Emperador

A/N: Okay, I know it's been forever. This might seem a little half-assed... and the story might seem to take a huge turn here. Bear with me.


"Aizen-sama."

"Ulquiorra. Now is the time. I want you to lure him out into the city. He'll come alone," Aizen said smugly. "I'm sure of it."

"I will call for Halibel-sama and Stark-sama right away."

"I have already called for Halibel-kun. And you need not bother Stark: I have asked for Barragan to join you instead. It seems he has been looking forward to meeting with Esteban for some time."

"Very well, Aizen-sama. I shall leave at once." With that, Ulquiorra poked the air behind him and opened a garganta.

Everything will happen according to plan... with Esteban out of the way, stepping on Grimmjow and the human brats will be as easy as breathing in.

--

A familiar pricking feeling crawled up the base of Esteban's neck. Kuso! They're here?! Now, of all times? Kuso!

A sleepy moan escaped from a source nearby. Damn... nearly forgot about Tatsuki. They had decided to watch a movie at her apartment. The two had fallen asleep on the couch. She looks so peaceful... good thing she's a heavy sleeper, or it'd be impossible to get out of this without waking her up. He carefully extricated himself from the blanket that covered the two of them, and stealthily leapt from her apartment window without making a sound.

He ran as far away from the apartment as he could. Okay, Esteban. Think. Where should I go from here? A smart warrior always chooses the battleground, not his adversary. I'm not going to go rushing after them. Chances are... they'll find me soon enough. He then thanked God and Urahara Kisuke that he was wearing an untraceable Gigai. Hmm... they won't be expecting it... so I'll head for the park, and wait for them there.

--

What might have been a peaceful night's sleep for Ichigo and his, er... aw, hell, after what we did last night... yeah, we're definitely together... his girlfriend, was shattered by the sound of Rukia's Soul Pager going off. Only his Deputy Combat Pass hadn't gone off... so it had to be a phone call.

"M'hullo?" Ichigo muttered groggily into the phone's receiver.

"Ichigo! I can't find Esteban!" Tatsuki screeched.

"OW! Fuck, that was my ear Tatsuki..." Ichigo mumbled. "Wait, what's wrong with Esteban?"

"I can't find his reiatsu anywhere! We fell asleep on the couch during the movie... and I just woke up, and he was gone! I tried sensing for him, but I felt nothing!"

"He might've gone home, Tatsuki... he's wearing an untraceable Gigai. He might not have wanted to wake you."

"Except for the fact that he left his jacket, which had Kaizo's pill in it!"

Ichigo stiffened. He left... without saying a word? Ichigo looked down at Rukia, who was modestly covered by a thin bedsheet. He was immediately reminded of the painful memory of the night she had been captured by Renji and Byakuya. Then he dispelled the memory, chuckling at himself for being stupid. She had tried her best to protect him, despite what she had told him the night before that she had indeed had developing feelings for him, even at that early stage in their relationship.

Ichigo sighed. "I don't know what to tell you, Tatsuki... have you tried ringing up Hirako?"

"Shinji said he hasn't seen Esteban since yesterday morning."

Shock registered on his face. Then that can only mean one thing... "Tatsuki, stay there. Rukia and I will be there in a flash." Click.

"Rukia..." Ichigo gently nudged his slumbering girlfriend.

"Mmm? Whussamatter, Ichigo?" She mumbled. She shook her head around to clear the grogginess away, and then looked at Ichigo's... well... his nakedness. And blushed. Ichigo then remembered and chuckled, despite himself.

Then he put on his serious face. "We'd better get back into our nightclothes, Rukia."

Rukia pouted. "But... I wanted another round..."

"As much as I want another round myself, there's no time for that now. Esteban's gone missing, and nobody can so much as sense him. You know what that means."

Rukia sat upright, bringing the sheet with her. "You're right." She scrambled for her nightgown and undergarments while Ichigo pulled on a pair of sleep pants. "We don't even need to bother Kon or Chappy about this, it's late enough at night that they'll just think we're sleeping."

"But... if they come in and see us in the same bed... aw, fuck it, don't care anymore. My image be damned, we've got a friend to find."

--

Having already sensed the approach of the Espada, Esteban stood and faced the sky, where the three Arrancar stood, leering down at him. Esteban gave them a bored look of indifference. Hmm. Stark is conspicuously absent... since the others are dead, they must've had to bring Barragan down from his overinflated ego to come 'reprimand' me.

"Esteban-sama." An eerily familiar voice.

"Ulquiorra?" Esteban asked. "I should have known he'd send you here."

"Cut the theatrics, Esteban," Halibel interrupted, giving him a cold glare. "You ran out on us. Allied yourself with those humans and that scumbag Grimmjow." Then she fiercely narrowed her eyes. "And you left me behind, you cruel bastard."

"Oh? Sorry, being your 'loser lover from Tres Cifras' wasn't good enough for me, then. You wanna complain about me running off... blame the bastard on the chair next to yours, and then the bastard in the chair at the head of the table." Halibel tilted her head, not understanding what Esteban meant.

"Didn't he tell you? He's the one responsible for me being stripped of my rank. Nevermind the fact that he was jealous of me... I had you all over me all the time, I had Aizen praising me for being the perfect Espada... but he couldn't stand it."

"Barragan? What the hell is he talking about?" Halibel asked incredulously.

"He's right. I refused to stand by and watch while this human-sympathizing scum defiled the rank of Segundo Espada. So I humiliated him in front of Aizen by bringing in a human prisoner... and raping her in front of him. He attacked me, of course... being the chivalrous little runt he is. Then Aizen booted him out."

"Hmph. You're a detestable monster... Nevertheless..." Halibel then directed her attention to Esteban. "You crushed my 'heart' Esteban. And now, I hear from our intelligence in the human world that you're shacking up with some human slut. To sink so low... it insults everything the Arrancar stand for. It insults our honor and pride. We must destroy you now, and free you from your dishonor." Then she drew her sword.

"Didn't think I'd win you over anyway... Tatsuki's twice the woman you are, were, and ever will be, by the way. I'm not 'shacking up with her' and she is not a 'slut'. I'll kill you for slandering her like that," Esteban roared. "Barragan, I owe you for earlier. You were a dead man before I left Las Noches."

Then he looked at Ulquiorra. "What about you? I know you've become Aizen's lap dog in the time I've been gone. You going to draw against me too? Make it a completely fair fight?"

Barragan scoffed. "Where does this bravado come from? Make it a fair fight? We outnumber you three to one! Primero, Segundo, and Quatro Espada at that, versus some lowly Privaron."

"I take it you all didn't see what happened to Yammi?"

"..."

"Ah... so Aizen's precious Espada aren't completely devoid of fear."

"Whoever said we were afraid?" Halibel asked.

"The person that didn't answer my question. Which... by the way... none of you did." Esteban grabbed his left shoulder with his right hand, and forcibly pulled his Gigai off. The Espada put their hands to their swords, Ulquiorra included. "So, you are going to draw on me after all..."

Ulquiorra spoke softly, "I may still hold some respect for you, Esteban-sama. I still don't completely agree with Barragan's actions and your removal from the Espada... but it would be shameful for you to die against anything less than an Espada's sword."

Esteban sighed and drew his own weapon. "Indeed... it would." The four of them disappeared, and then multiple clashes of metal could be heard, ringing out in the lonely night.

--

"That heavy spiritual pressure! He's... he's fighting!" Tatsuki exclaimed.

Ichigo and Rukia noticed as well. "They're at the park," Ichigo concluded. The three of them took off, Tatsuki riding on Ichigo's back, and the shinigami used shun-po.

They arrived at the scene of the battleground, noticing someone there already.

"Yo, Kurosaki." It was Grimmjow.

"How long have they been at it like this?" Ichigo asked.

"A long time now. I gotta say... I'm impressed. No one's laid a scratch on him yet."

"Why aren't you up there helping?"

"This ain't my fight. I could tell as soon as I got here that this was his dance. If I butt my head in there, it'll only fuck up his zen anyway."

"But we can't just let him fight three Espada by himself!" Tatsuki roared.

"We're gonna have to, bitch, unless you'd like them to come over here and start fucking with us instead."

Tatsuki looked murdurous. "Asshole."

"Blow me."

"You wish."

"Grimmjow..." Ichigo glared.

"Fine, I'll back off... we're missing the fight anyway."

--

Esteban noticed the spiritual pressures that had arrived recently, but didn't have time to think about it. Damn, it's hard to so much as think anything when you have three swords flying at you at lightning speed. Dodging an incoming blow from his left flank, Esteban used sonido to back out of the triangle they were attempting and charged up a Cero, making the Espada scatter as the red beam blasted the air around them. Drawing on his mask all the way, Esteban gave in to every depth of his Hollow power, short of calling on his true form.

"Bara!!!" Esteban roared as the super-fast projectiles showered down from the air, kicking up dust as several hit the ground. When it cleared, he saw all three Espada, slightly bruised, but barely exerted.

"Kuso," Esteban spat.

"You cannot kill us Esteban. We will cut off your head, here and now. And then we will kill your human bitch, and then your stupid shinigami friends," Barragan taunted.

"I don't really care what the fuck you say..." Esteban sneered, all pretense of eloquence abandoned long ago, "I'm not giving in. There's only one thing I can do now... and I suppose I don't have to be ashamed that I had to, given the number of my opponents..."

Esteban knelt to the ground, and stabbed the ground with his sword. "PSYCH!" he cackled with glee as he nicked one of his fingers. A ball of greenish-white energy charged in his hand.

"SHIT!" Barragan roared.

"GRAN REY CERO!" Esteban howled as he unleashed the attack. A bright flash of light followed, and smoke hung over the space where the Espada had stood. Three silhouettes were visible.

The smoke cleared. Ulquiorra's jacket was tattered and there were burns on his arms, evidence of his trying (and failing) to hold back the energy. The front of Halibel's top had been blown clean off, her breasts exposed to the elements.

"Is it cold out here or are you just happy to see me?" Esteban cracked, unable to resist himself.

"FUCK YOU, ESTEBAN!" Halibel roared as she ripped the rest of her top off, and used the sleeves to fashion a makeshift chestwrap.

"No thanks... I'm seeing someone already." Esteban then looked over at Barragan. Aside from slight tatters on the edges of his uniform, he was virtually unscathed. "Dammit. Figured you'd get away untouched, Primero."

"It was still fucking annoying... Now we get to kill you."

"I don't think so... I'll let you in on a little secret, Barragan. You all continue to underestimate me... you haven't asked why I haven't released yet."

The Espada all betrayed a hint of shock.

"Did you just assume I didn't have a release? Don't be so stupid... of course I do... That Gran Rey Cero was just a ploy on my part to seem like it was a last ditch attempt at killing you."

Esteban pulled his sword out of the ground, and, using his right hand, held it out parallel to the ground. The blade was pointing off to his right, and his palm was facing the sky. He then twisted his wrist slowly, until the blade had made a two-hundred-seventy degree arc, and was now pointed toward the ground.

"Kneel down and despair... Emperador."


A/N: Okay, now you can belittle and berate me all you want for not updating and stuff.

I'll bet you all didn't see the whole Halibel/Esteban relationship coming, didja? Nope, you didn't. Just thought it up as I wrote it, and it sounded funny as hell (especially the "is it cold in here..." bit). Anywho... Uh, I don't have too much else to say. Except that college, while fun and awesome and stuff... is FUCKING HARD! Harder than my **** after feeling up, er, passionately making out with, my girlfriend. Yeah, bad joke, now I'm done. Don't you guys have better things to do? Like, I dunno... read fics that don't suck?

Okay, NOW I'm done. Seriously, I should stop beating myself up. I just hope this one doesn't piss the readers off...