Okay, so I seriously messed up while posting these. If you guys could go back and read Chapter 9, I accidentally posted the wrong chapter. I also posted the wrong version of this chapter, so... Yeah, things are back on track, now.
Chapter 11
The lab was empty. Not just empty, but completely abandoned. There were no signs of life or life ever being there in months. Kurotsuchi had thoroughly cleaned out the place, leaving only the things he deemed useless or not worthy of experimentation.
Still, Rin searched the place, in spite of the fearful, involuntary shudders the room gave her and the memories of it that lingered in the back of her mind. Finally, she stopped in the middle, her arms wrapped around herself. Grimmjow had watched from the doorway the entire time, his sapphire gaze following the woman's every move.
"He isn't here, Baka-onna," he said after a while. It was said, watching her search so desperately.
"But you said he was!" she snarled, her eyes snapping to him. "Dammit, he couldn't have gone anywhere! This place is too fucking big, it takes two days alone to traverse its length, even with speed like yours! Can't you sense him?!"
"Don't you think I would have told you if I did?!" Grimmjow retorted, rubbing his eyes with an exasperated sigh. The woman fell silent, glaring at the floor. That's when he felt the clashes of reiatsu coming from elsewhere in Las Noches. He continued, "You came with a team, eh? I can sense them. They're fighting with Halibel and her three bitches." She looked up at him in surprise and, to an extent, anger.
"What? I thought she wanted peace?!" He shrugged.
"Not if you bastard shinigami are going to storm the palace without her permission," he retorted. "One of her fraccion has been defeated already, though. She and the other two are still fighting."
"Who?" The woman cast a questioning look his way.
"How the fuck should I know?!" he snapped, scowling.
"Asaje-san." The voice came from behind them, causing both to whip around in surprise.
"Gah! What the fuck?!" Grimmjow exclaimed in surprise. "Don't do that!"
"Eh? Kurotsuchi?" Rin asked.
The Lieutenant ignored her. She was engrossed by the readings on her hand held device. The artificial woman walked toward one of the abandoned machines. Both Rin and Grimmjow watched in uneasy silence as she analyzed it, then moved on. Once she had thoroughly checked over all of the machines, she turned to address them.
"A garganta has been opened here. Whoever opened it went to great lengths to hide its existence, however," she said.
"No shit. I don't sense anything," Grimmjow growled, frowning. He was still pouting after being caught off guard by the shinigami. Surprisingly, she didn't question his presence.
"Where'd it go?" Rin demanded.
"While I am unable to determine the location now, further analysis should reveal that," Nemu replied.
"How long?"
"Perhaps an hour or so, Asaje-san."
"'Kay. I'll be back then," the woman said. "If Oka-chan isn't here, then there's no use staying." She turned on her heel and began stalking out of the lab. She grabbed Grimmjow and dragged him with her, protesting all the way. Finally, he took back the sleeve she had grabbed and glowered at her.
"Where the fuck-"
"Where's Halibel?" she interrupted him. "I'm going to talk with her. She doesn't need to be fighting against us. It's just a waste of fucking time and energy."
Within Las Noches, Halibel was unable to release her resurrecion since its power was enough to destroy the palace. This didn't make her any less of a worthy adversary against Byakuya as the two battled fiercely. The noble Captain had released his Shikai. The walls of the hallway were decimated, giving them space to fight as other rooms opened up.
They switched continuously between defending and attacking one another. At one point, Halibel would be pressing down hard on him, and at others Byakuya would find himself with the upper hand. While he had suffered deep wounds on his chest and arms, Halibel's entire body was riddled with cuts caused by Senbonzakura.
Byakuya swung up the hilt of his sword, bringing the tiny blades together to form a shield to stop Halibel's attack with her weapon. Using shunpo, he appeared behind her and sent a wave of pink towards her. A yellow cero in the form of an arc cut through it. He summoned a Kido shield in order to stop it from hitting him.
"You are not completely focused on this battle," she said as she lunged forward in the wake of her attack to leave a deep cut in his side.
She wasn't wrong, he silently acknowledged, as he attempted to attack her. He missed the blonde arrancar, again, due to his distraction. Half of his attention was on Rin and the arrancar she was with. Friendly or not, he didn't like him so close to her. But he also knew that the woman could take care of herself should anything happen. It was about time he put all his focus on the battle he was engaged in now.
The pair continued to dance, but now Byakuya held the advantage more. Partly because he was putting all his strength forth, and partly because Halibel was building up her reiatsu and avoiding his attacks rather than going on the offensive.
The dark skinned woman pulled her sword back and focused her yellow reiatsu within the hollow part of the blade. She launched the crackling energy at him in the form of an energy blade projectile. In retaliation, Byakuya sent his own Kido spell at it. There was a collision, but not what either had expected. The blasts were sent skyward, leaving a huge hole in the ceiling.
"Enough of this fucking bullshit!" Rin snarled.
Her Shikai was activated, though the pistols lay discarded among the rubble at her feet. Her mask had been released as well. After deflecting both blasts, her clothing was torn and her forearms were cracked, black, and bleeding from third degree burns. Her reiatsu was flaring with anger. Despite her injuries, she still had the strength to glare at both of them.
"Asaje-sama-!" Halibel said in surprise.
"Learn some respect," the other woman snarled, her face twisted with anger. "Get on your knees and greet me properly!"
A hint of her former occupation as one of Aizen's right hands was showing. Byakuya watched in shock as the powerful former Espada finally sunk to her knees, reluctantly, and followed the other woman's orders. It boggled Byakuya to see such a thing.
Even the blue haired arrancar who had accompanied her was silent and a little pale. In fact, he almost looked ready to fall to his knees, as well. The Captain remembered Rin telling him that she had held a position of great power alongside Aizen. But these thoughts were pushed aside in favour of more pressing issues.
"Rin-" he began.
"Don't interrupt," she snapped, briefly glaring over her shoulder at him before looking back at Halibel, who was getting to her feet. "Sheath your zanpakuto. We didn't come here to fuck around with you and your fucking fraccion, Halibel. Where is Grantz?" she demanded to know. Halibel put away her weapon.
"He requested privacy, Asaje-sama. I don't know, I do not insert myself in the affairs of the other arrancar. Unless they disturb the peace," she added at Grimmjow's snort.
"Fuck," Rin growled. She transferred her glare to the other former Espada. "When did his reiatsu disappear? Do you know?"
Her jaw clenched with frustration when Grimmjow shook his head. She glanced back at Halibel questioningly, but she also shook her head. She muttered something beneath her breath and pinched the bridge of her nose, making her arm bleed more.
"Call off your fraccion," she ordered harshly, giving Halibel a look that the other woman could not meet. "We'll be gone from this stupid place soon."
"Yes, Asaje-sama," she said obediently.
Halibel disappeared with a loud bang. As soon as she left, Byakuya came to her side and gently began inspecting her wounds. Feeling a little guilty that he had been the cause of some of them, even though she was the one who had chosen to deflect the attacks.
"You need these wrapped," he said.
"Get off of me," she snapped, trying to pull away. "I already know that!"
"You are making it worse by moving, Rin." She gave him a deadly look that made even him pull away after her earlier display.
"Dammit, Byakuya! I've had worse than this! Do you think I'm just going pass out and die right here?!" she yelled angrily. He sighed in exasperation, realizing that he wasn't going to get anywhere in this argument.
"Let us go check on Kurotsuchi and see where she's at," the noble suggested, having sensed long ago that the 12th Division Lieutenant had made it to their destination. "Perhaps we can find some bandages, as well."
"Are you fucking kidding me?!" Grimmjow yelled suddenly, starting to laugh. "This pussy?! I'd never in a million years think that you'd go for someone like him!"
"What? You think I'd go for someone like you?" she muttered.
"Well at least I don't put up my hair like a fucking girl!" the former Espada scoffed.
"There something wrong with being a girl, Jeagerjaques?!" she snapped.
The noble Captain shot the blue haired man a look of pure and utter disdain. Deciding that Grimmjow was of no circumstance, he focused his attention on Rin. The blue haired Espada didn't look happy at all that Byakuya deliberately turned his back on him, putting himself between him and the angry woman.
"Fine. I've had enough of this fucking place. She'd better be fucking done," mumbled Rin, going back to the previous conversation with the noble.
Hisagi and Daisuke arrived at the same time that they did. The two eyed the blue haired Espada warily. Since Rin and Byakuya were ignoring him, they decided to only keep an eye on him. Grimmjow gave them a cocky grin as he shoved his hands in his pockets. Rin interrupted him before he could stir up trouble with the new arrivals.
"Why the fuck are you still here, Grimmkitty?"
"You and your little band of pussies are the most excitement we've had for weeks. Tells you how fucking sorry life has been lately. Fucking Halibel-" Grimmjow scowled, he looked like he was spitting out something disgusting. "Phaugh! Well, that's just it. You don't fuck with her. Literally and figuratively."
"Jealous that she still listens to me even though Aizen's gone?" she said cockily, smirking.
It seemed that old habits died hard, even among the more powerful Espada. Though she hadn't gone into the conflict expecting Halibel to disobey -she had fallen back into her own old habits quite easily- she was still mildly surprised that it had worked. Though it most likely had something to do with her flashy entrance.
"You can be one scary bitch sometimes," he admitted grudgingly.
"Aw, is that a compliment?"
He shrugged, frowning. He wasn't looking forward to seeing the shinigami leave, and for everything to become boring again. Halibel had made it clear to him that he wasn't supposed to cause trouble or there would severe consequences. What could he do when she was so much stronger than him? Not to mention the fraccion with her. He would leave the palace, but it was even more boring out on the sands. Having been one of the Espada, there wasn't anyone there who could challenge him, either.
Daisuke was now by Rin's side, trying to check her injuries like Byakuya had. She snapped at him and pulled away. Nemu still wasn't done, and everyone was sure that she would be taking a little while longer. So it would be for the best if the brown haired woman had her burns wrapped properly. The former Espada huffed.
"Look, I know where some bandages are," he mumbled. "I'll go get them. It looks like you guys will be here for a while, anyways."
It looked like most of the shinigami had been hurt in some way during their fights. Nemu looked relatively unharmed, even though no one present had ever actually seen her fight. Daisuke only had a few cuts and bruises, though he had one hand nursing his side where he had a cracked rib. Hisagi was limping from a deep cut in his leg. Byakuya had several deep cuts all across his body.
"What about sake?" Rin asked hopefully.
"I drank the rest last week," he growled.
"What?! Do you know how much fucking sake is in this place?!"
"Well, what the fuck else am I gonna do here, huh?! I was drunk practically 24/7 because I couldn't even fight with anyone because of that stupid bitch!" he yelled, throwing his arms into air. He turned and stalked away, using sonido a few steps away. Rin glared at the place he'd been a second ago. Then at her blackened arms.
"They're not that bad," she muttered despite the blood that was leaking out of them. She sounded very tired. "I barely feel anything."
"You have third degree burns," Byakuya explained. "All the nerves have been burned away. Meaning that they are very serious."
By the time Grimmjow had returned and everyone's wounds were wrapped, Nemu had finished her analysis and confirmed where and when the garganta had been opened. It had taken her longer than anticipated because Szayel had activated a machine that was scrambling reiatsu signals in the general area. Szayel had definitely gone to great lengths to conceal whatever he had been doing.
"Come on, Baka-onna. Let me come with you," Grimmjow argued, yet again.
"I'm getting my oka-chan back! I'm not babysitting you!"
"I'll behave," he muttered sulkily.
"No, you won't," the angry woman snorted. "Besides, why would you betray a fellow Espada?"
"I don't owe that fucking little pissant anything. One of his fucking experiments had me hugging people. Nnoitra just about ripped me a new hole."
For the first time since her mother was taken, Rin started laughing so hard tears were running down her face. Her laughter didn't last long. Every entrance was slammed shut by metal doors coming down from the ceiling. Those doors were then sealed with kido barriers.
"Uh oh," Nemu murmured, glancing around at the barriers before her gaze returned to the device in her hand.
"'Uh oh'?! What the fuck do you mean 'uh oh'?!" Rin snarled. "Dammit, you're supposed to prevent us from getting caught in traps, not trigger them!"
"This will take a while to turn off," the Squad 12 Lieutenant said, ignoring the other woman. Rin started pacing back and forth.
"A while?! How long is a while?!" she snapped.
"By my predictions, at least a few hours."
"A few- What?!"
"Stop freaking out, Baka-onna," Grimmjow scoffed, waving his hand dismissively. "I'll just open a garganta to wherever that pink haired bastard went."
"Naruki City, just outside of Karakura Town," Nemu informed him.
"That's easy enough. So stop your bitching," the arrancar said to Rin.
He turned away, a cocky grin on his face. Everyone waited for him to open the garganta. Even Rin had stopped pacing to watch him. His cocky grin turned to a look of confusion, then into a frustrated frown.
"The fuck? It's not working..." he muttered.
"Fuck, you're so useless," the brown haired woman snarled. "Let me do it." However, she had the same results. She gritted her teeth angrily.
"Fucking Grantz!" she roared. "I'm going to rip his fucking head off and feed it to Gilepsi! See how he fucking likes that!"
"Don't do that, you'll give her a taste for our blood," Daisuke said, trying to calm her down by joking. "Then she'll roam the night, killing and eating shinigami because of you."
"Shut up, or I'll feed you to her, too," she retorted. "And she'd get a taste for arrancar blood, stupid."
"It can't be that different from our own," he pointed out. "I doubt she'd really care. She's about as picky as you are when it comes to food."
"He is correct," Nemu broke in. "Mayuri-sama determined that the difference between the blood of shinigami and the blood of arrancar is very minute. Also, the taste is not affected at all with the addition of a hollow half."
"Stop talking about my blood like that. It's creepy," Grimmjow snapped. "Son of a bitch, how the fuck do you even know what it tastes like?!"
"Mayuri-sama had me taste-"
"Dammit! Never mind! I don't wanna fucking know! Just stay the fuck away from me..."
Rin had started pacing again, her hands clenching and unclenching. She couldn't wait this long. They needed to find Hana before Szayel did something really bad to her. She started to panic when she thought of what he could do while they were stuck in Hueco Mundo. Finally, Byakuya rested a hand on her shoulder, making her stop.
"Enough. You need to rest and allow your injuries to heal. This pacing will only exhaust you," he told her.
She let him guide her to an overturned metal box and sit her down on it before he sat down beside her. She buried her face into her hands and sighed deeply. Byakuya placed a comforting hand on her back and they started the few hours wait in silence.