The courtyard was nothing more than a skeleton of what it used to be. Stone columns lay split like brittle bones, gardens had been reduced to heaps of scorched roots, and every breath tasted of iron, soot, and despair. The thick ash falling from the smokey clouds above blanketed the ruins in a funereal shroud, coating every crevice, every shadow.
Yoruichi stood in the center of it all—feet planted in the grey powder, her yellow eyes gleaming through the haze. One hand rested on her hip, her posture loose but her presence razor-sharp. Her other arm hung at her side, lightning faintly dancing over her skin. A smug grin curved her lips as she watched the figure opposite her.
"If you're so sure you can prove to me about being the alpha predator." Yoruichi said, her voice slicing through the dead air, "then by all means… come at me."
Primal tilted her head, the bone-white Grimm mask covering half her face catching the dim light. Her single exposed eye glimmered—a hungry, feral shine. From beneath the mask came a low growl that rumbled through her chest. She chuckled, the sound dry and dangerous. "Don't complain when you're on the ground, kneeling before your queen."
Yoruichi's grin faltered into a scoff, her stance shifting. "Cocky, aren't ya? Cocky for someone who isn't the right person."
Primal's glare sharpened. Her fists clenched, knuckles cracking. But then, from the corner of her vision, she noticed something—a faint, familiar silhouette half-buried beneath the rubble. Her eyebrow arched under the mask.
"Ah… you found my other half's weapon." She took a step forward, her voice dripping with disdain. "But I'm not like her. I prefer hand-to-hand combat."
Yoruichi's smile returned, sharper now. A low chuckle escaped her lips "Is that so? Well, I guess this means I've already won this fight."
Thunder cracked somewhere above as the ash fell heavier. Sparks of violet lightning coiled around Yoruichi's frame—and then she was gone. The courtyard seemed to hold its breath. Primal's nose twitched under her mask. She sniffed the air, catching faint traces of ozone and motion. Too slow.
Then a sudden gut-wrenching impact exploded in Primal's abdomen. Pain bloomed and her breath hitched in her throat, her single eye glanced down, Yoruichi's fist slammed into her midsection. The force lifted her off her feet, sending her hurtling back through the ash into the twisted skeleton of a charred blossom tree. The blackened petals crumbled around her, scattering into the ash-storm.
Primal staggered upright. Her wing flexed for balance, her teeth clenched beneath the mask. Her glare locked on Yoruichi. "That was a dirty trick."
Yoruichi's expression hardened to stone. "Dirty? Says the one who kicked out their own soul to take over their own body. You should reconsider your tactics… and your strategy."
The words hit deeper than the punch. Primal said nothing at first, though the silence was thick with her displeasure. She did not take kindly to being told to think differently. But her smirk crept back, hidden under the bone mask. Her black wing fanned wide, scattering ash as she began to rise from the ground. "You think you know me." she said, voice low and venomous. "But no one knows the terror I can unleash. If you wish to die, I'll be happy to kill you."
~~~
Lightning flared again—too bright against the suffocating grey. Yoruichi moved, faster than mortal eyes could follow, each step breaking the sound barrier. But Primal didn't track her with eyes; she tracked her with instinct—Grimm instinct. The ash carried scent, and the air carried vibration.
Their collisions were deafening. Fist met Fist, forearm slammed against knee, each impact kicking up clouds of ash that painted their silhouettes in ghostly haze.
Yoruichi struck high, low, then vanished, appearing behind Primal with a sweeping kick. Primal swiped her sharp nails at Yoruichi's cheek. It caught Yoruichi's arm, the sharp nail grazing skin—drawing blood. Yoruichi hissed softly. She hadn't been cut by an enemy in years. This was starting to look bad, but she couldn't let it show. She couldn't let Primal see that she was reaching her limits.
The grin on Primal's face widened beneath the mask. The scent of blood filled her nose, her crimson red eye glowing. "That's the smell I've been looking for, the delicious scent of blood, but alas...unlike my other half, I don't play with my food."
Blood dripped down Yoruichi's face, the cut stung as she used the back of her hand to wipe the blood clean. "I must say, you've managed to injure me..."
Minutes became a brutal eternity. Yoruichi's speed was unmatched, but each burst drained her stamina. This opponent didn't falter; she fed on the fight itself, her movements growing sharper as the battle raged.
Yoruichi darted in close again, her fist finding Primal's ribs, but instead of being thrown back. Primal seized Yoruichi's arm in a crushing grip. The sound of strain filled the space between them. Primal's single eye was a predator's gaze, unwavering. "Too slow, lightning cat."
With a savage twist, Primal hurled her into the rubble of the courtyard steps. Stone shattered beneath Yoruichi, dust and ash choking the air. She forced herself up, muscles aching. Her breathing was heavier now, each inhale burning in her lungs from the smoke.
She thought of the lives already lost in this ruin. She thought of the battles still raging beyond these walls. If she failed here, Primal's carnage would spread unchecked.
Lightning swirled around her once more—more intense than before, tinged almost black from the strain. She knew the cost of pushing herself this far. Soul, flesh, and spirit all burned faster than they could recover.
Yoruichi lunged, one last gambit in mind. Primal met her halfway, closing the distance between them. Fist met fist once more in a violent union, power displacing the ash in a circular wave. Yoruichi was feeling it, her limit was closing in. But she needed to bare with what she had control over.
For a heartbeat, they were locked—predator against predator, each testing the limits of the other's will.
Then Yoruichi shifted, slipping inside Primal's guard, striking upward with blinding speed. Her fist connected with Primal's jaw, cracking the mask, sending fragments spiraling through the ash like broken teeth.
Primal reeled but did not fall. She laughed, low and dangerous, the mask was cracked. But that didn't mean Scarlet was going to be in control again, Primal was still there, she was the current one taking over still. "I'm surprised, you managed to crack my mask...are you trying to awaken my other self, to give her a fighting chance to take back what's hers? I hate to say this, but she's trapped." Tapping the side of her temple she smirked. "She's trapped within her own mind. Drowning in a sea, in a void."
Yoruichi smirked shaking her hand. "Well, I'll just have to force her out and slap the living shit out of you, until she comes back."
Primal lunged forward, punching into Yoruichi's ribs. Pain exploded in her side—a pain deep enough to steal breath. Yoruichi staggered, lightning flickering erratically around her form.
The cost had caught up to her. Yoruichi reached her limit, she could tell Primal had taken notice. She cursed under her breath.
Primal stepped closer, looming over her. "You've reached your limit." Her voice was almost tender, but it carried a cruel and sadistic tone. "Soon, I'll make you kneel."
Yoruichi's narrowed gaze held defiance, but her hand pressed to her rib-cage. She had bought time, but the question was, time for what?
~~~
The ash fell heavier now, the sky above bleeding smoke into an endless grey. The courtyard seemed to collapse inward, their fight erasing what little remained of its beauty.
Primal spread her wing, rising higher in the air, watching Yoruichi from above like a carrion bird. "You've proven to be a worthy challenge...but alas, this is where you fall."
Yoruichi stood under the falling ash, her lightning fading. She was strong, still standing, but the truth was undeniable, she had reached her edge. And now, she was going to die....Yoruichi cursed at herself for not taking things seriously, but she needed all that time she had used against Primal, to make sure Kotori got away safely and back to Renji and the others. "Do your worst, I've already done what I've accomplished." With a smirk, she looked up. "I've bought Kotori more time."
Primal snarled under her mask. "Perhaps, but even so. You've failed to do one thing, and that is save Scarlet."
Before she could make the final killing blow, a tremor shook the entire area. Primal, glanced towards the horizon and the distance where the echoes of war continued and faded to a pause.
Both fighters froze as a pulse rolled across the ruins, distant yet commanding. The air shifted. The scent of smoke was cut by something else — familiar, urgent.
Primal's eye narrowed. Yoruichi blinked, nearly disbelieving, a grin played at her lips. She knew this familiar energy. Ichigo's spiritual pressure was here.
"Heh, it took you long enough...." Yoruichi muttered under her breath. "Ichigo..."