OCs (c) Me

Bleach (c) Kubo Tite

The Bleached Chronicles

Chapter 25

"U…Ulquiorra…" Chihiro mumbled under her breath, too low for Ichigo to hear. They were silent as they stared at the stoic man before a familiar reiastu disappeared. Almost instantly after it disappeared, mental images flashed through Chihiro's head and she gasped.

"R…Rukia-chan?" she thought in alarm as she watched the images flash by. She could see her impaled by a trident, and a black-haired man smirking at her as he did so. Then she could see Rukia stab him in the head with her blade, and then… nothing. Ichigo growled before looking down the hallway.

"Rukia…?" he gasped. Ulquiorra looked towards him, his expression and posture never changing.

"So you actually realized. I thought you were a simpleton who only knew about power. But it seems you have a degree of finesse within you." He mused, not expecting the boy to have such a grip in terms of reiastu. Ichigo gaped as he turned his attention back to him.

"You… are…"

"It has been awhile, shinigami." he spoke, cutting him off. Then he started walking down the stairs, and Chihiro immediately placed a hand on Hoshiookami but did not remove the blade from its sheath.

"Hoshiookami…" Chihiro thought, frightened of the quatro. Her zanpakuto sent calming waves into her, trying to ease her master's fears.

"It is all right, milady. I am here beside you, there is no reason to hesitate. But be ready, now that he has seen you with Ichigo, he will not hesitate to kill you." her zanpakuto spoke, sending calming waves to her through their connection. Chihiro nodded, her eyes never leaving Ulquiorra's thin form as he made his descent.

"You're… Ulquiorra!" Ichigo exclaimed as the man stepped on the last step. Ulquiorra looked at him questionably, the boy hade taken note of his name the last time he saw him? He was slightly impressed with his mental capabilities, to say the least.

"You remember my name? Although… I don't remember telling it to you. So be it. Rukia Kuchiki is dead." he spoke in his usual monotone. Ichigo growled as he glared at the man.

"What… did you say?" he roared. Ulquiorra cast his gaze over to Chihiro, seeing the shock and surprise on her face.

"You have seen it too, haven't you girl? Rukia Kuchiki fought the Noveno Espada, and was speared by him." Ulquiorra spoke. Chihiro flinched at his words, clenching her other fist as she stared at the ground. Ichigo stared at her for a second before he growled at him.

"I don't wanna hear anymore of this bullshit! Rukia's reiastu became faint just now… without even fighting her, how would you know?" he demanded as he clenched his fists tightly. Ulquiorra simply stared at him before answering.

"Mental synchronization. It was one of the noveno Espada's abilities, an ability which served a purpose. He could instantly send all of the information about and enemy he fought… on any of his comrades." he explained. Ichigo looked at Chihiro again before taking a step towards the hallway where he had just came. Ulquiorra raised an eyebrow at this.

"Where are you going?"

"To save Rukia." the boy answered without turning to look at him. Chihiro looked up at him before nodding in agreement, she had to help Rukia too. She wasn't about to let anyone else cling to life like Chad was at this moment.

"Even though I told you that she died?" He asked again, cocking his head to the side slightly. Ichigo was silent before shaking his head.

"I don't believe you." he growled as he took a step towards the doorway. Chihiro quickly stood up to follow him, stumbling a little thanks to her bruised ankle.

"Yes, Rukia-chan is still alive. She has to be!" She stated in agreement. Ulquiorra stared at her before lightly sighing.

"So stubborn. Is it really all right for you to leave without killing me?" he asked. Ichigo shook his head at the man's words, wanting to scoff at them.

"I have no reason to fight you." the boy hissed. The quatro looked at him questionably, blinking a few times as he did so.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Chihiro looked at Ichigo in confusion, to leave Ulquiorra alive would be bad, even though she didn't want them to fight either. Was he really okay with letting the man go?

"You're my enemy, but… you haven't harmed any of my friends, so I have no reason to fight you!" he answered as he turned to them. Chihiro sighed softly, placing a hand against her chest.

"Ichigo-san… you have a merciful heart." she thought silently. She quickly placed a hand on Hoshiookami as she glanced at Ulquiorra again, knowing that he might attack them at any moment. But the quatro simply stared at them, his gaze focused solely on that of Ichigo Kurosaki.

"Is that so? What if I were to tell you that I… was the one who brought Orihime Inoue to Hueco Mundo in the first place? And what of the girl beside you? If my memory serves right, I too brought her to Hueco Mundo after your second fight with Grimmjow." he spoke, instigating him. Chihiro stared at him in confusion before Ichigo suddenly lunged, swinging Zangetsu as it met Ulquiorra's hand.

"So Inoue didn't come here of her own free will after all!" he exclaimed. Ulquiorra nodded.

"Surprising. Even after coming to save her, her friends had doubt within themselves?" he asked as he held off Ichigo's blade with his bare hand. But the boy snarled at him in anger.

"Don't you get it? Thanks to you, Inoue and Chihiro have been marked as traitors! The soul society wouldn't even bother to save them because of that!" he roared. Chihiro watched the two before grabbing Nel, who had fallen to the ground after Ichigo had went after Ulquiorra.

"I hoped so, otherwise our plan would have failed." he spoke stoically. Ichigo growled as Chihiro glared at him, holding the child in her arms tightly.

"You bastard!" Chihiro gasped at this, this is what Ulquiorra wanted, for Ichigo to fight him!

"Wait, Ichigo-"

"Now do you have a reason to fight me?" Ichigo stopped and turned to Nel and Chihiro, his eyes stern as he stared at them.

"Nel, Chihiro… get back, away from me." he spoke calmly. They looked at each other hesitantly before back at the boy.

"I… Itsygo…" Nel whimpered, but Chihiro shook her head as she stepped towards him.

"Wait Ichigo-san, fighting him is what he wants! You'll get killed-"

"No I won't, now get back. Please." he ordered. Chihiro glanced at Nel and nodded, the child's safety was the most important thing right now. She quickly ran behind a nearby pillar, hoping to avoid getting hit with any attacks.

She covered the child's eyes and looked away, she didn't want her to see what was going on, to see them killing each other. She felt the conflicting reiastus as the two clashed, but she dared not look. The energies continued to twist and conflict before she gave in and turned to get a peek.

"Getsuga Tensho!" she gasped in surprise. Ichigo was wearing a hollow's mask as he sent a wave of dark energy at Ulquiorra, who could barely hold it off. Before anyone could blink, the energy overpowered him and he disappeared in an explosion of smoke, causing amounts of rubble to fall around them as she covered the child's head to protect her. Once the rubble stopped falling, Chihiro and Nel smiled before getting out from behind the pillar.

"You did it Ichigo-san! You did it!" she cheered happily, thankful that he was all right. Ichigo looked at them before Nel tackled him, sobbing her eyes out as she buried her face into his stomach. Chihiro smiled as they bickered before she felt something… off.

"Milady! He isn't dead! He's still-"

"Ichigo-san! Ulquiorra's still-" before she could finish, there was an explosion behind them and they turned to see Ulquiorra as he stood there, looking completely fine except for some of his clothes which looked torn.

"Even though I used both hands, I couldn't stop the blow. …I'm a bit surprised. Just then, was that all of your power?" he asked, staring at the boy intently. But he remained silent, stunned and surprised that Ulquiorra was still alive. Ichigo's stunned silence answered his question.

"That seems to be the case." he continued, before charging a cero which covered the walls with a green and black light. Chihiro took a few steps backwards, unsure of what to do. Should she release her zanpakuto, or run?

"A pity." and with that, he released it. Immediately, Ichigo got in front of Nel and Chihiro and protected them from the cero with his blade and body, causing an explosion. Without hesitating despite his wounds, he grabbed them and started running out of the building.

"Nel, Chihiro? Are you both all right?" he asked as he looked down at them. Nel was unconscious, but Chihiro was not as she met the boy'z gaze.

"I'm fine, quick set me down before-" before she could finish, Ulquiorra was at their side, following right beside him. He quickly sent them flying as Ichigo and Nel went into a pillar, while Chihiro landed on the sand dunes of Hueco Mundo. She quickly got to her feet, stunned for a moment.

"I… have to release my shikai!" she thought as she removed her blade and held it tightly in her hands.

"Enter the twilight, Hoshiookami!" she cried. Immediately smoke surrounded her as the white wolf joined her side once again. The wolf looked at her, her cobalt eyes blazing as she bared her teeth and her fur bristled.

"Shikai will not be enough, you must release my bankai!" she spoke urgently as she glanced in the direction where the quatro had gone. Chihiro nodded as she placed her hand on the blade.

"Okay. Shed blood under the crescent moon, howl Hanyou Hoshiookami!" and within moments, the blade transformed to white while the hilt was covered in darkness, and the wolf transformed into a woman. The woman immediately grabbed Chihiro around the waist and pulled her to her side before taking off, zooming across the sand as she headed in the direction Ulquiorra had gone.

"We have to find them, or else Ulquiorra-sama will kill them!" She cried urgently as the woman ran, holding on tightly. The woman nodded as she sped up, she understood the gravity of the situation and wasn't hesitant in speeding up.

"Be warned Chihiro, we might not be able to defeat him. I sense an even stronger power deep inside of him, and us alone will not be enough." the woman spoke sullenly as sand flew up behind them. The girl nodded in understanding. Even so, they still had to try.

"I know Ookami, but we have to try." Chihiro answered. The woman chuckled as she glanced down at the girl.

"I thought we agreed that you would never call me that." she chuckled softly. The girl giggled as she covered her mouth with one hand.

"I know." as they approached one of the pillars, she spotted a familiar figure as they stood inside it. "Oh, look! There's Ulquiorra!" she cried as she pointed ahead of them. The woman nodded as she leapt in, stopping only feet away from Ulquiorra as the espada stood there. They looked around at the damaged room before she glared at Ulquiorra.

"Okay, what have you done with Ichigo-san?" Chihiro demanded as the woman set her on her feet. Ulquiorra turned to them and she gasped, seeing a familiar figure on the floor behind him. Ichigo was right behind him, face-down in a small pool of blood as he lay there, motionless. She stared at him in shock.

"I…Ichigo-"

"You are too late, for he is dead." Ulquiorra spoke. Chihiro looked at him in confusion and shock before Hoshiookami stepped in front of her.

"It is about time that someone sent you to hell, and I would be more than happy to send you. Prepare to die, Ulquiorra Schiffer." The woman spoke as she held up her blade, ready to attack. He sighed before looking at the girl at her side.

"You are indeed lucky that Aizen-sama had ordered for us not to kill you, girl. But… you traitorous actions will not go unpunished." before anyone could blink, he was behind Chihiro as he brought his arm back, fingers at the ready. She turned to try and block his attack, but his hand went right into her abdomen, causing her to gasp in pain as she coughed up blood. She looked at his hand in shock before slicing his arm with her sword, leaving a deep gash in his skin as she tried to get him to release her.

"Milady!" the woman cried but stopped, she was already fading back into the sword as Chihiro fell to the floor, severely wounded. The woman glared at Ulquiorra.

"Damn you… Schiffer…" and with that, she disappeared back into the blade. Chihiro stared up at him as she tried to remain conscious, but darkness was already flooding her vision. He stared down at the fallen girl before picking her up and walking out of the room.

"You'll live, for now." was all he said. Chihiro stared up at the sky as the darkness took her.

"Grimm… jow." and then, her world went dark.

0.0; Ulquiorra, that was major overkill...oh well!