Extinction
Chapter 9: History Lesson
"Murdered, you say?" Halibel looked at the group of shinigami that had entered Las Noches without notifying her. She had half a mind to just kick them out. She had no desire to fight two battles if seven prominent shinigami went missing in the desert sands of Hueco Mundo. Byakuya Kuchiki's younger sister, the substitute shinigami of legend, Aizen's former lieutenant, Gin Ichimaru's former lieutenant, the human they had kidnapped 10 years ago to START the Winter War, and two captains; not good if one was trying to keep the peace. "You believe you will find something that leads to the guilty party here in Hueco Mundo?"
"Perhaps. There wasn't a lot to go on in Soul Society," Ren said. Halibel looked at him.
"You don't think it's a bad idea for them to be here, Tia? We're practically asking that mean hollow to attack us. So far she's kept to herself," Nel said. Halibel nodded.
"Besides Renji, how would she know that anyone else is here?" Momo asked.
Everyone present looked at Ichigo.
The flame-headed shinigami glanced around, noticing all eyes were on him. "What? What's with the looks?" he asked, totally oblivious as to why everyone was looking at him.
"Kurosaki leaks reiatsu like a broken faucet does water. Trust me. The red hollow knows that you all are here," Grimmjow said. Ichigo shot him an evil look.
"Are we positive she won't attack?" Rukia asked.
"She seems to have her preferences regarding who, where, and when she will attack. She is not a rampant beast like... Grimmjow," Ulquiorra said from his solitary corner. The comment earned him a glower from the Sexpada.
"Preferences?"
"From what I observed, she tends to change personalities quickly. One moment, she was intent to do battle with me on account that I refused to give her my name. The next, she was, I believe the human term is 'making eyes,' with the red pineapple," Ulquiorra said.
"That just makes her moody," Nnoitra said.
Then it dawned on everyone what Ulquiorra said in its entirety. They all looked at Ulquiorra, who still looked like he always did.
"Did you just make a joke, Ulquiorra?" Nel asked.
"I did nothing of the sort."
"Renji, you 'made eyes' with a mass-murdering hollow? Traitorous..." Rukia said with a wink.
Renji rolled his eyes. "It wasn't like that. She just caught me by surprise." Renji glared at Ulquiorra. "Thanks a lot. Now I'll be hearing it the entire time we're hear. We were NOT making eyes."
Orihime stood in the only lit area of the cell. She stared up and out of the window at the crescent moon of Hueco Mundo. She closed her eyes for a moment, seeing all the terrible events that had happened ten years ago. She remembered how Loly and Menoly trespassed into the room she was in. She remembered how Grimmjow had been her twisted savior at that moment, even it was for his own gain. She remembered healing Loly and bringing Menoly back. She remembered healing Ichigo and how Ulquiorra had caught her in the act. He had looked so disappointed in her. Then she remembered him disappearing after a brief encounter with Grimmjow. Grimmjow then fought with Ichigo. Nel, Nnoitra, Kenpachi, Stark, Aizen... they all flashed in her mind.
But what stuck out most was the battle between Ichigo and Ulquiorra. At first, she wanted Ichigo to win. As the battle had gone on, she realized that Ulquiorra was not fighting because he wanted to really kill Ichigo. He just didn't...
... understand. He didn't understand. He was so confused back then, she thought. He reached out for me. I was too slow. I wonder what would've happened if we had touched before...
Orihime's right arm rose unconsciously, her eyes remaining closed. She could still picture Ulquiorra fading away. While all the other memories had blurred somewhat, this one memory still remained the clearest for some reason. Even if she knew he was alive, roaming the halls of Las Noches and sands of Hueco Mundo, she would never forget how desolate he looked just standing there, disappearing into the sand. She would never forget Ichigo's tortured expression. She would never forget feeling so torn between two people; two sides of a war.
I wonder if he realized it, Orihime thought. I wonder if he realized that I gave him my heart that day...
Orihime gasped when she felt fingertips against hers. Her eyes flew open and she saw Ulquiorra looking at her. He was watching her curiously, possibly wondering what she was doing. She moved her fingers around between his and intertwined them.
"This is the last room I would expect to find you in, woman. Why are you here?" Ulquiorra asked. Orihime took her eyes off their connected hands and looked at him. She shrugged. "You should be with your friends before your captain comes searching for you."
"I don't think he would mind if I stayed with you." She smiled. "Do you?"
"You wish to stay wi..."
"Neliel, why are you following me?" Nnoitra's voice came from outside the room.
Orihime lowered hers and Ulquiorra's joined hands but did not release him. She turned to see Nnoitra storm past the doorway. Nel was indeed following him with a grin on her face.
"Because I can," Nel said bluntly. She was not fazed when Nnoitra whirled on her and slammed her smaller form against the wall. Instead, she smiled.
Orihime started to go outside to reprimand him, but Ulquiorra squeezed her hand. She turned and looked at him. He was shaking his head.
"Neliel, I believe I have made it clear on MORE than one occasion that I can't stand to breathe the same air as you. Why can't you get that through your fucking head? That mask too fucking thick? Maybe it needs loosening. I fixed that problem once. I sure as hell won't hesitate to fix it again," Nnoitra said, leaning down in a threatening manner.
Nel just smiled up at him. "You KNOW you enjoy my company, Nnoitra; especially in this form. Don't act like you don't. Otherwise, that would just make you a... pedophile," Nel said. She grabbed him by his hair and pulled him even further down to her face. Nnoitra winced, unable to get out of her grip. "Now come along like a good little boy." She pulled him off down the hall.
Orihime stood, staring out of the door with a puzzled expression on her face. She had never seen Nnoitra be... subdued by anyone before. She jumped slightly when she heard a door slam off in the distance. She turned and looked back at Ulquiorra. The former Cuarta was staring at their intertwined fingers. Orihime released him. He looked up at her.
"Why did you let go? Was I hurting you?" he asked. Orihime immediately shook her head. Ulquiorra nodded and placed his hands in his pockets. Orihime knew that once they went there, unless he needed them, they were not coming back out. She sighed inwardly.
Why did I let go?
"Woman."
"Huh?"
"Are you coming or not?" Ulquiorra was already at the door. Orihime nodded and trotted off after him.
"Seven," Truenos said. "I count seven shinigami in Las Noches; one who obviously has trouble shielding their reiatsu." He walked over to Sangre. The hollow was sitting against a tree, staring off into space.
Lluvia sat next to her. "What do you want to do, Sangre?" she asked. Sangre simply shrugged. "You don't wish to do anything? What if the shinigami start snooping in the forest? What if they start roaming the sands looking for allies among our ranks like before? What if..."
"What if I blow the mask right off your face?" Sangre asked suddenly.
Lluvia swallowed and nodded. "Forgive me, Sangre. I just wish I knew your reasoning for taking this route of doing... nothing. Why are we letting the shinigami stay at Las Noches with the Arrancar?" Lluvia asked.
Sangre looked at her. "Because there is no reason to attack them at this very moment. I see no reason to start an unnecessary fight right now. If they want to fight, they know exactly where to find us. As it stands, there are perhaps three shinigami here that could provide me some sort of enjoyment. The others aren't even at your level of power."
"Do you think they sent some to the transient world?" Truenos asked.
"Of course. Why wouldn't the shinigami be thorough in their investigation? I'm not worried about that, though. Those there can handle themselves," Sangre answered. "They're big boys and girls..."
Sangre looked over at the new "pet" she had acquired recently. Her underlings were currently keeping it bound. Hopefully, it would prove to be useful later on. She had found it, sucking up souls at an alarmingly fast rate. It appeared to be somewhat mindless and it was massive. Mindless and massive was a good thing; at least for right now. It had tried to fight Sangre, but soon realized that she was a fight it would not win.
Yes, my new toy will work out quite nicely later on, she thought. I wonder if the Arrancar have any idea what or, better yet, WHO this is... or once was...
Kyoraku walked into the Spirit Library with Nanao following him. Presently, there was only one person working deep in the large archive: Jushiro Ukitake. Kyoraku walked up to his longtime friend and tapped him on the shoulder. Ukitake did not move. However, he did release some of the tension in his shoulders.
"You shouldn't still be down here, Jushiro," Kyoraku said. "Unohana will be mad..." he said.
"She doesn't have to know I'm still down here. Besides, she's busy." Ukitake let out a long sigh. "How is it that there are all these records and not one has anything on a hollow named Sangre Negra?" he asked.
"You haven't found anything on her, eh? She's obviously a very old hollow. There has to be something on her..."
Nanao looked to her left. Presently, the two captains were going through records about Hueco Mundo. Of course, Hueco Mundo would have everything one would need to know about hollows and such. But something told Nanao that there was something a little bit more to Sangre's story than just Hueco Mundo.
"Excuse me, captains, but maybe we're not looking for a hollow. Maybe we're looking for a shinigami or a human," Nanao said.
Both Kyoraku and Ukitake turned and looked back at Nanao. She was pushing her glasses up on her nose almost nervously because of her suggestion.
"I was just wondering since there doesn't seem to be any information on her here, perhaps we could find some information on her in the other realms, like Soul Society, Hell, or the world of the living. There has to be something on her, whether it's by a different name or something. She couldn't have possibly slipped through the radar for thousands of years. That's impossible, right?" Nanao asked.
Kyoraku and Ukitake looked at one another. Kyoraku smiled and glanced back at Nanao.
"That's my Nanao; always coming up with a plan. What do you say, Jushiro?" he asked.
"What other name would she go by?" Ukitake asked, looking at Nanao. She walked forward, almost pushing the captains out of the way.
"Oh, I'm sure we can find one combination of names that translate into her name..." Nanao whispered. After a few moments of fiddling with the catalog, she pulled up something interesting. All three of them looked at it with wide eyes. "Atra Cruor."
"It says that it's the name of a recently deceased..." Ukitake trailed off. "But that's impossible. How could this hollow be a human? Well, formerly a human. It would take centuries to get to the level of powerful that she's at," he said.
"It SHOULD take centuries, Jushiro. However, I don't think we should really pay too much attention to the norm. This is not a normal hollow and she's obviously much older than her human counterpart was." Kyoraku turned around and stretched. "I'm going to go inform Unohana of this. Then I'm going to retire. You should as well, Jushiro. I don't want to have to send Kiyone and Sentaro down for you."
Ukitake sighed and stared at the file for a moment. Then he let out a sigh. "Shunsui."
Kyoraku stopped and turned around. He motioned for Nanao to continue on without him. "Something wrong, Jushiro?"
"You seem to be taking it well."
"Ha. I'm probably taking it the hardest, dear friend. But, I don't let it get in the way of what I'm doing or how my subordinates see me. At least, not now. I don't have time to mourn. When I do, I'll mope about and I'll drink so much Unohana will refuse to give me something for the hangover. But not now. As the senior captains, the others are looking to us. We're not allowed to mourn yet." He placed a hand on Ukitake's shoulder. "So don't overwork and get some rest. I meant what I said about Kiyone and Sentaro," he said with a smile.
Ukitake nodded. "I'm going. I'm going. I don't want Unohana to find me down here, either."
One shinigami sat on the roof of the apartment building where Orihime Inoue's former apartment resided. He stared out at the city of Karakura Town. Not much had changed since the last time he'd been here. It was still the same bustling town with an unbelievable level of spiritual activity around.
This place just asks to get attacked, Toshiro thought. But where do we start with this investigation? Is there even a starting point?
"In deep thought, Hitsugaya?" a voice too deep for its own good asked.
Toshiro peered over the edge of the roof. Peeking her head out of the window was Yuri. "Just thinking about this investigation we're supposed to be doing. We have almost nothing to go on while we're here."
"Yes, that's true. Isn't there another group of shinigami here in Karakura that might be of some use?" Yuri asked.
"I wouldn't call them shinigami. They prefer to be called the Vizards. And they aren't exactly shinigami-friendly, either," Toshiro said. He tried not to hide his surprise as Yuri was suddenly standing over him in purple pajamas and bunny slippers. "You don't suppose they are helping the hollow, do you?"
"The hollow has a name. I suppose we should start calling her by it." Yuri took a seat next to him. "And I would hope not. However, anything is possible. I hear they are awfully hard to find. You suppose they'll come to us?"
"I have no doubt they will..."
"CAPTAINS!" Rangiku's voice came from the window below them.
Both silver-haired captains groaned and peered over the edge of the roof to see the strawberry blonde hanging out of the window. She waved at them with a smile.
"Nanao is requesting to see you two! She has news on the hollow!" she said loudly.
Inside the apartment, Nanao's face was large on the screen that linked them back to Soul Society. When she saw Yuri and Toshiro walk up she had to do a double take on Yuri's clothing for a moment. Then she cleared her throat.
"We've made some progress in discovering the identity or previous identity of Sangre Negra. She used to be known as Atra Cruor." Nanao straightened her glasses. "She was a human," she concluded.
"Human?" Toshiro asked.
"How could she have been human? Humans don't die and immediately become hollows with power of that nature. That type of thing takes centuries," Hisagi said.
"No, they don't. Of course, no one ever accused Sangre Negra of being a NORMAL hollow, did they? There is something else that is different about her that we haven't yet figured out. But, part of her history is that she was human. For a time, at least," Nanao said.
"For a time? What does that mean?" Ikkaku asked.
"For a portion of the time she went missing from Hueco Mundo, leaving the one called Barragan Luisenbarn in charge, she was human. She had to be gone several centuries. Other than knowing her human identity, we know nothing else about her."
"Would she have been a shinigami for a period of time?" Yumichika asked.
"No idea."
"Lieutenant Ise," Yuri said. Nanao looked at her. "What of the Gotei Thirteen?"
"It was always understood that if anything was to happen to Captain-Commander Yamamoto that Captain Unohana would take his place until another head was chosen. Currently, she is in charge. Everyone is still doing their respective jobs as best as they can," Nanao answered.
"I see. It would be bad to leave the divisions without a leader. Captain Unohana is as qualified as any," Yuri mumbled mostly to herself. "Is that all, Lieutenant Ise?"
"Yes, Captain Awai," Nanao said. "However, I do have one message for you from Captain Unohana."
"What's that?"
"You are not to use your shikai unless absolutely necessary. She still does not consider you healed enough to use your shikai and since she is not there to assist in healing you if you take serious damage..."
"I get it, lieutenant. But, I will not promise the captain anything."
"You want to go into the forest? Are you mad?" Halibel stared at Ichigo and Renji.
"Listen. It's the only way we're gonna get some answers. We can't just sit around in Las Noches and hope something falls into our lap. That's ridiculous. We're not going looking for fights," Renji said.
"We're just gonna ask a few questions. Is that so bad?" Ichigo said.
Halibel glared at the orange-haired shinigami. The mantra of "do not cero his head off" kept going through her mind. She rolled her eyes and turned away from him. A long sigh escaped her.
"Do as you wish, Abarai and Kurosaki. But do not come crying to me when you return with missing limbs," she said flatly.
Renji and Ichigo hopped up. "We won't be going alone," Renji said.
Halibel narrowed her eyes. She could only assume that he meant either Nnoitra or Grimmjow were going along with them. Or possibly both. They were only going to require assistance from either herself or the other captain later on, so it did not really matter at this point. She waved her hand and the two left her presence.
I will be glad when this whole ordeal is over, Halibel thought.
"It would appear that Captain Abarai is going into the forest ahead of us," Ren said to Momo.
Momo glanced up at her captain. They were outside the main buildings but still inside the dome of Las Noches. "But I thought Halibel told no one to leave Las Noches."
"It seems that she has let up on that. It doesn't matter, though. We will know if something were to go wrong. It looks like Kurosaki is going along with him as well as Jeagerjaques and Kira. Things shouldn't get too complicated," Ren said calmly. He glanced down at Momo.
"Ichigo is going WHERE?" Rukia yelled, stalking over to Ren and Momo. "Forgive me, Captain Awai. I'm just not understanding why they are leaving when we've been specifically told that the Menos Forest is too dangerous right now."
"Calm down, Rukia. They'll be fine."
"I'm going after..."
"Rukia," Ren said firmly. She turned and faced him. "Let's try to keep our forces spread evenly, hm? I can't very well be left here with one lieutenant. Heaven knows where my Third Seat's gotten off to. Kurosaki will be fine. He's a captain-level lieutenant and can handle himself."
"Unfortunately, he doesn't even have a Twentieth Seat's brain..." Rukia intoned.
Ren and Momo had to laugh at that.
Sangre hummed to herself. She stood up and jumped down from her tree, landing between two of her subordinates. She looked between them for a moment before grabbing both by the arm. "Come with me, Tormenta and Hielo. We're taking the pet for a walk. Ladies, have some fun but no killing," she said. She paused for a moment. "And bring me the red one."
Truenos appeared confused. "Sangre, what about the rest of us?"
She turned and looked at him for a moment. "Stay here and do nothing. The ladies will take care of the pests." With that, she sonido-ed away with her subordinates.
Truenos sighed and looked at the two commonly known as "the ladies." They appeared to be waiting for him to say something. Truenos motioned for them to leave. They nodded and went in the opposite direction that the other three went.
"Grimmjow, is the forest supposed to be this quiet?" Ichigo asked as they trekked through the darkness.
Grimmjow rolled his eyes. "With you talking that loud, I'm surprised something hasn't jumped out and already skewered us," he said dryly. Then he narrowed his eyes. "But it is very quiet. It's almost too quiet."
He was right. There was nothing around them. There was not even the slightest trace of a normal hollow just roaming about. For all intents and purposes, the three shinigami and one Arrancar were the only ones in the forest at the moment. However untrue they knew that was, they could not sense anyone around them.
"We're being watched," Kira mumbled.
"Watched?" Renji asked.
"He's right. I can't see where, but someone is watching us." Grimmjow's eyes flicked from side to side, examining his surroundings. Something purple caught his eye. "Move!"
Ulquiorra stiffened slightly. The movement was very unnoticeable to the untrained eye. However, Orihime had noticed it. She could tell something had caught his interest. It was either that or something was troubling him.
"What is it, Ulquiorra?" she asked.
Ulquiorra looked at Orihime. Then he grabbed her hand. Without another thought, he concentrated on where her captain was.
Ren absentmindedly watching Momo and Rukia go at one another. His eyes were focused on the ladies but his senses were focused on something entirely different. He wondered why the other two had not yet felt what he was feeling. It was then that he noticed a shadow hovering over him.
It was Ulquiorra. Orihime was with him and she looked winded.
"Well hello. Ulquiorra, was it? You must've been who my Third Seat was with. Is there something I can help you two with?" Ren asked.
Rukia stopped dead in her tracks. She stared at a spot on the fake sky on Las Noches that was slightly past Momo's head. Momo saw the blank look on Rukia's face and stopped her attack. She turned to see what Rukia was looking at. A gasp escaped her lips.
"Oh my..."
"What is that?"
The sky was... cracking. Rukia vaguely remembered how when Ulquiorra shot a hole through the roof, it was strange. To see the roof cracking from the outside in was even stranger. But to see what came through was troubling, to say the least. Even Ulquiorra looked mildly shocked.
It was Yammy. Or it what had been Yammy at one point. He was enormous. No, he was gargantuan*. The four shinigami and Arrancar stared up at... monster of an Arrancar as he made his way through the hole he had created.
"Is that Yammy?" Nel asked from behind Ren. She was with Nnoitra. "What happened to him?"
"Yeah. Was the fucker always that big in his resurrección?" Nnoitra asked.
Ulquiorra shook his head, never taking his eyes off of Yammy. "No. This is what being in your released state for ten years will do. You become a senseless beast. I thought he died."
Nel shrugged. "That's what we all thought. He disappeared after Las Noches was partially destro..."
Their eyes were all drawn to the cero forming in Yammy's mouth. He was apparently aiming for Rukia and Momo, who were a fair distance from the others. From the distance they were at from the monster, there was no way they would be able to avoid it. The two just stood in horror.
Finally, Rukia grabbed Momo's arm. She turned tail and ran as fast as she could away from Yammy. She knew that perhaps it was futile, but she had to try to get away from it. It barely registered when she felt arms wrap around her and another voice behind her.
"Bakudo No. Eighty-One: Danku!"
The explosion was still substantial. Rukia, Momo, and one of their unseen saviors still went flying through several giant red pillars until they came to rest inside one. Rukia, having been between Momo and the other person, was the first to sit up. Her body was sore but she was none the worse for wear. She looked at the person who had saved them.
"Ha-Ha-Halibel?" she whispered in surprise.
Halibel opened her green eyes. "You shinigami are more trouble than you are worth," she mumbled. She looked past Rukia down at Momo. "How is your friend?"
Rukia looked at Momo, who was coming around and coughing. "It looks like she'll be okay. Who did the kido barrier?"
Orihime had never seen her captain move so fast. She knew he had been in the Onmitsukido and that he had some level of experience with shunpo. But she had always assumed that he was just average at it. She had barely been able to follow him. She knew that he was a kido master, but she had never seen him do anything to indicate it. Ren Awai was always so... goofy.
But now he stood there, having blocked such a massive cero with only kido, and looked like he could do it again. Had she done that, Orihime probably would have ripped her body apart.
He still hasn't even drawn his zanpakuto yet, Orihime thought. She looked back up at Yammy. He seemed confused about something. Then Orihime gasped and pointed.
"Look! There's someone on Yammy's shoulder!" Orihime said loudly. "Or, one of them..." It appeared that Yammy had several "shoulders."
Everyone's eyes followed her finger. Sure enough, there was someone perched on Yammy's left shoulder. They jumped down and looked around at everyone. Yammy seemed to back down for a moment. The one with the mask stopped in front of Ren. They appeared to size one another up without saying anything. Ren was not the type to attack without being attacked first.
"You are not the one with green eyes," the intruder said.
Ren raised an eyebrow. "Green eyes?" Then it dawned on him. "Ulquiorra!"
Ulquiorra pushed Orihime away from him as the new hollow appeared in front of him, tearing off her left kosode sleeve. Orihime landed in Nel's arms, a bit dizzy. She saw Ulquiorra and the other hollow facing one another.
"What is it that you want?" Ulquiorra asked.
"Someone awaits your presence on the dome," the hollow said.
Ulquiorra knew it. Sangre was on the roof and she was not alone. Whoever she was with was significantly weaker than her. He narrowed his eyes slightly at the hollow before him. "What does she want?"
"A test is all. A friendly spar, perhaps? You'll have to ask her when you get there. I suggest you not keep her waiting. She gets awfully agitated when she gets impatient," the hollow said. It looked past Ulquiorra at Nel, Nnoitra, and Orihime. "Me and the big one will stay and have fun down here."
Ulquiorra looked back at Nel. She motioned for him to leave. Ulquiorra turned and sonido-ed over to Ren. The slightly taller shinigami looked at Ulquiorra inquisitively.
"You are just going to leave?" Ren asked.
Ulquiorra nodded. "I have no other choice." He glanced back at Orihime for a moment. She was watching him with worried eyes. "The woman stays here. Do not let her follow me."
Ren nodded. The buzz of sonido signaled Ulquiorra's departure. Ren looked to his left at Yammy. The beast of an Arrancar was as intimidating as ever. Then he looked at the far, far smaller hollow that stood in front of Nel, Orihime, and Nnoitra.
Choices, choices, he thought as he drew his zanpakuto. His eyes met Nel's.
"Nnoitra," Nel said quietly.
"Hn?" Nnoitra said, gripping Santa Teresa.
Nel helped Orihime to her feet. "On my call, head for Yammy. Orihime, you head for the nearest pillar and hide. Got it?"
Orihime nodded numbly and Nnoitra groaned.
Nel took a deep breath. "Go." She disappeared with Nnoitra.
The hollow appeared shocked for only a moment as the two Arrancar before it disappeared. Soon enough, it had its own hands full by turning to block Ren's attack. "A shinigami captain, I see."
"That's right. Your name, hollow?" Ren asked politely.
"Hielo. And yours?"
"Ren Awai, captain of the Fifth Division. It's a pleasure."
Ulquiorra made it to the top of Las Noches. He set his feet down and looked around. Looking around, there was no one around. That soon changed as he blocked a blow from a yellow and black hollow. It reminded him of one of those insects from the human world: a hornet. He managed to throw the hollow off of him.
"Excellent. Just what I would expect from one of your caliber."
Ulquiorra looked towards one of the pillars. Sangre was sitting on one of them. A smile was on her face. He resisted the urge to frown and just faced her.
"What is this about?"
"You never answered my question." She stood up. "Your name, Arrancar?"
Ulquiorra sighed inwardly. "Ulquiorra Schiffer."
"Ah. Schiffer, meet Tormenta. Tormenta, that's Schiffer. You boys play nice."
AN: Tormenta is "storm" and Hielo is "ice." Yeah, I made Yammy a monster. Hey, he looks like one in manga. I just expounded on that LOL. Blame Kubo-sama.
*I so RARELY have a chance to use this word in a sentence that I decided that now would be the PERFECT time. Awesome, right?