Hello again~! I'm so YEY-ish~ I feel so accomplished! Thank you everyone for reviewing, it makes me dance around in a circle in happiness x3
Oh and for people who don't know what soindo-ing is, you'll kinda need to know that for this chapter.
Soindo- Moving at the speed of sound or faster, depending on the Espada that uses it. Ulquiorra's soindo is one of the fastest, but it isn't the best one.
Reiatsu- spiritual energy, Ichigo's reiatsu is massive, so massive he has an attack that is practically throwing all of it at the enemy (Getsuga Tenshou) most people don't have a lot of spiritual energy, meaning they have no supernatural powers or ability to sense other people with spiritual energy.
Ok that was some Bleach 101 for ya…
(I defined those on my own, so if im horribley wrong then oh snap XD that means this whole entire stories wrong O_O!!)
On with the story!
Enjoy!
Chapter Ten: Enemy
Ulquiorra watched as the girl devoured her breakfast, slamming down her chopsticks onto the tray with a determined face, as if she had just conquered the world.
I can't keep up with her mood swings…
Just last night the girl had been crying as she embraced him. Ulquiorra figured she was faking this happiness. Or…
I don't know…I can't tell.
The green eyed Arrancar mentally sighed and watched the servant Arrancar wheel away the cart.
He is getting awfully close to this corridor…
Ulquiorra looked off in the direction of the thick reiatsu he sensed, it was moving at a normal pace, running.
Ichigo Kurosaki…
He's not coming for her though… he's going towards one of his comrades.
Fool.
The girls right here.
You could have saved her by now.
…
Do I want her to be saved…?
Foolishness…
…
Ulquiorra leaned off the wall and walked out of the room silently, closing the door behind him.
::
Orihime looked up as the Espada left the room.
Oh no…
Ulquiorra-kun sensed Kurosaki-kun…
What if they fight…
An image of the two clashing, and one…
No!
She couldn't handle losing…
I shouldn't care about Ulquiorra, he's only saved me…
Once… no… twice?
Orihime shook her head and sighed dramatically.
Don't think like that.
No one deserves to die.
Not even an Arrancar.
::
If the boy will not come and save the girl, I will make him. Ulquiorra thought logically.
If he wont fight for her, I will make him fight.
…
It was unusual for the calm Espada to start a fight, however Ulquiorra concluded that he had changed, and that such behavior was something he should get used to.
Approaching a large open door way which lead to a long pair of stairs, Ulquiorra could see a flash of black and orange pass by, then stop suddenly.
Good, he sensed me.
::
Oh no… they met.
Please…don't fight…
Orihime folded her hands together, bringing them up to her chest.
Please…
::
Ulquiorra saw the orange haired boy turn slowly, wide eyed, to face him completely. The light from the hallway the Espada just came from was illuminating his form, casting a long dark shadow down the stairs, onto the floor.
Silently, the 4th Espada began his decent down the long stairs. The Shinigami only watched, in growing horror.
"Yo-you're…!" the boy choked out, just as Ulquiorra reached the bottom of the stairs.
Yes, I see you remember me, boy.
"You're Ulquiorra!" The Shinigami finished, his posture now alert.
I don't remember telling him my name.
I suppose I can shake him up by informing him of his comrade's condition.
"Rukia Kuchiki is dead." Ulquiorra said in a monotone voice.
"Wh-what…did you say!?" Ichigo demanded.
"More accurately she and the 9th Espada killed each other."
Good. Its working.
"Her body was slashed all over, and then impaled with a spear. She is no longer alive."
"Don't give me that bullshit…Rukia's reiatsu faded just faded now…You're not even fighting her, how would you-"
"Cognition synchronization. It is one of the 9th Espada's abilities as well as one of his duties. He is able to convey all of the information about the enemy he's fought to all of his comrades instantaneously." Ulquiorra finished quietly.
::
Rukia-san's reiatsu….
It faded away…
No!!!
Orihime banged against the large door of her room, she had to get out and heal Rukia, fast.
"Let me out!! Let me out of here!!" she screamed.
I have to…
Hurry!!
"Please let me out!! Let me out!!"
"Let me….out…." Orihime's form crumbled against the stone door. Hands shaking.
No…
::
Now, for the provocation.
Ulquiorra watched as the boy began running in the opposite direction of Orihime's cell.
"Where are you going?"he asked.
The boy stopped in his tracks.
"To save Rukia." Ichigo stated, his voice surprisingly calm.
"I believe I told you she's dead." the Espada replied, not bothering to look over in the Shinigami's direction as he talked.
"I don't believe you."
"Is it alright to leave without killing me first?" Ulquiorra asked, now drilling his eyes into the Shinigami's back.
"…I have no reason to fight you." Ichigo said, back still facing the Espada.
No reason to fight me…? Foolish boy, I am the enemy.
"…What do you mean?" the black haired Arrancar asked.
"You haven't harmed any of my friends." the Shinigami said, as if that was reason enough.
Silence.
"…I see." Ulquiorra started.
Now.
"What if I told you that I was the one who brought Inoue Orihime to Hueco Mundo?" now the Espada had turned his head towards Ichigo.
There was a flash of black and orange as Ulquiorra lifted his right hand from his pocket, and hardened his reiatsu on that arm in order to block the blade of Ichigo Kurosaki.
So slow.
"Do you know what you've done!? Because of you, Inoue was branded a traitor!" Ichigo yelled, pushing against his blade, trying to overpower the black haired Arrancar.
"Of course. If she wasn't, it would have been a miscalculation on our part." Ulquiorra said calmly, not wavering as Ichigo applied more strength.
"You bastard…!" Ichigo hissed.
"So, have you found a reason to fight me now, Shinigami?" the 4th Espada asked quietly.
The boy leaped backwards. He then calmly told the small figure Ulquiorra identified as Nel, a child Arrancar, to get back.
"Somehow, it doesn't look like this guy is gonna let me pass through." Ichigo said, now facing the Arrancar.
Ulquiorra kept an emotionless face.
"Im sorry, though, I'm in a hurry. So lets go…" the Shinigami got into a stance, extending his sword arm out as visible reiatsu flowed into the blade.
"All out!" the boy yelled, just as a large explosion of reiatsu burst from his form.
He's using all his power already, how foolish.
"…Bankai, huh?" Ulquiorra whispered, not impressed at all by the boy's reiatsu in bankai form. The Espada looked up as the boy burst from the smoke and clouds of the explosion.
Ichigo became fully visible, Ulquiorra noticed the Shinigami's face was covered with a mask now. This caused the Arrancar's eyes to widen.
…A hollow mask?
Black reiatsu started leaking from Ichigo's hand into his now smaller normal sized zanpaktou. The boy dove down at Ulquiorra, the black reiatsu flowing, hitting the walls and the ground, causing the stone to crack.
In a flash, Ichigo was in front of Ulquiorra, sword cutting down at the Espada's head vertically, the green eyed Arrancar quickly moved his arm in front of his head, blocking the blade. The black reiatsu began to surround Ulquiorra and pushed him backwards, towards a series of pillars.
The impact didn't hurt at all as Ulquiorra hit the stone, having been thrown back by the boy's reiatsu. Ulquiorra gracefully flipped mid air, kicking up against the following pillar, then launching back at Ichigo.
This boy's reiatsu… It's just like ours…
Ichigo swung his blade through the air, the blade being followed by a large wave of his black reiatsu.
"It's over. Getsuga Tenshou!" the Shinigami swung his blade out in Ulquiorra's direction, sending the large wave of black reiatsu shooting at the Arrancar.
Ulquiorra quickly landed on the ground and stood his ground, extending one hand in order to deflect the incoming attack.
As soon as the reiatsu and his hand clashed, Ulquiorra was pushed back several feet, however he managed to block the attack. The reiatsu continued flowing into the wave, crashing down against the Espada's hand.
I'm gonna need both hands, regrettably.
The Espada took out his left hand from his pocket, using both to hold back the massive amount of reiatsu. Even then the reiatsu continued pounding down against his hands.
Is it STILL coming?
"Ridiculous…" the Arrancar muttered, just as he was overcome.
There was an explosion, and the Arrancar was overwhelmed with darkness for a moment, before he felt the cold stone of the floor.
Damn. I'll use a cero and finish this.
Ulquiorra stood up slowly, his sleeves slightly torn from trying to hold back the large attack.
He noticed Ichigo's mask had disappeared.
I suppose that was all he had.
Pathetic.
He doesn't even realize im still alive.
"Well well…" Ulquiorra started, the smoke from the attack still lingering around his form.
At this, Ichigo's head turned, slowly, as if he was unsure about what he heard.
There is no way I would be defeated so easily.
"To think that I was unable to stop it, even with both hands…I'm a bit surprised." Ulquiorra said, giving the Shinigami at least that much credit.
"Was that all of your power just now?" the Arrancar asked.
Silence.
"…It would appear so…" Ulquiorra assumed, taking his right hand and lightly brushing off some dust and rubble from his shoulder. His left hand had returned to its pocket, as usual.
The Arrancar took his right hand and pointed it lazily at the Shinigami.
"How unfortunate."
A green orb began to form at the tip of the Arrancar's index finger, quickly growing, then suddenly releasing into an enormous ray of light and power.
He'll most likely survive that, but get gravely injured. Then I will finish him off.
Ulquiorra watched as his cero blast closed in on the orange haired boy and the child Arrancar. Both seemed completely frozen in place. Then at the last second, Ulquiorra managed to see Ichigo quickly form a fraction of the mask from before, as he grabbed the child Arrancar.
There was a large explosion, as Ulquiorra's cero blasted through the wall, out into the sandy desert of Hueco Mundo.
Ulquiorra waited a moment, before soindo-ing to Ichigo, just as the Shinigami recovered from the explosion, running frantically in an attempt to get away. His entire left side was badly burnt from the cero blast, and the child Arrancar in his arms was unconscious.
You cant run from me, Shinigami.
In one swift motion, Ulquiorra kicked the boy in the side, sending him plummeting into a nearby vacant tower.
Before Ichigo could get up completely, Ulquiorra soindo-ed, appearing in the opening in the wall Ichigo had created after crashing into the tower.
Now, the final move.
Ulquiorra walked towards the fallen Shinigami.
"Surrender." the black Arrancar said, in a last attempt to keep the boy alive.
The boy unexpectedly raised his sword, just as Ulquiorra stepped forward. Causing the blade to hit the Espada's chest. Though his skin was as hard as steel, Ulquiorra was still slightly shocked at the move.
"You're the top dog in the Espada, right? So if I defeat you here, then the rest is just clean up!" Ichigo rasped.
Ulquiorra took his left hand from his pocket and grasped the blade bare handed.
Top dog in the Espada?
Tch.
"…Is that so?" the black haired Arrancar spoke, tearing the blade away from his chest, in turn ripping his shirt to reveal the number 4 tattooed on his chest.
"That's such a shame."
"You're…fo…four!?" Ichigo managed to choke out, eyes wide.
"Yes. Cuatro Espada. Ulquiorra Schiffer. Among the Espada, my power is ranked fourth." Ulquiorra said. He felt like it was boasting, yet it was necessary for the Shinigami to know that it was hopeless, if he couldn't defeat the 4th most powerful, there was no way he could be victorious.
With that said, Ulquiorra drove his left hand into the Shinigami's chest, piercing his flesh and creating a large hole, along with a waterfall of blood.
"Kurosaki Ichigo, you can not defeat me. Even if you did defeat me, there are still 3 more Espada above me. Even if you rise up a thousand times…" the black haired Arrancar spoke, then pulled his hand from Ichigo's chest, causing the boy to fall forward.
"There will be no victory for any of you." Ulquiorra finished, swiping his left hand out to the side, freeing it of the boy's blood.
And that's that…
The good guys are losing.
…What a pity…
Ulquiorra lowered his gaze at the fallen Shinigami one last time before turning swiftly, returning his hands to their pockets. Ulquiorra walked out of the tower, then soindo-ed away silently.
Done!
Epic angsting coming up!
Gosh I should have categorized this story under angst/romance instead! Im so evilly depressing sometimes~ oh well…
I hope I did ok with this chapter, it took me longer to write since I wanted to get all the details perfect yet not go overboard describing how many specks of blood were on Ulq's hand and all… yeah… ok moving on.
Review! Or else I'll have Ulquiorra wtfpwn…wait…I've already used that threat…I guess its cause Ulquiorra is ALWAYS wtfpwn ing! Anyways… do it or else I'll strap you down to a chair and force you to watch the plot less bleach fillers! Oh the horror~!
Ulqy-chan, OUT~! X3 (Making up more threats xD Im such a hostile writer)