The black haired man growled deeply and swung his blade in an arc. "What is it with you females?" he hissed. "You're just a bunch of jumped up sluts trying to do a man's job. It makes me sick." He spit on the ground, scowling.
"So you must be gay then," I said in a snarky tone of voice. The thing above me moved and I jumped backward, grabbing Ichigo and pulling him to his feet. "I can't fight with you around me," I told him, flash stepping over to where Orihime Inoue stood with her hands over her mouth. "Please stay here so I don't kill you on accident." It was true. I was bad at keeping a fight to one area. Especially if I had to use my bankai.
"No…I can still fight," the orange haired boy growled, trying to get to his feet. I sighed, rolling my eyes.
"Shinji would murder me if something happened to you, so let me show you a little trick he showed me." He sat up and then got to his feet finally and that was perfect for me. I pointed a finger at him. "Bakudo sixty-one. Rikujōkōrō." Beams of light shot to Ichigo, trapping him in the center. He groaned and tried to move, but it wasn't happening. "Apparently I have a knack for that kido spell ," I said, shrugging. "So sit tight for me, okay?" With that I turned around, back toward the large arrancar that was edging toward me.
"So I think I'm supposed to say my name and threaten you now, right?" I asked, twirling my sword in my hand as I walked toward the two offending creatures.
The black haired one snorted. "Why would I give a fuck who you are, bitch? Tesra is going to kill you and rip your body apart. It would be a waste for me to know who you are. Tesra!" he pointed one long, bony finger at me. "Get her out of my sight! Kill her!"
The blonde-bull-hollow-thing roared and ran toward me. I held my ground, holding my sword out in front of me. "Rend, Awaitsume," I murmured, keeping my eyes on the arrancar rushing me. My sword brightened and was encased in silver light. That same light streamed away from it, wrapping around my right arm and forming a round shield that looked like a crescent had been cut from the top. The shield was silver and bright, almost having a reflective surface. There were etchings on it as well. In my left hand I now held an Athenian type blade. The sword was shorter than typical ones, and narrowed in the middle before widening to a triangular point. The hilt was curled and very unlike a Japanese katana. Instead it curled over my hand, protecting my skin. The blade was very shiny and near reflective as well.
I took a breath and dodged the arrancar, ending up behind him and in a good position. I leaped forward and slashed the thing's leg, making him bellow and spin around. This time he lunged at me and dipped his great head, pointing his horns at me and charging.
"Oh great," I sighed, bending my knees. When he got close enough I leapt up and landed on his skeletal mask, jumping forward and burying my sword in his shoulder. He bellowed loudly and tried to throw me, but I jumped down, bringing my sword down the left side of the arrancar's body. It made him scream all the more and he stumbled backward, pulling away from my blade.
This was my chance. I rushed forward and knelt down, preparing to jump again. I had expected the arrancar to be blinded with pain for a little bit longer, but instead he suddenly kicked at me, landing the kick on my face. Thrown backward, I yelped and landed on my back in the sand.
"Shit!" I hissed, reaching up with my right arm to touch my face. My nose was gushing blood and I felt my cheekbone swelling. It could have been worse. But I had to make this fight come out my way before Lisa came. She would be pissed if she saw me on the ground. I was supposed to be proving that I could do this! I growled and lurched to my feet, gripping my sword tighter.
"This is so over!" I snapped, letting my hollow mask appear over my head. It was different from regular masks because it actually formed the face of a cat along with ears instead of just being a flat mask. There were black and purple stripes on it, along with purple dots under the eyeholes.
I pulled it over my face and immediately felt my hollow's power welling up with my own. I disappeared in a blindingly fast flash step and appeared in the air in front of the arrancar. I slashed at his chest and slammed my foot into his mask, kicking him backward. The arrancar roared again, but this time I wasn't giving him a chance to retaliate. I slammed my shield into his neck sideways, under the mask and he reeled. Last I delivered one more bruising kick to his chest and finally he crashed backward onto his back, not moving but still breathing.
I dropped to the ground and lifted my mask, blinking my eyes and shaking my head as I looked at the black haired man who I assumed was also an arrancar. "So what was that about me being a jumped up slut just trying to do a man's job?" I asked in a faux polite voice. "Because it seems to me that I just kicked the ass of your man."
The arrancar growled, hand tightening on his blade. "Well it seems I'm going to get the honor of taking another bitch out of the world today. I guess I will permit you to know my name, since I will be the one to kill you. I'm Nnoitra Jiruga, fifth espada in Aizen's army."
I looked at him blankly, tipping my head to the side. "Okay, well you have a fucked up joke of a name and I have no idea what an espada is. Are you an arrancar, or just a reject of life?"
Nnoitra's mouth opened and his violet eyes narrowed even more. "You must be kidding me," he snarled angrily. "You dare come here and not even know what an espada is? You really are stupid, girl. It will be a blessing to the soul reapers when I kill you. An espada is one of the most powerful arrancar in Hueco Mundo. There are ten of us and I am number five. That means you have no hope of beating me."
Blinking I looked at the arrancar who I'd just downed. "Was he an espada too?" I asked dryly.
"No! He was-is-my useless fraccion. He doesn't compare to me in any way! I am ten times more powerful than that fool!" He spit on the sand and I grimaced. Nasty.
"Oh. Well I'm Hiroko Mikazuki and I'm a visored in the army of Hiroko I guess." I smirked at him with only a bit of humor. "And so I guess I should wipe the sand with your ass now."
"Ha!" the arrancar laughed, swinging his huge blade. "You really think you can even come close to beating me? Well let me tell you something-" he suddenly disappeared in his own type of flash step. When he reappeared he as standing directly beside me and my eyes widened at how fast he was. "-There's no way you can even touch me." He swung his huge weapon at me and I barely was able to block it. I gasped as it smashed against my shield, jarring my entire arm and shoulder. He wasted no time in darting away from me and bringing his blade around again. I again blocked it but this time my teeth jarred with the impact. We continued that way for a few minutes, with me doing everything in my power just to block the huge blade.
I realized I wasn't getting anywhere this way. I had to do something. Again I pulled my mask over my head and immediately I was fast enough to block the attacks with more ease. "That's more like it," I sighed in my hollowfied voice.
The arrancar frowned and stepped back. "You're spiritual pressure has changed," he remarked. "You smell like a hollow. You're strange, girl. But no more strange than that one," he waved his arm at Ichigo. "And he was barely strong enough to take down that stupid sexta."
"Sex….ta?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. "Like…sex?" My mind was going a mile a minute, and everything I thought of was dirty.
"No you idiot! Sexta! The sixth espada!" Nnoitra rolled his eye and twitched his grip on his blade. "When I kill you I'll be doing everyone a favor by ridding the world of your stupidity," he spat. Suddenly he disappeared and reappeared in front of me, making me gasp. I threw up my shield to block his attack, but his crescent shaped blade got under my shield and he threw me into the air before delivering a kick to my ribs that sent me flying backward.
When I hit the ground I rolled into something solid. Opening my eyes, I found I was lying next to the blue haired man who was all but out cold. He blinked, looking toward me with something akin to massive confusion. "Who…you?" he murmured as I sat up.
"Uh, I'm Hiro," I said distractedly. "But I can't really talk right now. Trust me, I'd love to help you, but you kind of smell like a hollow and I'm getting my ass kicked right now-" I had started to get up but he grabbed my arm and his eyes had narrowed.
"He's going to kill you," the man promised, a cruel gleam in his eyes. "I promise you that. It was a mistake coming here, girl." With that last statement he dropped my arm and closed his eyes again.
"Well thanks for the moral support," I muttered, finally getting to my feet. But he was right. I couldn't kill this guy. And I wasn't sure my bankai would really help anything. I wouldn't be able to use it for more than ten minutes, and after it was done I had nothing left to resort to. It was time for some dirty tricks. I snapped my fingers and the light cage around Ichigo disappeared. Well, now that was taken care of. Ichigo fell to the ground, glaring at me.
"You're right," I sighed, slouching my shoulders and dropping my head. "There's just no way I can beat you…I'm so useless."
The arrancar laughed. I was hoping his pride would overtake his intelligence-what little there was. "I was waiting for you to realize that. Well then, I'll kill you quickly, bitch." He walked forward toward me and I stayed where I was, my face dripping blood and my ribs aching.
"What are you doing, girl?" Ichigo yelled. "Run! Don't let him kill you!" As he spoke I let my mask dissipate. I took a deep, shuddering breath, narrowing my eyes at the ground. I watched his shadow come closer, until finally he stopped in front of me.
"Any last words, girl?" the idiot spat, lifting his double crescent blade.
"Just three," I said, looking up at him solemnly. Then I smirked and pointed my finger at him, quickly shouting, "Bakudo sixty-one. Rikujōkōrō!" Light shot around him to form a cage and he howled in anger.
"This won't hold me for long, bitch!" he screamed at me.
"Yeah, I figured," I told him, lunging forward. I lifted my shield and bashed him across the face with it. He just growled at me. "You were supposed to pass out!" I shrieked, bringing my arm back again. He was beginning to break the restraints. I panicked and smacked him with my shield again. This time he slumped over. "Oh thank Kami," I sighed, stepping back and snapping. The light restraints disappeared, and at that moment a miracle happened.
Lisa appeared. She had one boy slung over her shoulder and a girl hanging from her arm.
"Let's go!" I yelped, running away from the espada and going to Ichigo. The girl-Orihime-had been healing him. "We got what we came for so let's-" I froze when someone appeared right in front of me. He had scruffy brown hair and a mask fragment that looked like a lower jaw around his neck. "Go…" I finished lamely, eyes widening.
"I'm afraid you won't be taking the girl with you," the man apologized, scratching his neck. "I must take her back with me." His eyes surveyed mine and he looked at the espada I'd just knocked out. "You showed him mercy when he would not have done the same to you," the man commented.
"So you're going to reward me by letting us go with Orihime?" I asked hopefully, taking a step back from him. His spiritual pressure was immense and I wasn't even going to lift a finger to attempt to do anything. Well…then again. "But I get it," I slumped my shoulders again. "I knew we shouldn't have come…it's just…Bakudo sixty-one! Riku-" I began, but the man grabbed my hair and swung me around, causing me to scream at the agony that was my scalp.
"Don't try that trick with me, girl," he sighed. "It may have worked with the quinta, but not me. Now." He walked over to Orihime. "Truly, I hate assignments like this," he informed her before grabbing her and disappearing. I got up, rubbing my head and frowning in pain. Then a groan made me look around to see the fifth espada was twitching.
"Time to leave!" I yelped, running over to Lisa. My zanpakuto transformed back into just a samurai sword and I slammed it into its sheath at my waist.
"ORIHIME!" Ichigo screamed, looking around. In the distance I could feel a garganta opening.
"We need to leave. Mashiro is already at the garganta," Lisa snapped. She looked at Ichigo, then at me. "Here. Take her," she set the girl on the ground and I scooped up her small form in my arms. Then Lisa walked over to Ichigo and hit him in the head. He passed out quite easily. "Come on!" she ordered, and took off at a flash step. I followed her, heading back to the garganta and the only way back to the world of the living.