"Cero" Jutsu/Hollow Techniques/ Demon talk.
'Cero' Thought
"Cero" Regular Speaking
'Cero' Flashback thoughts.
"Cero" Flashback Jutsu/Hollow Techniques/ Demon Talk.
...Betrayer they called me... (for when a character thinks back to a previous event. A flashback but not quite in need of its own section.)
XxxXxxXxxXxxX
Ulquiorra didn't have to wait as long as he thought as barely an hour later he sensed someone approaching the bridge. From the rate of approach and how silent the individual was moving, Ulquiorra was able to gather that whoever it was, was trying to remain concealed, but not from him.
After a moment longer the new arrival stepped out into view and continued to walk towards the bridge. The identity of the Spy was unknown still as the figure was obscured by a black hooded cloak.
"Sasori-sama?"
Ulquiorra made as if he were ignoring the cloaked human, standing facing the side of the bridge and looking at the canyon below. While appearing as if to ignore the presence of the spy, Ulquiorra cast out and examined his Pesquisa one last time. And located the other presence that was trying to hide itself from him.
Orochimaru was here.
"Uh, Sasori-sama?" The spy repeated.
"Be silent. I am sure Sasori did not give you such liberties to speak." Ulquiorra said crisply, drawing on his time in Hueco Mundo to play his role. "You have come here alone?"
The spy took a hesitant step back. "Um yes. I-I wasn't followed. Y-you are not Sasori-sama?"
Ulquiorra turned his head to the side to glance at the spy and channeled a burst or Reiatsu to his eyes, making them glow eerily under the shadow of his hat. "No I am not. Sasori has been neutralized. I am his superior and have taken over control of his network. You may address me as Muerte-sama. Nothing more nothing less. Am I understood?"
The Spy froze on the spot at the complete lack of emotion in the voice of Sasori's 'superior' and quickly nodded before bowing respectfully. "O-of course Muerte-sama. M-may I know how Sasori was killed?"
"No you may not. A human such as yourself does not possess the complexity and understanding to comprehend the death of an Akatsuki." Ulquiorra denied. "Now. You will make your report to me now. Reveal yourself."
"O-of course!" The Spy quickly snapped his hands up to the hood covering his head and removed it, apparently fearful of what would happen should he take longer than 'Muerte' preferred.
Underneath the hood was the face of a man in his mid twenties with long white hair tied back and a pair of round rimmed glasses.
Ulquiorra knew this man. Yakushi Kabuto.
"Now. You will answer my questions." Ulquiorra stated with the same empty tone. "Tell me of the recent activities of Orochimaru."
Kabuto nodded. "Orochimaru has been spending most of his time trying to perfect his Immortality jutsu. He still desires an Uchiha body but with the failure of Sasuke's arrival he has yet to complete that goal."
Ulquiorra nodded, surprised that Sasuke hadn't abandoned Konoha after all to go to Orochimaru. "Where is he located currently?" This he already knew. Orochimaru was located precisely two hundred feet behind Kabuto inside a tree.
"Currently there is a base set up east of this two hundred miles south-east of this location. The front entrance is disguised as a large boulder with a dead tree leaning next to it." Kabuto answered, sounding very sure of himself.
For Ulquiorra that meant that either Kabuto was truly ignorant that he had been followed, or he was a brilliant liar.
Most likely the latter.
Ulquiorra nodded nonetheless and looked away from Kabuto, pretending to think. Perhaps it was now time to call Orochimaru out and get this confrontation underway.
"One last question Yakushi Kabuto." Ulquiorra began slowly, stepping back from the side railing and walking over to the middle of the bridge slowly as if thinking. "Would you like to call your master Orochimaru out. He must be growing impatient, hiding over there."
Kabuto's eyes widened and he turned around to look to where Orochimaru was hiding, trying to figure out what he had done wrong that had gotten him caught out.
"Kukuku, very good. It seems my old friends have found good talent Muerte." Came Orochimaru's mocking voice as he melted out of his tree and approached the two. "Tell me, when did you notice?"
"Interesting. You speak as if you believe that you were able to hide yourself from me at all." Ulquiorra spoke, allowing his eyes to glow once more. "Such arrogance is unbecoming of a human such as you."
Orochimaru hesitated slightly in his approach at that. Who was this man to behave as if were superior to all others. Had the Akatsuki hired another Itachi? Recovering himself quickly Orochimaru smirked. "Well at any rate, perhaps you should call out the two who have accompanied you. You speak of incompetence, it would appear that my old friends have lost their touch."
Ulquiorra pulled his right arm out and clicked his fingers in the air before returning his arm to his pocket. In a flash Rock Lee, Kiba and Akamaru shot out of their hiding spots and came to stand behind Ulquiorra.
"I believe you know of Inuzuka Kiba, his partner Akamaru and Rock Lee of Konoha." Ulquiorra introduced.
At the sight of the two Konoha headbands, Orochimaru felt a quiver of unease flit through his body. What were Konoha Shinobi doing with an Akatsuki Operative?
"You appear confused." Ulquiorra noted, looking at Orochimaru as the Snake Sannin looked at Kiba and Lee with an uneasy frown. "Does this event come as a shock?"
"What is the meaning of this?" Orochimaru snapped, preparing for a fight as he could see no easy way out of this. Two Konoha ninja who were known for their speed and Taijutsu and an unknown Akatsuki element. This was not something he had planned for.
"The idea is simple Orochimaru." Ulquiorra said, removing his hands from his pockets and sliding them down the sleeves. "You are a thorn in the sides of both the Akatsuki and Konoha. It has been the decision of Leader-sama and the Konoha Council that an alliance is beneficial. You should feel proud. It is because of you alone that the Akatsuki and Konoha have allied."
"YOSH! Let us destroy this un-youthful villain!" Lee shouted, further cementing the concept into Orochimaru's skull.
Orochimaru at this point was unnerved to the max. An alliance between Konoha and the Akatsuki, how could he have not seen this coming? It was then that Orochimaru made his decision.
"Futon: Daitoppa!" (Wind Style: Great Breakthrough)
Orochimaru cast the Jutsu at an impossible speed and sent out a gaze so strong that it tore off Ulquiorra's hat and tore it to shreds before blowing the three back a good hundred feet.
"HA! It doesn't matter if you join forces with all of creation! I will kill you all!" Orochimaru screamed as he shot forward towards 'Muerte', drawing his Sword of Kusanagi as he moved.
Ulquiorra's eyes never left the pale skinned Sannin as he was blown back. Finally he tore his eyes away and looked over to Kiba and Lee, who had not 'chosen' to be blown back. "I will deal with Orochimaru, Kabuto is yours. Be warned, he uses medical ninjutsu so keep physical contact to a minimum."
The two nodded and flipped themselves around and landed feet first against a tree before pushing off and launching themselves past Orochimaru and to Kabuto who was momentarily frozen in shock.
As the two moved towards their target, Ulquiorra raised his hand and caught Kusanagi's blade as it came swinging at him to take off his head. He stopped the blade in its path but still the Espada's eyes widened when he felt the minute pain as it sliced through his Heirro and an inch into his hand.
Ulquiorra slapped the blade away and brought his leg up and delivered a strong kick into Orochimaru's stomach, sending the Sannin flying away and giving him the chance to examine his hand.
"Interesting." He muttered as he looked at the cut heal quickly. "It would seem that the members of the Akatsuki past and present possess the ability to penetrate my Heirro."
With that, Ulquiorra wiped the blood from his hand and reached into his cloak and grasped his Zanpakuto.
"Kukuku, what's the matter Muerte-kun?" Orochimaru sneered. "you look surprised. Does that tough skin of yours count as your power?"
Ulquiorra didn't answer, instead staring at Orochimaru with empty green catlike eyes.
"Well don't feel bad. I am just the worst opponent for you. The Sword of Kusanagi is the ultimate blade and can cut through anything." Orochimaru gloated, raising the Katana into an offensive position.
"Interesting." Ulquiorra noted as he looked at the gloating Sannin. "A single cut and you believe that you have already won."
The Espada drew his blade out from within his cloak and stabbed it into the ground in front of him, causing the earth to buckle and rupture from the force.
"Come, let us discover how Orochimaru is capable of defeating Muerte." Ulquiorra spoke, releasing the sword and raising a finger to point at the Snake Sannin, a ball of green energy growing at its tip.
"Cero."
The instant Orochimaru had seen the growing ball of energy at 'Muerte's' fingertip, the Sannin had sensed the darkness and power within it.
"Shit." he muttered as he quickly bit his finger and flashed through a short chain of hand seals. He knew that if he took a direct hit from whatever the Akatsuki man was planning he would not survive. "Kuchiyose no jutsu: Rashomon." (Summoning Jutsu.)
As soon as Orochimaru slammed his palm into the ground a seal of intricate writing flowed out around it and with an explosion of smoke and debris a colossal gate bearing a demonic visage rose from the ground in front of the Sannin. And not a moment too soon. The instant the Rashomon rose to its full height, Ulquiorra fired his Cero. The ensuing explosion was massive. The beam of green energy slammed into the JUTSU, a gate boasted for its ability to stop any and all attacks. And the Rashomon vaporized like a snowflake in Hell. Luckily for Orochimaru the gate served its purpose enough as the Cero had been deflected enough so that it blasted by him, missing by at least two feet.
The Snake Sannin was wide eyed and fearful when the dust and debris finally cleared and he saw the level of damage that had 'Muerte's' jutsu had done. The Snake Sannin had never seen anything so destructive in his entire life save the devastation he had witnessed at the hands of the Biju during his time with the Akatsuki. For a human to wield this power, it was unreal.
I must have it.
However it would seem that the odd looking Muerte would not allow such donations as the pale skinned Akatsuki operative turned to face Orochimaru once more, holding his sword out lazily, a stance that infuriated the Sannin. The arrogance of this enemy, Muerte obviously didn't consider him a threat.
A fatal error.
Orochimaru grit his teeth in outrage and sent his hands through not one but two chains of hand seals faster than anyone could blink. In the span of a millisecond between them, the Sannin fired off a human sized fireball at Muerte and cast the Kirigakure no jutsu blanketing the immediate area and the surrounding area up to a hundred feet in radius around the two with a mist made of his Chakra.
Ulquiorra swept his Katana in an upward slice as the fireball came at him, casting the large mass of flames cleanly in half so that it roared past either side of him. He didn't even blink as the fireball went past him, his gaze firmly attached to Orochimaru even though he was unable to see him until the fire had moved passed him, once his vision was clear he let out a disappointed sigh when he saw Orochimaru still standing in the same position as before, a cocky smirk in place. The fool hadn't even used the opportunity to hide let alone attack. All he had done was implement a pitiful mist that covered a wide area. The Espada shook his head in disappointment before flashing out of sight and stepping behind Orochimaru before swiftly cutting the once feared Sannin clean in half at the stomach. The look of shock on Orochimaru's face was priceless. Until the Sannin's body turned brown and splashed to the floor as a large puddle of mud
Ulquiorra cursed as the simplicity of the tactic hit him. When he felt the pulses of two chakra fueled jutsu being released from Orochimaru he had believed that it simply meant the Sannin had fired a fireball at him before using the Kirigakure no jutsu, the thought that the Sannin had a clone on stand by for substitution. Combined with the mist that had blanketed the area, he could no longer sense where Orochimaru was as it felt like he was everywhere at once thanks to the mass of his chakra that was in the mist itself.
"What's the matter Muerte?" The Snake Sannin's voice hissed around him, taunting him. "Surely you cannot be defeated by a trick as simple as this? I am sure that your superiors will be quite displeased to learn that you fell for a trick when those Konoha children that came with you could have seen through it."
Ulquiorra's eyes narrowed a fraction and he turned his head to look to where Kiba and Lee should be, hopefully still alive in fighting with that annoying medic, Kabuto.
It felt odd, that sensation. Concern. He actually felt concern to the safety of the two former Konoha ninja. He seemed to be feeling a lot of strange emotions. Hatred, anger, joy, sadness, suffering, hope, concern. Things that he had thought long since abandoned.
"Oh dear, it would seem that your allies cannot match up to my subordinate. Such a shame." Orochimaru hissed around the 'Akatsuki Operative'. "no matter, they will die shortly and then you and I can conclude this silly business and be on our way."
"Don't you agree?"
Ulquiorra looked at the sudden appearance of Orochimaru out of the corner of his eye. The Snake Sannin having suddenly appeared behind him, sword poised to strike.
"Bala."
That one word caused untold pain for the Sannin. Ulquiorra's hand was pressed against the Sannin's chest, covered in a halo of light green energy. It would seem that the Espada had anticipated the attack.
Orochimaru's eyes widened in pain as the strange blast hit him square in the chest and sent him flying uncontrollably through the air, ricocheting off of several trees before smashing into the ground heavily.
"B-bastard..."
Ulquiorra turned around casually and looked over to where Orochimaru was sprawled. The Snake Sannin was heaving himself up, one of his arms missing, torn off most likely during his pinball game with the surrounding flora. In addition to the missing limb, Orochimaru's shirt was in tatters and his chest black from the intense burning the Bala had inflicted upon him. But he was alive nonetheless.
"You think you can kill me." Orochimaru gasped as he coughed and spat out a mouthful of blood and bile. "You are an infant before the power of the Snake."
The veteran shinobi's mouth stretched to an impossible size and Ulquiorra raised an eyebrow as Orochimaru started to dry retch and in the midst of a torrent of pile and saliva, a copy of the Sannin was vomited from his mouth.
Ulquiorra didn't react or move as the original form of Orochimaru faded black and burnt into ash as the new form of the Snake Sannin rose to his feet and wiped away the fluid from his body. This Orochimaru was uninjured and perfectly healthy. Although his hygiene was in question.
"Kukuku, something the matter Muerte?" Orochimaru sneered, retrieving his katana and smirking at Ulquiorra who had yet to press the attack further. "As you put it, do you really think that you've won after such a mundane attack?"
"Perhaps I should remedy this." Ulquiorra mused before turning to face Orochimaru properly. He took a step towards the Sannin before blurring out of sight.
Orochimaru's eyes widened once more, a common event in his fight with this Akatsuki Operative and quickly raised his Kusanagi sword and parried the strike that came from behind him, Ulquiorra's swing aiming to lop his head off. The pale skinned Shinobi grit his teeth as he struggled to keep Muerte's blade away from his body. Infant or not it seemed that this one possessed incredible strength,
Despite this situation, Orochimaru grinned. "Aren't you a spry little thing. I shall very much enjoy the opportunity to experiment on you."
With that Orochimaru opened his mouth wide again and a brown snake slithered out from his throat and hissed at Ulquiorra. The Espada made to withdraw his blade and use another Sonido and attack from the rear again when Orochimaru lashed out with his free hand and grabbed Ulquiorra by the front of his Akatsuki Cloak, holding him close. Before Ulquiorra could rip off Orochimaru's hand and bitch slap the pretentious human to oblivion the snake shot forward and clamped down on his throat, sharp fangs piercing his skin.
Ulquiorra's eyes widened a fraction and he felt the bite and angled his blade and decapitated the snake before delivering a bone crushing back hand to Orochimaru's hand and sending him flying, again.
With the crafty Sannin now at a safe distance, Ulquiorra reached up and pressed a hand up to his throat where he had just been bitten.
"How is this possible?" He muttered, removing his hand to look at the two dots of blood staining his hand from the bite mark. "My Heirro should have stopped that creature in its tracks."
"Kukuku, you do seem to be underestimating me quite a lot today Muerte." Orochimaru's now completely irritating voice called out.
Ulquiorra turned his head to look at the Sannin, ignoring the fact that his vision was starting to slowly blur.
"That snake that bit you, is the result of one of my more fruitful experiments. It's bite was powerful enough to penetrate three inches of solid steel and packs enough venom to send even a Biju into cardiac arrest."
Ulquiorra cursed under his breath and stabbed his Zanpakuto into the ground before reaching up and removing the Akatsuki cloak, revealing the Espada uniform he wore underneath. "Then it seems I have little time to waste. Hold still, the more you resist, the longer your despair."
Orochimaru paled, how this was possible would forever remain a mystery, as Ulquiorra picked up his blade and flared his Reiatsu, bringing down an entire world of despair and killer intent upon the veteran Shinobi. The full power of the Fourth Espada coming to life before Orochimaru.
"Enclose, Murcielago."
It was palpable, the power that erupted from the Espada, obscuring him from view in a blanket of black and green Reiatsu.
Orochimaru was frozen in the most pure and unrestrained moment of fear he had ever encountered. Nothing came close to this moment, not his loss to Hanzo the Salamander with his former teammates, nor his fight with his Sensei when the old man had sealed his arms and threatened to end his aspirations.
To make matters worse for the Sannin, the world itself seemed to reflect his feelings as the sky darkened and the heavens rained darkness itself.
"Come Orochimaru, Traitor Sannin. Face your death."
The Sannin swallowed and looked to the source of the voice and felt a cold sweat form on his forehead at the sight before him.
Muerte's form had changed. His white clothing, revealed after he tossed away his Akatsuki cloak now resembled a dress and the helmet decoration on his head was changed, now covering the top completely. The most frightening changes to the strange individuals form was a pair of large bat like wings jutting from his back and a fist sized hole in the middle of Muerte's chest.
As Ulquiorra's Espada coat had been closed, Orochimaru had no idea that the hole that dominated his chest was always there.
"Do not falter, do not hesitate for an instant." Ulquiorra held out a hand and a long spear of solidified green Reiatsu appeared in his grasp.
Ulquiorra gave the spear a testing flourish, spinning it around with his fingers as he looked at Orochimaru with a blank stare, trying to ignore the fact that his vision had now receded to something akin of tunnel vision. He could only see what he was focused on, everything else was an blur of white and black. And to make matters worse, whatever substance that snake had injected him with, he was quickly loosing feeling in his extremities and hearing in his right ear was now gone.
Orochimaru swallowed his fear and growled angrily to regain his courage. He would not be brought low by this one. He had yet to achieve his dream of immortality and mastering the worlds jutsu.
"Cero Oscuras."
Orochimaru swore and bit his fingers and flashed through a chain of hand seals like his life depended on it, because, well the Sannin was fully aware that it did.
"Kuchiyose: Sanju Rashomon!"
Like the jutsu he first used to stop Ulquiorra's initial Cero at the beginning of the battle the Gates exploded from the ground, three this time shot out of the ground and rose up over two hundred feet in the air, and stood in between Orochimaru and Ulquiorra's latest offensive.
Orochimaru watched helplessly as his entire existence lit up into nothingness. White was all he could see and described the pain he felt as the black and green lined blast vaporized the first two gates before being deflected by the third gate just enough so that Orochimaru wasn't completely destroyed.
But the man certainly wished he had been.
When the dust and debris cleared from Ulquiorra noticed an Orochimaru fading away into ash while another heaved himself to his feet, mucus dripping from him. Another regeneration.
"I...will not...die...to you...Muerte!" Orochimaru heaved before letting out an enraged scream.
The Sannin flared his own power in a futile attempt to match the output of 'Muerte'. "I WILL NOT MEET MY END WITH YOU!"
Ulquiorra cocked his arm back, rearing the spear of Reiatsu to throw it at the veteran Shinobi when Orochimaru tore his way through not one but two sets of identical hand seals. The same jutsu twice.
"Niju Kuchiyose no jutsu!"
Orochimaru's two hands came down to the ground once more and this time from the twin giant clouds of smoke, instead of defensive gates, two giant double headed snakes, each over two hundred feet long erupted out of nothingness and charged Ulquiorra fearlessly.
The attack lasted a bare second. In that time Ulquiorra tore through the two giant summons like the devil to a snowman not just casting them back to where they had primarily come from, but back in several burnt pieces.
When Ulquiorra turned his focus back to Orochimaru he let out a disappointed sigh. It seemed that the Sannin had more common sense than previously believed. The man was gone, vanished completely leaving not even a scent to trace or footprint to track.
Ulquiorra clicked his tongue in mild annoyance and willed his latest spear away before resealing his Hollow form back into his blade and sheathing it.
It was at that moment, that whatever venom had been injected into his system hit his lungs and heart as he felt his heart skip a couple of beats and he collapsed to his knees, his vision almost completely gone.
He could faintly perceive the image of Haku running up to him, her mouth moving to speak but nothing but white noise spewing forth.
It seemed like an eternity before Ulquiorra's vision started to fade, white spots appearing at the corners of his vision when he felt a numbed jab at his neck, like an insect bite before the agonizing pain that had become his world started to fade and the world slowly came back into focus.
After a few minutes he recovered enough for his vision to come back into focus and his ears to pick up more than the constant droning of white noise.
"Naruto! Come on man snap out of it already!"
Ulquiorra reached up to his face and let out a weak groan. It was Kiba's voice, he was still alive. Did that mean Kabuto had escaped as well. Some mission this had turned out to be. Orochumaru escaping after nearly killing him and being shown up by two humans.
"Dude come on already, Hinata will rip me a new one if you die here." Kiba stepped into Ulquiorra's field of vision and crouched down, a small empty syringe in his right hand.
"What...happened...to me?" He bit out, feeling his Arrancar defenses returning and his wounds healing steadily.
"It looks like you got a good dosage of a venom from one of Orochimaru's pets." Kiba answered looking up to Lee who was equally concerned. "Tsunade-sama cave Lee and I a general antidote for snake venom in case. I guess she never considered the idea of giving you some with those stories we heard of your impenetrable skin."
Ulquiorra frowned at this and forced himself to his feet, ignoring the wave of nausea that threatened to fell him. "i was caught unprepared. It shall not happen again. Although I have failed. What of you two. Kabuto, is he still alive?"
Kiba grinned and shook his head. "Nope, Lee and I sent that four eyed freak packing to the afterlife."
"How? I recall that Kabuto was quite powerful."
Lee spoke up this time drawing the Espada's focus. "Yosh! Kiba and I engaged the most unyouthful Kabuto and he truly was a difficult opponent. As skilled in medical ninjtsu as you and Tsunade-sama believed. Were it not for Kiba's skill with hit and run tactics and my Goken taijutsu we would have failed!"
Ulquiorra looked at Lee for a moment and blinked a few times before turning and looking to Kiba. "Same question. No drama please."
Kiba smirked and steadied Ulquiorra before explaining. Without the youth. "Well the main thing we had going was that that prick Kabuto underestimated us. Severely. It took a bit of doing but Lee and I managed to damage his body enough so that he used up all his Chakra just healing his vital organs. Basically we outlasted him, regardless of how it ended, we were lucky."
Ulquiorra nodded and reached up to his neck where he had been bitten, noting that the twin puncture marks were healed but still unnerved by the effect the injury had caused.
"Well then. It would seem that I have failed and you have succeeded. An odd twist." Ulquiorra mused aloud.
"Do not look down upon yourself Ulquiorra-kun!" Lee shouted, pumping his fist into the air. "Your secondary goal was successful. Orochimaru has survived with the presumption that Konoha and Akatsuki are in league!"
Ulquiorra nodded. "Acceptable."
"Well then, we should return to Tsunade-sama, have you checked out to make sure the poison has been properly neutralized." Kiba suggested, still concerned that his friend might still be pissing on deaths door.
Ulquiorra was about to nod in agreement when something stopped him. An unknown itch to remain. He looked over to Haku who was still looking quite frantic with the recent events, but otherwise unaware of whatever it was that was urging him to not return to home base.
"Return without me." The pale skinned teen finally spoke slowly, tearing his eyes away from Haku to look at his two comrades. "report back to Tsunade-sama of our partial success and while Orochimaru still lives, our ruse was effective. I will remain behind and investigate further into the location of the Snake Sannin's base of operations."
"Whoa there, are you sure that's a good idea. I mean you were almost given a VIP ticket back to the afterlife." Kiba objected. "What if you run into Orochimaru again?"
Ulquiorra shook his head. "Orochimaru will not return to his base. He knows its location has been compromised and will not risk returning should Konoha or the Akatsuki press their 'attack'. He will abandon it completely."
Kiba looked to Lee for a moment before nodding in reluctant agreement. "Alright then, but we're coming with you."
Ulquiorra shook his head. "That is unnecessary. Report back to Tsunade-sama and inform her I will return shortly."
Ulquiorra looked at the two Shinobi sternly, leaving no room for argument, forcing them to concede to his orders.
"Tsk, fine then." Kiba sighed. "But your going to be the one to tell Hinata this after we tell her how close you came to dying."
Lee nodded fervently at this. "Indeed. Hinata-chan is the perfect example of the saying 'speak softly carry a bigger Kunai'."
Ulquiorra raised an eyebrow at this, curious about the respect border lining on fear they had for Hinata.
...And then he recalled how she had behaved in Gaara's office. If she could be that strong while in grieving hope. It would most certainly be frightening to witness her power while in anger.
The Espada shook his head clear of those thoughts almost immediately and looked to the two Shinobi. "Enough stalling. Report back to Tsunade-sama."
With that Ulquiorra turned away from the two and walked away, making for the bridge and retracing Orochimaru and Kabuto's steps from the meeting point back to their lair.
"You have to admire his courage." Kiba commented as he and Lee watched Ulquiorra leave before turning and leaving themselves, towards where base camp was set.
"Indeed." Lee nodded seriously. "We shall drink in his memory after Hinata-chan has killed him twice over."
Kiba nodded and patted Akamaru comfortingly. "Yeah. I'm gunna miss Naruto. We just got him back and he's already doing stupid things like pissing Hinata off."
XxxX
Back with Ulquiorra, who was unaware of the impromptu eulogy that Kiba and Lee were giving him, looked to Haku who was walking by his side, looking at him intently, obviously still concerned about his recent near death experience.
"I am fine Haku." Ulquiorra reassured. "The injury given to me by Orochimaru are healed and the venom neutralized."
"But you could have died!" The woman fussed, looking at the Arrancar with wide fearful eyes. "You couldn't even do anything about it and you would have died all over again if Inuzuka-san hadn't saved you."
Ulquiorra let out a sigh before nodding. "I am aware of this." The teen shifted his gaze to the path ahead, navigating around a termite mound before flicking his eyes back to Haku. "I would like you to explain something to me, if you can."
Haku looked over to Ulquiorra and blinked in surprise. She hadn't thought Naruto would need anything of her. "Yes?"
"Moments ago when Kiba suggested to return and report about the result of this mission, I felt an, urge not to leave, but to remain behind. I cannot fully explain it. It was like a compulsion not to leave yet."
Haku seemed to brighten immensely for some reason and clapped her hands happily. "That's wonderful!"
"You know the reason behind this?"
Haku nodded enthusiastically. "Uh huh! It's Zabuza-sama! He can sense his successor nearby. I remember he told me of this. When a swordsman's successor is nearby the carrier, that's you, will feel a unexplainable desire to linger and find him or her. Since Zabuza-sama cannot speak to you directly that is how he communicates."
Ulquiorra frowned. He did not appreciate the idea of being manipulated in such a manner, regardless of the intentions and results. Even more so it would seem that Tsunade's will for him to command the Seven Swordsmen was coming to fruition.
"But why would Zabuza's successor be found within a facility belonging to Orochimaru?" He asked finally.
Haku shrugged helplessly. "You would have to ask the successor directly Naruto-kun."
The teen nodded slowly before reaching out and wrapping his arm around Haku's waist. Ignoring her squeal of surprise he pulled her in close.
"Hold tight, this will be faster than walking." Was all he offered her before the two vanished in a blur of static.
Over two hundred miles away, and several successive Sonido's, deep underground within Orochimaru's now abandoned lair, the two intruders, Ulquiorra and Haku appeared without any warning, heralded only by the signature sound that came with the Sonido.
Haku stumbled away from Ulquiorra as soon as she was released, appearing quite dizzy from the sudden movement. "I never want to do that again."
Ulquiorra allowed a small smirk before he felt the same pulling that he now knew as Zabuza trying to direct him to the new successor of the Kubikiribocho. At that same instant, the Espada detected that wherever he had appeared within the compound, he and Haku were not alone.
Turning around, Ulquiorra was greeted with a curious sight. A large glass cell filled with water, and a single occupant within.
"So then, who the fuck are you supposed to be?" The man asked, a fanged smirk on the white haired youths face as he looked down to Ulquiorra.
"Ulquiorra Schiffer. And you?"
"Hozuki. Hozuki Suigetsu."
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And there, peeps, you have it. Chapter 14! Numero...uh...fourteen...o...
sorry to those who were expecting to see Orochimaru turned into a snake skin belt or hand bag. I wanted him to survive for now and for Ulquiorra to taste defeat even in the slightest sense. After all, an Espada he may be, but the guy was fighting a freaking Sannin. Come on!
but I killed off Kabuto so that's something. (man I hated that creep.)
if you think my confrontation with Orochimaru was that much of a crap-fest I will re do it to make it more believable if it isn't already. But I hope this works for you.
On a more cheerful note.
You have just met (kind of) the first recruit to the new Seven Swordsmen. Suigetsu!
next chapter will be a bit of an inbetweener. Suigetsu getting recruited and the official return to Uzu.
...and as always...REVIEW!
ps...sorry it took so long to update...I've been playing the Witcher 2: Assassin of Kings.