Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach, Kubo Tite does. However, Original Characters belong to me.
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Monstrous white jaws opened right in front of her and all Rukia did was smirk. This was a simple-minded Hollow and could do down easily. She pressed her foot down, launching herself off the telephone pole and pulled her zanpaktou out from its sheath. One clean slice and the spider-shaped Hollow immediately lost an arm. It reeled back, its metallic scream echoed and its remaining legs writhed from the sudden pain. Rukia only lightly scoffed at the Hollow's predictable nature, turning herself midair to deliver the final blow. Her katana swung in a wide arc over her head to gain momentum.
All of a sudden, her violet eyes went wide and her skin turned ghostly pale. Sode no Shirayuki's scream echoed through her mind as she saw the vision play out. Rukia began shaking uncontrollably as the arachnid Hollow closed the space between them.
"Getsuga Tenshou!"
A black arc of spiritual power ripped through the air, splitting the Hollow down its center. Cracks formed on the skeletal mask from the bottom before breaking open. The Hollow's purified body dissipated immediately.
"Rukia!" Ichigo quickly jumped up to her level with a burst of shunpo. "What the hell happened? You just froze!"
He shut his mouth when he saw the look on her face. Her normally vibrant eyes were glazed over in a trance, trembling as they lost focus on this reality. "Rukia?" Ichigo said firmly, grasping her shoulders.
"Rukia?! What's wrong? What happened?" He shook her until her mouth parted to speak.
"Too late," she whispered. "We were too late."
"What are you talking abou—" Ichigo's voice cut out when he was suddenly hit with a shockwave of reiatsu so massive it threatened to weaken his knees. His breathing went heavy as the bands of spiritual power hammered his body over and over.
This wasn't Shinigami. This wasn't Hollow or even Arrancar.
This was something else.
'Someone new to play with, King,' the Hollow inside Ichigo cackled.
'You stay out of this,' he hissed back.
"Ichigo?" Rukia's voice sounded far away and weak. Her eyes slowly drifted back into focus, promptly filling with tears. Her bottom lip began to quiver.
"The Hollow won."
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Cursing under his breath, Byakuya picked himself up to take a battle stance. He could hardly believe what he was seeing.
"Tch, I thought that bitch would never die," the Hollow figure scoffed. It was disturbing to watch the face of his wife take on the horrific form. "Do you have any fucking clue how long I've been stuck in that goddamned body?"
"I do not need to hear your petty words, Hollow." Byakuya sneered and kept a hand on the hilt of his zanpaktou.
The female Hollow let out a low whistle. "Damn, Bya-kun, you really are an arrogant prick."
"How dare you address me with such a lowly attitude," the noble's grey eyes narrowed into slits. His grip around Senbonzakura tightened until his knuckles turned white. She called out to him to be unsheathed but he kept her sealed. "We are not comrades. How is it that you know my name?"
"I know everything about you, darling." The creature eyed him up and down, taking her time to linger over certain parts of his body. "And I do mean everything."
Byakuya broke eye contact with her, turning his head to the side in disgust. The parasitic Hollow had imprinted to Mariko's spirit, taking on her physical likeness and memories. As the ninth Espada, Aaroniero Arruruerie, had demonstrated in his battle against Rukia, this being was prepared to use every possible memory it had stolen to bait him into a trap. It was a gross invasion of his privacy.
"You do not have the right, Hollow."
The figure threw her head back with a laugh. Half of her mouth was visible from the skull mask and filled with razor-sharp teeth. "Hollow?" she said between chuckles. "What makes you think I'm a mere Hollow?"
The metallic ripping sound that was distinctly sonído filled Byakuya's ears as the woman transported herself within a few feet from where he was standing. Her grin widened when she saw the shock written across Byakuya's face.
"It's taken twenty years, but I'm not a simple Hollow anymore."
A solid foot instantly connected to Byakuya's chest, throwing him back a few yards. He coughed and shook his head out of a trance. In the face of his wife, he had let his guard down and given an opportunity for the monster to attack. But it seemed this thing didn't want to kill him just yet—she was only toying with him.
"I was a lowly Gillian when I found her," the Hollow started, taking slow steps forward. "Just a little girl, crying about some crap having to do with her dad. Pathetic, really. But her blood smelled so good I just had to have a taste.
"Imagine my surprise when I got stuck inside that moral shell. Ironic—really—when my trap turned into a road to evolution. So I ate…and ate…and gorged myself on her soul."
Byakuya got to his feet and unsheathed his zanpaktou. He pointed it out towards the approaching woman with a steady hand. His former wife's blue and black eye smirked at him.
"I guess I have that bitch to thank for helping me turn into a Vasto Lorde. But do you wanna know the real kicker, Bya-kun?" The tearing sound of sonído cut through thunder as she appeared just inches from the side of his face. Her sunken eyes drifted to his cold gaze with a devious cringe.
"You're the one who set me free," she grinned. "Being around your power is what killed her in the end."
The mask covered side of the Vasto Lorde's face pointed towards Byakuya, and the violet eye socket began to glow even brighter. A beam formed and a powerful lilac tinted cero burst through. In that instant, Byakuya used the fastest shunpo he knew to get away from the blast, leaving an afterimage of himself in the wake. As the light dissipated, the Vasto Lorde let out a pout.
"Aw, I missed you?" She jutted her bottom lip out, and then suddenly curled up into a twisted smile. "Well, at least I got somebody."
Something wet and warm hit Byakuya's face, so he brought a hand up to wipe it off. He pulled his fingers away from his cheek, clad with dark blood. He turned to his side and his eyes went wide.
"Rukia!"
His sister's name tore out from his lips with more ferocity than he ever thought possible. The petite Shinigami gasped and clutched her shoulder, pressing down hard against the gaping hole. Her tiny, pale hand was quickly becoming painted with the sticky red liquid. Her breathing was ragged and she coughed, a trickle of blood seeping out from the corner of her mouth. A blur of orange hair was quickly by her side and swept an arm around her crumbling frame.
"I'm going to kill that thing," Ichigo growled, his face flushing with anger. He motioned to press forward, but Rukia reached up and caught his robes by the collar.
"Don't," she said unevenly. "She's not dead yet."
"What do you mean?" Byakuya spoke firmly.
"Mariko…she's not dead yet. I can feel her." Rukia locked her eyes with her brother. "Save her. I know you can, Nii-sama."
Byakuya thinned his lips, but nodded sharply. He left Rukia in the care of Ichigo, determined to set things right. If it was true, his power had overwhelmed Mariko's fragile body, ultimately weakening her physical state. If he was the one who killed her in the end then he was the one who would bring her back.
"Are you finally ready for me, Bya-kun?" the Vasto Lorde taunted.
She started laughing and advanced her steps. Byakuya flash-stepped to meet her with Senbonzakura drawn at the defense and his other hand balled with a blue orb. The hollow smoothly evaded the kidou strike and took an offensive route. She spun and kicked in the air, effectively using a graceful form of martial arts to move her lithe body. Byakuya cast spell after spell, attempting to incapacitate the Hollow and only using his sword to block kicks.
"Bakudo number Sixty-One: Rikujokoro!" he chanted.
Six thin, wide rods of light formed and shot towards the Hollow's midsection. The Vasto Lorde flashed a cocky grin before her face was hidden under a cocoon of white. The beams of light collided with the protective shell and burst apart.
Byakuya's brows furrowed. It seemed that her massive wings served a purpose other than making a mockery of his Bankai. They could move quickly and act as a barrier for protection.
"Your pesky Demon Arts won't work on me." Her wings stretched out and pumped once, sending a wave of reiatsu towards him. "Stop retreating and let's really fight! You haven't even released your zanpaktou yet!"
"I will not fight you," he took a strong stance.
"Then I'll just kill you," she smirked. "That'll slap that arrogant look off your pretty face."
"You are the arrogant one, Hollow."
"Stop calling me 'Hollow,' " her grin dropped. "I'm better than those weaklings."
"Better?" Byakuya arched a brow. "You don't even have a zanpaktou."
"Heh," she scoffed, "whoever said I use one?"
Byakuya felt his eyes narrow with discomfort. All of the Arrancar they had faced in the Winter War were able to manifest swords similar to a Shinigami's zanpaktou. The released weapon morphed the being into a shred of their previous Hollow form, enhancing their powers. But this one was different. It spent years squatting inside a human form, absorbing her soul and the aura left over from Rukia and himself. Somehow it had evolved, taking on its own form in a twisted homage to its creator.
"I'll show you mine if you show me yours," she teased, winking her visible eye. The Vasto Lorde reached up behind her head and grabbed on to the arc that connected her wings.
"Separate, Anillo del Hielo."
The arc cracked and beams of light burst behind her head, silhouetting the woman into an ironic form of an angel. As she pulled, the arc formed into a full circle, sparkling with white and lilac jagged edges. She twirled the ring around her wrist before cupping the inside of it with an open palm. She took a wider stance, bringing her other hand to the inner circle to support its frame.
"Do you see now?" The corner of her mouth perked up, revealing her sharp fangs. "I have no use for a simple zanpaktou."
She moved her arm, spinning the ring around a wrist. "Huelga," she chanted, releasing the circle. It launched forward but stopped short when she caught the edge of it with her hand. A ghost image of the ring hurtled towards Byakuya and he quickly dodged. The edge of his robes got caught in its wake, promptly turning into ice. Frozen shards began to creep up the clothing, so he brought Senbonzakura down and sliced part of his garment off.
"That was just a warning," the Vasto Lorde turned her nose up.
The next thing Byakuya saw was the circular blade heading towards one of his limbs. He countered, pushing back against surprisingly strong ring. Ice particles shattered off the ring, melting upon contact with the repressed reiatsu seeping out from his sword. Another strike rapidly followed as the Hollow side-stepped and swung the blade ring up from the ground. They fought in a deadlock of her strikes and his counters, and the creature was becoming noticeably more irritated the further this carried out.
"Release your zanpaktou!"
"I refuse."
"Fine!" she shouted. "If you won't fight me on your will alone, then I'll just have to make you." The monster shifted her stance and fired another Huelga towards the fallen body of Rukia.
"Scatter, Senbonzakura!" Byakuya cried out, promptly pointing his hilt where Rukia and Ichigo were resting. A multitude of pink blades swung into action, racing to protect his sister.
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Please READ & REVIEW!
Sorry this chapter came a little late...you can blame it on my parents coming into town to visit.
Anyway, the battle will continue soon since this was posted later than I intended. :-D
Thanks again to smexy beast JasoTheArtisan for proof-reading.
Glossary of Terms:
Anillo del Hielo = Ring of Ice
Huelga = Strike