Again I do not own Bleach nor do I make any claim to do so.
Everyone was flabbergasted in the face of Harribel's declaration of service to Ichigo. "Harribel-sama, what the HELL are you saying?" Apache exclaimed, unable to believe her ears. "He... is... a... SHINIGAMI!" Mila-Rose said, enunciating every word as slowly and clearly as possible so as to get the point across. "I can't believe the words are leaving my mouth, but I agree with them." Sun-Sun added, her face as impassive as ever, but a twinge of disbelief present in her voice. "He is a Shinigami, and they are the enemy." she continued as around that moment, Satan found himself once more in need of an electric blanket.
"I am aware of that." Harribel said, still bowing. "But I stand by my decision. I am at your service.". Ichigo, suspicious of her behavior, asked "Why are you doing this?" as he let Orihime down, gave her Nel, and took out his sword. Harribel's Fraccion all took up defensive positions in response, fearing that he would attack their mistress, but Harribel held up a hand, signaling them to stop. "It's perfectly understandable that you would be suspicious. So I'll explain myself." she said. "I..." she began but Ichigo interrupted "If you're gonna explain, please stand up and look me in the eye. That way, I can see if you're lying, and if I decide to fight you, you'll see me coming."
Harribel, seeing that Ichigo was not budging, obliged and stood up. "I am doing this because you are my better." she began, inclining her neck to look Ichigo in the eye. "As my better, you have the right to command me, to battle, to death, even to bed. It is the way of things. Also, you can free me and my Fraccion from Aizen. For killing Aizen, I think my service is a small price to pay." she elaborated and patiently waited for Ichigo to respond while her Fraccion stood ready to fight if something were to happen.
"I believe you Harribel, but I already have a woman." Ichigo said as he pointed to Orihime. Surprisingly, this did not elicit much response from Harribel except a nod of understanding, followed by her turning to Orihime, looking her in the eye, and bowing before her as well. "Ha-Ha-Harribel! Wha-wha-what are you doing?" Orihime stuttered, blushing from the sudden gesture of respect and servitude from the First Espada.
"As you are Ichigo's woman, then my service extends to you as well." she explained, still looking at the ground and sounding as though it was the most obvious thing in the universe. Orihime, after taking a full two minutes to recover, bent down to the ground, and lifted Harribel's head up so they could look at each other in the eye, and asked "Is that what you want, or would you prefer a more equal status?". Harribel quickly responded "The latter." Orihime just smiled and said "Well, if that's what you want, then I won't stop you. Besides there's MORE than enough of him for both of us, and if I kept him all to myself, then I'd probably wouldn't last long due to the power." leaving everyone a little confused and Harribel looking as though she was granted her most desired wish.
After a brief and somewhat awkward moment, Ichigo lowered his sword and relaxed, saying "I figured what you were thinking, both of you. I just wanted to see if you were going to say it or beat around the bush. And I like to hear a person speak their thoughts rather than just think them.". The look on everybody's face was priceless as they processed the knowledge that Ichigo was telepathic and the ramifications of that power. "Don't worry. I only use it in battle and interrogations." he said, wanting to reassure them as he sensed their fear regarding their privacy.
Harribel's Fraccion, however, was not convinced, either of Ichigo's assurances or trustworthiness. They remained on guard, as though they expected Ichigo to start cutting them all down. Ichigo, reading their suspicions, handed his sword to Orihime and started walking toward them., prompting them to draw their respective weapons... only to feel a gust of air and realize that they no longer had their weapons. "If you're wondering where your weapons are, I have them." Ichigo said from behind them, holding each of their weapons in his left hand and tail.
Apache and Mila-Rose, seeing that they were no match for Ichigo, attempted to run for it, even though they knew they could never outrun him. Sun-Sun, in contrast, could only stand in fear as Ichigo started walking towards her, frozen in terror from the power he possessed. "Sun-Sun, what are you DOING?" Apache and Mila-Rose yelled out, fearing for her safety. Despite the constant bickering and teasing, they were actually quite close to each other, like sisters... and what sisters DO NOT bicker or tease? Harribel looked on with apprehension, wondering what would Ichigo do now that her Fraccion had drawn their weapons against him. Even Orihime, could not help asking 'He wouldn't hurt her...right?', for though she knew him for a very long time, she wondered if the Hollow reiatsu he ate would not have a detrimental effect on him, like increased aggression or bloodlust.
But Ichigo stopped just before Sun-Sun, who was trembling in fear, and on the verge of tears, much to the surprise of Mila-Rose and Apache who just watched, frozen in shock and dread as Ichigo just stood there...watching her, but with concern and kindness, not bloodlust, in his eyes. "Tell me: if I wanted to hurt you wouldn't I have done so already?" he asked, bringing Sun-Sun to look him in the eye. "I've proven to be much faster and stronger than you or your partners, so if I wanted, I could hurt you at any time." he continued, and Sun-Sun nodded in comprehension. "Well, since I haven't hurt you yet there can be only one conclusion: I have no intent of harming you, right?" he finished, and Sun-Sun nodded in eager understanding, and now gently wiping away tears of relief.
He then looked to Harribel and the rest of her Fraccion and said "I can understand your fear and mistrust of Shinigami. They hunt and destroy Hollows on a daily basis and they do so cavalierly.". Seeing the honesty of his words and the sense that they brought him pain or regret surprised them all, for they could not believe that a Shinigami could feel for a Hollow. "But, you've lived most of your lives here in Hueco Mundo, and Shinigami NEVER come here, not to my knowledge. So I'm curious: why fear Shinigami to begin with?" he asked with genuine curiosity.
"It's because the few Shinigami that do come here are a particular kind." Sun-Sun replied. "They are the ones near the bottom of the hierarchy who want a quick way to move up, and we're that way. I can give you a few examples: Sokakai, Aruga, Yakiro, Tsumotsu, Raiken, Chinka, Aizen, and particularly Tousen.". The last two names caught Ichigo off guard for a moment. 'They've been here BEFORE?' but he realized 'Of course they have. How else could they have established their base so quickly without key up-to-date info.'. "With all these Shinigami hunters coming here, it was easy for us to develop our fear of Shinigami. In addition to their hunting us for sport, they often enjoyed hunting us in violent, sadistic ways." she continued, gluing Ichigo in place the whole time. 'I knew that Shinigami were flawed, but never this bad.' he thought, only to catch himself wondering something horrible: 'Maybe Shinigami, not Hollows started the war.'.
He did not have time to ponder over these thoughts as Sun-Sun continued her explanation. "To survive, we started congregating into groups, like our Fraccion or Barragan's "kingdom", and that worked for a while, but the hunters, or poachers if you will, only found it more fun and took up the challenge. We had to grow stronger and smarter and for a time it was simply an arms race between Hollows and Shinigami. Then along came Aizen and...you know." she trailed off, and Ichigo recognized that she was referring to his treacherous, manipulative scheming.
"Well, you don't have to worry about me for a very simple reason: I'm not a Shinigami. In fact, if anything, I'm more akin to you Arrancar" he said, surprising everyone. "But...how...?" Apache and Mila-Rose began, but Ichigo held up a claw to silence. "I first became a Shinigami when Rukia gave me her powers and I accidentally took it all. For a time, that worked, then Byakuya and Renji appeared and took her back, fatally wounding me and depriving me of my powers." he paused, giving them time to process this info while they stayed glued in position.
"When I learned that Rukia was to be executed, I set out to rescue her, but I needed to regain my powers." he resumed, keeping them all glued to their seats. "I took a training course from Kisuke, and in the process a Hollow was born inside my soul. After Aizen's betrayal and the appearance of the Arrancar, I learned how to control my Hollow from the Vizards, Shinigami that obtained Hollow powers. So you see, I am not all that different from you except in origins: you are Hollows who gained Shinigami abilities, and I am vice-versa." he finished.
That last statement shook everyone out of their fixated state as they realized 'He's right! He's NOT a Shinigami...not entirely, so to compare him to them would be fallacious. In fact, he's more like us than he is to a Shinigami...nowadays anyway. Furthermore, he's faster than any of us, so if he wanted, he could have killed us WHENEVER he wanted, and we're STILL here.'. Harribel and her Fraccion began to relax as Sun-Sun calmed down and Ichigo returned their weapons. For a moment, they all relaxed as they took a better look at Harribel's new master, thinking along the lines of 'I wonder if he is as good in bed as he is in battle.' and 'How hard is he without that armor on?'.
That moment of relaxation was ended when Ichigo said "All right, let's go.", taking everyone by surprise. A moment later they realized that he was referring to Aizen, which brought feral smiles to the faces of Harribel's Fraccion as they thought 'A good fight!'. "Harribel, you take care of any Espada we meet on the way, and the Terrific Trio will focus on the Fraccion members." he barked as he waited for Orihime to climb onto him, only to hear Apache and Mila-Rose yell out "What was that? Who are you giving us orders?" while Sun-Sun just sighed in exasperation.
"You're Harribel's Fraccion, so you'll follow her anywhere, right?" he asked, and they nodded in response. "And she has pledged her loyalty to me, so she will follow me, isn't that right?" he continued as the Fraccion nodded and Harribel humbly bowed her head in confirmation. "Ergo, you'll follow me whether I give you orders or not, so I figured just cut out the middle man, or woman in this case." he finished, leaving them to process his explanation, and fuming after they finished.
"Still, we'd prefer if you included us in who we fight! We are not your servants!" Apache continued as she ran up to him, yelling and spitting in his face. Ichigo just wiped his face, sneered and said "And if I don't, what will you do?". "THIS!" Apache yelled as her foot struck up with incredible speed...perhaps sonido and aimed her toes right at his face...only to watch her leg fly up and miss. Then there was a quick flurry of hands followed by a shriek of agony.
"HOLYYYY KAMIIIII!" she yelled as she found herself turned into an Arrancar pretzel. Ichigo then smirked and said "Now you won't be doing that again, will you Apache?" as he held her up by her butt, a little more firmly than was necessary, and watched her squirm from the pain and indignation. "Now are you gonna be a good girl?" Ichigo asked, prompting Mila-Rose to sneer "Or am I gonna have to do this again?". Enraged, Apache tried to respond, only to fall back with a whimper.
"My, my." Sun-Sun mused over, her eyes held in state of surprised amusement. "I had no idea you were so flexible." and Apache turned so red with fury you could swear that steam was coming from her ears.
"Ok, OK I'll be good. Just get me OUTTA THIS!" she yelled, every word causing her pain. Ichigo nodded and proceeded to untwist her, with many a moan and whimper on the way. As soon as she was untwisted, she felt a new pain, but one that left a very good feeling. She turned and saw Ichigo massaging her. "I owe you this after that bout of pain." he said, earning a smile of gratitude and perhaps a blush from Apache. "And after all I can't have one of my servants in constant pain, can I?" he added, turning Apache even redder with fury and earning a laugh from Mila-Rose and a snicker from Sun-Sun.
Just as Ichigo was about to laugh he felt a nearby reiatsu...weak but unmistakable. 'Chad!' he realized as he turned to the source. 'That's right! I felt his reiatsu dwindle before I fought Ulquiorra! Damn it!' he thought as he moved to the source and barked out "Hime-chan, Harribel, everyone this way!". It took them five minutes to reach Chad since they had to slow down for Orihime and Apache, still grumbling about the pain across her body. "Man that hurt! Why did he have to stop so suddenly? That really helped." she murmured angrily, making Sun-Sun and Mila-Rose snicker at her discomfort, which only made her more furious.
Ichigo breathed a sigh of relief as they found Chad, injured but alive. "Hime-chan, take care of Chad." Ichigo said, who turned to finding out where they were and who Chad had fought while Orihime began healing Chad's injuries. "I wonder who could have done this to Chad?" Ichigo asked to no one in particular. "My guess would be Nnoitra." Harribel interjected. "The tracks match his distinctive footwear, and the wounds were caused by a hacking weapon." she went on as Ichigo listened and observed their surroundings.
Meanwhile, Apache, Mila-Rose, and Sun-Sun leaned down over Chad, observing and commenting on his impressive size and power, exhibited by his muscles and his stamina. "His muscles are massive." Apache said, struggling to keep herself from collapsing again. "His stamina is just as impressive." Mila-Rose added. "Indeed. For him to survive a fight with Nnoitra of all people." Sun-Sun finished their train of thought. For the third time that day, Satan found himself in desperate need of a furnace and moaned "Not again! Stop!".
He did not have to wait long as Apache said "But he's no match for me. I'd clobber him in less than a minute!". "You? Ha!" Mila-Rose retorted. "You can barely WALK let alone FIGHT!", and Sun-Sun sighed once more in exasperation murmuring "Not again." as Apache felt her veins in her temple throb. "What was that?" she yelled, crouching down to attack, only to scream out in pain and collapse whimpering. "See what I mean." Mila-Rose sneered as Apache glared bloody murder at her.
A groan interrupted their mental battle as Chad started to rise and attempted to take a defensive stance when he realized that three Arrancar women were watching him. 'Wait a minute. Why did they wait for me to wake up?' he wondered as he looked around. "It's all right Chad." Ichigo said, sensing Chad's growing worry and confusion. 'That's Ichigo all right, from his voice and reiatsu,' Chad thought as he turned toward Ichigo. 'But what the heck happened to him?' and his eyes widened as he saw Ichigo in his new form.
"I know that you're wondering why I look like this." Ichigo began, much to Chad's surprise and confusion. "So I might as well tell you." he sighed as he prepared to explain himself...only to hear a new mind yell out 'Ichigo!', followed by a massive burst of reiatsu...a very familiar reiatsu.
He turned around, and felt himself filled with joy when he saw Kenpachi, the wild Captain of Squad 11. "Kenpachi!" he yelled flashing a feral grin at the spiky-haired giant. "Ichigo! I knew it. That orange mane of yours is unmistakable, no matter its length. But what have you been doing since we last met?" he said as he walked towards Ichigo. "I was just about to explain when I felt your presence." he answered.
Seeing something was amiss he added "Where's your sugar-addicted Lieutenant?". "She hopped off a short while ago to do a perimeter sweep. She'll be back soon enough." Kenpachi answered. Ichigo nodded and said "Well, provided we're not interrupted again, I guess I'll explain myself.". "During our journey we were attacked by a sand Hollow called Runuganga, who formed a sand pit that swallowed us and we fell into Menos Forest.". "There's a forest of Menos?" Kenpachi said, amazed by the thought. "But where-?" he began, but Ichigo quickly responded "It's under the sand.", leaving Kenpachi even more amazed.
"Anyway, while we were falling I was separated from the group and landed in a different part of the Forest." Ichigo continued as everyone, especially Harribel and her Fraccion, listened in. "When I came to my senses I felt a reiatsu so huge it made yours look puny in comparison.", and Kenpachi's eyes widened in awe and a flicker of fear. "I managed to look at the source of the reiatsu, a female humanoid hyena named Hiena Carnear, the Beast of Hueco Mundo. We fought a largely one-sided fight due to her strength and abilities, but I managed to win." he stopped to let the others sink in this new-found knowledge. "But, I was so weak and injured that I was very near death. My only hope to survive was to ...eat her reiatsu." he finished and everyone's eyes, even Sun-Sun's and Harribel's, widened in disbelief and Chad gasped in shock, the first time anyone ever observed him doing that.
After a moment of quiet anticipation and mental processing, Ichigo continued. "I only meant to eat enough to heal my wounds, but the taste was...MMM...EXQUISITE! So I ate the whole thing, meaning that I had a huge surplus of reiatsu left over, which began to react with my reiatsu and my Hollow's reiatsu." he stopped when almost everyone drew blank stares. "Before I went to the Soul Society I had to regain my Shinigami powers, so I turned to Kisuke, who put me through strenuous training, during which I nearly Hollowfied, and while I managed to stop the process, a Hollow was created inside my soul. After I returned I met the Vizards, who helped me learn to control my Hollow and its powers." he explained, though their blank stares were replaced with pure confusion.
"Back to recent events." Ichigo continued. "The surplus reiatsu allowed me to augment my Shinigami powers and that of my Hollow, but it also altered its appearance. So when I Hollowfied, I looked similar to this but without the legs, tail, arm and leg blades, and a white hyena head instead of a helmet. After a brief but very entertaining fight with Ulquiorra, I had an even more enjoying fight with Grimmjow. After I won, we were attacked by Nnoitra and beaten to a bloody pulp. Grimmjow gave his life to distract Nnoitra so I could unleash the reiatsu in his Zanpakuto, Pantera, and consume that as well. After an intense and very painful internal battle with Pantera, the reiatsu of Pantera, Hiena, and my inner Hollow amalgamated into a new form, this form. I then fought and killed Nnoitra and picked up these lovely ladies as new partners in my war with Aizen." he finished, much to the surprise and amazement of his audience.
After a moment of awed silence, Kenpachi sported a wide feral grin and said "I look forward to seeing your abilities in battle!". Ichigo sported a matching grin and answered "To tell you the truth I want to know the full extent of my abilities, and we both know the best way to find out.". "FIGHT!" they said simultaneously and started stretching. "I-I-Ichigo!" Orihime stuttered as she realized they were getting ready to fight. "This is not the time to pick a fight! We-!" she tried to continue but felt herself restrained by a hand. She turned and saw Harribel who said "We cannot continue until Apache is ready, and that will take time. And it would help if Ichigo knew the full extent of his powers in the upcoming fight. Besides, it couldn't hurt for them to have some fun.". Orihime, seeing the wisdom of her words, conceded and sat herself down next to the First Espada and her Fraccion holding Nel in her arms.
Ichigo and Kenpachi took places about five meters from each other and twenty meters from the spectators and drew their swords. A split second of calm lasted, and then they charged at each other. Kenpachi drew his sword high and slashed down, only to be parried by Ichigo's left arm blade, giving Ichigo a split-second opportunity to attack Kenpachi in the gut with a right claw, but due to his huge reiatsu and a last-second lean to his left, Kenpachi only received four parallel scratches. Briefly frustrated, Ichigo kicked with a knee-fang at Kenpachi, who jumped up and slashed downward with both hands.
At the last second, Ichigo sidestepped Kenpachi's sword, climbed up it like stairs, and kicked Kenpachi across the face and ax-kicked downward with his foot claws, and kicked upward across the face with the foot blade. Surprisingly, Kenpachi remained relatively unfazed! 'What the hell?' Ichigo thought as he assessed the damage. Then he felt an unexpectedly massive surge in reiatsu, and the answer hit him like Hiyori's sandals. "Let me guess: I knocked your eyepatch off." Ichigo said, feral excitement glowing in his voice. "That's right!" Kenpachi answered, reflecting the same animalistic excitement as Ichigo.
"Now the real fight begins!" Ichigo said as he flashed and reappeared in front of Kenpachi and slashed across with Tensa Zangetsu. "Right again!" Kenpachi answered as he blocked and counterattacked. "For this is how warriors SHOULD fight!" he continued as Ichigo was left unfazed. "AT...FULL...POWER!" Ichigo and Kenpachi yelled simultaneously as they continued their fight. Ichigo recovered from Kenpachi's counterattack and launched a Cero attack, but Kenpachi ducked and punched Ichigo in the ribs in an incredible display of flexibility and agility. Unsurprisingly, Kenpachi felt his knuckles begin to bleed from the strength of Ichigo's Hierro, but Ichigo actually felt pain in his ribs and nearly doubled over.
Kenpachi, recognizing this moment of weakness, attacked again, thrusting with his sword, but Ichigo ducked while spinning on one foot like a Cossack dancer. While spinning he kicked out a leg, brandishing the blade on his calf, and hit Kenpachi on the leg, drawing blood and knocking the behemoth down. Ichigo then stopped his spin and jumped up, hit Kenpachi under the chin and rocketing him upward. Ichigo then flashed up and kicked Kenpachi in the stomach, knocking the wind out of him and drawing more blood from his foot claws. Kenpachi landed with the force of a meteor, opening up a crater, kicking up a small sandstorm and virtually burying the spectators.
A minute past without much movement, save the audience trying to dig themselves out, when Ichigo broke out his barking laugh and yelled "C'mon Kenpachi, I KNOW that wasn't enough to do you in, so come out!". When he did not get an answer, Ichigo flew down into the crater, when he veered right just as a sword thrust out and cut down his armored skin. After coming somewhat to a stop in a rather bumpy way, he turned and felt his eyes widen as Kenpachi stood before him, without so much as a scratch. Not only that but he seemed to glow with a metallic sheen, as though he had somehow become part-machine.
"What have YOU been doing since we last fought?" Ichigo asked, amazed by what he saw. "I've been learning the name of my Zanpakuto." Kenpachi responded, with uncharacteristic gentleness in his voice, making Ichigo eyes widen to a degree near impossible. He was further astounded by the smile that Kenpachi gave as he continued: a warm, kind smile, not his trademark feral grin. "Kinzoku Akuma." (Metal Demon). 'That explains the metallic look to him.' Ichigo thought, and cracked Kenpachi's trademark feral grin. "NOW things are getting interesting." he said as he charged again.
Kenpachi slashed but Ichigo dodged, sending himself into a spin, and opening his back for Ichigo to attack. Just as Ichigo threw a punch, he heard Kenpachi say 'Now kick!' and jumped back, narrowly dodging a back kick from Kenpachi. 'He's gotten faster since our last fight.' Ichigo thought as he stopped and stood about ten meters back. 'Maybe that's his Zanpakuto: it makes him like a machine. If that's the case, I bet his strength and toughness have also been augmented. THIS will be quite a challenge.' and he charged again.
Kenpachi grinned as he watched Ichigo charge in again, and prepared for his attack. Ichigo stopped in front of Kenpachi and struck with a right claw, but just as Kenpachi was about to block, Ichigo ducked, jumped up, forcing Kenpachi to follow, and punched Kenpachi in the face. Just as Ichigo surmised, Kenpachi's skin had the hardness of ten-inch steel shielding. However, even with that armor, Kenpachi's head was still a vulnerable target as he was sent flying across the sand, though the force of the punch left Ichigo's knuckles bleeding.
'Guess I can't keep doing that for too long.' Ichigo thought as he watched Kenpachi jump back up to his feet and land before Ichigo. Surprisingly, Ichigo's punch left a bruise on Kenpachi's face, albeit a very small one, and all Kenpachi could say was "Ichigo, 's that all?". Ichigo just grinned and said "I'm just getting warmed up." and held up his hand, which had now fully healed. 'But if my wounds regenerate that fast, I guess it doesn't matter.' he thought, and soon heard a condescending "Tsk tsk tsk" in response.
'What is it NOW?' he asked impatiently. "Watch it Kingy, or I won't talk." Hichigo answered. 'Explain to me how that's a problem?' Ichigo asked perplexed. "If I don't talk, then you won't get my advice, which is pretty damned important if you wanna use your full power." Hichigo groaned as though he was stating the obvious. 'All right, sorry. So spill it, or I'll kick your ass.' Ichigo yelled exasperated. "All right. Here's an idea I had. When I was in my Hollow form, I had the ability to grow an extra appendage and use it to crush my enemies." Hichigo said, leaving Ichigo fascinated and perplexed.
"I don't know if you got that particular ability, but you may have a derivative of it, like stretching out your claws or your arm." he continued, changing Ichigo's mood from fascinated to incredulous. "Can't hurt to try." Hichigo added, sensing Ichigo's unbelief. 'All right.' Ichigo conceded and focused on his claws, trying to will them into growing longer by half their length. To his surprise, they soon extended by just that amount. 'Cool!' Ichigo thought as he shrunk them back to normal length. He then tried his arm, which also extended, along with the blades and fang, exactly the length he wanted.
'What else could I extend?' Ichigo thought as he looked over his body. "Anything you want: legs, tail, feet. And it may not end with just that. Maybe you've got my ability after all, or another derivative. I don't know, but we'll find out." Hichigo answered, and returned to watching from the sidelines. Ichigo grinned as he started another charge, but when he was ten meters from Kenpachi, he doubled the length of his feet and foot claws as he ran, greatly enhancing his speed and taking Kenpachi completely by surprise, allowing Ichigo to make a small jump, and slashed with his foot claws, which he extended just after leaving the ground, like a Velociraptor, leaving deep gashes in Kenpachi's chest.
The attack didn't end there as Ichigo then followed up with a knee-fang attack, climbed up Kenpachi's chest, and slashed his way down the back. For the finale, Ichigo slashed across Kenpachi's back with his sword, arm and leg blades, and claws. Even then, Kenpachi refused to fall, and even seemed to stand straighter than ever, leaving Ichigo in awe at Kenpachi's stamina. This moment of hesitation cost Ichigo a lot as Kenpachi, with his new fluid, machine speed turned around and started punching and slashing at Ichigo. The first round of attacks was so swift and brutal, Ichigo did not have time to react at all. The second round was largely the same, though more because Ichigo still had not healed than because he did not have time.
"Come on King. You're being pathetic here." Hichigo sneered at Ichigo's turn of fortunes. That insult gave Ichigo the boost he needed to start counterattacking, just as the third round of Kenpachi's attacks began. Ichigo punched, kicked, and slashed with equal ferocity and speed as Kenpachi, with each
trying to oust the other in speed or power. Eventually, their attacks and counterattacks became so fast all their audience could see was a blur...at best, and their reiatsu began to increase, until it became so thick and dense, it began affecting everything around them, including their audience, now thirty meters away.
"Some...one...stop...them...PLEASE!" Apache groaned as a feeling of vertigo began to set into her. "I know!" Sun-Sun responded, her face beginning to match her hair in color, and her eyes starting to lose focus. Surprisingly, Mila-Rose was faring worse than either of them as she had already collapsed on her back, whimpering out "Please stop...the sky. I'd...like to...get up.". Orihime was not much better as she found herself holding onto Harribel's shoulder to prevent herself from collapsing on the sand as with Mila-Rose.
Amazingly, the only ones that were not affected at all were Harribel and Nel, who had no signs of feeling dizzy or nauseous. Harribel just watched the fight, as still and stoically as though she was a statue. Nel in contrast was alert and somewhat edgy, breathing hard, as though she was expecting a fight at any moment. 'Maybe it's all this reiatsu.' Harribel surmised, looking at the child Arrancar. 'She'll probably settle down once the battle ends.'. Suddenly, Harribel bolted up as she felt an unfamiliar reiatsu...of a Shinigami. Acting more on instinct than thought, she readied her weapon and used sonido to appear behind the stranger.
Or strangers as it turned out, for she had appeared behind a band of three Shinigami. "You raise your weapon, or try anything funny, and I'll slice you up." she hissed through her now-zipped jacket and mask remnants (She zipped it back up just before facing the Shinigami. Only Ichigo is allowed to see her breasts and get away with it.). Two of them, a tall one with silver hair and a short one with black hair, put their hands up almost immediately. The third, however, only laughed as she, apparent from the laugh, slowly turned around, surprising the heck out of Harribel, even though she did not show it. "If you really wanted to hurt us, you would've done so already." she said as she looked Harribel in the eye.
Seeing no intent of hurting her or her Fraccion, Harribel sheathed her Zanpakuto, a katana with sharp undulations in the blade, like water, and the hilt shaped like a snake with legs, with the head, horse-like, forming the guard. "Sorry. Instinct. No offense." Harribel said as she looked over the woman. She was of average height, maybe taller, with blue eyes and a black braid in the front, and dressed in the standard Shinigami robes.
"Perfectly understandable. And none taken." the woman said as she looked over Harribel in turn. 'It's all right.' Harribel told herself. 'I looked her over, so she can do the same.'. "My name is Retsu Unohana, Captain of Squad Four." the woman said a few seconds later, adding "What is your name? And why didn't you attack us?".
"I am Tia Harribel, the First Espada." she responded, drawing a gasp from the two Shinigami who still had their hands up. "Don't worry, you can relax. I didn't attack you because it would have been against Ichigo's wishes.". The Shinigami all did a double take when they heard her, and for a moment stood perfectly still, looking as though Harribel had performed a curse of petrification. "You all heard me correctly. I'm not attacking you since it goes against Ichigo's wishes, and your his allies, thus you are my allies as well. So relax. RELAX!". She yelled the last part out, which seemed to do the trick as the Shinigami jumped out of their petrification and collapsed on the ground when they lost their footing.
Chuckling softly, Harribel leaned down and helped pull them back up, surprising them all with her great strength, which almost sent the little one flying, earning a round of giggles from the three women. "Thanks. My name is Isane Kotetsu, Lieutenant of Squad Four." the tall silver-haired woman said after dusting herself off. "And my name is Hanataro Yamada, Seventh Seat of Squad Four." the black-haired boy said after he picked himself up.
"Charmed." Harribel said, nodding to both Shinigami. "I suppose you want an explanation for my sudden alignment with Ichigo." she surmised, earning a round of nods from all Shinigami. "I aligned with Ichigo as he is my better, my superior in terms of strength and power, and so it is his right to rule over me." she answered, leaving the Shinigami perplexed by her explanation. "He is also my chance to be free of Aizen, free from his control. As payment for killing Aizen, I offered him my service. He accepted, so I am now at his command." she added as the Shinigami nodded their heads in understanding.
"So where is Ichigo now?" Hanataro asked, looking around until his head jerked back to a particular spot and he added "I'm guessing there.". Everyone looked in the direction that he referred to and saw what had happened in the small amount of time that Harribel stood up. Kenpachi and Ichigo had finally broken off from their high-speed melee combat and looked the worse for wear.
Ichigo's fur had been cut and shaved unevenly, making him look like a dog with mange. His chest and arms were covered in cuts and dents, his fingers were pulverized, and his right arm blade and left joint fangs had been broken off. Finally, he was doubling over from the pain in his chest, from broken ribs, internal bleeding, and a punctured lung.
'Oh man!' Ichigo thought as he felt another wave of pain wash over him. 'Looks like this fight will be over soon.'. He then looked over to Kenpachi and saw that at least he was not alone in his pain.
Kenpachi was covered in blood literally from head to toe. His chest was littered in cuts and bruises, and his arms looked like the flesh had been ripped from them in some places. Making things harder for him was that his ribs were virtually shattered and he was having trouble breathing. 'Shit. Looks like this fight will end very soon.' he thought as he looked over at Ichigo.
"Hey Ichigo." he called out. "How are you holding out?". Ichigo's eyes widened as he gave his answer. "About as well as you from the looks of it. Why?". "I just thought that maybe we should end this fight with one last attack. Our best attack." he explained. Ichigo thought for a moment and said "All right." and stood as straight as he could. Once Kenpachi did the same, both began pouring out reiatsu, much stronger and heavier than before.
"KAMI! They're NUTS!" Isane, Hanataro, Apache, and Mila-Rose yelled out in unison, while Harribel, Unohana, and Sun-Sun just nodded. Ichigo stood up and slashed his sword across his hand, drawing blood. "King, what are you doing?" Hichigo yelled out, seeing Ichigo deliberately cut himself. 'I'm gonna try that Gran Rey Cero Grimmjow used.' Ichigo explained. "But he said only Espada could use that!" Hichigo retorted, shocked that Ichigo would even think about it. 'Maybe he meant only a Hollow of Espada power level could use it, and I'm WAY above them. Couldn't hurt to try.' Ichigo elaborated, leaving Hichigo back on the sidelines as he started gathering blue reiatsu in his hand.
Meanwhile Kenpachi yelled "Bankai!" and gold reiatsu engulfed him, and began to reshape itself, from a cloud to a more solid form. When the reiatsu settled down, Kenpachi was surrounded by a form of golden armor, humanoid in shape, with a large chest, forearms, and calves, and with what seemed like spikes protruding from the back and arms (Ironmonger people, but slimmer and more athletic in appearance).
"Kutsuu Kinzoku Akuma (Hell Metal Demon)!" Kenpachi yelled as he brought one arm up and started gathering reiatsu like Ichigo. Soon, both had large spheres of reiatsu, crackling like lightning and trembling like missiles ready to launch. Just as their respective masters were about to release their final attack, they felt a new reiatsu, one that took them completely by surprise for its intensity, suddenness, and...familiarity. They turned to look at the source of the new reiatsu, which was rather stupid as they lost control over their respective attacks and they blew up in their faces, blowing them 40 meters apart.
"Ichigo-kun!" Orihime yelled as she bolted to her feet..or at least tried to as she found something rather big on her lap which jumped up faster than she could and ran towards Ichigo, intent on getting there first. It did not take long as whatever it was soon reached Ichigo and grabbed him...in a bone-crushing bear hug yelling "Ichigo! Are you all right? Ichigo, speak to me!" in a feminine voice.
Of course he was not all right. Would you be after first taking all that damage, then having your best attack blow up in your face, and now have this complete stranger bear-hug you in short order? Sure enough, Ichigo felt himself getting light-headed from the lack of oxygen, and the rest of his ribs break. Most embarrassing of all though, he felt himself getting hard south of the equator, for he could tell that this person was very well endowed in the chest. To top it all off, all he could see was a mass of green...a very familiar green...hair that is.
'It...can't...don't tell me!' he thought as he fought in futility to get free. In the background he could just make out the three others trying to reach him. One, Orihime, was begging the stranger to let him go, while the others tried to pry her off. Just before he died of oxygen depletion they finally managed to get the stranger off and after a few good breaths, he succeeded in getting a look at the bear-hugger, and felt his eyes widen at the person and asked himself 'Is that who I think it is?'.