Extinction
Chapter 10: Stand By
Ichigo shook off his daze. The cero had not been point-blank, but it felt like it had. He doubted Grimmjow's gran rey cero would have been that potent had he been hit with it right in his face. He managed to get to his feet without staggering and looked around for his companions.
The only other one standing up was, predictably, Grimmjow. He was rubbing the back of his head. Grimmjow caught sight of Ichigo immediately and made his way over to him.
"Where are the other two?" Ichigo asked.
Grimmjow shrugged and glanced around. "We need to try and keep from getting ki..."
Grimmjow's words were cut off and something landed between them. Both Ichigo and Grimmjow jumped back. Ichigo drew Zangetsu almost instantaneously. When the dust settled, they were staring at an all-white hollow. It had black hair and black stripes circling the hole on its chest. Once again, it was obviously female. It looked between the two. Its eyes were not visible in the small slits of its hollow mask.
It's mask looks like Lisa's, Ichigo thought.
"Did you shoot that cero at us?" he asked.
The hollow looked at Ichigo and shrugged. "Can't remember," she said. Then she looked at Grimmjow. "You. Let's go."
Grimmjow raised an eyebrow. "Excuse me?"
"You heard me." She faced him completely. "Let's do this. I don't have all day and I want to get in some decent exercise before I have to go. She's not gonna take long."
Ichigo looked at Grimmjow. His reiatsu-sensing skills still ranked as low as possible. He could only feel those within a certain distance of him. So when he looked at Grimmjow, the Arrancar appeared to realize what the hollow before them meant by "She's not gonna take long."
"Kurosaki, Las Noches is being attacked!" he yelled at Ichigo.
Ichigo's eyes widened. "What?"
"Head back. I'll stay here and keep this one entertained."
Ichigo looked at the hollow. She turned her head to the side. Ichigo could only assume she was looking at him through the slit on her mask.
"I'm not interested in you, shinigami. Me and my friend are interested in only one of you. However," she looked back at Grimmjow, "he also interests me."
Ichigo was a bit torn. He did not know what that meant, exactly. The only other two shinigami were Kira and Renji. He had no idea where they were at the moment. He was sure they could take care of themselves, but what about the others at Las Noches?
"Kurosaki," Grimmjow backhanded Ichigo as he appeared in front of him, "GO!"
That set Ichigo into motion.
Renji pushed broken branches and rocks off of him as he stood up. He looked around and saw Kira was also standing up. The two regarded one another to see if they were all right. After nodding in affirmation they immediately stiffened at the sudden increase in the reiatsu around them. Both turned around to see a small, multi-colored hollow standing on a ledge above them. They both reached for their zanpakuto.
"I am Ventisca. I was sent for," she pointed a small, pointy finger at Renji, "the red one."
Renji's eyes widened. "Huh? Why me?"
"No questions. Just come," Ventisca said. She sounded so innocent. In fact, she reminded Renji a little too much of Ururu if Ururu was a small Vasto Lorde with the intent to kill him. Ventisca disappeared from sight.
Renji had barely drawn his zanpakuto when Ventisca appeared in front of him. Her tiny hand was blocked by Kira's own zanpakuto. The hollow appeared unfazed by this new development.
"You are not my target. I do not want to fight you," she said calmly.
"I can't let you harm my captain." Kira's voice matched the calmness of Ventisca's. They stared at one another in a stalemate. Kira vaguely remembered being in this position before, only it had been a friend that was attacking his captain and not an enemy. Little had he known that his captain had actually been the enemy at that point. He doubted that Renji was the enemy in this situation.
"I see." Ventisca wrapped her fingers around Kira's blade. She raised her left hand. "It appears that I must go through you to get to him," she said. Her hand shot forward towards Kira's abdomen to impale him.
Renji reached around Kira, grabbing Ventisca's hand. "Stop," he said.
Ventisca looked up at Renji. She quickly reversed the hold on their hands. Before anything could be said, Grimmjow went sailing past them overhead. They were all momentarily distracted. Kira was the first one to gain his senses back.
"Raise your head, Wabisuke," he said.
Ventisca looked down. She watched Kira's zanpakuto change its form in her hand. Kira worked the hooked end around and then he slashed down, severing her arm from the elbow down. Ventisca jumped backwards, releasing Renji in the process. She looked down at her wound for a moment before looking back at the two shinigami.
"You sure you didn't just piss her off?" Renji asked quietly. He drew his zanpakuto and ran his hand down it, releasing it instantly.
"I'm sure I did. That or she can regenerate that arm quickly. Why do you suppose she's after you?" Kira asked.
"Don't know. Don't particularly care. I would suppose it has something to do with..."
Renji and Kira both realized that they were no longer looking at Ventisca. They quickly looked around, getting ready to attack until Kira sucked in a harsh breath. Renji turned around to see Ventisca with two fingers in Kira's back. She looked up at him.
"You should've just come along quietly. Now," she twisted her fingers, "he will die." She shook Kira off her hand and the blond fell to the ground. She next turned her attention to Renji. "Do not try to attack. It is useless," she said.
Shit! How can she be so calm about this? Renji thought angrily. He raised Zabimaru, ready to call on his bankai. Ventisca quickly grabbed his arm before he could say anything. Next she planted her knee in his stomach. Renji doubled over, slowly losing consciousness.
"I told you not to fight..."
"Orihime, no!" Rukia held on tight to Orihime's right arm as the redhead tried to get away from her. Momo held the other. "You've been told to stay here!"
"That's an order, Third Seat Inoue!" Momo yelled.
The two had no idea how physically strong Orihime really was. The redhead managed to break away from the both of them. She turned around and looked at Momo.
"Shun'o," she said. The fairy appeared, looking determined. "Bakudo No. Four: Hainawa."
Shun'o flew around the unsuspecting Momo, entangling her in the golden rope. Momo wobbled for a moment before falling down. The fairy returned to Orihime just as she set her sights on Rukia.
"Now, Orihime..."
"Koten Zanshun, I reject," Orihime said. Tsubaki shot forth. Though the attack was relatively weak, it did the job. Tsubaki missed purposely, according to Orihime's will. He simply grazed her side, still drawing blood but causing her to fall back. "I'm so sorry, Rukia and Momo. But I have to do this." Orihime turned and ran off.
"Orihime!" Rukia yelled, struggling to get to her feet. "Orihime, come back!"
"Come on! I know you can do better than this! You're pissing me off, Arrancar!" The pasty hollow yelled to Grimmjow.
The blue-haired ex-Espada glared up at the hollow. He had just felt a severe drop in both Kira and Renji's reiatsu. "The name's Grimmjow Jeagerjaques, bitch. I thought I told you that," he said.
"Well my name isn't 'bitch' or 'slut.' It's Nieve." She tried to punch Grimmjow but only ended up punching the ground. "Nice evasion, Jeagerjaques. But, I know you're holding back. Why don't you show me that released form I hear you Arrancar have? You aren't much of a challenge without it if you keep running."
Grimmjow glared down at her. Any other day, he would have GLADLY given in to her prodding. However, it appeared that Renji and Kira were not fairing well. Though it pained him immensely, his own violent bloodlust would have to be put on hold for the greater... good.
"Sorry. I don't think you're strong enough to warrant my resurrección," he taunted.
"What was that?" Nieve stood up straight. She got ready to attack Grimmjow again, but a body stopped her.
Ventisca had appeared between her and Grimmjow. She was holding Renji with her only arm while the other continued to drip with blood. "That is enough, Nieve. I have acquired our assignment. We must return." Ventisca disappeared.
Nieve growled something under her breath but still followed after her comrade.
Grimmjow stood there in confusion. Then he noticed a hand coming over the top of a broken branch. A groan followed. Then Kira pulled himself up slowly. Grimmjow sighed and used sonido to get to the fallen shinigami. He examined the wound in his back.
It's deep. He should last long enough to get to that girl, shouldn't he? He hauled Kira up and started back for Las Noches.
She was alone.
Orihime did not know when they had stopped yelling for her to stop. All she could hear were the sounds of the battle going on above and around her. Orihime could feel it, too. She had never realized just how in sync she was with his reiatsu. She had only felt this reiatsu once before; weighty, overwhelming, vast...
He's in his second release. He's more powerful than I remember him being, too. Who's pushing him so much? Orihime thought as she ran. It's times like this that I wish I knew shunpo... She glanced to her right at her torn kosode sleeve. With firm resolve, Orihime tore it off, making it match the left side. She discarded the cloth and kept running.
Ulquiorra took his eyes off of the yellow and black hollow for a moment. SHE was headed this way. Despite lacking any sort of skill in shunpo, she was still moving at an alarmingly fast rate. The fight he was involved in would probably not be finished by the time she arrived.
She should not be on her way here. I left her with that captain of hers for the explicit purpose of keeping her safe. Why is he... He barely dodged a yellow bala from the hollow.
"You are distracted, Arrancar. This will not do," the hollow said.
Ulquiorra's frown deepened. Up on the pillars he could see the one called Sangre. She had looked very disinterested in the battle until he entered his Segunda Etapa. That was when she had become all eyes and ears. It was as if she had known he had been holding back. She seemed very interested in him now.
Yet, she has not said a word. What is her aim? I can't drag this fight out any longer if the woman is coming, Ulquiorra thought.
Sangre continued to watch impassively. The one named Ulquiorra Schiffer was still holding back a great deal, even in this form. In truth, he had not even needed to enter it in order to defeat Tormenta. His first release probably had not even been needed. Tormenta had yet to realize this, though, and was still attacking as though he would win.
What a nuisance. I cannot afford to lose a perfectly good servant to ignorance. The idiot doesn't even realize Schiffer's just been toying with him, Sangre thought with a roll of her eyes. She saw Ulquiorra preparing what looked like a black cero. An instantaneous Cero Oscuras. I haven't seen one of those in ages. Interesting. With a sigh, Sangre disappeared.
Ulquiorra barely had time to register the sight of Sangre phasing in front of Tormenta. Then his eyes widened as he watched white meet black. Their opposing ceros created a massive explosion and the resulting shockwave leveled the pillars behind Sangre and Tormenta. When the dust settled, Sangre was facing Ulquiorra with Tormenta towering over her from behind.
"You blocked my cero," Ulquiorra intoned. Sangre nodded.
"I had it under control, San..." Tormenta was cut off as Sangre elbowed him in the gut.
"Fall back, Tormenta. Your job here is done." She turned her attention back to Ulquiorra. "Your Cero Oscuras resembles my Cero Blanco."
"Is that what you call that white cero?" Ulquiorra asked and Sangre nodded again.
"Yes. I have another, but I cannot do it in this... form. Both our ceros are dense and all-consuming. They seem to cancel each other out; neither overcoming the other. You are very powerful, Schiffer. You could be a danger to me." Sangre met Ulquiorra's yellow and green eyes.
Ulquiorra blinked, but that was all he could do. What is this? My body... It won't move. I feel so heavy. Is it because of her reiatsu? Ulquiorra watched Sangre approach him slowly. He did not know how or when, but somehow he was forced down to his knees. Sangre was forming a cero on her fingertips. She pointed it at Ulquiorra's head as she continued to approach. She going to make sure I cannot regenerate...
"Goodbye, Schiffer..."
Orihime summoned her fairies as she reached the dome. Peering around the rocks, she knew what she had to do, no matter how weak it made her afterwards. She looked at her fairies.
"Tsubaki, head for the yellow and black one. You five, I need you to be strong for me. I've never done the binding I've got planned successfully and I really need it to work. Got it?"
"Just point me in the right direction, woman," Tsubaki said. Orihime nodded and took a deep just as she ran around the rocks, Tsubaki flying one way and the other five going another.
Please let this work.
"Sprinkled on the bones of the beast! Sharp tower, red crystal, steel ring. Move and become the wind, stop and become the calm. The sound of warring spears fills the empty castle!" Orihime watched Tsubaki fly forward, glowing brightly. "Hado No. Sixty-Three: Raikoho!" Yellow lightning surrounded Tsubaki.
Tormenta was in such a state of shock that all he could do was watch the bright penetrate his body by his left pectoral muscle. The yellow lightning surrounded his body, leaving him just as shocked as he felt. His mask cracked off around the bottom left half of his face and he fell down. This commotion drew the attention of Sangre, but Orihime was already working on her.
"Walls of ironsand, a priestly pagoda, glowing ironclad fireflies. Standing upright to the end. Bakudo No. Seventy-Five: Gochutekkan!"
Sangre blinked as nothing happened for a moment. She just stared at the redhead blankly, the cero still on her finger. Then a golden aura surrounded her, dissipating the cero. Five iron pillars fell on top of her, pinning her to the ground. Surprisingly, she did not let out a sound as it happened. Ulquiorra seemingly let out a breath he had been holding as the tension left his body.
Despite the slight exhaustion she was feeling, Orihime ran full speed to Ulquiorra. She practically fell before him as they both panted. He had both hands on the ground and was staring at it.
"Are you okay?" Orihime asked. Ulquiorra simply glared at her. "I'll take that as a yes."
"Your help was not needed, woman. I had it under control. You shouldn't even be here." Ulquiorra tried to push himself off the dusty dome only to find that his bones were broken. The pressure that Sangre had been putting him under had literally crushed him. Given a few minutes, his bones would heal. Still, his predicament was a MINOR inconvenience given their current situation.
"Men," an irritated voice said from in front of them. Orihime tensed and turned her head slowly. Sangre's fingers were scratching at the stone dome. "They're never thankful," she gained traction with her nails, "for when we females save their asses." Sangre pushed herself off of the dome, throwing the pillars back. Rather than looking angry, she appeared annoyed.
Ichigo stared up at Yammy. Had he always been that big? Had he always had that many appendages? He had tried hard to suppress a lot of his memories of the war. Seeing Yammy again only brought up the feelings he had after his fight with Ulquiorra. Rather than dwell on them, he was brought from his stupor by Halibel. Ichigo had to do a double-take.
He had never seen her resurrección.
"Are you just going to stand there and gawk or are you going to help, Kurosaki?" she asked.
Ichigo shook his head, unable to say anything else. He thrust his arm forward with Zangetsu. "Bankai!"
"Woman, run," Ulquiorra groaned.
Orihime stared at Sangre with a mixture of fear and admiration. She felt odd for admiring the hollow before her, but she did. The female hollow was simply rolling her head around, popping her neck. She finally set her sights on them. Orihime swallowed and reached for her tanto. Sangre blinked a few times and a red cero began forming on her right eye, where the big star was.
She can shoot a cero from her EYE? Orihime thought in amazement. But it's weaker. And it's red.
"Woman, go," Ulquiorra reiterated. Orihime ignored him, instead forming her shield. She unsheathed her tanto.
I can't do anything higher than Seventy-Five without injuring myself. This may be useless, but at least I know I died trying, Orihime thought.
"Woman..."
"Shut up, Ulquiorra! Just SHUT UP!" she yelled. Ulquiorra blinked, snapping his mouth shut. She had never yelled at him like that before. "I stood by and watched you die once. I will not let it happen AGAIN!"
Sangre's free eye widened. For the first time, she really noticed that the girl was a shinigami. She seemed somewhat attached to Ulquiorra and hell-bent on protecting him, even if it meant she died too. But why? Was he not a hollow?
"Bakudo No. Thirty-Nine: Enkosen!" Orihime yelled as she spun her tanto.
Instead of shooting the cero, Sangre dispelled it. Orihime in turn stopped the kido. However, she left her Santen Kesshun shield up. Sangre approached a bit further before stopping right before touching the shield. She stared down at the two with a questioning look. Finally, she spoke.
"What is your title?" Sangre asked.
Orihime blinked; it was not what she had been expecting. "Orihime Inoue, Third Seat of the Fifth Division. Why?"
"You are a shinigami; a god of death meant to destroy my kind. Yet, you protect the hollow behind you." Sangre cocked her head to the side. "Why? What is your angle?"
Orihime stared at Sangre. The powerful hollow's red and black eyes were hard. However, there was also a soft curiosity in them. Orihime had seen this look before. Sangre really wanted answers to her inquiry.
"I have no angle. I protect Ulquiorra because I choose to. I protect him because I care for him. I protect him because," Orihime paused and swallowed, "because I love him," she concluded.
Both Sangre and Ulquiorra were shocked at this revelation. The reasons were quite different, however. Sangre briefly glanced at Ulquiorra to see him staring somewhat impassively at the back of the Inoue girl's head. His eyes gave him away even if his posture did not; he was just as stunned as she was. Then Sangre looked back at Orihime.
"The other reasons I can understand. Loyalty and choice I can comprehend. However, love is something I cannot. Beyond a sense of rage, loyalty, and honor, most hollows do not feel. I alone possess the capacity to feel a variety of emotions. Love is something I have never felt. If it causes you to throw away your life, perhaps I am better off without knowing the sentiment." Sangre turned her back on them, letting out a long, slow sigh. "In my current condition, I am too weak to draw upon a proper cero. Both of you are too weak to stand." She started to walk off.
"You're leaving?" Orihime asked.
Sangre reached Tormenta and faced Orihime again. "Why does everyone ask that like they WANT me to stay and fight?" she asked dryly. "When we meet again, perhaps I'll know more about this love you speak of. And perhaps you will force me to," Sangre looked at Ulquiorra, "transform." She picked up Tormenta with ease despite her much smaller body and used sonido to disappear.
Once the two hollows were gone, Orihime dropped the shield. She blinked a few times before she began to fall forward. Right before she hit the ground, Ulquiorra caught her. He pulled her up to him.
"Woman?" he mumbled. When he received no answer, he checked her pulse. It was weak, but it was there. She had clearly exhausted herself. Her reiatsu was nearly nonexistent. Ulquiorra picked her up and stood. "Silly woman."
Ren looked out of the corner of his eye as he fended off Hielo. He saw Rukia and Momo return Orihime-less. He frowned a bit as he noticed the small cut on Rukia's side.
Did she ATTACK Rukia? I suppose I'll just have to have a little talk with Orihime when this is over, he thought. He turned his attention back to the fight as the one named Hielo.
"You aren't taking me seriously, shinigami. Why is this?" Hielo asked.
Ren smiled politely. He threw Hielo back. "Hado No. Fifty-Four: Haien!"
The flames caused Hielo to retreat a good distance, just as Ren suspected they would. He smirked for a moment. Hielo glared up at him. Ren blocked his next attack on him.
"You seem not to appreciate heated attacks," Ren said quietly. Hielo said nothing. "Perhaps you should've chosen another adversary; Lieutenant Kuchiki probably would've made a good match."
"Wha..." Hielo stammered as the blade on his arm began to sizzle.
Ren placed his left hand on his zanpakuto as he held Hielo off. "Singe, Nankinhanabi."
The katana seemed to ripple for a moment. Hielo moved away from Ren as his tough skin began to burn from the heat his zanpakuto was giving off. It converted into a flame-bladed sword. Ren looked at it appreciatively for a moment before smiling back at Hielo.
"Now I suppose I can finish this."
Momo, who was waiting behind a broken pillar, watched the fight. She had never seen her captain's release. In fact, she had never even known the type of zanpakuto he had. Apparently, it was a fire-type. She felt Rukia slide down next to her.
"Well, I won't ever spar with him while in shikai," Rukia said. "He'd massacre me."
"You're selling yourself short. Besides, the fight's not even..." Momo was cut off as Ren slashed down across the body of Hielo. A long gash from his mask to his torso appeared. "Well, it looks like it might be over now," she whispered.
Ren got ready to deliver the final blow. "Your weakness appears to be fire, hollow. That's probably the only thing that gave me the advantage. Other than that, this fight could've gone either way." He pointed his blade at the stumbling Hielo. "Shoukyakuro."
The concentrated blast of heat flew towards Hielo at an amazing rate. The hollow did not move to evade it, seemingly accepting his fate. However, a smaller being appeared in the sand in front of him and simply waved it away.
"Am I saving everyone's ass today?" Sangre turned and looked at Hielo. She examined his severe injuries. She hit him in the back of the head. "Get your broken ass on my pet and let's go."
Ren raised a pale eyebrow. "What's going on?" he asked. This was the first time he had seen Sangre.
Sangre turned and looked at him. "I have achieved what I set out to do. Now I'm leaving. Is that all right with you, shinigami? Your fellow Arrancar have taken quite a beating from the pet. I highly doubt you want to get into it with me," she said.
Ren stared at her. She was bluffing and he knew it. Ichigo, Halibel, Nnoitra, and Nel were indeed running on empty, but so was she. Something had caused her to use up a lot of power. He spared a glance at the hand she had used to block his attack. It was blistered but the healing process had already begun. He had a feeling she usually healed much faster.
What could've drained her so much? he thought.
As if noticing that he was staring, Sangre decided to take her leave. She took a few steps and disappeared from in front of Ren. She next appeared beside the injured Hielo and Tormenta on one of Yammy's shoulders. She stood and glared down at the tired shinigami and Arrancar. A smirk crossed her face.
"Thank you for the excellent workout. I'll be sure to keep in touch." With that, Yammy left the same way he came, only creating a new hole in the dome.
Ren sheathed his zanpakuto as Momo and Rukia ran up next to him. "Well, that was fun," he mumbled, looking down at Momo. She shook her head in dismay. "What?"
"I almost got roasted by a cero and our third seat put me under one of the strongest Bakudo No. Four's I've ever been in. Has she always been able to incorporate her Shun Shun Rikka with kido?" Momo asked.
Ren faced her fully. "No. I gave her the idea, though. I'm glad to see she's putting it to good use. It should make her a force to be reckoned with." He stopped and looked at Rukia. "Are you okay, lieutenant? You're not too hurt, are you?"
"No. Orihime didn't do any real damage. She did just enough to keep me from following her without injuring myself in the process..." Rukia blinked when she noticed that Ichigo was immediately in front of her. "Ichigo. I thought you were..." Then she slugged him in the jaw.
"OW! What the hell was that for? First Grimmjow and now you! Why do I keep getting hit?" Ichigo yelled.
"You go into the forest for no reason and just leave me here! That's why! You're probably the whole reason this..."
"He's not the reason." Halibel walked up. She was still in her resurrección.
Rukia blinked. She was temporarily stunned because she had never seen Halibel's entire face and, well, Halibel was virtually topless. It was a bit of a surprise.
"So they did not provoke this attack?" Ren asked.
"No." Halibel looked towards the two holes in the dome. "She was simply testing us. She wanted to know how we would fair against her."
"None of us fought her, though," Nel said. She was clearly tired as she was leaning on Nnoitra and he was LETTING her do so in front of the others. "She didn't fight at all, actually. We were all fighting Yammy."
"She seemed exhausted when she saved that Hielo hollow. My attack burned her hand and she was regenerating slowly. Something must've made her so tired," Ren said.
Everyone looked around until Rukia came up with the answer. "Ulquiorra."
"WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED TO MY HOUSE?!"
AN: "Ventisca" is blizzard. "Nieve" is snow.
"Nankinhanabi" means "firecracker." "Shoukyakuro" means "incinerator." Ren's zanpakuto is more based on HEAT rather than actual FIRE... along with something else.