He wasn't sure where they were taking him, and he couldn't bring himself to care, either. Las Noches –– no, Las Ruinas –– loomed ahead of them. What once was a proud palace of a psychopath with a God-complex was now mostly destroyed. The barrier that ran through the perimeter had various holes in it. The dome had various holes in it, courtesy of a fight that had apparently taken place six months ago. Closer still, he saw that the Hollows that resided inside adapted to the wreckage; some used the fallen roofs as shelter and other useful furniture, such as tables and chairs.
Ichigo resisted the urge to purify all the Hollows he came in contact with. A pacifist Zangetsu further reinforced this thought, saying that lest they initiate conflict, Ichigo should stay out of everything. Besides, he didn't have the strength nor the skill to take on various Gillan-class Arrancar at once. As long as he was in the company of Dondochakka, Pesche, and Nel, nobody was going to attack him.
Now that the walls were either completely destroyed or sported various holes, the inside didn't seem as endless as before. That and his Hollow companions had increased the speed of their Sonido, making it the journey faster than the last time they invaded Hueco Mundo.
Ichigo stopped in his tracks when he saw a very familiar Espada. Zangetsu became even more vocal inside his head, urging him to regain control of his emotions. Nel patted his hair comfortably, doing more than Pesche and Dondochakka, who hid behind Ichigo.
"You are not welcome here, Kurosaki Ichigo," Ulquiorra uttered without an ounce of surprise. It seemed that he had always expected him to get out of the Caja de Negación, even if it had taken him months.
Dondochakka stuck out his head. "We're here to see Harribel-sama. She will know what to do with him."
His piercing green eyes narrowed. "Although it is true that we are no longer enemies, that doesn't mean that we are allies. I'll take our guest from now on; Nelliel Tu Odelschwanck can continue if she so wishes."
He turned around and started walking, his tattered coattails flowing behind him. Ichigo's scowl deepened but nevertheless he followed closely behind, just in case Ulquiorra decided to leave him behind with his Sonido. Nel was shivering slightly in his shoulders, no doubt affected by the almost tangible tension between the two enemies, forcing Ichigo to relax his shoulders, at least to make the toddler-like Arrancar more comfortable.
The Cuarta Espada came to a sudden stop in front of a set of long doors guarded by two muscular Arrancar. He turned his head sideways and gave Ichigo a calculating stare. "One wrong move and we shall dispose ourselves of you, Kurosaki Ichigo. Remember that you tread in a very fine line and I hope that your rash mouth does not land you in trouble."
He bit back a retort and merely nodded. Nel ruffled his hair and said, "I trust in ya, Ichigo. I won't letcha say anything too stupid!"
Ulquiorra nodded at the burly Arrancar and they opened the door with minimal effort. They stepped in to a wide and long room that overlooked the real darkness of Hueco Mundo. Before the window and up a couple of stairs was a simple chair in which a dark-skinned blonde Arrancar sat, looking as bored as she should be. Her green eyes lit in wonder when she saw the orange-haired missing Shinigami walk in confident that no one would attack him. She changed her posture, leaning in slightly to better receive her unexpected guest.
"To what do I owe the pleasure, Kurosaki Ichigo?" she asked, her voice dancing with masterfully masked amusement.
Much to his surprise, he didn't know how to respond. He was so used to dealing with enemies that most of his meaningful conversations came from the clash of swords. Luckily, he had so many burning questions that he decided to simply go with that. "Answers. I'm extremely confused right now. Aizen is Spirit King now?"
She slowly shook her head. "Not really, not yet, at least. Luckily for you Shinigami the Ouken can only open the realm to the Spirit King during the Summer Solstice, which is in approximately two months. However, chances are Aizen is going to become the Spirit King anyway so we just say that."
"Then where's Aizen and why aren't you attacking me?"
"Our sources tell us that Aizen is acting as the soutaichou of the Gotei 13, using a combination of fear, hypnotizing abilities, and the disappearance of Yamamoto Genryuusai as means to keep his power. He drove out the old captains and lieutenants of Soul Society and replaced them with his own. Whether they are honestly loyal to him or they believe Aizen is Yamamoto we won't know unless we ask them.
"As to why we're not attacking you right now, Shinigami," Tier Harribel continued with a quieter, more menacing voice, "the answer is simple: Aizen betrayed us. We lost Starrk and Barragan in that little skirmish you call the Winter War. He then proceeded to slash me and stab me. We're not attacking you because we like you, Kurosaki Ichigo, but mostly because you're the only hope we have for any semblance of vengeance."
Ichigo stared at her, baffled. He hadn't thought much about the consequences of being locked away for six months but now everything suddenly hit him. Everything that could've gone wrong did; the only silver lining of the situation was that Aizen wasn't Spirit King yet, but even that seemed a given at the moment. What hope did he have against not only Aizen, but the entirety of the Gotei 13? It was like their rescue mission but worst, since they wouldn't hesitate to kill him outright.
"Did they survive?" he whispered, horrified.
Nel jumped away from him and walked until she was in front of the Vizard. She was looking strangely somber, which only made the deep sense of foreboding inside him to grow deeper. "Around two months ago Nel saw a Garganta form. Nel went to explore it and saw this pervert with a hat. He has been coming here every once in a while to exchange information."
Relief swept over him, almost choking him. "Geta-boshi is alive! Do you know if anyone else is?"
Harribel answered, "No, right now we're in a delicate position where Aizen is letting us be, since he has no use for us. That Urahara person is very good at hiding his presence in Hueco Mundo, but none of us are good at hiding our presence in the Living World. As much as I want to kill him, I'm not suicidal either."
"Then can I go? The faster I get there the more I'll get to train!" The excitement was killing him; he went from hopeless in his mission to believing that all of his friends were still alive and planning an attack.
"Unfortunately, your abysmal skills in controlling your reiatsu would instantly give away your location to Aizen," Ulquiorra replied in his impassive voice. "Even though we're not allied with the rebel Shinigami, I admit that our mission for vengeance primarily relies with them, and right now the rebels are in a place that completely hides their existence, safe from Aizen."
"Plus we have reasons to believe that as soon as Aizen becomes King he will dispose of Hueco Mundo," Harribel added as an afterthought. "So no, for everyone's sake, we won't be sending you to your Shinigami companions at the moment. You're safe from AIzen's sight here in Hueco Mundo."
Ichigo grit his teeth, failing miserably to reign in the outward signs of his frustration. "We only have two months before . . ." His face fell and his legs started wobbling. "Karakura Town––"
"–– Is no more," he finished. "You should've known this the moment you figured Aizen had successfully created the Ouken."
Yuzu, Karin, Dad, Keigo, Mizuiro, Tatsuki. . .
Everyone.
Gone?
I failed. Failed.
IfailedIfailedIfailedIfailed .
"Crying won't bring anyone back, Kurosaki Ichigo," Ulquiorra mentioned, unmoved by the sight of the teenager's tears. This was the type of weakness that he detested in humans, the one that rendered them useless and, if it was possible, even lower trash. "Instead of pitying yourself, you should prepare for battle to avenge those whom you lost."
"Inoue and Ishida," Ichigo murmured almost inaudibly. He looked up to gaze at Ulquiorra, piercing him with his enraged eyes. "You killed them, didn't you?"
The Cuarta Espada only stared back, neither confirming nor denying his statement. Harribel, although entertained by the Vizard's spectrum of emotions, decided to interfere. "We let them go. If they were killed, they were not killed by our hands."
"Your Quincy friend could barely breathe and I was under orders to protect Inoue Orihime. If I wanted to kill the Quincy I would've had to kill the onna, going against my initial commands," he added as an explanation.
Relief was no longer as sweet as it had been before. Ichigo was now wary of any news the Arrancar gave him, catching unto their good-news-first-bad-news-second pattern.
"Nel, our guest is tired. Could you please show him around to his chambers? We'll continue this tomorrow."
The green-haired child bowed to her queen and skipped away, beckoning her friend to follow. Ichigo didn't complain about his abrupt dismissal; he didn't know if he could handle any more news and quite frankly he was physically spent as well.
We will be ready to deal with the things tomorrow throws at us better once you're well-rested. For now, focus on your health.
You ask the almost impossible, Zangetsu. I'll try, though.
Harribel and Ulquiorra both observed the two retreating figures in silence. Once the two left the room and the guards closed the door, Ulquiorra turned to look at Harribel with slightly suspicious looks. "I hate to admit it, but I agree with the Substitute Shinigami: it would've been wise to send him right now to the rebels."
She sighed and nodded. "I thought so too at first, but right now the rebels are most likely resentful with Kurosaki Ichigo. It's best that we test the waters before we throw him in there and expect him to swim."
He gave a noncommittal grunt. "Since when do you care about Kurosaki Ichigo's emotional health? You've turned soft, Tier Harribel."
"There is something more, of course. I think you felt it but are keeping quiet about it." After a couple of seconds of no response, she continued, "So I'm right. Something's different about him, or actually, his Hollow. Where exactly did you send him?"
"I sent him to a place he wasn't supposed to escape from," Ulquiorra admitted quietly. "The fact that he escaped . . ." he trailed off, leaving the suggesting up in the air. He had been extremely surprised when he felt the approaching reiatsu of a seemingly long-gone opponent, but then again, Ichigo's existed to mystify all the people that knew him.
"There is still hope, then."
A/N
We should be going to the remainder of Gotei 13 and various explanations on what's going on. Expect chapters to get longer as well.
GAMF
