Chapter 2: Old Faces, New Enemies

"Did he just say Kenpachi? Kenpachi Zaraki!?" Ace asked excitedly. Nick groaned inwardly, but in all honesty was just as surprised as Ace was at the encounter. Ace had always been a fan of the supposedly late captain of squad 11. He had died, along with his entire squad, save for one survivor, in a mission into Hueco Mundo. They were going to eradicate the remainder of the Quincy army. The survivor refused to say anything, only that the whole squad was dead and that he quit, leaving Seireitei. When they sent a search party in, composed mostly of captains, they found only Kenpachi's haori, tattered and bloody, on the sand. Everyone had assumed they were dead, and a new squad 11 was formed. Apparently, there was more to that story than met the eye.

"Who has weapons?" Merry barked, scanning the crowd. One or two people raised their swords, and Kamu held up his staff. "Then head out there and try to hold him off. We'll get officers out there to assist as soon as we can. Go!" Without hesitation, the small group ran out the door, Kamu leading the charge. Ace moved to join them before David grabbed his arm.

"Hold on! I know you want to fight, but that'd be kind of hard to do without Hisan right?" he pointed out. Ace looked at him confused for a moment before recognition flooded his face. "My sword! Dammit, I knew I shouldn't have left it back in my room!" he roared, hauling ass in the opposite direction. Ewart was right behind him, the big man keeping pace easily. David, however, moved to join the fight, quincy cross already in his hands.

Nick hesitated slightly before following Ace. He knew that he could fight without his zanpaktou, having actually bothered to learn some kido, unlike Ace, but if his opponent actually was the legendary berzerker, he wasn't going to take any chances. Backtracking through the confusing hallways of the palace, Nick heard various sounds of crashing, screaming, and perhaps the most worrying, laughter. He paused suddenly, realization hitting him. There's no way that the fight could be this close if Kenpachi was back at the mess hall he thought. That would mean-

His thoughts were cut off by a sudden blast ripping through the corridor. Two bodies spilled out of the hole, coughing and stumbling. Nick recognized one of them. "Triana!" he shouted, running over to help his sister. He glanced over at the other person, barely recognizing another officer in Julian's grand army. "What happened?" he asked.

"Was walkin' through the halls, mindin' my own damn business, when I hear some nutjob yelling about how he's going to kick some ass." the officer said gruffly. He was an older man, age lining his face. A white mustache framed his mouth, and his hair was long and wiry, drawn back into a ponytail under a wide-brimmed cowboy hat. He wore riding boots and jeans, a brown leather jacket as old and weathered as he was covering his back over a blue and black plaid shirt. He sounded every bit like the cowboy he dressed as. "I decided to oblige him in the ass-whoopin' he seems to want so badly, when the next thing I know, I'm being blasted through the wall."

Triana was out of breath, clutching her side, zanpaktou gripped tightly in one hand. "I've never seen someone like that." she coughed. "He's not a hollow, or a shinigami. Not even a vizard like you. I don't... I don't know what he is."

"What I am, girly, is the new King of Hueco Mundo." a voice called. All three turned around, Nick instinctively moving to draw a sword that wasn't there. The speaker was a tall man dressed in white. His pants were wide and baggy, looking almost like shinigami robes. He wore no shirt, only a jacket that exposed his muscled chest, along with the large circular hole near his abdomen. A sword was sheath at his side, a blue hilt and an odd, S-shaped guard. His hair was fairly long, reaching his shoulders, and wild, sticking out in whatever direction it wished and colored an exotic electric blue. His eyes were a piercing green, with blue tattoos on the corner of each. A large bone jaw hung on the right side of his face, that only served to elongate his wicked grin. He jabbed a thumb into his chest, which had large scar running across it. "The name's Grimmjow Jeagerjaques. Don't you forget it." he boasted.


Ace had made it to his room, swiftly grabbing his large sword before moving on. He didn't even bother going back the way he came, merely leaping out the large window and running across the white sand, choosing to go around the building instead. A smile split his face, elated at the chance of meeting one of his favorite people. I wonder if it's impolite to ask for an autograph before I gut him? he thought cheerfully. He put on more speed, not wasting any time to reach his target.

It wasn't hard to find him. Surrounded by the bodies of fallen soldiers, Kenpachi Zaraki stood triumphant, his zanpaktou bloody in the moonlight. His hair was just as long as it had been when he disappeared, a large widows peak running down his back. He no longer wore the robes of a shinigami, instead covering himself with white pant similar to Grimmjow's. Kamu and David were the only ones left standing, but each looked like they weren't going to last much longer. Kenpachi seemed to agree, much to his distaste. "You know, I said I was looking for a fight. Whenever you want to send out the actual warriors, let me know." he spat

"Right over here." Ace announced, drawing his sword. "But before we begin, I've got to say, I'm a big fan. It's an honor to be the one to kill you."

That certainly got Kenpachi's attention. "You're not the first one to give me that speech kid. But the old man and the quincy are boring me anyway, so what the hell? I've got some time to kill." He rushed forward, much faster than Ace had been expecting. He barely got the block up in time before their blades collided in a shower of sparks. Kenpachi kept up the offensive, hammering blow after blow on his opponent. It was all Ace could do just to keep his ground, and even that was starting to fail as the sand beneath him began to give out from the force of the strikes. Realizing that he was in a bad spot, Ace took an opportunity in the small time between attacks to launch one of his own, slicing at Kenpachi's exposed stomach.

Kenpachi didn't even flinch, merely blasting his reiatsu around him in a burst of yellow energy. Ace was flung back, thankfully now out of the sand pit, and even David and Kamu had to struggle to keep their footing. Kenpachi just stood there, watching the spot where Ace had landed. "Come on, I thought you were going to kill me? At least make it a challenge for me, I haven't had a good fight in years!" he taunted.

Red reiatsu exploded out from the sand Ace was buried in. He got to his feet, energy flying off of him. "You know something? Neither have I!" he cried, holding his zanpaktou out, tip pointed towards the ground. He reached out with his free hand, closing it in a fist above the hilt. "Tear him to pieces! Hisan!" He roared.

As the large blast of reiatsu grew even larger Kenpachi smiled.


Nick had to think fast. He'd heard about Grimmjow before, reports about Aizen's army of arrancar being pretty easy to find. That being said, just like Kenpachi, Seireitei at large considered him dead, feeling comfortable knowing that none of Aizen's army had survived. Well it wouldn't be the first time Seireitei was wrong Nick remarked. But, first things first... "Hey!" he said, turning to the cowboy. "I need you to distract him for as long as you can. Think you can do it?"

The cowboy glared at him. "Boy, I was knocked through a wall, not killed. I can handle this punk." He reached down, drawing a bowie knife from his boot. "The only thing is, what're you plannin' to do while I've got him distracted?"

"Get back up." Nick muttered before grabbing Triana and taking off, running as fast as he could.

Grimmjow chuckled. "Man, talk about cold-blooded. He just left you to die, saving his skin."

The cowboy shrugged. "I figure I can take care of myself. Been doin' it fer years before I came here." He charged, wielding the knife with the practiced grace of someone who fought for a living. Grimmjow didn't even move to grab his sword, opting to use his fists instead. He easily dodged the strike, driving his fist into the officers stomach. Or he would have, if the cowboy was still there. Grimmjows eyes widened, staring at the empty space in front of him. "What the hell?" he growled, confused before he was suddenly grabbed from behind, a knife homing in on his neck. He grabbed the hand wielding it, surprised once again, this time by the strength of the wielder. He glanced over his shoulder at the cowboy. "How'd you manage that? Shunpo?" he growled.

"Nope. Just good old-fashioned knowing how to fight." he replied. "By the way, the name's Clint. Just in case you was wonderin'."

"I don't care what your name is." Grimmjow spat, pointing a hand open palmed behind him, right into Clint's face. "and if you've think you've won, you have no idea who I am." he crowed as he charged up a cero.

The blast of red energy erupted out of his palm, utterly leveling the area behind him. The missing knife at his throat told him that he had missed the elusive Clint, but at least he was away from him. He looked around the room, noting only himself and some rubble. "Hiding isn't a very good tactic." he called, charging up two cero, one in each hand. "Especially when it's your house, not mine."


Nick arrived at his room, dragging Triana along with him. Once he realized that they had arrived, he released his sister and grabbed his twin swords, which were leaning against the wall near his bed. As he placed them on his hip with a belt, Triana spoke up, startling him. "Why the hell did you drag me all the way here?" she demanded.

"Oh. You know what, I completely forgot I was pulling you with me." he responded, chuckling uncomfortably. Now that he remembered her presence, he took a moment to see if she was injured. Triana had grown her hair out more since they had left Seireitei, no longer wearing it in a ponytail. It fell down past her shoulders, the bangs still covering one eye. Abandoning her shinigami uniform, she had instead chosen a black t-shirt with vibrant neon colors painted on it in random strokes. Blue jeans and a gray jacket tied around her waist completed the look. Other than breathing a little heavily, she appeared uninjured. "Guess I didn't want you fighting that guy."

"Do you know him? I've never seen anything like it." she repeated.

"He's an arrancar, a hollow who's obtained shinigami powers." Nick explained. "But what he's doing with Kenpachi Zaraki, I have no idea."

"Wait, Kenpachi Zaraki is here too!?" Triana asked. "I thought he was dead!"

"So did I until a few minutes ago." Nick admitted. "Look, we have to get going. I don't know how long cowboy back there can hold Grimmjow back, and there could be others attacking the base." Triana nodded and they both ran back, using shunpo to move even faster. Nick drew his swords a short distance away from where they had left the pair of combatants, and behind him Triana did the same. When they turned the corner, what they found made them gasp.

The area surrounding them was left completely destroyed. The ceiling had to be held up through some kind of reishi, because all of the surrounding walls were gone, rubble littering the floor, making sure footing a hard thing to find. Grimmjow stood in the center, his back to the siblings, and Clint the cowboy was standing near him, bleeding heavily and cradling an arm.

"Hard to hide like a coward when there's nothing left, huh?" Grimmjow taunted. "I'm getting tired of this, I want to go all out!" He reached for his zanpaktou, drawing it slowly out of the sheath.

Triana and Nick moved in unison, not speaking but instinctively working together. Triana created a kido barrier, locking Grimmjow into place. As she did, Nick swooped in, swords flashing in the light as he moved to decapitate the destructive Espada. Their surprise attack would have worked perfectly, had it not been for the newcomer slamming a knee into Triana's stomach, causing her to release the barrier. Grimmjow took the few seconds of time it gave him to roll out of the way of Nick's strike before drawing his sword fully and slashing him down the side. Nick yelped in pain, landing hard on the rubble.

Triana, meanwhile, was having difficulties of her own. "What the hell was that for!?" she spat, pointing her sword angrily at her attacker.

"Well it's not like I can let you attack Kitty!" the other girl yelled back. She wore a white dress that seemed a little to long for her, bunching up on the floor. The sleeves were hacked off, leaving the material around the shoulders frayed and uneven. She gripped a zanpaktou in on hand in reverse, blade still in the pink sheath. The color of the sheath was matched by her hair, which was tangled and wild, reaching a little past her shoulders."Who are you two anyway, interrupting his fight like that! If Ken-chan were here, he'd hit you both!"

"Yachiru, why are you even here!?" Grimmjow shouted, clearly annoyed at the young girl.

Yachiru turned to smile happily, ignoring the man's tone. "I got lost trying to find Ken-chan, and then I heard you fighting so I came to watch!" she replied happily.

"Then just watch! I don't need your help!" Grimmjow shouted.

"You two do know yer in the enemies stronghold, right?" Clint asked, burying his knife in Grimmjow's shoulder. The arrancar howled in pain as the old man twisted the blade, digging deeper into the sinew. He twisted around, backhanding the cowboy through the air, leaving the knife embedded in his flesh. He whipped back around, pointing accusingly at Yachiru. "Where the hell were you that time!?" he barked.

"You said not to help!" Yachiru said cheerfully, smiling warmly at him.

Meanwhile, Triana was staring at the scene before her, trying to decide if she should laugh or take the opportunity to attack one of them. Nick, meanwhile, didn't hesitate at all. "Laugh, Kurokosa!" he shouted, activating his shikai. Both swords transformed, turning black and simplifying, blade and hilt molding into one. He charged, swinging wildly at Grimmjow, deciding he was the bigger threat. That turned out to be a mistake as Yachiru belted him across the side of the head with her sword. The blade was still sheathed, but that only served to make it more like a club than a sword, knocking him down. "I said that you shouldn't interfere." Yachiru scolded. "Now I'm going to have to make sure you don't."


Justin wandered around the hallways, listening to the sound of combat echoing around him. You know, somebody really should do something about that he thought, not changing his pace in the slightest. He walked for a while more, before stopping. He heard a noise that was definitely not someone fighting. It was more like someone shifting around, searching a room for something. He moved closer to the source, finding it in the room next to him. The door was ajar, and he pushed it in slightly, opening it more to peek inside.

He saw a man, wearing shinigami robes and what appeared to be a brown animals fur, ruffling though some filling cabinets. The mans back was to him, so he couldn't see his face, but judging from the many hollow masks covering the fur, he wasn't someone to mess with.

Justin decided to mess with him anyway. "Hey, I don't know who exactly you are, but I'm pretty sure Julian doesn't want you rifling through his stuff." he said, drawing his sword. The man paused, before withdrawing a file and stuffing it in his robe, closing the cabinet behind him. He turned slowly, facing Justin. His face was locked in a tired and weary expression, brown hair hanging in a mess. His hand was on the hilt of his sword.

"Looks like I've been found out." he muttered. "That's okay. I've got what I needed. Bel!" he barked and Justin's world faded to black, the last thing he felt a blow to the back of the head.