"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.)
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Suigetsu glowered and tightened his grip on the Zanbato in his hand, holding it so tightly that one could actually hear the sound of the handle of the sword groaning as it was close to giving way under the grip.
His most recent completed mission had been a success. He had returned to Uzu with Ginei-sensei after convincing the former Ninja to return to active duty as an Uzu Shinobi and ANBU Commander.
He hadn't been in the still rebuilding village for longer than two days before he took on another mission. Placing the mission request to Tsunade-sama himself and offering to make use of The Seven's annual funds to pay for it.
It was unnecessary. Tsunade had supported his request and made every resource available to him.
The Mission; locate and recover Ulquiorra Schiffer.
Suigetsu had taken three Shinobi with him for the mission, deciding on a standard four man squad.
With him he had taken Hyuga Hinata, for her bloodline and personal drive to find Ulquiorra as well. Madoka, as she needed field experience as a member of the Seven Swordsmen as well as familiarity with Ulquiorra's bizarre energy signature.
And Shizune, the most skilled medi-ninja in Uzu beside Tsunade-sama herself.
Originally Suigetsu had only enlisted the aid of Hinata and Madoka for the mission, knowing that both women wanted Ulquiorra back as much as he did. But when Shizune had come to him with to volunteer for the mission as well, he was not about to say no. the woman was an accomplished medic, and given that Ulquiorra's physical state was unknown beyond what some disembodied voice had told him of the pasty guy apparently dying, he was glad for her help.
The Mission had commenced four days ago when they had arrived at the ruins of Takigakure where they had begun their search.
But, it wasn't the time that had elapsed so far for the mission that had Suigetsu in such a foul mood and holding his sword out as if he were about to cut down the devil itself.
It was, that less that twelve hours ago, they found him.
Or, rather they found what was left of him.
The team had taken to searching the thick jungle that was situated to the back of where Taki used to be, figuring that they might find something to give them an idea or direction to go next.
If Ulquiorra had left Taki under his own power he would have made for Kiri. If Konoha had taken him then there would have been word of it, the Fallen Village wouldn't have been able to resist bragging of the capture.
So it had to mean that Ulquiorra was indeed incapacitated and had been taken from Taki by a third party. The possibility that Ulquiorra had simply been killed and that there was nothing left of him wasn't even a factor. None of the team would even entertain the thought.
Eventually they found and cornered a young woman with short mint green hair. Given that there were no other signs of civilization for miles it was odd to find her gathering herbs that Shizune had identified as medicinal in purpose.
The girl, Fu, took them to a cave when she saw the headbands they carried. And showed them to Ulquiorra.
Hinata had lost all color to her face, Shizune had frozen like she were a statue and Madoka had been forced to run out of the cave to empty her stomach violently.
Suigetsu forced his body to betray nothing. Forced himself to drink in the sight of his bloody, burned and broken leader wrapped up in bandages and looking like he should have died long ago. He would not insult Ulquiorra by flinching.
When the women had recovered from the sight of a skeletal corpse like Ulquiorra Shizune had immediately gone to work, taking the green haired girls help to try and boost Ulquiorra's own healing when the medic saw that somehow, despite the odds Ulquiorra was still trying to heal himself subconsciously.
Twelve hours she had been doing this. Twelve Hours that Suigetsu had been forced to stand there completely useless.
"S-Suigetsu-sempai."
The purple eyed swordsman turned his head away from Ulquiorra's body to look over to Madoka who was standing by the cave entrance, Nuibari drawn, getting the acting commanders immediate attention. "Yes?"
"We have enemy contact."
Those four words echoed in the cave and almost distracted Shizune and Fu from their work. Suigetsu narrowed his eyes and turned to look over to the medic. "Progress?"
Shizune ignored a bead of sweat that dripped over an eye and continued her work. "Slow. Ulquiorra-san's body is filled with the Kyuubi's Chakra, it is what is stopping his body from recovering like we have seen before. Fu-san is assisting in removing it."
Suigetsu nodded as he frowned. "As soon as he is fit to be moved, make it so. We need to relocate just in case whomever is here has reported our location to their superiors."
With that Suigetsu turned and walked out of the cave, his Chakra beginning to flow around him as he prepared for combat.
When the water Shinobi emerged outside he saw Hinata off to the side with her Byakugan activated and eyes narrowed.
"Konoha shinobi." She answered before he could say anything, knowing what the question would be. "A team of eleven."
"Have they made us?" He asked as he swung Kubikiribocho around and up to his shoulder, fully prepared for whatever was to come.
"Yes. There is a Hyuga with them. They know that I am here." Hinata answered. "I cannot tell if the cave has been seen or not."
Suigetsu nodded. "Hinata-san, assist Shuzuka-san, I will deal with the Hyuga myself, who is leading them? The Hyuga?"
Hinata shook her head. "There is a man with blonde hair, a Yamanaka by my best guess. He is giving instructions."
Suigetsu nodded as he quickly glanced around the surrounding area, trying to determine how to best use the environment to his advantage. There was nothing that he could use that the Konoha shinobi could not use just as easily.
"Alright then. Hinata-san, don't let these assholes hurt you, Ulquiorra won't like that. Shuzuka, remember your training."
The two women nodded and moved out with Suigetsu leading the charge, Madoka preparing her Nuibari for use and Hinata getting ready to use her Juken against people who had once been comrades.
"Nami no Setsudan!"
Suigetsu started things off with a sweep of his Zanbato, unleashing a wave of chakra right at the middle of the Konoha ranks, forcing them to divide to avoid the attack.
When the wave slammed into the ground, carving a deep trench and clearly dividing the Konoha group in two, the Hyuga and two generic ninja on one side with the Yamanaka leader and the rest on the other, Suigestu grinned widely, sharp teeth glinting in the light as he threw himself into the fight, embracing the battle-lust that rushed through his veins.
He swung his sword out at one of the generics who ducked underneath the slash before kicking his leg out and clipping the man under the chin as he flipped his entire body in a somersault and knocking the Konoha ninja back.
"Katon: Gokakyo no Jutsu!" (Fire Style: Grand Fireball Technique)
Generic Konoha Ninja 2 released a large fireball less than a dozen feet away from him, not even caring that his ally, the ninja Suigetsu had just kicked in the face was still in the blast radius.
Suigetsu hissed out a angry breath at the lack of honor and loyalty these Konoha idiots showed and pivoted his body with one foot and spun around, using the momentum to bring his Zanbato out and cut the fireball clean in half, when the blade was halfway through the ball of red hot fire, he focused a brief burst of Elemental Chakra through the swords edge which resulted in a trail of water to e left behind it, extinguishing the ball of fire mere moments after it had been bifurcated.
Using the momentary astonishment that showed in Generic 2's face when Suigetsu had so easily countered the fire Ninjutsu he flashed over to the man, pouring so much chakra to his feet to accelerate his movement that he almost literally exploded forward.
The hapless Shinobi of Konoha couldn't even muster up any last words much less even recognize his death when Suigetsu snarled and cut the man diagonally in two, from right shoulder to left hip. When the acting commander of The Seven returned to the ground he immediately spun around and slammed the flat of Kubikiribocho into the top portion of the now dead ninja and sent the bloody half to the other generic ninja before flashing through a series of one handed seals.
He didn't bother phrasing the name of the ninjutsu as he took in a deep breath, his chest inflating to twice its size before spitting out a globe of water far larger than what could have actually fit in his body.
The giant ball of water hit the remaining generic ninja and the half of the dead Ninja Suigetsu had knocked at him and enveloped them both. The Hyuga who had been watching the brief ordeal with a casual disinterest, clearly not concerned with the lives and deaths of his comrades watched with wide shocked eyes as the Shinobi trapped within the ball of water screamed soundlessly as his body shook violently before it crumpled and steadily was crushed by the water until there was nothing more than a twisted corpse have the size of what had once been a living, breathing human.
"Don't you care about your friends?" Suigetsu spoke up, looking to the the Hyuga as he raised his sword steadily. "Well?"
The Hyuga shrugged. "My mission was not to assist them. It was their job to assist me. And they have done so by forcing you to use up your Chakra."
Suigetsu glowered at the Hyuga before shifting his eyes to glance over to where Hinata and Madoka were fighting, hoping that they were holding their own against a superior quantity of enemies.
"Your concerns are not with them boy." The Hyuga called out. "The Traitor Bitch will be dealt with by Fu-sama."
Suigetsu didn't respond to what had been said. Simply focusing his attention on his foe and holding Kubikiribocho at the ready.
This would be, interesting to say the least.
XxxX
Eyes opened and a body convulsed as limbs were restored and a Soul which had passed through a veil beyond that of life and death returned to the waking world, eliciting a gasp from two women at his sides as he rose to his feet like a ghost.
"U-Ulquiorra-san?"
The eyes and body turned to face the speaker, recognizing the form of Shizune and a green haired woman, who, for some reason seemed familiar. "Shizune."
That was all he said as he stepped off the makeshift bed he had woken and risen atop and floated down to ground level. Aware that his clothing was in tatters and that both his Espada number and Hollow Hole were on full display.
He was about to voice a question. The first of many being what had happened to him while he had been 'away' when he felt the rapid bursts of Chakra outside his current location, a cave it appeared, indicative of a battle of some kind.
"Explain."
Shizune nodded quickly, knowing that Ulquiorra wanted to know what was currently going on, not what had happened to his body. "Suigetsu-kun and his team are fighting an enemy that came upon us."
"Who did he bring?"
"Shuzuka Madoka-chan." Shizune answered with Ulquiorra's agreeing nod. "And Hyuga Hinata-chan."
Green cat-like eyes snapped open and before anyone, Ulquiorra included, knew it, the Espada had drawn his sword and was walking towards the cave opening. A trail of green Reiatsu being left in his wake.
As he moved to the exit, appearing as if a specter of death itself to Shizune and Fu, Ulquiorra reached into his pocket and pulled out a small scroll, not even considering the surprise that the scroll had survived his bout with the Kyuubi as he tossed it to Fu.
"Take this. It belongs to you."
As he left, Fu unsealed whatever was in the scroll and quickly grasped the two objects that came out before they fell to the ground. When she saw that she was holding a large single edged hammer with a flat blunt surface on the other side and a large hammer connected with a thin leather rope she looked to the older woman with a questioning expression.
Shizune could only gasp with wide eyes when she saw the weapon. "One of the Weapons of the Seven Swordsmen. Kabutowari."
Ulquiorra did not hear, nor care to hear anything further from Shizune and Fu as he emerged from the cave, his sword melting away as his body shifted and two bat wings burst from his back as he unconsciously released his Zanpakuto.
The sky itself darkened as if nightfall had come early as his power seeped out of him and blanketed the entire region and the ground itself shook as if actually feeling fear as unbelievable power came from the Espada.
Several eyes turned to him as Suigetsu, Hinata, Madoka and the revealed Konoha Shinobi felt his arrival and looked to him.
Of the now completely frozen humans, only Madoka recognized his form from when she had seen him battle the Sanbi.
"U-Ulquiorra-kun?" The woman whispered in awe, unable to believe that the monstrous Arrancar was even more powerful than before.
Madoka's voice broke the spell that had been holding everyone and Hianta's eyes widened and tears of relief came to her eyes.
Ulquioora looked over to Suigetsu and saw the fellow swordsman trying to stay upright, several chakra burns evident on his arms and neck. When he looked over to Hinata and saw the blood dripping from a cut on her cheek and her arm wrapped over her stomach, most likely having a broken rib, his body lit up with an angry green halo as two bursts of Reiatsu saw his hands fill up with two large javelin's of condensed Reiatsu.
"Woman." He spoke slowly as he spread his wings out and making the ground shake even more from the power dripping from him. "Who has harmed you?"
Hinata hesitated, not wanting to say or do anything just so she could drink in the relief and sight of her Ulquiorra-kun back and in one piece. "I-i-it was him."
When she pointed to a blank faced, still frozen Yamanaka Fu, Ulquiorra vanished from view in a burst of static. Not even a second later and Fu fell to the floor, his spine ripped from his body and impaled through his heart by a very, VERY angry Ulquiorra.
Of course, the only way this could be seen on Ulquiorra's face, ignoring the brutal murder of course, was the narrowed eyes and fact that his hands were clenched around the two green javelins so tightly his arms were shaking.
"Suigetsu. Take his arms."
The Hyuga who had been fighting the young Hozuki screamed as his eyes widened when he felt a blade swing down to his shoulders and lopping his arms off from a grinning Suigetsu.
Suigetsu chuckled as he stabbed the sword into the ground and leaned on it, catching his breath as he looked to the still transformed Ulquiorra. "Good to see you not dead you pasty bastard."
Ulquiorra's mouth twitched into a small smile as he nodded to the white haired teen. "If you say so."
The released Espada stalked over to the fallen Hyuga, the aura surrounding him glowing so brightly that his form seemed to darken until only his eyes were clearly visible and glowing. He held out a hand to the Hyuga, banishing the javelin from his hand as he leaned down and picked the human up and held him up and running the tip of the other javelin and running it down the Hyuga's chest, burning through his clothing and just missing the chest.
When Ulquiorra ripped the clothes from the Hyuga's chest and pressed a finger against his stomach where his kidney was located. "You will answer my questions. Failure to answer honestly will result in suffering. Do you understand?"
The Hyuga spat at Ulquiorra and sneered, not even caring that the saliva he had spat evaporated when it came within an inch of Ulquiorra's body. "I will tell you nothing demon. I am a loyal Konoha Shinobi. You cannot break me!"
Ulquiorra was about to fire a small Cero through the armless shinobi's body when Hinata stepped up, looking at her former Family member. "He's right Ulquiorra-kun. He is ROOT, there is a seal on his tongue that will stop him from revealing anything."
Ulquiorra nodded, accepting the woman's input and dropped the armless Hyuga before sweeping his leg back and delivering a bone shattering kick which sent the Konoha Shinobi flying through several trees and out of sight and sense.
"You think he'll survive?" Suigetsu asked with a grinning curiosity.
Ulquiorra merely shrugged, not interested any longer. When he turned to look at Hinata his body flashed a green light and he sheathed his Zanpakuto when he reverted to his regular form. "Hyuga Hinata."
Suigetsu looked to Madoka and jerked his head to the side, walking for the cave and entering to tell Shizune that it was time to leave with Madoka following.
Ulquiorra didn't even pay attention to the other two leaving as he frowned and stuffed his hands into his pockets, almost looking unsure as his eyes fixed on Hinata. "I, apologize. I was gone."
Hinata smiled, tears coming back to her eyes as she stepped up to the Espada before pressing herself against his chest, placing her hands flat against his chest and feeling his heart beat. "I missed you Ulquiorra-kun."
Ulquiorra nodded and placed a hand on her shoulder, unsure what was expected of him when in this situation. "I understand."
When Suigetsu and the others came back out, Ulquiorra had shed the remains of his Espada coat and was stripping the body of one of the Konoha corpses for a shirt.
When he had pulled on a plain black shirt that was more or less intact with only a pattern of blood splatter on it he walked over to the Yamanaka he had murdered and picked the body up.
"What are you planning on doing with that?" Suigetsu asked as he picked up Kubikiribocho and returned it to his back.
Ulquiorra looked around before hoisting the corpse up and cocking his arm back. "Sending a message."
With a blur of his arm pumping out at high speed, the Body of Yamanaka Fu with his own spine still impaled through his heart was thrown high into the air and rocketed out of sight, flying on a direct course for Konoha.
With the 'message' sent, Ulquiorra pocketed his hands and turned to the group behind him and looked to the green haired woman who had kept him alive the entire time since he had been left clinging to life by the Kyuubi. "You girl. You have prevented my death. Who are you?"
"My name is Fu." She answered. "I am, or, was I guess, a Shinobi of Takigakure."
Off to the side Suigetsu had noticed her carrying the weapon Kabutowari, a sword belonging to the Seven Swordsmen. Why would Akebino Jinin, the previous owner of that sword have wanted this one as his successor?
"You are a Jinchuriki." Ulquiorra stated, not asking as he could sense a biju's power within her that he had never before encountered. "I have encountered one other Jinchuriki in my life and personally fought the Sanbi and Kyuubi. I can sense the Biju within you."
Fu's eyes widened in understandable fear before nodding. "I-I hold the Nanabi no Kabutomushi."
Ulquiorra nodded as did Suigetsu, now understanding why her. Kabutowari was a weapon designed for tremendous damage with a single blow. As a Jinchuriki, this girl had the potential to use Kabutowari far more effectively than even his brother Mangetsu himself. A weapon like that in the hands of a ninja fueled by a Biju? It was a potent mix.
"Do you know what you carry?" Ulquiorra asked, pointing to the two weapons in the green haired woman's hands. "That, is the Kabutowari. A weapon belonging to the Legendary Seven Swordsmen of the Whirling Tides."
Fu's eyes widened in awe and she looked down to the axe and hammer in her hands before looking up to Ulquiorra. "Who are you exactly?"
It was Suigetsu who asnwered. "He is Ulquiorra Schiffer, The Commander of The Seven."
Ulquiorra raised an eyebrow and looked to Suigetsu. "What ever happened to your challenge for leadership? One would think my apparent death would have given you command quite easily."
Suigetsu shrugged. "It wasn't as cracked up as I thought it would. Besides, you weren't there to gloat to."
Ulquiorra nodded slowly and looked back to Fu. "Takigakure has fallen. Destroyed by the Kyuubi no Kitsune, and myself admittedly and you now carry a weapon of the Seven Swordsmen. I offer you a place with us. Join The Seven and become an Uzu shinobi."
Fu didn't reply, she couldn't. The offer before her was too much to be faced in such a short time. Ulquiorra knew this and turned to Madoka. "Madoka-san, accompany Fu and assist her in making her choice. I have been away from the world for too long, we must move out."
When the group moved out, Ulquiorra leading the way with Shizune beside him to inform the Commander of his physical state prior to reawakening. Behind them were the other three women, Madoka, Fu and Hinata with Suigetsu picking up the rear.
As they left the lands under the rule of Konoha and its allies, sticking to the borders and taking a round-about route to where Uzushoigakure was being rebuilt, Shizune explained why Ulquiorra had not healed as quickly as he was used to, that the Chakra injected into him by the Kyuubi to keep him alive and stop his organs from failing had also blocked his instant regeneration from kicking in. it was only due to the constant supervision and care from Fu that he had survived as long as he had. When Shizune had arrived at the end she had been able to identify the foreign Chakra and extract it with Fu's help using her own Biju so that with the blocking influence gone, Ulquiorra's body could finish regenerating.
After a few hours of traveling in silence, Ulquiorra having received what answers he required concerning his difficulty recovering he frowned and looked back to Suigetsu. "Has there been any word on the movements of the Kyuubi since my, inactivity?"
Suigetsu frowned in thought, having never actually put any thought into that himself before shaking his head. "No nothing. Not even sightings. It's practically vanished from the world since you disappeared."
Ulquiorra frowned at this and returned his attention to the path ahead as he moved around a tree and continued to run forward, not bothering with tree hoping as the others were as he simply ran on the air itself. "It is waiting for me." He said quietly after a moments thought. "Waiting for my recovery and the time where I can provide entertainment again."
Abruptly he came to a sudden stop, the others shooting past him as they had not expected the sudden halt. When they two came to a stop and returned to where he was still standing in mid air, the Espada looked to Shizune with a stern expression.
"Shizune-san, take the others and return to Uzu without me." He ordered as he turned to Suigetsu. "You and I have an impromptu task to attend to."
The second in command nodded with a sharp toothed grin, liking the look in Ulquiorra's eyes.
"Ensure Tsunade-sama that I am alive and will return." he said as he looked to the young woman in question before turning to Madoka. "Madoka-san, when you return, see that Fu begins her training. When I return I will see to matters properly."
Hinata bit her lip before stepping closer to Ulquiorra, a look of concern on her face as she locked her eyes upon his. "Ulquiorra-kun-"
"Go woman. There will be time for discussions at a later date."
The women nodded and at Shizune's order, took off again, leaving the two senior swordsmen behind as Ulquiorra made his choice and looked to Suigetsu.
"So, what are we doing now O' Pasty One." The young Hozuki said with a grin.
"Suigetsu, we are going to retrieve Samehada."
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I think this chapter is a bit lacking given what has been building up for Ulquiorra's revival but it was all I could think of for the chapter. I wanted to build on Ulquiorra finding some direction for the coming future and to establish the beginning of a proper relationship between him and Hinata as well as get closer to concluding the Seven Swordsmen recruitment drive.
So Fu, the container for the Nanabi makes the tally up to five of the seven gathered. The last two will be coming in soon enough but for now Ulquiorra is going to be focusing on finding the power he needs to destroy the Kyuubi.
Starting with Samehada, the only weapon that can actually counter a Biju's poisonous chakra.
I hope I don't disappoint for this chapter. But stay tuned for more 'fun'.
Ulquiorra is steadily getting his strength back.
Also, for any of you wondering where Haku was as she wasn't there when Ulquiorra woke up.
I haven't forgotten about her.
As always Review this and let me know how i'm going. I've reached my goal of 1,000...LET'S TRY AND REACH 2K!