Thanks again for all the positive feedback. It's a great motivation for me to keep on writing. I corrected the minor mistakes at the end of chapter 3 and 4. And chapter 5 is by far the longest chapter to date.
Anyways, thank you all for reading till this point. Feedback is always appreciated.
Less than an hour later Grimmjow was waiting in the Human World. It was time to take matters into his own hands. He would prove once and for all that he was better than Ulquiorra in all aspects. He'd never allow him to look down on him again. When his fracciones appeared he'd look towards them. "Finally."He said to them.
Grimmjow asked them if nobody had been seen. Shawlong assured him that they had not been detected. Shawlong also pointed out that there were more individuals with high reiatsu present than before. A quick scan proved that he was right. Grimmjow cursed Ulquiorra's cowardice. Because he hadn't finished the enemy off before, they now had gotten a chance to reinforce their position. No matter, he'd just decimate these reinforcements along with everyone else.
"Dei Roi, Shawlong, Edorado, Ilfort, Nakim. It's time to make this thing ourselves. I don't care who they are, even if they show just a bit of reiatsu we just kill them. Kill them all. Do not let any single one of them escape!"
The five fracciones rocketed off to find their respective quarries while Grimmjow waited, an arrogant smile on his lips.
Layna was once more following someone through the halls of Las Noches. It felt to her as though she hadn't been doing much else ever since she had awoken to this life. After Ulquiorra had overheard her and Cyris talking about Grimmjow he had informed them that all three of them would report this matter to Aizen. She hadn't wanted to get involved, but it seemed as though things just couldn't go her way. A sigh passed her lips.
Cyris on her part walked along with her hands locked behind the back off her head. It appeared that she found the entire situation entertaining. Ulquiorra just didn't seem to care either way. But maybe Layna shouldn't be surprised. Cyris seemed to find everything entertaining. And Ulquiorra had yet to show any emotion what so ever. What was he? A robot?
When they arrived at Aizen's throne room a dark skinned man was awaiting them. It appeared that he was standing guard. Layna hadn't seen this man before now. Ulquiorra stopped and gave the man a simple nod before he spoke. "Sir. I have something to report to Aizen." He informed him.
"Right now Aizen-sama is busy making new Arrancar." He replied. "He can't be interrupted. Tell me why you want to see him. If it is important enough I'll inform him of the matter my self." He spoke in a very formal tone.
"Who are you then?" Cyris asked as she lowered her arms down to her hips as she inspected him critically.
"Kaname Tosen." He informed her. "I am here to aid Aizen's grand scheme and by doing that I mean to bring justice to all our worlds. I am also your superior."
"Hoh? That sure sounds grand. I wouldn't mind bringing some justice my self. If you know what I mean?" She cracked her knuckles as she said that. Layna shook her head at the other woman's words. Tosen did not seem to be impressed by her either, instead he turned his attention back to Ulquiorra.
Ulquiorra took this as a key for him to continue. "These two young Arrancar happened to overhear a conversation between Grimmjow and his fracciones." Grimmjow's name alone was enough to cause Tosen's expression to darken. "It appears they intend to go to the Human World and kill Kurosaki Ichigo and his companions." The Arrancar paused to inspect Tosen's expression before he finished. "I imagined that this went against Aizen's wishes so that is why I came here."
Tosen in turn inspected Layna and Cyris a moment and then turned back to Ulquiorra. "There will be no need to disturb Aizen at this time. We will deal with this matter ourselves. All four of us will go to the Human World and we will retrieve Grimmjow and his fracciones." Ulquiorra nodded his head once, he seemed to agree to following Tosen's orders.
Cyris was more verbal in her response. "Alright, finally some action! Count me in."
"We wont be going to the Human World to fight. We're merely going to collect Grimmjow and the others and then we will head back. There is no cause behind attacking these people. And without a cause, a battle is an ugly thing." He lectured Cyris. She on her part didn't seem to care much for the lecture and looked rather uninterested.
"Don't worry. We'll follow orders." Layna said, trying to get everyone to work together. Tosen nodded his head and walked past them. Ulquiorra followed right away. Cyris shrugged at Layna and also followed, leaving her to trail behind them all. She hoped that visiting the Human World would help jog her memories. Somehow all of this had turned out rather advantageous. Layna was eager to see her old home again and of course the young man she always saw when she closed her eyes.
Chad had noticed the reiatsu of the six Arrancar that had entered their world. He flexed the muscles in his right hand and he was pleased to find that he could move his entire arm like he wanted to. "Wait Sado-san. The treatment isn't totally done yet!" The tiny healer objected as he prepared to head out.
But Chad was done resting. Besides with more enemies on the loose he couldn't just stay here. Last time he had allowed them to steal Tatsuki away from them. He wasn't going to let something like that happen again. Ichigo, Inoue, Ishida...he was going to protect all of them. "Well... It's fine now. You should return to Inoue's place." He told the spirit.
The large Mexican left his house and instantly he felt a strong reiatsu. "Bah. Not a Shinigami." He heard the enemy say. Before Chad could react the Arrancar was suddenly right in front of him, his hand threatening to impale him through the chest. The student couldn't believe it. He didn't have any time to react. This was the end for him.
But the hand didn't pierce him. At the last possible moment Ichigo grabbed the Arrancar's hand and by doing so, saved his life. Ichigo and the Arrancar exchanged a few words, but most of them weren't processed by Chad. He was still recovering from the shock that he had almost died.
When he finally calmed his breathing Ichigo spoke up to him. "Chad. Take cover." Those words were not a request, they were an order. Ichigo wanted him to run. No, that couldn't be. He had to show him that he was better than this. He could still fight.
"Wa... wait Ichigo! I am already.."
"CHAD!" Ichigo shouted, cutting off any further objections he might word. "Don't worry. Just leave it to me."
He could see it now. He had become nothing more than a burden to him. "Aah. Alright. I'll leave it up to you, Ichigo." Chad turned and ran. He ran as hard as he could. While he ran he felt pathetic. He realized that it was all over. He couldn't watch Ichigo's back anymore. He just couldn't keep up anymore. Inoue, Tatsuki, Ishida, Rukia... he couldn't do anything for any of them. He was just too weak. Too pathetic. He was vaguely aware of Rukia shouting something to him as he ran past her. But he didn't stop to listen to her. He had to get away. Away from all of this. Away from this painful disgrace.
Rukia came upon Ichigo and the Arrancar just as the fight was about to begin. But the Arrancar wasn't all that concerned her. She was also concerned about Chad and Ichigo. It didn't take her long to figure out what had happened between the two of them. She knew that Kurosaki just wanted to protect his friends from danger, but in the process he was hurting his closest friends. He had to learn to trust them. Rukia decided that she could teach him a lesson by forcing him to sit on the side lines. Much like he had told Chad to back away from the fight.
Ichigo was rather surprised when she showed him her Shinigami form. He hadn't seen it since she had recovered from the effects of the gigai. While she let her Gikongan take care off Ichigo she turned to face the Arrancar. She only did so just in time to block his first attack. The force behind the attack was enough to send her flying back. This creature was dangerous and aggressive. Rukia leaped back against a lamppost before propelling herself towards the Arrancar. This time the Arrancar blocked her attack.
As her blade pushed against his arm the Arrancar introduced himself. "The name's Dei Roi. Arrancar Dieciseis."
Since it was custom, Rukia tried to respond with her own introduction. "I'm the 13th division's.."
Die Roi's lips pulled back to show a mad grin before he interrupted her. "No. No need to say anything else. No names, no ranks. 'cause from now on you all are going to be eliminated. One by one." It was clear that Die Roi was here to kill as many people as he could. He was also underestimating his opponent.
Rukia wasn't about to let him say all this and get away with it. "Well...You might not know my rank. But at least remember the name of my sword." She was completely calm when she spoke and Dei Roi was slightly cautious now that the Shinigami seemed to be getting serious. "Whirl. Sodeno Shira-yuki." Dei Roi brought up his guard, not sure what kind of attack he was to expect. "First dance. White moon."
Suddenly Rukia had advanced on him and lashed out at the air. Dei Roi watched her over his shoulder, not sure what was going on. Suddenly the ground started to freeze and the ice crawled up his legs, threatening to capture him. "What the hell is going on here?" He shouted before he leaped up into the air, breaking the ice that had threatened to freeze him. "Damn it! You little freak Shinigami! Lets see how you fare when I'm up here. You won't be able to do much now. With just a sword that freezes the land!" Die Roi screamed down at Rukia. He had gotten scared for a moment, but now he'd make her pay. He pulled back the cloth covering his right eye and prepared to fire a cero. "DIE!" He screamed.
But Dei Roi never attacked, instead ice shot up and enveloped him completely. Dei Roi could only watch in horror as his body was frozen. The ice soon crumbled and with it Dei Roi's body shattered into a thousand pieces. Rukia turned away from the blocks off ice which rained down towards the ground.
Now that the fight was over, Rukia turned to Ichigo and her Gikongan who were arguing. It looked like they really weren't getting along. Perhaps it was good that her fight had not lasted long. Then again. She wouldn't have minded the fight to last a little longer. She sheathed her blade but just as she had put her blade away she felt a strong reiatsu. Both her and Ichigo looked up in horror at the new Arrancar that had appeared in the sky above them. He was completely different from Dei Roy. He felt so much stronger that Rukia could hardly believe that they were the same kind of being.
"What is this? Dei Roi's killers are still here waiting around? Don't think you're going to get out of this. I'm going to kill you both!" This man wasn't just making idle threats. With as much power as he wielded he could actually kill them. This was bad. Really bad.
The Arrancar landed on the ground before them and smirked. "Which one is it?" He asked, confusing Rukia somewhat. "What I want to know is; which one of you is the strongest!" He said, raising his voice. Rukia's eyes widened. They had to retreat, they had to get out of here. But before she could fully warn Ichigo to retreat, the Arrancar had attacked. Rukia's eyes widened as Grimmjow's hands pierced her chest. Blood flowed from her wound and from the corner of her mouth. She couldn't believe that he had beaten her so easily.
"Ichigo… leave." She said with her last strength. Rukia knew this was an opponent even he couldn't beat. The last thing she could hear was Ichigo screaming her name in horror. She could tell from his voice, he wasn't going to run.
The air ripped apart before Layna and Cyris, it looked almost like a huge maul of crooked teeth being forced apart. There was a strange sound that went along with it. It almost sounded like someone was trying to play an old broken record. It didn't sound nice. Cyris was standing before her, she looked ready to pounce the first enemy they found. Tosen and Ulquiorra had gone after other groups of runaways. And after they left it seemed like Cyris had forgotten all about the purpose of their trip. "Remember. Tosen sent us here to retrieve the runaways. If we start fighting, we'll be in trouble too."
"Tch." Cyris looked back at Layna. "Don't you get it? This is our chance to show everyone how strong we are." She placed her right hand against her own chest. "You think I'm going to accept things as they are? Me, a servant to Yammy? What a joke. I would laugh if it wasn't such an insult. Yeah, I'll drag them back to Hueco Mundo, after I prove everyone what I can do." Layna sighed. She should have known that something like this would happen. But she was willing to let Cyris have her fun. If Cyris would fight, she'd have a chance to look around the Human World.
Their portal finally opened up enough for them to step through. Layna and Cyris were confronted by six beings. Two of them were Arrancar, two of them were Shinigami and two others seemed to be normal Humans. But one of the Humans was familiar to her. Very familiar. Layna's attention was instantly drawn to her and the blonde that was restraining her..
Cyris didn't pay attention to the two on the ground. She was more interested in the Shinigami. She would have attacked them right away but just as they had arrived the Shinigami let out a scream. "LIMIT RELEASE!" This shout was followed by a sudden release off reiatsu from both of them. Cyris' eyes widened in shock as she put up her guard. Layna was also forced to turn her attention back on the Shinigami for a moment.
"What the hell is this?" Cyris cursed.
"A good chance for you to show everyone what you can do." Layna responded mockingly. Even with the sudden release, she couldn't force her attention away from that familiar woman for long. "HEY YOU!" She shouted at her, forcing the orange haired girl to look up at her. The moment their eyes met, the shock was all to apparent in the girl's eyes. So there really was a connection between them?
"Tatsuki. I can sense Tatsuki. She's here!" Orihime shouted as she looked up towards where the two female Arrancar were hovering. The others all passed them a glance, but most turned their attention back to their own respective opponents.
Cyris looked down at Orihime along with Layna. "What is she on about?" Cyris asked. But her attention was drawn away by the white haired Shinigami who suddenly attacked Shawlong. The attack froze Shawlong's right arm and had clearly caught the Arrancar completely by surprise. Cyris powered up her own reiatsu, preparing herself for battle. "Lets ignore the ditzy girl. We've got bigger problems Layna."
Meanwhile the Shinigami had explained how their power had grown with a factor of five. Shawlong was starting to understand that they were in a lot of trouble. From the corner of his eye he could see Nakim being completely out maneuvered by the female Shinigami. Now that the Shinigami had removed their limiters they no longer stood a chance against them.
"It's over Shawlong Qufang." The short captain said to him. Both him and his lieutenant drew their weapons and prepared to make their final attacks. It was then that Shawlong knew there was no other option left but to run away.
"Pull out! Retreat at once!" He yelled his order to Nakim and the women before he turned to escape. But even as he ran, he could see that his opponent was close behind and gaining ground. His eyes widened as he realized that he'd seen be caught. He had to escape. Had to escape!
The Shinigami's blade was about to strike when quite suddenly Shawlong received a powerful kick right in his gut. The Arrancar coughed up blood before he was propelled away from what would have been certain death. At the very last moment Cyris had intervened to save Shawlong's life. Toshiro's blade cut her along her right arm, but she pulled her arm back and managed not to get impaled on his weapon. Cyris dodged back, a layer of ice having formed around her right arm. Shawlong crashed down into the ground a second later with a large bang. He was probably in a good deal of pain, but Cyris imagined it was better than him being dead. Nakim was less fortunate as Rangiku's attack finished him off. He fell down a bloody mess.
"How is that!" Cyris screamed at the white haired captain. In all honesty she was afraid of him. His attack was incredibly strong. But if she was going to fight him she wasn't about to show him any fear. He didn't offer a reply to her words though and merely stared at her.
Layna had not involved herself in the combat. Unlike Cyris she wasn't too worried about their opponents. Instead her focus was now on the orange haired schoolgirl. The Arrancar landed before her and the blonde Gikongan who was holding onto her. Layna inspected Orihime with cold calculating eyes. There was no sign that she seemed to care for the girl at all. "I know you." She said in a uncaring voice.
Inoue gasped. "Are you really Tatsuki?" She asked Layna confused.
"Tatsuki?" Layna asked, considering this a moment. "No. I am not. My name is Raylis Layna. But maybe a part of me used to be Tatsuki, once. But those days are gone now. Now I'm Layna." She smiled. Never before had Layna felt this content with being an Arrancar. "What is your name?"
"Orhime Inoue." She replied. "Please… I…" She struggled to escape the blonde woman that was still holding her. Finally the blonde let her go and then immediately placed herself between the two. It appeared as though she meant to defend the schoolgirl.
Layna really wasn't impressed by her protector. "Hmpf. Pathetic." She turned her attention back to Inoue. "I only came to ask you one thing." Layna continued. "There is a boy I always see when I close my eyes. He has orange hair and a handsome face. Where can I find him?"
"Kurosaki-kun?" Inoue asked. Really very confused about everything that was going on.
Layna blinked. Kurosaki. Yes, she knew that name. That name was really important. That was the most important name of them all. It put the Arrancar in a bit off a daze and for a moment the world around her didn't matter.
Meanwhile Shawlong had pushed himself out of the ground and looked up to his savior who was still facing the Shinigami captain. "We need to retreat! You're no match for him!"
Cyris wasn't about to admit it, but she had a sinking feeling that Shawlong was right. She held up her guard and prepared for his attack. She might have followed his advice if she didn't think the captain would cut her down before she could get away. So she decided to just face her opponent bravely. "What's wrong boy?" She asked in a taunting voice. "Not going to attack?"
In fact he didn't attack. The last frozen petal behind Toshiro shattered and when it did his wounds opened. Blood sprayed forth and he fell towards the building they were fighting above. Cyris blinked. "Huh? What? What! I didn't even…"
Cyris didn't really get a chance to figure out what had happened. The large breasted blonde suddenly charged her. She in turn tried to counter her, but failed, Rankigu managed to cut her across her lower body. If the strike had been more precise Cyris would have been cut in two. The Arrancar managed to back hand Rankigu away after that and by doing so created some distance between them. Blood flowed from her wound and Cyris realized that she had been dealt a serious blow.
Shawlong took the chance to appear behind Cyris and open a path back to Hueco Mundo. "It's time to go." He told her.
"Damn it." Cyris cursed as blood started to flow down along her legs now. "Heh. You better remember my face Shinigami!" Cyris shouted as she pointed down at Rankigu who was standing guard over her captain. "Next time I'll be the victor."
"Tatsuki-chan?" Inoue asked, finally causing Layna to awake from her day dream. Layna had remembered some things. She knew she cared deeply for Kurosaki. But she also knew that they could never really be closer than friends as long as the orange haired woman was around. She was a barrier that kept them apart. Layna gave Inoue a dirty look, which in turn really seemed to cause Orihime pain. "Tatsuki? What's wrong?"
"I remember now." Layna said. "Tell me where you are hiding him. Don't think you can have him all to yourself."
Those words seemed to really shock Inoue as she took a step away from Layna. Tears started to well up in her eyes. "What are you talking about! I'm not hiding Kurosaki-kun. He's at home. I care about him. But even more than that I just want you to come back."
"I have no time for your lies." Layna looked way, finally taking notice off Cyris and Shawlong as they prepared to leave. The blonde Shinigami, who looked exactly the same as the blonde that was trying to protect Inoue, was trying to assault the two as they prepared to leave. Layna decided that she had to do something about it.
"Growl Haineko!" Matsumoto screamed, as her blade turned to dust. The dust in turn swarmed towards the two Arrancar who were about to enter Hueco Mundo. Cyris cursed and Shawlong's eyes widened in horror.
"Flow arena." Haineko's attack was blocked by a similar attack. A large amount of sand crushed into the dust that was created by Matsumoto's attack. But the force of this second attack was great enough to cause Rankigu's attack to fall apart. The Shinigami had to leap back as to avoid a storm off sand from crushing down on her. Layna positioned herself in front the other two Arrancar. "I'm ready. Lets leave."
"Who made you the boss!" Cyris objected.
"Who cares. This is our chance." Shawlong said as he slipped back in Hueco Mundo.
"Wait!" Inoue screamed at the Arrancar in the air. Tears flowed down her cheeks as she stared up at Layna. "Please don't go Tatsuki." She ran forward before she fell to her knees.
Cyris looked down at Orihime and then over to Layna. "A friend of yours?"
"More like a rival." Layna said as she stepped through the portal, followed by Cyris who looked rather confused about the entire affair.
Inoue looked towards where the portal to Hueco Mundo closed. "She's alive. That's good right. Yeah. That's a good thing." But somehow Orihime felt extremely anxious. Was Tatsuki in love with Ichigo? And did she hate her because she believed that she was getting in her way. That couldn't be true.
"Inoue!" Rankigu screamed. "Come over here. Toshiro needs your help." There was some measure of panic in her voice. Orihime pushed back to her feet. She wasn't about to give up. She was still going to save Tatsuki. But before that she had to heal the friends who she could reach right now.
Renji watched the air where his opponent had just disappeared. The lieutenant had never expected Ulquiorra of all people to come and interrupt his fight. He was sure he could have won, that he could have finished his opponent off. But that didn't mean that his victory had been an easy one. "Were all of them this powerful?" He wondered to himself. He could sense that Ichigo was still fighting. He decided not to waste any time and head towards him.
The fight with Ilfort had weakened Renji a good deal. And by the time he reached Ichigo the fight between him and Grimjoww was already finished. Ichigo looked distraught and beaten. But at least he was still alive. "Did the Arrancar go back to Hueco Mundo?" Renji asked. No answer. "You win?"Renji tried again.
"I lost." Ichigo replied.
Renji almost laughed. "You shithead. You're alive that means you won, doesn't it?"
"Don't give me that bullshit. You wouldn't say that if you were in my position. I can't protect anyone. I can't even heal the wounded. And I was defeated again." It seemed to hurt him to actually say the words. "Grimmjow." He whispered the name. Promising himself that he would win the next time they met.