The Double Edged Sword

24

Recap:

Renji kept himself from falling, and breathed through the pain of the head wound he had just suffered; he tried to assess the situation to figure out how exactly the boy had gotten such a power up so quickly. But then the image of Izumi declaring a 'release' popped into his mind making his eyes widen. Not only did he realize, but so did Byakuya as he observed the scene in front of him; Renji would surely lose if he allowed the battle to continue.

"What's wrong!? Your movements became really slow!! And so suddenly too!" Ichigo mocked while a wide smile took hold of his lips. Renji gritted his teeth as he listened to the boy laugh, he scanned his eyes over to Izumi who was on the sidelines of the match; he saw regret and sadness in her eyes before he refocused on his opponent. He knew that she had unlocked his increasing power, and he realized just how strong he was. He could feel Ichigo's spiritual power just by him talking and he couldn't believe just how heavy it was.

"Let's end this! I'm gonna be the winner! Izumi stay out of this!" Ichigo declared while raising his sword preparing to strike Renji down once more, only this time, would be the last time. Izumi's heart was heavy as he demanded that she stay put, and she closed her eyes not wanting to see her best friend take another person's life. If it was by her hand she wouldn't be so humbled, but Ichigo was pure, he was clean. Sure Ichigo had gotten a big head about having so much power so quickly, but she still didn't feel that he had needed to declare she was not to interfere with his battle; she hated how he acted with his power sometimes. What she hadn't counted for was before he could hit his mark, and before she even realized it, Ichigo's Zanpaktou was suddenly cut in two making the boy stop.

With Izumi's eyes closed, she hadn't realized something was wrong until the sound of metal clanking to the ground; by the time she had opened them all she saw was Byakuya standing behind Ichigo. Rage and fear filled her body as she looked from one male to the other; right as her eyes focused on Ichigo, blood gushed from his chest making her heart stop. Right before her eyes he was falling again; only this time, she didn't know if he would get back up.

Her friend had been stabbed straight through at the chest, and while he was attacked, she was standing there with her eyes closed. She had gotten soft; and now Ichigo Kurosaki may die before her eyes.

....

Instead of shock, red hot rage took hold of Izumi's heart while she stared at her falling friend, then at the man who had caused his pain. 

"Even when falling you're slow." Byakuya said while glaring at Ichigo from the side of his eyes; this comment alone was enough to push our girl over the edge. Without another thought Izumi allowed her spiritual pressure to run wild; power exploded from around the girl making dust fly around her crazily. Everyone stared at her in shock even Byakuya who was known for being stoic faced. They weren't prepared for such an outburst from the mystery girl. 

Power surged around her, her pupils were no longer visible as the wildness of her full power was now  flowing freely from her body; it was enough to almost take away her consciousness. After her banishment, she had gone through years of torturous training to control every single ounce of her power so she wouldn't be detected by anyone; after taking on Ichigo's power as well, her control was arguably the best the world had ever seen. However, without the seal on Ichigo, and without the years of restraint; her power was spilling out her body for the first time since she could act freely. Just a glimpse of not even half of this power was enough to keep companions from Urahara' s shop on their knees without even a chance to step back to their feet. She was known for her monstrous spiritual pressure even in the soul society where she was believed to be the next in line for the position of Captain Commander. 

....

Everyone in Karakura town that was able to sense spiritual pressure had either been awakened, or interrupted by her sudden power surge. Those that were close with her knew exactly what was happening, while others were simply terrified that someone that powerful could ever exist in their world.