Bleach: La Garda
Chapter 1: Caballero Negro (El Tiburon y El Carcayú)
(Karakura Town)
Take a walk with me, and if you can see me then you may not like what you see. Your eyes may see a monster or beast, but if your mind can see that I am no different than you and you hold your hand to me, then that is the hand of a person I can trust and I will use my sword to protect you. My name is Milena De Amaya, and I am an Arrancar.
More than that, I am a former Espada. The greatest mistake I made was trusting a man like Sousuke Aizen. His words seemed wise, but I soon found that they were dipped in poison. I will not stand by one who would make war on all the worlds, and shed the blood of innocent shinigami. It is not honorable. I refuse to fight a meaningless war.
That is my aspect of death, honor. Something I have seen lacking in mankind in the centuries that I have lived and walked among them. Men kill each other everyday, so why must a man like Aizen leave his mark on their world? I will stand, and fight. Luckily, I am not fighting this fight by my lonesome. I have my fracciones, Consuela and Iva.
I was the former fifth Espada in Aizen's army. My number can be seen in the area below my neck and just above my chest. On my back is a scar going from the back of my shoulder to the left corner of my back. It is the price of my betrayal to the Espada, but I will take the pain and the price for my actions. If my destiny is death, then so be it.
Many Arrancar use their zanpakuto simply as vessels to hold their power. I have trained my fracciones in the ways of the sword, and chivalry. My zanpakuto is in the shape of a Gothic Two-Handed Sword while my fracciones are armed with short swords, 34 inches from pommel to tip. They are skilled warriors, capable of holding their own in battle.
I look down at the sleepy Karakura Town, seeing people live their lives even though they cannot see me. I leaped from rooftop to rooftop with my fracciones following me. I have never met anyone more loyal than Consuela and Iva. My closest ally in this fight is also my best friend. I can not say as much for her fracciones. They are good soldiers.
The thing is they lack maturity. My best friend's name is Halibel. She and I have the same height and figure, but we have our differences. She is a blond, while my hair is black and boyish with two long tails. She has green eyes, and I have blue. My mask is also different from hers. My mask is shaped like the visor of an armet-style helmet.
The only things I am lacking are the eye slits and helmet. My mask covers the bottom half of my face, and goes around the back of my head. I wear a one-piece thong-like garment with ankle-length cloth flaps in the front and back and black leggings that double as boots. Halibel crossed her arms, and turned an eye to me, "I am here by choice"
"I know," I replied in a womanly tone just as calmly and collectedly, "Aizen will bring his forces to stop us, it is inevitable," do not take my words as pessimistic. I know this man. He will not stop until all the worlds are under his rule, "our numbers maybe few, but we will meet him in battle none the less," I stated, Halibel nodded in agreement.
"There are so many innocent people, and to think that I once trusted him," Halibel said, in her tone of voice I could hear her regrets. I placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. A hand that holds a blade that has slain thousands of hollows of all ranks. There is only one reason the Espada serve the will of Sousuke Aizen, but they will never admit it.
"It is fear," I replied taking my hand off her shoulder and looking up at the full moon, "as the old saying goes, if you cannot beat them, you join them," I earned a light 'humph' from Halibel. There are not many of our kind left in Hueco Mundo. I unsheathed my sword from behind my back, and pointed the tip to Halibel's neck, "en garde,"
"If you insist," Halibel said and attacked. To the cheers of our fracciones, we sparred each other. My sword is very simple compared to the more elaborate blades of the other arrancar. Our blades clashed in a dance of steel. The cloth flaps that give my attire some modesty flew in the wind as my sword crossed with Halibel's. My sword is relentless.
The will of a warrior is like that of the sword they wield in battle. When the blade is finished, the steel may bend under pressure but it will never break. My fracciones and I have been bent by torture but never broken. We all carry reminders of what we have been through from the scar across my back to Consuela never being able to talk again.
Nnoitra had the task of torturing my body, and cutting off Consuela's tongue. My scars have healed, but I keep the one on my back as a reminder of the real enemy. Halibel and I are equal in speed and power, but I will rarely ever use my released form. The only time I will use it is if my opponent has granted me a contest in strength and honor.
I rolled over Halibel's back, and spun around to have her sword at my neck, and my sword at hers. I slowly pulled my blade back, and put it back in it's leather sheath. I bowed to Halibel out of respect between us as friends. My zanpakuto is called Carcayú, and is my most powerful weapon. Only Halibel has seen ever it's full potential in a fight.