Disclaimer: This is a nonprofit fictional story, a FanFiction based on Ken Akamatsu's Negima. I do not own Negima, or most of the other characters included in this work, excepting where it is stated in the author's notes. It is not intended or presented for any commercial profit or personal gain; it is simply a story written for personal fulfillment and presented for public enjoyment, and as an honest homage to the fine story conceived and written by Ken Akamatsu, as well as all the other (innumerable) works that find place herein (and their authors).

Chapter Three: Emptiness

Kajirô spun his sword in his hand as he swept his arm around, creating a blast of wind that sailed towards Ellis. Ellis held her staff up, and the wind suddenly rushed several feet by her without apparently ever warping or turning, its movement flailing her pigtails about but otherwise not harming her.

Ellis thrust her staff out even farther. "Ascension!" she declared, and a bolt of white light raced back towards Kajirô.

Kajirô dodged aside. "I see," he murmured. "That staff of yours—it's your contracted artifact. It has power over space itself, allowing you to transfer the position of objects or energy in space."

"That's right," Ellis agreed easily. "The Staff of Espaizon…one of the four pillars of the Undreamt World. With Vira-Lorr's, Yayoi's, Faina's, and my own, we have the power to create temporary worlds. But alone, this staff's power is the ability to manipulate the physical position of any matter or energy in our space."

"And we've already seen Luana-san's artifact as well," Kajirô continued easily, glancing towards that girl as she battled Hinagiku. "She can switch places with one of her chakram, and with anyone holding it. These abilities certainly make it hard to figure out how to fight you, when you can be anywhere at almost any time. And of course you can back up that strong defensive ability with powerful offensive spells. You're a real bother to have to fight…."

"If you want to surrender, feel free to do so," Ellis said, without hope but quite earnestly. "We're supposed to spare as many of the earthlings and true humans as we can—this was Grants-taichô's wish, one accepted by Eminus-sama and even approved by the Prince. You'll be able to live on and lead the world to come, or be given a perfect world in Cosmo Entelecheia. I know you're someone who hates violence and doesn't want to fight. We don't have to continue."

Kajirô thought briefly on the world he had recently experienced—the world where Hinagiku acknowledged and accepted his feelings, where his brother lived on, teaching his class at Mahora and encouraging him, the world where Kalan and Kain Lockeheart led an organization that maintained peace across two worlds. His mind passed swiftly through the events that had passed since he came to Arcanus Myrror, and on everything he had learned. "…Sorry. No can do. I've got too much damnable nobility in my blood to just curl up and give in, no matter how tempting. Besides…you're not any more at peace with all that than I am."

Ellis narrowed her eyes at him. "What…?"

"Oh, sorry if I pricked any weird buttons," Kajirô continued with a sigh. "I don't mean anything by it. But it's a pretty clear distinction, is all—your organization is up to its necks in a pretty heinous plot, and that doesn't sit well with you. You try to delude yourself with platitudes and assurances that this will serve the greater good, or that it's all pointless because there's no resisting the evil, or that anything you do for the lord who saved you is justified. But your heart really isn't in it. It's the main reason why you'll lose."

Ellis' expression hardened and she gritted her teeth. "You think this battle is a foregone conclusion…in your favor? How dare you…!"

"But it is," Kajirô insisted, still quite mildly. "I know I'm not much in the way of courage or strength, but since I've been a watcher my whole life, I've learned to read the hearts of those around me. We all develop a heart that lies someplace between us, just from our interaction—and if you watch closely, you can learn almost everything about someone from that heart. Look at this three-on-three. Isumi-chan is deadlocked with that guardian spirit of yours. He's supremely powerful, but Isumi-chan, despite her youth, is a genius prodigy of the esteemed Saginomiya clan, and her powers are well-suited to keeping him at bay. You left Hinagiku-san to fight Luana-san because you know that her artifact is the total bane of a dedicated caster like you, but while Luana-san is a good fighter as well, she's actually not as strong as Hinagiku-san. In addition, her main strength is actually also spells, but they aren't any more useful than yours. If you could use an illusion-type magic to confuse and control her, you could win, but my sword is preventing that. So you're the key cog here, Ellis-san. You're probably stronger than I am, so you have to win your fight so that you can team up to find an ability to penetrate Hinagiku-san's ultimate defense. But you're not really capable of doing that, since you don't really believe in your own cause. Your devotion to that earthen doll is nearly so great as my devotion to that girl, never mind that she doesn't have the slightest clue about my feelings. I won't ask you to surrender right now, because I respect your pride, but we're just delaying the inevitable."

Ellis began to visibly shake from this verbal treatment—the shuddering of aroused anger. She chuckled low, under her breath. "Such impertinence," she growled. "Only Winfield has ever been so rude and insufferable to me. I try not to let anything bother me, but to insult my devotion and my dedication to Eminus-sama…." She raised her head, a fire lighting her eyes. "…There's only one way to repay this!

"Luana!" she shouted, breaking the concentration of the other fighters and causing nearly every onlooker to jump from the sudden harshness in her tone. "Fall back! I'm ending this…now!"

"Eh? But, Ellis-chan…!" Luana attempted. Ellis shot her friend a death glare that killed the rest of her protest, left it unspoken in her throat. Both Luana and Borgnine began to jump backward, retreating until they were a good distance behind Ellis as the elf girl began to chant in her Elven tongue, power building around her.

Hinagiku hurried to Kajirô's side. "It seems you've provoked her, Kaji-kun," she murmured, taking a strong stance against the building magical pressure. "This was your intent, I presume?"

"Right. After she releases it, we'll have an opening I intend to take advantage of—if we survive. Can I trust you to block it?"

"Who do you think you're talking to!? Leave it to me!"

"Then I will." Wind began to whip and build around Kajirô, much of it streaming from the imbalance created by Ellis' spell.

"Here it is!" Ellis cried triumphantly. "See if even your impenetrable defenses can match my total magical might! Ragnarok!"

The explosion of magical energy rocketed out, threatening to engulf the youths. Hinagiku put her sword to it and strained to hold it, pouring all of her own ki and magic in to empower the magic-canceling aura of Shirozakura. It was quite a struggle, and she did seem to be losing….

But then Isumi was beside her, chanting a spell of her own, and Hinagiku's forced was empowered. Finally the power of Ellis' spell began to wane and die, and it finally winked out, leaving a heavily-breathing but quite unharmed Hinagiku standing next to Isumi. Ellis stared in shock. "B-but how…?" the elf girl quavered. "That was…!"

"Ellis-chan!" Finally her attention was drawn by Luana's comment to the figure standing in the rear, as Kajirô was surrounded by a towering tornado.

"Just like I wanted…even better," Kajirô murmured. "Here we go." He spun his weapon at the same time he thrust it forward, and the tornado blasted out towards the enemy at speed.

Borgnine moved forward, interposing himself between the attack and his master. He met it with his closed arms, and wind washed over the three of them.

Ellis and Luana were both scattered by the wind. They hit the ground hard and lay unmoving for several moments. Finally they glanced up through bleary eyes and watched Borgnine's disintegrating form. "Borgnine…." Then they stared further up as Kajirô and Hinagiku lowered their swords to their faces.

"Well, as a spirit, that's simply his current corporeal form," murmured Kajirô. "He can return when he—and you—can recover. But for now it's enough. That's our checkmate."

"H-how…?"

"My soul blade is a wind-type. It can control all of the atmosphere…although of course its abilities are limited by my magical power. I couldn't rig up a storm that powerful all on my own. But the massive spell you cast—both with your empowering of it and by its clash with Hinagiku-san—ruptured the atmosphere enough to create an enormous break in air pressure. And, of course, since this is an artificial subspace world, not an illusionary scene, there's plenty of good, already mana-rich elf-blessed air here. Grabbing and harnessing all that force was much easier than trying to build up such a wind on my own. That's how we succeeded."

Ellis groaned and laughed simultaneously as she struggled into a harmless sitting position, Kajirô's sword not wavering from her face. "So you goaded me into making my own downfall. Well done; I really did underestimate all three of you."

"It's our loss," Luana agreed. "So, what do the victors now?"

"First, we would like to get out of here," Hinagiku declared. "And then we'd like you to escort us to the Crystal Princess…to Mai. No tricks, now!"

Ellis glanced at the girl in bemusement. "Well…if we wanted to keep you here, you might not be able to stop us. But right now…I don't feel I have the strength to resist. We're thoroughly defeated." She began to rise, taking up her fallen staff in her hand.

"Wait a minute!" Hinagiku objecting, swinging her sword Ellis' way.

"Relax. I already told you I don't have the strength to resist. But I need this…if you really want out of here." She raised her staff and chanted in Elvish. The world around them melted away, and they found themselves in a dark and rather dreary pillared hall, quite similar to the rest of the architecture they had encountered thus far. She lowered her staff. "There. Satisfied?"

Hinagiku grunted semi-apologetic consent. "Well, I will be when all this is over. Next, of course…."

"Right. We need to take you to the Crystal Princess, right? C'mon, Luana."

"Hai, hai," Luana agreed, rising with effort. "Let's go on, then. We have little other choice right now."

"And no tricks!" insisted Hinagiku again.

"We have no tricks left," Ellis replied wearily. "We already bet everything on this moment. But Eminus-sama will be there waiting for you. You said something about a heart existing between people, Kajirô-san?" she continued, turning to glance back at the boy. "Pretty words, but you can't rely on them against him. Whatever 'heart' exists between you, he'll just crush it without a second thought. That's why we can lead you there so easily. We can give up, because we know we can leave it to him."

"Maybe," Kajirô agreed blandly. "I certainly don't want to fight him if I can help it. But maybe we'll stumble upon more of our comrades on the way…."

"That would be best," Hinagiku said, nodding. "In any case, start leading the three of us, if you would, please."

"You mean the two of you?" Luana replied cheerfully.

With reason—Hinagiku and Kajirô noted with consternation that their adorable mascot priestess, Isumi, had once again gone MIA. They sighed in exasperation. "Of all the times…!" Hinagiku moaned.

"Nothing to be done for it," Kajirô said. "It's her, after all, and we don't have time or security to go trying to find her in this dangerous place. Knowing her luck, she'll stumble on another one of our friends who needs her help. We'll just go forward as we are. So, if you ladies would lead the way…."

"I'm afraid that none of you will be going anywhere. You intruders will die here."

The cold, emotionless voice froze all four of the youths in their tracks. All four turned their heads slowly towards the new arrival who had so addressed them, stared at the white-robed, white-faced figure with the dark hair and half-helmet mask fragment. "Ulquiorra," breathed Ellis.

"You were defeated by this trash?" Ulquiorra continued, stalking towards them. "How disappointing. I don't know what Eminus-sama sees in all of you. Since you're incapable of killing the enemy, it shall be left to me. If you don't want to join them, get out of my sight."

Hinagiku and Kajirô assumed ready stances as the minion of death approached. Swearing under his breath, Kajirô thought, ('This guy is worse than Nnoitra. We have no chance…and he's not the type to play around and give us an opening. Our only hope….')

"I know this is very selfish of me," Kajirô said aloud. "But, I have a final request of you two…Ellis-san, Luana-san." All three of the girls glanced at him in surprise. "Take Hinagiku -san, keep her alive, and get her out of here. I'll ask nothing else, of any of you."

"W-what!?" Hinagiku demanded, reddening in anger and embarrassment. "Are you saying you don't need me!? The nerve! You can't take him alone, Kaji-kun! We have to fight him together! You can't just throw away your life out of a desire to protect me! I'm no weak flower to be sheltered! We both fight…even if it costs me my life, I'll make sure you survive. Otherwise, how will you ever confess your feelings to that girl you care so much for?"

Kajirô smiled sardonically and glanced over at Hinagiku. "Ah…no, that won't do at all, Hinagiku-san. That bravado is totally pointless. You see, that girl I care so much for…the girl I've always loved…is you."

Hinagiku stared at Kajirô. Then she froze, her jaw dropping open. "…Eh? E-eh…?"

"Forgive my selfishness, Hinagiku-san." Then he suddenly shoved her backwards, into Luana's waiting grasp, and threw a hand to the ground. A quick incanted spell caused the floor to break and cave, dropping the two girls into the pit and eliciting a retreating scream from Hinagiku. He glanced over at Ellis as he rose. The girl raised her gaze from the pit to meet his eyes. "I'm counting on you."

Ellis nodded curtly but sadly. "I'm sorry, Kajirô-san…but we'll honor your last request." And she jumped after the other two.

Ulquiorra had stopped to observe this little scene with emotionless neutrality. With a somewhat satisfied sigh, Kajirô turned back to him. "Well…that feels good. Getting that unfinished business out of the way is so liberating." He raised his sword. "Okay, I'm ready."

Ulquiorra stood still, his gaze fixed upon the boy. "What was the point of that gesture? You would sacrifice yourself willingly to delay her death for mere moments…and you find satisfaction in that?"

"I may die here, but she will live on," Kajirô replied simply. "That's enough for me. That's what real love means…at least as far as I've always understood it, as I've experienced it. I feel a little guilty thrusting that on her before fading away, but at least she'll live on…and my memory will stay with her. I'll live on in her heart."

"Her heart," Ulquiorra mimicked, his neutral voice displaying undertones of disgust. "You humans…."

"Yeah…that's how we are. But now we fight, right!? Bankai!"

The explosion enveloped Kajirô, and a moment later he emerged, that gleaming double-bladed energy sword in his hands, but its blades a blazing red in color. A cloak of similar energy and color adorned his shoulders, and two red stars orbited him. "Tengen Kamikaze—Second Star. Akamanto [Red Mantle]."

Still Ulquiorra's expression didn't change. "A Bankai…so you are one of those humans that mimics hinigami. Still, your power is infantile and no threat to me." He drew his sword, slowly, meaningfully. "Nevertheless, you are a confirmed threat to the Obsidian Star, so I will treat you as an enemy to be slain by my own hand."

"Almost seems like a gesture of respect," Kajirô muttered in reply. "I'll take it. Here I come!" He charged in at blazing speed.

Ulquiorra met the attack with his arm, but his eyes opened wider in surprise as the blade began to bite in. He threw the blade away and stepped back, then darted in to attack. The two swordsmen exchanged blows rapidly, slashing and parrying, but neither seemed to be gaining much advantage.

Finally Ulquiorra stepped back and raised a finger. Light began to grow at its tip, the teal light of his cero energy, and he released the attack. The two stars orbiting Kajirô suddenly sprang to life, flashing to his front and creating a powerful shield that blocked the attack. Ulquiorra stared in surprise…and leapt back as the boy came charging in. Although he seemed to avoid the attack, the cloth around his stomach opened and blood began to ooze slowly out of the superficial wound.

Still, it was enough to apparently unnerve Ulquiorra, who retreated a great distance down the hall away from his foe. Kajirô hesitated in his pursuit, and Ulquiorra stared at him. "I observed your battle with Nnoitra," the arrancar observed. "You were not this strong. You could not have gained significant power in a single day. Was your fear and desperation too great then, restricting your power? Or perhaps, since this technique of yours obviously consists of ascending levels, you have yet to master this stage of your Bankai and are only using it now because you know you'll die if you don't?"

"Who knows?" Kajirô replied airily. "What matters is, I'll kill you if you underestimate me."

Ulquiorra stared silently for several more moments. "Ridiculous," he finally said. "In a hundred years you could never kill me. I found your new technique interesting…but it is nothing to get prideful over. Bless or curse that interest, however. It has caused me to decide to demonstrate real power to you…the true release of an arrancar." He held his sword up, reverse-gripped, point down. "Enclose…Murciélago [Bat]."

Blackness exploded from Ulquiorra, becoming an almost black blood-like rain throughout the hall that accented his new emerging form, a humanoid, still, dressed in a single one-piece dress or robe that narrowed at the torso until it reached his collarbone, where it expanded back into a collar around his neck. His torso around his shoulders as well as his arms, however, were naked. His mask had shifted to become a skullcap-like helmet with a great crest with a long, thin wing on each side. Great black bat-like wings emerged from his back.

Kajirô stared at him, frozen by the intensity and the dark tenor of his newly-released spiritual pressure. "Don't panic," Ulquiorra intoned. The words snapped Kajirô out of his reverie, and he assumed a ready posture. "Don't break your stance. Keep aware of your surroundings. Don't lower your guard—not even for an instant." As Ulquiorra continued his droning admonishment, a spear of shimmering golden light appeared and shaped in his grasp. Then he was suddenly in front of Kajirô, that spear-like weapon actually positioned at the back of Kajirô's neck as it came in for an instant killing blow.

8-8-8

Ellis alighted down as Luana and Hinagiku began picking themselves up. After shivering for a moment, Hinagiku got a hold of herself and shot to her feet. "W-wha…what the hell!?" she finally managed. She glanced up…but Kajirô had done his work skillfully. The hole that had been created to drop them had already been sealed up by the rubble it created. Hinagiku whirled on Ellis, who looked stunned as Hinagiku turned her full, unbridled fury on her. "Where are the stairs to get back to that floor!? Take me there! Now!"

Ellis stared at her, still stunned, for several moments before sighing in exasperation. "Kajirô-san just sacrificed himself to save your life, and now you want to go and throw it away? Ulquiorra-san is far too powerful…he'll kill that boy, he'll kill you and even possibly us if you return…."

"I don't accept this! I never asked him to sacrifice himself for me! He's not allowed to! He's my childhood friend! He can't go dying for me, especially before he explains just what he meant when he…when he…with that last comment of his!"

"Isn't it obvious?" Luana chuckled softly. "The boy has carried a torch for you for a very long time, after all…."

Red-faced, Hinagiku rounded on Luana. "You…knew about this!?"

"Well, I was stalking you for some time during your little trip, and everyone else around you figured it out easily enough. I guess it's true, the proverb where you can't see the nose on your face…."

Luana suddenly cut herself off, blanching, as Hinagiku's sword was nearly pressed against her nose. "Enough of that! We don't have time! Take me back there! Now!"

Ellis sighed again. "This…is becoming far too troublesome…but fine. If you want to die with your swain that badly, who are we to deny you?"

"We're not going to die," Hinagiku insisted. "We're going to stop him from dying!"

8-8-8

Kajirô stood some feet down the corridor, panting. The wound above his right eye was largely superficial, but it had already painted a portion of the right side of his face red with his flowing blood. He stared in shock and fear at the still unmoved Ulquiorra. "I see," the arrancar murmured. "The first form of your Bankai focused on offense, but your second form promotes defense. Both of those stars moved to block my attack automatically. A fortunate thing. If they hadn't, your head would be at my feet right now."

Kajirô just stared back. ('Hard to believe, but he's almost understating it. I couldn't react at all. Transformed…this monster is more than I could possibly deal with….')

Ulquiorra charged in, swinging his light-spear like a sword. Kajirô blocked with his own weapon. "Come now," Ulquiorra purred as they clashed. "If you have any other tricks, use them. Use everything you can. You won't get another chance. If you don't, you'll die far too easily. But use them anyway, so I can crush them before your eyes, and show you the gulf between our powers."

Kajirô gritted his teeth. "You want it? Well, you don't have to ask…I'm well aware I stand no chance without something up my sleeve!" He pushed off, shoving Ulquiorra back, then retreated. As he raised himself up again, he gestured, and the two stars orbiting him suddenly streaked towards Ulquiorra. The arrancar set himself to receive the attacks, but to his surprise, the two glowing orbs veered off to surround him on the sides. Then energy exploded between them, creating a field that surrounded and trapped Ulquiorra within. "Nova," Kajirô intoned. Then he charged in after his stars and swung his blazing red sword into the field. It exploded, engulfing Ulquiorra.

Kajirô retreated back, his orbs returned to orbiting him, and watched the results of his handiwork. It wasn't long before Ulquiorra was visible again. "It's not like I really thought I could finish you with that," Kajirô murmured. "I knew there was such a gulf between us…but still…unharmed?"

"I see," Ulquiorra murmured in reply. "Your powers really do resemble our own." As Kajirô narrowed his eyes at this comment, Ulquiorra continued, "In shape, if not in tenor, you could say. Obviously, the powers of the hinigami are the opposite of our own, and they were made in imitation of the power of humans like you, who possess such natural magic. Even so, they do not possess power like yours—the energy those stars release is very similar to the arrancar's cero, but of…I suppose a mage would say something like 'opposite elemental affiliation.' Light and darkness are opposite, for example…so is your power to ours. But it is, nonetheless, very like a cero. It's interesting. Unfortunately, you are still too undeveloped. Its power is not enough to threaten me. It's somewhat disappointing, but in the end, I guess you are nothing more than a mere human. Still, to show my respect for your efforts, I'll show you something just as wondrous…." He extended a finger towards the boy. "The cero useable by the highest-level arrancar in their released states. Cero Oscuras." A black energy built up in front of that finger and then fired in a black cero that raced out and engulfed Kajirô.

The blast melted most of Kajirô's clothes and ravaged his body, as well as blasting him back and through the wall on the far end and into a large antechamber. As he started to right himself, Ulquiorra was next to him, sending him crashing into a nearby wall with a flick of his wing. "It's natural that humans would seek to emulate higher powers like hinigami in order to grow stronger," Ulquiorra noted. "But you cannot even reach that level, let alone ours. Your struggling is pointless. You've reached the limits of your strength."

Kajirô struggled to his feet and raised his weapon. "Kamikaze…" he began as energy started to gather for his attack.

"I'm telling you it's futile!" Ulquiorra roared, with more emotion than he had previously ever demonstrated. He charged in and knocked Kajirô aside with a rather careless swing, then slashed him across the stomach. Several more rapid-fire blows followed that the boy could not begin to react to. Finally Ulquiorra held Kajirô up by the throat. Kajirô's stars were gone, the red mantle of light was gone, his sword had returned to that simple, over-long katana, but even as he dangled in Ulquiorra's grasp, he kept a hold of his weapon. "Why won't you drop your sword?" Ulquiorra demanded, again more neutrally. "Your struggle is meaningless. You will never approach my power. Your sword has transformed and you've lost your Bankai—meaning your life is already close to its limit. Even with such an imbalance of power, you still believe you can defeat me?"

"Imbalance…of power…?" Kajirô gasped. Ulquiorra was taken aback by the look in Kajirô's eyes as the boy stared down at him. "What of it? I knew…I was no match the minute you appeared. I knew…I was dead. But what of it? I don't care…if you're stronger than me. I made the decision to fight…no matter what. I'm not fighting to defeat you. I'm fighting…for her. If my efforts can preserve her…for long enough…then that's fine. I'll trade…my life for it. And I'll fight…until I can't fight any more."

"That's absurd," Ulquiorra replied sharply. "Your efforts are futile. Even if, because of your distraction, she were to escape my grasp, what would it matter if you were dead?"

"It matters…for her. And I'll…live on…if only in her heart."

Ulquiorra was silent for a moment. "You humans are vexing. Tsukai Kajirô, your words are those of someone who doesn't know true despair. I suppose I shall have to demonstrate it." He threw Kajirô forward onto the floor. "Look and behold…the appearance of true despair."

He suddenly exploded, liquid darkness exploding out of him almost like raining blood, and as he stood up straight again he was changed. His hollow hole, which had almost been unnoticed in his white tunic before, was now larger and plainly visible on his now-naked chest, with black blood seeming to ooze out of it down his torso. His helmet was gone, but the crests apparently remained, now long, elegant horns growing from the side of his head. Black makeup of some fashion surrounded his eyes, giving a mask-like appearance, and ran down what would be the tear tracks of his face. His hands and arms just past his elbows and his lower body from the waist on down were covered by a black, almost fur-like material, and an incredibly long, almost whiplike tail emerged from behind him. "Resurreción Segunda Etapa," he explained. "The second stage release. Of all the arrancar, only I have achieved this form. I have not even shown it to Nagi."

Kajirô stared at the man-demon, took in the enormous spiritual pressure that threatened to drown him. Then he raised his sword and set himself in a ready stance. His stare was hard as he met Ulquiorra's eyes. "Yet even facing me like this," Ulquiorra noted with disgust, "you still have the will to fight." ('It's not that he's so confused he can't even feel fear, and those aren't the eyes of a man that's given up. Yet he's already said he knows he can't defeat me. Even seeing this, he believes that fighting me can make one bit of difference in the outcome of all this?') "Very well." Ulquiorra crouched in preparation to strike. "Then I shall show you my strength, even if I have to turn your body to dust."

He charged in, moving so fast he was able to grab the side of Kajirô's head and throw him violently aside before he could register what was happening. "You're a fool," Ulquiorra said as Kajirô picked himself up yet again. "You don't even believe you can win, and you still keep fighting? If this is that 'heart' you humans talk so much about, then it is a liability more than anything. Why suffer so much for something so meaningless? Why do you wish to keep fighting a hopeless battle?"

"I'm not fighting because I want to," Kajirô gasped. "I'm fighting because I have to. I already made that decision. So I'll keep fighting…until, as you say, you turn this body of mine to dust."

Ulquiorra stared again. "Nonsense," he said.

8-8-8

Hinagiku hurried into the ruined hall, flanked by the more circumspect Luana and Ellis. She glanced around, wild-eyed, until she saw the hole in the back wall from which that frightening, ocean-depth-like spiritual pressure was emerging. "Kaji-kun," she breathed, and started that direction.

"Wait!" Ellis snapped, bringing her up short. "Can't you feel that!? No normal human, mage or not, has a chance against that! He's dying for you! If you go, you'll just join him! Why make his death a waste!?"

Hinagiku glanced almost sadly, grimly back at her. "I…just can't. He's my friend. And…I can't let anyone make that sacrifice for me. Too much…I don't have the right anymore." She set her face back to the invisible battle. "Hold on, Kaji-kun…I'm coming!" And she charged in.

And stared at the sight as she climbed through the rubble and saw the scene. Ulquiorra held the limp, still form of Kajirô up with that long, whiplike tail wrapped around his throat. He glanced back at the girl. "Ah…how foolish," Ulquiorra murmured. "The girl he fought so hard to save has returned to surrender her life all the same, squandering the precious gift he gave his life for. Well, to begin, watch the result of all his efforts." He put a finger to Kajirô's chest, and a ray of blackness exploded out, blasting a hole right through Kajirô's torso, about where his own hollow hole was located.

Screaming, Hinagiku charged in, sword raised. Ulquiorra's tail tossed the corpse of Kajirô aside, then whipped out, slapping Hinagiku's hand, stopping her and forcing her to drop her sword. Then Ulquiorra reached out and grabbed both of Hinagiku's wrists in his left hand and hoisted her up. "Truly, why did you come back?" he murmured to her. "The utter, infuriating emotional foibles of you humans…you are beyond my comprehension. Your life was extended by his sacrifice, even if for mere precious moments, and you throw it all away. Now, are you here because you are ready to throw away your own life in atonement for causing his death…?"

8-8-8

Kajirô lay on his back, he was sure, staring up at the blackness. He wasn't sure his eyes were working, but he somehow perceived that the entire world around him was nothing but perfectly black darkness. ('Am I dead?') he thought. ('I must be. That was a killing blow, I think. Is this…hell, or some other form of afterlife? I guess in a way it's not so bad…there's no pain, no nothing…nothingness and peace…it's a nice change….')

"Tsukai Kajirô." It was a soft voice, melodious and beautiful. He vaguely recognized it. It was coming from around his feet, and, still unsure whether his eyes were open or not, he tried to glance down to them to gaze at the figure. He must be prone, because he could see the small figure standing perpendicular to him.

"Mashiro…Kazahana?" he ventured.

The girl in the pale blue dress with the pale purple hair, with the child's body and the adult's voice and demeanor smiled kindly down at him. "Tsukai Kajirô," she repeated. "I've come to see you."

"Am I dead?" he ventured. "Considering my perfect memory of what happened, I must be…."

"You're actually in a state where the answer to that is both yes and no."

"Why are you here?"

"As I said, I've come for you. I'm here because this is my realm. You're here because you're not quite dead yet."

Kajirô was silent a moment. "I see…I overheard them talking a little about it. You're not a human…you're a shinzoku, aren't you?"

"As you Japanese call us, yes. I am Mashiro, the Queen of Hades."

"Queen of Hades…a rather ominous name for a shinzoku…."

"More appropriate than you might think. The realms beyond mortal life are generally not understood by most of your kind. 'Hades' is a way to refer to his place. It is not heaven, a place of repose for the 'righteous', or hell, a place of suffering for the 'wicked'. This is the in-between state souls go to briefly before they leave mortal existence. Hades itself in your mythology was not a place of suffering of the dead, despite what some modern comprehensions of the term entail. I am in tune with those souls that are lost, disconnected from their bodies, but who have not yet finished their lives entirely…even if they only have the smallest ember of a flame remaining. And my stewardship over those souls means that I can revive that ember and restore that life…if I wish it."

Again Kajirô was silent, considering the implication of her words. "Then…you wish to offer such a second life to me?"

"Yes…for a price. Celestials, shinzoku, do not prefer to become directly involved in your world more than we have to, because our interference can influence the vital moral agency of mortals. Largely, we stand ready to prevent the Infernals from conquering or enslaving you, and act as little more than deterrents in this case. Therefore, we prefer to work on our own wills through human agents. I wish to make you one of mine. If you will swear yourself to my service, I will return your life, and more besides…I will grant you the power to defeat the enemy before you. Otherwise, of course, your second life would be rather pointless."

Again Kajirô waited silently, considering, before replying. "In some ways, death is a comforting release. To think that I'll be free from fighting…from pain and suffering…from everything I hate…I'm not eager to return to that. But…still…."

8-8-8

Hinagiku glared up at Ulquiorra. He returned it with his neutral, robotic gaze. "Are you afraid?" he asked her. She merely continued glaring at him. "There is no one to save you. We were given instruction to not take the lives of all the humans from Earth if it could be helped, but I am not one to show mercy to my enemies. The boy who tried to protect you is already dead. There is no one else who can save you. You will die here, alone, with no one by your side. So I'm asking if you're afraid."

Hinagiku actually thought about it. She didn't like to admit it, but there were many things that frightened her. Heights, obviously. Ghosts and supernatural things beyond scientific explanation also frightened her, although the lines around that had been blurring more and more ever since she had entered this whole magic business. Shinigami like Momo were technically ghosts, for instance, not to mention these arrancar, but they were too human to really make her recognize them as ghosts, even transformed arrancar like this…they were little different from magical monsters. Now, here she was, Kajirô lying dead not far from her, and this all-powerful arrancar holding her in the palm of his hands. But eclipsing that fear was, among other things, anger, and she kept desperate hold on it, as well as several others of the thoughts and feelings racing through her head. "I'm not afraid," she insisted, strongly, earnestly. "Kaji-kun gave everything for my sake. Kagome can still save him. Kain-sensei will come for us, and he will defeat you, without question. All of us are here together. My heart is with all my friends. I'm not afraid."

Ulquiorra stared at her. "Your friends will come save you? You honestly believe that?"

"Yes. It's never failed before; why should this time be any different? Kain-sensei…he's never failed to save us. I've tried to be strong, to stand on my own…I hate to admit it, but sometimes I'm not strong enough to do everything myself. And Kain-sensei can be naïve, foolish, clueless, doesn't recognize our feelings, gets too caught up in blaming himself, gets afraid of the wrong things…but he's completely dependable where our safety is concerned. He won't fail again. So I can't be afraid, now. Even if I can't beat you, my pride at least demands that I face you without fear until he shows up. Whatever we can't do alone…we'll help each other with. That's what we agreed to when we formed the White Wings. That's what it means to have one heart."

"Heart," Ulquiorra mimicked, disgust seeping into his voice. "The boy talked about that absurdity, too. This 'heart' you humans talk about…you toss the word around casually, like it's an obvious thing, an object you can hold in your hands. But this eye of mine observes everything. I have the most acute optical perception of all the arrancar. While the others battled you yesterday, I observed all your battles from the garganta. It is how I knew about Tsukai Kajirô's Bankai powers, how we were able to prepare so well for all of you. This eye penetrates everything. There is nothing that exists that it cannot see. What cannot be seen does not exist. That is what I believe, and I have never seen anything, physical or energy, that resembles this 'heart' you speak of. What is this 'heart'?" He raised his other hand and poked Hinagiku. "Would I see it if I tore open your chest?" He raised his finger to her forehead. "If I crack open your skull, will I find it inside?"

There was an explosion of power behind him. He turned most of his body to stare in shock, still holding Hinagiku's wrists in his left hand. She, too, stared, as power poured from the prone form of Kajirô. Then he rose to his feet, slowly, ponderously, inexorably, as unstoppable as a mountain. The hole in his chest suddenly flared up, and in a strange tempest, closed and sealed, leaving a perfectly whole naked torso behind. He finally raised his head to level a deadly stare at Ulquiorra, and a strange light seemed to emanate from those eyes. He gestured, and his sword, which was lying some distance from him, suddenly flew through the air to alight in his waiting grasp. "Bankai. Tengen Kamikaze. Third Star: Shirotsubasa [White Wings]."

His power exploded out, but this time there were three glowing white orbs circling him, and the two blades of his massive weapon were also white. In addition, a robe of glowing white adorned his torso and two great white wings of light emerged from his back. Thus presenting himself, he stared again at Ulquiorra.

"Absurd," Ulquiorra intoned. "You can't be alive. What is that power? Who are you?"

Suddenly Kajirô was past him. In one hand he held his sword, and in the other he held the stunned Hinagiku. Ulquiorra's arm, which had been holding Hinagiku, was now disconnected from the arrancar's torso, lying unmoving on the ground.

"K-Kaji-kun…?" Hinagiku managed in complete and utter shock.

The boy set her on the ground, holding her until she recovered enough to stand. "Just stay right there, Hinagiku-san," he informed her. "I'll take care of this…and then we can rejoin our friends."

He motioned the stunned girl away from him, then turned to glare back at Ulquiorra. Ulquiorra stared back. "What's the matter?" Ulquiorra demanded. "Where is your guard? Why don't you press your advantage? Do you believe you have the victory already in hand, because you took one arm? Don't get arrogant." He stretched out his stump, and suddenly it created a brand new arm in a rapid-speed cellular assembly, complete with those elbow-length 'gloves'. "My most significant ability isn't offensive," he explained. "It's regeneration. Most hollows, in becoming arrancar, give up their instant regeneration abilities for greater power, but I retained the greatest level. You saw Nnoitra regrow severed arms, but his power was nothing compared to mine. Only I can regenerate my entire body at high speeds, save only my brain and major internal organs. I don't know how you returned to life or where that new power of yours came from, but if taking one arm is enough to make you stop and assess the situation, you'll never defeat me." He cupped his hands and a light began to grow between them. Then he stretched his arms out and it grew into another lance-shaped rod of energy, which he raised above his head in a throwing posture. "Lanza del Relámpago [Lance of the Lightning]," he announced, presenting it. "Don't get too close. I don't want this to go off at close range."

He hurled the bolt, which blasted by Kajirô and blew through the wall, sailing off into the night. Kajirô was unmoved by the failed attack, but Hinagiku stared in shock at the force of it. "Hmph," Ulquiorra muttered. "I missed. It's difficult to control." He formed another and began to throw it.

"He can use that multiple times!?" gasped Hinagiku.

Kajirô was still unmoved, however, and actually slapped the attack aside with his sword, causing it to disintegrate another wall on its way out. Ulquiorra, still rather unmoved himself, formed a third weapon. Before he could launch it, however, one of the spheres circling Kajirô suddenly stopped, lit up even brighter, and fired a cero-like blast of energy Ulquiorra's way. Ulquiorra's eyes widened in shock, but he repulsed the blast in a similar fashion with his own weapon. "Did you think that would make me hesitate? Don't make me laugh." He raised his weapon again, but suddenly Kajirô was standing behind him, still in a very relaxed stance. ('What!? He slipped right through my Pesquisa! That was faster than shunpo, or sonído!')

He whirled on his foe, his spear stabbing out, but one of Kajirô's stars came down to block the attack, holding it at bay. Kajirô raised his weapon, and the other two orbs flew in to alight on either end of the dual-blade. Then he slashed Ulquiorra across his chest while simultaneously enveloping him in an explosion.

When it cleared, Ulquiorra stood some distance back. He stood on one leg—the other, while now regenerating, was currently disintegrated. His left arm, left wing, and left horn were also gone, but he stared, still quite neutral, at his foe. "You look rough," Kajirô finally said. "Why don't you get out of here? I don't relish killing you."

"Are you mad?" Ulquiorra retorted. "I won't run away. An arrancar that is defeated is already as good as dead. There is no other path for me. One of us dies here."

Kajirô stared back, then sighed. "I hate people like you. If you want to talk about pointless…fighting to the death is one of them. You're already on your last leg, anyway. I can tell you have little to no lifeforce left after that attack; it was everything I had. Why do you want to hasten the end of your life?"

Ulquiorra stared back, considering. ('He's perceptive. He's right about that—I'm regenerating, but it's mostly just for show now. The organs he blew away won't return.') "It doesn't matter. Let's finish this." He raised his weapon he had formed, a spear of light, but, in appearance, the 'lesser' one he had used in his first stage, not his massive 'Lance of Lightning'.

Kajirô shook his head. "If that's really what you want, I guess I have to. I should have enough time left for one last little exchange…."

Suddenly Ulquiorra's right wing began to disintegrate, evaporating into the atmosphere. "Hmph," he said, glancing back at it. "It's already time, huh?" He turned back to the stunned Kajirô. "You've won. I'm dying. Finish me off already."

Kajirô's face hardened. "No," he said simply.

"What?"

"I've already killed you. I don't need any closure by dealing the finishing blow. It's over. That's enough. I'm not a warrior. I don't have to honor deathblow requests."

Ulquiorra scoffed. "You never do what I want you to, not even to the very end. You're infuriating." He glanced over at Hinagiku, who was staring at him with mixed expressions. She should not be upset that this terrible, brutal enemy was dying, but Ulquiorra somehow saw perhaps a shadow of regret on her face. "Just when I was starting to find you humans interesting." His glove was fading away, but he reached out his remaining hand towards Hinagiku. "Are you afraid of me, girl?" he demanded.

Events change people all the time; the more significant the event, the greater the change could be. Death, of course, was perhaps the most significant event for change one could experience, but regrettably, by then it was too late to matter. But Hinagiku felt some closure was required. "I'm not afraid," she insisted, and reached out her own hand in sympathy.

Ulquiorra's fingers began to vanish away before they could touch, but the arrancar felt only peace. (Ah,') he thought as he finished fading away. ('I see it now. Here it is, right in my hand. This…is the heart.')

He was gone. Hinagiku stared after him, then tried to put the entire nightmare out of her mind and turned to the blazing, angelic figure of Kajirô. "Kaji-kun…you know…I don't know where to start. You have a lot of explaining to do."

Kajirô smiled sadly. "Yeah…I know. But…could you wait a little?" His Bankai faded away, leaving him holding only his sword, and then his sword vanished, and he collapsed to his knees. "I'm feeling…so very tired…let me rest a bit first…okay?" Then he collapsed onto his face and lay still.

"Kaji-kun!" Hinagiku hurried over to him and knelt by his side. He was still breathing, he was definitely alive, but he was also sleeping, veritably comatose. "Jeez," she sighed, scowling down at him. "You do all of that to me, and then, before you even explain yourself, you have to take a nap? How pathetic can you be? Coward." She stared down at him again. "Thank you," she finally whispered.

F I N

Author's Note: The Fall of Ulquiorra

Throwing in the arrancar as stepping-stone villains served many purposes, but, in the end, brought a few problems—particularly with the more significant ones who didn't get much screen time before, as I (because I'm me) had to give them closure or defeat them finally or whatever but they were hard to give their proper place. Wonderweiss, for instance, who was created specifically to counter the Head Captain Soul Reaper, doesn't mean much when he isn't joining this fight (several reasons for that). So I just had my best Knight of the Round appear to beat him up, mostly off-camera.

Ulquiorra was another one. He was a major Bleach arrancar antagonist, one of Ichigo's major rivals, but here he hasn't even fought, he's just been the guy to break off the fights early on so I could bring the arrancar back later. He has to make some significant mark, however. Still, I didn't want Kain to have to be the one to fight him, because Kain already has too many significant foes to defeat.

However, I had long planned on this scenario to resolve the Hinagiku/Kajirô romance angle (or accelerate it or however you want to describe the current situation): an unstoppable foe appears, Hinagiku insists on fighting it with him, he doesn't want her to die and so he sends her away but not before finally confessing his feelings. Since he is about to die, after all. Ulquiorra, unstoppable and absurdly powerful, was great for this point, but I was then left with the problem of 'How do they beat the unstoppable force, then?' I could have had someone potentially powerful enough to defeat him like Urahara randomly show up, but I also wanted this to be Kajirô's show (and I wanted to show off these upper two stages of his Bankai), so following the Bleach battle with him was appealing. However, since Kajirô doesn't have any hollow powers to go berserk, I decided to focus a bit more on a side plot and create a new side plot to follow by having Celestials get involved…thus Kajirô contracts himself to be a disciple of Mashiro Kazahana in order to get the strength necessary to beat Ulquiorra.

And as for his death…I do apologize to those who do not like them, but personally I loved the 'sympathy for the devil' cards played by Kubo for the deaths of these arrancar, and I had to do Ulquiorra's, even if its inclusion here is a bit clumsy. Orihime, the original damsel in distress here, was kidnapped by Ulquiorra, and he, cruel and emotionless, was her primary 'caretaker' or 'steward' while she was captive. Even so, Orihime, the incredibly kind-hearted girl, felt a lot of sympathy for him, especially as he died, and there was some implication that, despite his demonstrated disdain for her sentimentality, she had an effect on him, and it was plainly shown in his dying thoughts. This, naturally, led to many 'Orihime x Ulquiorra' fanart and FanFictions, with these crazy fans finding the connection incredibly romantic in nature, but that's neither here nor there.

The point is, Hinagiku never made such a connection with Ulquiorra since they've basically just met, but I wanted to do it anyway, and I think it works okay—as Hinagiku noted, death is the biggest change we can undergo, and it's regrettable that it comes too late. I am a sucker for those kinds of changes.

Well, some major villains have been smashed, so let's move on to the next one!