The air was heavy with ash. It didn't fall like snow—it drifted, sluggish, in dull gray motes that clung to skin and hair, stinging the eyes. Even here, within what the Fourth Division had hastily declared a "safe haven," the ruin of Soul Society pressed in on them.
Ichigo sat cross-legged on the tatami mat floor, Zangetsu laid across his lap. His brow was knit, eyes half-closed—not meditating exactly, but trying not to think about the last battle.
Renji leaned against the far wall, he scanned at the wounded Soul Reapers who were still recovering. the jagged outline of Zabimaru's hilt poking from his side, he knew he needed to fix Zabimaru, especially after what Primal had done. He closed his eyes, thinking of what they could do next.
Yoruichi, crouched by the room's open shoji door, kept her golden eyes scanning the courtyard beyond. She'd refused treatment beyond the bare minimum, insisting she needed her mobility. The slow rise and fall of her breathing was the only sign she allowed herself to relax.
Kotori, the flame spirit, sat apart from them. Unlike the wounded Soul Reapers, her injuries didn't show in the same way—but her spiritual energy felt thin, frayed like a candle's flame in a strong wind. She clutched her commander's halberd loosely, the weapon's core ember dimmer than before.
The battle with Primal was intense, and Scarlet knew that. She didn't have any control over her body, but she still felt the injuries from the heat of battle. The Grimm girl, glanced towards Kotori. A scoff escaping her lips, she should be thankful. But her pride wouldn't allow her to. Arms crossed, Scarlet pushed herself away from one of the walls.
"Where are you going?" Kotori asked, her crimson red eyes looking towards Scarlet. "Don't tell me you're going to wander off and fight? The others are still out there doing what they can, Do you think you're in any shape to fight?"
Scarlet stopped, she turned her head to the side. "I'm not wandering off." Her tone low and quiet. "I need some time to think, alone."
Kotori raised an eyebrow up, but she could see in Scarlet's posture and the way she spoke. She was hurting, the Flame spirit wanted to know what exactly she had seen within her own mind. She opened her mouth to speak, but didn't.
"Let her go." Renji spoke, not opening his eyes. "You'll only be chasing after demons, you need to heal up as much as everyone here. She needs time to herself." Finally opening his eyes, Renji moved away from the far wall. "Besides, right now. We all need time alone, after what we went through.."
Kotori didn't argue. She knew Renji was right, most of the Soul Reapers were either dead, too wounded to continue fighting, or worse. Letting out a small sigh, she nodded lightly in agreement with what Renji said.
Suddenly, a faint noise broke the quiet.
Footsteps. Uneven.
Turning her gaze to the source of the sound, Kotori had spotted Rukia as she staggered into view. She was pale as bone against the soot-smudged air, her shihakushō torn and stained with blood. Her left arm hung limp, and her breath came in shallow bursts.
Yoruichi, despite her injured state, was by Rukia's side within a blink of an eye. Catching her before she collapsed.
Ichigo opened his eyes, he glanced towards the area Yoruichi was at, and saw Rukia and the state she was in. "Rukia!" His voice was sharp and filled with rage.
"I'm… fine," Rukia managed, though her voice was strained. "Liltotto… she was faster than I expected. But Kenpachi—" She coughed, a thin red trickle at the corner of her mouth. "Kenpachi took over. He said… he was bored. Went looking for someone stronger to fight."
"Are you certain Liltotto is dead?" Scarlet asked from the distance, she was standing on one of the walls, looking down at everyone.
"She doesn't have regenerative abilities." Rukia spoke weakly as she leaned into Yoruichi. "Kenpachi made sure she was dead."
Scarlet scoffed and crossed her arms, looking away. "Tch."
"Look, I don't know what's wrong with you and why you're acting like a total bitch. But the least you can do is be thankful that we saved your sorry ass." Ichigo spoke with a look of anger in his eyes.
Scarlet scoffed once again. "Why don't you save yourselves the trouble and stop what you're doing. If you haven't noticed, not everyone here is lucky to get out alive." Her crimson red eyes glowed with malice and murder. "So, if you're done pissing your pants and worrying about who's dead and who isn't. Why don't you all, turn your attention to the new task at hand?"
Kotori glanced up to where Scarlet was at, what did she mean by that? Yoruichi guided Rukia to sit, tending to her wounds with efficient motion. As she worked, the smoke thickened overhead, rolling in heavy waves.
~~~~
Hours passed in uneasy stillness. The safe heaven felt like a bubble suspended between chaos and calm. Every breath carried the taste of ash, but the wards hummed steady.
Everyone was resting for now, all but Scarlet. Her gaze was sharp, her posture spoke of an Alpha predator hunting its prey. Kotori knew something was wrong, the flame spirit knew Renji told her to leave Scarlet be. But with what she said when Rukia arrived. It didn't sit right with her, wandering off to where the Grimm girl was at, Kotori made herself known. "You should rest, or at least try to."
"No thanks." Scarlet spoke. "I don't have time to settle down and wait for the enemy to come to us." She leaned against the wall, her left leg dangling down the side of the wall as she sat there. "What do you want anyway?"
Kotori took a moment to think before answering. "Why were you being so rude earlier?"
Scarlet let out a small laugh under her breath. "Is that all? In case you haven't forgotten. My younger self told me Queen was going to show up, if everyone is resting and no one is on guard. She may show up out of the blue, and the Quincy and Shinigami war is still going on. There is no time for rest."
"Yeah but, resting up helps heals for better or for worse." Kotori spoke. "Look, you go rest. I'll keep watch."
Scarlet scoffed under her breath. Her nose twitched as she sniffed the air, her fists balled tightly. Standing up, she gazed up at the darkened smoke filled sky. Herr gaze fixed on a wavering shimmer that had begun to form. "She's here."
Sensing the change in the atmosphere, Ichigo stirred awake. Grabbing Zangetsu, he nudged Renji with his foot. "Hey, wake up."
Renji opened his eyes, looking up at Ichigo. Not needing to ask what was going on, he too felt the change, sitting up. He grabbed Zabimaru. Yoruichi's cat like senses sent her into high alert, yet she was still in no shape to do battle.
The shimmer widened with a sound like tearing silk. Time itself bent inward, revealing an open tear — its inside was an impossible white, threaded with veins of crimson light. Heat rolled off it in pulses, though it didn't burn the air.
From within stepped a figure clad in immaculate white. Long silver hair fluttered in an invisible breeze, and her eyes were pools of cold malice, almost inhuman.
Kotori's breath caught. "Queen…"
Ichigo's grip on his sword tightened. He didn't recognize her, but the oppressive energy pouring off her was enough to raise every instinctual alarm. The wards around them flickered, dimming under her presence.
Queen's gaze swept over them as if measuring their worth. "So… this is where you've been held up at, I'm disappointed. I would've thought you were done with this plane of existence, to chase me. But I guess I was wrong."
"Cut the crap." Scarlet spoke. "What is it you want Queen?"
"Oh? You want to get straight to the main course? Fine by me." Queen spoke as she pointed her thumb behind her. "You see this tear here, it will stay open. And it will lead you two to wherever you need to go."
Kotori looked at it and then at Queen. "It can take me back to Tengu City."
Hearing this, Ichigo shot Kotori a stern glare. "You're serious about leaving....like right now? We're in the middle of a war, and you want to leave?!"
"We don't belong here, this isn't our world or our war to fight." Scarlet spoke, her gaze never leaving Queen. "But if we need to fight White Queen to get to it. Then so be it, it'll make my job a whole lot easier on chasing after her."
Queen chuckled. "Still obsessed with chasing little old me? Well I can tell you this. I'm not her, she's still how you say...going about her business."
Scarlet scoffed. "A clone, I should've guessed much, still. I need someone to smash, and who better than a clone?"
Renji stepped forward, pointing his zanpakuto toward White Queen. "I don't care who you are, or what your title is, but you can't just show up unannounced."
In a flicker of motion too fast to follow, White Queen was in front of Renji, her sword hovering inches from his throat. "I'm not here to play with you." She murmured. "Your war isn't mine to deal with, I'm here for these two."
"Like we'll let you get anywhere near them." Ichigo spoke, his grip on Zangetsu tightened.
"Ichigo, stay out of this, this is our fight." Scarlet spoke as she grabbed Black Rose. "If Queen wants to fight me and Kotori, she will get the fight she wants. Clone or not, I'm itching to kill someone."
Kotori's eyes narrowed, and the faint outline of her Astral Dress shimmered across her form. Fire licked at the edges of her silhouette, still not fully restored yet, she needed to make sure she didn't burn herself out. "Then you've already made this complicated."
~~~
A blur of red, black and white filled their air, blades clashing with each other. Sparks were flying, gun shots echoing. Scarlet pushed herself against Queen and Queen pushed herself against Scarlet, scythe against sword. Queen's Flintlock pistol fired stray bullets, which were being blocked by Ichigo and Renji.
"You two go, leave her to us." Renji spoke.
"And miss out on all the fun?" Scarlet asked with a cocky tone. "I think not."
Kotori watched as she was hesitating on what to do, she knew she couldn't get tied into the fight. Not right now, her mana wasn't fully restored. Then she saw it, she saw Queen use her angel. Or in this case, her Demon King.
"Come to me! Lucifugus!" Queen shouted as her giant astronomical clock appeared, the silver and white clock loomed behind her.
"What the?" Ichigo asked taking a step back. "What in the world am I looking at?"
Scarlet smirked. "Two can play at that game, but I don't think I'll use it right away."
"Aw, how sad. Oh well." Queen spoke. "Leo Bullet Arie!"
Scarlet watched like a lioness, watching her prey. She didn't move, her eyes locked on Queen. Then with a pull of the trigger and the sound of Queen firing her Flintlock Pistol, Scarlet swung Black Rose, deflecting the bullet, despite it being controlled by Queen. "Everyone, watch out. Queen can control this bullet."
"What a party pooper." Queen spoke putting on a fake hurt act. "You ruined my surprise." She smirked as Lucifugus vanished, and then Queen vanished before their eyes.
Scarlet and the rest scanned around the area, then Queen appeared before Scarlet. "Taurus Sword Shawl." Taking her sword, Queen slashed a opened cut across Scarlet's chest, blood spilling out from the wound.
"Get away from her!" Ichigo yells raising Zangetsu up. "Getsuga...Tensho!" He swung Zangetsu down as the blue wave of energy came flying towards Queen.
Queen's eyes widened as she didn't have time to react or move, but there was also another reason why. Scarlet held onto her tightly. "See you in hell." The Grimm girl purred as the attack cut Queen in half.
In the quiet aftermath, the group gathered around Kotori. Scarlet, was off to the side, her wounds healing up and her arms crossed, she floated in the air, where the rift was at.
"You're certain it leads home?" Ichigo asked with a raised eyebrow.
Kotori nodded slowly. "I can feel it. My tether to my world… it's strong beyond that threshold." She looked at them one by one — Ichigo, Renji, Yoruichi, Rukia. "I didn't expect to meet any of you. And… I didn't expect to want to stay as long as I did."
Renji cracked a faint grin despite his exhaustion. "Guess we're hard to forget."
Kotori smiled back, but it faded quickly. "Still… if the tear closes, I may never get another chance. And your war—" she gestured to the wounded streets beyond, "—is only getting worse."
"Come on Kotori, or I'm leaving you here." Scarlet spoke, tapping her foot as if she were standing on something. "You can say your goodbyes for another time. The longer we wait, the longer Queen is going to be out of my reach, and Salem may do more damage to Tengu City."
Yoruichi glanced at Scarlet, and then back to Kotori. "Looks like things are going to get a lot tougher from here on..."
Ichigo's chest felt tight. But he nodded. "Go. Protect your own world Kotori. We'll handle ours."
Kotori stepped back, her gaze looking toward Scarlet. She floated off the ground with what little mana she could use. Both her and Scarlet moved toward the tear. With a last glance back, both her and Scarlet crossed its threshold. White light swallowed them both, as the rift closed up.
~~~
The courtyard seemed emptier without her. The wards thrummed steadily again, but the air still felt thin.
Yoruichi broke the silence. "I've been thinking," she said. "The way she moved — that wasn't someone testing their strength. It was someone watching. Measuring. Something Scarlet said about her."
Ichigo frowned. "White Queen?" He nodded lightly. "Yeah, you're right.."
"Yeah," Yoruichi replied. "The energy signature… wrong. Too clean. I've fought enough strange enemies to know when I'm facing the real thing. That wasn't her. And we've dealt with tougher...Primal was one of the toughest enemies we've fought."
Rukia's eyes widened. "A clone of White Queen? Meaning the real deal is just waiting."
Yoruichi nodded. "And if that was just a fragment — then somewhere out there, in whatever world she came from — the real White Queen is still moving. And she knows about Soul Society now."
Ichigo looked to the smoke-choked horizon. The war was far from over. They had restored their strength only enough to stand again. And somewhere beyond the veil of space, an enemy they barely understood was waiting. "Well, let's hope that Scarlet can stop the real one in time, before things get worse..."