Okay, I outdid myself when I started writing this fic. I know that makes me sound like I love myself for my writing skills, but the results that I received for the first chapter pretty much spoke for themselves. Now, before we start the story, I'm going to clear up a few questions asked, and other such concerns.
UNTensaZangetsu: The reasoning for him not being able to reseal Pantera. It is my belief that reiatsu, if the amount is large enough, cannot be sealed. My belief is based on solid evidence, namely Ichigo's and Kenpachi's Zanpakutou. While I know that Kenpachi doesn't even know his sword's name (which I will be solving at some point in this story), it and Zangetsu are constantly released, which is due to their enormous reiatsu. That's how I'm basing my reasoning with Pantera. It may be an Arrancar's Zanpakutou, but it's still a Zanpakutou.
DarthKyuubi: There will be a big increase in his instincts, so he will be much better with the ladies. As for the rest of his instincts, well... let's just say that there is a reason behind how he acts during the upcoming fight between him and Nnoitra.
Rage of Tartarus: You're referring to the fact that I gave Pantera a spirit form. A isn't is a basically a piece of a person's soul, It's spirit form included. This basically implies that a Zanpakutou is the power of a person's soul. The concept is pretty much the same for Arrancar. It's their power sealed in the form of the sword, which means it is essentially a part of their soul, so it would have a spirit form, just like that of a Shinigami's Zanpakutou. (To anyone wishing to argue that Hollows and Arrancar are soulless, remember that the two beings are basically forsaken souls, or made up of them, so they would not exist if they were soulless.)
ShiroHashiba: Yes, there will be one Vizard girl in the Harem. (Name Censored).
To all the people with requests for the harem, bear with me when I say that I can't please everyone, so if the girls you want in the harem later don't make the cut later in the story, sorry.
Finally to everyone who had requests for Nel, listen up. I thought about including her in the harem at first, but then I slapped myself and threw that idea down so hard that I left a hole in my floor. Her personality is pretty much like Yachiru's, in both her child and her adult forms. She isn't mature enough for that type of relationship. Now, one of my reviewers requested that Ichigo adopt Nel like Kenpachi did Yachiru, and another requested that she be included in her adult form. So i'm gonna do both. Honestly, that would be really funny.
Okay, to all who read through all that, thank you for being so patient. Now on with Chapter 2.
Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach, so if all of you lawyers don't get off my back, i'll come after you with my own Zanpakutou, Ikazuchi no Kiba. (Thunder Fang)
"Kuro…saki…kun?"
Orihime stared at the figure in the dissipating cloud. She could see the outline of his form and despite the fact she couldn't see all of his features, there was one thing that she could plainly see. He wasn't himself anymore.
Nnoitra though just grinned at the shadowed figure. "Well Shinigami, it seems that you're going to be more fun than I expected." With a massive swing, he struck where Ichigo had been standing, stirring up even more sand and dust. His one good eye widened when he realized that Ichigo wasn't on the receiving end of his blade. 'Where the fuck is that little bastard?'
"AAAAAHHHHHH!" Tesla's scream met Nnoitra's ears piercing through his current frustration and anger. Nnoitra looked back to see what had become of his Fraccion, only for his eye to widen in shock.
Tesla's arm lay motionless on the ground while Tesla himself was clutching the bleeding stump where his arm had once been. He was a good thirty feet from where he had been standing before. Orihime was still rooted to the spot, her cheeks stained with salty streaks from her tears. In Tesla's place, stood Ichigo.
Orihime looked down at the arm that was wrapped around her, her tears dry, but her eyes still wide. It was black as midnight but there was no Shinigami robe covering it, as there was no divide between the black clawed hand that ended the arm and the black color that covered it. Looking in the direction of the elbow, she saw the blade sticking out of the arm just below it.
"Are you alright Inoue-chan?"
The voice came from behind her made her eyes widen even more. She slowly turned to see what had actually become of her savior and object of her affection.
As she looked at him, if it hadn't been for his face, his hair color, and the color of his new body, she could have sworn that she was looking at the resurrected form of the fallen Grimmjow Jeagerjaquez. He was nearly a half a foot taller than he had been, and his body was just like Grimmjow's when he released his sword, except that it was pitch black in color, unlike Grimmjow, whose body had been mostly white. Also unlike Grimmjow, there was no hole within his torso.
His face had remained mostly the same, but it still took on changes similar to Grimmjow. His teeth, at least his four canines, were about half an inch longer than they had been before and they were a lot sharper. His ears had become like a cat's, pointed and covered in orange fur the same color as his hair. That orange color extended from his ears and went to his eyes, which had become like they were when he summoned his Hollow mask: completely black with yellow irises.
Over his forehead rested a crown-like piece of boney material, forming a border between his face and his hair. His hair itself was long, extending down his back and over the base of a thin but powerful looking tail. Despite his changes, there were still two things about him that were the same: He still held Tensa Zangetsu in his hand and, despite the color; he still held that same kind look in his eyes when he looked at Orihime.
"Are you alright Inoue-chan?" he asked again, and again using the honorific that he never used when he spoke to her. He smiled a small smile, showing off his new pointed teeth as he did. It was odd though, because it wasn't his normal smile. It was a caring smile… a loving smile.
Orihime couldn't help but blush at both the smile and the honorific. Not trusting her voice, she merely nodded.
Ichigo just continued to smile. "Good." Much to her disappointment he removed his arm from around her and stepped forward, allowing her to see the rest of his new body, the blades on the back of his legs and elbows giving off a slight shine from the light that reflected off of them, his new tail slowly twitching behind him.
"Inoue-chan, stay here." He turned back to her, still smiling. "We'll leave when I'm finished with him. You, me, and Nell-chan."
Nnoitra heard every word he said. And he laughed. "What was that? I think I had something in my ears! I could swear that I heard you say that you were going to walk out of here after you finish with me! What the fuck do you think you can do against me? You can't even fucking cut me!"
"Oh really?" Ichigo asked as his eyebrows rose. He then took on a feral grin that would have made Hichigo and Kenpachi proud. "Well we'll just have to see about that, won't we?"
Ichigo moved so fast that Nnoitra almost lost his head. He was able to block Ichigo at just the last second, but he was struggling to hold him back.
'What the hell is this shit? A minute ago he was as good as dead, and now he's strong as a fucking bull? Hell, he barely beat Grimmjow. So why the fuck am I having so much trouble now?'
Nnoitra's thoughts were interrupted when Ichigo pushed him back, his sword digging a large crevice into the blade of Nnoitra's weapon, just like Hiyori had done to Zangetsu when Ichigo first fought her. Ichigo looked at the damage done to the blade and his grin widened. It was starting to look like that of his other half lacking only the black teeth.
Actually, his thoughts were getting pretty close as well. 'Fucking yes! Why the fuck did I try to refuse this power? It's awesome!' He glanced at his new clawed hands and feet. 'Now let's see what I can really do!'
Ichigo charged at Nnoitra again, moving so fast that he kicked up sand in his wake and that Nnoitra never saw him. With his free hand, he took a swipe at Nnoitra's chest, taking away cloth, flesh, and a rather large amount of blood. The crimson liquid of life (or death in this case) sprayed forth from Nnoitra's wound, splashing over Ichigo's face and chest.
And what did Ichigo do?
He smiled. He smiled like the fucking Cheshire cat, his black and yellow eyes filled with glee.
Nnoitra was in shock with this new development. 'How the fuck did he cut me? I possess the strongest hierro of any Espada! He shouldn't even be able to scratch me, let alone do this!'
Nnoitra jumped as far away from Ichigo as he was able. As he looked at the newly transformed Shinigami in front of him, something new crept into his eyes. Something that he hadn't felt for the longest of times. Fear. 'What the fuck is he?'
"What the hell are you waiting for?" Ichigo suddenly spoke up, his voice soaking with excitement. He looked at Nnoitra, his eyes as wide as his smile. "Well? C'mon! You were so eager to kill me before! Why aren't you attacking me?"
'This boy…' Nnoitra thought, his eye widening.
"Well then, if you won't attack me, THEN I'LL JUST COME AFTER YOU!" He let out another feline roar before he charged again, once again moving fast enough to kick up a cloud of sand in his wake. And once again Nnoitra was barely able to block. After the initial strike, Ichigo started swinging his sword wildly, striking at Nnoitra like a madman. Between strikes of the sword, he swung his clawed hand.
Nnoitra was slowly pushed back. Small nicks and cracks were forced into the blade of his weapon. All the while, Ichigo smiled at the thought of spilling more of the Arrancar's blood.
Orihime watched the fight with fear. But it was not the fight that scared her, oh no. It was Ichigo and the way he was fighting.
'Kurosaki-kun… what's happening to you? Why are you doing this?' She started to tear up as she continued to watch Ichigo's onslaught against Nnoitra. 'Please Kurosaki-kun… please… go back… go back to how you were…'
Tesla was having other ideas though. "Nnoitra-sama!" He pulled his Zanpakutou from its sheath and ran to his better.
Nnoitra, who was still on the defensive, saw his fraccion's action and shouted out a warning, "Tesla you idiot, stay back! You can't do anything against him!"
Tesla didn't hear any of the words his master said. He kept running, and just before he was upon the two of them, he shouted out, "Dageki Daun, Beluga! (Strike Down, Tusked Armored Warrior)"
Sand and reiatsu swirled around him. A massive beast emerged from the cloud that was produced. The lower half of its body was that of an ox, with massively muscled legs and hooves, a short tail waving behind its body. The upper half was that of a man, with muscles looking like it had been carved from rock. Its head though was odd. It was covered in a bone mask that looked like the head of an ox, but instead of a pair of horns, a pair of long tusks jutted forth from under the mask while a long mane of hair extended from the back of the mask down the beast's back.
The massive creature moved with surprising speed considering its size. Using its remaining arm it moved to hit Ichigo who was still engaged in his bout with Nnoitra. A fist two times the size of Ichigo's head came down on the two combatants. It would have connected too, if Ichigo hadn't moved his free hand to intercept it. He stopped the oversized fist like it was a feather, while he blocked Nnoitra, who had taken the chance to try and strike Ichigo, with his sword.
Tesla's single good eye widened behind his mask. A punch in his awakened form was usually enough to level a small building. But this… this… Shinigami was able to stop his fist as if it was nothing more than an annoying insect. And he blocked his master's strike just the same. What had he become?
Ichigo face went from malicious grin to angry scowl in less than a second as he turned to Tesla. "You should have listened to him."
In the time that it took Tesla to blink (or wink), Ichigo laid a kick into Nnoitra's gut, making him fly back about fifty feet. Still holding Tesla's fist back, Ichigo took a look at his Zanpakutou. "Let's see how I do without this." he muttered out as he stabbed the black blade hilt side up into the white sand.
Meanwhile, Tesla was still pushing at the transformed Shinigami, trying to move his fist just a little bit. It was no use though as no matter how hard he pushed, he didn't so much as move an inch. And what's more, Ichigo was pretty much ignoring him. Well, at least until he turned to face the one whose fist he was holding back, a dangerous, angry look in his eye and a frown on his face.
"You've interrupted my fun…" he whispered out, his frown and scowl deepening as his reiatsu started to build. "I hoped you made peace with yourself."
Ichigo let loose a blast of reiatsu that made Tesla drop to his transformed knees. As soon as said knees hit the ground, Ichigo took an upward swipe with his now empty hands at the Arrancar, sending him flying back. While he was still in the air, Ichigo appeared above Tesla, spinning like a demented black and orange top before kicking Tesla to the ground. The sounds of flesh being struck and the breaking of bones sounded through the air with a sickening thud and then an even more nauseating crack.
Tesla could only scream as the pain wracked his body, his anguished Hollow cry echoing over the land. Ichigo appeared next to him, his reiatsu pulsing with anger.
As Tesla looked at his attacker and felt the reiatsu press down on his body, he realized something. Something that he should have realized when he watched the way this Shinigami fought his master. It was wild… It was brash… It was nothing compared to what he was feeling right now.
'He was toying with Nnoitra-sama…'
It was the last thought that he ever had as Ichigo stuck a clawed hand down through the beast's head. Tesla body disintegrated just as Grimmjow's had done when Nnoitra killed him, leaving a scowling Ichigo to watch.
Nnoitra looked at the scene in front of him, his fear gone. His face turned to a scowl as he watched the Shinigami stand and take Zangetsu in his hand once again. Ichigo turned back to the Arrancar, his grin set back into place. "Now where were we?"
Once again, Ichigo charged his opponent. Nnoitra dodged at the last second, suffering a small cut to the face. His tongue whipped from his mouth, blood red energy gathering at the tip. Nnoitra fired the Cero at point blank range.
Ichigo wasn't able to dodge the blast, and ended up taking it full in the face, propelling him back into one of the many broken buildings that littered the desert with enough force to level it.
"ICHIGO-KUN!" Orihime yelled, the previous fear that she had felt towards him forgotten.
Nnoitra just laughed. "HA! How do you like that Shinigami?"
There was no response. Of course, how could there be? He had taken a Cero blast straight to the face and was currently buried in rubble.
As Orihime looked on at what had happened to the Shinigami of her heart, tears welled up in her eyes once more. 'Please, don't be dead. Ichigo-kun…' she thought, again not realizing that she was using his first name. 'Please… I don't care how you've changed… not anymore… just please… don't leave me…'
'Hmph, fucking Shinigami. And to think I was worried.' Nnoitra thought, his whale grin once again upon his face.
Nnoitra would have kept grinning too, if the rubble that was currently burying the changed Shinigami hadn't exploded into a plume of dust and rock. Nnoitra looked on, his eye widening once again while Orihime merely watched, trying to quell the flow of her tears.
The dust cleared, and their was Ichigo. He was dusting himself off like nothing had happened. Hell, there wasn't even a scratch upon his newly armored skin. What's more, there was no indication that a Cero had even connected with him, except that the blood that had been sprayed over his face and chest was gone.
"Not bad Nnoitra!" he yelled out to the shocked Espada.
"No… fucking… way…" said Espada whispered out, still not believing it. The bastard had taken a Cero at point blank range, and he was still moving. It wasn't fucking possible.
Orihime still looked at Ichigo, her tears now dry, and her eyes filled with no small amount of relief.
"I gotta say, that blast was really something. It actually put a crick in my neck." He took a second to bend his neck, the bones letting off an audible crack before he wagged a finger at Nnoitra. "Well, c'mon, let's see that one more time."
Of course, Ichigo's taunt only helped to make Nnoitra angry. "DON'T GET SO FUCKING CONCEITED YOU BASTARD!" With that, he fired off another Cero at Ichigo who just stood there with Tensa Zangetsu resting on his shoulder lazily.
Orihime was about to use her powers. She knew that it was probably pointless, but maybe she could at least give Ichigo a few seconds. The blast was too close though. She was going to try anyway, but before she could, Ichigo held up his empty hand. The Cero struck his palm and exploded outward, its energy dissipating while Ichigo didn't so much as lose an eyelash.
Once again, Nnoitra was placed into a state of shock. Before, he had at least made the kid move. This time he didn't so much as twitch. Of course his shock didn't make him miss the cocky grin that was on Ichigo's face. 'Why that smug little bastard.' "What the hell are you smiling about boy?"
"Because now it's my turn." The hand that he had used to block the Cero was still up, it's clawed fingers bent in towards his palm. The black and red energy gathered into a ball the size of a baseball at first, tendrils of power extending out of it's form at it steadily increased in size to the size of Ichigo's torso.
Orihime looked at the orb of power, her mind flying back to his earlier fight with Grimmjow. 'That's…'
'Oh fucking hell.' Nnoitra thought.
"GRAN REY CERO! (Grand King's Cero)" The ball of reiatsu blasted forth from Ichigo's palm. Nnoitra had no time to move, but he tried anyway. Dodging right, he felt the blast dig into and disintegrate his left arm.
From their perch overlooking the battlefield, Halibel and her fraccion felt the shockwaves of the blast, the traces of reiatsu alone were enough to make the three weaker Arrancar women shiver in terror.
Of course, Halibel was shivering as well, but not from fear. The faint amounts of power rolled over her body sent chills through her spine and heat throughout her form, striking at her senses like a cobra strikes at its prey.
Whatever this power was, whoever it was coming from, she wanted to know. She wanted to see it, she wanted to feel it, and she wanted to hold it close. Very few think that power is sexy, and if they are powerful themselves, it is very difficult to find one with power great enough for them to desire and pursue.
Halibel herself was one of those few. In her eyes, power was the most alluring thing that she could find in any world. Until now, there was no one that she even considered powerful enough to have her. Of all the Espada, there was not a single male that would interest her. Aizen himself did not even interest her. Yes he was powerful, but he was too reserved in using it.
But this being… so powerful… so unrestrained with that power…so… so… perfect. The perfect being. The one who she would serve as diligently and as loyally as she was able, so long as they wished it.
Halibel shivered in anticipation as another shockwave rolled over her form. Apache saw her mistress shake just a little, but it was enough to warrant her concern. "Halibel-sama, why are you shaking? Surely this reiatsu is nothing compared to yours?"
Halibel merely eyed her fraccion, her eyelid resting half open in it's normal manner. "It is not your concern." she stated simply in her normal serious tone. That ended the whole conversation before it even started. Apache, Mila Rose, and Sun-Sun all knew better than to aggravate their mistress.
Halibel's thoughts came now in not the cool, calm manner that they always had, but in a needing, desiring manner. 'Please… whoever you are… enjoy your fight to your hearts content… and when you finish, come find your Halibel.'
Back on the battlefield, Nnoitra was out of breath, his body in no small amount of pain. His left arm was completely gone, his clothes singed from Ichigo's Cero, while he bled from the wounds that Ichigo had inflicted to his chest and face earlier.
"Well, and here I thought that might do you in," Ichigo said as he move Tensa Zangetsu from its resting place on his shoulder. "Looks like I get to enjoy the time it takes to kill you." He took on another distinctive Kenpachi-like grin.
Nnoitra panted out his response, his hair hanging over his face. "You little fuck… I ain't dyin'… not by… no way… I ain't… I ain't…" He raised his head, his eye full of rage. "I AIN'T GONNA FUCKING DIE LIKE THAT!"
With his remaining arm, he lifted his massive ax-like weapon above his head, his face still contorted with rage. "INORE! SANTA TERESA! (Pray, Sacred Crying Mantis)"
Once again, reiatsu and sand were thrown up across the field. The pressure blew back past Ichigo who just stood there with a rather bored look on his face. His eyes widened slightly however when he saw the shadow of Nnoitra's released form against the cloud of sand.
The cloud settled, revealing a newly transformed Nnoitra. His shirt was almost completely ripped away, revealing a muscled and newly armored chest. Two sets of arms replaced his missing left arm and his right arm, the two new sets armored and clawed, all four of them wielding an extremely large scythe. On his face, his eye patch had ripped away, revealing his Hollow hole where his left eye should have been. Surrounding the hole was a piece of boney material that extended down over his cheek, while a pointed set of teeth lined the outside of the hole. On the sides of his head, a pair of horns in the shape of a crescent moon grew, the one on the left slightly larger than the one on the right. What really caught Ichigo's attention however was that the wounds on his face and chest were sealing up before his eyes.
Nnoitra's whale grin returned to his face again. "So what do you think, huh Shinigami? How does it feel to face a true Espada in his released form?" Ichigo said nothing to Nnoitra's question. He merely stared at the four armed Espada, his face unreadable. "Well? Say something Shinigami!"
Again, there was no response. At least not at first. Three seconds later, he grinned so wide it looked like his face was going to split in half, his new tail swishing slowly back and forth behind him with excitement. "Now that's more like it! About time you quit holding back! Now I can have plenty of fun before I kill ya!"
Nnoitra frowned slightly. "…Is that right?" His frown turned to a look of pure rage and indignation. "You scrawny piece of fucking shit! If you think you're so fucking tough, then come and kill me!"
Ichigo didn't need to be told twice, as he rushed Nnoitra as soon as the words were out of his mouth. However, Nnoitra was much more prepared than he was last time. As soon as Ichigo made it within striking distance, he swung one of his giant scythes with immense force, connecting with Ichigo's black armored flesh. There was a clang as the blade connected.
Nnoitra grinned, thinking that he had cut him. It was not so, as Ichigo stood there looking at the blade, his face once again unreadable. A loud crack ensued through the air as the blade's tip cracked slightly, thin fractures running up the weapon.
Upon seeing the results of his attack, Nnoitra's eye widened. The boy's skin was hard enough to crack the blades of his awakened form. This fact brought a new realization to the mind of the four armed Arrancar, that being he'd have to pump as much reiatsu into the blades as he possibly could just to cut the boy. That in turn brought up another realization; it meant that the boy was strong enough to survive whatever attacks Nnoitra threw at him, which would provide an even better fight. As all that info filtered into Nnoitra's brain, he could only do one thing.
He grinned a grin so wide that it mirrored the one that Ichigo had thrown him before he rushed him. The very same grin the boy was sporting even now.
"Now that's what I want to see! C'mon Nnoitra, let's see what you got!"
The two of them started again after that. To any who appreciated a good battle, this would have made a wonderful sight. To most, it looked like a dance of whirling blades and arms as Ichigo blocked, alternating between his sword and the blades on his elbows, and Nnoitra swung at him, his blades flashing through the air like lightning.
Ichigo finally made it through the barrage of blades, slicing through armor and flesh, separating one of Nnoitra's right arms from his body before placing clawed feet against Nnoitra's chest and jumping back, pushing Nnoitra away in the process.
"…Why you… little…" he panted out, his arm seeping blood and his face dripping sweat.
Ichigo just looked bored now. "Dammit. And here I thought you might be more of a challenge for me. Oh well, one arm down, three to go."
Nnoitra actually started to laugh. "Three to go huh? You're a riot Shinigami." He grinned. "Oh no, you ain't gonna get the rest of my arms. Hell will fucking freeze over before that happens." He paused for a moment, then smirked. "Actually, you won't even get the first arm!" As he spoke, a large mass began sprouting from the stump of the arm that Ichigo had cut off that unfolded to reveal a brand new arm. "You're gonna die by all for of my arms!"
He rushed at Ichigo again, his scythes slicing through the air as the four massive blades descended on Ichigo. The teen barely caught two of them in clawed hands in time and the third with his armored tail. As the fourth was about to come down on his head, Ichigo did the only thing that he could think of.
Moving his head out of the way, he turned his head sideways so that the blade just barely passed in front of his face and bit into the blade, his long canines scraping against the metal.
He kept his grin though as he looked at Nnoitra's shocked face. "You better have another blade, because this one is mine!" he said through a mouthful of metal. With a swift turn of his head, he broke the blade, small pieces of metal from the fracture raining to the sand below.
With the overlarge blade still between his teeth, he jumped ahead to strike at Nnoitra, who brought the handles of his blades up to block. Ichigo let the blade fall from his mouth, his grin fading. "It figures. You too weak to beat me."
That singular comment threw Nnoitra once again into a blackened pit of anger. "FUCK YOU! YOU'RE THE WEAK ONE HERE!" In a last ditch effort to strike at Ichigo, Nnoitra's last set of arms sprouted from his sides in order to pierce through Ichigo's armored hide. It was to no avail though, as his clawed hands didn't so much as scratch the pitch black body covering.
Nnoitra would have pulled those arms back to bring out his last two scythes from their wrists, but Ichigo wasn't going to have it. Even though he was immensely enjoying this fight, it was time to bring it to an end. He grabbed the two arms in of his hand and squeezed. Any and all of the bones in the forearm snapped like twigs under Ichigo's immense strength.
Glaring up at the Shinigami in front of him, the realization of his situation hit him like a ton of bricks. It should have hit him earlier while they were fighting, but now it all came back to him. The blocking, the countering, and even the fact that Ichigo had snapped his blade in half with his bare teeth.
Nnoitra had pumped so much reiatsu into that blade that even Ulquiorra would have needed to use his sword to counter the strike. Despite that, he looked over Ichigo's armored body and for the first time really took in what was before him.
There wasn't a scratch to be seen. And just now, when he had bitten the blade… he'd bitten through it like it was made of freaking candy. Like it was made to be eaten.
Nnoitra thought Ichigo was going to kill him right then and there. To say that he was surprised when Ichigo let go of his arms and started walking away would have been an understatement. He jumped to his feet, anger pulsing. "Where the fuck are you going? We're not finished yet!"
Ichigo just turned to him, looking bored but still scowling. "There's no real point in killing you. I've had my fun, and I know that I can kill you, but I've got friends to save." He paused and lifted a clawed hand to look at it. He clenched the hand into a fist as he spoke out, "It's why I took this power in the first place." He resumed his walk back to where Orihime was standing, his tail swishing slowly. "Goodbye, Nnoitra Jiruga."
The anger in him reached new heights as he looked at Ichigo's retreating back. "You little fuck! Get back here! We're not done!" Much to his chagrin, Ichigo just continued to walk. Despite the pain in his lower arms, he bent his wrists so that his last set of scythes came forth. Ichigo looked back, his face back in its normal scowl, his black and yellow eyes flashing dangerously. "Stay down Nnoitra. You can't beat me."
"FUCK YOU! NOW COME ON AND FIGHT ME!" Ichigo didn't so much as move. "WHAT'S WRONG SHINIGAMI? ARE YOU AFRAID OF ME? IS THAT IT? ARE YOU FUCKING SCARED OF ME?"
Once again, Ichigo didn't respond. Though he had enjoyed the fight immensely, this guy was taking things too damn far. He just wanted to keep fighting, despite the fact that there was no chance for him to win. What could Ichigo do but feel sad for him, the pitying look working its way into his eyes.
Nnoitra saw that look. A look he had seen so many times before. It only helped to make his anger reach its maximum. "Don't give me that look…" he said, his eye widening and his form shaking with rage. He jumped ahead, all of his blades raised. "DON'T FUCKING PITY ME YOU GODDAMN BASTARD!"
In his rage, Nnoitra's mind flashed back to his days as the 8th Espada, to the time he had been saved by Neliel Tu Oderschvank.
FLASHBACK/
Nnoitra lay staring up at the sky, the crescent moon shining down on the white sands of Hueco Mundo. Shifting his gaze, the form of Neliel Tu Oderschvank came into view. She stared down at him, her face the essence of calmness.
"…Why'd ya help me?" he asked.
Nell just looked at him, her face still calm. "I didn't "help you". I simply prevented the Espada from losing a member by putting an end to your suicidal conduct."
Nnoitra flipped himself over, his expression one of annoyance as he glared at the green haired Arrancar. "… Neliel, I can't fuckin' stand you. I'm sure you know that well enough. So why? Why do you keep followin' me around like this?"
Once again, Nel turned a calm stare to the lanky Arrancar on the ground. For a moment, she said nothing. Then she turned away, but threw a pitying look at him as she said, "It is because you are weaker than I." Nnoitra's eye widened slightly at her words.
/End Flashback
'I won't be fucking pitied!' Nnoitra screamed in his head. 'Especially not by some piece of shit Shinigami!'
It would be the last thought he ever had. As he descended with his blades raised, his mind still in a state of fury, he never saw Ichigo move. The only thing he saw was the flash of the pitch black blade slicing trough the handles of his own blades before it came down the center of his face.
He felt it; the pain as the blade sliced him in half from the top of his head to the area between his legs. He and his weapons fell to the ground in pieces. It was over. Nnoitra had received the death he had always wanted: Death at the hands of one stronger than he. Someone who would give him death in battle.
Ichigo just looked down at the Arrancar as he started to disappear, his tail once again twitching from side to side. 'You should have listened to me, Nnoitra.'
Just as he was about to disappear completely, Nnoitra's body reverted to what it had been like before he had released his weapon. The weapon itself reformed and lay in the sand, the gigantic ax-like weapon with the large chain attached to the end of the staff now without an owner. Ichigo just looked at it for a moment before turning to walk back to Orihime.
Said girl though was in a bit of a dilemma at the moment. While she was relieved at the fact that Ichigo was okay her emotions were in a state of turmoil. One half of her was remembering what he had been like during his fight. That half of her wanted nothing more than to back away in fear of what she had seen.
The other half though wanted to do something that it had been waiting to do for a long time. And as he continued to approach, the latter of the two feelings was starting to override the former. She didn't know what it was at first, but there was something about his new form that just made her feel so… calm, so… secure, like she knew that he would always be there for her.
Ichigo stopped in front of her, his black and yellow eyes scanning her form. He wasn't sure what brought it to his mind right then, but she had a great body. His eyes lingered a little longer than was probably necessary over her chest and hips, but they soon made their way to her face.
A rosy blush was painted over her face as he took in her features. Small pink lips rested beneath a petite nose, perfectly centered on her face between her red tresses. When his eyes met hers though, they ceased their movement. Staring deep into her auburn brown eyes, he became lost, they were so beautiful. Staring deeper still, he saw it; the longing she felt for him rising to the surface.
"Ichigo…kun." she whispered out, her hands up past his ears to grip his now long orange hair. He went willingly when he felt her tug at his long locks of hair. She pulled him into a soft kiss, her eyes closed and her heart fluttering.
Ichigo was fairing a little better in that department. Though his eyes had widened at first, they slowly closed. Dropping Tensa Zangetsu to the sand, he wrapped a clawed hand around her waist while the other moved to the middle of her back, bringing her closer and closer.
The two of them broke the kiss, and Orihime started to tear up. She rested her head on the little bit of his chest that wasn't covered up by the black, skin-like armor. Her tears dripped down his skin while he rested a clawed hand in her hair, lightly stroking the beautiful red tresses. He did not say a word.
"Ichigo-kun…" she whispered again, "I… I love you. I've loved you for as long as I can remember."
Again, Ichigo said not a single word. He just ran a clawed hand through her hair while she sobbed against his chest, her true feelings making themselves known.
"When I heard that you were coming to rescue me, I was so happy. But at the same time, I was so worried. You were risking your life to save me. All of you." She continued to sob while she spoke.
"When you put on that mask…you're eyes changed. I… I was afraid." she sobbed. "It was like it wasn't you anymore. But I still worried. You were getting hurt so badly, just to save me."
Ichigo still remained silent.
"When he… when Nnoitra hit you with that blast… I thought you were… That you might have…" Not able to handle it anymore, Orihime broke down and cried harder. "Ichigo-kun! I thought I had lost you! Please… don't fight anymore! Don't get hurt anymore! Just please… please don't leave me…"
Ichigo felt something in his heart break at that moment. She was so worried about him. She didn't care what he became, what he looked like, or what he did. She just wanted him to live.
"Orihime-chan…" he whispered out, making her raise her head so that she stared into his black and yellow eyes, her own red and puffy from shed tears. The look on his face was a soft one. "I'm sorry I made you worry." He placed a hand on her cheek. "But I can't stop fighting. Not yet. You won't be safe until Aizen is stopped. Until that happens, I have to fight."
Orihime wanted to cry again at hearing those words. He was going to keep fighting, just to keep her out of harms way for good. She started to tremble. She didn't want that. His safety was the most important thing in the world to her. She wasn't worth that.
Ichigo felt her tremble under his hold and read the emotions in her eyes. "Orihime-chan, don't worry about me. I'll be fine. At least if I have you close to me."
Time and the world stopped right then and there for the young red haired healer. He had just said the one thing that she had always wanted to hear from the boy's mouth.
He wasn't done either. "Orihime-chan, I'm sorry that I never noticed your love before, but are you sure I'm what you want?" Orihime looked confused at those words. "Are you sure that you want to love someone…" he paused to indicate himself, mainly his new body, "…like this?"
Orihime didn't say anything. Instead, she just jumped up and kissed him again, this one far more heated and demanding than the previous one. Ichigo's eyes only widened when he felt her tongue slip into his mouth, running over his now razor sharp canines and tangling with his own. Who knew that Orihime had it in her?
He was so surprised that he fell back into the white sand, while he gave into the kiss, his clawed hands exploring every inch of her that he could take it. A low rumble made itself known from deep within his chest, which continued on as they progressed. If either of them had noticed it, they both would have known that he was purring.
When they parted, Orihime was blushing and panting, surprised by her own actions. She still managed to say, "Yes. Ichigo-kun, I love you, no matter what you're like. But what about you? Would you want to be with someone like me?"
Ichigo didn't respond in the same way as Orihime. He merely placed his clawed hand back on her cheek, smiled a tender smile, and said, "I'm all yours, my hime (princess)."
Orihime started to cry again, this time tears of happiness. She brought him into another kiss, this one like the first: chaste and innocent. 'Thank you, Ichigo-kun.'
Said kiss would have continued too, if Orihime hadn't bolted straight up, a heavy blush on her cheeks and a small "eep" escaping her lips as she felt something rub across her backside. She turned her head to see Ichigo's tail stroking her round bottom through the white Arrancar outfit she was wearing.
She turned back to the Shinigami under her, her voice little more than a sputtering mess. "I-I-Ichigo-kun?"
"What?" he asked. "Just appreciating my cute little Hime-chan." Orihime felt his tail press against her just a little harder. "Hmm, not bad at all." A smirk followed his words.
As he stared at her, he couldn't help but wonder if there was a color as dark red as the one that her face was turning. Hell, her hair looked pretty pale in comparison. It was about to get a little darker though.
"Hime-chan, would you mind getting off of me? Chad and Rukia need help, and I can't do that with you straddling me."
Orihime looked down to see that she was doing just that. The dark red color turned so dark enough to make a strawberry sick with envy as she jumped to her feet, careful not to step on him. "I'm-I'm s-sorry Ichigo-kun. I just- I didn't mean to… Ohhh." Her hands were on her cheeks, trying desperately to hide the blush adorning her face.
Ichigo simply got up, his face set into a smile. 'Kami, she's cute when she blushes.'
"You got that right King. But then again, I was paying more attention to that rack and that fine ass of hers."
Ichigo couldn't help but scowl as he heard his other half speak up. 'What do you want?'
He could practically feel the smirk on his other's face. "Well, I figured I'd give you a little info on this new body of yours. But if you're gonna be rude about it there Kingy, then I might as well keep it to myself."
Ichigo sighed. His other had always been trouble before, and he figured that now would be no different. But then again, he was one of the two responsible for his little change, so he might as well hear him out. 'Like what?'
"That's better. Now, the power from that oversized hairball combined with mine."
'So?'
"So no more Hollow mask King. You get the body instead, but you keep the eyes. And the jump in reiatsu makes it so you can't reseal it."
'Great, just what I want to hear. I'm stuck like this'
"The armor can come off though."
'… Come again?'
"The armor comes off. What are you King, fucking deaf?"
'You tell me this now? How do I get it off?"
"Calm the fuck down Kingy! You just have to think that you want it off, and it basically retracts. It's actually easier for you to keep it on all the time. The ears, eyes, teeth, and hair are permanent though. Also, I'd advise keeping it on right now."
That one made Ichigo's eyebrow raise right then. '…Why?'
"Well, if you don't, then that girl's gonna faint from blood loss when she see's your dick."
'…'
"…"
'… Are you telling me I'm NAKED under this?'
"Yep. Your clothes shredded when you changed."
'Fucking great.'
"Quit complaining King, and just fucking enjoy your new body! Besides, your honey pie is waiting."
"Ichigo-kun?"
Ichigo snapped out of the state he had been in. He just smiled at her and asked, "Something wrong, Hime-chan?", his conversation with his other half pushed from his mind.
Orihime looked at him for a moment. In a minutes time, his face had gone through a number of expressions, ranging from annoyed to disbelieving, But as soon as he smiled and she heard his voice, she simply smile back and said, "It's nothing."
"Good. Now where's Nell-chan? We have to go."
They both looked around, realizing that neither of them had seen Nell since Nnoitra had arrived. Ichigo picked up faint sounds of movement from behind a large pile of rumble however. Moving to look, he found Nell. She was passed out, her breathing labored and her green hair matted with sweat.
"Nel-chan," he whispered, shaking her a little in hopes of rousing her from her sleep. "Nel-chan!"
The little Arrancar girl opened her eyes ever so much. "Ichigo… you're okay. I'm tho glad." She fell back into slumber, her breathing still very labored for some reason.
He picked her up and walked back to Orihime, who was instantly concerned for the small child. "Ichigo-kun, what's wrong with her?"
"I don't know," he said, his voice a little downtrodden, "but we don't have that much time to worry for her right now." He placed Nell in Orihime's arms. "Hime-chan, hold onto her as tightly as you can. This is going to be a little rough."
Before she could ask what he meant, she found herself on his back, his tail and one of his hands holding her firmly in place, he picked up Tensa Zangetsu in his free hand, and they were off. They tore across the sand, their forms little more than a blur due to Ichigo's speed.
While he ran, Orihime made not a sound. She was not afraid. She was just so glad that Ichigo was hers. She grasped him as tightly as she could, all the while holding the young Arrancar that was Nel close to herself.
From atop their perch, Halibel and her fraccion looked over the battlefield. The battle was over. They could no longer feel Nnoitra's reiatsu.
"Nnoitra's… dead?" Sun-Sun whispered a little disbelievingly. The Arrancar with the self-proclaimed strongest hierro was actually dead.
Of course, the fact didn't bother all of them that much.
"Good riddance." Apache said with a snort. "That bastard had it coming. He was too conceited for his own good."
"Yep," Mila Rose said.
Hell froze over at that moment. The two of them had actually agreed on something. Mila wasn't done though.
"But what about that power that we felt? That can't be normal."
"Of course it could," Apache said. "There could be a spiritual being that strong."
"No way!" Mila Rose said back. "There's no way something like that could exist! At least not naturally."
In Hell, Satan was welcoming back the warmth and scalding molten rock. Things were back to normal.
Halibel stopped there arguing though. "Quiet you two." They immediately shut up, while she turned her gaze forward again, her eyes watching the sand.
"What's wrong Halibel-sama?" Sun-Sun asked.
"We have a guest coming our way." she responded back.
The three looked out over the white sands to see a cloud of it being kicked up, a black, white, and orange blur at the forefront of the cloud. That blur suddenly went airborne, and made its way straight for their perch.
The three fraccion moved out of the way while Halibel remained rooted to her spot. The blur came down, landing in the spot directly in front of her with a slight scraping noise as claws dug into at the ground to anchor. The thing coming to a complete stop and standing to its full height, allowing Halibel to get a good look at it. She noted the young woman that she knew to be Inoue Orihime on its back, along with an even younger looking Arrancar child. She was a little more interested in the figure himself.
He was tall, standing just a little taller than herself. To her, he looked like Grimmjow, but the face and color scheme was completely wrong. His body was that of Grimmjow's released form, but it was solid black, and his hair and ears were orange. Instead of teal eyes, his were black, both in sclera and pupil, while his irises were bright yellow. In his hand, he carried a black Zanpakutou with a short chain hanging from the end of the hilt, one she had never seen before.
Ichigo would have kept going if he hadn't noticed the four Arrancar women in front of him. As soon as he saw them, he held up his sword.
"Get out of the way." he said, "I'm not in the habit of fighting women, but I swear if you try to stop me, I'll cut you down." While he said this, he was secretly hoping that they would attack him. He wanted to have a little more fun so he unleashed a wave of his reiatsu, sending three of them to their knees with a cold sweat covering their skin as they looked at him in fear.
Halibel though, was still on her feet, her eyes wide. This was it. This was the same reiatsu that she had felt earlier. And this person was its source. She started walking closer to the black armored figure.
Ichigo tensed slightly as she drew herself closer to him. The fact that she wasn't on the ground like the other three meant she must be at least as strong as Nnoitra. And if that was the case, that meant she was an Espada. Ichigo was mentally grinning. If she was an Espada, then he was going to have one hell of another fight. Of course, that thought didn't stop him from looking over her scantily clad form.
Halibel watched his eyes travel over her body. She smiled under her collar, glad that he appreciated her magnificent form, but she could also see that he was still tense. Despite that she continued to step closer.
Orihime watched from Ichigo's back, her eyes on the Arrancar woman in front of her. She had seen her several times since her arrival at Las Noches, but never spoken to her. From what she could tell, the woman didn't speak much, and she always had a look on her face like she was bored with the goings on around her. But now she had an interested look on what could be seen of her face, a look within her vibrant green eyes that Orihime recognized.
Following the gaze of the dark-skinned woman Orihime felt her breath hitch. She was staring at Ichigo…with the same look that she herself had given Ichigo so many times before.
Halibel stopped less than a foot from Ichigo, her eyes still boring into his own. He was still very tense but she still asked, "What is your name?"
Ichigo was a little take aback by the question. She made no move to attack him, or any other for that matter. She simply stood there, her arms crossed under her generous, and half exposed assets while she stared at him. It took him a minute to do it, but he finally answered. "…Kurosaki Ichigo. Why do you want to know?"
Her response was to pull her collar down, exposing her face to him, an act that she hadn't even done for Aizen himself. Her fraccion just looked on, all of them shocked. Even they had never seen what their mistress looked like under her collar, and they were always with her.
Ichigo stared down at her beautiful face with something between fascination and shock. She looked a little like Yoruichi in his opinion, save for the color of her hair and eyes, as well as the fact that Yoruichi tied her hair in a single ponytail, while this woman left most of her hair undone and tied the rest into three smaller ponytails. Looking over her cheeks, he saw the thing that distinctly marked her as an Arrancar. On both of her cheeks was what appeared to be one-half of the unhinged, lower jaw of a snake. The two bones extended down from just below her eyes and the back half of her cheeks to where it ended just behind her chin, many thin, tiny teeth lining the two jaw bones. At the base of her neck, her Hollow hole was clearly visible.
"I simply wish to know." She said, taking another step closer to him, until she was almost pressing against him. A beautiful smile adorned her face as she did.
Orihime looked at Ichigo's face, horrified to see that he was blushing, even though he had just kissed her mere moments ago.
Ichigo's blush gave way though, and he managed to find his voice. "Fine, you know my name. Now what am I supposed to call you?"
Halibel's raised her eyebrows and her dusky cocoa cheeks gained a rosy tint. It was a strange sight for Ichigo to see an embarrassed Arrancar. Though he was still somewhat tense at this point, his sword was slowly starting to lower. It was sitting just below his waist now, the tip of the blade pointed towards the ground.
Halibel's fraccion watched their mistress like hawks. This was not the Halibel that they knew. She did not blush, at least as far as they knew. What's more, she did not speak like this. Hell, she barely spoke at all. Of all of them though, Apache was the first to spot the look in their mistress' eyes.
"No…no… it's not possible." Mila Rose picked up on the whisperings of her horned rival.
"What the hell are you going on about?"
"Look at Halibel-sama's eyes."
Mila looked and then turned back to Apache. "What about them?"
"Are you blind? Look at the way she's looking at him!"
Mila turned back to her mistress, looking more closely now between the two figures, paying closer to how Halibel was looking at the being in front of her. And then it clicked. "No. No way. No fucking way in Hell."
"But just look at her! It has to be!"
"It's not possible! Halibel-sama would never-"
"Yes she would!"
"No she wouldn't!"
"Yes!"
"No!"
Sun-Sun ignored the two of them. She merely looked at her mistress. "Halibel-sama…"
Halibel's blushed disappeared, another smile taking its place. "Please forgive me. It is rude to ask one's name without first giving your own." She stepped as close as she could to him as she could, pressing herself against his form and sliding her hands up his chest, heading for his neck. "My name is Halibel."
As soon as the words were out of her mouth, Ichigo was tugged by his orange hair into a rather hot kiss. If the initial kiss hadn't surprised him, then the tongue that slid past his lips did. He barely moved at first, the only action his body made being the loosening of his clawed fingers around Tensa Zangetsu's hilt, making it fall to the ground with a small clang.
The next action was one that he took without thought or restraint; it just felt right. The empty hand made it's way to the back of Halibel's blonde head and his own tongue made it's way into the kiss, fighting against her own for dominance.
Behind her back, two of her three fraccion had their jaws on the floor. The last of them merely stared at the scene with wide eyes and a hand covering her mouth. From Ichigo's back, Orihime just looked at the scene for second, her face unreadable. But then she did something very odd. She smiled.
From inside Ichigo, Hichigo was watching, and he was pretty surprised. "Whoa. Go King."
The need for air finally forced the two of them apart. Ichigo panted slightly, but he never took his eyes off the Arrancar woman.
Halibel just continued to smile, her gaze still locked with his and her arms still around his neck. "My name is Halibel…" she said again, "and I am at your service, Ichigo-sama."
Omake: Urahara's Soapbox
*Urahara grins and waves*
"Hello and welcome back fellow readers, we have a special specim-er guest to help with today's lesson."
*Curtain drops to reveal a bound and gagged Ichigo Kurosaki*
"Now, in today's chapter you witnessed Ichigo's transformation. Last time we touched on the subject of Zanpakutou exchanging owners, but today we're going to go more in depth," Urahara explains as he shoos away a chainsaw wielding Jinta before turning back to the audience.
"First the armor, yes it's black unlike Grimmjow's white armor. The reason for this is mainly creative licensing and because the author thought it would look better."
*Thunder booms overhead*
"Another reason however is that tiny matter we touched on before, how the blade will become what is most suited for its new master," Urahara quickly adds with a nervous chuckle before pointing at the corpse of Grimmjow.
"You will notice that our recently departed friend here, like all Arrancar, and by extension hollows in general have a white motif, while Shinigami for the most part go for the traditional black ensemble. This is because of their nature. White denotes absence, lack if you will, while black represents completeness. Since our friend Ichigo here is a plus, a whole soul, his armor is black."
Scrunching his nose, Urahara motions for Ururu and Jinta to remove Grimmjow's corpse before the stench spreads to his store.
"Now, some of you might be wondering about Ichigo's new powers, which is understandable. While I can't give away exact details, I can tell you this. Gaining Pantera has granted Ichigo the powers of a hollow, but not exactly the powers of Grimmjow. Ichigo now has the physical capabilities of the former Espada such as the claws, darts, Sonido, Cero and Bala, but special unique attacks are just that, unique attacks. They are the creation of the individual formed by using their natural abilities and imagination. So Ichigo won't be using Desgarrón in this story as that was something Grimmjow came up with on his own."
*Alarm buzzes*
Sighing, Urahara frowns.
"I know today's lesson was short but that's all I have time for, that and there was little that needed explaining in this chapter. I'm a man of science, not a psychiatrist so I have no idea what was going through Orihime's mind when she smiled at Ichigo and Halibel."
"I look forward to our next meeting, but until then-"
*series of crashes*
"Boss! We have a problem!"
*Room is quickly filled with mysterious blue smoke while everyone evacuates the building, leaving the tied and gagged Ichigo behind*
Okay, I know that it's kind of Abrupt, but I felt that this would be a good place to stop. You know, Halibel dropping that one on Ichigo and her Fraccion like that. Next time, we meet up with the other characters, as well as a certain spike-haired, fight crazy Shinigami captain.
Now I gotta go. I've got the next chapter to work on, and I have chapters for other stories to work on, and I also have a full time job as well, so I am a very busy person. I'll update when I can. Bye for now! SnK.