Enjoy the beginning of round 2! (I need a beta, my sis isn't fast enough lol- is anyone interested?)


(Chapter 28)

(Ryuken vs. Zommari - cont.)

'Where is he?' Ryuken thought to himself as he ran down a lone alley way, head held high in case his opponent appeared on the edge of one of the many close net buildings he ran past.

'Three minutes…'

That was how long he had lost sight of Zommari or at least the real Zommari. Several sonido clones had appeared out of alcoves in the alley at regular intervals.

They were dealt with swiftly enough.

Leaping over a lone garbage bin that was in his way, the last Quincy tugged at his tie, which had been flapping around wildly in his face, and let it go. He didn't want to be distracted by anything.

It had been many years since he had abandoned the title Quincy, and the consequence of that was catching up to him. He was breathing more heavily than he should have and his power wasn't what it used to be.

Spotting the end of the alley rapidly approaching, Ryuken turned right at the next possible chance he got.

Rapidly turning the corner, he froze in his steps.

For where he was now standing, he was now able to look out onto one of Karakura Town's main streets… His opponent was standing directly in the middle of said street, hand clapped together as if in prayer.

'The real one?' The Quincy could only assume as he watched, in shock, as the Zommari standing before him rapidly charged a bright pink cero from his forehead.

'This alley is to narrow… I won't escape it.' Ryuken thought analytically, swiftly reaching into his grey coat's inner pocket and pulling out a small grey tube.

"CERO!" Zommari yelled as the pink cero roared to life, releasing the echoing drone sound that followed any cero.

Grinning as Ryuken vanished behind the doom blast, Zommari took pleasure in seeing the buildings surrounding his opponent collapse from the resulting explosion.

Committing one of the greatest mistakes a warrior could make. The former Espada opt to watch and wait, to see if his opponent had indeed been dealt with, instead of continuing his assault.

Within moments, the dust and rubble from the collapsing buildings dispersed enough for Zommari to see a man-sized, narrow, dome of shinning steel that bore the mark of the Quincy on its surface.

'A barrier?' Zommari thought inquisitively.

Slightly frustrated that his cero had failed to cause the damage intended, the former Espada watched seemingly calm as the steel dome broke apart to reveal Ryuken, completely unharmed.

"Gritz." Ryuken stated, uttering the technique he had used to shield himself.

"So you have techniques to utilize other that your arrows." Zommari stated, unimpressed.

"Hollow, I haven't even begun to show you the extent of my powers." His opponent replied in a dark tone.

"Nor have I..."

Zommari was unexpectedly interrupted when Ryuken hastily shot off several spirit arrows towards him.

The Arrancar calmly dodged each arrow before charging the annoying human.

"The time for talk is over then!" He exclaimed while Ryuken released a barrage of arrows towards him.

Due to the sheer number of arrows aimed at him, Zommari created five clones to divert a large bulk of the arrows away from him.

His clones were defeated instantly, but they did their job.

Before his adversary could act, the former Espada was upon him, zanpakto raised high.

Ryuken back stepped the exact same moment Zommari brought his blade down. As the blade hit concrete, a large portion of the street below them suddenly erupted in a thick cloud of debris.

Due to his clouded vision, Zommari was caught off guard as an arrow pierced his left shoulder with enough force to send him shooting out of the cloud.

The former Espada left out a pained groan as he came to a skidding stop fifty feet away from his attacker. As he regained his balance, Zommari stood up and crushed the spirit arrow with his fist.

"Unforgivable!" Zommari roar as his reiatsu rose as he cocked his fist back.

'He's quite easy to provoke.' Ryuken realized and he shot another arrow.

This time, instead of dodging, Zommari released a bala.

The bullet of pure pink reiatsu ripped through the spirit arrow.

Ryuken's eyes widen in shock as the bala abruptly impacted against his abdomen, knocking the air out of him and causing him to crash into a nearby building.

As the Quincy lay amongst the rubble with blood trickling down the sides of his mouth, he left out a heavy sigh.

'Too careless' he thought idly as he sensed the dark skinned Arrancar approach.

"What happened to all that cockiness you had earlier?" Zommari asked Ryuken, who was already starting to stand once again.

'If I don't finish this soon… I may really get hurt. I guess it's…" Ryuken began as he reached into his coat pocket once again. "… Time i got serious."

"No answer? Then I shall bid you farewell." Zommari stated as he once more began charging a cero.

'To think… I have to use this against an Arrancar who isn't even an Espada…' Ryuken thought disappointedly.

"Cero!"

Once again the pink cero surged towards Ryuken.

As the cero hit, Ryuken was engulfed by an explosion that separated him from Zommari by a wall of dense, brown, smoke.

"DO YOU SEE NOW QUINCY? THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN YOU AND I? YOU CAN'T POSSI…"

Zommari paid the price for getting ahead of himself.

An arrow, more powerful than any spirit arrow Ryuken shot before, suddenly shot through the cloud of debris at a speed so terrible that Zommari could not hope to dodge it. All he could do was gape at the cloud of debris before him.

As he tried to wrap his mind around what had just occurred, he could vaguely hear Ryuken's voice.

"Direct hit? And you're not a clone either?" Ryuken began as he walked outside the cloud of rubble. "I bet your regretting it now." He finished forebodingly as he laid eyes on his opponent.

Zommari's entire abdomen and lower chest on the left side of his body… was completely blown off.

*Cough* *Cough*

"D…d…damn… you… Quincy." Zommari coughed out as blood pooled out of his body at a drastic rate. Every word he spoke weakened him.

"Seele Schneider… it is the strongest offensive weapon in a Quincy's arsenal. It's a weapon that allows a Quincy to absorb the reiatsu of their opponent's attacks, your cero in this case, and increases the arrows attack power exponentially. Of course the Seele Schneider is only a weapon and it is only as powerful as the person wielding it, but to me? When a Quincy of my caliber wields Seele Schneider, it is equivalent to a shinigami calling forth their bankai."

"ban…"

Ryuken abruptly interrupted him.

"Before I kill you, maybe you could be of some use. The son of my friend and a friend of my son, you have him held captive in Hueco Mundo do you not? What use is he to you? What are your plans with him?"

Not knowing what his opponent was talking about and suffering greatly from his grievous wound, Zommari replied weakly.

"I do not… know what…"

" His name is Kurosaki Ichigo." Zommari's eyes immediately widened in understanding. "My son, Uryu has had me training him nonstop since Aizen captured Ichigo in the hopes that he would be of some use in the near future. He's in Soul Society training with friends at the moment, but the least I could do is tell him that his friend is alive… Well Espada? Think quickly, will you give me the information I want?" Ryuken asked darkly.

"Kurosaki Ichigo…. Is still alive…. as for what Aizen-sama needs him for... I will not divulge that… secret." The Arrancar whispered tiredly as the blood loss caused him to shake uncontrollably.

"Then you are no longer needed."

Zommari's eyes widened as Ryuken suddenly tossed five Seele Schneider hilts high into the air before, all at once, they became charged with powerful spinning, white, reiatsu.

One at a time Ryuken appeared next to an active Seele Schneider and shot them down towards Zommari forming pentagon shaped seal.

Try as he might, Zommari was no longer able to use sonido. He barely had enough strength to place a trembling hand on his zanpakto.

Ryuken abruptly pulled out a small silver tube and spilled its liquid contents.

"Sprenger!" The Quincy exclaimed as his feet hit finally the ground.

As expected, the pentagon shaped seal began to glow bright with reiatsu before Zommari was engulfed by a powerful explosion that was contained within the perimeter of Ryuken's Ginto.

Though it was common for even an experienced warrior to feel the slightest bit of relief after causing devastating damage to their opponent, Ryuken glared suspiciously at his seal.

'No doubt about it, I sensed his reiatsu flare the moment I released Springer'

True to his suspicions the smoke cleared to reveal Zommari, completely unharmed and in an entirely new form.

"So this is resurreccion I've heard so much about." Ryuken commented, shock evident on his face.

Zommari's entire body was covered with fifty open eyes, his legs along with his lower body were replaced by a pink sea urchin-like structure surrounded by cyclopean faces that somewhat resembled his own face. His neck was covered in a skull-shaped neck brace with an open eye in the front. Black markings also appear on his face, in the form of two downward triangles starting from his eyes. Another five triangular marking appears under his mouth forming what looks like a beard.

'A truly hideous transformation, but what is he now capable of?' Ryuken wondered as he wiped the sweat from his brows.


(Abandoned building overlooking Ryuken and Zommari- Eighth floor)

"Hey Ururu! It looks like that old man is having trouble!" Jinta called out behind him.

He and Ururu had climbed up to the abandoned building, hoping to get a good spot where they were both clear of danger and able to over look the nearest fight. It, of course, had been Jinta's Idea.

"You should stay away from the window Jinta, you might be spotted." Ururu replied timidly.

"Oh shut up Ururu, what do you know?! Nothing, cause you're still just a kid!" Jinta yelled before turning back to the fight below.

"Jinta… I'm older than you." Ururu whispered.

"What was that?!" Jinta asked threateningly, his eyes never leaving the fight.

Ururu immediately shook her head.

"N…nothing."

"That's right noth… Hey! That guy the old man is fighting… he looks distracted!"

Knowing what he was thinking Ururu shook her head.

"We shouldn't move from this spot. Mister Ishida wouldn't want us to interfere. You saw how hard he tried to keep us safe. We can't go over there; we'll just get in the way. We aren't strong enough."

"But the old man is having trouble keeping up with that hollow guy… I think. If I could distract that Arrancar for a moment, maybe the old man could get him with a head shot or something really cool! I'd be a hero!"

"But it was your idea to hide here in the first place, why do you want to go out and fight? Besides they are Espada, what can we do?" Ururu whispered.

"I can change my mind can't I? Besides I just wanted to get you away from there? You stay here." Jinta yelled as he pulled out a small metal handle that suddenly changed into a rather large steel club. "I'm going to help the old man."

Ururu tried to call after him, but it was too late.

Jinta had jumped out of the window, club held high, ready to distract the hollow and give Ryuken an opening.

Ururu suddenly ran up to the window and saw Jinta free falling; she had a bad feeling about this.


(Ryuken vs. Zommari- cont.)

"You are correct Quincy, this is my resurreccion… Brujeria!"

"Bru… jeria?" Ryuken asked trying to buy time and think of a way to proceed. As of now, it was ill advised to move first considering he knew nothing about his opponent's new abilities. He had no choice…

'He will have to make the first move' Ryuken thought tiredly.

Though it wasn't bad, the bala to his gut earlier had definitely weakened him so he wanted to end this fight as soon as possible. Even in this new form, Ryuken sensed no dramatic change in reiatsu.

'In fact… my reiatsu… it's still greater than his. What's the meaning of this? I was told that resurreccion was supposed to increase an Arrancar's reiatsu tenfold. Am I remembering wrong…. Or is he really so weak? If it's the latter, I'm pathetic for having trouble with him.'

"I can see that your skills far exceed my own, but there are other ways… to assert my sovereignty over you…"

All of a sudden Zommari was interrupted by a sudden yell from above.

Upon hearing the voice, Ryuken felt his heart drop as both he and Zommari swiftly looked up.

'No!' Ryuken thought, eyes widened with fear.

Jinta was free falling directly above Zommari, his steel club at the ready.

'The fool!' Ryuken began to run towards Zommari.

"NO! WHAT ARE YO…?"

"Not another step." Zommari commended.

Suddenly three eyes, positioned on his sea urchin-like lower body, began to constrict and glow.

Before Ryuken knew what hit him, he found himself unable to move. His feet and left arm were frozen in place.

'NO!' Ryuken thought once again as Zommari turned to look back at Jinta, who had almost reached him.

"Ha! I thought you were another fighter for a moment; I guess it turns out…" Zommari cocked his right fist back. "… It was just a fly."

Ryuken felt his heart drop as the next few moment passed by slowly.

"DON'T DO IT JINTA!" Ryuken heard himself yelling.

"JINTA! HOMEEEEEEEEEEEE…."

Before he could even finish, Zommari moved… Jinta didn't stand a chance against an Arrancar of that level.

Zommari punched right through Jinta's small body.

Complete silence filled the air as Ryuken wondered if what he was seeing could possibly be real.

A loud humming filled his ears as he stared at Jinta's stunned expression. He could vaguely hear Ururu's voice shouting Jinta's name, but he didn't focus on it.

'I…failed him?' Ryuken thought disbelievingly as Jinta's blood poured down Zommari's arm.

Time froze on the battle field for a long moment before Zommari uncaringly threw Jinta into a nearby building.

As Jinta's limp body fell to the floor, unmoving, the reality of the situation kicked in.

"He's…"


(Ururu)

Tears streamed down her eyes as she called out to her long time friend.

"No…no…no…no…no…no" She repeated in her head as she clutched her hair tightly and fell to her knees.

Seeing him impaled on the Arrancar's arm made her stomach churn.

"JINTA! JINT!!!….."

All of a sudden the word died on her lips as she suddenly grew silent and her mind went black.

Almost as if she was a robot, her eyes became strange. They began to dilate as she stood up and jumped up on the window seal she was next to.

"Danger…" She whispered in an ominous tone. "Dangers… are threats…. Threats must be eliminated…."


(Ryuken vs. Zommari)

"Do you see now? The power I hold?" Zommari questioned in a tone of superiority.

"… dead" Ryuken said to himself, unable to take his eyes off Jinta.

"Did seeing that boy die, make you lose your drive to fight? Pity, I would have loved to…"

Before he could utter another word, Zommari was sent crashing into a hardware store that he was standing in front of.

Ryuken's eyes widened when in Zommari's place, stood Ururu. Her eye void of emotion.

'Not her to!'

"Hey Girl! Get away from here, run!" Ryuken yelled. Due to what had just occurred, he found him mind going blank on what to do next. He was sure that if he was thinking clearly, he could find a way to break out of this… paralysis.

Ururu abruptly turned to Ryuken and cocked her head to the side.

"But he is a threat… I must eliminate threats…" Ururu began as she started to slowly walk towards where Zommari had crashed.

"Threat? What are you…" Ryuken was once again reminded that he was unable to move.

'Damn it. I don't know what's going on but I have to break this technique fast or she's going to die! I can't let that happen.'

"Who dares to try and assert their dominance over me?" Zommari exclaimed wildly as he reappeared from the hole in the wall he had just made.

Seeing Ururu he sneered.

"Another f…" Zommari's eyes suddenly widened as something truly unexpected occurred.

The barrier that Szayel had erected abruptly shattered as a wave of reiatsu crashed into everything within the dome.

Ryuken and Zommari stared in shock at this unexpected and sudden turn of events.

'What's this?' Ryuken thought to himself as a wave of dark reiatsu swept over him and weakened him. Zommari, who was suffering the effects of the mysterious reiatsu as well, calmly watched as the barrier collapsed.

"Ulquiorra…. "The former Espada uttered forebodingly as the reiatsu suddenly passed.

After several minutes of confusion swept through the fighters and Zommari took advantage of it.

Once again, one of his extra eyes constricted and began to glow.

Ururu, who had been standing still, uninterested in the crumbling barrier, merely turned her head to the side and seemingly dodged an invisible projectile.

'What did she…' It was then that Ryuken noticed a strange sun shaped tattoo on both his legs and left arm. 'This is what's stopping me from moving' He realized.

"How dare you not accept my sovereignty!" Zommari yelled as several more eyes began to glow.

Ururu suddenly vanished, appearing directly behind Zommari and once again kicked his head with tremendous force, all while dodging his unnamed paralysis technique.

Once he had hit the ground Ururu appeared, kneeing him in the face and following up by relentlessly punching Zommari's face.

So tremendous was the force behind her blows that each punch she connected sent Zommari deeper into the ground.

Ryuken's eyes widened in disbelief at what was occurring before him.

"She's moving so fast Zommari isn't able to keep up! What did you create…. Urahara?" The Quincy whispered to himself though he swiftly rid himself of such thoughts and quickly began to think about how he could break his paralysis. Though as he did so, his mind returned to when Urahara spoke of Ururu mere hours ago.


(Four Hours Ago- underground training room – Urahara, Isshin, Ryuken, and Tessai)

"We are the only four capable of hold off Espada until Soul Society sends us reinforcements." Isshin began as they continued their discussion on what would occur if Aizen attacked Karakura town once again.

"Don't forget Ichigo's friends: Chard and Uryu." Tessai added.

"They aren't ready to face Espada though, besides there in Soul Society training under Shunsui." Ryuken replied.

"I forgot Ururu." Isshin stated with a smirk, hearing that his old friend had created a monster of a little girl.

"The girl?" Ryuken asked as everyone turned and saw Ururu crying out as she was chased by Jinta swinging around a broom.

"Looks can be deceiving ya know." Urahara replied.

"Urahara is right; she may not look it, but she has the battle capabilities of a seated officer." Tessai added.

"Well that's not exactly true either due to the fact that I sort of "Upgraded" her after Ichigo went to Hueco Mundo. Given enough incentive and the danger level of the opponent, she has the ability to fight on par with Arrancar… possibly low level Espada, but I don't know for sure."

"Espada?" Ryuken asked skeptically. "I'd have to see it. What is she exactly? What do you mean Upgrade?"

"That's a secret I'd prefer to keep to myself." Urahara said with a smile.

"Is she human?" Isshin asked inquisitively.

"She has a soul if that's what you mean." Urahara answered vaguely.

"So she's a puppet?"

"No not exactl…"


(Ryuken vs. Zommari- cont.)

"A puppet!" Ryuken stated realizing there was a way to escape paralysis.

'Damn, to not have done this earlier… the puppet technique!"

Ururu, who had dug Zommari far into the ground, was suddenly slapped across the face by the outraged Arrancar who managed to regain his senses.

"Damn you…" Zommari whispered, his face bloodied up pretty good. "…You fly!"

The enraged Arrancar lifted an injured Ururu by the front of her shirt and held her above him.

"Suffer!"

Zommari lifted his free hand and punched Ururu in the stomach though unlike Jinta he didn't pierce her flesh, only knocking her unconscious before simply throwing her against a pile of rubble.

"Foolish child…"

Zommari suddenly felt Ryuken's reiatsu rising exponentially.

'The Quincy, I almost forgot about him…' he thought has he jumped out of the hole he was put in.

"Trying to fight against my power? Useless, your limbs… are now mine."

Ryuken, who had reiatsu pouring out of him, was shock when his legs began moving towards Zommari. He tried but failed to stop his progression.

"It's useless to fight it..."

Seeing no other choice, Ryuken pulled out a Seele Schneider with his free hands and cut the nerves to his three unresponsive limbs causing him to fall onto the floor.

"You would rather be helpless than controlled? How foolish."

"Really? I don't think so." Ryuken stated as thick blue ribbons made entirely of reiatsu shot out of his body and began attaching themselves onto his three useless limbs.

"The Quincy had a point in eradicating you hollow, you don't deserve to be purified by a zanpakto… not after the horrid act you just committed. Killing an innocent child and nearing killing another? Your despicable."

To Zommari's immense shock, after the blue ribbons connected, Ryuken began to stand up. Trying to control the limbs he had used his ability on, Zommari found it useless.

"The other captain! NOW YOU!" Zommari roared angrily. "How dare you! My power is the ability to steal the sovereignty of anything my eyes see! A truly glorious power that I use to destroy the enemies of Aizen-sama! How do you deny this power?!"

Ryuken, now free to move around without struggle, simply stared at the former espada.

"Then I'll force you to tell me!"

Zommari suddenly began releasing every single eye he possessed and one by one, Ryuken evaded them all with his far superior speed.

When all his eyes were activated, Zommari yelled in frustration while Ryuken spoke.

"Ransotengai. It's an ability that lets me use my brain to move my limbs if I am ever paralyzed in battle. It's a perfect counter to your ability. Now… to make you pay for killing that little boy."

Both fighters locked eyes with one another before Ryuken charged, fully intent on ending this battle with his next strike.

'Kid… I'm sorry' Ryuken thought sadly he poured all of his reiatsu onto a single spirit arrow.


(Nnoitora vs. Love / Courtyard in the center of four symmetrical buildings )

Nnoitora didn't wonder how his opponent had the same reiatsu as a hollow, or even why he bore a mask. All he could think was…

"You bastard… you were toying with me… this entire time" He whispered angrily, his breath was heavy and he was already sweating profusely.

In a dark, echoing, demonic voice, Love spoke.

"Sorry… I guess I won't be releasing my bankai after all…"

"Won't release… bankai… Are you mocking me, bastard?" Nnoitora asked venomously.

"Yes" Love answered in a dark tone causing Nnoitora to glare at him.

"You think this injury will affect my ability to fight? This is nothing! To me this is a mere scratch!" Nnoitora yelled as he charged Love, ignoring the blood that dripped from where his arm once was.

The former captain vanished from the Octava Espada's sight.

'Where did he…'

Nnoitora's eyes widened as his right shoulder was instantly sliced open.

'Damn!' He swiftly turned around and came face to face with Love's Hollow mask.

"You're no match…" Love whispered as he rapidly punched Nnoitora in the face with his free hand, the Espada to be sent crashing into a nearby building from the tremendous force an instant later.

No longer needing to prove a thing to his opponent, Love removed his hollow mask in order to conserve its usage, in case he would have to call upon it at a later time.

Not a moment after he dispelled his mask, Nnoitora's reiatsu spiked from within the building he had crashed into.

As the lanky Espada appeared, Love eyed him cautiously.

"Took you long…" Love abruptly shut up when Nnoitora stuck out his tongue and began charging a brought golden cero at its tip.

"A cero of that level…" Love began as he held his zanpakto high in the air. " is no threat to me."

As the cero neared him, Love brought his blade down, successfully splitting the cero in two halves.

As the cero separated and passed both his sides, Love watched as Nnoitora's large zanpakto neared him. Love had expected as much. He knew the cero was a diversion from the very beginning.

Without missing a beat, Love jumped into the air before throwing his zanpakto down and trapping one of the chained links connected to his opponents weapon.

Nnoitora growled as his weapon was ensnared by his enemy.

Now weaponless as well, Love charged him.

Nnoitora was prepared to intercept him but wasn't fast enough.

Love ducked under the kick Nnoitora aimed at him before bringing his right fist up and connecting with the Espada's jaw.

Nnoitora winced as his head snapped back from Love's powerful punch, but the vizard was far from done.

Following the sudden upper cut, Love elbowed Nnoitora's stomach before executing a back flip, kicking Nnoitora full force against him chin.

The Octava Espada couldn't move fast enough to block any blow Love sent his way.

Unable to stand after such an onslaught, Nnoitora fell on all fours, his breathing labored.

"Do you surrender, Espada?" Love asked.

Nnoitora glared at the ground before him.

"I can't accept this… how did I get so weak!' Nnoitora thought in frustration as he clawed into the ground below him. 'No… I'm NOT weak! I won't accept this! Always weak… against that captain…. Against Neliel…. Against HIM!'

Nnoitora surprised Love when he suddenly made a fist and released a golden bala into the ground below him.

'No matter what…. I'll kill this shinigami! I'm an Espada!"

Love swiftly jumped back as Nnoitora was engulfed by a large plume of smoke.

'What is he thinking?" Love wondered as he waited for Nnoitora made a move.

He didn't have to wait long. Nnoitora showed his intention when Love saw that the chain, connected to Nnoitora's weapon, given a powerful tug, releasing it from Love's zanpakto that had trapped it.

Within mere seconds the massive zanpakto shot into the plume of smoke Nnoitora was hiding in while Love grabbed his zanpakto.

Sensing Nnoitora's approach, Love turned around in time to parry the blow Nnoitora aimed at him.

'He now only has one arm… the power of his blows have been halved. He must realize he doesn't stand a chance…"

"You can't sneak up on me with sonido." Love explained causing Nnoitora to get even angrier.

"NO SHINIGAMI HAVE THE RIGHT TO CALL ME THEIR EQUAL!" Nnoitora yelled venomously.

Tired of hearing the captain's voice, Nnoitora began bringing his zanpakto down on his opponent with tremendous force, hoping to hack through Love's iron defense.

After the twentieth slash Nnoitora let out a tired, frustrated, yell. No matter how powerful his blows were, Love was unmovable.

"My turn." Love abruptly stated as he began his own onslaught. Unfortunately for Nnoitora, Love managed to give the Espada a new cut every several slashes.

'My heirro! It's like it isn't even their anymore.' The lanky Espada thought angrily, remembering how much trouble Love was having with him not thirty minutes ago.

"Every time our zanpakto meet you weaken, you sure you can continue on like this?" Love mocked as he carelessly ducked under Nnoitora's zanpakto.

Seeing an opening in his opponent's stance, the former captain kicked Nnoitora hard enough so send him crashing into a diesel truck that had been parked between two of the four building surrounding them.

The truck exploded the moment Nnoitora hit the trucks gas tank.

"This should be over soon." Love said to himself as he saw Nnoitora crawl his way out of the blazing inferno he had found himself in.

"This…" Nnoitora began weakly as he got to his knees. "… Ends now."

Love raised his right eyebrow at this comment.

Managing to find the strength to stand up, Nnoitora lifted his zanpakto high and began summoning a large amount of reiatsu.

"Pray…" Nnoitora started weakly, causing Love's eyes widened.

"No you don't!" Love yelled as he charged Nnoitora, fully intent on beheading the Espada.

If Love gave Nnoitora the chance to use his resurreccion, the battle would be dragged out longer. He had no doubt that he would be fighting another opponent after this so he had to conserve as much energy as possible, not waste it on a fight that will have the same outcome regardless . Unfortunately fate had other plans.

"Santa Theresa!" Nnoitora coughed out.

Love, which had gotten mere inches from him, was hit full force by a powerful wave of reiatsu, that began to engulf the entire area around them, and was sent flying into a telephone pole several yards away.

"Too late…" Love yelled in frustration as the plume of smoke covering Nnoitora began to die down.

Upon seeing the outline of Nnoitora, Love's eyes widened in shock.

The first thing he noticed was that Nnoitora gained an extra set of arms and regained the one previously cut off, which took on an insect-like carapace and clawed hands, with each hand holding a large scythe-like weapon that resembled the appendages of a praying mantis. Along with his new appendages, Nnoitora also gained a pair of horns on his head, his left horn longer than his right, resembling a crescent moon.

As the smoke died down fully, Love could see him more clearly.

He gained a golden mark extending from his forehead to below his right eye. As a final change, Nnoitora's hollow mask also transformed, becoming torn, with the teeth extending over the hole.

The worst part of the entire transformation was that fact that all his previous wounds were healed.

"Well, say something… shinigami." Nnoitora grinned after a moment of silence.

"Nothing I say will change the outcome of this battle. You will either surrender or die. It's as simple as that."

Nnoitora sneered at his opponent.

"Come at me then, if you think you are still capable of defeating me."

Without another word Love charged him as the grin on Nnoitora's face widened.

When Love was close enough he made to thrust his zanpakto into his opponent's throat, but to his immense surprise, Nnoitora moved at incredible speed and intercepted the blow with one of his four weapons.

A small shockwave of reiatsu surged out as both blades meet.

'Nice blo…' Love couldn't finish his thought; Nnoitora shocked him by striking at him with his remaining three arms.

Love saw them coming but wasn't fast enough, his eyes widened in shock as his chest was sliced open.

Wincing in pain, Love jumped back several feet before clutching his chest where three diagonal slash marks bled out.

'Caught me off guard.' Love thought, disappointed in himself for falling for such a novice move.

"What was that about me dying? Eh, shinigami?" Nnoitora mocked, glad that he finally gained the upper hand, at least for the moment.

"If you were an experienced fighter, you would know not to get to ahead of yourself after one lucky assault." Love replied while breathing heavily, though the wound bothered him slightly it wasn't painful enough to affect his fighting capabilities.

"Luck? You got nerve shinigami! If you believe that was luck, try it again!" Nnoitora sneered.

Love immediately used shunpo to appear behind him.

The Espada grinned as he turned around, blocking the incoming strike from above with both of his upper weapons while the lower weapons attempted to bifurcate his opponent.

Love saw the two scythe-like weapons near him before pushing against the two blades locked against his own, successfully evading the deadly blow.

"You're slowing down Shinigami, you sure it was a good idea for you to take off that mask of yours?"

"I'm a superhero; it only lasts three minutes, besides…" Love began as he brought his hand up to his face, his reiatsu rising. "… I didn't think I would need it against an opponent of your level."

Love suddenly made a sweeping motion, with his hand, across his face.

Nnoitora watch quietly as the ogre-like hollow mask that now donned Love's face while acid green reiatsu poured off him.

"Heh, don't kid yourself shinigami. That hollow mask… I'll crush it!"

"Let's do this quick." Love's demonic voice whispered.

Nnoitora got into a battle stance while twirling all four of his weapons.

"You're on, shinigami."

Loved suddenly vanished for Nnoitora's line of sight.

'Not this time.' The Arrancar muttered, but even as he thought that both arms on his left side were sliced off.

"Heh, this is nothing!" Nnoitora exclaimed when Love appeared before him.

The vizard was surprised to see the two limbs he had cut off suddenly grow back.

"You can't defeat me shinigami… not anymore"

The Espada charged Love and brought all four of his scythes up in unison. Love merely parried the blades, but the force behind the attack sent the vizard into the sky, his opponent right behind him.

Love regained his balance one hundred feet in the air and charged Nnoitora, who was speeding towards him. The vizard swiftly got within close range of his opponent and slashed his chest.

Nnoitora didn't falter, but winced as the shallow wound began to bleed.

Not giving Nnoitora time to recover, Love attempted to cut into his chest but was halted by Nnoitora bringing all four of his zanpakto to block the blow.

Now that they were inches from each other, eyes locked, Nnoitora laughed.

"Is there something is missed? What's so…." Love's eyes widened as he felt his abdomen suddenly being pierced.

'Wh…what?!' Love thought incredulously as he looked down. Two arms had pierced the right and left side of his abdomen.

"How did…"

Nnoitora had grown an extra pair of arms, bring the total number of arms he had up to six.

"Let your guard down… shinigami." Nnoitora mocked as Love's mask suddenly broke apart.

"Damn… hollow." Love whispered.

"You're finished." Nnoitora stated, grinning at the thought of victory.

"Not yet?" Love replied weakly, confusing his opponent.

Love swiftly managed to escape Nnoitora's grasp and began to free fall towards Karakura town.

"Tch."

Nnoitora, like before, stuck out his tongue and released a cero from the tip.

'He won't escape me!' Nnoitora thought to himself angrily.

Love smiled as he felt the heat from the cero near him.

'My hollow mask protected me from the majority of my wounds, at least enough from me to continue fighting.' Love thought calmly as he held his zanpakto before him, slightly enjoying the feel of the wind as he free fell.

"Crush Down: … Tengumaru."

Love's dark green reiatsu suddenly engulfed his zanpakto before revealing its massive form.

It had taken on the form of a massive iron club with multiple razed spikes jutting out from every direction; the shikai-club itself was multi times larger than its wielder.

Nnoitora, who was unable to see what had occurred due to his cero blocking his vision, watched in astonishment as the same cero was suddenly dispelled. Even worse was the fact that his opponent was no where to be seen.

"Where are you looking?"

Nnoitora's eyes widened as he looked over his shoulder.

Not only was Love standing several yards behind him, but he now held the released form of his zanpakto and once more wore his demonic ogre-like hollow mask.

Though he stood proudly, signs of fatigue showed everywhere due to his abdominal wounds. He was quivering slightly, the eyes that shown behind the mask looked glazed and his reiatsu had depleted greatly.

"You bas…"

Suddenly Love's and Nnoitora's eyes widened as a wave of reiatsu crashed into them at full force before, to their immense shock, the barrier surrounding them was unexpectedly shattered.

"What…"

"The hell…" Nnoitora finished while the golden remnants of the barrier turned to dust before their very eyes.

"Ulquiorra, heh… is your opponent giving you that much trouble?" Nnoitora asked, speaking to the wind.

"I'd be more worried about yourself if I were you." 'if the barrier is down then it means all we have to do is hold off the stronger Arrancar until reinforcements get here.' Love was ready to end this extermination.

Nnoitora swiftly turned around and brought all six of his weapons up to block the blow he felt coming.

Unfortunately for the Espada, he no longer had even a fighting chance. No more than dog having a fighting chance against a lion.

Nnoitora's weapons were shattered the moment Tengumaru made contact with them.

The Espada let out a pained yell as he was sent rocketing higher above Karakura Town, his blood pouring from where the spikes on Tengumaru pierced him.

"What… is this strength?" Nnoitora coughed out before he warily regained his balance.

'I can still win' Nnoitora thought desperately as he felt his vision fading due to the intensity of Love's last attack and sheer amount of blood loss he was suffering from.

"I won't lose… ever again."

Nnoitora's eyes widened as he felt Love appeared above him.

"To bad that's not your decision to make…" Love began in a demonic tone, raising his massive shikai above his head.

"I WON"T LOSE!" Nnoitora yelled as he licked the blood from his hand, coating his tongue with blood before charging the most powerful cero in his arsenal.

Regrettably for Nnoitora, Love didn't wait for the cero to finish charging.

"HIFUKI NO KODZUCHI!" Love yelled as the tip of his oversized club burst into flames. As the final act Love brought his zanpakto down, hitting Nnoitora with its tremendous force.

Nnoitora let out a pained yell as flames engulfed his body and sent him plummeting into Karakura Town.

Love watched carelessly as Nnoitora caused a massive impact where he had landed.

The entire block fell under the might of Tengumaru's incredible power.

Buildings collapsed, streets were destroyed, and fires erupted as the area was covered in the debris of the explosion.

"It's done." Love whispered before letting out a long sigh.

As he descended towards Karakura Town Love removed his hollow masks as well as changing Tengumaru into its sealed form.

"What a bother." Love muttered as he landed next to Nnoitora's burnt corpse.

"You caused me way more trouble than you should of. I was fool not to go into shikai the moment this battle started."

Love glance at Nnoitora once more before looking into the sky.

'The barrier's down… reinforcement should be…"

Love was suddenly interrupted when the echoing sound of sonido filled his ear. His eyes widened as he made to turn around.

He was no where near fast enough.

Love didn't know what had occurred, but instantly found himself staring at a blood cover blade that was sticking out of his chest.

'What the…'

He had been stabbed… directly in the center of his heart....


(Barragan vs. Tessai- cont.)

Barragan's eyes immediately shot open when he left his entire body weakening.

'Wh…what?!' Barragan wondered in confusion as he tried to figure out where he was.

He couldn't move… couldn't speak… he could do nothing but think about the events that lead up to this moment.

Fighting Tessai… gaining the upper hand… Tessai's unknown kido, then…. Nothing.

"You must be confused… Barragan Luisenbarn."

As if the voice was a switch, the dark room he had been in shattered like glass to reveal something that Barragan's mind could not fathom.

He was encased in a massive, reiatsu enhanced, see-through, red tinted, prison, hundreds of meters above Karakura town.

Barragan was in the direct center, bound by several chains.

"How is this possible?!" Barragan wondered out loud as he looked outside of the prison.

Six, reiatsu created, spirit zanpakto loomed near each wall of the square prison.

"You were arrogant." Tessai's voice called out as he appeared in Barragan's field of vision, right outside of the reiatsu prison.

"Curse you shinigami! RELEASE ME!" Barragan roared loud enough to rattle the prison walls.

"You can manipulate time around you, but the kido I used manipulates both time and space in this entire area. Compared to me, you abilities are too limited."

'Time… space…'

Barragan's blood boiled as Tessai turned and began to walk away.

"Good bye, Barragan Luisenbarn, Grand ruler of Las Noches."

As a final act Tessai snapped his fingers, causing all six reiatsu created zanpakto to pierce the prison walls and the prisoner contained inside.

Tessai stared emotionlessly as his opponent shook violently while letting out a pain filled yell.

Besides the fact they were translucent, the katana looked normal so no one would think they were capable of anything else besides cutting. Unfortunately for Barragan, the kido created blades also had the ability to poison their targets from the inside out.

Though Tessai hated to cast such a repulsive kido, he knew that nothing else in his arsenal of kido would affect his opponent without nearly killing himself in the process.

With a heavy sigh, he whipped the sweat from his brow before cancelling the kido for he could no longer keep it active.

The first thing to dissipate was the reddish prison, which turned into smoke that was soon blown away in the wind. Then the katana, one by one, vanished… the ridiculously complex kido he had cast had done its job without flaw, though not without costing him a great deal of reiatsu.

The tyrant of skulls groaned as blood poured out of his wounds while the poison that the katana's distributed continued to burn his insides, he looked so weakened that Tessai was secretly surprised the Espada still had to strength to suspend himself in the air like he was doing.

"You don't have much time to live Espada. The poison, the moment it enters your body, leaves you with exactly ten minutes to live." Tessai revealed, as a small courtesy to his opponent.

"Da…damn you shinigami." Barragan whispered coughing up blood as his vision blurred.

"Do not be asha…"

Tessai abruptly shut up as he sensed someone approach, an instant later a sudden rush of wind past directly to the right of him.

Before Tessai knew it, an Arrancar appeared between Barragan and himself.

Though Tessai remained calm, Barragan was surprised to see the Arrancar appear.

"A… Aaro… niero… what are you… doing here…" He coughed out weakly.

"I was sent… by him." Aaroniero answered calmly as he eyed Tessai impassively.

"Heh…" Barragan let out a weak laugh. "I'd rather… die than get… help from the likes of him."

"Seeing as you do not have the strength nor the authority to stop me, I will follow the orders given to me."

'Hollows…. Helping one another?' Tessai thought suspiciously.

"Are… you…"

Before Barragan could speak his mind, Aaroniero used sonido.

Tessai's eyes widened as he sensed the Arrancar's trajectory.

Aaroniero suddenly reappeared as Tessai managed to block him from going any further.

"Apologies…" Tessai began calmly. "But what you're planning to do… I cannot allow it."

As the former kido finished speaking he summoned a five foot long iron staff. Six rings, though they were interlocked, moved around freely around the bowl shaped end of the staff.

"A zanpakto in the form of a Shakujo…" Tessai eyes widened as Aaroniero appeared mere inches from him, his hand outstretched. "… I have not had the pleasure…" Tessai was unable to move his zanpakto away in time… the Espada managed to place his hand on it. "… of destroying such a thing."

The moment the words died on the Espada's lips, Tessai's zanpakto began to liquefy before dispersing in the wind. So shocked at what had occurred, Tessai fell victim to Aaroniero's abrupt bala.

Though it was surprisingly weak, Tessai found himself falling from the sky.

Now that the shinigami was out of the way, Aaroniero turned to the object of his desire.

The massive structure that contained Barragan's zanpakto was several yards away from him.

Without waiting another moment, he pulled out the zanpakto he had taken from Kaien Shiba and cut the palm of his hand.

Allowing his reiatsu to rise and mix with his own blood, the former Nuevo Espada raised his hand.

"Grand Rey… Cero!"

Suddenly a chaotic, bright, neo purple cero roared to life.

Though it wasn't nearly as strong enough as other Espada's Grand Rey Cero's, it got the job done. With Tessai currently weakened by over using forbidden kido, having his arm broken, and the recent bala to his chest, his kido spells that were still active had drastically weakened.

The massive five pillar structure, along with the other two kido spells, crumbled before Aaroniero's cero.

Quickly using sonido, the Espada grabbed Barragan's large battle axe before it hit the ground.

"That was… simple."

Quickly turning around when he suddenly sensed a presence behind him, Aaroniero came face to face with Tessai whose palm rested a mere inch from the Espada's chest.

"He got… us." Aaroniero acknowledge calmly as his opponent eyed them cautiously.

"You have the ability to destroy the zanpakto you touch, it is a unique ability, but you're not as strong as the others, I am fortunate." Tessai commented as sweat poured down his forehead.

"Are you? Zanpakto destruction is only one of my many abilities" The Espada answered cryptically.

Before Tessai thought on those words he noticed that he could no longer feel even the slightest bit of reiatsu from the Espada even though they were so close.

The former kido captain's eyes widened as he turned around.

Aaroniero, who had tricked the former kido captain by initiating a mirror image move he had absorbed from an unknown hollow, was flying with all haste towards Barragan.

'No!' he thought worriedly as he raised his palm. 'It'll be close.'

As he summoned his reiatsu, he wordlessly created a blindingly white spear that crackled with electricity.

Gripping the reiatsu created spear, Tessai pulled his arm back before flinging the spear with all his power.

As he felt the spear leave his hand, Tessai fell to his knees feeling significantly weakened.

"A kido that disregards defense no matter how powerful… it cost me dearly…"

Aaroniero, who was now twenty feet away from Barragan, looked behind him.

The kido spear had managed to catch up to him and without any time to dodge Aaroniero took the kido spell full force.

Disregarding any form of heirro or defense, the spear shot right through Aaroniero's leaving the shocked Espada with a gaping hole in his chest all in a matter of moments.

Barragan, who had witnessed the whole thing, watched as Aaroniero began coughing up blood.

"Foolish hollow, do not be foolish enough… to presume that you would… be of any help to any of the Espada… still…"

Thought he was hanging on to his life by a thread, Barragan managed to use sonido to get within reaching distance of his zanpakto.

As he reached for the hilt of his axe, he saw Tessai appear next to him…. palm raised.

Barragan let out a weak laugh as he gripped the hilt of his zanpakto before watching as Aaroniero's remaining strength faded. The dual Arrancar fell from the sky without any help from his ally.

'Who would have thought he could be slightly useful' Barragan thought carelessly.

"Hado…"

"Don't… fool yourself… shinigami. I can… still sense reiatsu… even in this weakened condition… you can't cast another… spell. You should be…. Proud… I would have never thought… I would have to use resurreccion on the likes… of you."

Tessai's eyes widened as Barragan's reiatsu began to rise.

"Now let me remind you… why everyone fears time…"

'It's too late' Tessai thought weakly.

Four, thick, black wisps of reiatsu suddenly poured out of Barragan's body before converging at the glass, eye-shaped gem at the center of his battle axe.

"Rot… Arrogante!"

Tessai felt his heart drop when Barragan was engulfed by violent black flames that burnt away his very flesh before those very same flames wrapped around Barragan's now skeletal form becoming a black cloak.

'This must be my penance for not entering battle for one hundred years. Tessai thought tiredly as he stared at Barragan's frightening form.

Aside from the skeletal appearance, he retained both of his arm bands. The cloak, created by the now extinguished black flames, now had a pitch black fur collar around his neck giving him a macabre grim reaper like appearance. Several lengths of golden chain, originally worn like a belt around his waist, now dangle out of either of his sleeves. The pendant from his Zanpakuto, worn around his neck as an elegant necklace while the sandals of his uniform became white, pointed-toe boots. As a final change, his crown-like mask fragment turned into a full, extravagantly-decorated, and bejeweled crown.

A dark laugh filled the air as Barragan, now fully healed, stared at his opponent.

"Old age… Time… it is the mightiest and most absolute power of death. It stands in the way of everything. And that power… is the power you will be facing…"

With a mere swipe of Barragan's hand, a wave of pure black reiatsu sent Tessai plummeting towards Karakura Town.

As he watched his opponent impact the ground hard enough to create a small crater, Barragan let out another dark laugh before using sonido.

Tessai, who weakly stood up, used shunpo when he sensed Barragan close in on him.

"How wise of you." The Sexta Espada commented as he viewed his surroundings.

They were no longer in the business district of Karakura Town and were now on a hill that was overlooking the side of a river bed.

As Barragan's feet finally touched the ground Tessai saw firsthand the power of his opponent.

With every step that Barragan took towards him, the ground beneath him began to decay. The bed of grass they were on blackened, the concrete sidewalk that was three feet to their right deteriorated, even the very air Tessai breathed was stale.

"Do you see shinigami… how useless it is?"

Tessai stared at the dead grass below him, thinking.

He had used nearly all his reiatsu up, his left arm was broke, and to make matters worse he was exhausted. Now two options lay before him, neither one was a path he wished to traverse, but it was too late. He could either cast aside his beliefs and fight, or surrender and die. The choice was obvious.

"I grow tired of this. I have honored you by taking on this form and that should be enough for you… Respira…"

The Espada suddenly began emitting a black, smoke-like substance from his body.

Tessai's eyes widened as the smoke suddenly charged him and an incredible speed.

"Bakudo # 81: Danku!"

As Barragan's Respira crashed into the reiatsu created barrier Tessai watch in shock as his kido began to decay allowing the Respira to continue its course.

"HAHAHA! Fool! Did you think kido does not age?!"

Tessai made a costly mistake. Even more weakened by the kido he had used, he was unable to use shunpo to evade the attack.

To his immense shock the Respira caressed the tip of his left finger before he could fully jump away.

Letting out a pained groan, Tessai watched as the flesh on his hand began to decay leaving only bone in its wake.

Only seeing one way to precede, Tessai blocked the Respira from progressing by sealing off his arm, at the elbow, in a barrier.

Barragan watched as his opponent's arm, which was still encased by the barrier, fell to the floor.

"You have more lives than anyone I've ever fought before." Barragan stated in a frustrated tone.

Tessai, who was now sweating profusely, fell to one knee as his body began to shake due to his over exertion.

"I won't fail Urahara. Whatever you want with him, you're going to have to forget." The former Kido Captain replied with a heavy sigh as he looked across the riverbed. It was now or never, and this wasn't even a sure bet. It had been such a long time since he had learned of this technique and it had never been used in actual combat by any of the previous Kido Captains that had came before him. It was nothing short of a gamble of long odds, but he could see no other way to defeat this Hollow.

'If only… if only that other Arrancar hadn't interfered. I'm sorry my friends… sorry… Kisuke. I can't stand by your side forever.'

"He's just one man." Barragan reasoned.

"He is my friend." Tessai replied solemnly.

"Then you will die… for that friend… Respira!"

As the jet of black smoke poured out of his opponent, Tessai used shunpo.

Barragan grew confused when Tessai appeared on the opposite side of the riverbank.

'Isshin, Yuroichi, Ryuken… please save Kisuke.'

"Barragan Luisenbarn, you once told me that your only weakness was immortality and that you doubted I had such a power." Tessai stated as he knelt on his right knee, placing the palm of his remaining hand on the lush grass he stood on.

Barragan, who could barely hear him as such a distance, let out a hollow laugh.

"That's right."

"Your right I don't, but the kido I am about to use… that's a different matter."

Barragan, without missing a beat, began laughing.

"If you had such a power, you would have used it the moment we first crossed blades."

Tessai shook his head sadly.

"This kido… it has been passed down from kido captain to kido captain for generations to use at a time of our greatest need. I can think of no better time, but it comes at a cost. The strain this kido puts on the body, none can live through it."

Not wanting to take a chance this time, Barragan used sonido to get to the other side of the river before walking towards his opponent.

Suddenly the grass Tessai was kneeling on blackened as it died away and a moment later an outburst of reiatsu poured out of his body, slamming into Barragan full force.

"W…what is this?" Barragan yelled out as he began releasing a huge amount of his own reiatsu.

'How did he gather so much reiatsu? He barely had any a moment ago!' Barragan thought angrily as Tessai's ocean blue reiatsu began pouring out of his body.

'His reiatsu's not dissipating after he's releasing it!' He wouldn't find out that Tessai had absorbed the life out of the grass below him to replenish his reiatsu.

It wasn't until a moment later that Barragan realized that the massive funnel of reiatsu Tessai was engulfed in began to break apart… and take shape.

Within moment's Barragan stared in amazement at what he saw.

Standing between him and Tessai was the most incredible display of kido anyone could ever see.

A woman, the most beautiful to ever grace the human world and created entirely of ocean blue reiatsu stood between him and Tessai.

The woman was at least twelve feet tall, she wore a long flowing gown that covered her feet and just as long hair. Due to being created of reiatsu, she was slightly translucent and as a gust of wind blew by, parts of her would occasionally vanish and reappear in the same moment.

"What is this?" Barragan asked Tessai.

Tessai, who already felt his life force draining, answered him.

"This kido… allows the caster to give kido itself a human form so that it may think and act independently.

Barragan let out a hollow laugh.

"And it's using you as a medium…" Barragan guessed accurately.

"Correct." The reiatsu woman answered. "Am my name…. is Seirei."

"Heh, you forget, she's still kido!" Barragan yelled as he unleashed a wave of Respira towards Seirei.

Though Tessai moved out of the way, Seirei let the Respira pass right though her, surprising Barragan.

"I am not a kido spell, nor am I even touchable; as such… your abilities can't affect me." Seirei whispered serenely. "You said to Tessai that he didn't have the key to immortality, ask me that question… you will find that I have a different answer."

"You lie!"

"I control the very fabric of reiatsu… why else would you think I use up all the life energy of the person that created me? The sacrifice fits the power. Anything under the jurisdiction of reiatsu is mine to control. Unfortunately for you… my power… is omnipotent." Seirei stated, revealing the extent of her existence.

Seirei suddenly held up her right hand, to Barragan shock, a zanpakto materialized for her.

Tessai, who had began to shake, suddenly collapsed at he felt his life force take a sudden drop.

"Looks like…"

Barragan was abruptly interrupted when Seirei suddenly appeared before him, what shocked him even more was the fact that the zanpakto she now wielded was embedded in his chest.

"Vanish…" She whispered darkly.

Barragan let out a hoarse laugh when he realized that the blade wasn't solid.

"I guess you lost, your time…."

All of a sudden Barragan began to feel something tugging at his chest.

"You should have been more careful. This blade of mine is special; It devours all it touches and drags it to a dimension of darkness. There you will dwell… unable to escape… forever…"

Barragan's eyes widened when he looked down and saw his cloak flowing into the blades hilt.

"What is this?" Barragan roared as he tried desperately to escape the technique.

"It's pointless."

"What good will it do!" Barragan yelled angrily. "Your caster will still die, you told me this. This victory is in vain! Stop this! You bug! STOP THIS!!!" he roared.

"I…"

Barragan, who was still fighting against being absorbed, stared in panicked-confusion as the kido spirit suddenly vanished as a gust of wind swept her form away.

Though he hadn't been absorbed fully, the entire lower half and entire right side of his body had been dragged into her blade.

"Agh!!!" Barragan yelled painfully as the pain from his body being torn finally kicked in, forgetting how he had almost been trapped forever.

"So…. Weak."

Barragan, through all his pain, turned to look at who had spoken.

Aaroniero was standing over Tessai's body, his zanpakto piercing the former Kido Captain's back chest, revealing why the kido spirit had died away.

Thought he spoke clearly, he was anything but fine. The former Espada now had a massive hole in his abdomen and was bleeding profusely. He was hanging on by a thread.

As Aaroniero began to walk towards Barragan, he removed his left glove to reveal his true zanpakto, a deformed, arm-like, appendage with multiple sprouting tentacles.

As Barragan laid eyes on Aaroniero's zanpakto, he knew what was about to occur.

Unable to defend himself in such a weakened state, Barragan let out a string of curse words as he tried to back away.

Aaroniero grinned darkly.

"Thank you… Kurosaki Ichigo."


(Several minutes earlier)

Aaroniero coughed weakly as he felt his life draining away slowly due to the gaping hole in his chest.

"We don't have… much longer."

All of a sudden he felt Ichigo's presence enter his mind.

"Aaroniero?"

"Primera… we have been… defeated… not much time left."

"If you can find the strength to do one more thing?"

"If it is… within my power…" Aaroniero replied weakly.

"Remember that reward I promised you?" Ichigo said calmly.

"Yes… Kurosaki…"

"Then listen, Barragan, even with you help is dying as we speak…"

"And…"

"He is no longer required." Ichigo revealed emotionlessly causing Aaroniero's eyes to widen in shock.

"Do you mean…"

"Yes. The former king of Las Noches… his powers… are now yours." Ichigo stated before withdrawing his presence from Aaroniero's mind.

Aaroniero grinned as he found the strength to stand up.

"Kurosaki Ichigo… I am in your debt. My life… I offer it to you."


(300 Meters above Karakura Town)

Ichigo opened his eyes as he left Aaroniero's mind.

"Enjoy." Ichigo whispered as he sensed the battles around him.

The barrier had broken several minutes ago and no doubt Soul Society had already sensed them there.

"I didn't think this would take so long… I'm tired of this…" Ichigo stated with emotionlessly as he raised his right hand intending rush things along more quickly.

'Neliel…'

All of a sudden Ichigo released an instantaneous blindingly white cero that filled the air with its chaotic noise as it surged towards Neliel.

Not even watching to see if the cero hit who it was supposed to, he unsheathed his zanpakto.

"I've given them enough time…"

Without another word Ichigo vanished.


(Author's Note)

So Ichigo makes his move! I hope everyone liked this chapter for I have wanted to write this one for a long time. Barragan has been absorbed by Aaroniero who is now extremely loyal to Ichigo and Ichigo is tired of waiting. The Ryuken part was the hardest, but it had to be done. I'm sorry if any of you liked Jinta but I needed to make this battle seem more heartless to show that Ururu is a very unique little girl. I loved writing her berserker mode and she has become one of my favorite female bleach characters because of her extermination mode. I knew that if I had Urahara upgrade her she would have no problem against a former Espada especially with the incentive of her best friend dying.

Love is a beast, I couldn't have him and Nnoitora tie. It's just not realistic. The best I could do was have Love cut up several times because he ignorant of Nnoitora's res. And leave it from there. Nnoitora wouldn't stand a chance against Love with his mask and shikai activated. (This is my opinion so please don't ask me to back this up with facts lol) And in the end? Who stabbed him in his heart?

And the barrier breaking!!! What does this mean? Ulquiorra was mentioned each time, is the Quinto Espada having a difficult time capturing Urahara? Is that even possible?

This invasion ends next chapter so those of you waiting for the plot to progress should be happy to know that. I am currently rushing to get the next chapter up before Friday so please wait patiently.

One more thing- how were the fight scenes? If you give me scores below 6, can you please include how I can make my fights better? I try to make them at least an 8, but I may have messed up somewhere.

I was slightly uncomfortable with the way Tessai "won" because I had him pull that kido out of thin air but then I thought…. Every single bleach fight was won because someone pulled something out of thin air lol.

Kenpachi pulled out kendo

Hitsugaya pulled out that hax ice spell against poor Halibel

Shunsui (pissed me off) defeated poor Stark with his Aizen level cheatki (Cheat + Shikai = Cheatki!)

Worst of all…

Hachi, who can teleport Respira into Barragan and kill him when he could have teleported it to Aizen and ending this long ass war. (The worst bleach win of all time)

These are a few, but the point is they were utterly random so I don't feel bad about Tessai using some bomb ass sacrificial kido to defeat Barragan. (I know it is totally believable, I mean… I can Tessai knowing such a technique in cannon…. so why not?)

Now that I'm done with my rant…. Please review! If I get around thirty I will have 600 reviews! Alright! Thank you everyone for reviewing my story and sticking with it even though my updates are pretty random… to bad life interferes a lot lol.

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