Shadows of Deceit
Let the Jaws Hit the Floor
Gracias for all of the likes, views, and follows.
***I own exactly 0% of Bleach. ***
***SoD***
Three long, and in many cases painful, weeks later Ichigo stood before Aizen along with his two Shinigami officers. At his back were his four Espada mentors, the remaining Espada and Fraccion were off to the side. All those in attendance were currently standing far out in Hueco Mundo, away from Las Noches.
"So Ichigo, I have heard good things concerning your training. Now that the three weeks are up I am interested to see the fruits of your labors." The ex-Captain began with a smile. "Normally I would have the test done a bit more privately but the results of your training may very well influence the future training of the rest of the Espada and Fraccion. This will be a spar between you and Stark, since we have witnessed the battle between the two of you before we can use that to gauge your progress."
Ichigo and Stark both gave a nod before proceeding a good distance away from the others and stood facing each other, oddly reminiscent of their previous battle. Once again the entire area was silent in anticipation.
"Begin" Aizen called out, and the two combatants vanished in a blur of Sonido.
Soon the clashes began, but unlike their first confrontation Stark was quickly forced into using his full speed against the boy. The clashing of their blades sent shockwaves into the surrounding area, damaging the pillars and rocks that lay scattered about.
After a few moments of this the two suddenly appeared, locked in a contest of strength.
To the surprise of the observers though, Ichigo quickly overpowered the Primera, throwing him backwards into a nearby structure. Instead of pursuing him Ichigo took up a neutral, almost relaxed, stance.
A split second later the Espada appeared behind his opponent, a blow already started for his neck, but found nothing but air. The newly formed Arrancar used the Primera's own trick against him and had flashed behind him, landing a vicious kick to his back and sending the man to the ground.
"Pretty good Ichigo, you certainly have gotten better since we first fought." Stark complimented with a smile.
Ichigo returned the smile and the compliments "Well I did have some pretty amazing teachers, and friends. Heck one of them is a brother to me in all but blood."
This statement caused Stark's smile to grow even wider.
"Now you have me curious though, how good exactly are you with a sword? Let's give Aizen and the rest a show, no fancy flash stepping, just sword play." Stark called out in a challenging tone.
Ichigo gave the man in front of him a nod before bringing his sword up in front of him, in a one handed stance. "Ready when you are."
Both men charged and the difference in their abilities quickly became apparent.
Where Stark analyzed his opponent, using tactical sword strikes to get through his opponents defenses, Ichigo seemed to use the same berserker type of style that many of the other Espada favored.
***SoD***
"What a disappointment," Szayel commented sadly, "I was hoping the boy would have developed more than just copying Grimmjow and Nnoitra's style of 'run in and cut the opponent up'."
"Ha like you could do any better pinky, the kid finally got wise and is using the true fighting style of the Hollow! I am actually proud of him, brings a tear to my eye." Grimmjow replied in a fake proud tone, and wiped an imaginary tear from his face.
"Don't get too happy Grimmjow, Ichigo is not just charging his opponent blindly, his attacks seem almost too random for that." Harribel observed.
"Very good Harribel, in actuality Ichigo is using a fighting style, one that none of the other Espada use." Aizen began while analyzing the boy. "It seems as though he has copied all four of his mentor's fighting styles and combined them into a single form, quite impressive. He is using Nelliel's grace and fluid motion, along with her habit of spinning to add momentum to her attacks and confuse her opponents. Then he has added in Harribel's raw speed and counter attacking skill. Next if you watch closely he uses only one sword hand, keeping his other open for Hakuda and various other techniques, an obvious imitation of Ulquiorra. Finally he is creating his own openings to exploit in a tribute, no doubt, to Stark's analytical form. Combine them all together and, well it is what I would describe as 'controlled chaos' he has created a whirlwind or hurricane of movements and strikes that seem random and overwhelming but are in fact controlled and calculating. Quite terrifying I must say."
The Arrancar stared wide eyed at their leader for a second before returning their gaze to the battle currently raging, all trying to see what the former Captain had pointed out.
***SoD***
Stark was getting nervous, Ichigo skill had increased to a degree even he hadn't seen during their training sessions. Obviously the boy had been holding back but he never imagined this much.
Each time the Espada would attack, his opponent would fluidly dodge around the blade. Then he would counter attack so quickly that it often interrupted his strike midway through. Once the Primera was on the defensive Ichigo would often switch sword hands and angles, allowing him to use a completely different strike around his defenses.
Even worse were the times that Ichigo would flow into a kick or punch so suddenly the Primera didn't have time to parry it and would be forced to simply harden his Hierro and take the blow.
All in all he had become very bruised and bloody in a very short amount of time, nothing had been serious enough to end the fight yet but there had been a few close calls.
The teen himself had only received a few minor nicks for his troubles and even these seemed to have been calculated. The wounds the boy had received were earned in return for a much more serious one given to his opponent, as if he had let the more experienced Arrancar create his own defensive openings.
Stark had to break this pattern or he would quickly end up losing this match. Acting on a sudden thought, the Espada shot backwards away from the boy and fired a Cero at him, which he easily dodged, drawing the match to a temporary halt.
"Very impressive Ichigo, I must say if that were allowed to continue I would have lost for sure, I didn't know you had been holding back this much." Stark shot a grin toward the boy he had become very proud of.
"Like I said, I had excellent teachers. Also you're one to talk, you still have Resurreccion you can call on, and I still haven't figured mine out." This time Ichigo sounded a bit down trodden, as if he had let them all down.
"Don't worry about that quite yet Ichigo, in only three weeks you have surpassed my base form in several ways already, we can work on you obtaining your new form once Aizen is sure you can use it."
Receiving a happy nod from the boy Stark smiled, and then launched another Cero at him.
Ichigo just grinned and flashed out of the way.
"You know Stark, if you want to turn this into a Cero contest, you are going to have a bad day. I might start taking this very seriously." Ichigo called out to his opponent, loud enough for those observing to hear.
"Oh? I would expect nothing less from you Ichigo. In fact I am hurt you haven't been taking me seriously yet. Come on show me the results of all that private training you hid from us." The statement had sounded like a joke but Ichigo had spent enough time with the man to hear the hurt in his voice. The fact that he had been hiding his development from them had indeed hurt their feelings, something that the boy had not intended.
"Sorry, I didn't want to show any of you what I have been working on until I was sure it was safe to either be used around others and for others to start trying to learn." The teen responded mysteriously.
"But I guess it should be okay by now, here's a neat trick that I have recently discovered. I am sure some of you also have but for me it is kind of exciting to have figured it out on my own." Ichigo continued before extending his left hand down to his side.
It appeared that a red Cero began forming in his palm but instead of firing it off he simply kept it for a moment before pulling his hand back… and throwing the sphere of energy at the Espada.
Stark's eyes widened immensely as thoughts raged through his head 'WHAT THE HELL IS THAT!? It can't be a Cero, it's not a beam of energy but its energy signature is the same.'
Just as Stark began dodging out of the way the sphere hit the ground nearby him, and caused an immense explosion, damaging the nearby structures forcing the Espada to cover his face from the resulting shockwave.
***SoD***
Back at the observation post, virtually all jaws were on the ground.
"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT!?" Grimmjow roared out.
"I-It appears as though the b-boy has… m-modified his Cero. B-But that's impossible… right?" Szayel stuttered in a rare form of confusion.
'Impressive Ichigo, I wonder what else you have learned to modify. A technique like that, in the hands of all the Espada, could provide an incredible tactical advantage against the Shinigami, who expect only a normal Cero.' Aizen thought, inwardly grinning at the results.
***SoD***
"Phew, cut it a bit closer why don't you? I said take it seriously, not blow my freaking head off." The Espada exasperated at the boy, who only grinned guiltily and scratched the back of his head.
"Sorry about that, I told you it was a bit dangerous. I haven't figured out all of the issues with it quite yet."
"What the hell was that anyway? I have never seen a Cero like that before." The experienced Arrancar asked, trying to sound casual but inwardly he was more like a little boy at Christmas, shaking with excitement as he was eyeing presents.
"Oh that? I call it 'Cero Granada' I assumed that at least one of the other Espada had figured it out by now, heck I got the idea my first day of Cero training with Nelliel." Ichigo answered with a casual shrug, causing a sweat drop from his opponent.
'He has fundamentally changed one of the core ability's for Hollows and Arrancar and he just shrugs it off like it is no big deal…' The Primera mentally chuckled at the naiveté of his 'brother'.
"Well I'm going to have to beg you to show me how to do that later on, if you have the time of course." Again Stark tried to sound nonchalant about the request but inwardly he was practically begging on his hands and knees.
"Sure, I didn't want to show it before since I wasn't sure if it could be used safely or not. I accidently blew off my hand with that the first time." Ichigo replied with a chuckle.
A second later everyone heard a scream from the observation post.
"YOU WHAT!? WHAT THE HELL DO YOU MEAN YOU BLEW OFF A HAND!? THIS IS WHY YOU ARE NOT ALLOWED TO TRAIN WITHOUT TELLING ANYONE WHERE!"
Both combatants were surprised to find that it was Harribel who had managed to shout so loudly.
"I am in trouble aren't I?" Ichigo asked nervously, sure he was beating the Primera, but even he wasn't dumb enough to think he would come out unscathed after an attack from an angry female.
"Oooooooh yeah, so you might as well enjoy your remaining time as a functioning Arrancar before the two women get their hands on you. Have you developed any other neat tricks in your spare time?" Stark asked with a smirk.
"A couple revolving around Cero, it's so natural that it was easy to work on. Also I have come a long way in using my 'Cadenas de Sombra'." The boy responded.
Stark responded with a confused look, which lead to Ichigo raising his left hand and one of the black chains, that the Espada had seen weeks before, to appear from the ground.
"Oh, those chains you used during your spar with Aizen. So you have been learning to use them as well then." Stark spoke trying to get more information out of the Arrancar before having to face them in the match.
"Yeah I can control a couple of them now, and they are a lot more durable than the first time…" Ichigo began just as Stark interrupted him with a Cero, not wanting the match to continue since the last 'surprise' Ichigo had used caused so much damage.
Ichigo, appearing to have been caught off guard, did not have time to dodge the blast as it reached him and immediately exploded, causing a fairly decent sized shockwave and dust cloud.
***SoD***
After Stark had fired his Cero at the boy both Harribel and Nelliel were tempted to Sonido down to the battlefield and beat the Espada to an inch of his life.
He had used Ichigo's friendship and relaxed form as an opening when speaking to the boy conversationally and, of course, Ichigo had fallen for it.
As the smoke cleared, however, their eyes widened, for what felt like the tenth time during the match, at what they saw.
Ichigo didn't dodge the attack because he had formed a wall of his chains in front of him, completely stopping the blast instead.
"Impressive, if his chains can stop Stark's Cero so easily then they must have become quite durable and versatile." The fourth Espada commented, earning a stunned nod of agreement from many of the other Espada present.
***SoD***
As the Primera gazed at the wall that had stopped his attack he felt an odd shiver run up his spine. If the boy could stop his attack so easily, and with no visible damage to his defense, what else were these weapons capable of?
"Very impressive Ichigo, I assume that your new weapons are capable of more than just defense though?" Stark questioned.
"Yeah, they react about as fast as I do now."
"If you can react faster than that, why did you not just dodge the attack?"
"I wanted to see how much they could take, it's not like I have had time to test them in combat up until now, so if you would be up for it I would like to test their offensive capabilities as well." The boy replied with a smirk, causing his opponent to gulp nervously.
Without waiting for an answer, after all Stark had attacked without waiting, Ichigo leapt forward with his blade, but this time he lead by forming a chain that was in mid swing and aiming for his opponent's head.
Stark barely had time to respond as he ducked under the chain and then met Ichigo's blade, only to be forced to dodge again as a second weapon formed from his left, moving as if to impale him.
As he leapt backwards Stark swung forward with his own Zanpakuto, hoping that he would be able to cut the chains and gain an idea of how strong they would actually be offensively. Instead of being sliced in two the 'weapons' actually bent backwards with slack, absorbing the blow instead of standing stiff. A moment later it wrapped around his sword, threatening to rip the blade out of the Espada's hand.
Stark quickly slid his sword out from the trap, only to find himself being pressed from behind by another attack from these devices. Using Sonido he flashed higher up into the air, assuming that if he could put some distance he might gain some breathing space.
As he glanced down he found Ichigo had not pursued him. Instead the teenager was simply gazing at him with a smirk on his face, as if saying 'that all you got?'
Stark gave a glance over to where Aizen stood, as if asking a silent question, to which he received only a subtle nod.
"Lillynette, to me." Stark commanded, gaining a shocked expression from his Fraccion as well as the other Espada.
Flashing to his side the young girl gave him a reluctant look.
"Stark… you can't be serious, right? I mean I know this is a match and all but I don't want to hurt him…" The young Arrancar gave her Espada a solemn gaze before staring down at her shoes, unwilling to meet his gaze.
For his part Stark simply put his hands on her shoulders causing her to glance up when he gave her a genuine smile.
"No, I do not want to hurt him, but he needs this Lillynette, and so do we. It has been too long since we have had the chance to battle someone to this degree, and I can tell Ichigo is just as anxious about continuing, but without transforming I won't be able to continue this battle at his level." Stark answered.
Receiving a reluctant nod, and promising her that he would make it up to both her and Ichigo, Stark turned to face the boy before calling out a phrase few Espada had ever heard.
"Kick About, Los Lobos!"
In a blinding flash and a rush of spiritual power that caused many of the observing Fraccion to sweat, and struggle to remain standing, Stark was revealed in his Resurreccion state.
Ichigo gave his opponent a curious look before shouting out, "So this is your Resurreccion eh Stark? But why the hell did you need Lillynette to come out first? I don't really want to fight her."
The dark haired man gave him a curious look and was about to shout his response before he heard a voice to his side.
"Uh Stark? I think we have a problem…"
Turning to face the voice, Stark just about dropped his two pistols, as he saw Lillynette still standing beside him, but with her Hollow hole and mask missing.
***SoD***
"Well isn't this a curious turn of events eh Captain Aizen?" Gin remarked glancing toward his leader, "I was surprised that you allowed the Primera to release against the boy. I mean sure Stark was bound to lose eventually but now he will probably do serious damage to Ichigo. Why not just let a lower ranking Espada use their release?"
"Two reasons Gin, the first is that I wanted to continue pushing Ichigo. If he is given a weaker opponent then he will not continue his growth. Also I was curious to see how the transformation from 'the event' would affect a Resurreccion. Though I must say even I did not expect this." The ex-Captain responded, resuming his curious gaze towards the battlefield.
***SoD***
"Lillynette, I don't want you on the battlefield. We will figure out what has happened later but right now, I want to finish this as soon as possible." Stark commanded, returning his gaze towards Ichigo.
"Uh okay but Stark… be careful and I swear if you hurt him not only will I make your life a living hell every morning from now on, but Harribel and Nelliel will not be kind either." Lillynette gave a threatening glare towards her Espada before skipping off the battlefield, causing Stark to sweat nervously.
'Shit… I hadn't thought about those two when I started this plan. They have been incredibly over protective of him, I am so screwed.' Stark realized.
Soon the Primera had just decided to roll with it, after all Ulquiorra would back him up, and surely Aizen would never allow them to kill him… right?
Stark pulled out his right pistol and fired a Cero towards the boy, but the attack was stronger than he had been expecting.
Instead of dodging Ichigo simply raised his right hand, and charging a blue Cero as muttered the attack name before firing it.
"Gran Rey Cero."
Ichigo's enhanced attack cut through Stark's own blast as easily as the air around it, before rocketing towards the Espada, who could only widen his eyes in surprise.
Soon the beam passed through where Stark had been a second before, causing Lillynette to cry out in worry.
"It's okay Lillynette, apparently Ichigo didn't feel like frying me today." Stark replied from behind her with Ichigo next to him, his hand on the Espada's shoulder.
"B-but how? I didn't see you Sonido out of the way." Lillynette asked fresh tears of worry still in her eyes as she threw herself around the man in a hug.
"Like I said, Ichigo got to me first and moved me out of the way," Stark answered with a glance over towards the boy, who had a grateful look on his face. "Past that I don't remember how he did it." The man finished causing Aizen, who had approached to ask the same question, to raise his eyebrow in suspicion.
"Well I believe we will call the match a draw for the time being, only this time slightly in Ichigo's favor." The rebel leader announced as the other Espada arrived on the scene.
"Ichigo, how did you manage that last attack? Gran Rey Cero is only able to be fired after mixing one's blood with a normal Cero." Ulquiorra asked curiously, again focusing everyone's attention on the boy.
"Uh I am not sure, but I have been able to since last week. It feels a bit strange though, like my blood is responding to my command." Ichigo answered with a shrug.
Aizen himself just gave a knowing smile as he realized there was yet another truth he could reveal to the boy.
"I wouldn't worry about that Ichigo I have a theory as to how you managed to do so and I can explain to you when we return to Las Noches. We will still need to conduct the last part of your trial as well, which will be discussed in private." Aizen announced as Stark reverted back to his normal sealed state.
For his part Ichigo just gave a nod.
***SoD***
After arriving Ichigo ensured that Stark was okay, even though he practically begged Ichigo not to leave him alone with the two Espada females who had spent the entire trip back glaring at him.
Ichigo just chuckled and told him that he would be fine, before heading out to find Aizen.
A moment or two later Ichigo appeared in Aizen's throne room before bowing respectfully and taking the seat that the man had gestured to.
"You mentioned I had another test Aizen-Sama?" Ichigo asked.
"Ah yes Ichigo, I will get to that in a moment. First I would like to explain my theory on your ability to fire the enhanced Cero. You see blood manipulation is a very common ability for pure blooded Quincy." Aizen answered mysteriously.
The teenager pondered for this a moment before asking in a confused tone, "That is very interesting but what does it have to do with me? After all my dad was a Shinigami so I don't see…" Suddenly the boy's eyes widened in shock before narrowing angrily. "My mother…"
"Yes Ichigo, your mother was a pure blooded Quincy. She was stripped of her powers before her death from the Hollow known as Grand Fisher. I am sorry you had to find out this way, like so many other secrets it was revealed by the wrong person." Aizen finished with a sad tone.
"Thank you for telling me Aizen-Sama, I truly appreciate hearing the truth." Ichigo got up to leave before looking back slightly embarrassed.
"Sorry I almost forgot, the last test?" Ichigo asked.
"Ah yes, this is a test that is a bit more involved than your last one, and it is classified as top secret as of now. You see Ichigo, I have become aware of a plot to steal the Hogyoku. Obviously I am not going to let those in question simply take the key to our potential victory so I will be 'allowing' them to take a fake. From there I want to find out exactly who is behind this plot. The Arrancar in question are not brave or strong enough to have planned this by themselves. Until we know more everyone, except for us two, is a suspect, this includes the Espada, and all Shinigami." Aizen paused allowing his statement to sink in with his chosen agent.
After a moment or two, the boy nodded his head in understanding.
"I will inform you when the trap is sprung, I also intend to give the false Hogyoku a very distinct Reiatsu signature so that it will be easier to track. The device will be left unguarded tomorrow evening and I imagine that is when it will be taken."
"The problem will be taken care of Aizen-Sama. What do you want to have done once the traitors are revealed?"
"Apprehend those responsible if possible, once we know who is indirectly responsible we will take actions accordingly. Until then simply inform anyone who asks that the test is ongoing and that I will be monitoring your interactions and responses for the duration."
Ichigo nodded, after being dismissed and made his way back to where his friends had gathered, already dreading the idea of deceiving them.
***A/N***
Alright so now there is a baseline for Ichigo's power and like I have said before Ichigo is not all powerful, although he will continue to grow stronger with experience and practice.
Ichigo will achieve Resurreccion eventually, and not to worry it will be a very important event that triggers this.
Stark's Resurreccion without needing Lillynette will be expanded upon further later on, I just haven't found a good time to mention it yet.
Ichigo is able to fire Gran Rey Cero's I figure with his Quincy powers still somewhat there he should have some benefit from them.
As always I hope everyone enjoyed reading this chapter, a lot of new things are brewing on the horizon and I hope everyone enjoys the twists and turns that will soon take place.
