Matsumoto Rangiku leapt into the melée, zanpakutou drawn. There was no time to think. All around her were members of the Tenth, Eleventh, and Twelfth divisions, all fighting one common enemy.
They were being slaughtered.
As the ranking commander of this operation, Rangiku knew she had no business jumping into the heat of battle. She didn't particularly care. They needed to buy more time. A vice-captain level shinigami joining the clash might provide the valuable minutes needed for the Twelfth to put their contraption into use. Besides, the way he was cutting through the troops... She winced. At this rate, I'd be dead in a few more minutes anyway.
A corpse flew past her, spattering her face with hot blood. Rangiku swiped a hand over her face, smearing the blood from her eyes. He'd been in her division. She'd known him. There was almost no one left now between her and the Arrancar, and he looked up, a manic grin on his face. Clearly, he was enjoying himself.
"Growl, Haineko!" she shrieked, startled by the shrillness of her own voice. She directed the whirling ashes of her released zanpakutou to the Arrancar, aiming multiple quick slicing attacks from all angles. Just a little longer...
A loud bang at close range signified the launch of the Twelfth's energy net. Instantly, Rangiku recalled Haineko, already beginning to shunpo out of range. She was relieved to see a few survivors doing the same, falling back to where the Fourth division waited in reserve to heal the wounded. We did it–
Rough fingers wrapped around her ankle tightly, redirecting her momentum to slam her into the ground with tremendous force. Momentarily stunned, Rangiku gasped for air, twisting her body to dodge the finishing blow that was surely coming. I have to get back to my feet... A sharp kick rolled her to her back, and she felt a foot planted on her stomach. The Arrancar was looking down at her curiously.
"I know you," he stated in a bored tone of voice. She'd seen him before, too, at the attack in the living world a few weeks ago. The light blue hair, the hole through his torso, the partial jaw that remained of his Hollow mask--she was surprised he recognized her, though. He ground his heel into her stomach, the toe of his foot pressing painfully into a breast. "Where's Ichigo?"
Rangiku bit back the curse she'd been about to give in answer. She saw it, above his head: the nearly invisible filaments of the Twelfth division's experimental reiatsu-sapping energy net. They'd have it activated in another moment, and then all she'd have to do was hold him until reinforcements arrived. "He's...not...here," Rangiku panted, exaggerating the state she was in.
The Arrancar snorted derisively, then suddenly plunged his hand down, clearly intending to skewer her.
Rangiku was ready. With both arms, she knocked back his foot, instantly rolling clear of the blow and regaining her feet. She raised Haineko and dropped into a defensive stance.
In a split second she felt her reiatsu fading--no more than that, it was being drawn from her forcibly, sapping her spirit pressure in so persistent a manner that it was impossible to use it.
Still, she had an advantage. She'd been expecting this, after all, while the Arrancar would be briefly thrown off by his sudden lack of reiatsu. Rangiku moved in quickly before he could recover his bearings.
He surprised her, bringing his sword up to block her without an instant's hesitation. His brow furrowed deeply; his ice-blue eyes glared at her over their zanpakutou.
"What the fuck did you do to me?"
She felt what spirit pressure he had left flare up, testing at the barrier that now covered them, and a small smile quirked her lips. Bad move. It only made it easier for the Twelfth's reiatsu-sapping energy net to latch onto his particular spirit energy signature, draining him further. Rangiku pressed her attack, trying to put him off-balance. Just a few more minutes, she told herself, feinting quickly to the left and then coming at him with a low slash to his thigh. Reinforcements will be here and we'll have him.
He hissed as Haineko bit into his flesh, lashing out at her wildly with his sword.
Rangiku easily deflected the blow, though her arms shuddered with the impact. Okay, so he's still strong. He's also too brash. We're on more equal footing now. "You depend too much on your reiatsu," she stated in an even voice.
"Fuck you," he growled. He launched himself forward again, looking to overpower her with sheer mass and momentum. She buckled slightly under the blow, but manage to repel him, taunting him with a mocking smile.
"I bet you'd like to, wouldn't you?"
"You think too highly of yourself, shinigami." The way he spat out shinigami, it sounded like the worst insult imaginable.
For him, it probably is, Rangiku thought, making another feint. He didn't fall for it this time. They circled one another slowly, zanpakutou held at the ready.
His eyes narrowed and he lunged at her again, his movement oddly graceful this time. She whirled, just bringing Haineko up in time to block. He pressed down hard, and Rangiku was forced to bring both of her hands to her zanpakutou to counter his strength. His expression changed, his face twisting from fury to amusement, and he barked a laugh.
A fist slammed into the side of Rangiku's head, and she stumbled back, cursing herself for leaving such an obvious opening. In desperation she slashed out with Haineko, trying to force him to defend himself instead of following through with an attack. He ignored her attempted diversion, bringing his blade down on her in a chopping motion. Rangiku felt her zanpakutou connect, slowing as it tore through flesh. She lunged forward, driving Haineko into him, and then cried out as she felt his blade dig into her shoulder, connecting with her collarbone with a sickening crack. The angle was bad, or he'd have had me in two...
Rangiku gripped her zanpakutou tightly with both hands and threw herself backward, slicing upwards as she did so. A trail of dark blood arced through the air in the wake of her sword. She landed hard, stumbling and losing her footing, her tailbone connecting with the ground.
Rangiku had been expecting him to deliver the killing blow as soon as she'd stumbled. It took her a moment to realize she wasn't dead. She blinked, and allowed her eyes to focus on the Arrancar.
He was still standing in the same spot; one hand pressed tight to his chest, where his blood oozed between his fingers in gouts. His zanpakutou, bright with her blood, was still clutched in the other. She'd given him a worse wound than she'd thought. He looked...surprised. His eyes narrowed slightly as he looked at her. Not in anger; he was...appraising her. Reevaluating. He began to take a step towards her, and he faltered, one knee buckling slightly.
Rangiku didn't think she had any more fight left in her, but somewhere, she had to find it. She'd damaged him. She could hold out. Any moment now, more shinigami would arrive. Just a little bit more--
The sky cracked.
Shit! She'd been so concerned about the arrival of her reinforcements, it hadn't occurred to her he might have his own. There were only two of them. Rangiku swept her eyes across them, instinctively trying to feel out their reiatsu before realizing she was still under the net. She didn't think they were Espada, at least. Thank goodness for small favors, she thought bitterly.
They dove in tandem, aiming not for her, but instead slicing through the energy net that held their compatriot's--and her own-- reiatsu captive. "No," Rangiku breathed. If he regained his reiatsu, she was done for. She held her breath, waiting for the rush of her own spirit pressure returning to her body. It didn't come.
"Sexta," one of the Arrancar called, as both flanked him. They looked to him for direction, clearly confused.
Rangiku brought herself shakily up to one knee. Our reiatsu hasn't returned yet. We've been so completely drained...we need more time to recover.
"Sexta?" the other questioned, dropping down to offer his shoulder in support. "More of the enemy are arriving." He pointed, to where a cluster of shinigami--mostly Fourth, but there was no need for him to know that--were rushing towards the scene.
Her opponent grimaced, his fingers digging into his chest, trying to hold his wound closed. "We're leaving," he finally spat. He allowed the Arrancar to bear him up, his head drooping for a moment as if in exhaustion. The three began to rise into the sky, another dark gate opening behind them.
Then, suddenly, he looked up. "Heh." He raised his sword-arm, pointing the blade of his zanpakutou right at her. "Next battle, I'll be looking for you. Be ready."
...Great. Rangiku stood, pushing aside the Fourth division member who rushed over to support her. "Me now? What about Ichigo?"
"Ichigo can wait." He flapped his hand dismissively and tossed her a cocky grin. "I think I might have more fun with you. At least, until you break."
Then the jaws of the sky were closed around him and his Arrancar brothers and they were gone.
Under the still of harsh starlight, Rangiku remembered that grin, and shivered.