A/N: This chapter should have been done five days ago, but I put off writing the fight scene until today. On a positive note, it describes Mitsuki's resurrección. I might try to draw it one of these days, but the description is pretty good. So I hope you all enjoy, and a huge thanks to those who reviewed! You making this story worth writing.
Wandering the cool sands outside Las Noches, Mitsuki tried unsuccessfully to recall how she'd came to be here. The thoughts, of course, were useless, but there wasn't much else to do at the present time. This place was unnervingly boring.
With her sword, she cut down another little crystalline tree before sitting on a large, flat rock. Everything, as well as everyone, here was so cold and lifeless. Things were always dark and even the artificial sunlight in the dome felt somewhat voided. No one seemed to have much of a personality either, accept for that blue haired guy. However, his blatant disrespect helped earn him a spot on her shit list. That pale fellow was kind of fun, though. Trying to get a rise out of him had been entertaining as hell. As interesting as her day had began, she was severely disappointed with how uneventful it was turning out to be.
Aizen had suggested something about taking a Fracción for herself. It could help solve her boredom issue since they would be hers to command, but she found the whole practice pointless. When it came down to it she'd end up doing everything herself anyway since any Fracción she might have would be too weak to do the job. No, she'd just have to find some way to entertain herself.
A smile came to her face as an idea took shape. Like a wave, she flared her reiatsu, curious as to who might feel it and come running. Within minutes, the 6th Espada appeared in front of her.
"I figured you'd be the one to show up," Mitsuki said unsurprised.
"Shut up and raise your weapon, woman."
"I see," she calmly retorted, drawing circles in the sand with the tip of her sword, "you're quite eager to fight me so soon."
The blued haired Espada snorted, "I thought at one point you were stronger than Ulquiorra, but you couldn't even kill him. Now that I have my full strength back, I highly doubt you'll beat me, despite what Aizen seems to think. A pathetic, weak woman like you doesn't deserve the title of 5th Espada."
Mitsuki sighed, not completely sure what he was talking about, "Fighting is so bothersome, but I suppose there isn't anything else for me to do right now. Can we at least make it interesting?"
"You don't think I'm interesting enough to fight?"
She shook her head, "If there's something worth winning, then it might be worth my time to battle you."
"How about your life?" he asked, growling at her.
Again she sighed, "My life is meaningless; I do not fear losing it. I was thinking something more fun." Although irritated, he did raise an eyebrow to her comment. "You see, Grimmjow, if you win I'll be dead, so you'll have gotten what you want. However, your death is of no use to me. If I beat you, and decide to let you live, I want something in return. If I win, I want you to serve under me for, lets say, a week."
"Are you kidding?" he nearly laughed. "That's what Fracción are for."
"I do not wish for a true Fracción, they are too weak, but you might be strong enough to be of some use to me. You might as well accept my terms unless you've lost all confidence in your abilities."
She made a good point. He had no intention of losing to her. Once he rid the world of her, he'd continue on to the next obstacle in his path. Nothing was going to stop him from becoming the strongest.
"Whatever," he huffed, "it won't matter either way because you'll be dead when this is over. If placing a wager will make you fight then I'll agree to it. Now let's get on with it."
"As you wish," she spoke, jumping to her feet. Although she contemplated it, she refrained from administering the first blow. She could have put enough power behind it to end this immediately, but then she wouldn't get to have any fun with it. Instead she remained in place while the blood hungry Espada circled her as if she were his prey.
The grace and beauty of his movements was surprising to her. He literally stalked her like an animal. Too bad he didn't realize how dangerous of an animal she was.
When he finally attacked, she caught his blade with her bare hand. She thought about tearing the sword from his grip, but once again that would end things too soon. Effortlessly, she tossed him to the side.
With a growl, he landed on his feet and charged at her again. This time she blocked his attacks with her own blade, not that she needed to, but she didn't want things to get boring. She even went as far as to counter attack so looked like she was trying.
"If you're planning to beat me, you'll have to get more serious. These weak attacks will get you nowhere," she taunted him.
He growled in response, "I was just testing the waters, now I'm going to destroy you for real."
This time, however, he kept his distance, choosing to fire a cero at her instead. Even though it was a fairly powerful attack, she could have absorbed it or taken the impact with little damage, but she decided to use her speed to dodge it this time. Her options were very open on how to proceed. If she continued to dodge his attacks, he would use up his energy and tire out; if she took the effort to attack, she could finish him in one blow. Neither of those sounded like much fun though, she'd much rather toy with him a while. Not only that, but she was curious as to what his resurrección looked like.
Appearing behind him, she called out, "Not even close. What did I tell you about getting serious? Are we having a fight here, or a tea party?"
Struggling to catch his breath, Grimmjow was utterly pissed. He should have been able to crush her like the pest she was, yet his attacks did little to damage her in anyway. At this rate, he'd have to release his resurrección to defeat her. Admitting it only to himself, he confessed she was stronger than he'd given her credit for.
"Is that the best you've got?" she asked, breaking him from his thoughts.
"Far from it," he responded, preparing to release his powers. "Grind, Pantera!"
Mitsuki watched as his body distorted into that which reminded her of a great white cat. His hair had lengthened considerably and he looked much closer to what a hollow should look like. Although his resurrección was intriguing, she wouldn't go as far as to say it was incredible by any means.
"Pantera, huh? So, you're just a big kitty cat then?" she asked mockingly.
In irritation, Grimmjow fired a number of explosive darts at her. Despite their power, they only singed the exposed skin on her hands, shoulders, and chin, causing no real damage.
She dusted herself off, still smiling wickedly. "Now we're getting somewhere. I'll make one more deal with you, Grimmjow. If you can manage to draw blood from me, I will show you my resurrección."
That was all the motivation he needed. Revealing his most powerful attack was something he wanted to avoid, but if it meant he could fight her at her strongest then he'd do it. The psychotic smile returned to his lips as his claws began to glow and extend.
"What is this?" Mitsuki asked curiously.
"This is my greatest technique, Desgarrón. This is what I'll use to tear you apart."
Mitsuki stifled a chuckle as she braced for the impact of his attack. There was no way his attack could kill her, but he seemed to think it was powerful enough to do some damage. She could easily avoid any possibility of that simply by dodging the attack, but she wanted to know how powerful it really was, so she decided to take the hit full force. The claws of solidified energy tore across her chest and stomach, ripping through both cloth and skin. Although the cuts weren't terribly deep, blood from them soaked her tattered white uniform. On her left side the cloth had fallen away leaving her breast exposed.
Grimmjow stared at her in disbelief. He was shocked she was still standing after that. She wiped the splattered blood from her chin and smiled at him.
"That was a rather powerful attack after all," she commented, lacing her fingers around the hilt of her sword. "I suppose I had better keep my word to you, though. You did manage to draw blood after all."
The 6th Espada's surprised expression molded into a feral grin. Even if he couldn't beat her, he would be the very first to see her resurrección. He watched as she raised her sword in front of her and spoke the release command.
"Breathe, Haku Ryū."
In a flash of white light she emerged anew. White and red scale armor covered her arms, legs, waist, and chest, while sharp talons extended from her hands and feet. A helmet depicting the likeness of a dragon's face adorned her head with the bottom jaw protecting her neck. Her long hair reached nearly to the ground, cascading between a set of large white wings that rose from her back, and a long tail circled out to rest on the ground near her feet.
Grimmjow stared in awe at her new form. It was unlike anything he'd ever seen from the other Espada. She was certainly one of a kind.
"Is that form as powerful as looks or is it just for show?" he asked, trying to agitate her.
Of course it was useless, she only laughed at him again. "Oh, there's power behind it. I'll demonstrate for you."
That fast, she appeared behind him and threw him to the ground. Pinning him there, she embedded her talons in his chest. It wasn't deep enough to cause life threatening damage, but she didn't need it to.
Although it was painful, Grimmjow had expected more from her. Smiling, he asked her, "Is that the best you got, woman?"
"You don't feel any different?" she said, smiling back.
The grin faded from his face as he understood what she meant. His reiatsu had dropped significantly and continued to plummet.
"What are you doing to me?" he demanded from her, in a state of near panic.
"That's what Haku Ryū does. It absorbs my opponent's energy so I can use it for my own attacks. But don't worry, I won't actually attack you. You're no good to me dead. When I'm done here you won't be able to move anyway."
"Damn you," he choked out, unable to fend her off.
The second he lost consciousness she retracted her talons. She debated leaving him there to make a point, but decided against it. If she wanted him at full health for the next week, she'd have to replenish his reiatsu which would be best done in Las Noches. Effortlessly, she lifted him and carried him back to his room, ignoring the stares of those she walked past. It would be an interesting week for sure.