Hueco Mundo was as quiet and deserted as always, and it would stay like that for a long time. Those were the thoughts of the former Captain of Squad three: Ichimaru Gin. With his nose pointing upwards, staring at the sky that never changed, he wandered around the sandy environment, enjoying the uninterrupted silence. There was nothing like taking a walk to relax and forget about everything.

With everything, the one known for being a snake meant that which needed to look like he had betrayed the Soul Society. Every single day, it seemed as if his plans for eliminating Aizen were getting harder and harder to execute; the current ruler of Las Noches had grown even more powerful than Gin had feared, and he was still getting stronger every day. It made his betrayal almost futile.

But he couldn't let that huge sacrifice go to waste. The least he had to do, was apologize to the one he practically did this for; Rangiku. A slight smile appeared on his face upon thinking about the promise he made her when they were kids. "I'm going to become a Soul Reaper, to change things. It's so that you won't have to cry anymore, Rangiku." It was a promise the silver-haired one had to turn into reality, or he would never be able to die peacefully.

'Well well, look who we have here, it's Mister Traitor.'

Gin quickly looked around while trying to maintain his composure. When he finally saw a piece of white cloth behind one of the quartz-like pillars, he tightened up and swiftly walked over to the -unidentifiable- creature.

The blue hair he saw when he looked behind the pillar was enough for him to know whom he was dealing with: The sixth Espada. Even though his number would state that he wasn't as strong as he always claimed to be, there was a good reason not to be fooled by that single digit, for this Espada represented one of Death's most terrifying aspects: Destruction.

Destruction could mean a lot of things and while most people immediately thought of their homes or their bodies being destructed, it was mainly the mental destruction that made the snake wary of this Number Six. Even though Grimmjow wasn't the most intelligent Espada in the bunch, he could still be very cunning when he had to and loved to play with people's minds before he would break them completely.

'At least you're calling me Mister. Do you finally know your place, Grimmjow?' The snake said calmly as he squinted his eyes towards the deviant. Grimmjow let out a slight mocking laugh before he stood up, keeping his hands in his pockets as he did.

'If by "my place" you mean that I am higher in rank than you, then yes, I do. I can't believe Lord Aizen hasn't noticed that you're stabbing him in the back, you filthy snake.'

'And you didn't run to Las Noches to tell him?'

As Gin put up his defenses, Grimmjow took a step forward and clearly tried to intimidate the former Captain. It appeared to be working, as the wary feeling within Gin grew stronger, but still, he refused to take a step back, for it would be the first step towards mental destruction.

'Lord Aizen doesn't need to know, he shouldn't have to concern himself with a weakling like yourself; I'm more than enough to end your traitorous life.'

'Those are some harsh words, Grimmjow. You do know that you're dealing with me, right? I won't go down easy.'

A second mocking laugh sounded as Grimmjow took another step forward, keeping his hand clutched around the handle of his sword. He let his tongue briefly lick his lips as if to say he was ready to taste Gin's blood. The grin that came with it, most likely confirmed that the Espada was in that mood.

'You will suffice as a great subject for my latest little experiment; this will be so much fun!'

The Espada didn't even try to hide his excitement as the grip around the handle grew stronger; after which he jumped backwards, preparing his first attack. The grin on his face had grown even wider and he licked his lips once more.

Gin found himself lost in thought for a moment, trying to figure out whether Grimmjow was really just enjoying himself or if this farce was all part of the mental destruction he was capable of. Unable to find an answer, he assumed a defensive position, ready to receive the first attack of this battle to the death.

Grimmjow flew towards the former Captain, planting his fist right in his face, causing him to be thrown back several tens of meters. Not expecting a blunt street fight like that, Gin stood up and wiped away the blood that was emerging from his mouth. He slowly strolled a few meters towards the Espada, who was laughing loudly as he yelled out to his opponent.

'Ha! Do you see snake? There is no way you can win against me, realize it!'

'Foolish Adjuchas, you are the one who should realize something: I am ranked above you for a reason. Why don't you try to let that sink in for a moment, you worthless Hollow.'

The blue-haired one's eyes shot wide for the first time in a long time. Not many had the guts to call him an Adjuchas or Hollow, and absolutely none of those who had dared to, had gotten away alive. He was on a whole other level than those lowly beasts; he was an Espada.

'You filthy snake,' Grimmjow hissed. 'You just crossed a line you shouldn't have crossed; I'll make you suffer.'

He charged forward as a small cero started to build up in his right hand palm. If this would hit the snake head on, it would cause severe damage, he was sure of it.

'Cero!' The amount of strength that came from his voice alone would have been enough to scare his weaker opponents away. The snake didn't move a muscle, though, and appeared to be directly hit by the powerful wave of energy.

'Ha! Got you, you fucking asshole! Now, prepare y-'

'Shoot to kill, Shinso.'

As the blue-haired one looked at his right, Shinso had already made contact with his right wrist, slicing the soft flesh with a swiftly executed move. Before Grimmjow had realized what had happened, Gin's Zanpaktou had already returned to its original form; it left the Espada in doubt for a moment, unsure if he had really seen what he thought he had seen.

But when he looked at his wrist, he knew he had it right; this had been the work of the snake's Zanpaktou. As the pain finally kicked in –and left the Espada grunting for a few seconds- he observed the damage he had taken. The flesh, muscles and bones of his wrist were showing their selves bluntly, as if to say he had been too slow. Grimmjow let his teeth grind with annoyance as he narrowed his eyes towards his opponent. The loss of his right hand wasn't what bothered him most, but rather the fact that it was cut off perfectly made him wary of the snake. Maybe he had underestimated Gin, which meant this could become a very thrilling fight.

'This is exciting, isn't it?' It wasn't clear whether Grimmjow was talking to Gin, or just to himself. Either way, Gin could feel a change in his attitude, one that would make this fight a lot more difficult to win. Number six was ready to begin total destruction.

'Let's skip the further warm-up.' Grimmjow drew his sword and carefully placed his hand on the destructive weapon as he let his grin grow even wider. 'Let the experiment begin!' He yelled. 'Prepare to die, traitor; we'll meet again in hell! Grind, Pantera!'

Though Gin had seen this form of Number 6, he had never been this close and was forced to protect himself against the enormous amount of energy which was now emerging from the Espada. His new form was impressive; it looked like prey that had evolved itself in becoming the hunter.

'I'll show you what I can do in this form, you can't st- Fuck! Where did you go, snake?'

'I'm right here.'

Annoyance took over Grimmjow's thoughts once more as he looked behind him, only to find nothing that would tell him where Gin went.

'Shoot to kill, Shin-'

'Too slow!'

The silence, which usually overtook Hueco Mundo, had now been broken completely; not only by the sounds of opponents clashing and not only by the insults they kept throwing at each other, but mostly by the screams the former Captain let out. It wouldn't have been surprising if some creatures in Las Noches could have heard him.

The pain that was currently investing in Gin's nerve system was enough to make him kneel on the sandy ground. After a few seconds, he gathered the courage to look at the inflicted wound and when he did, it was even worse than he had imagined.

The few thin muscles that were holding on to what used to be his left arm made the limb dangle as soon as Gin moved. Deep within the edges of the torn up flesh, there were the teeth marks that had executed this animal-like attack. With his eyes closed and pointing at the never changing sky, he prepared himself for the pain that was about to make itself known.

The former Captain screamed as he bluntly ripped off his own arm, able to hear the few muscles snap one by one as he did. The small amount of blood that came with it created a neat puddle and infused itself with the sand around.

'How's that?' Grimmjow fiendishly laughed at the act of desperation before him, knowing that desperation was always followed by destruction. Just a little more, just a few more bites and the experiment would be completed. After eating so many Hollows he was ready to try something new and being able to eat a Shinigami was just what he had aimed for. This traitor would be a great first subject and if Grimmjow succeeded in gaining some of his power by eating his vessel, there would be a lot more subjects following that first.

A grunting noise tore the Sixth away from his thoughts and before Gin could get up, he had already pinned him down; putting all of his weight on the kneeling one's back, causing his face to be smashed into the sand. While Grimmjow held him down, Gin slowly ceased any form of movement.

'You're not done already, are you? How boring. Weren't you running your mouth about how you were above me? What a fucking bullshit! You're already unconscious and I haven't even begun to play with you!'

Grimmjow was about to let his teeth drill into the neck of his victim when he suddenly stood straight and looked at the sky. He kicked the body in front of him and made it roll over; aware of the fact that Gin was still conscious, for he slightly opened his eyes.

'Do you sense that?' Grimmjow hissed as he licked his lips. 'We have visitors from the Soul Society. It feels like a Captain and a Lieutenant, doesn't it?'

'Leave her alone,' Gin muttered. 'If you touch her, I'll kill you.'

Grimmjow crouched next to the snake and planted his fist aggressively in the sand next to him as he laughed loudly.

'Ha! Do you seriously think you can stop me? She's that Rangiku-woman, isn't she?'

Gin's eyes shot wide and he tried to get up, only to fail miserably.

'How do you-'

'Tosen told us all about it; about how you were to betray us for that woman and about how wonderful it would be to kill her right in front of you. You just wait here, filthy snake. I'll go get her so you can spend your final moments together. As for that Captain who is with her; I'll be sure to make him suffer.'

With that, Grimmjow stood back up and kicked Gin in the stomach, making him cough up some blood. Within a few seconds, he was gone, ready to hunt down his second and third prey. As Gin tried to get up once more, he suddenly saw a shadow next to him, one he recognized out of thousands.

'What are you doing here?' He hissed.

'I heard the word 'experiment', so I came to see what was going on. You don't look so good, former Captain.'

'Cease your damn remarks. Listen: Grimmjow is about to-'

'I know, Captain Hitsugaya and Lieutenant Matsumoto are somewhere within the Dangai right now, but that's not something you should concern yourself with. They can take care of themselves. Let me take care of that arm for you. Now, stay still, this can hurt a little.'