Return to the Present, The Battle of the King and the Lotus.

Back in the present Akashi stands before Byakuya having just released his Bankai…

“Akashi,” Byakuya said forcefully, “Do you hate me so much for staying the Council’s hand from your execution?”

“I’ve spent many nights,” Akashi began, “if you may call one time night and another time day in Hueco Mundo, thinking about my sentence of execution. I’ve sometimes wished that it had been carried out. That they had taken my life.”

“Is that the reason you’ve come here and caused all of this damage?” Byakuya asked with irritation in his cold voice. “You want to die?”

“No, my dear brother,” Akashi smiled, and began to walk toward his brother; Byakuya stood strong “I want to live! I’ve spent much time trying not to die in that wasteland. For a time, I lost myself in the darkness. I became a monster killing before I could be killed, I began to forget. Forget everything, and when I thought of who was to blame for that misfortune,” Akashi stood just in front of his brother,” I thought of you!” Akashi threw out a hand toward his brother and ribbons ensnared Byakuya’s limbs. They threw him backward at a wall Byakuya managed to recover and flash-step before the ribbons slammed into the wall behind him.

Byakuya appeared behind Akashi, turned his blade, point down at the ground, and spoke saying, “Scatter, Senbonzakura Kageyoshi.” As he let his blade fall it passed through the ground. Then several other blades rose from the ground before changing into a cloud of petals, larger than his shikai’s had been.

“So you finally release your bankai?” Akashi said with an entertained voice, “Let us see whose is stronger.” the blade in his hand disappeared entirely into an impressive cloud of cards though it did not match Byakuya’s lotus cloud in size. “Ah I thought yours might out do mine,” Two other Akashi’s appeared in bankai state, and both held out their sword and they exploded into clouds of cards that mixed with those already existing. The resulting wave of cards was more than enough to match Byakuya’s. “Now that about evens things out, shall we?” said the central Akashi.

The waves of cards and small petal-like blades crashed in on each other scattering one another. As Ichigo looked on, he said to himself, “Wow, it’s a good thing I moved us away when I did.”

Still surrounded by petal-blades, Byakuya lifted his hands and pushed toward Akashi and his copies, and the stream of cards began to be pushed back by his Senbonzakura Kageyoshi. Then he flicked his wrist to the right and left. As he did flows of blades branched around the cards, and as they crashed into the copies Akashi growled and suddenly two copies appeared behind Byakuya swinging their blades as they rushed towards him. As quickly as they appeared Byakuya moved a hand out behind him and the copies were overtaken by petals. The cloud of cards diminished in size with the loss of the copies.

“There now the copies are gone. Don’t mock me with these low level attacks, Akashi,” Byakuya said. “I can match you for every bit of strength and skill you think you’ve gained during your exile.”

“I doubt that!” the wave of cards retreated and wrapped around Akashi, to form a barrier and began to glow. Then Byakuya’s attack surrounded it for a time before retracting back near Byakuya.

Ichigo couldn’t see either of the fighters but could only see a red glowing sphere in the midst of several huge cloudy pillars of the petal-like blades of Byakuya’s zanpakto. “So many blades how can Byakuya control them all? He must truly have mastered his zanpakto.”

Suddenly a thin stream of cards was sent flying at Byakuya, he raised a wall of petals before flash-stepping away from the attack, he still remembered his brothers technique and had no doubt that it could pierce the defense he raised to block it. As he appeared behind his brother he pulled forth a wave of cards and sent them crashing into his brothers defenses pushing him into the ground. He pushed just enough to break the sphere before recalling the attack.

“This is not a time for games,” he said as he landed near his brother. “I’m asking you, please brother, leave, I will make sure they don’t go after you, but you must leave here now!”

“Why would I leave?” Akashi said, “Where would I go? Do you think I have a nice home built for me there? No, brother, I will not leave until I have done what I’ve come hear to do.”

“And what is that?” Byakuya asked, determined.

“I’ve told you,” Akashi, smiled and rose to his feet holding his hand out as the hilt and blade of his Zanpakto was reformed. “To live.” He flew out at his brother and swung his blade catching a few of his hairs and the cheek as Byakuya dodged.

Byakuya reappeared some distance from his brother. He touched the cut across his cheek which was slowly bleeding, and he looked at the blood on his hand. “Enough! Senkei, Senbonzakura!” the clouds encircled both of them and out of them came thousands of glowing swords that encircled them in four rows. “You have forced this of me, brother. When I was sworn in as a Captain I promised to enforce in every way, the laws of the Seretei. You have broken those laws here and it has become my responsibility to stop you.”

“You may have the weapons to kill me, brother, but can you?” Akashi asked forcefully.

“We shall see,” Byakuya took one of the blades from the array, and it became his zanpakto. At the same time the ribbons around Akashi’s arms and legs retracted into the ribbons at his shoulders and waist. Byakuya flew at him and their blades clashed. Again their blades clashed as they began to flash-step within the confines of the blades. Byakuya was coming closer and closer to making contact as Akashi struggled to keep up with his brother’s speed.

Byakuya used his shunpo and appeared behind Akashi and swung at his right shoulder. The cards that wrapped around Akashi’s torso rose up and caught the swing, but Byakuya countered the parry and cut him across the upper arm. “That’s a nice defensive technique brother but it is not enough,” he said as he landed a few feet away and looked at his brothers now blood-stained robes.

“I should work on improving my speed and defense if I’m going to keep up with you much longer,” Akashi smiled and released his blade which became cards once more. “All In, Leave Nothing Behind Randamu Kado: Jisatsu Kingu!” The ribbons of cards expanded away from Akashi creating the outline of a sphere, other cards formed ribbons that wrapped around the structure until the inside was completely hidden.