Chapter Ten: El Monstruo
Cyan walked slowly behind Szayel Aporro, drifting in and out of her head, carefully wondering what kind of pests they would have to get rid of. She felt some excitement, but wondered if she would be able to control herself while she's outside of Las Noches. Whenever Aizen noted a difference in her, he sent her out of the palace until she got a hold of herself. At times, Gin would accompany her, but she often found herself trying to kill him, which he found funny. Cyan crossed her arms across her chest.
"What are we fighting?" Cyan uttered, softly, addressing her partner.
Szayel Aporro snorted in disbelief. "Were you ever even fit to be an Espada?"
"I was replacing you, until I told Aizen-sama I didn't want to be an Espada," she joked with a stoic expression. She noticed him snarl in frustration and she quickly retracted. "It was a joke…, but you're humorless in contrast to the ridiculous way you dress." She walked past him, muttering to herself. "Although, not as ridiculous as Nnoitra. He's a walking spectacle." She looked down at her cropped jacket. "I'm one to talk—" She turned around to see Szayel Aporro standing in the same place, hands balled into fists, trying to calm himself down. "Szayel Aporro-sama, we should get going or Aizen-sama will get mad if we delay on killing the pests!"
Szayel Aporro shook his head, trying to kick out the idea that he was stuck with an incompetent idiot for the following days until they finished their mission. So, he took a step forward and walked in front of her, without any more detail, no more chatter. If she told another joke, his hand might accidentally slip and choke her.
"Szayel Aporro-sama," she called, again. "What Espada are you?" Cyan probably knew it was annoying to ask so many questions, but she understood inconveniences like that when she had to hear her name left and right from the minute of her rebirth. Still, it had never occurred to her what number each Espada was until now that she joked about replacing Szayel Aporro.
"Octava Espada," he replied.
"Oh, then Nnoitra is stronger than you?" she said, aloud. She remembered the tattooed five on his tongue last time the sparred, so she figured that was his rank.
"He may be stronger but he lacks intelligence," he defended.
"Well that makes sense, he picks a lot of fights with me," she began, the conversation drifting, to Szayel Aporro's further annoyance. "He's always using some obscene language like he wasn't educated when he was alive…maybe he picked it up in Hueco Mundo."
"Silence!" he stated, turning to her, his amber eyes sullen. "Anymore of you inane chatter and I will surely dispose of you."
Cyan stared at him with a pout. "That's not a kind gesture," she commented, holding her hands together behind her back.
He turned away, again. Cyan wondered where they were walking; they could have easily opened a Garganta anywhere and leave, unless he wanted to pack extra clothes before the trip. Then, her mind went blank. Maybe she should have stopped thinking a while ago, but even with a blank mind, thoughts continued to flood in like a swollen stream. It was a mixture of all her memories combined. Her human life, the afterlife, and the life she started when she became a Hollow, years of loneliness, evolution, and finally rebirth.
"Wait here," Szayel Aporro's voice rang in her ears.
She twitched out of her daze and looked at him as he entered a room. "I want to go too," she stated, slipping inside before the doors closed only to encounter something beyond her expectations. There was machinery all around that cried out something sinister as well as monitors aligning the wall. She looked around expectantly; she wondered if he slept in one of those glass capsules, he had decorating his room. Her eyes met a pair of frustrated amber eyes, glaring at her by the monitors. "I was afraid, Nnoitra would show up and try to kill me," she lied.
"Even if you were out in the open, he wouldn't find you," Szayel Aporro stated, smartly. "You've been suppressing your reiatsu the entire time."
"I'm not suppressing, wanna see?" she inquired, leaving him no time to answer. She pulled her zanpakutō out of her belt and threw it towards him.
Szayel Aporro caught her blade with ease, but what he didn't expect was the sudden outbreak of reiatsu that filled the room, causing some glass to crack. He felt his own reiatsu being suppressed and he fell to the ground, choking against the tight atmosphere. Cyan walked closer to him and plucked her zanpakutō out of his hand, a smile on her face. "Maybe throwing it at you was a bit too much," she remarked, curiously. "Are you okay, Szayel Aporro-sama?"
He gasped a few more times, as Cyan pulled him to his feet. His sharp gaze met hers. "I'm sorry," she said, slowly.
"What are you?" he questioned, pushing her hands away.
She blinked, innocently. "I'm an Arrancar, like you," she replied.
"Your sword swallows reiatsu!" he said quickly.
Cyan's eyes trailed towards the hilt of her sword as she slipped it back against her waist. "I suppose," she replied, not entirely sure where he wanted to get with things. In fact, Cyan was learning how to suppress her reiatsu the past few days that she had gone away into the desert, but it wasn't helping. Naturally, she gave up seeing as her sword did a great job at suppressing it for her, though it did more than repress at certain instances. She found herself walking down halls where many Arrancars were talking about her dying, but she wasn't dead, she simply faded within her blade. However, she enjoyed those situations the most. Nnoitra would have his minutes or hours of happiness before realizing she hadn't rolled over and croaked.
"Doesn't that surprise you?"
"It always did that…" she replied.
Szayel Aporro took interest in her endeavors. She was the odd one out, but a definite interest. If he had known the strange ability of her zanpakutō earlier, he would have probably kept his mouth shut, but this would definitely get interesting. He smirked, engrossed. He'd have to observe her actions carefully when they entered the Human World, and maybe later coax her into his room for private matters when they returned to Las Noches.
Cyan looked about the room curiously. "Oh, I know you," she turned to him with a serious expression. "You're the meddler."
"Excuse me?" he asked, puzzled.
"Gin-sama was the one who told me you're the one that always peering into other's lives," she answered, truthfully. "He specifically told me to stay away from you…"
Szayel Aporro laughed, mockingly. "And you'd be willing to listen to him?" he asked.
Cyan shrugged. "I don't care for his words, so what pests are we fighting?" she began, again.
Since she caught his fancy, he smiled. "Well, I suppose Aizen-sama was referring to those pesky Shinigami, they've been meddling with his plans for too long."
"All we do is kill the ones we find then?" she inquired, passively. He nodded. "That should be simple."
"You must be carefully, they're quite the whimsical beings, incredibly stupid, but the lot has a few tricks up their sleeves," Szayel Aporro began.
Cyan was aware that Aizen, Gin, and Tōsen were Shinigami, but she never asked them what the difference between the two species was. She knew that Arrancar were reborn Hollow with humanoid forms and stronger abilities than the ordinary Hollow found outside in the white desert. "Interesting, anything I should be aware of?" she asked, intrigued. She wanted to meet other Shinigami beside the three she was already knew.
"Make sure to keep your eyes peeled if they release their zanpakutō," he warned. "Each sword has a different ability. They're much different that our Resurrección." Cyan nodded, taking in the lesson, wondering why she hadn't been told anything by Gin before. She had never crossed to the Human World while she was a Hollow; she feasted on others instead and continued her growth, so she never ran into a Shinigami before. "Be aware of those small details and things should run smoothly. We should get going."
Cyan nodded, her hand up in the air, twisting it over as the space in front of it tore itself apart, welcoming them into looming darkness. Cyan had her palm over the hilt of her blade as she stepped inside, followed by Szayel. She was having vivid imaginings of the world she had once inhibited many years ago. She turned to Szayel. "The Shinigami might swarm around us, it's possible that they might have found a way to track beings stronger than Hollow," Szayel Aporro began, staring at Cyan.
"Then, let's become miniscule in their radars." Cyan turned to him, holding her sword out to him again. "It was able to take your reiatsu before; I suggest we use my blade to give us the upper hand."
He nodded in agreement, grabbing a hold of her blade. The idea was completely diminishing the Hollow energy with them, to make sure they weren't taken by surprise by their enemies, the Shinigami. Cyan's blade was the best option they both had, and it served its purpose particularly well.
The Garganta tore open the sky, allowing the two to enter the Human World. Cyan's eyes glinted with hidden excitement. The world had changed. It had completely thrown off her hopes to see old places she frequented, those where her heart would ache and beat faster…with him. She blinked, watching Szayel Aporro concentrate in search of any Shinigami, using Pesquisa. Instead of looking into the issue at hand, she focused on her surroundings. Everything was different. Building seemed bland to her, nothing special. The people who carelessly walked around in the street were dressed in funny clothing, but she was one to talk. If they saw what she was wearing, they might have laughed.
"Cyan, I sense a few lower-level Shinigami to the east," Szayel Aporro confirmed.
Cyan looked at him hopeful. "Should we hunt them?" The idea of mauling them was exceptionally great in her mind. A sinister smile appeared over her lips.
Szayel Aporro nodded. "Let's," he agreed. Both of them used sonido to make the process quicker. Cyan appearing first before, looking around for the Shinigami in question, but none came to sight. She turned around when Szayel Aporro appeared.
"I can't see them," she stated.
"I can sense them, they must be in hiding beneath us," he replied. The woman nodded and vanished once more. Szayel Aporro sighed. The woman had no patience. When he appeared again with her, she was walking down the street in search for the Shinigami.
Cyan's eyes darted from left to right, apparently they wore black robes, but everyone around was wearing weird clothes. She sensed movement nearby, and took a sharp turn, drawing her sword when another's clashed against hers. Her eyes glinted with unfathomable joy at the sight of black robes and a zanpakutō. Szayel Aporro watched from afar, knowing the others were still hiding. He would have sought them out, but it was amusing allowing them to believe they had completely vanished from their field of vision.
Cyan was blessed with the brave man of the troupe. "Shinigami?" she inquired.
The dark haired man seemed baffled by her question. "What are you?" he asked, instead.
"I'm a monster," she replied, tossing away her sword, letting it stab against the ground behind her. Two booming reiatsus shot out. The man retracted, pulling his sword back, trying to continue his assault but the pressure of the afterglow had him on his knees. Szayel Aporro hadn't expected his reiatsu to shoot forward the minute she let go of the blade, but he quickly repressed it, unlike his female partner.
She smiled widely as she watched the Shinigami fall to his knees. "Goodbye, Shinigami," she said, pressing two cold fingers against his forehead and firing a Cero at point-blank. Szayel Aporro couldn't help but chuckle. So much power in a single woman, it was quite impressive. Though, he found it difficult to determine how strong she truly was, there was a strange shifting in her outbreak.
The leftover remains of the Shinigami she had killed plopped over in front of her. She turned away, noticing a door opening before them as she waltzed over to pick up her blade, suppressing her reiatsu once more. A smile appeared on her face as more Shinigami entered the scene. It was two males, both wearing armbands over their arms. The dark-haired one looked around the scene, noticing the dead carcass on the ground. He eyed Cyan carefully. "Kira, none survived," he confirmed, speaking to the blonde man behind him.
Cyan turned her back to them walking towards Szayel Aporro. He had accompanied her on this mission for a single purpose and that was to keep her under control, but he wasn't sure if he really wanted to let her only toy with her enemies. He wanted to see a stretch of her true abilities. "If they attack you, obliterate them," Szayel Aporro ordered, as she got closer.
Cyan nodded, turning towards them once more. "How strong are you two?" she inquired, curiously, pushing her sword back into her scabbard.
"Lieutenant-level," Kira confirmed.
She turned towards Szayel Aporro. "That's definitely stronger than the expected pests," he commented.
"What are you?" the dark-haired man asked, preparing to draw his blade against them if they made a move.
"We're called Arrancar," Szayel Aporro stated. "We're higher beings than Shinigami."
Cyan looked serious as she stepped forward. "Szayel Aporro-sama, allow me to dispose of them," she stated, a deep fire burning inside her body. She was lusting for blood.
"Hisagi-san…?"
"I'll go," he replied, taking a step forward, drawing his sword.
Cyan looked at him. Before he could make a notion to attack, her fingers were already pointing his way, and unexpectedly, she shot a Cero his way, alarming him as he jumped out of the way. His eyes were wide and grew even further when she appeared in front of him, her blade clashing against his, throwing him back. He skidded over the air and managed to stop himself. He lunged himself at Cyan, but when he swung his sword down, she appeared behind him, swinging hers. He blocked, scarcely. She pushed her blade down towards him and he kept his hold strong, pushing up against the back of his blade, struggling. He didn't expect her kicking him away from her before she followed him, swinging her sword down harshly, landing the first hit straight from his shoulder to his torso. To her grand distaste not deep, enough to be considered a great hit, since he hardly bled. At the same instant, he pushed his sword forward grazing her face.
Cyan's eyes darted towards Szayel Aporro who was fending off the other lieutenant. Cyan avoided another slash directed her way and moved further back as his movements quickened. He was much faster than she expected. Maybe that's why Szayel Aporro gave her the 'okay' to kill them. She planned to do so, but she spent too many days bored and running from Nnoitra to not enjoy an exhilarating fight. She deflected another one of his attacks and jumped up, leg up in the air before she nailed him in the shoulder with her hit. The force of it sending him crashing into the ground. She went towards the ground, where he landed and searched around the rubble, before she heard chains hitting against one another.
She prepared her blade for his next attack. First, a sharp blade connected by a chain swept past her left side, avoiding her scarcely. She turned her head and the next blade came to her from the front. Cyan turned her head quickly, leaning back immediately. The rustling of chains filled her ears as the two blades flew towards her once more. She jumped back, avoiding them both scarcely. The dark-haired lieutenant emerged from the rubble, holding both weapons in each hand.
"What is that?" Cyan simply wanted to know.
"It's my zanpakutō's shikai, Kazeshini," he replied, staring at her awkwardly. If this was Aizen's army, they're would be nothing to fear. Still, he could hardly keep up with her speed and the power behind each blow was questionable. He caught himself in a daze after each hit, was it that powerful, he wondered. He hated the idea of having released his shikai against her, but it was probable that with the sharp blades and speed, he could probably fend off against her effortlessly. She stared at the weapon intrigued, each had to sickles at the top, one inverted, and both weapons were connected by a long chain.
"Wanna see my release?" she asked, curious.
"What?"
"My sword has one too, Aizen-sama explained it to me," she replied, staring at her sword. "But, if you see it…don't close your eyes, you might die."
There was a large crash behind them. Both of them turned back, slightly, noticing a small amount of wreckage. Szayel Aporro appeared behind Cyan, his hand on her shoulder. "If you release, Aizen-sama would be angry at us both," Szayel Aporro stated.
"Kira!" the dark-haired lieutenant shouted, running in the opposite direction.
"Let's get going, he'll probably return home to prepare the funeral." He laughed.
"Why not get rid of him as well?" Cyan asked, objecting his order.
"Once more, you release your zanpakutō and Aizen will not be happy," he pressured. "We're only getting rid of the pests stationed around the city. The day is approaching quickly." He reminded her.
Cyan nodded, putting away her sword. Both of them turned their backs to the two lieutenants and she heard the rustling of the chains and the blade resonating through the wind, tearing it apart. Cyan turned around, catching one of the sickles with ease, but allowing it to cut through her palm slightly. Her eyes caught his, whose eyes widened as she crushed the metal when she tightened her hold.
"Impossible," he uttered.
With a final smile, both Arrancar disappeared, leaving behind the warnings for the rest of the men stationed in the area. It was then that they had the option of fleeing back to their stronghold or waiting around to be killed.
Cyan watched the cut on her palm heal while Szayel Aporro disposed of another batch of low-class Shinigami. Cyan was frustrated. Her first chance at a battle against one and Szayel Aporro interrupted before she could actually play the game seriously. She had her legs crossed, one over the other. When she looked up, Szayel Aporro was heading back towards her, a large grin on his face. "How much longer?" she inquired.
"Not long, so long as those lieutenants don't return with their superiors, we'll be sure to clear the entire city from all its guards within the next hour," he explained, noticing the boredom in her tone.
She got up. "Let's go to the next location," she said, hoping that batch wouldn't die easily. She sighed, but that's what the guards would do. Regardless how easy she went on them, they croaked rather quickly. She either cut to deep, or put too much power behind her Cero. She noticed Szayel Aporro also being fed up with the amount of trash he had to deal with. He had bigger things brewing in his head. He wanted to see what part of Cyan made her uniquely different from the rest of the Arrancar, other than the sword that absorbed reiatsu. He would ask her, but he figure she might have been toying with him too much to give him a serious response.
Cyan remained silent for the rest of the hunt, killing them easily, breaking apart their blades with her bare hands, laughing at the sight of their final gasps. She was a sadistic woman, but when she wasn't playing with the dead, she seemed different. Usually, everyone was quick to show his or her true colors, but she had yet to do so. Which one was the real Cyan? Was it the woman lusting for blood, tearing her victims' limb from limb? Or, was it the calm woman, who spent her time day dreaming and avoiding the rest of the world? It all came down to that before he could figure her out, was she the monster she claimed to be, or the fragile being she portrayed in her body.
Title Translation: El Monstruo, Spanish for 'The Monster'
