I do not own Bleach or any of the characters.
White Sea
Rukia rested her hand on the wall of Las Noches thoughtfully.
"I winder what this is," Rukia breathed. "It doesn't appear to be Sekkiseki."
"Well hell, if it ain't Sekkiseki, Renji and I should have no trouble breaking in," Ichigo spoke up.
Rukia stepped aside and Ichigo and Renji raised their Shikai, both raising the Spiritual Pressure as high as they could before slashing the wall, blasting a gaping hole in it.
"What are you doing?" Nel asked. "You don't need to break the wall, the entrance is only three days that way."
She pointed to their right but Ichigo rested a hand on her head.
"Sorry Nel," Ichigo smiled. "But we don't have three days."
She nodded and Ichigo turned back to the wall.
"Stay here Nel," Ichigo said. "This is where we part ways."
They all sprinted into Las Noches and after a few minutes, stopped when they heard Nel scream behind them. Ichigo turned and ran back. After a few minutes, he returned with Nel and Dondochakka and Pesche were following. They continued through the hallway and soon came to a room with five new passages leaving it, not including the one they had entered through.
"We have to split up," Kurai stated. "Everybody pick a tunnel, I,ll stick with Rukia for now."
"Thank you," Ichigo smiled.
Kurai nodded but Renji stepped froward.
"I think before we go we should do a charm together," Renji stated.
"You're joking right?" Kurai grinned. "Captain Kuchiki actually still does those?"
"So what?" Renji demanded. "Are you gonna do it or not?"
"Sure, why not," Kurai chuckled. "Let's get this over with."
Everyone held their hands out, stacking them as they formed a circle. Ichigo added his after a minute and Renji nodded.
"As we approach the crucial battle ground, believe that our blades will not shatter, believe that our resolve will not weaken," Renji recited. "Though our paths may diverge, our iron hearts will remain together. Swear that though the land itself may break asunder, we will come back here alive."
And with that, they all split up, heading down their respective pathways. Kurai kept his sister's Zanpakuto ready for use but as they ran, they found no use for it. Their hallway wound and twisted as it continued. Suddenly, they felt Ichigo, Renji, and Chad's Spiritual Pressure all fluctuating.
"You feel that?" Rukia asked.
"They're probably fighting," Kurai nodded. "We have to keep going. They can all take care of themselves."
Rukia nodded and they continued. After a time, Ichigo's Spiritual Pressure stabilized, signaling the end of his battle. Just after it did, Kurai slowed to a stop, turning toward the wall as Rukia slowed to a stop, looking back at him.
"Kurai?" Rukia called back to him.
"You go on ahead," Kurai stated. "I'm going to go this way."
"What way?" Rukia asked.
"Hado Thirty Three, Sokatsui!" Kurai spoke, blasting a hole in the wall and the one opposite it. "Go on Rukia. Find Orihime."
Rukia nodded then turned and sprinted along her hallway. Kurai stepped through his hole then the next. He came out in a very large and completely empty, bleached white room. Once inside, he looked around. There was one door our on one side and another door opposite it. Of the two, the one closest went in the same direction Rukia had gone.
Just as he took a step toward it, both doors opened and Arrancar began to walk in. Within a minute, there were a dozen, all wearing matching uniforms, consisting of a white gi, black obi belts holding zanpakuto with white grips and white sheaths, loose white pants, black gloves, and black boots. All of them even had matching cracked human skull masks.
"Well well," Kurai grinned. "Just my luck. An army of Arrancar."
All of them drew their swords and charged. Kurai stepped forward, slashing one across the chest before spinning and slashing another. They weren't particularly strong, not that he really expected much, but there were more entering the room, a much faster pace now. Kurai slashed several more before the Arrancar had formed a circle around him.
"You've got to be kidding me," Kurai growled. "There sure are a lot of you."
"Aren't there though?" a voice asked as another appeared in front of the others, this one wearing a similar uniform but with a bull skull mask rather than a human skull. "Allow me to introduce myself. I, am Rudbornn Chelute, and this is the Exequias. We have been given permission to stop the intruders. You're the first one we caught up with."
"I see," Kurai nodded before looking to his right, again sensing what he knew was Halibel. "Well, I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to scoot your ass along to the next ones. I'm busy looking for a friend."
"Sorry," Rudbornn snickered drawing his Zanpakuto. "That's not going to happen."
Kurai sighed then raised his sword as the Arrancar all charged. He dropped, spinning and slashing the first row across the ankles, dropping them as he escaped with Flash Step. He reappeared over them, seeing nothing but shifting black lines against the white that could have been the floor.
"Hado Seventy Three, Soren Sokatsui!" Kurai shouted, blasting a group below himself.
Then, the Arrancar began leaping at him, finally figuring out where he was. He blocked one slash, flipping and kicking the Arrancar into the next then slashing both, bisecting one, before spinning and slashing another one across the chest. He flew through a group of them, slashing each as he came to them before blocking the last one's sword and placing his finger to its forehead.
"Hado Four, Byakurai!" He said blasting the Arrancar through the brain.
He spun, forming an El Escudo to block several blades before letting the shield fade and slashing the Arrancars. Another leapt at him from below but at the last moment Kurai flipped over, kicking him in the face and blasting him back into the ground before landing on him, stabbing him. Kurai pulled his Zanpakuto back out just in time to block Rudbornn's blade, the force shoving him back to the wall.
"You can't defeat us so easily, Soul Reaper," Rudbornn stated before leaping away as a line of Arrancars charged at him.
"Shit," Kurai snorted holding out one hand, the other gripping his arm for support. "Didn't expect to have to showcase this one. Hado Eighty Eight, Hiryu Gekizoku Shinten Raiho!"
A massive blast of electrical Spirit Energy shot out of his palm, expanding and blasting all of the Arrancars in front of him, making it to the center of the room before exploding into a massive ball of fire and smoke that filled the room. When it cleared, Kurai let his El Escudo disappear and saw Rudbornn standing in the far corner, staring at him.
"You're very powerful," Rudbornn admitted. "Much stronger than I gave you credit for."
"Thank you," Kurai grinned. "That's high praise from an enemy, especially one whose sole job is to eliminate me. Though, I'd be more impressed if you were an Arrancar."
"You would be dead then," Rudbornn stated holding out his left hand using the right to hold his Zanpakuto so that the tip of the zanpakuto stuck out between his middle and ring fingers with the edge up. A violet Cero began to form in front of his hand and Kurai reached back for the mask he had gotten from Ashido. "Cero."
The Cero fired at Kurai. Kurai managed to get the mask up, blocking the Cero but the force still blasted him away, smashing him backward through three hallways, two room, and finally into a second room like the one he had started in before fading and allowing him to flip over and land on his feet. Just as he did, Rudbornn appeared in the hole he had just left, a second Cero already prepared. It fired and this time, Kurai swung the mask at it, bashing it and redirecting it back at Rudbornn who only barely managed to get over his surprise in time to get out of the way before the Cero exploded on the ceiling over him. After a moment, a hole opened in the wall and Rudbornn stepped through, dusting himself off and turning toward Kurai.
"Not bad," Rudbornn admitted. "I didn't realize you had made contact with Ashido. That Soul Reaper always was an annoyance. Perhaps now Lord Aizen will give me permission to end him."
"Sure," Kurai snorted raising his hand. "Bala."
The blast hit Rudbornn square in the chest before he could even register what Kurai had said. He crashed through the wall on the opposite side of the wall and Kurai fired three more, all three connecting. Then, he rested his sister's Zanpakuto on his as he waited. Sure enough, just as the smoke finished settling, Rudbornn stepped back into the room, shirt completely destroyed and the bottom of his pants gone, leaving them more as shorts than anything. His skin was as pale as his mask but just as he stepped into the room, the walls, ceiling, and floor all flashed and his clothes restored themselves, wounds healing.
"That, was an Arrancar power," Rudbornn snarled. "What number are you, Arrancar?"
"Arrancar power?" Kurai blinked. "I thought it was just a blast of Spirit Energy. Like this."
He fired another at Rudbornn but this time Rudbornn fired one of his own, blocking Kurai's, the two blasts canceling and fading, rather than exploding.
"Only Arrancars can use it, regardless of what it is," Rudbornn stated. "So I ask again, what number are you?"
Kurai stared at him for a moment before looking around at the room.
"This room heals you, doesn't it?" Kurai asked. "That's why you were careful to make sure I stopped in this room after leaving the other one that I trashed."
"You're very perceptive," Rudbornn nodded. "But you're not changing the subject."
"Then how about the scenery?" Kurai asked spinning and blasting the wall with a Bala before firing another dozen then grinning back at Rudbornn. "You want to kill me, come get me."
And with that, he sprinted out of the room, following his trail of destruction before sprinting out into a desert area with a blue sky overhead and nearly blinding daylight after being in the dark for so long. Kurai slowed to a stop and raised a hand looking up.
"Where are we?" Kurai breathed.
"The ceiling of Las Noches is designed to look like the daytime sky of the Living World or Soul Society," Rudbornn stated. "Lord Aizen designed it. Now, answer my question."
"I don't know how I can use an Arrancar power, I am only a Soul Reaper," Kurai stated. "All I know is that I can and I like it. Happy?"
"No," Rudbornn stated. "It means that I will have to work harder to eliminate you."
He charged a Cero and fired it at Kurai but Kurai deflected it. Just as the Cero exploded, so did a part of the building a ways away, Grimmjow and Ulquiorra flying out of it, seeming to be fighting each other.
"What the hell are they doing?" Kurai asked.
"It would seem, Grimmjow is trying to save Ichigo Kurosaki's life so that he may kill him personally," Rudbornn stated, also watching the battle. "You were so caught up in our fight that you did not notice Ulquiorra defeat Ichigo did you?"
"No," Kurai admitted just as a large black box appeared around Ulquiorra before shrinking into nothing. "Looks like Grimmjow wins. As much as I would like to help Ichigo with Grimmjow, you and I have something to finish."
Rudbornn nodded, turning back to Kurai and sprinting forward and slashing at him. Kurai blocked the slash and shoved it away then leapt over a kick. He spun, slashing at Rudbornn again only for Rudbornn to block it and shove him back, leaping away from Kurai, avoiding three Balas as he did. He held his Zanpakuto out, violet Spirit Energy flying up around him as the sword glowed and shrunk, turning into a weapon that was shaped like a lightning bolt. A moment later, roots grew from his waist downward, lifting him into the ground as four lightning bolt-shaped spikes grew from the right side of his back, each with a human skull-looking growth near the point. Then, yellow roots wrapped around both arms and four more spikes grew from the left side of his back, also with the growths. All eight suddenly grew bodies, forming the same Arrancars that Kurai had fought in the first room.
"I see," Kurai grinned. "They're all created by your power. You're the only one that's an actual Arrancar. That explains the gap in your power compared to them."
Rudbornn laughed and nodded before holding his blade out at Kurai.
"Kill him," Rudbornn ordered.
The eight Arrancars charged at Kurai as more began to grow, a new one starting each time one fell. Kurai began to quickly and easily cut down the Arrancars one after another, the bodies piling up around him but not as fast as Rudbornn was forming them. He could form eight for every two Kurai killed. After a moment, Kurai leapt into the air, holding out his hand.
"Hado Four, Byakurai!" Kurai shouted firing the blast at Rudbornn.
The Arrancars Rudbornn had made vanished, reappearing in front of Rudbornn as a light blue barrier appeared in front of them. The lightning bolt struck the barrier and stopped, blasting a pinhole in the barrier but that was all. Then, the Arrancars fell, landing on their feet as Kurai landed across from them.
"Impressive," Kurai growled. "You have a very impressive ability to block attacks. Hado Sixty Three, Raikoho!"
The lightning bolt flew at Rudbornn before his Arrancars could reform the barrier. Instead, Rudbornn formed eight new Arrancars that blocked the blast for him. The others all charged at Kurai and he growled in frustration, sprinting forward and beginning to carve his way through their ranks as more and more flooded into the fray like and endless sea. Finally Kurai punched an Arrancar, blasting it into those behind it, clearing a space. With that opening, he rolled sideways, getting to a gap where he could see Rudbornn.
"Hado Eight Eight, Hiryu Gekizoku Shinten Raiho!" He shouted firing at Rudbornn.
Rudbornn's creations blurred into motion again but this time, Kurai had a plan. He held his sword out at a circular green shield formed from the tip.
"Gaki Rekko," Kurai spoke.
Green blasts of energy shout outward from the blade on the back side of the shield then shot off the edge in green streaks, slaughtering Rudbornn's creations as they moved to shield Rudbornn. Six managed to get into place, met by a new eight and together they formed a a much smaller barrier than the last one. The Hiryu Gekizoku Shinten Raiho stuck the barrier and exploded, blowing the barrier away instantly and blasting the remaining creations while also blasting Rudbornn, launching him. His roots righted him and he began to replenish his numbers, pieces of his shirt and pants missing and a fair amount of blood pouring down his face and dripping from his arms.
"I now how to hit you now Rudbornn," Kurai grinned raising the Zanpakuto again. "Shall we continue?"
Rudbornn growled in frustration before holding out his blade as all of his creations took the stance Rudbornn had used prior to releasing his power when he used a Cero.
"Cero!" Rudbornn shouted and he and all of his creations fired Ceros at him.
Kurai grinned and held up the arm with the mask shield, forming an El Escudo while also forming nearly a dozen Danku between himself and the Ceros. After about thirty seconds, the last Danku shattered and his El Escudo began to hold back two Ceros. After a moment, he released it, blocking and then deflecting the two Ceros into the ranks of Rudbornn's creations with the mask. Rudbornn growled in frustration as he began spawning more soldiers again.
"Kill him!" Rudbornn ordered.
"Yes, kill me," Kurai grinned pointing one finger on his free hand toward the sky. "The oozing crest of corruption. The arrogant vessel of madness. Deny the seething urge. Stun and flicker. Disrupt the sleep."
"Stop him!" Rudbornn ordered as the Arrancars charged, all moving far to slow.
"The crawling queen of iron," Kurai continued, watching the Arrancars carefully as they approached. "The eternally self-destructing doll of mud. Unite. Repulse. Fill the earth, and know your own powerlessness. Hado Ninety, Kurohitsugi!"
Black walls shot up around Rudbornn and his troops, stretching ten feet into the air, not as large as Kurai had expected given Haruko's Kido power, but it was still a successful use, and the first time he had ever used that particular Kido. Spears of Spirit Energy shot out of the sides of the box, driving themselves into the Arrancars inside the box. After a moment, it faded and the Arrancars all collapsed, except Rudbornn, who was barely keeping from collapsing, blood running down his body from several dozen wounds in rivulets.
"Damn you," Rudbornn growled. "How can you possibly be so strong?"
"I have my Zanpakuto to thank," Kurai stated tapping Haruko's sheath and smiling proudly. "She's the greatest partner anyone could want. Now, let's take care of those reinforcements of yours shall we?"
He used Flash Step to moved around behind Rudbornn, cutting all eight of the spikes from his back before returning to his place. Rudbornn shrieked in pain, the roots around his waist retracting and dropping him. After a moment, he stood again, Spiritual Pressure spiking as his rage boiled over at the thought of being defeated.
"I'll kill you!" Rudbornn raged.
His root legs regrew, this time less stationary and shorter. He hovered about three feet off the ground and scurried forward using the roots as legs. When he reached Kurai, who had flown up level with him, he slashed the lightning bolt blade at him. Kurai blocked it, a shock wave flying from their blades and kicking up a cloud of dust. Kurai flipped, kicking Rudbornn sideways. Rudbornn skidded several meters before scurrying forward again. Kurai flew to him, slashing at his head but Rudbornn blocked it and slashed back. Kurai blocked it then dropped, slipping between the roots and removing Rudbornn's legs, blood splattering across the ground. Rudbornn screamed again, spinning and slashing at Kurai again. Kurai blocked it then spun, allowing Rudbornn to skid past. Rudbornn stopped and leapt at Kurai, blade first. When Kurai blocked it, two roots drove themselves into the ground and the rest all shot toward Kurai like spears. Kurai flipped out of their way then severed them. Before Rudbornn could counter, Kurai slashed at the top of his head. The Zanpakuto cut into him, slicing through him easily. However, as it did, Rudbornn swung his own blade upward, snapping the Zanpakuto's blade about two inches from the tsuba. Kurai spun, driving what was left of the blade through the side of his head then released the handle, allowing Rudbornn's corpse to fall to the ground.
"You broke my sister's sword Rudbornn," Kurai growled. "Guess we're even. I'll come back for that sword. But for now, I have someone else to go see."
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