She stared, not believing him, and watched as the arrancar slowly rolled his shoulders and stood up. "Sure, I'll open a garganta for ya."
Orihime looked back and forth between Grimmjow and the captain… Mayuri, wasn't it? The painted man had asked the arrancar to do it…and Grimmjow had said yes.
She couldn't quite quell the bad vibes. She looked over to Ishida and Renji, now recovered and ready to fight again, it seemed, and back to Grimmjow. He had been healed by her own powers, after Unohana had instructed her to do so. She thought that the soul reapers would want him weakened, but it didn't seem that way now.
With a shrug of his shoulders the Sexta opened the inky portal, and then Mayuri was ushering them all into it. She wondered briefly about Rukia, Kenpachi, and Byakuya, but then she was shoved forward, and the sands disappeared from her view.
Grimmjow grinned at her as she clung to his arm, and then suddenly she was blinking in the sunlight.
The Espada grinned, cocked his head toward the ongoing battle and said, "So, what'd we miss?"
xxx
They had forgotten him.
He couldn't sense reiatsu, not really, but he saw them leave.
Saw them leave with an arrancar, of all things.
He sighed and glanced down towards the green-haired girl still clinging to his leg.
She had done that ever since Pesche and Dondochaka had disappeared.
Chad sighed and scooped her up in his arms, heading towards the huge arrancar-monster. There were still captains present—he stopped when the two blondes appeared in front of him.
"You-you're human?!" the girl growled, looking him over.
"Huh, must've been part of that shinigami's rescue party." The other mused, taking in the human holding the arrancar. "Say…you haven't seen an orange-headed arrancar-ish guy, right?"
Chad blinked, confused.
And then the world erupted in ice.
xxx
It was done.
He was gone.
Again.
She hadn't wanted this.
But she had to do it.
And it was done.
And she couldn't take it anymore.
Rukia screamed, releasing all her pent-up emotions into her zanpakuto's strike. The final strike to remove his face from her memory.
And the world grew colder.
xxx
"Dammit." Shinji muttered, flicking off ice crystals. He glanced towards Hiyori, seeing her do the same.
Then he looked to the human boy and the arrancar girl…No. Wait. Something was wrong.
The little girl was not so…well, little. Not anymore.
She growled at him lowly, holding the human close to her before laying him gently down on the ground.
"If you hurt him, I will kill you." She murmured, before disappearing with a flash of sonido.
Shinji blinked.
"Well, now what?"
xxx
He felt them leave. He felt them, and he didn't care.
The beast was finally down.
Down for the count, and then gone in a spray of ash.
He glanced towards Byakuya.
"So pretty boy. Were you entertained?"
The other huffed and glanced away, and Kenpachi was about to laugh when he saw the other go stiff.
Just what was it now—?
Oh.
He could feel that.
He dropped to a knee, body tensing up. He saw the other captain collapse to the ground as well.
Just who…what…what was this?
xxx
Time seemed to have stopped.
They didn't notice.
Clash here, there, there, they were everywhere.
And nowhere.
They had elevated.
They had started with zanpakuto, as was customary. It quickly progressed into their Resurrecion forms.
And now this.
Ichigo was bleeding, holding Zangetsu out in front of him, eyes glinting with anger.
Ulquiorra was in much the same state, hand pressed to his shoulder where the Quinto had managed to slice him deeply.
And then they were more.
It happened so quickly.
Ulquiorra shifted first, wings sprouting and emerald eyes glaring. Ichigo gasped as he felt the other's reiatsu pressing him downward.
A nagging at his mind begged him to let go. And so, for once, he did. Without considering the consequences.
A rush of power entered him, and he let the Hollow take over, body shifting to match the new strength of his opponent.
He screamed, his own spiritual pressure now resounding forth, and he charged.
They met in the air.
The world vanished beneath them.
XXX
Sorry it's short and so very sorry I fell behind. So this was for the 3rd, meaning I have 3 more chapters to get caught up on. Uni classes have gotten super busy and stressful. I'm trying though! Thank you for all the faves/follows/reviews!
Oh and I actually did forget about Chad, poor thing. Also Nel. Anyone else? Ummm…we'll see?