much larger version of his gunsword, with various new parts to it's form. Behind him, a string of spiritual energy manifested itself in the form of a silver wolf, staring back at it's foe with determination.

"Pakku no Tsubasa Hanta"

He then swung his blade down to his bottom right side, a flurry of wind being produced as he did so, before he sprung at Evelyn with a much faster version of his previous form, the silver wolfing following him close behind.

"Let's go Evelyn!!!"

CLANG!

When Evelyn swung her spear in order to parry the attack, she instinctively skidded back in order to avoid the threat of the silver wolf trailing her opponent. The only thing that seemed to change was the very form and shape of his weapon, although it was only to a minimum at best. Other than that, the only thing she had to pay attention to was the hound that stayed at his feet. If she wanted to beat him, it would take a lot more than just masterful sōjutsu.

She would have to think.

Rushifa then skidded back as well, but his wolf came to the opposite side of Evelyn. She was essentially trapped between the two beings, and it was only made worse when Rushifa pointed his weapon at her and began to charge a high powered cyan Kido bolt in her direction.

PEEOWW!!!!

Making an electric whistling noise as it discharged, the bolt flew towards it's target, and the silver wolf behind her charged at the same time. Both were planning to inflict major damage upon their prey.

It was here that Evelyn seemed to have made a tactical mistake.

With the obvious pass that the wolf made by her, it was easy to intercept it with the sharp end of her spear and put it out of the way first. But that would've been assuming that Rushifā and the wolf were two separate entities. Under such circumstances, that would've been a fatal fact that a reckless or novice mind would declare to be true. Of course, she was far from a novice.

So she decided to allow herself to fall into the trap that he set for her.

Because the bolt was flying faster, she didn't have to worry about them closing in at the same time. She pulled her shoulder back and bent her back to once again barely miss the shot directed towards her, then slammed her three prongs into the ground. With a twist and swing of the spear, she unleashed a power-backed strike. The wind was enough to throw the animal back from its charge.

And she was right.

The animal was no more than a projection created by the user's Bankai as a means of distracting Evelyn and leaving her open for an attack. The silver creature yelped before fading away into the storming wind, and the bolt flew off into the distance.

But she had left herself open.

Rushifa then charged towards her from behind. As her attention was focused on the silver wolf earlier, he was now capable of dealing a deadly blow to her upper right back area.

Her reflexes kicked in.

Before he could initiate the attack, she spun around again to face him, her feet sliding against the sandy earth of the island. Her weapon was swung horizontally, coming from the side opposite of the hand that held the weapon. Her blindness was essentially the only thing saving her from being gravely wounded, her other senses picking up his movements without the need for focus. In that moment of attack, she idly wondered how it would've been if she still had her eyesight...

Her parry forced his weapon to swerve to his left, but his now silver eyes continued to feast upon her form with a sort of primal glee. Clearly he was having the time of his life fighting her.

As his weapon brought itself around in a circle along with it's twisting user, it began to glow with a sort of cyan fire, signaling that his next sword strike was going to be far more stronger than it previously was. It came right back around to Evelyn, preparing to cut her left shoulder and other following body along with it.

It wasn't intelligent to gamble with an enhance of an enemy's power.

Instead of blocking it, Evelyn allowed herself to skid back even more. Her eyebrows were furrowed, and she started spinning her Yari in one of her hands in a idle motion. She gritted her teeth slightly as she retreated, knowing that it would be harder to keep herself to the sōjutsu level only. But she really had no way of striking unless she could drag the fight on.

After all, he was the one using Bankai...

He landed back on his feet with his still glowing sword hanging at his right side, he was breathing slightly heavier than before. Perhaps his Bankai was taking a toll on his body?

Shaking the thought off, he brought back his grin and flew towards her in a fast sprint, discharging another powerful Kido bolt towards her as he did so.

She could hear it in his breathing. There was a certain hitch and irregularity within the rhythm of his inhalation. His Bankai, as predicted out of the common belief, was taxing him to some extent. It was another reason she never preferred to release her own in combat. It was a means to expend her own energy too quickly, leaving her open to counter-attack.

But she also knew that offensive power was in his favor, at least in terms of the shots. She couldn't deflect them like she would have with his Shikai shots; they were just too powerful for that. All she could do to counter his shots was evasion and maneuverability. One shot could potentially throw her off her balance, if not critically injure her outright.

WHOOSH!!

Suddenly, the younger Soul Reaper Flash-Stepped out of her current "vision" and reappeared just above her, discharging another powerful Kido bolt down upon her.

Unbeknowest to her, he was honestly looking for a way to end the battle quickly. At this point in time, Rushifa was done with vengeance, done with murder and terrorism. He wanted to start over, he wanted to explore the world not as a wanted criminal, but as a simple traveller, seeking to find powerful foes to battle and hopefully call friend. He hoped that when this battle ended, maybe Evelyn would finally refer to him as her friend, whether or not she killed him or spared him mattered not to him. All he wanted at that point in time, was a friend.

All he had to do now, was wear himself down until he was left open for her final decision.

With a Flash Step of her own, Evelyn had re-appeared right behind him with her spear held back behind her, the staff gripped in two hands. In the midst of the wind, her hair and kimono billowing in the winds. She swung, bringing her full arm strength into her blow. It was becoming generic to attack him in such a manner at this point of the battle. But what else could she do for the time being?

Rushifa hadn't expected her to move in such a fashion.

But he was prepared.

As he felt her attack inching closer to him, he uttered a few words as he began to bristle with a bright, silver aura.

"Ikari no Hoko" ("Howl of Rage")

Suddenley, the aura around his body rapidly expanded like a massive burst of spiritual energy that would be powerful enough to fling his opponent a good distance from him and allow him to recover. As the wave blew up, one could hear several angry wolf howls in the distance.

"!!"

Shocked by the sudden exertion of energy, Evelyn was blown back. However, she managed to catch herself in time, skidding on the very air and hovering at an equal level with the top of the island above the water. She was on one knee, her staff held by one hand and out to the side. Her other hand was resting on what would've been the ground if she was standing on it. Slowly, she stood up, readying herself as the howls rang in her ears.

It was such a powerful sound... yet it felt so empty...

Rushifa landed on his feet, but they were trembling, as if he was about to give way and fall to the ground. Using his sword as a crutch, he turned himself around to face her, his breathing much heavier than it was before, and blood running down the left side of his head. The gash that she had inflicted on him earlier was finally showing it's sign.

"You....you haven't..." he started, before the breathing took over his words. He raised his sword as if he was going to fire a shot at her, but his trembling arm instead discharged one into the ground, causing the weapon to fall from his hands and onto the wet ground. He was too tired to even hold his weapon.

He then slumped down on his knees, his body hunched over, but still conscious.

"You win..." he managed to say past his breathing.

You win.

It was two words she would've never expected to hear from him. Her eyes widened in surprise as she lowered herself back to the ground, her weapon held in an idle stance by her side. For a moment, she held that stance out of pondering, wondering what she could do. She could slay him and avenge her fallen comrades... but, her daughter had fallen in love with him. If it was possible for him to connect to Brina, then he couldn't completely be a heartless and chaotic killer. What would killing him do to her daughter...?

She breathed in, slinging the blades back to their hidden position in the staff before standing it beside her.

Rushifa tilted his head up to where his eyes could see her own, almost anxious looking.

"I guess I was wrong then..." he began, chuckling slightly as he spoke. "...you aren't going to kill me. But why?"

"Your actions spoke louder than your words." Evelyn said bluntly. "From the start of this, you showed me that you truly were unwilling to pursue me for my life anymore. Whatever my daughter did to you... you seemed to have changed from your self-destructive path. If I killed you here, then where would that leave the one who loves you? It would be a repeat of history, and that is something that I wish to avoid at all costs."

She turned her face away from him, closing her eyes. "So be glad that I decided to be merciful to you this time."

He chuckled one more time before standing himself up, still shaking slightly from the toll that his Bankai had put on him. "And I guess....Kafiezial managed to change...your way of thinking to, eh?"

"...Rushifa...?"

But before Evelyn could say anything further, she was hit with a sudden signature that came up just behind Rushifa - a signature that she had only recognized all those years before.

The hesitant voice came from a figure who was approaching them cautiously, covered in a hooded and black raincoat. Despite the hood covering her head, her face was clearly visible. Her expression was nervous and anxious, one of her hands held up to her mouth in hesitation as she slowly walked towards Rushifa.

The man's eyes widened in surprise as he too recognized the Spiritual signature all too well. He turned to face the being, and as he did so, began to walk towards her slowly, albeit still with a limp.

"...Brina?"

There were no more words needed.

With a Flash Step, she closed the distance between them and threw herself at him, throwing her arms around his shoulders and burying his face in his shoulder. "Oh, thank God you're still alive!" She whispered, slight tears coming to her eyes. "I was certain one of you would've died here!"

Rushifa was slightly taken aback by the move, and he nearly fell trying to keep ahold of her, but he stood his ground and gently wrapped his arms around her upper back and the back of her head. "It's okay....it's alright Brina..." he said with a pleasant tone as he continued to hug the woman he loved. "It's over now. We're done fighting."

As they hugged with the rain pouring all around them, all Evelyn allowed herself to do was watch. Noticing Brina again brought back the painful memories of what happened in the Gotei 13. The attack, the stab in the back, and the victimization made by her allies were the first images to come in her head. She bore a weary look, the rain suddenly becoming more and more chilling to her bone. Her daughter was happy with Rushifa... but what about her?

What would be between mother and daughter now?

Rushifa then looked down at Brina, running his hand through her hair gently. "How did you even get here? Let alone know that we were here to begin with?" he said with a smile.

Around them and the rain, a gentle, almost soothing breeze could be felt gently touching their three faces...

Brina smiled back, putting her head on his chest and allowing him to rake his fingers through her hair. "What can I say, other than the gift you gave me bringing me here?" She asked him.

He gave a gentle grin and a slight chuckle as he continued his motions. "A gift? What did I give you?" he said, oblivious to what she was speaking of.

The tone in his voice caused Brina's expression to shift from kind-hearted to a face that said, "You're kidding, right?"

She pulled one hand off of him, reaching into her coat torso to pull out the silver cross attached to the necklace she was still wearing -the same one he had given her back at their dance. "Don't tell me you forgot about this so easily!" She chided him, a slight frown on her face. "You're smarter than that."

He then gave her a sort of "Got ya." look as he pulled out his own cross necklace and showed it to her.

"I know that. You didn't honestly think I would forget about these things just over three days." he said in a slight teasing tone as he kept his hand on her back.

"Don't tease me like that!" Brina complained, putting on a pouting look as she slipped the necklace back into her coat before placing her hand back on his shoulder.