Hallo! I'm sorry this is late, but I've finally started my novel ja!! Yeay!!
"Ahhhhh, Riding is sooo much more beautiful than walking!" Yumichika sighed, flipping his violet bob.
"Can it!" growled Ikkaku, obviously perturbed as Nel and Matsumoto took turns absentmindedly poking his obnoxiously shiny head. Hanatarou was desperately trying to avoid Pesshe's curious hands that had already found their way into his medical pack twice before. Renji looked dismal; Dondochakka seemed pleased with his handiwork. Byakuya sat alone at the head of their 'ship', gazing out at the passing wasteland.
The grand castle of Las Noches seemed to be getting no nearer as they sped through the desert. Nel paused in her action of prodding the 11th division's head to look out to the right and widen her eyes slightly. Opening her mouth up impossibly wide, she bellowed, "BAWABA--!!" Before she could even finish his name, the worm-hollow dove into the sand, depositing his riders onto the grainy ground. Almost immediately following, a group of Adjuchas flickered to a stop before the mismatched band of travelers.
The leader of the hollow group took a step forward. The being seemed to have no actual, predetermined shape; although roughly the size of a largely-built man, his outline wavered and trembled, ever-changing, so that one moment he had a definite figure, the next, he nearly could have been part of the landscape. Even the colours of his body did not stay constant: A circle of scarlet expanded from the center of his chest, bringing with it a dark gray that consumed the rest of his body; a magenta ring appeared from the same place, restoring his body to it's original white. This pattern continued endlessly, entrancing the antsy arrancar. When the being finally spoke, his voice echoed, not really coming from the adjuchas himself.
"Shinigami," his voice stated tersely, "Why do you trespass so into the territory of hollows? We do not take kindly to your kind in our land."
One of the hollows behind the leader flapped her wings and screeched, "Aw, Tora-chan, why are you talking to them, tsuka? We should kill them now, tsu! The king said we're 'posed to, tsuu!"
"Be quiet, Ame!" hissed another.
"I'm sorry, but we need to get through here." Byakuya stated, but the figure didn't respond.
Nel darted up and inspected the being from all sides. With one finger on her lips, she tapped on her broken mask and smiled, singing, "Adjchas-san! I seem to outrank you, so you'd better let us go!" Silently acknowledging her Arrancar status, he shifted, opening a clear path towards Las Noches.
"Tora-chan!" Ame moaned, "You're too nice, tsu!"
A large Adjuchas vaguely shaped like a rhinoceros said, "Diablo, I must say I agree with Ame. Although they have an Arrancar with them, their group is mostly Shinigami. I cannot permit the continuation of their journey."
There were resounding agreements from the remainder of the group of Hollows.
'Diablo' seemed to think for a moment. Finally, he said, "I have already promised them safe passage. It would be dishonorable to not keep my word at this point. Permit them passage." Grumbling, the Rhino-hollow stepped to the side. Nel led the way, followed closely by Dondochakka and Byakuya. Hanatarou followed his fellow Soul Reapers, dragging a dizzy Pesshe by his spindly wrists. The former Tercera Espada whistled for Bawabawa, and they set off once more.
o0&0o
Knock, knock.
Ichigo looked up as the door opened. Kairu entered hesitantly, shying away from bed on which Rukia's pale form lay. Speaking quietly, she addressed Ichigo, " Aizen-sama wants to see you again. What did you do now?" Ichigo raised his eyebrows and stood up. He looked once again at the Plus, then turned and walked out of the room. His Fracción shifted uncomfortably, then reluctantly sat down and resumed her master's post.
Ichigo flashed into the hall. Aizen sat, as always, reclined in his throne. In one hand he juggled a shiny black ball on his fingertips. As his Primera Espada appeared, he deftly caught the ball in his palm, letting it be reabsorbed into his skin. "Ichigo-kun, I have recently been informed that some trespassers have been detected moving through Hueco Mundo toward Las Noches. You might recognize them…" A screen flickered into being, suspended high in the air. Ichigo struggled to keep his face impassive.
"Now that you know, I'll send out a few Números to take care of them. You get back to Rukia-chan." With a silent bow, Ichigo hurriedly swept from the room.
Back in Ichigo's room, Rukia lay motionless on Ichigo's bed. Kairu felt a shiver run down her spine. Rukia shifted. Kairu shifted.
Kairu felt herself grow restless. As much as she felt ill at ease in her present (though unwaveringly unresponsive) company, the Fracción knew that if her master found that she had committed the insubordinate act of abandoning his only connection to his previous life -if that was what it was- he would have her hung, drawn, and quartered for sure. So, Kairu sat. And sat. And sat.
When the door burst open suddenly, Kairu nearly jumped out of her skin. She relaxed; It was only Ichigo. He pulled up another chair and plunked himself down, sighing heavily. They both said nothing, and waited some more.
Kairu noticed the metamorphosis process begin first. Tendrils of white crawled up Rukia's neck, thickening and hardening. When the animate liquid finally reached the corners of her jaw, Ichigo awoke, noticed, and panicked. Before he could do anything, though, Kairu put a hand on his wrist, careful to avoid his heart, stopping him. Reluctantly, he sat down again.
The white had obscured most of the raven-haired woman's face, soon, all was covered except her closed eyelids. Before the Primera Espada and his Fracción's eyes, the silhouette of butterfly wings etched themselves into the newly-formed hollow mask. In an instant, the mask had shattered and a blindingly white cocoon had formed around Rukia. Silent cracks made their way along the length before it fell away, revealing the new Rukia.
Aizen sensed his 1st Espada dashing towards his throne room and smiled. Behind him he dragged a petite person, wings frail as snowflakes sprouting from her back.
Ichigo fell into a kneel, dragging the girl down with him. As he presented her to his king, Aizen's suspicions were confirmed: the sickly pale, masked person Ichigo had Hollowized was none other than the Kuchiki girl from so many years ago. Aizen knew that this would happen sooner or later, what with their supposed 'daughter' running amuck in Soul Society.
Tactics and options flashed through the former captain's head. If he were to make her into an Arrancar, Kuchiki would definitely come to be a valuable asset to his army, what with those 30 or so years she had to sit, and her hidden hollow side had to develop. She would definitely be a powerful Arrancar, probably worthy of one of the open Espada seats.
Still, if he did appease Kurosaki's blatantly obvious request, there was great risk of some future disaster. The bond they had once shared could strengthen and, in turn, possibly weaken Aizen's tyrannical rule. Personality-deprived, mindless Adjuchas were so much easier to handle. Just stick them all in a big room and say 'Go and kill each other until only one of you remains'. Arrancar, what with their usurpation schemes worthy of Gin himself, were too much of a bother. Especially those Exequia. Never following orders like good little executioners they were supposed to be.
Once he became king, Aizen decided, he would so something about the Exequia.
Deciding to take the risk, Aizen wordlessly beckoned for the girl to approach, and, drawing power from the Hougyoku, tore the mask from Rukia's face.
Ok, this is where I decided to end the chapter because I really wanted to celebrate the fact that this is an official AlternateUniverse story ja!! The manga is finally getting good, ne….
Don't expect the next bit for a little while. It consists mostly of talking, and a little bit of fighting, so I may have to work a bit harder to keep everyone in character ja. Monologues are hard to keep on topic… And I'm going back to school. Fun.
Please review. I appreciate good, more-that one-line ones that actually tell me something useful. See a typo? Tell me. Hitting 80 would be nice, too ja…