 |
Rukia Kuchiki vs. Yoshi: Rematch is a battle taking place during the Bount Invasion between Rukia Kuchiki and Yoshi, acting as their second conflict overall and the first fight against the Bount in Soul Society.
Prelude[]
Rukia Kuchiki walks through one of the Rukongai slums and comments on the depressed atmosphere.
The day after the Bount enter Soul Society, Rukia Kuchiki and her friends begin searching for them. As Ichigo Kurosaki runs through the Rukongai, Yasutora Sado and Noba run through the forest, Orihime Inoue and Kurōdo run along a grassy plain, and Uryū Ishida runs beside the underside of a cliff, Rukia passes several huddled and destitute villagers in one of the slums of the Rukongai while mentally observing that the dirt and depression of the area has not gone away.[1]
Yoshi suddenly appears and confronts Rukia with the intention of fighting her.
On a different street, an irritated Ririn rapidly runs along, only to stop upon sensing a Bount nearby. With Ririn turning around and running back in fright, Rukia finds herself engulfed in a dust cloud and begins coughing and shielding her face. Suddenly, Rukia looks up to find Yoshi standing at the other end of the street. Initially surprised to see Rukia again, a maliciously grinning Yoshi greets her and comments on the coincidence of them encountering each other again before summoning her Doll, Nieder.[1]
Battle[]
Rukia narrowly dodges the opening attack from Yoshi, who realizes that Rukia does not have her Zanpakutō with her.
Yoshi leaps into the air and spins around several times before coming down on Rukia with the sword of Nieder, prompting the latter to leap back as the sword stabs into the ground and briefly bends from the weight of Yoshi, who pushes herself up to pull the sword out and cartwheels over to Rukia in order to attack her with a high kick that Rukia narrowly evades. After leaping to the other side of the street in order to dodge Yoshi's following upward slash, Rukia kneels and pants while Yoshi realizes she does not have her Zanpakutō with her and contemptuously blows dirt off her blade. With Rukia internally noting Yoshi has become far stronger than she was when they last fought, Ririn rounds the corner of one of the alleys leading into the street behind Yoshi and hides behind a wooden outcropping.[2]
The villagers vacate the street to avoid the fight.
As Ririn peers out and mentally warns Rukia that she cannot beat Yoshi because she does not even have a sword, Yoshi looks over her shoulder at Ririn's location in confusion, which leads a startled Ririn to retreat behind the outcropping while the villagers on the street rapidly run into the alleys and close the doors and windows of the surrounding buildings to hide from the conflict. A grinning Yoshi mentions that she heard Mabashi took good care of Rukia, and as the latter recalls being forced to fight Orihime Inoue by Mabashi's Doll, Ritz, Yoshi hides her face with the fan of Nieder and laughs at how much she is looking forward to killing someone so cute.[2]
Yoshi prepares to fight Rukia, now armed with a katana.
Angered by this, Rukia tells Yoshi to shut up and looks around before pulling a cracked katana out of the wall behind her and assuming a battle stance. Though Yoshi accepts her challenge to a battle, the fan of Nieder complains about being called to fight in the middle of her afternoon teatime as the sword reminds Yoshi that he told her to not call him when he is in the middle of his nap, only for Yoshi to demand that they follow her orders because she is going to go all-out and hold the fan out in front of her while raising the sword above her head and lifting her right knee into the air in order to remain balanced on her left foot as a battle stance.[2]
Watching this from behind the outcropping, Ririn internally criticizes Rukia for being talked into this by a Bount and getting emotional before questioning what Rukia plans to do with such a decrepit weapon. After the wind stops blowing down the street, Yoshi observes that Rukia is not going to attack and decides to make the first move by throwing her closed fan at Rukia, who slashes it away with her katana. However, while the fan complains about being deflected, it spreads open in midair, obscuring a surprised Rukia's vision long enough for Yoshi to rush forward and slash diagonally at her with the sword of Nieder, which Rukia barely evades by falling on her back.[2]
Yoshi blocks Rukia's strike and keeps her suspended in midair.
With her left foot raised high in the air as a result of her pivoting her body, Yoshi brings it down hard on Rukia, who rolls away at the last second and finds Yoshi throwing the sword of Nieder at her. After leaping high into the air, leaving the sword to embed its tip in the ground and slide several feet away despite promising to get her back, Rukia raises the katana above her head and comes down on Yoshi with a downward slash, but the latter blocks it with her opened fan and keeps Rukia suspended in midair with her sheer strength alone, leaving Rukia stunned as a grinning Yoshi flips the fan around to send her crashing into a wall on the other side of the street.[2]
Rukia emerges from the wall Yoshi threw her into.
Upon seeing this, a shocked Ririn berates Rukia for not running away even though she is clearly no match for Yoshi in her current state. As Rukia emerges from the rubble of the partially-collapsed wall and stumbles to her feet, Yoshi approaches her and notes Rukia may not even be able to touch her in addition to being unable to defeat her before laughing alongside both the sword and fan of Nieder while Rukia wipes away a trickle of blood from her mouth with the back of her hand. When an irritated Rukia asserts they should not underestimate her so much, Yoshi praises her expression and decides to torment her with beautiful techniques alongside Nieder.[2]
Yoshi is affected by Ririn's Illusions and loses her balance.
Spinning around once on her right foot, Yoshi assumes another battle stance alongside Rukia, and as the villagers in the nearby houses watch anxiously through partially-opened windows and doors, Ririn proclaims that she cannot watch anymore and runs toward Yoshi while throwing a sphere of red energy at her. Upon being hit by the sphere, Yoshi finds the world inverting in color and warping around her, causing her to lose her balance and struggle to stay standing upright. With Rukia staring in confusion at this, Ririn demands to know what she is doing and instructs Rukia to defeat Yoshi instead of wasting time. Though surprised by Ririn's arrival, Rukia resolves to win.[2]
As Yoshi continues to flail around on the other side of the street, Rukia recites the incantation for and fires Hadō #33. Sōkatsui, unleashing a wave of blue energy that slams into Yoshi, sending her flying into the air while the sword and fan of Nieder criticize her for not defending herself and being naïve. The singed and smoking Yoshi falls on the ground and slowly raises her burnt hand into the air, but as Ririn assumes that she is giving up, Yoshi begins absorbing Reishi from the surrounding structures and screams in ecstasy as it completely encases her in a sphere of energy and heals the burns all over her body.[2]
Yoshi heals herself by absorbing Reishi.
While Rukia realizes that Yoshi is absorbing Reishi, Ririn frantically warns her to run away because Yoshi has become a monster, only to be interrupted when Yoshi stands up by planting her feet on the ground and forcing her torso upward with several crunching sounds before reveling in how amazing the Reishi tastes to her. In response, Rukia begins running away at Ririn's urging, leaving the fan of Nieder to wonder what this was all about and the sword to remind her that there is a thin line between sadism and masochism. Grinning wildly, Yoshi hurls her sword at Rukia, who notices it and leaps forward just before it reaches her, leaving it to embed into a wall behind her.[2]
Rukia's arm is cut by Yoshi's barrage of spikes.
After spreading her fan open once more, Yoshi unleashes a barrage of spikes at Rukia, who narrowly evades them by rolling along the wall that they embed themselves in, though one manages to cut through her upper left arm. Upon pulling the sword back to herself, Yoshi declares that this is the result of devotion and the splendor of her life prior to rushing forward and slashing at Rukia with her sword. With Rukia blocking with her katana, Yoshi aims a spinning kick at her head, which Rukia leans back to dodge, and slashes upward with the sword. Rukia blocks this as well with the katana and leaps onto the roof of the building behind her when Yoshi slashes at her horizontally.[2]
Yoshi disarms Rukia and kicks her in the midsection.
As she grunts ferally, Yoshi throws her fan at the section of the roof overhand underneath Rukia's feet, destroying it and causing Rukia to fall to the ground, before leaping forward and continuing to clash with Rukia while Ririn attempts to shield and avert her eyes. Locking blades with Rukia and forcing her katana down, Yoshi grins and shifts the sword of Nieder up so the guard knocks the katana out of Rukia's hands, allowing Yoshi to perform a kick to Rukia's midsection that sends her smashing through a door into the building behind her. With a concerned Ririn startled by the katana embedding itself in the ground in front of her, the villagers inside the building flee.[2]
Rukia is revealed to be an illusion when the sword hits her.
Yoshi approaches the doorway and pushes aside the remnants of the clothing hanging from the top, only to find that Rukia is not visible within the room. While Rukia hides somewhere in the room, Yoshi looks around and slowly enters the room, where she quickly finds Rukia behind an overturned table to the right of the doorway, causing the latter to run behind a divider to the other end of the room. However, when Yoshi proclaims that it is pointless to run away and throws the sword of Nieder at her, Rukia's body warps and vanishes upon being hit by the sword, which leads Yoshi to realize that it was an illusion and turn to a frightened Ririn, whom she realizes is the culprit.[2]
Rukia hits Yoshi with a point-blank Hadō #4. Byakurai.
Admitting that she never thought Ririn could trick her twice, Yoshi inquires if Ririn wants her to let Rukia escape and fight Ririn in her place, and with Ririn cowering in fear, Yoshi opens her fan and prepares to strike, only for Rukia to rise up behind her with a large sheet and throw it over Yoshi to blind and restrict her before firing Hadō #4. Byakurai at point-blank range, causing Yoshi to scream in pain as she topples backward and rolls over to the entrance, where she lies still. Upon seeing Rukia panting in exertion, Ririn runs over to her in concern, but Rukia simply thanks Ririn for saving her by diverting Yoshi's attention, which Ririn bashfully smiles at.[2]
Yoshi casually holds up her fan to deflect Rukia's Hadō #4. Byakurai, which she observes is weaker than it was the last time Rukia used it.
Suddenly, Yoshi begins chuckling, prompting Rukia and Ririn to look over at her in astonishment, and praises this effort as she absorbs more Reishi and stands up while casting off the sheet to reveal the hole in her shoulder closing and the fabric of her shirt mending over it. With Yoshi promising the fun is just beginning, Ririn mentally asserts she really is a monster and begs Ichigo Kurosaki to save her. Soon afterward, three villagers looking down an alleyway scatter when Rukia slides backward out of it onto the street and fires another Hadō #4. Byakurai at Yoshi, but the latter casually deflects it into one of the walls of the alley with the fan of Nieder and observes Rukia's attacks seem to be much weaker than before. As she sees Rukia trying to run away again, Yoshi leaps out of the alley and over the adjoining building to land in front of her.[2]
Yoshi binds Rukia's wrist with the fan of Nieder.
When Yoshi sweeps her left leg toward her legs, Rukia jumps over it and pushes Yoshi's hand aside when the latter subsequently slashes down at her, allowing Rukia to move in and kick upward at Yoshi's chin, which prompts the latter to flip backward and handspring away to avoid Rukia's follow-up kick aimed at her ankles. Sliding several feet back, Yoshi runs forward to meet Rukia and stabs at her with the sword of Nieder, and when Rukia pushes the blade aside with her hand mid-thrust, Yoshi forces her to evade backward with a kick aimed at Rukia's head and kicks Rukia in the shoulder prior to throwing her closed fan at Rukia's right wrist, which it wraps itself around.[2]
Rukia leaps over Yoshi to avoid her attack.
With Rukia restrained and bleeding from her left arm, Yoshi admits her surprise at Rukia having this much power left and asks the sword and fan of Nieder what they are going to do, which leads them to proclaim that they will corner Rukia splendidly and finish her off perfectly. After acknowledging this, Yoshi yanks Rukia toward herself and simultaneously grinds the sword of Nieder along the chain connecting it to the fan, striking off sparks as it approaches Rukia, only for the latter to leap over Yoshi at the last second. Caught off-guard by this, Yoshi pulls the sword off the chain and turns around to face Rukia, who is now in midair behind her.[2]
Yoshi moves to slash her sword upward at Rukia, but the latter performs Bakudō #1. Sai right before the blade hits her, causing Yoshi's arms to be forced behind her back and creating enough slack on the chain that the fan of Nieder slips off of Rukia's wrist, which allows her to move further back and land on a nearby rooftop. While Yoshi angrily struggles against her invisible restraints, Rukia internally cheers at having restricted her movement and fires Hadō #33. Sōkatsui at her once more, creating a sizeable cloud of dust with the impact. However, when the dust clears, Rukia is astonished to see an unharmed Yoshi protecting herself with an enlarged fan.[2]
Rukia bandages her upper arm with her shihakushō sleeve.
Having transformed Nieder into its armored form, Yoshi succeeds in breaking out of her restraints and glares up at Rukia, who clutches her injured arm and flees along the rooftop, leaving Yoshi to return Nieder to its standard form and smile. With Rukia jumping between rooftops, Yoshi notices the trail of blood droplets left by her injured arm and acknowledges that Rukia does not give up, though she simply claims that this makes the fun last longer and laughs maniacally alongside the fan and sword of Nieder. In an empty building elsewhere in Rukongai, Rukia rips off the left sleeve of her shihakushō and uses it to bandage her upper arm.[2]
Ririn gives Rukia the katana she was fighting with.
As an exhausted Rukia leans back and sighs, a shadow approaches the building outside while Rukia notices Ririn hiding behind a box near her. At Ririn's insistence, Rukia crawls over to the box, where Ririn presents her with the katana that she was fighting with earlier and explains that she brought it here for Rukia. Upon seeing a smiling Rukia pick up and examine the katana, Ririn notices her bandaged arm and questions why she has not further healed the wound with her Kaidō, and when Rukia affirms that she would be able to heal it properly that way, Ririn begins to realize that Rukia's Reiryoku reserves are running dangerously low.[2]
Rukia instructs Ririn to run away with the two children.
Suddenly, Rukia tells Ririn to be quiet and approaches a box on the other side of the room, where she is shocked to find a young girl clutching a child inside upon taking off the lid, leading her to realize they could not run away in time. When Ririn warns her Yoshi is here, Rukia pulls the two children out of the box and requests Ririn run away with them, and despite Ririn's protests about leaving her alone, Rukia insists she get them to a safe location, only to be interrupted when the door to the building begins rumbling. Calling Ririn over to her, Rukia leads her and the children over to the far wall and stares anxiously at the door while a drop of sweat rolls down her face.[2]
Rukia is forced to block Yoshi's surprise attack.
The sword of Nieder stabs through the portion of the wall to the right of Rukia and begins slicing through it toward her, forcing Rukia to block it perpendicularly with her right hand on the flat side of the katana. While the young girl fearfully watches this, Yoshi punches through the wall with her left hand and grabs the girl by her head, distracting Rukia long enough for Yoshi to kick her in the back, which sends Rukia flying across the room and crashing through the door onto the street. With Rukia coughing up blood on her hands and knees, Yoshi steps onto the street and orders Rukia to throw away her katana, leading Rukia to see she is holding the girl aloft.[2]
Yoshi threatens to kill the girl if Rukia continues fighting.
Upon being demanded to let the crying girl go by Rukia, Yoshi counters that this depends on her and asserts that she is reaching the limit of her extensive patience, resulting in Rukia slowly standing up and dropping the katana on the ground. As Ririn watches with concern from the doorway, Yoshi approaches Rukia and promises to crush the girl's head if Ririn tries to do anything before leveling the sword of Nieder at Rukia's chest and attempting to pull aside the folds of her shihakushō. When Rukia leaps back and clutches her shihakushō closed while telling Yoshi to stop, Yoshi inquires if she does not care what happens to the girl and tightens her grip.[2]
Yoshi stabs the sword of Nieder through Rukia's leg.
While the girl screams in pain, Yoshi mocks Rukia's naivety and declares that she is getting excited just thinking of how to finish Rukia off before leaning down and slashing Rukia upward and diagonally across the chest with the sword of Nieder. With Rukia stumbling back, a grinning Yoshi throws the girl away, and as Ririn runs over to Rukia in shock, the fan of Nieder claims that it is finally over while Yoshi rapidly slashes a screaming Rukia several more times. After her sword asserts that he does not like to torment victims, Yoshi stabs it through Rukia's left leg to keep her in place and vows to cut her up until her flesh and blood are indistinguishable from each other.[2]
Byakuya Kuchiki's Shikai, Senbonzakura, slashes Yoshi.
Ririn runs up and demands that Yoshi stop this, only for Yoshi to call her annoying and kick her into a nearby post with her left leg, leaving a battered Ririn to call out for Ichigo. However, upon seeing a shadowy figure approaching them down the street, Ririn's eyes widen in astonishment while the figure takes out their Zanpakutō. After sending Rukia flying into the air with an upward kick, Yoshi leaps after her and yells with excitement as the fan of Nieder revels in feeling beautiful and the sword praises the beauty of this technique. Suddenly, 6th Division Captain Byakuya Kuchiki releases his Shikai, Senbonzakura, causing Yoshi to be slashed dozens of times at once.[2]
Aftermath[]
Byakuya catches a falling Rukia in his arms.
As Byakuya catches a falling Rukia in his arms, Ichigo runs toward the area with Orihime and calls out to Rukia, only to instruct Orihime to take care of the girl while he tends to Ririn upon seeing Byakuya holding Rukia. From the other end of the street, Sentarō and Kiyone arrive with the other Shinigami and salute as they reach Byakuya, who orders them to contact the Fourth Division. After being assured by Orihime that the girl is simply unconscious, Ichigo asks her to tend to Ririn since her injuries seem to be serious and praises Ririn for doing her best. Suddenly, as Rukia sees Byakuya holding her, a laughing Yoshi reveals herself on top of a nearby bell tower.[2]
Yoshi declares her work finished.
Having healed her injuries and shifted Nieder to its armored form, Yoshi declares alongside Nieder that their work here is done, and as Ichigo tells her to wait upon seeing Yoshi leap away, he, Orihime, and the Shinigami are startled to feel the ground rumbling underneath their feet while several explosions occur at the Senzaikyū compound.[2]