(A/N: hey so I know that Kaida seems like a huge bitch, but she's really not. She's just a little…rough around the edges. She has her good points too, I mean, the whole reason she got mad at renji was cause he hurt Yoruichi, who's a good friend of Kaida's. Also, I don't hate Renji, really I don't. it was just a part of the plot, to get the story moving and such.)
Kaida skidded to a halt as the reiatsu in the area skyrocketed, signaling to Kaida that she was in the right place. She stood in the middle of the park near Ichigo Kurosaki's house. The whole area was completely trashed, just as Renji had said; the ground was torn up, exposing the black soil hidden beneath the lush cover of grass, the fence surrounding the baseball field that Kaida saw Ichigo's baby sister Karin play in with her friends was contorted and dented, with a distinct bend at the one point, where it seemed someone had been thrown. Another reiatsu sped up behind her, and she spun around to come face to face with Renji, who was breathing heavily from the exertion of trying to catch up to the former captain. "Where is Ichigo?" Kaida questioned, just as said carrot top came tearing between the two, forcing them to jump out of the way as he gathered himself and leapt into the sky, where, as Kaida could now see, a man with electric blue hair standing cockily above them. He was turned away from the two shinigami so that they couldn't see the side of his face. He shoved his hands in the pockets of his hakama pants while he leaned forward slightly, taunting the boy with a smirk, waiting for Ichigo to make a move. With a roar, Ichigo launched himself at the strange man. He sidestepped to avoid the attack, twisting his toned body in the process, so that Kaida could finally make out all of his facial features. He had manic cerulean eyes, the color strangely reminiscent of her own; his mouth was turned up in a sadistic smirk. But what really caught Kaida's attention was the bone fragment set along his jaw, sporting sharp jagged teeth and rising to graze his cheek. So this was one of the arrancar that was causing such a commotion in Soul Society. Kaida narrowed her eyes, a frown tugging at her lips.
Suddenly, the arrancar glanced down at the woman as if he'd suddenly realized she was there. His smirk grew even more prominent on his features as he recognized the captain's haori that Kaida was outfitted in. he dropped from the air - leaving a bewildered Ichigo behind - to land directly in front of the woman who narrowed her eyes even further, glaring at the man before her menacingly. "What's your name, arrancar? I like to know the names of the ones I kill." Kaida stated, her eyes beginning to gleam with the thought of a battle.
The blue haired man snickered at the female's cockiness. She sure had guts, this one. She'd be fun to kill if she could back up her big words. She probably could from the look of it; if her captain's haori was any indication. That feral gleam in her eyes only served to add to her potential as a fighter. She had a long, lean, lithe body (so many l words lol) and toned muscles rippled under her shihakusho. The arrancar's grin twisted into a full blown sadistic smile at the thought of fighting this new opponent. His battle with the orange haired boy could wait; he had another game to play. He sauntered up to the female, noticing her muscles tense in anticipation of an attack. "the name is Grimmjow, Sexta Espada, and it's the last you'll ever hear before you die." he announced proudly before shooting forward, arm outstretched, ready to pierce Kaida's chest.
Now Kaida was sporting a battle crazed smile of her own. She leapt out of the way of Grimmjow's attack, spinning in the air to lash out her leg to catch Grimmjow in the chest with her foot and send him crashing to the ground. He got up growling now as debris swirled around his form and a trickle of scarlet blood ran from his hairline. "Bitch," he snarled, swiping the blood away from his eyes. Kaida just shrugged her shoulders, leaning forward to attack again and grinning at the man across from her tauntingly. Grimmjow lunged again, aiming for the shinigami's throat. Kaida leapt upwards, taking to the sky. She shrugged out of her haori, tossing it down in Renji's visibly shocked face.
"Take care of that for me will ya, eyebrows?" she called out carelessly, rolling her shoulder back to work out any kinks.
Renji gaped at her "You're fighting without your haori? You can't do that Rurani-taicho!" He yelled, clutching the haori as if it were a sacred relic rather than a simple haori.
"I ain't riskin' my life for some piece of cloth," Kaida growled. "It'll just get in the way, and it means nothing to me now," Renji said nothing to that, knowing that it was a rather sensitive subject for the woman.
She turned away from the red head, pulling her zanpakuto from the sheathe strapped to her back. "Time to get serious I guess…." she muttered, running her hand lightly along the flat of the blade. As she ran her hand along it, the blade extended under her fingertips. It had a smooth edge, tapering out farther than most other zanpakuto would. It extended as long as Ichigo's and the metallic silver was surrounded by a soft yellow glow. The hilt was tied off with a yellow ribbon that flowed off the guard and swirled around Kaida. She lifted the blade up, slinging it behind her shoulder nonchalantly. "Alrighty then, Grimmy. Give it your all so ya can die with pride."
"I won't be the one to die here!" Grimmjow shouted, twitching but otherwise ignoring the nickname before pulling his arm back like he was about to throw something. A bright red glow emanated from his hand, bathing everything around the blue haired man in an eerie blood red color. The light rocketed from his hand, speeding towards the girl who merely raised her arm to absorb it in her own hand. It flashed yellow before disappearing into her skin. The light on her zanpauto rippled red briefly before returning to its original yellow hue.
"Wha-what the…." Ichigo stuttered, standing with Renji on the ground under Kaida's airborne battlefield. "What was that?"
Renji didn't look at Ichigo when he answered "Rurani-taicho's zanpakuto is a light centered sword. It can absorb any light it comes in contact with and then use it against her opponent." Ichigo stared at Renji, then up at Kaida, whose features had reverted back to a serious expression as she watched Grimmjow
Grimmjow sported an uncaring frown on his face, as if it were only a minor setback that one of his major attacks was useless against this woman. "Che, sounds like a pretty pathetic ability. What kind of damage could light do?"
"You say that, but what is a cero ray but light?" Kaida retorted, swinging her sword around to point the tip at Grimmjow's chest. "I'll just have to show you my shikai to make you understand then," She decided, her features retaining the serious nature from when the cero was fired at her. The zanpakuto's light flared again, illuminating Kaida and Grimmjow's face amidst the shadows of dusk. A light wind rippled through their hair, causing Kaida's to billow out gently behind her and Grimmjow's to become slightly ruffled. He pulled out his Pantera, positioning it in a guard stance. "Reach into the hearts of the fallen, Ketatamashiite," she called out. Light burst out in all directions, like a firework. One bar phased through Pantera, piercing Grimmjow in the chest. He was flung back across the park, the light completely enveloping his body.
"Wha-what the hell?" He shouted furiously, trying futilely to rub the light from his skin.
"Tell me something, Espada." Kaida called out, voice reverberating with a deeper undertone, as if someone else was speaking along with her. "What is it you fear most?" Her eyes darkened several shades, becoming such a dark blue that they almost appeared black. "What is it that makes you feel shattered, useless, helpless? There's no light in this world, Espada. There is nothing, nothing worth existing for," The light around Grimmjow flared even brighter, a blinding ray piercing the eyes of all who looked at it.
On the ground, Renji and Ichigo shielded their eyes from the onslaught of light. Beneath his elbow, Ichigo peered out and was barely able to make out Grimmjow's body writhing in silent pain from the radiance that enveloped him. "What's going on?" Ichigo shouted as the winds picked up, shihakusho flapping wildly around his ankles.
Renji stared at the former captain, shock registering on his face. "I-I don't know!" he yelled back. "This has never happened before!"
A voice spoke up behind the two "Not that you've seen, anyway,"
Ichigo and Renji jumped at the noise, rounding on the intruder and drawing their zanpakuto in unison. Urahara stared back at them, his hat somehow remaining on his head even with the winds screaming around him. His face was uncharacteristically serious as he regarded the woman above him. She was nothing like the Kaida he knew. Kaida didn't give in to her emotions in front of others. Many said that made her strong, but Urahara pitied her for not having the courage to open up to anyone. Yet here she was, all her conflicting feelings pouring out to a complete stranger. There was only one cause for this; he hated what it did to her, but it was a necessary evil. He glanced at the boys now staring at him rather than Kaida, expectantly waiting for an explanation. "Her shikai," he told them, closing his eyes to the sudden confusion that played across the other shinigami' faces. "Her attack allows her to expose the darkness of the heart of her opponent. It's incredibly strong, but it has its setbacks," Urahara explained vaguely, only adding to the confusion.
"Hat and Clogs…. What do you mean by setbacks?" Ichigo asked, his face falling into a concerned frown. Urahara gazed at him for a moment before answering.
"If her attack exposes the darkness of the heart, that means she must endure the emotions that come along with it herself on top of her own feelings. If the opponent's emotions are powerful enough, they can consume her mind, like right now," Urahara muttered. Ichigo's eyes widened at this, turning his head to look up at the woman above him. Her eyes seemed clouded with pain, and she was doubled over as if someone had kicked her in the gut. Her screams resonated with Grimmjow's, each locked in the worlds of pain that Kaida had opened up. Urahara regarded Ichigo's panicked expression, his own face devoid of any emotion. "What will you do, Ichigo? Pulling her out by force might kill her, but it would end her pain."
Ichigo spun back to glare at the older man "how can you say that? Isn't she your friend? Doesn't she mean anything to you? How can you let her suffer like this?" he shouted. Urahara turned away.
"Because it's not my battle. You may be strong, Ichigo, but you can't save everyone. This is Kaida's battle. The one who wins this will win the overall fight,"
Renji spoke up after a moment of silence. "Do you mean Kaida and the Espada, or Kaida and herself?" Urahara had no answer to that and only turned to watch the fight carry on.
"You can't just stand there watch her like that!" Ichigo shouted, grabbing a fistful of the shoten owner's jacket. "We have to help her!" Urahara's face grew serious. He covered Ichigo's hand with his own, pulling it away.
"Didn't you just hear what I told you? We can't help her," Urahara all but snarled. "Don't you think I would have already? She's a dear friend, so trust me when I say there's nothing we can do to save her," Ichigo glanced back up at the female former captain. Her face was contorted in pain, mouth dropping open as she shrieked to the sky.
Ichigo felt a new spiritual pressure arrive. He looked up to see two Gargantua appear; one behind Grimmjow Jeagerjaques and the other behind Kaida. A pale man with shoulder length black hair emerged from the tear in the sky. Ichigo's eyes widened as he recognized Ulquiorra Schiffer, another Espada. Renji gasped when he recognized the figure behind The Sexta; the old Captain of the Ninth Squad- Tosen Kaname. Ulquiorra leaned around Kaida, reaching out to grab her chin. Her trembling body stumbled as he tugged, her eyes flickering open to half-mast to gaze through a pain filled haze at the man touching her.
"Hn, so you're the piece of trash Aizen ordered Grimmjow to find. Even an idiot such as he could not fulfill his task. He didn't even initially go to find you; he targeted the Kurosaki boy." He drawled quietly. Ichigo could barely hear him. "You'd better suit Aizen's needs, woman."
Kaida strained against his hand, eyes widening in frantic fear as her hand scrabbled against his, desperate to get away from him even though her mind was so traumatized by pain that she would have reacted the same to anyone touching her. Her hand wound around his wrist, pulling his hand away from her.
"NO!" she screamed hysterically, shocking everyone at the scene. Urahara stared up at his old friend.
"This isn't good…" he mused, sweat forming on his forehead. Ichigo and Renji stared at him, their teeth clenched in anxiety at the shrieks that rent the air. Somehow these cries seemed even more tortured than before.
"How can this zanpakuto ability be worth it?" Ichigo yelled over the sound of Kaida's voice. "If it hurts her as much as her opponent, then what's the point?" This Kaida Ichigo saw now seemed the complete opposite of the usual woman who always had seemed so collected, if a little violent, but the new Kaida seemed so vulnerable and tormented.
"Kaida! Listen to me! It's Kisuke, do you remember my voice? Snap out of it, you can fight it, just like you always have!" Urahara shouted up to the woman. He saw he body stiffen almost impercievably before shaking again.
"Alone…" she whispered to herself, tears filling her eyes. Urahara was somehow able to see the tears, and lunged into the air to her. Shit. Shit. Shit! This has never happened before! Why are you crying, Kaida? Kaida! He reached for the woman who was just out of his grasp, strained for even the back that she had turned to him; he had to save her, at least once from her fate, even though he had promised her he'd never do so.
His fingers only brushed the hem of her shihakusho.
The pale arrancar stepped around to shield the captain from the shop owner's view. "This is becoming annoying," he muttered. He raised his hand, placing it on Kaida's shoulder, just at the base of the neck. She slumped forward as he applied pressure, falling into the arrancar's arms as she blacked out. "This woman is now the property of Aizen-sama." He backed into the gargantuan as Urahara shot past him, clutching Kaida's body to his chest. Tosen followed suit, the still thrashing Grimmjow in tow. The two portals blinked out of sight as Urahara turned in the air in a desperate attempt to get to Kaida. The desperation sparked in Urahara's eyes, causing them to become over bright as if he were about to cry.
"Ah…what am I going to tell Yoruichi…" he muttered as Renji and Ichigo reached him. Ichigo's face was contorted in a fierce mask. He looked at Urahara's defeated features, his own crumbling to mirror the older man's.
Renji stared at his two companions, his face pained in sympathy; he hadn't known the captain as well as Urahara, so he was able to keep his head amidst the grief surrounding him.
Urahara stared down to the ground that lay waiting hundreds of feet below. He brought a shaking hand up to his field of vision, clenching it to stop the tremors, lowering it again when it didn't work. He screwed his eyes shut as he remembered Kaida's pain stricken face in his mind. Just like a cliché movie, he heard a distant rumble of thunder as a steady rain opened up in the sky.
Ichigo grit his teeth as he tilted his head back to the sky, hoping the rain would wash away any feeling, leave him numb. Two loved ones-two! - had been unable to rely on him when they'd needed him! And both had been taken right from under his nose, someone he'd looked up to.
Renji turned his face away, not wanting the others to see his face as he mourned the loss of the mentor who'd helped him refine his Bankai. If only he'd stopped her from fighting, or not gone to her for help! But deep down, he knew that there was nothing he could have done; Ichigo had needed her help, or he would have died.
Urahara slowly opened his eyes, which were now blank and devoid of any emotion. Suddenly, he threw his head back, screaming the loss of his friend to the heavens. His voice rent the sky, piercing the usual peace of Karakura Town.
Again, my writing makes no sense….i apologize…Anywho, the other person Ichi couldn't save was Rukia(when Byakuya arrested her). Also, this timeline starts right before the group finds out that Orihime was kidnapped by Ulquiorra, so they'll get the message when they all go home (but im not going to add that part in, since it's not really pertinent to the plot)