Shadows of Deceit
Twice the Pride Double the Fall
Again I would like to thank everyone who has reviewed, favorited, or read one of my stories.
***To all who think that I own Bleach, you are wrong, and I am sorry. ***
***SoD***
"Now that is what I am talking about! Be enraged Ira!" Yammy bellowed, his spiritual power exploding outwards and his size increasing as he grew to meet his foe's new power.
As he reached his maximum size, along with growing multiple legs and a tail, the Espada roared out in challenge to his opponent.
"Now little man let's see who is the strongest giant of them all, your soldier or me!" and taking a step forward Yammy slammed his fist into the armored giant in front of him, hurling the Bankai through a nearby building. Sajin also felt the force of the blow, being that he was connected to his ultimate power, and was staggered as well.
Spitting out a small amount of blood the Captain glared at the Arrancar's new form.
"Not bad for a Hollow, but you will soon learn why Shinigami are the dominant force in this world, and why it is us who hunt you not the other way around."
Leaping forward in retaliation the giant nimbly dodged the tail swipe that had been sent towards it before delivering a massive punch to the Espada, stunning him momentarily before sending a vertical slash down the entire length of the monstrosity.
Yammy cried out in pain and anger as the Shinigami's weapon cut a large gash into his chest, and stumbled a few steps backwards, trying to regain his balance.
After shaking off the attack, Yammy charged forward to throw his entire weight into the Shinigami's full power. Using his increased momentum the Arrancar was able to ram the armored warrior through several buildings before Sajin was able to force the Bankai to brace itself and push back enough to stop the rampage.
Giving a swift push Sajin managed to throw the surprised Espada off balance, before beginning a devastating barrage of head and body blows with the Bankai's fists. As the attacks became stronger they also started to slow down between each punch, sacrificing speed for raw power.
Soon the opposing giant had enough and lashed out with his club-like tail, connecting with the opposing warriors head and sending a shock through his system before starting a bombardment of his own. Using Balas, the Arrancar began to pound the Bankai into submission, and severely bruising Sajin in the process as well.
Falling down to one knee Komamura glanced up, and saw that the Espada was preparing one final attack to finish the battle. The tenth Espada began charging an absolutely massive Cero in his mouth at near point blank range, presumably to finish both the armored warrior and the Captain connected to it at the same time.
In one final attempt at victory the Shinigami launched both of his Bankai's hands forward, pushing the charged doom blast back into the mouth of the beast and detonating it prematurely.
The resulting explosion shook the battlefield and sent waves of force crashing into the nearby structures, causing many of them to collapse as if struck by a massive earthquake.
As the resulting dust cloud cleared though the result was a badly damaged Sajin.
The secondary result was that the head, neck, and shoulders of his opponent had been completely destroyed, leading to the remains of the Espada slowly fading away into the air.
***SoD***
Rose had found himself in quite the predicament. After releasing his Resurreccion, the Arrancar had proceeded to soak the surrounding area in a strange black substance. When he came into contact with it the goo had spawned several duplicates of the Visored which he was currently occupied with attempting to fight off.
Although the copies fought with his powers they seemed to lack any sort of tactic or strategy, rather they just copied his movements and techniques. Fortunately, the ex-Captain's primary strength was in his technique and improvisation rather than raw brute strength or speed, yet even with this advantage the blond haired man was slowly being worn down and receiving injuries from the three clones.
As the Espada watched in sick fascination the Visored continued to receive cuts over his body from the enemy Zanpakutos. Finally having enough Rose maneuvered the three copies into a small grouping, then instantly released his Shikai and launched it towards his three opponents, who released 'their Zanpakuto' as well.
Before his enemies could respond the former Shinigami activated his Shikai's special ability, sending a pulse of energy through the whip and releasing a large shockwave from the end, tearing the three duplicates apart.
Turning to the Espada Rose was rather surprised to see that he bore a fascinated grin, rather than showing any sign of annoyance or anger at his attack being defeated.
"Very good Visored, you figured out that my ability created clones that could only imitate what they saw rather than having full access to your powers. I am a bit disappointed though that it took you so long to figure it out, I was rather hoping for a more perceptive opponent, but it matters not."
Suddenly the Arrancar sent one of his wings forward, grabbing the Visored before he could retaliate with his whip and promptly spat him back out, further increasing the distance between the two.
Strangely enough Szayel now had a small doll in his hand as well, that resembled the ex-Captain.
"Well that was unpleasant, though I must say you have a rather handsome doll there. I assume this is one of the powers of your Resurreccion?" Rose called out, keeping his voice relaxed but secretly hoping to stall long enough to figure out the technique.
"Ah yes this is called Teatro de Titere and it allows me to create life like dolls of my victims. The most interesting part is what's on the inside." The pink haired man replied, opening up the doll and taking out a small part labeled 'Kidney'.
"You see you and this doll are linked, behold." Upon his statement the Arrancar crushed the small part, causing his opponent to cough up blood and fall to one knee, gripping his side painfully.
"As I said, you are linked. Anything that I do to this doll will happen to you, which means I can test your fortitude and the internal differences between you and a Shinigami in a very interesting way. Wouldn't you agree?" the Espada continued, as he retrieved another part labeled 'stomach' before crushing it as well, sending another spasm of pain through the Visored.
"Well then it appears that the only choice I have it to eliminate you in a very violent and painful way you freak." Rose growled out.
"Bankai"
Szayel's eyes widened as he stood before two massive hands, one holding a conductors baton, and a dozen figures standing in the distance.
"Behold Kinshara Butodan, it is beautiful is it not? Gaze well upon its features as it will be the last sight you will ever behold in this world, monster. You see from the very start you have been under my control, this unbreakable illusion shall rip your very soul apart!" The Visored exclaimed.
The only response he received was a small chuckle, which quickly grew into a full blown laughter, ringing out throughout the battlefield, and drawing all attention to the two combatants.
"Do you truly believe I would be unprepared for you? I am the perfect being, and with the knowledge I have the reign of the Arrancar has only just begun! Before this battle even began I made a slight and temporary alteration in all of the Arrancar you see before you. The portion of our brains that allows for the comprehension of melody and music has been temporarily disabled, and without this your music based illusions cannot affect any of us!" The man screamed in delight as he observed the look of horror on his enemy's face.
"B-but how!? Aizen never had any knowledge of my Bankai, how would you know the specifics of it?" The former Shinigami stammered out.
"Lord Aizen may not have witnessed your power but your precious Twelfth Division has! What do you think we stole from your pathetic SRDI when we infiltrated the Seireitei? Captain Kurotsuchi was kind enough to keep detailed information on all Shinigami capable of Shikai release or higher, including an in-depth analysis of each of you. With this data all of the Espada know the strengths and weaknesses of every Shinigami Captain and lieutenant. Do you see the hopelessness of your situation now? The best part of this is that your own comrades are the cause for your defeat!" Szayel cackled madly as the other Captains and seated officers could only stare on in shock, realizing that their enemies knew of every strength and weakness they had.
***SoD***
"T-that bastard! What has he done!?" Sui-Feng gritted her teeth in rage as she heard the Espada's explanation.
"Quite interesting really, you were all so focused on us and other outside forces that you completely ignored your own, isn't that how we ended up in this situation to begin with? You failed to notice the 'treason' of three different Captains who were conspiring against you?" Harribel replied in a monotone voice that focused the Captain's glare on her.
***SoD***
"CAPTAINS! This is not the time to dwell on the claims of one of our enemies. If this is proven true then it shall be dealt with at a later date, do not allow doubt to cloud your minds in battle!" The Captain General shouted, bringing each of the various officers out of their thoughts and focusing them once more on the battle at hand.
"You sound a bit unsure of yourself Commander, perhaps you are starting to doubt the integrity of all the various Captains of the Seireitei?" Aizen called out from his flaming prison, a condescending smirk present on his face.
"It matters not, first you will be dealt with and then this new problem will as well. If you haven't already noticed Aizen, your minions are barely able to hold their own even with this supposed information." Yamamoto responded with finality.
***SoD***
"So what will you do now Visored? I am aware of every technique you can use, including your Hollow mask, and I have neutralized your greatest weapon." The pink haired Arrancar taunted.
Rose only glared grimly at the Espada. He knew that there was nothing else he could throw at the man that would be able to stop him in time before he could be interrupted with the Hollow's power. It was looking like the end for him.
"Nothing to add? Well then I suppose I will just finish you off and move onto…"
But before the Espada could finish his statement, nine black constructs appeared surrounding the man, with the final one directly on his chest.
"Bakudo number seventy nine, Kuyo Shibari."
Looking past the now bound Arrancar Rose gazed upon a sight that filled him with relief. The former Kido Captain Tessai Tsukabishi.
"Much thanks Tessai, I was getting a bit worried there." The Visored called out in appreciation, earning a nod in response from the larger man.
"Of course, it is an honor to help you Otoribashi-San. Now then, Hiryu Gekizoku Shinten Raiho!" Tessai shouted out, firing a massive Electric blast from his hand at the struggling Espada.
The explosion was devastating to the surrounding area, and the target of the attack.
As the smoke cleared a minute later all that remained of the pink haired scientists were the charred remains of his wings, and a few pieces of his Hollow mask.
***SoD***
Zommari gazed at his opponent, who was armored in his dragon like Bankai. He knew of the boy's potential, that he was a "genius", but it wouldn't matter. Geniuses tended to be over confident, especially when they were young and praised so highly. They were immature and inexperienced and thus easily taunted and tricked despite their intellect. The Espada also knew that the boy's speed did not increase with his transformation, but now that he had more ice to work with he could perform far larger reaching attacks, potentially getting around the Arrancar's superior speed.
The best way to end this conflict would be to use his Resurreccion and take him out before the Captain could establish a defense or effective counter for his ability.
"Suppress, Brujeria"
Hitsugaya eyed the transformed Espada before the Arrancar smirked and fired several of his 'Amor' attacks, hitting the Captain in various places all over his body, including his head and chest.
"It is over young Captain, now that my eyes have fixed their gaze upon you I can control your body, I told you that this battle would be over quickly. Now I can turn you against your own allies." Zommari called out confidently, at the blank gazed Shinigami.
"Good to know, I always do enjoy when an opponent explains how their abilities work when they believe they have won, and you are no exception." Called out a voice from behind a nearby building as another Hitsugaya emerged, and with a wave of his hand the previous 'controlled' copy melted into water.
"Once per battle I can make an exact replica of myself, I made it when you used your little transformation and you lost sight of me. After hearing that our abilities were known by you I figured that there was a reason you had allowed me to transform without interruption."
"Clever of you, unfortunately that will not save you from my power. You see even if you know how it works you are not fast enough to avoid my all seeing gaze."
Following the Arrancar's declaration Hitsugaya swung his Zanpakuto in front of him, sending a massive wave of ice towards his opponent, who merely sent a single shot of his power and took control of the attack, reversing it and sending it back against the Shinigami. Before it connected though it veered upwards, dissipating into the sky.
"I guess Kurotsuchi never had a chance to find out that my Bankai will never attack itself." Hitsugaya replied stoically to the Espada's questioning gaze.
"Perhaps, but you still miscalculated, while your own attack blocked your vision I have taken control of your leg." The Hollow called out.
Hitsugaya's eyes widened as he realized that his leg was moving on its own, and immediately froze it solid to prevent its' interference.
"You removed your leg so easily. I wonder though what you will do if you lose your arms?" Zommari questioned, as he launched another series of attacks towards his opponent.
This time the Captain merely raised a large ice barrier between the two, and watched as the symbols impacted the wall over and over again. Quickly formulating a plan in his head the young Shinigami created a small dome of ice around the Espada, completely cutting him off from the outside world.
"Your technique is quite a nuisance Hollow, but it does have one glaring weakness. It can only take control of what can already be controlled. The ice surrounding you though is just a structure, it has no energy circulating in it like a normal attack does and thus there is nothing to take control of. Now your greatest strength is worthless while I have complete freedom to remove your irritating existence.
A minute later the Arrancar could only watch in terror as a dozen ice pillars rose up surrounding the dome, and then moved forward to crush the container, and its occupant.
"Sennen Hyoro"
"El Embrion" The Espada called out as pink sphere emerged from the rubble of the Shinigami's attack, bruised and bloodied but alive.
"I told you child you cannot defeat…" Before the Arrancar could finish his reply he found himself impaled on the boy's blade, having used the time between releasing his defense and completely emerging to charge the man.
"Ryusenka" the Captain muttered out, as the Espada became frozen in a massive surge of ice, before shattering into the wind.
***SoD***
"So what are you going to do now eh Shinigami? We know all of your tricks, your techniques, and your weaknesses. What can you possibly do to us now?" Nnoitra taunted the bloodied Kensei.
Even with his Hollow mask giving him superior strength the Visored had been unable to deal with the four blades of his opponent. With the additional reach that the Espada had it was making things even more difficult, Kensei could barely injure the Arrancar in his pre-released state but now he couldn't even land a direct blow to see if the same still held true.
Seeing the Espada charge again, the former Captain leapt backwards, while firing another blast of wind to try and knock the man off balance. This time he succeeded though, and using that temporary break vanished using Shunpo directly behind the Arrancar to try and land an attack to his unprotected back.
Instead he found himself cut deeply by two additional blades, apparently hidden by his enemy the entire battle.
Leaping backwards the silver haired man looked grimly down at his injuries. If the situation continued, he would die without inflicting any major harm on his opponent.
"This fight has drawn on long enough Shinigami. We both know that you have no chance of beating me. Even with your Bankai you will never be able to get in close enough to harm me without being cut to pieces."
"Can't hurt to try though eh? BANKAI!" the Visored declared, and following a burst of wind emerged in his transformed state.
His logic was simple, since his opponent had six blades he would need to break some of these in order to remove the advantage, or break the Arrancar's arms whichever was easier at the time.
Rushing forward in a burst of speed the Visored threw a punch forward, and predictably the Espada raised his blade to block the attack, only to watch the ex-Captain break through the weapon with ease. Unfortunately this had given Nnoitra time to dodge the blow, and slash out with two of his other weapons at the man's exposed side.
As the blades impacted into his side Kensei grabbed onto the insect like arms, and with a swift motion completely shattered the bones inside.
With a howl of pain the Espada delivered a kick to the offending man, putting distance between the two combatants, and regenerated his broken blade.
"You damn bastard! Now after I kill you I am going to have to rip my arms off to regrow them, do you have any idea how much that is going to hurt?"
"Well if it helps any, I can just rip all of your arms off for you instead? I was already considering doing it but now that I know you can regenerate them you just saved me some time, much appreciated."
"Enough of this crap, I have wasted too much time on you. I need to find a stronger opponent, one who can actually give me a challenge rather than one who just runs away from me the entire time like you do." The Espada shouted before charging at the man, swinging his remaining four usable arms in a whirlwind like motion to slice him into pieces.
The Visored started retreating backwards, not taking his eyes off of the advancing Arrancar but also looking for a break in the man's defenses. Suddenly he spotted what he was looking for, and used Shunpo to charge forward.
Laughing at the silver haired man's incompetence Nnoitra swept all four scythe like weapons at the same time, but found that they merely passed through the man instead of cutting him.
"Wha…"
Suddenly Kensei's arm wrapped around the Espada's neck, and his right hand slammed into the back of the Arrancar's neck breaking it instantly. The Visored then pulled his fist back and slammed it into the back of his opponent's head, putting his entire fist through the man's skull for good measure.
Glancing backwards he gave a thanking nod towards Shinji, who responded with a wide grin.
***SoD***
As the two blood crazed adversaries battled both were laughing madly as they exchanged blows. Between Grimmjow's speed and Kenpachi's raw strength they had been fairly evenly matched without either taking the obvious advantage.
With a quick kick the Espada stunned his opponent for a second, before delivering a flurry of exceedingly fast punches followed by the Arrancar throwing him into the ground below, then firing a Cero to further destroy the area and cause additional damage.
Emerging from the rubble the Captain shot straight up, slamming his shoulder into his enemy and delivered a vicious diagonal slash across the man's chest, laughing the entire time.
As the battle continued it was slowly tipping in the favor of Kenpachi. Although Grimmjow was significantly faster and had ranged capabilities he would often charge into melee combat and received far more damage than the Shinigami following such confrontations.
As the two locked into melee combat once again Grimmjow managed to knock the Captain's blade back, before firing a barrage of darts from his elbow directly into the man's chest, causing him to cough up blood and be thrown backwards a bit.
"Seems like you are still holding back on me Grimmjow! I have to say though you might be one of my favorite sparing partners of all time. You are fast, strong, and you can take a punch!" Kenpachi complimented as he gave his opponent a vicious grin.
"You're not bad yourself Kenpachi. I knew after reading about you that I had to take you on, to hell with strategy and planning, battles are meant to be fun!"
"I have to agree with you there, and even though I am going to win this fight I hope we can do this again sometime!"
"Well then let's end this with one last attack to see who truly is the strongest!" Grimmjow exclaimed as he created several long blue blades with his claws.
"Desgarron"
Kenpachi just grinned, as he raised his Zanpakuto above his head, and took ahold of the handle with both hands before charging forth to meet his opponent.
The ten blades met with the Kendo slash.
Bright blue met golden yellow.
Hollow met Shinigami
The explosion was immense as the two forces clashed. In the end Kenpachi was able to cut through the attack and land a devastating blow on the torso of the blue haired Arrancar, sending him falling to the ground below alive but unconscious.
***SoD***
Love continued staring at the horrific Arrancar who stood opposite him. The Arrancar made no effort to attack instead it merely stood there, as if expecting the Visored to come to him.
"Arrogance…" Love muttered, but currently he had no way of knowing what the man was capable of. He knew in his unreleased state that he could slow down attacks, it stood to reason that this ability would be increased even further now. The even bigger problem was that he did not believe the same trick would work a second time. Surely the Hollow would be ready for it now.
Deciding to test the extent of his adversary's abilities the former Shinigami raised his Zanpakuto and launched another large fireball towards his opponent, who made no effort to dodge the attack as the blast seemed to fade away before it even reached him.
"Your tricks will no longer reach me Shinigami. I am time itself and all things, even your attacks, decay and die. Nothing you do will ever injure me nor reach my body."
"Oh? Let us see just how powerful you are then." The ex-Captain replied as he charged the Espada, pulling back his massive weapon to launch another attack.
"Respira"
Love's eyes widened as the purple fog came rolling out from his opponent, deciding to risk it before it expanded too far the Visored swung his weapon directly at it, trying to dissipate the mist.
Instead his Shikai began to rapidly decay as the destruction spread further up the weapon until it neared his hand, at which point the man tossed it away and fired a full power Cero at the Arrancar.
Much to the target's amusement, and his own shock, the doom blast merely fizzled out before reaching him.
"As I told you before all things die, even a Cero only lasts so long. Just like the attack you attempted your time is now up." The skeletal man sneered as the miasma encircled the former Shinigami, cutting off any hope of escape and collapsing towards the trapped man.
Within a few short moments the mist receded, the only remains of the Visored being some tattered and rotting clothing which were swept away by the wind.
"Pathetic, no one can stand against the power of a God." The Espada remarked.
"Oh? A God you say? I am curious about that statement, how about we test your omnipotence eh?" A voice rang out, as the form of the Twelfth Division Captain appeared on the scene.
***SoD***
After recovering from the point blank doom blast Ukitake had taken to the offensive. Using his two Zanpakuto to keep the Arrancar just out of hand to hand combat range the Captain had inflicted several deep wounds onto the man, only to observe them heal a short time later.
Apparently his regeneration was far faster than any Hollow that Soul Society had previously examined.
Worse than that was the revelation about the SRDI and their 'research' on the Captains. If they were aware of various Bankai abilities then surely Aizen's forces knew of his Shikai's special ability, which would explain the insistence on close ranged combat from his opponent.
Overall the battle was going in favor of the white haired Shinigami, but not by enough to win a quick and decisive victory, and that was what worried him. Eventually his sickness would catch up to him and he would be left helpless if he was not able to finish their duel and rest.
He had briefly considered using his Bankai, but it was far more useful in large group battles rather than individual fights. His attempts at Kido had been met with poor results, as well. Duel wielding swords made it difficult to use any high level spells and with his opponent focusing on his swords he doubted that he could surprise him with Byakurai or any similar ability.
In summary he was in trouble, he did not doubt he could win without a time limit, but the Arrancar seemed to know of this and was purposefully forcing him to use high amounts of energy with little reward.
Breaking the Captain out of his thoughts Ulquiorra rushed forward, aiming a kick for his side. Ukitake slashed his sword down in a counter attack, looking to sever the man's leg only for the pale Arrancar to punch the blunt side of his sword, knocking it away. He followed up by dodging the thrust from the other blade and fired a point blank Bala into the man's chest, followed by another, and another.
The Espada quickly launched a barrage of Bala as his fists blurred into motion against the sickly man's chest. This had been one of the techniques he perfected during his training for the war. He had developed the ability to enhance his fists with Bala, allowing a much stronger punch at close range, and allowing no time for the opponent to dodge the ensuing blast.
Unfortunately for the Arrancar Ukitake had managed to recover mid attack, and slashed across his chest with both swords horizontally, carving deep wounds into his torso and forcing them both to pull back from the small skirmish.
"I must say Arrancar-San, you are very impressive. I did not think that Aizen would be able to enlist warriors who could fight with such passion." The Captain called out trying to catch his breath from the barrage he had just suffered.
"Normally you would be correct but due to the ignorance of your forces we were given a reason to fight so passionately." Ulquiorra responded, also drawing in gasps of air and trying to focus his regeneration on the recent wounds.
"Our ignorance, what do you mean by that?"
"You will see soon enough, it is not only the trust you have put in your own allies that will lead to your downfall but your lack of vision as well. I have met others like you who had no plans for after their personal feud was over, all they knew was violence and death. That is the mentality for those who will perish."
Before the Shinigami could consider his words further the black haired man brought up his right finger and fired a green Cero towards him, allowing the use of his Zanpakuto's power for the first time in the battle.
As Ukitake fired the blast back towards Ulquiorra, who dodged it casually, his eyes narrowed in contemplation.
'Why would he fire a Cero at that range if he knows my Zanpakuto's ability? That along with how he just dodged the blast made it obvious that he had been expecting the attack. If so he is just wasting energy for no reason.'
"It certainly is a troublesome ability," The Arrancar analyzed. "But it is not unbeatable."
Again the Espada raised his finger and charged a Cero, causing the Captain to once more raise his blade in preparation. This time though the pale man fired a condensed sphere of energy, rather than a beam.
"Cero Granade"
Ukitake's eyes widened as the ball of compressed energy shot straight for him, he had never heard of a Cero variation, especially one that did not appear in the normal form. Perhaps this was one of the Espada's special tricks?
Again he absorbed the technique and redirected it, only for the sphere to detonate directly in front of him upon release, the explosion throwing him backwards and into a nearby building.
"It appears as though I was correct, your technique simply redirects the opponents attack rather than freezing it and firing it back out as your Twelfth Division theorized. Since that is the case it was simple to time the attack and have my Cero detonate just after it left your blade. When this technique was first explained to me I did not think there would be any practical application to a timed detonation Cero, I was mistaken.
The Shinigami emerged from the rubble of the building, burned and fairly injured, as he gazed in disbelief at his opponent.
"To be able to analyze my attack so quickly, you must be one of if not the strongest of Aizen's officers.
"Very perceptive, though I am sure that you received that information from Kisuke Urahara after Stark's explanation. You are correct, I am one of the stronger of my brethren but you may be a bit disappointed by my rank." As he called out his reply the green eyed man removed the part of his shirt concealing his rank, revealing the number four to the increasingly shocked Captain.
'He is only the fourth strongest!? But that means that there are three others even more powerful than him, if this is true I need to finish this fight now and help the others. Who knows what kind of damage they will be able to do, especially since he has not even released his sword yet.'
"Captain Ukitake, you should go and aide Captain Shunsui, if his opponent's spiritual power is any indication he is going to need your help."
Turning the white haired man spotted the child prodigy, Captain Hitsugaya, along with the Visored's Rose and Kensei approaching.
"Yeah we will handle this little freak ourselves." Kensei declared, cracking his knuckles and smirking.
***SoD***
The green haired beauty had to admit, her opponent was much stronger than she would have thought he would be, albeit he was using Bankai.
As she dodged another blow she barely had enough time to recall how she had been able to break out of his binding spell only a split second before his initial attack reached her, surprising him for a second and giving her time to put distance between the two of them.
Now it was more like a game of cat and mouse, or 'dodge the ridiculously large amount of pink'. But slowly a plan was forming in her head. The information ascertained on him had in fact been correct, it seemed as though he was holding back his Bankai's true speed, which would be focused by his hands rather than his will alone.
Using this overconfidence against him Nel disappeared in a burst of Sonido, only to appear within his 'hurtless aura' that he had created for himself. As his eyes widened in shock she threw a punch into his stomach, forcing him to bend over in pain.
"You know it's very pathetic how prideful you Shinigami are, you believe that your power and rank will compensate for anything we lowly Hollows can do. Even when we know you weaknesses and strength's you refuse to compensate for this and instead stick to what you have been doing the entire time."
"Do not mistake pride for weakness."
Suddenly the pink petals rushed towards her, prompting both of them to flash away in order to avoid the onslaught, as he raised his hand for the first time since releasing his full power and dramatically increased the speed of his attack, catching her in the flurry and sending cuts all over her body.
"I have removed the 'hurtless aura' you undoubtedly have discovered and used my own hands to increase the speed of my attack. You will not reach me again. Though your speed is impressive it will not save you, I have already ended this battle."
"Gokei"
Glancing around the Arrancar cursed to herself as she realized the Captain had surrounded her in a large dome of petals without her realizing it. As he compressed it down the Shinigami made a final motion, causing the sphere to collapse and an immense shockwave to radiate outward, that he was forced to dodge.
"As I said, this battle was determined from the start, Hollow's should not try to rise up against their betters."
Just as he turned to leave for another battlefield a feminine voice called out from the large dust cloud.
"Cero Racimo"
A large sphere of energy resembling a Cero rushed towards the Shinigami, who glanced at it curiously, before it exploded into a large grouping of the same type of attack, completely surrounding him in a manner oddly reminiscent of the technique he had just performed.
Realizing the danger he was in Byakuya hastily recalled his Bankai to himself, completely covering his body in petals in a way of ultimate defense.
The attack exploded, shaking the buildings around them with the energy it released and sending a shockwave out that shattered all nearby windows in a flurry of glass and debris.
The Captain scowled in annoyance beneath his defensive barrier, had he been a second too slow he most likely would have been knocked out of the fight, perhaps even killed from the attack.
He had been taking this battle too lightly and if he continued to do so he would end up regretting it.
Sensing the dramatic rise of spiritual power from outside of his protection he curiously allowed part of it to fall off, allowing him to see the oncoming attack moments before it impacted.
A large lance-like Zanpakuto slammed into his Bankai, drilling through the defenses with ease and ripping through his side just as easily.
"Lanzador Verde"
Eyes widening the Captain disappeared in a flurry of Shunpo, putting a great deal of distance between him and the now transformed Espada.
As he applied a healing solution to his side, he continued to reevaluate his situation.
His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of chuckling from behind. Turning he inwardly groaned at the sight, Captain Kenpachi Zaraki along with former Kido Corp Commander Tessai were standing behind him, the latter applying a healing Kido to Zaraki's wounds.
"I have only had one good fight so far, and I am itching to get another in before this war is over!"
***SoD***
The Tres Espada was not in a good mood.
Not only was she fighting one of those responsible for hurting Ichigo but she was covered in these stupid butterfly stamps. She was well aware of what it meant if Sui-Feng managed to hit the same one twice though, so now she was forced to use ranged combat. It was an irritating fact that the Shinigami's speed did surpass her own and she did not want to be forced into her Resurreccion against only a single opponent, knowing that she would more likely be attacked by a few more soon enough.
Suddenly an idea formed in her head and as her opponent charged in for the next, potentially fatal, strike she swung her sword, firing a very wide Cero towards he opponent, who barely managed to dodge the attack at the last second.
The Shinigami appeared behind her, aiming for a spot the Arrancar's back which connected to a mark on her front. Even if Aizen had obtained knowledge on their Zanpakuto there was no reason to believe that the SRDI would know of this handy trick of Suzumebachi's as well.
As she stabbed forward the Espada disappeared in a blur of Sonido, leaving behind a strange glowing yellow orb. Her eyes opening wide in shock the stealth Captain realized what it was a second too late, and her arm passed close enough to activate the proximity trigger.
The resulting explosion was far too large for her to escape and she fell backwards, severely burned and cursing her lack of durability compared to other Captains.
Glaring at her opponent the black haired woman took this short break to catch her breath and take in the situation. Obviously she was faster and had been dominating the fight up until now. But the problem was that she knew that the Arrancar could release their Zanpakuto and become dramatically more powerful, and yet her opponent had chosen not to thus far. Was the blonde toying with her? Did she really not consider the Captain a threat enough to use her full power? The Hollow was covered in her marks and yet she couldn't seem to land a second blow to any of them, leading her to believe that the Espada was indeed more powerful than what she was letting on, the question was how she stacked up against the others.
Due to the communication device, she had begrudgingly accepted from that clown of an ex-Captain Kisuke Urahara, she discovered that Byakuya Kuchki was up against the fifth and Ukitake was struggling against the fourth.
This lead her to believe her opponent was somewhere in the range of sixth in power, it was highly unlikely that she was any stronger, or else the Shinigami would have received more injuries by now.
Her pride did not allow her to consider anything weaker than the sixth to be a match for her.
"Arrancar, tell me what is your name and rank in Aizen's army, I wish to keep a record of my kills during this battle and I will be starting with you."
"My aren't we confident? Considering how you barely avoided crashing to the ground after that last attack I would say you do not need to consider keeping track of any victories you may have. If you are truly interested though my name is Tier Harribel, and I am the Tres Espada."
'Third huh, maybe Ukitake is just off his game right now, or his sickness is kicking in. I should go and lend assistance after I am through with her. The best part is that once she is dead I can rub this victory in that stuck up Kuchki's face.' Sui-Feng pondered with a grin forming.
"I should have known, after all why would Aizen send anyone weaker than the third to fight the fastest Captain in all of Soul Society."
"Strange, I was under the impression that Yoruichi Shihoin was the fastest in Soul Society. Perhaps the information we obtained about her is wrong then?" the blonde spoke, louder than what was necessary for her musings.
"Do not talk about lady Yoruichi you insignificant bitch." The Captain growled out.
"Oh did I hit a nerve? The SRDI did mention that you were a bit sensitive when it comes to your old mistress. Perhaps she was more than a teacher to you after all? I wonder what she thinks of your battle so far. It is quite unbecoming of you to be covered in wounds and dirt while your opponent has not even released her full power, for being the 'fastest Captain' you sure are lagging behind most of your other companions in terms of ability."
"I TOLD YOU NOT TO SPEAK OF HER!" Sui-Feng roared as she shot directly towards her opponent, who dodged her enraged thrust and delivered a large diagonal slash across the enraged woman's torso.
'Pathetic, for being the head of their stealth force and a master assassin she is far too easily tricked and taunted into emotional attacks. I expected so much more from someone rated so dangerously by their science division.
Disappearing in another flash of Shunpo the Captain fell down to one knee, gasping deeply and applying a healing lotion to stop the bleeding from the wound she had received, cursing her own recklessness the entire time.
"Damnit! Lady Yoruichi will be most upset by my actions."
"Oh don't worry my little bee, after all your fearless leader is here to help!" Said ex-Captain called out from beside her, grinning at the dark skinned Espada as well.
***SoD***
"This is becoming quite tedious Espada-San. Do you think you could have a little more black on your outfit instead of it all just being white and grey?" Shunsui asked jovially as he found himself locked into another parry with his opponent.
"Sorry, I actually had to alter my outfit to remove the color black from it, your color game is a bit too annoying for me to be dealing with at the moment."
"Ah so they did include information on me as well, that's quite a pity. The games are not as fun if you are prepared for them ahead of time after all."
"I do not consider this war a game, after all those who have fallen can you truly treat life and death so casually?" the Espada asked, break the contest with a burst of strength and pushing the Captain backwards.
"I have been around for a very long time, and if there is what constant in this world it is death. All things die and will continue dying, that is why we are here after all is it not?"
"That is the problem with you Shinigami, you think of nothing besides war and conflict. When given peace your first instinct is to prepare for the next war."
"Bushogama" Shunsui called out, firing two wind-like blades towards his opponent, who merely fired a Cero in response, canceling the attack out.
"Aww you're no fun, you won't even play the game." The Captain sighed.
"I have no interest in taking any more damage than necessary during this battle. Even if you are one of the most powerful Captains, I need to defeat you quickly to lend aid to the others."
"If you are so sure of yourself then you must be one of the stronger Espada, eh?" Shunsui replied, hinting not so subtly at the Arrancar's rank.
"Fine, if you are so curious I will tell you," Stark called out, removing his glove and displaying the number on his hand. "My name is Coyote Stark and I am the Primera."
"Oh so I get the strongest of the lot, how very troublesome indeed. I suppose it cannot be helped though, old man Yama is waiting to deal with the traitors and I am second in command which means I would be stuck fighting the enemy general."
Stark only smirked at the knowledge that he himself was only in command when Ichigo was not present.
"Something amusing Stark-San?"
"Very much so, but why ruin the fun by spoiling the secret. That is part of the game is it not?"
Shunsui's grin became even brighter.
"That's the spirit!" The Captain replied before racing toward his opponent, this time though he tapped into Kageoni, creating multiple shadow copies of himself to attack from all angles.
Unknowing to him though the SRDI had also taken this idea into account, and listed it as a possible ability.
Stark merely chuckled, before he vanished in a burst of Sonido. Leaving behind a large glowing blue sphere, which burst into dozens more as the copies reached the space he once occupied.
The ensuing blast devastated the area, knocking down several nearby buildings from the shockwave alone.
Stark merely turned his body and dodged the attack that had come from behind him, as a burned and bleeding Shunsui emerged from the Arrancar's shadow and skidded to a halt, once more initiating a standoff.
"Oh my that was very impressive, if I hadn't shielded myself with my clones and escaped into one of them at the last moment I would have been in serious trouble, I still felt that one though." The man laughed.
"Indeed you really should not be so careless Shunsui." Ukitake called out, as he arrived by his best friend's side. "Normally I am all for one on one fights, but this is becoming far too serious to leave things like this to chance.
***SoD***
The three imprisoned ex-Captains looked on as many of the fights began coming to a close. Aizen was, needless to say, fairly annoyed at the performance of his Espada. He had expected more than just Baraggan to have killed their opponent but it seemed like the weaker members had just been annihilated, even with knowledge of their opponents, and the stronger members were content with just fighting in the sealed states.
"Quite interesting eh Captain Aizen, I must say though I kind of expected a few of them to do a lot better. Seems like their pride got in the way in the end." Gin remarked in a happy tone.
"Very disappointing indeed, at least the top five are still alive and functioning though some are a bit worse for wear." Tousen added.
"You are both correct, but I believe it is time for us to take the field. This war has gone on quite long enough and I feel the need to stretch my legs a bit." Aizen replied, and extended his arm up into the air while making an open hand gesture.
This action immediately caught the attention of the Captains who had not entered into the battle yet.
"What the hell is Aizen doing?" Isshin muttered, eyeing the man with detest.
"Who the hell knows with that guy?" Shinji replied, immediately on guard.
Before Urahara could remark though, a large Garganta opened up in the sky, revealing a small blonde haired Arrancar boy and a massive Hollow like creature.
The creature released a large gust of wind, removing the flaming prison from around the three Shinigami as the boy made his way towards them as well.
"Very good Wonderweiss now for stage two of this war to commence." Aizen said with a smirk, as the remaining Captains drew their blades against the newly released traitors.
***A/N***
Hope you all enjoyed the second part of the Espada vs. Captain battles. I know some may be disappointed that the Shinigami seemed to wipe the floor with them but I had my reasons, mostly in that I dislike almost all of those Espada along with the idea they got whooped in actual canon something fierce.
Rest assured there will be more casualties on both sides before this is over.
Ichigo still isn't on site yet, I had considered throwing him in instead of Wonderweiss but it just felt too soon.
The war also seems to be escalating, I have always been a bit bothered by the "DBZ" philosophy of the one on one fight, and the group fights always were a bit more interesting to me so next chapter will have a ton of them.
So to answer a few guest Q/A's- They are battling in the Fake Karakura town setting. I had forgotten to mention this earlier but basically Aizen had them invade Soul Society rather than the Human world, to further keep Ichigo on his side, but halfway through the battles I realized that they were fighting in the skyscraper terrain so I just went with the "uh yeah that's how it works and such…"
In another interesting twist two of the more OP bullshit characters are now facing off, Baraggan and Kurotsuchi, wonder how this one will turn out…
Either way I hope you all enjoyed reading this chapter as I had a hell of a lot of fun writing it. Plans have been made for the future battles and I hope you all enjoy those as well, the epic is just starting. Trust me.