Here we be going on another adventure through time and space as we do some more stuff with that one thing. Chapter Three! Here you are. With nothing else to particularly say, let's just go to the Review Corner, eh?
lightningblade49: I'll put this bluntly... I have no idea :P I'll think of something though, just have to smoke enough doobies to do so.
Farmer Kyle:Thanks for your interest in the story as of right now. I do run my chapters through a spell check... I just, ya know, scim through it :P And no, you're not being harsh. As you requested, here's another chapter. B.R. might still be a couple of weeks ro so*XD)
halberd42:I'm glad you liked the way I introduced Loly and Menoly. Don'cha just love Love-Hate relationships? Mixed in with some fluff, too. I will tell you blunty, like I told lightningblade :D I have no idea what I'll do with his Resurreccion :P
Inverness:Then here you are! Enjoy!
MadmanTobz:I'm glad you like the character interactions! I love writing them, especially when I manage to, luckily, get that characters down correctly. Yes, there were some Grammar mistakes, but I edited the majority of them the day after I uploaded Chapter 2. And yes, the Cero Espada was intentional. Though, I see your point. I'll just write Zero
dbz wrting for fun:I dunno, does he? I can ask him if you want. Maybe not one blow but... meh, you'll see
gandalf42:You don't have to wait for this particular update any longer
Umbra8191:Then here you are!
kazikamikazi24:Grimmjow will get his shot at Ichigo soon enough. You'll see... You'll ALL see 0_o
darkmachines:I will do my best! Hope you enjoy the plethora on Character Interaction in this chapter!
EVA-saiyaijin:Yes, it should have been. I fixed it, thanks. Here is the next chapter of which you speak of.
OpenSourceArtist:I must say, it's fun writing out Aizen. Unemotional, or close to, characters are usually the easiest to write :/
Seiei:Maybe late, but still pretty early, considering the lengths I plan to go with story-Whoops, did I just say that out loud? Anyways, I'm glad you like what I'm doing with Ichigo and Loly. Writing their interactions is going to be so much fun.
And that'll do it for now, please enjoy the chapter!
(Las Noches/Throne Room)
"Before we begin, Kurosaki-san, you are a little late. Were the escorts I sent not satisfactory in their task?" Aizen asked Ichigo, raising an eyebrow. Ichigo shook his head.
"Nah, they didn't do anything wrong. It was my fault, really." He answered with a shrug. Aizen seemed content with the answer, looking like he had achieved something.
"Very well. As I said, it is time to introduce you to your brethren." Aizen repeated, briefly looking over at the other Espada. "My dear Espada, this is Ichigo Kurosaki. He will be the newest addition to the Espada ranks." Different emotions flashed across the ten Espada. A new Espada meant someone was going to be replaced, and that someone was most likely going to be killed. Only thing was, who's it going to be? "Now, would everyone extend Kurosaki-san their courtesy and introduce themselves?" Aizen asked them, looking them over.
The first one to speak was the biggest one in the room. "Yammy, Decimo Espada!" Yammy said with a wide smirk. Ichigo narrowed his eyes ever so slightly. Despite having the lowest rank, this Yammy seemed strangely cocksure. Ichigo nodded his head at Yammy.
"Aaroniero-." The next began in a very high pitched voice. "Aurrurrie." Then ended in a very low. It definitely surprised and intrigued Ichigo. "Noveno Espada." Again, Ichigo nodded.
"Szayel-Aporro Grantz." The man with the pink hair introduced next. He looked to be sizing Ichigo up. In terms of what, Ichigo wasn't sure. "Octavo Espada. It's a pleasure."
"Likewise." Ichigo replied, nodding.
"Quick question, Kurosaki-san." Szayel said quickly before the next could introduce themselves. "Why is it that I'm sensing no reiatsu from you?" Szayel asked the question that everybody was inwardly wondering. It was no surprise he would be the one to voice it.
"No reiatsu?" Ichigo repeated, somewhat confused. What was he talking about? Not to blow his own horn, but Ichigo was sure he had a lot. Only possible answer came to mind. "Maybe I have too much for you to sense." This received a couple of scoffs from a couple others, but Szayel's eyes lit up at the idea.
"Too much to sense? How curious." He said, pointlessely adjusting his glasses. It was obvious he had nothing more to say, satisfied for the moment.
"Zommari Loreaux. Septima Espada." The next in line spoke up. He was standing at attention respectfully, his hands clasped behind his back. "An honor to make your acquaintance."[1]
"Pleasure's all mine." Ichigo replied, using the exact same amount of respect in his tone that Zommari had used.
"Sexta Espada." The next man started. Ichigo didn't even have to wait for him to finish.
"Grimmjow." Ichigo stated with a slight smirk. Grimmjow smirked wildly in return.
"I've been waiting a long time to have another go at you, Kurosaki!" Grimmjow challenged, becoming slightly riled in anticipation.
"Me too, Grimmjow." Ichigo replied, his own voice taking a challenging tone. "Later today? Outside of Las Noches?" Ichigo suggested, not wasting any time.
"Perfect." Grimmjow said in affirmative, anxious. "Don't get cold feet!" Ichigo scoffed. Before their banter could continue, the next spoke up.
"Quinte Espada! Nnoitora Gilga!" Nnoitora announced proudly. Ichigo noticed right away that Nnoitora seemed to be constantly releasing his reiatsu and hardening it around his skin. If that was the case, then Noitora was very good at controlling his reiatsu and would have very tough skin. Ichigo made a mental note to see if he could do the same. "You'll be taking me on real soon, Kurosaki. Whether you want to or not."
"If I have too." Ichigo replied with a half-smirk.
"Quarta Espada, Ulquiorra Schiffer." The two were interrupted by the next Espada. Ichigo raised an eyebrow in surprise. This guy was only the fourth? Then how strong were the last four? There was a possibility he was incorrectly ranked, though. Ichigo could tell he was suppressing his reiatsu. A lot of it too.
"Tier Harribel, Tercera Espada. Welcome to Las Noches, Kurosaki-san." It was the only woman in the Espada, so it would be easy to remember her name and face, that was for sure. If not her name and face, then he'd remember it by… something else. Before a blush could surface, Ichigo merely nodded at Harribel and turned to the next.
"Baraggan. Baraggan Luisenbern, King of Hueco Mundo. Segunda Espada." The old man introduced confidently. King of Hueco Mundo and only the second Espada? Ichigo couldn't help but think that the title was self-proclaimed.
"Starrk." The last person in the room said bluntly. Ichigo couldn't help but sweat drop at the vague introduction.
"That's it?" Ichigo asked, blinking.
"Do I need to tell you anything else?" Starrk asked Ichigo, tilting his head slightly. Ichigo sighed. Guess he didn't. He knew his name and rank, and that's all he really needed to know.
"Guess not." Ichigo replied with a shrug. He waited for someone else to introduce themselves, but no one did. Rather than asking where the last Espada was, a thought came to mind. Aizen had first said that the Espada were the top ten Arrancar in his army, ranked weakest to strongest from ten to zero. Only ten Arrancar with eleven ranks could only mean that either Aizen was the last Espada, though that was incredibly unrealistic, or one Espada held two ranks. Ichigo decided to ask the question bluntly.
"So, which one of you is the Zero?" He asked, looking at them all one-by-one. To his slight surprise, Yammy spoke up.
"Who wants to know?" Again, he was smirking widely. So that would explain it. Ichigo figured he was hiding something, or just overestimating himself.
"Now that everyone here knows each other-." Aizen spoke up before Ichigo could answer. "I will now inform you of my plan for Kurosaki-san." This got everyone's attention." In one hour's time, a duel will be held outside of Las Noches for the rank of Zero Espada between Kurosaki-san and Yammy."
"Hah! Me fight him?" Yammy asked, laughing and pointing at Ichigo. "No contest!" For some reason, Ichigo didn't take too kindly to Yammy's boast.
"I agree." Ichigo said simply, looking at Yammy with a straight face. Grimmjow held in a laugh.
"Hm?" Yammy raised an eyebrow, before waving Ichigo off. "Bah!" The other Espada had their own thoughts on the matter. A couple thought that Aizen was overestimating Ichigo. A select few seemed to know just what Yammy was in for. Either way, all the Espada vowed to be there to witness the duel. "I won't even need to use my Resurreccion." Yammy declared. Ichigo figured Yammy was taking his lack of sensing Ichigo's reiatsu as weakness.
"That will be all for now. Again, in one hour the duel will begin. And, while Kurosaki-san isn't an Espada, I would ask that everyone show him due respect." Aizen told all of them. "Dismissed." With that, Aizen stood and exited the room from behind the throne, followed by Gin and Tosen. One by one, the other Espada left the room. Before Ichigo, too, left, someone spoke up.
"Ah, Kurosaki-san." Szayel said, getting Ichigo's attention. "May I request you stop by my palace sometime? As Las Noches' top scientist, it would greatly benefit me and my studies if you would allow me to run a couple of simple tests."
"I… guess." Ichigo answered with a shrug. "As long as you don't do anything drastic to me, I don't have a problem with it."
"Excellent. I wish you luck in your duel. After all, your body will need to be intact and functioning properly for the tests to have the results I am looking for." Szayel said humorously. With that, Szayel walked casually out of the room. Ichigo watched him leave with a blank stare.
"He's kinda creepy." He said to himself, scratching the back of his head.
"Kurosaki!" Grimmjow called, getting Ichigo's attention. "How 'bout that fight?" Ichigo shook his head.
"Probably not a good idea. I should be at full strength for my duel. Sometime afterward, though." Ichigo told him.
"Psh." Was all Ichigo got as a reply.
"Speaking of which, where exactly will it be taking place?" Ichigo asked, once again scratching the back of his head. Grimmjow rolled his eyes.
"Idiot. I'll show ya where it is, but it doesn't make me your servant or anything. Got that?" Grimmjow said with a snarl.
"Sure." Ichigo nodded. With that, Grimmjow stuffed his hands into his pockets and walked out of the Throne Room, Ichigo following. When they exited, Grimmjow disappeared via sonido. Ichigo did the same.
"This is where we'll be watching from." Grimmjow told Ichigo, planting a foot down on the edge of Las Noches' canopy. Ichigo stood alongside him and looked out at the desert below, illuminated by the moon.
"This is an awful lot of room for a duel." Ichigo pointed out. Grimmjow laughed.
"Ha! I guess Aizen didn't tell you." Grimmjow concluded. Ichigo noticed the lack of suffix on Aizen's name. "When Yammy is in his current form, he's weak as shit. His Resurreccion is what gives him the rank of Zero." Grimmjow explained, scowling at the last part.
"Resurreccion?" Ichigo asked, confused.
"Jeez, are you kidding me?" Grimmjow asked, looking incredulously at Ichigo for a second. "How'd I ever lose to you? You're a dumbass."
"Hey, hey. I'm new to this Arrancar stuff." Ichigo defended, waving his hand.
"Well, like hell I'm going to tell you." Grimmjow said with a smirk.
"Give me a break." Ichigo said with a sigh. "Is this payback?" He asked, smirking. "For kicking your ass?"
"Watch it, bastard." Grimmjow growled threateningly. Ichigo shrugged. A awkward minute of silence passed before Ichigo asked,
"Say, what is there to do around here anyways?"
"There isn't shit to do around here." Grimmjow scowled, deciding to sit down for now. One leg dangled over the side of Las Noches. "I thought about getting my own Fraccion to torment[2], but it's no fun beating up someone weaker than you."
"Hm. Fraccion." Hearing the word caused Ichigo to remember Menoly's explanation. "I guess I can choose mine once I become an Espada?"
"Yeah." Grimmjow said simply.
"Hn. I'm going to have a look around my future battlefield." Ichigo said suddenly, disappearing. He reappeared as a small figure at the foot of Las Noches.
"Tch."
(Twenty Minutes Later)
"You're here early, Grimmjow." A voice spoke up from behind the Sexta. Grimmjow didn't even have to look.
"Nothing else to do, Tercera." He told Harribel. Harribel stood there, her arms crossed, looking down at what Ichigo was doing.
"Who do you think will emerge victorious?" Harribel asked Grimmjow, looking down at him from the corner of her eyes.
"Kurosaki. No question." Grimmjow answered right away, with a slight nod.
"Not even going to give it thought?" Harribel raised an eyebrow, surprised at Grimmjow's quick answer.
"Don't need to. I've fought Kurosaki before. He's only gotten stronger than the last time we fought." Grimmjow explained, scowling at the memory of his defeat.
"Ah yes, that's right. I recall you saying that to Aizen-sama." Harribel remembered. She then waited. Grimmjow glanced up at her, then grumbled.
"Alright, fine, I'll play along. Who do you think will win?" Grimmjow asked her, a little curious himself.
"Not having fought or encountered Kurosaki-san previously, I cannot accurately predict who will be victorious." Harribel explained. "Though, there is a reason Yammy-san's resurreccion makes him the Zero." She left it at that.
"Ha! Resurrecion is no big deal! You just gotta put him down before he can use it." Another voice spoke up. It was Nnoitora.
"True." Harribel agreed, not even giving Nnoitra a glance in his direction.
"Heh, nothing to say to me Tercera?" Nnoitora asked with his usual smirk. As usual, Harribel ignored him, something that made Nnoitora laugh briefly. He stopped and glanced down. "The hell's he doing?" Nnoitora asked, referring to Ichigo as he moved about the sand below them.
"Said something about inspecting his battlefield, or some shit. I can't remember." Grimmjow told him, not even going to bother with trying to recall what was said exactly.
"Tch."
(Thirty Minutes Later)
It had been a while since Ichigo had stopped inspecting the area. Now, he was just pacing about, waiting patiently for his opponent, and everyone else, to arrive so they could start. Ichigo didn't have much of a game plan. The logical thing to do would be to take Yammy out before he used his Resurreccion, but that wouldn't really be earning the rank of Zero, now would it? After all, any of the other Espada could defeat Yammy in his current state.
By now, Ichigo could see several figures standing atop Las Noches. Just barely, though. Damn, that place was huge. Rather than pacing around, Ichigo figured it might be smarter, and more fun, to try and interact with the other Espada. Deciding, Ichigo vanished from the sands and quickly reappeared off to the side of the Espada. Now, Ichigo could see that there were many other Arrancar there, either seated or standing away from the Espada, apart from a few. Ichigo guessed that the few who were close to the Espada were Fraccion.
"Oh! Oh! Is that him?" An eager voice spoke up. Ichigo looked for the source and saw, what looked like, a young girl almost dragging Starrk, the Primera, over to him. "This is him? The guy who's going to fight?"
"Yeah, Lilynette." Starrk answered, noticeably annoyed. Lilynette left Starrk's side and examined Ichigo. She circled him once clock-wise, then counter clock-wise. Ichigo only looked at her quietly, one eyebrow raised, the whole time. When she seemed satisfied, Lilynette hopped back over to Starrk's side.
"You don't look like much!" Lilynette declared with a toothy grin. "I think Yammy'll squash you." She added, causing Ichigo to sweat drop. Starrk sighed.
"Lilynette, give the guy a break." He said, blinking once. He turned to Ichigo. "Sorry about that. Lilynette is, well, incapable of using self-control."
"Hey!" Lilynette protested, elbowing Starrk in his side.
"No worries. I suppose everyone's entitled to an opinion." Ichigo assured Starrk with a shrug. "Is she your-?"
"Fraccion? Yeah, you could say that." Starrk cut Ichigo off with a shrug of his own. "She insisted on watching the fight when I told her about it, and I figured it'd be interesting, so here I am." Starrk explained himself, scratching the back of his head with his gloved hand. One thing was for sure. If you had asked Ichigo, he would have not guessed that this guy would be the Primera. "Hope it'll be somewhat interesting. I could be sleeping." Starrk added.
"I'll try my best to keep everyone entertained." Ichigo deadpanned. Starrk nodded, then motioned for Lilynette to follow him as he walked back to where the two had been before.
"Bye-bye, strawberry!" Lilynette waved as she was led away. Ichigo groaned. Hopefully the nickname wouldn't stick. With Starrk and Lilynette gone, Ichigo looked over at the growing crowd and scanned through the faces. Many were looking at him, sizing him up. Some had arrogant smirks on their faces while doing so. Right before Ichigo was about to turn to find somewhere comfortable for the last few minutes, someone caught his eye. Or rather, two someones.
He saw Loly and Menoly a few meters away from the main crowd of spectators. Menoly was sitting down on the sloped surface, her elbows resting on her knees, her head resting in her hands as she waited patiently for something to happen. Loly was standing there next to her, her arms crossed. Then Ichigo noticed it. Loly was looking at him. The moment he made eye contact with her, he half-smirked at her. When she saw it, Ichigo watched as she seemed to scoff and turn away quickly. He would've approached them, but was interrupted mid-step.
"Kurosaki-san, I see that your little duel has attracted quite the audience." Aizen spoke up from beside Ichigo.
"Sure has." Ichigo agreed, feeling humbled.
"I hope that you will live up to mine, and everyone else's, expectations." Aizen added, that friendly grin returning to his expression. Ichigo could only shrug. Aizen looked to his right, then back at Ichigo. "I see your opponent is already there, waiting for you."
True enough, Yammy was down there. "Kurosaki! Get down here! It's time for you to die!" Yammy called out, confident. Ichigo could only face palm.
"Alright, let's get this started." Ichigo readied himself then disappeared and reappeared down on the dunes in front of Las Noches.
"Ready, Kurosaki?" Yammy smirked, his arms crossed.
"I guess." Ichigo replied.
"I won't even have to use my Resurreccion." Yammy figured. "I'll kill you in this form!"
"If you say so." Again, Ichigo replied simply, which only further aggravated Yammy. They both looked up and over at Las Noches, more specifically, at Aizen. He simply motioned with his hand. And with that, it was official. The fight had started.
"Hah! Let's go Kuro-gurgh!" The moment Yammy had looked back at Ichigo, he found himself flying backwards. He was airborne for a good three seconds before he began to skid across the sand, then finally coming to a halt. Ichigo was standing right in front the spot Yammy had been standing. He would have been standing normally, except one fist was outstretched and was where Yammy's stomach had been a few seconds earlier. Ichigo had a blank look on his face.
Yammy grunted as he stood up. It looked like he didn't know what had exactly happened. He passed it off as a fluke, and tried to look smug, but in the back of his mind, something was telling him he was outclassed here.
"Wanna use your Resurreccion now?" Ichigo asked, retracting his arm. Yammy growled.
"Don't get cocky! Gah!" For a second time, Yammy did several barrel rolls in the sand, before finally coming to a stop. This time, Ichigo stood where Yammy had been with his right leg up and pointed out at waist level. He brought it down.
"I'm only suggesting." Ichigo told Yammy as he stood himself up again, coughing up sand.
"You little ant." Yammy suddenly thrust his hand out forward, shooting off a bala. Before it reached Ichigo, he had just enough time to ask,
"What is that?" Before it impacted where he was standing. Yammy laughed, before thrusting both of his fists forward repetitively, shooting off one bala after another.
"That's a bala, you little shit!" He announced. "A projectile of hardened reiatsu! Not as strong as a cero… but about twenty times faster! HAHA!" Yammy laughed as he continued for another few seconds. He stopped to survey the damage. There was no sight of Ichigo. Yammy would've declared himself the winner, but-
"A bala, huh? Let me try." Yammy looked over his shoulder just in time to see a completely black bala take up his vision and strike him viciously. It exploded and kicked up a pillar of sand a good thirty feet in the air. Ichigo blinked, then smirked. "Damn, that's useful. Thanks."
(The Spectators)
"Haha! Yammy is in way over his head." Grimmjow exclaimed, laughing.
"Kurosaki is making a big fool out of Yammy." Nnoitora added with a smirk. "He's doing it on purpose too. I like his style." True enough, Nnoitora could appreciate making a complete fool out of an opponent before utterly crushing them.
"There was something… off about that bala." Szayel pointed out, adjusting his glasses. "Did anyone else see it?"
"Huh?" Nnoitora asked as he frowned and looked at Szayel, who only shook his head.
"Of course not. Why am I not surprised?" Szayel asked rhetorically, well aware that Nnoitora could hear him. Nnoitora growled at the Octava.
"I noticed." Starrk spoke up, his head resting in one head lazily. Szayel glanced back at him.
"Aah! Of course you did, Primera. Care to share what it was? Or will I have to explain to everybody?" Szayel said in a very belittling tone.
"I couldn't sense the bala's presence. No matter how fast they are, you can always sense them. They are reiatsu manifested physically, after all." Harribel told them all, not taking her eyes off the battle below.
"Correct! You should take after Harribel-san, Nnoitora. You could learn a thing or two." Szayel said, chuckling.
"What did you-?" Nnoitora's threat was cut off as reiatsu began to fill the area. It was Yammy.
"It would appear-." Zommari, this time, spoke up. "-that Yammy is going to take this seriously now."
"Here's the fight I've been waiting for." Grimmjow said with a wild smirk.
(With Ichigo and Yammy)
"Be enraged, Ira!" Yammy yelled out as his reiatsu began to increase drastically. Smoke and sand began to fill the area, causing Ichigo to lose sight of Yammy. He strained his eyes and tried to look around to no avail. Suddenly, Ichigo's eyes widened and he quickly disappeared from his spot, right as a massive fist struck where he had been standing. The smoke began to clear.
Ichigo stared at the new Yammy. To put it blatantly, Yammy was huge. "So this is his Resurreccion?" Ichigo asked himself. He then noticed that the 10 on Yammy's shoulder had now changed to a 0. "Well, there you have it." Ichigo said to himself with a blank face, before he suddenly disappeared again. Again, a fist smashed where he had been standing.
"Stop running!" Yammy roared out at Ichigo. "Come on! Fight me! Where's all your tough guy talk?" He taunted, laughing.
"You know!" Ichigo called out to Yammy. "The only real difference I see is your size!"
"You're wrong!" Yammy yelled back, still laughing. Almost before Ichigo could react, Yammy fired a bala at Ichigo, which he was forced to dodge. "Hahaha! Hold still!" Yammy wasted no time in firing off his balas in rapid succession.
To a lot of people, it looked like Ichigo was running away. A select few saw he was merely leading Yammy's attention away from Las Noches. Even though Ichigo had led the two of them a good distance away, Yammy was still easily visible. Ichigo, deciding this was good enough, stopped moving. He turned back to Yammy as he stopped firing balas and raised an eyebrow.
"Done running already?" He asked with a smirk. "Ready to fight? Or you too-?"
Crash!
Yammy was cut off as one of his upper teeth shattered in his mouth, blood coming from his gums. Ichigo jumped back a few yards as Yammy brought up his hands to clutch his mouth. Ichigo sheathed his zanpakuto back into it's scabbard.
"If you insist on taunting, then I'll have to remove another tooth." Ichigo said with a smirk, putting his hand down. Yammy growled lowly. Then Ichigo noticed. Yammy's reiatsu only began to increase.
"Grr, you piss me off, ant! You really piss me off." Yammy told him. Ichigo raised an eyebrow. "Keep pissing me off, make me angrier. You'll regret it!"
Crish!
"Gagh!" Yammy cried out as another tooth was forcibly removed, courtesy of a stab from Ichigo's zanpakuto.
"Like that?" Ichigo asked, twirling his zanpakuto briefly before sheathing it again.
Yammy roared.
(The Spectators)
The moment the duel had began, Menoly had been leaning in the whole time to try and get as close of a look as she could. "He's pretty good." She couldn't help but comment, watching the two fighters closely.
"Maybe." Loly said, hiding her own agreement. "I'm just worried that we'll get caught up in the fight if Yammy gets too angry." She told her sister. Menoly nodded. It was a legitimate concern.
"I think if Yammy gets to that point… Ichigo will do something." Menoly's expression was calm as she said this, fully believing it.
"How can you be sure?" Loly asked, looked down at Menoly.
"I just know." Menoly answered with a shrug. "I can tell. I think that's just… who he is? I don't know for sure." She said, a little unsure, looking up in thought briefly. "Besides, if you ask me, Ichigo can end this whenever he wants."
"Hmph, I doubt it." Loly replied, trying to sound uncaring. "At the very least, he's not getting his ass kicked, like I thought he would."
"Heh, I think we'll have a new Zero Espada when the fight is over." Menoly added with a small grin, resting her head on her arms. Loly said nothing.
(With Ichigo and Yammy)
"Hold still!" Yammy yelled, swinging wildly at Ichigo, who only casually dodged each and every strike.
'So far, I haven't really seen anything that would make this guy the strongest. Unless, of course, all the other Espada are really that weak. Nah, that can't be. Aizen doesn't seem like the type to have strength in numbers. There must be something.' Ichigo thought to himself. He was forced back as Yammy took a swipe at him. For a while now, he had been observing Yammy. "If this is really the extent of your abilities, then it's time to go on the offensive and to stop wasting my time." Ichigo said, loud enough for Yammy to hear him.
"Bring it, ant! None of your attacks can even scratch me!" Yammy declared boastfully.
"Sorry! Couldn't understand you through your broken teeth!" Ichigo yelled back at Yammy, smirking. Yammy growled. "Or did you already forget? Guess you're as smart as you are weak." Ichigo continued.
"Quiet!" Yammy thrusted his fist forward, sending a bala at Ichigo. Ichigo dodged the blast quickly, exiting the blast radius as it struck the ground. Ichigo decided to test something. With nearly untraceable speed, Ichigo rushed forward, rearing his fist back. Jumping for momentum, Ichigo landed a punch on Yammy's large stomach, putting most of his strength behind it. Surprising Yammy, and everyone else, Yammy actually moved back at the impact by a few feet, but, all in all, he was unscathed. "Haha!"
Ichigo blinked. That hurt him more than it hurt Yammy. Just as he thought, Yammy had pretty tough skin. He might have to use his zanpakuto to inflict any external damage. Ichigo was then forced to unsheathe his zanpakuto quickly and block what he could of the fist Yammy had surprised him with. Yammy's fist pressed against Ichigo's guard all the way down onto the ground below them, kicking up sand violently.
"Ha!" With Ichigo now below him, Yammy began to furiously punch the ground where Ichigo had landed, kicking up rocks and sand hundreds of meters in the air. After a good twenty seconds of this, Yammy stopped, deciding it might be smart to not kick up to much dust. When everything cleared, there was nothing but sand. Yammy smirked.
"Gah!" Ichigo yelled out as he burst from the sand and pulled himself up. He coughed a couple of times. "Damn. I've got sand in places you don't even want to know." He said, jokingly.
"What the-How are you still alive?" Yammy demanded, clenching his fists.
"What? You thought that killed me?" Ichigo asked, genuinely surprised. "Give me more credit than that." He added with a half-smirk.
"Ragh! I've had enough of you!" Yammy yelled, bring an open-palm down to flatten Ichigo.
"Likewise." Ichigo replied quietly, suddenly becoming serious.
Slice!
"Gah! You piece of shit! My hand!" Yammy roared out, clutching his bloodied wrist with his only remaining hand. The severed hand crashed down a few meters away from Ichigo.
"If you didn't want to lose it, you shouldn't have put it out so far." Ichigo scolded, shouldering his bloody zanpakuto.
"I'll kill you!" Yammy declared, rearing his head back.
'Is he really going to try it? He's only going to lose his head.' Ichigo told himself, watching. Only when a bright red orb began to form in front of Yammy's mouth did he understand. "Oh."
"CERO!" With that cry, Yammy shoved his head down and released the enormous cero at Ichigo. The cero hit the ground, reflecting off of it outward, causing the Cero to actually reach a good two hundred meters in distance away from Yammy. To all the spectators, they could only see a bright red light. Yammy managed to keep the Cero going for another few seconds before he cut it off. The sand in front of him up to a hundred meters was completely glassed. Yammy smirked for the last time in his duel with Ichigo.
"Oh give me a break. That was incredibly easy to dodge." Ichigo said, standing in the air about ten meters away from Yammy's head. Yammy turned back, shocked. "I'm done with this fight." Ichigo said, a very serious expression on his face. Ichigo put his hand forward, a red orb forming quickly in front of it.
"Wha-?"
"Cero Gigantesco." The head-sized red cero in front of his hand suddenly quadrupled in size.
(The Spectators)
An explosion of epic proportions was seen by all the present arrancar. Only Ulquiorra could compare it to something equal in size, but he kept that to himself. Referring to his Lanzal Del Relampago. Before any of them could admire or comment on it, a massive shockwave caught them all by surprise, flattening the weaker Arrancar to the ground instantly. Even the Espada seemed to be affected by it. Aizen only smirked at the carnage.
"Ho-ho-holy shit!" Grimmjow was the first to say was going through everybody's head. "Did you see that?" He asked aloud, shaking in excitement.
"No, I averted my eyes at the last millisecond. Someone tell Kurosaki-san to do it again." Szayel said sarcastically, putting his glasses back on.
"Not very subtle." Zommari said calmly, not looking away from the pillar of fire in the distance.
"Damned effective though!" Nnoitora finished, smirking with glee. The Quinta said nothing else while he admired the destruction. He could certainly appreciate the obvious display of strength.
"This is just my opinion-" Starrk started, resting his head on his hand, very bored. "-but I think the fight is over."
"I think you are correct, Starrk-san." Aizen said, a grin on his face. With that, he vanished.
(With Ichigo)
Ichigo put out a small ember on his left shoulder with a brush of his hand. He stood in front of a massive hole. In the hole, Ichigo could see the Gillian Forest below, or at least the top of the very tall 'trees' that littered the place. Being a somewhat cautious person, Ichigo would have checked for a body, or some sort of affirmative that his opponent was dead, but he didn't think he needed to.
"A most impressive display, Kurosaki-san. If I do say so myself." Aizen said, a few feet behind Ichigo. Ichigo looked over his shoulder at Aizen, then chuckled.
"I may have overdone it." Ichigo started. "But, overkill is better than 'underkill', right?" He asked with a shrug.
"I agree." Aizen said genuinely, nodding. "I can assume you know what this means?"
"I get stuck with the responsibilities of being the strongest Espada in your army?" Ichigo asked, now turning to fully face Aizen.
"The strongest Arrancar, by that logic." Aizen corrected, looking amused. Ichigo shrugged.
"I guess." He said, not feeling all that impressed with himself.
"Seeing as you are now an Espada, there are several perks involved." Aizen began, hoping to get Ichigo into the idea of it all. "For one, you won't have to stay a second night in that small 'guest' room."
"The bed was quite comfortable, actually." Ichigo retorted, fighting back the urge to smirk. Aizen didn't respond to the joke.
"As the new Zero Espada, you may also claim Yammy-san's palace." Aizen told Ichigo, who blinked. He hadn't considered that. Guess that was a perk. A whole palace seemed a bit much, but he really wasn't going to complain.
"Uh, sweet?" Ichigo replied, a little unsure.
"You may also choose your own Fraccion." Aizen said with that friendly smile on his face. "I can show you the Fraccion potentials in the morning, after you've rested. Unless you already have someone in mind?" Aizen asked, 'absent-mindedly'.
"No, no. I don't really…" Ichigo stopped, looking up in thought. After a couple of seconds, he looked back down, a half-smirk on his face. "Actually, there might be a couple I have in mind."
(End of Chapter/Author's Note)
And there you be having it, chapter 3 for your veiwing pleasure. If you think that the Ichigo vs Yammy fight ended too quickly, than you reacted in the way I hoped you would. Please begin to try and grasp just how strong Ichigo is in my story. And, I'm sure you noticed, but I'll just go ahead and say. I plan for a lot of Espada interaction, directly and indirectly caused by Ichigo. At the very least, they'll talk amongst each other more when they're together.
That is all, let's move onto the notes.
[1] Personally, I don't see Zommari as a total Aizen fanatic. Sure, he yelled Banzai in Aizen's name upon dieing, but that doesn't mean he absolutly worshiped the guy, does it? I like to think he was hoping Aizen, and the Espada, would continue and achieve their overall goal.
[2] There is no Grimmjow Fraccion in this story. Why, you ask? I will repeat what Ichigo said in Chapter 1. Only one Adjuchas got away from him. Meaning Grimmjow. The six that were tailing along with him... well*Tries to think of a way to sugarcoat it*They resigned from being characters in my story to pursue other goals according to their own agendas. I wished them luck then never heard from them again.
Musical Inspiration for this chapter(I will apologize in advance if a lot of the inspiration is Avenged Sevenfold... favorite band now.)
Band:Avenged Sevenfold
Song:Welcome to the Family
I try and help you with the things that can't be justified. I need to warn you that there is no way to rationalize. So have you figured it out now? Have you figured it out? You. Can't. Win. This. Fight.
There you have it. Please read and review. Constructive Criticism is welcome, but flamers will be hunted down and beaten up by me personally, I assure you.