"Bound By Destiny"
Chapter 3- "Conquistadors: Part 2"
By- Tiny
Ichigo stopped on the outskirts of town, near the old warehouse district where nobody went anymore except wanderers and homeless, Ganju skidding to a halt just behind him. Isshin was already waiting for them, leaning on his side along a stone ledge on one of the buildings, his mouth turned up in a slightly amused smile as he watched Ganju and Ichigo pant with exhaustion. Granted, he was out of his body and therefore his stamina was more than it would normally be, but despite that these two should have been able to keep up with him rather easily.
Neither of the two boys could believe the speed with which Isshin had moved on the way to this location, utilizing a mixture of flash steps and just plain speed, similar to the movements of Kenpachi Zaraki. It was remarkable, considering that Isshin was supposed to be almost as old as Ukitake and easily as powerful, which would explain why he was considered such a danger to the Gotei 13. Anyone who could sneak up on the usually well-observed Ganju and the unusually powerful Ichigo was dangerous, not to mention very sneaky.
"My, my, you boys certainly do look tired, and that was a short jog!" Isshin chuckled, broadening his smile, "I would have expected much more, especially from you Ichigo."
"Can it, old man, we don't have time for this," Ganju snapped, shaking a finger at the former taicho, "What were you following me and carrot-top around for today?"
"Is it so wrong for a father to keep an eye on his boys?"
"Answer the question Dad, I wanna know too," Ichigo glared, "Yamamoto-sama sent us to find the former taicho of 6th unit, and come to find out it's YOU! I think I deserve an explanation."
"Young people, always in a hurry," Isshin sighed, jumping down before the two boys, "I was following you around at Kisuke's request. He feels that the two of you are not yet ready for the war that's brewing and sent me to test you."
"Test us?" Ganju mused, stroking his chin, "Test us for what?"
"To see if you even have the potential to combat what is coming," Isshin answered, his tone deadly serious as he drew his sword, "Release your konpaku, both of you. I want you to fight me, right here, right now."
"You always said two on one wasn't fair," Ichigo muttered, releasing his konpaku as Ganju did likewise, "That it showed weakness."
"Indeed, hence why you will both attack at once," Isshin smirked, almost wickedly, at the two boys, "Because for all your strengths, you are both still weak."
Ichigo didn't have to be told twice as he drew the sword from his back and rushed at his father, Ganju following suit only to have their swords clash with one another as the old man vanished. He reappeared a few steps away and cocked his head to the side just as Ichigo came in for another strike, this one only connecting with Isshin's sword as the older shinigami knocked him back several feet. Ganju prepared himself to take advantage of the distraction, casting one of his Seppa spells underneath Isshin's feet, but it didn't work as the ex-taicho fired a weak Kido and knocked him away.
Ganju was already out of the picture, but Isshin had anticipated as much and now turned the whole of his attention to Ichigo, who was at that moment rushing for another strike with his sword. The blow passed through thin air as Isshin flash stepped over to his son's side and slashed his own sword against Ichigo's right arm, sending a spray of blood across the ground below. Ichigo was about to instinctively reach for his arm, but didn't do so for fear of dropping his sword and being left defenseless, though it didn't seem to matter at this point.
"Your not as fast as Yoruichi said you'd be, nowhere near fast enough to have beaten Byakuya," Isshin noted, resting his sword on his shoulder, "And your sword is far too large. Do you not know how to control it's size?"
"It's always been this big, I can't control it," Ichigo grumbled, moving the sword into position, "But if you want to see it small, I think I can manage that..."
"You still have so much to learn, Ichigo, as does Ganju," Isshin sighed, looking up at the sky, "Even as a child, you had no self-control."
"We'll see who can't control their sword, old man!" Ichigo snapped, the cloth of his sword wrapping around his good arm, "BANKAI!!!!!"
Yammy couldn't believe what was happening, ducking just in time to avoid one of those super-charged kicks of the Hakudo user, then moving away from a flurry of sharp, rock projectiles heading his way. It had been like this ever since the shinigami, Nemu, had shown up on the scene, using her earth-based abilities to literally pull the footing out from under the large fighter. That in conjunction with the powerful and lightning fast moves of the kaizou konpaku that was teaming up with her and it made Yammy's plight that much more unbearable.
The other hollow-like entity didn't even seem to be concerned for his counterpart, simply being content to watch while Yammy got his butt handed to him, merely playing the role of observer. So far it was hard to tell if he was impressed or stunned by the performance of the two spiritual warriors, especially considering how powerful Yammy was in comparison to the normal shinigami. As for Tatsuki, another non-combat onlooker, she was both stunned and amazed, seeing as she didn't know Nemu and was surprised at how powerful Kon really was.
When she had first started training with Yoruichi, after the dark-skinned woman recognized her potential in Hakudo, she had left the bulk of Tatsuki's training and sparring sessions to Kon. During those sessions Kon had never fought with quite the ferocity that he was now showing, nor had he ever displayed such high spiritual pressure and knowledge of advanced attacks. Tatsuki also didn't know he could use Kido, as he had always relied on his well-trained body and Hakudo movements in their matches, but apparently he could as he launched a semi-powerful spell at Yammy.
Yammy was briefly able to brush off the spell, but it had been just the opening that Nemu needed as she sent a large pillar of stone out at Yammy, driving the sharp rock clean through his shoulder. Dark blood poured from the wound as the hollow-man pulled his arm away, screaming in agony as his companion finally showed a brief burst of surprise at the move. Their skin was supposed to be nearly impenetrable, and he was a bit stunned that a shinigami using shikai would be able to break it, but then he hadn't even expected a fukutaicho to be here at all.
"You stupid bitch, you cut me!" Yammy roared, waving his sword around, "Me, one of Aizen-sama's most powerful Arrancar!"
"So that's what they are," Kon mused, waving a finger at his quarry, "Don't blame her, assmunch, just because your weak."
"Why you little...fucker!" Yammy snapped, holding his sword before his face and smirking sadistically, "I'll show you who's weak! Slaughter..."
Whatever command Yammy was about to give his sword was cut off as the smaller Arrancar, Ulquiorra, drove his hand into his partner's wound, twisting it around within the flesh. The larger man practically squealed with pain, dropping to his knees as the smaller man sheathed Yammy's sword for him, pulling out his blood-soaked hand before looking over at the three living realm fighters. The cold semblance of a smile creased his melancholy features, sending a chill down everyone's spine as he opened up a sort of portal behind them.
"We are not here to flaunt our strength Yammy, merely to observe, and we have already seen enough," Ulquiorra stated flatly, "We will take our leave now, but be warned...Aizen-sama is not through with this realm yet."
"What business does he have with us?" Nemu asked just as matter-of-factly, resealing her sword, "We did not provoke him, therefore there should be no conflict between our two sides."
"You are all trash, that is reason enough to exterminate you," Ulquiorra scoffed, turning into the portal, "We shall meet again, soon, and the next time...none of you will survive."
Nemu and Kon didn't respond to the threat as Ulquiorra and Yammy disappeared into the portal, leaving no trace of them having even been there save the large crater and several upraised mounds of earth from their fight. Nemu seemed to be a bit confused as to what all the violence was for, while Kon seemed very distant, his green eyes gazing off into the sky in thought. It was unusual for the normally goofy and carefree fighter to ever be so serious, but nobody had any time to contemplate the issue at hand as the sound of clapping reached their ears.
Looking to her side, Tatsuki spotted Kisuke and Yoruichi resting against a large tree with slightly amused looks on their faces, though for Kisuke that wasn't such a surprising development. Nobody knew how long they had been there, or how much of the fight they had seen, but for them to be applauding and even amused they must have been there for quite some time. It made Tatsuki a bit angry that her sensei had seen her miserable performance against Yammy, yet she showed no such agitation on the outside as the two more experienced combatants approached.
"Well done, all of you have done very well today," Kisuke clapped, fanning himself comically, "Thanks to you, we now have a rough idea of the strength and abilities of our enemy!"
"But, Urahara-taicho, we didn't beat them," Nemu bowed, her face as blank and expressionless as always, "According to my father, 'a job is not well done unless your enemy lies dead at you feet.'"
"Mayuri exaggerates, but I'm not here to argue," Kisuke waved it off, "The three of you are no doubt tired and wish an explanation, so come with me. I'll explain everything back at my store."
Neither of the girls argued, Nemu returning to her gigai and helping Tatsuki to her feet, the two of them following an almost flamboyant Urahara as he made his way through the trees. Kon remained behind, however, his gaze still fixed on the clouds and his brow furrowed in deep thought, which Ichigo had once told him would 'cause his head to explode'. He didn't even notice as his teacher strolled over to the young man, staring up into the sky along with him as her hair blew in the wind, nearly brushing over Kon's face and bringing him back to reality.
"Your quiet, that's unusual," Yoruichi smiled, "Did you exhaust yourself that much against your enemy?"
"No, he didn't even force me to use my best moves," Kon shook his head, sitting down on the ground, "But that little one, he was able to knock Tatsuki-chan away without even visibly moving a muscle, and he took down Yammy like he was nothing! If Yammy was one of Aizen's strongest, what does that make the little guy?"
"Stronger, and it means that we'll have to up your training," Yoruichi chuckled, resting on her side, "Next time we train, your weight's are getting increased again...500 pounds!"
"WHAT!?!" Kon gasped, finally reverting back to himself, "That's not fair!"
Isshin looked down disapprovingly at his son and Ganju, both so bloody and beaten and he hadn't even been forced to release his sword, proving further how inexperienced these two were. Both had potential, Ichigo had already learned bankai and was well on his way to mastering it, but there were still his hollow powers and the fact that he hadn't been taught any other forms of combat. Then there was Ganju, who had had no formal training whatsoever in anything save his rock spells, yet he was able to continue getting up and coming at the former taicho.
Both had impressed him with their skill considering the lack of any formal training or experience, yet neither seemed up to the task of taking on what was to come, even if they started training right away. Urahara had told him not to take their performance to literally, as Ichigo had always managed to surprise any foe that he faced, and Ganju was Kaien's little brother. The two both held more power than either of them realized, it was just a matter of bringing that potential to the surface, not to mention teaching them how to control it.
"You two are in for hell once you wake back up, because training starts tomorrow," Isshin smirked, returning to his own body, "And I'm not going to go as easy on you as Kisuke..."
The room was utterly deprived of light as Ulquiorra and Yammy made their way to meet with the rest of their fellows, Yammy still cradling his wounded arm with the good hand. Ulquiorra had been utterly unapologetic in regards to further injuring his comrade, though that was not surprising, as the melancholy Arrancar rarely showed any sort of affection towards his brethren. It was part of what made him one of Aizen's favorite subordinates, that part of himself that was still left over from his days as a hollow, the utter disregard for all life.
As they entered the room, a small amount of light came in from grooves in the ceiling, allowing the highlighted forms of eight other Arrancar to appear alongside a throne of sorts. Beside them, at the right and left arm of the throne, were the former shinigami Tosen Kaname and Ichimaru Gin, now wearing a white uniform that looked like a cross between shinigami robes and the Quincy outfit. Their swords were all clearly visible, but nobody was really paying attention to the blades as the light fell on the man sitting on the throne.
Aizen looked quite pleased to see his two subordinates, his usual smile spread wide over his face as his dark eyes twinkled, looking over the two Arrancar as they bowed their heads to the ground. The other eight Arrancar at his side did likewise until Aizen signaled for them to rise, though neither Tosen or Ichimaru bowed, signifying their status as equals or, more likely, their indifference. They just kept their eyes ahead as the two other Arrancar rose to their feet, folding their arms behind their backs and standing as thought at ease to await further orders.
"Welcome back, Ulquiorra, Yammy," Aizen chuckled, rising to his feet, "Now, enlighten us all, my children. Tell your brothers and sisters what we have learned..."
Author's Notes: Well, another chapter down and again...very little action where Ichigo and Ganju are concerned, though it is quite evident that the both of them got a good, old-fashioned butt kicking! And Isshin did it without even performing shikai, yet we got to see a little more of Kon and Nemu's powers as they brought Yammy to the verge of releasing his sword. Next time, they may just pull it off, but in the meantime I hope everyone was happy with this chapter, cause now it's time to work on my other stories a little bit.
The next chapter will feature Ulquiorra informing all of his 'siblings' as to what exactly took place in the living world, as well as informing Aizen that he had failed in his mission to test Ichigo. This will not sit well with other, more power-hungry Arrancar that he gets away with failure, particularly one younger looking one known as Grimmjow and several of the other, weaker ones. All that, plus Ichigo begins training with his father! Stay tuned for more...