A/N Not much too really say, guess I will just add a thank everyone again for reading/reviewing this story. Can't really tell you how surprised I am that it's as popular as it is.
Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach, or any of its characters, and I make no money off of this.
Chapter 52
Las Noches: Unknown Location
Several figures gathered within the confines of a dark room, each standing around in a circle as if they were convening for something.
A short man with a gruff appearance entered the room a second later, prepared to address the group as he assumed command.
"Took your sweet time, Barragan." Nnoitora commented impatiently, eliciting a huff from the aged arrancar.
"I will not tolerate disrespect from you." Barragan stated authoritatively, only causing the Espada to huff in response.
The Quinto turned to the group with a scowl present on his face, eying them to check for any signs of weakening resolve.
"You all know what to do?" Barragan asked. Each of the figures nodded in response before he spoke once again.
"Move out!" He commanded.
Las Noches: Fraccion's Wing
"Shut up Mila Rose, you were thinking the same damn thing!" Apacci shouted.
"Yes, but I wasn't stupid enough to say it." Said arrancar retorted.
"Must you two be so annoying?" Sung-Sun chided, bringing up a sleeve to her face as she normally did for one reason or another.
"Yes, must you?" A condescending voice called out, the owner of which was approaching.
The three female arrancar turned to look at the owner of the voice with a glare as he along with several others walked down the hall towards them. Among the group was the entirety Barragan's fraccion, at the head of which was none other than the owner of the voice, Ggio.
"What the hell do you clowns want?" Apacci snorted, expecting anger to arise in the males in front of them.
To her surprise, she heard a quiet chuckle from the group, after which she saw the black-haired tiger-like arrancar smirk menacingly. If this was their way of giving a response, and that was all too creepy for her tastes.
"Do you want something?" Sung-Sun asked with a raised brow, not entirely sure as to why the Quinto's fraccion was in their presence at the moment.
"You could say that…" Ggio stated with a smirk.
Las Noches: Hallways, Western Section
Nnoitora waited patiently, leaning on the corner of a white wall as if expecting someone to come. He shifted his head upon seeing Aaroniero come down the hallway, after which all he did was smirk before walking close by.
Las Noches: Hallways, Eastern Section
"And I'm telling you that his hair actually is that color." Yoruichi stated, finishing part of a random conversation she had been having with the Sexta.
"Really? His natural hair color is orange? How does that even happen?" Nel asked confusedly. The former captain just looked at her blankly before she made her reply.
"This coming from the girl whose hair is… I don't even know what color. Is it blue, green, what?" Yoruichi countered.
"Like your one to talk, your hair is purple, and your eyes are gold. No one has those looks." Nel retorted cheerfully.
"I will choose to take that as a compliment." Yoruichi chirped.
The two shared a laugh before a rather boisterous member of the Espada rounded the corner, huffing as his gaze fell on the two females.
"What's your issue?" Yoruichi asked the ogre-like arrancar, her eyes slightly narrowed.
"I aint got an issue with you, just not particularly happy to see a damn ant." Yammy replied.
"Doesn't she outrank you as an Espada? Also, I am pretty sure I took you down in the World of the Living." Yoruichi countered, once again causing the arrancar to huff before walking past them.
"What the hell was that abou…" Nel began to ask before being cut off.
"Oh yeah, I'm supposed ta give ya something." Yammy said in realization , though it seemed disingenuous. He turned to face them a second later, seeing their raised brows as a sign of confusion.
Las Noches: Hallways, Eastern Section
"Hey there Ulquiorra, fancy meeting you here just out of the blue." A feminine-sounding voice called out to the stoic Espada.
Ulquiorra turned to face the odd-looking male arrancar known as Luppi before merely ignoring him and keeping on in his path. He could hear the man release a tired sigh as he passed, but he could honestly care less.
However, merely because he didn't care, didn't mean he wasn't paying any attention, and that was a mistake in perception the effeminate arrancar happened to make.
Abruptly, Ulquiorra turned and blocked the zanpakuto of his assumed comrade, catching it in his hands and eying him emotionlessly.
"You know, it's rather rude to ignore someone like that." Luppi chided, a sickening smirk present on his face.
Las Noches: Chambers of the Hogyoku
"That story… it's so sad…" Ichigo said in a voice just above a whisper.
"Tell me… what do you think of me now that I have told you this?" Aizen questioned.
The former substitute didn't reply for a minute or so, trying to find exactly the right words to say. It wasn't that he didn't know what he wanted to say, he just wasn't sure if what he wanted to say was the right thing to say. It really all depended on Aizen's perception of the matter, but from what he could tell, he seemed uncaring about his mother's death by the way he spoke about it.
"To be honest I don't really think I understand…" Ichigo began, ending the silence between the two.
"I mean I can get that you would want revenge… but can you really say that you think you can justify ending so many lives just to kill one person?" Ichigo questioned.
"Of course I don't… in fact, what I just shared with you is no longer the reason I wish to kill the Spirit King. It was merely the beginning of the path I was set on." Aizen replied, his words greatly confusing the man that was currently in his company.
"What?" Ichigo exclaimed.
"At the moment I view that experience as the reason I have all the powers and abilities I have at this very moment, power enough to best that of any Soul Reaper or hollow in existence, and it is with that power that I will make sure what happened to me will never happen again." Aizen replied.
"So let's say if you kill him… what then?" Ichigo questioned, at a loss as to what the man's answer would be.
He had at first expected Aizen to covet power and take the "crown" for himself, and in doing so become the most powerful being in existence. However, after hearing that story, he wasn't quite sure of what his intentions were.
"I do not desire the throne he sits on… in fact, I have no desire of taking it from the current Spirit King, merely giving it away to another. One who should have been on it quite some time ago." Aizen stated with a smirk.
"What do you…" Ichigo began.
Before he could even finish his question, both Gin and Tosen rushed through the doors of the chambers, appearing as if they had an urgent message if their expressions were anything to go by.
"What is it?" Aizen questioned calmly, hiding the fact he was highly upset his conversation was interrupted.
"Sir… there is open fighting taking place throughout the palace. It would seem that some of the arrancar are in open combat against one another." Tosen stated.
Ichigo's eyes widened at this, especially since he would never in a million years have expected such a thing to happen. Open fighting within the confines of Las Noches wasn't a normal thing to occur, and even he knew this was the case. Aizen, however, merely got up from his chair and walked towards the door, both of his fellow former captains in tow.
"Ichigo, when this fighting is stopped, I wish to continue this conversation. For now, I would ask that you do your part and end whatever this is quickly." Aizen stated before he left the room, his two most trusted subordinates in tow.
The Primera opened up his senses a moment later, feeling around the various areas of the palace trace the section that was in need of the most assistance. When he did so, however, he was shocked by what he felt. Several areas, all over the fortress, seemed to be in disarray. He could even feel several Espada level signatures in combat, and that worried him. Without giving it a second thought, he vanished, leaving the chambers unattended, and the doors wide opened.
"Arrogant fools…" Barragan said with a slight smirk of content on his face as he entered the chambers.
He walked up to the pedestal that housed the shining orb, grasping it in the palm of his hand before he made to speak to himself yet again.
"It took hardly any effort to convince those underlings to follow their true king, and manipulating this little rock should be no different. The power that this object possesses would be wasted on a being that cannot comprehend it, and I will liberate it from the shackles that Aizen would put on it." Barragan stated before vanishing in the static buzz of sonido.
Las Noches: Fraccions Wing
"Do you want something?" Sung-Sun asked with a raised brow, not entirely sure as to why the Quinto's fraccion was in their presence at the moment.
"You could say that…" Ggio stated with a smirk.
"Then that would be…" Apacci trailed off, signaling for them to answer.
Her reply came in the form of the black-haired arrancar extending his hand and quickly charging a magenta colored cero in his palm.
'A cero?!' The three thought similarly as the doom blast fired off.
The attack seemed to connect where the three stood, smoke and ash covering the position the three stood.
"Tch, that was certainly easier than expected." Ggio scoffed, at least expecting some form of resistance.
"You mean you expected a challenge from a group of weak women like them?" Abrirama asked jokingly.
"Exacta." Findorr commented before releasing a slight chuckle.
"Not really, but still, I…" Ggio said, only to be cut off.
"Do the six of you really think women to be so weak?" A voice questioned from behind the cloud of smoke.
The eyes of the male fraccion widened at the sound, mainly for the reason that the voice clearly didn't belong to that of any of Halibel's fraccion.
The smoke cleared a moment later, revealing a black-haired woman glaring daggers at them with her flawless purple eyes. Her hand was outstretched as a sign that she had blocked the attack, and behind her stood the three fraccion who had been there previously, only they seemed just as surprised to see the Primera's only subordinate as they were.
"If that is the case, I would advise you to swallow your pride, because if you continue to fight within the confines of Las Noches, I will be forced to reprimand you." Risha continued, allowing her hand to fall down to her side as she finished.
The six arrancar before her seemed nervous at her entrance, an understandable reaction given that they likely hadn't sensed her presence before she revealed herself.
"You? Reprimand us? Don't make me laugh… we are under orders from a higher power and do not answer to the likes of you. We have our orders and we will carry them out. If you stand in our way, we won't hesitate to take you down." Ggio said, regaining his composure and finding his resolve.
"I can sense fighting around Las Noches, so am I to assume you are not the only ones with orders?" Risha thought aloud, not really expecting an answer.
"Wouldn't do you any good to know that, so no point in telling you really." Ggio replied uncaringly, lightly glaring at the black-haired woman.
At this point, both the fraccion of Halibel and Ichigo were now well aware that what was going on wasn't exclusive to the confrontation before them. It was completely unbelievable, and yet it seemed to be a reality.
"And who exactly is it that gave you these orders?" Risha inquired, not at all seeing who it might be.
"Don't bother asking them, if these clowns are following anyone's orders it has to be Barragan's. Old fart must be going insane if he thinks he can get away with something like this." Apacci stated, her words causing large amounts of anger to boil up within the group of arrancar across from them.
"You dare mock Lord Barragan you weak little elk?!" Abirama exclaimed, causing a tick mark to appear on Apacci's head.
"You want a piece of me bird boy?!" Apacci shouted back.
"That would be rather obvious given their objective seems to be our demise." Sung-Sun commented, effectively turning the anger of her fellow fraccion to herself.
"Whose side are you on anyway?" Apacci asked.
"Obviously yours… though joining them solely for the purpose of eliminating you seems rather tempting." Sung-Sun replied.
"Ditto." Mila-Rose added.
"Bite me!" Apacci exclaimed.
Each then turned to face the group of six arrancar, expecting some form of conflict to arise. However, when Apacci took a step forward, she was stopped by the woman who had intervened previously. The group of women then turned to her, looking confused as to why she had done this, but very quickly after that they had received clarification.
"The three of you stay back. I will end this quickly and without blood." Risha stated, not taking her eyes off of the group of male arrancar in front of her.
At her words, the three female fraccion began to sweat slightly. She wasn't joking and the emotionless nature of her tone sent a chill down their respective spines.
'If her words make me feel like this… I feel a slight sense of pity for whoever she is about to fight.' Sung-Sun thought. The three then took several steps back, somewhat eager to see exactly what it was she could do.
Las Noches: Hallways, Western Section
Grimmjow simply walked down the hallways with his hands in his pockets and a bored expression on his face.
'All that exciting crap happens over the course of a few days and now… nothing. Damn I wish I had something to do.' Grimmjow thought.
He would regret such thoughts a moment later when the sound of breaking glass and high pitched screaming echoed throughout the halls.
A moment later he saw what he thought to be a small circular ball rolling down the end of the hallway in the nearby corridor, but he quickly realized it was no ball.
'Aaroniero?!' Grimmjow thought out of shock, instantly recognizing the head.
From the end of the hall a tall lanky figure stepped out, a sickening grin etched on his face as he stared down at the head of the former Novena, or one of them anyway. The high pitched voice screamed in agony up until the very moment that it was crushed beneath a foot, silencing it for eternity.
Grimmjow was unable to do anything but stare wide-eyed at the now chuckling form of Nnoitora, who seemed to not take his eyes off of the crushed head for a second or two, after which he turned to face the blue-haired Espada.
"A weakling until the bitter end, wouldn't you say?" Nnoitora asked with a sickening smirk on his face, breaking Grimmjow out of his thoughts.
"What the hell are you doing you crazy bastard?!" Grimmjow exclaimed.
It wasn't entirely uncharacteristic of Nnoitora to openly fight someone without regard to location or safety, but it was entirely another for him to actually kill his opponent, even if it was just a lowly arrancar, much less a former Espada such as Aaroniero. It wasn't that Nnoitora never wanted to kill his opponents since that would be entirely untrue, but doing so would greatly anger Aizen, and doing so would be unanimously declared the most idiotic thing he could ever possibly do.
"What's it look like I'm doing? I just killed him you idiot." Nnoitora replied placing his crescent-moon shaped weapon cross his shoulders in a nonchalant fashion.
"I guess I should add that your next on my list… but only if you decline my offer, that is." Nnoitora continued.
"What the hell do you mean by offer?" Grimmjow questioned, regaining his composure and scowling heavily at the manic Espada.
"It's simple really and I actually think you of all people will understand where I am coming from. Grimmjow, tell me something… why do we bow to a Soul Reaper? Why do we embrace their way of life as opposed to embracing our natural instincts? We are hollows Grimmjow, and hollows will always be stronger than the pathetic excuses for warriors called Soul Reapers. Even right now, Starrk and Halibel are no longer full arrancar, and what's worse the Primera is a former human and still not a complete hollow. What Aizen has done is a disgrace to our way of life!" Nnoitora proclaimed.
Grimmjow just stared quietly at the Septima, not saying a word but keeping his scowl present on his features and a light glare fixed with his eyes.
"We've become soft, Grimmjow, and I for one am fed up with it. In case you're too stupid to have figured it out already, I no longer follow Aizen, I follow someone who has the guts to stand up against him and someone who is capable of giving us the full power of a hollow, the way it should be. So when he asked me to kill you, I suggested I invite you to join us and he happened to agree… so what's it gonna be Grimmjow, death… or power?" Nnoitora finished.
"You spoke about our way of life, right? Well let me tell you something… as hollows, our main purpose is to get stronger to crush our enemies and that is our one overriding instinct. We follow the strong to become strong and that is why all of us, even you, follow and still should follow Aizen. Now on to my question… why would I follow someone weaker then who I follow already?" Grimmjow asked, though he was met with a sickening grin on the part of the Septima.
"Because Barragan is more than capable of giving us power… power that Aizen could but won't give us." Nnoitora replied.
"Barragan? Your telling me that pathetic excuse for a king is going to give you power? Don't make me laugh! He isn't even stronger than half of the Espada." Grimmjow scoffed.
"Trust me when I say he can do it… especially after all is said and done with the fighting in Las Noches." Nnoitora reassured, prompting the blue-haired Espada to raise a brow.
"What do you mean by that?" Grimmjow pressed suspiciously, the ever-present grin of his alleged comrade now beginning to get on his nerves.
"Can't tell ya that just yet… so what's your answer?" Nnoitora asked.
"Tell Barragan he can take his offer and shove it up his…" Grimmjow said, only to be cut off in the form of his opponent lunging at him as fast as he was able.
Leaping backward, he was narrowly able to dodge the downward chop of his opponent's weapon. It seemed fortunate as well considering the large hole where he once stood served as an indication that nothing was held back in that strike.
"Bastard." Grimmjow growled out, not entirely sure if he was more upset that he was cut off before he could finish or because his opponent seemed to think that would work.
Las Noches: Hallways, Eastern Section
"What exactly are you supposed to give us?" Yoruichi asked.
Yammy just smirked before opening his mouth and charging a crimson cero as fast as he was able. Such an action came to the surprise of both females, and what was even more surprising was that the large Espada seemed to think something like this would cause them any harm.
The cero fired a moment later, however it didn't even seem to detonate. The green-haired Sexta blocked the attack with her hand before sucking the energy down into her throat.
Yammy, and Yoruichi as well, stared at her with confusion after the energy had completely disappeared, neither knowing she was capable of doing that.
"So you just… ate it?" Yoruichi asked in a confused tone.
Before her friend could clarify, however, another rudely interrupted in an angry voice, likely due to the fact that his attack had been passed off as nothing.
"How the hell did you do that?! No one should be able to stop my cero!" Yammy bellowed.
"Tch… doesn't matter anyway, I can still take you two out without the need to take you by surprise." Yammy thought aloud.
The two females looked at one another for a moment with raised brows, the meaning of the Decimo's words both confusing them and giving them an idea. Thinking along the same lines, the former captain was the first to speak.
"Now why would you want to do that?" Yoruichi questioned impassively.
"Isn't that obvious?! It's because I was ordered to!" Yammy roared.
This confused both of them more so given that it was rather obvious Aizen wouldn't order them both dead. On top of that, it didn't seem like Yammy was the only one fighting at the moment. The various eruptions of spiritual energy around the palace also gave of the indication that some form of rebellion was underway.
"By who?" Nel asked with narrowed eyes.
"Hahahahahahahahaha, what, do you two think I'm stupid or something?! Why the hell would I tell you two pathetic ants that Barragan ordered me to do this and that he is going against Aizen?! Do you also think I'd tell you he plans to give us more power than Aizen ever did, or maybe you think I'll tell you this is really just a distraction?!" Yammy roared out, laughing even after he finished and not at all noticing the mental slip up.
"Well that made things quicker then they needed to be…" Yoruichi said with a deadpanned expression, looking at the Sexta who bore the same look.
They both turned back at the still laughing arrancar who was now holding his ribcage. It seemed like he was enjoying himself, which likely meant he had no idea, and likely never would, that he essentially gave away almost everything he knew.
"What do we do with him?" Yoruichi asked, once again turning to Nel.
The beauty just hummed in thought before the Decimo ceased his laughter and prepared to attack again. Said attack came in the form of another cero, which wouldn't have made sense since his first one failed miserably, but it was rather clear that intelligent fighting wasn't quite this arrancar's strong suit.
Before the cero even fired, Nel closed her eyes as if in preparation, shortly after which she opened her mouth and fired a colossal wave of violet spiritual energy directly at the large Espada.
He tried to fire off his own cero to counter, but that of Nel's easily crushed through and sent him flying through a wall.
Yoruichi turned to the Sexta with a raised brow, an action that caused her to release a sheepish giggle.
"For the record, that's what I was going to explain to you after I 'ate' his cero. I have the ability to absorb energy and launch it back at my opponent, and I am capable of fusing that energy with my own cero. It is a technique called Cero Doble." Nel explained.
"How long can you hold the energy in?" Yoruichi asked, looking back at the smoking hole in the wall her bubbly friend had created.
"I guess it all depends on how much or how powerful it is. For instance, his cero is weaker and I am capable of containing it for a healthy period of time, as you just saw, but if it was someone like Ichigo who launched that kind of attack at me… I don't even know if the energy could fit." Nel replied, though her answer made the purple-haired woman smirk.
"So you don't think Ichigo could fit in you?" Yoruichi teased, getting the reaction she desired in the form of the Sexta's blush and utter embarrassment.
"That's not what I meant and you know it!" Nel exclaimed.
"Sure… at least I know where your mind is." Yoruichi replied, this time eliciting an audible growl from her companion.
"Anyway, we should probably make sure he stays down. I think he flew into the training area." Yoruichi said.
A moment alter the two began to walk towards the hole, emotionless expressions on their faces as they walked through hole after hole.
Las Noches: Hallways, Eastern Wing
"What is it you are doing?" Ulquiorra asked emotionlessly, still holding the black-haired arrancar's blade in his hand.
"Nothing really, just thought I'd see if you were really ignoring me." Luppi said uncaringly before pulling his blade back and sheathing it once again.
Ulquiorra passed it off and continued to walk away, not really caring given that the effeminate arrancar was extremely odd and such behavior really didn't seem all that out of character.
He stopped in his tracks, however, upon seeing the light of a pink cero forming behind him. His eyes widened slightly before he turned to see the uncaring look of the Espada class arrancar who was about to fire a cero blast directly at him.
"Nothing personal." Luppi said before his attack fired.
An explosion sounded off, creating dust and smoke where the green-eyed Cuarto once stood. Despite how it appeared, Luppi eyed the area cautiously, knowing full well that his opponent was entirely capable of bouncing back even if the attack had landed directly.
The abrupt sound of sonido from his left caused his eyes to widen, but he wasn't even able to get a look at who it was, only a slight glimpse of black hair from his peripheral vision.
A powerful kick sent him flying through one of the walls, after which the light of a green cero could be seen, despite the fact he was yet again not able to look at it directly.
"Nothing personal." Ulquiorra repeated emotionlessly, firing the cero a moment later.
He wasn't necessarily a fan of irony, nor was it entirely entertaining to him, but that said even if the effeminate arrancar was doing this randomly, he rather wanted to reprimand him properly.
'Best I make sure he isn't dead.' Ulquiorra thought. It wasn't that Luppi was incapable of surviving a direct hit from his cero, but after witnessing his feat of stupidity and the odd manner he chose to attack, it became apparent he had overestimated the Espada-class arrancar.
Uncaringly and at a normal pace, he walked through the hole in the repeated wall sections his attack had created, absentmindedly stepping over rubble with nothing in particular going through his head.
Las Noches: Fraccions Wing
"Aren't you going to take out your sword?" Ggio asked, preparing himself for battle and adopting a proper stance along with his comrades.
Risha's uncaring eyes seemed to give out a sense of surprise for a moment, and then a bit of anger, the reason for which she gladly clarified.
"Do not insult me by insinuating the likes of you could force me to draw my sword." She stated as if it had been a colossal insult.
The fraccion before her began to sweat slightly, each recalling how Ichigo had bested them without the need of his sword. Sure Risha was simply his fraccion, but the memory of being so terribly beaten wasn't exactly a pleasant one.
"Don't try to act like your master." Findorr said, causing the black-haired woman to raise a brow.
"Act like him you say? I heard about how your fight with him ended, and trust me when I say I will not be nearly as generous." Risha replied emotionlessly.
Before they could even ask what she had meant, her form was gone and the sound of sonido echoed from the center of the group. With one leg, Risha swept the feet of each of the male fraccion before kicking or punching each of them effortlessly into a separate wall section.
"For instance I have no intention of allowing you to release your zanpakuto." Risha stated.
Abirama, being the first to recover, released a slight growl and opened his mouth as if to defiantly prove her wrong. That was an unfortunate mistake and one he would sorely regret a moment later. Instead of uttering even a single syllable, he was only able to let out a quiet squeak after a strong punch to his stomach paralyzed him for a moment.
The only thing that seemed to stop him from flying through several sets of walls was the hand Risha currently had on his back. She guided, more specifically slammed, him to the floor quickly, having no time to waste on him anymore.
"El Grillete." Risha uttered, her hand now on the eagle-like arrancar's chest.
Several thick purple bands of energy surrounded Abirama's midsection and upper body, capturing his arms and rendering him immobile.
Not even giving it a second thought, she turned to see three more recovering from her initial attack, though they were foolish enough to charge her as opposed to opting to release their zanpakuto.
First came Nirgge, charging at her with his zanpakuto poised to stab her body in a pitiful attempt to wound her. She merely caught the caught the blade with her hand before kicking the air out of his lungs. He soon flew into yet another wall, breaking cleanly through it before he simply lay there, seemingly immobile.
Risha turned to face the other two, one of whom appeared to charge her with his fists and the other of whom had his zanpakuto in a much more defensive stance. It seemed like his job was to wait for an opening that the larger one would give him, but no such thing had even the remote possibility of occurring.
Effortlessly, she caught Poww's fist, stopping it dead in its tracks and causing his eyes to widen. The feeling of being stopped was literally just that, every bit of momentum and strength he had put into the attack had simply halted in an instant. Not even fully able to enjoy the length of his shock-induced paralysis, Risha placed a hand on his chest, which glowed for a brief moment, after which she picked him up by his fist and threw him into Charlotte.
As the two landed on the ground, a mark on Poww's chest, courtesy of their opponent, began to glow, after which the same energy that bound Abirama encircled both of them, leaving their movements restricted as well.
"Impressive… but can you handle me as well?" Findorr asked, cracking off half of his mask so as to increase his power. An aura of purple surrounded him, but before he could even make use of his sudden power increase, the palm of a hand gripped his face so tightly that the rest of his mask shattered in its entirety.
His eyes were wide as he was thrust into the ground so hard his body left an imprint, but even before he could think to himself what had happened, he felt a palm on his chest, and energy encircling his body.
"Bite off…" Ggio uttered.
It should have come as no surprise to him that Risha had the capability to slip past his senses, but the second these words left his mouth, a powerful force crushing his right hand forced him to his knees.
Grunting in pain, he looked up with his eyes nearly clenched shut to see the female fraccion's hand grasping his own. He felt a hand on his chest, and a moment later he fell to the floor, bound just like the rest of them save for Nirgge, who was either out cold or wisely playing dead.
"Whoa…" Apacci said in absolute disbelief, unable to say anything else as she watched the purple-eyed arrancar walk over to where the final member of Barragan's fraccion lay.
"That was… amazing…" Mila Rose commented in awe.
"Risha… exactly how strong are you?" Sung-Sun questioned, flabbergasted as she couldn't even really believe what had happened.
"I am strong enough." Risha simply replied, finishing the bindings on the last person who had yet to be shackled.
She got up from her kneeling position a moment alter before facing the other three once again, her demeanor becoming slightly more commanding then previously.
"As for all of you… whoever among you is conscious will answer my questions." Risha said in a tone of finality. Sadly, no one among the group of bound arrancar seemed to take notice of this.
"Like we'd talk to the likes of you." Ggio scoffed, somehow managing to find what was either a great deal of stupidity, or bravery to speak.
"Then I will just have to force you to do so." Risha said nonchalantly.
"Ha! You and what army?" Abirama scoffed.
Risha walked over to the eagle-like arrancar and picked him up by the neck with her right hand, bringing him up to the level of her eyes so he could feel the full weight of her dagger-like glare when next she spoke.
"If you were faced with the choice of fighting an army, or me, I would advise the army." Risha said icily, her words and tone causing the male's to pale.
'Wow… she is really quite intimidating when she wants to be. Ichigo, I almost pity you.' Sung-Sun thought.
Las Noches: Western Section
"That the best you've got?" Grimmjow scoffed, blocking another of his opponent's attacks.
"If you really think it is, you're not gonna enjoy the rest of this fight." Nnoitora stated in a condescending tone.
'Something isn't right here…' Grimmjow thought.
He swung his zanpakuto horizontally, seeing if doing so would cause his opponent to take advantage of the opening. Much to his surprise and suspicion, the Septima jumped backwards to avoid the blade, a reaction that caused his eyes to narrow.
'If he were taking this fight seriously, I'd be wounded a good bit for doing something that stupid against someone who is supposedly faster than I am… which can only mean…' Grimmjow thought.
"Why the hell did you just stop attacking just now?" Nnoitora asked, placing his weapon cross his shoulders and appearing annoyed.
"Why the hell aren't you taking advantage of it?" Grimmjow countered.
"Hehehe… well, doesn't really do you any good to know that, but you seem like you've figured it out. Guess that means our time is up." Nnoitora mused.
He stuck his tongue out a moment later, charging a yellow cero at its tip and aiming it directly at Grimmjow. The blue-haired Espada extended his left hand and prepared to fire his own version of the attack, knowing from past experience that their difference in strength was nowhere near enough to make it so his own cero couldn't cause his own to diffuse.
The two attacks collided in-between the two, causing smoke to and dust to cloak the hall. By the time it had dissipated, however, the Septima was gone.
"Tch, what a waste of my time…" Grimmjow scoffed.
In his book, if you were going to try and kill him, at least go the whole nine yards as opposed to simply using a fight as a distraction.
The characteristic sound of flash step being used caused his eyes to shoot towards the end of the hall, at which point he was greeted by the sight of Aizen, Gin, and Tosen walking up to him.
'Aizen does not look happy.' Grimmjow thought, distinctly noting that the man's content smirk was replaced with a mild scowl and hardened eyes.
"Grimmjow, what exactly happened here?" Aizen asked, eliciting a sigh out of the Octava.
"You're not going to believe this…" He began.
Las Noches: Training Area
Yoruichi and Nel walked over to the end of the hole Yammy had created when he burst through the walls. His rather angry-looking form was now situated outside in the sands below.
"Wow, you really pissed him off." Yoruichi commented, practically sensing the rage building up in the brutish arrancar.
"Maybe so, but still, he should have…" Nel said, only to be cut off by the sound of stone cracking nearby.
They looked to their left, only to see some odd-looking black-haired arrancar fly out of the wall. They looked at one another and blinked before looking back at the hole, waiting to see if perhaps someone else had done something similar to them.
They saw the short form of the Cuarto approaching, though his eyes were first drawn to the black-haired arrancar that shot out of the wall. He turned to face them a moment later, appearing somewhat surprised.
"Told ya Ulquiorra would shove ya through a wall if you tried to fight him." Yammy said matter-of-factly, looking down at his fellow conspirator.
"And I told you just walking up to them and firing a cero would backfire." Luppi countered mockingly.
"How'd you know?!" Yammy exclaimed, a mix of shock and anger evident in his tone.
"Lucky guess… regardless, it's about time to leave. You know we can't be here when he shows up, otherwise everything is ruined." Luppi replied before turning his vision up to the two separate holes in the side of the palace.
"Sorry to leave you three hanging, but we have other orders… don't worry though, we'll see you soon enough." Luppi said with a rather off-putting smirk before he and Yammy vanished in the buzz of sonido.
'Yammy and Luppi… it would seem that they have defected.' Ulquiorra thought. It actually came as a surprise to him that such a thing occurred, mainly because neither truly had a reason to do so.
"Nelliel, Yoruichi, am I to assume you were attacked by Yammy?" Ulquiorra asked.
"You wouldn't believe what's happening, apparently…" Yoruichi began, only to be cut off by the sound of approaching footsteps.
She turned back to see Ichigo running down the hole Yammy had made through the multiple walls leading up to the palace's side. He sighed out of relief upon noticing they were fine, but he became rather confused upon seeing Ulquiorra.
"What the hell happened?" Ichigo asked to no one in particular.
Nel opened her mouth to explain, trying where Yoruichi had been halted, but was stopped upon hearing another loud boom from above them.
They all saw rocks fly to the ground below, after which Risha jumped down the hole and floated to the level they stood, appearing as if she had something urgent to say.
"Master, I have news about why fighting has broken out in the palace." Risha stated.
"At least someone does…" Ichigo thought aloud, causing a tick mark to appear on the head of the other two women currently near him.
"We both know what's going on, and would have told you if she didn't just burst through the wall like that. I mean, who does that?!" Yoruichi exclaimed.
"Doesn't matter, now someone please tell me what the hell is going on!" Ichigo shouted. Before an answer could be given, however, each halted upon a certain sensation ringing through their respective bodies.
Each of those present felt a familiar sense wash over them, the feeling of another's voice about to intrude on their thoughts.
"Can you hear me?" Aizen's voice called out.
'He must be using that Bakudo spell… I remember feeling it when I was back in the Soul Society to rescue Rukia.' Ichigo thought.
"It would appear that we have experienced treachery at the hands of our now former Quinto Espada. He has believed himself clever and used his coconspirators as a distraction while he has made off with the Hogyoku, but his betrayal will be extinguished quickly." Aizen continued.
Many eyes went wide at his words. The Hogyoku was incredibly powerful, so powerful that its full power wasn't even capable of being comprehended, and someone like Barragan should never be allowed to be in possession of such a thing.
"I have sensed the presence of his conspirators leave the palace and am aware of where their destination is. By my orders, the all of my current Espada save for Szayel are to gather at the gates where you will receive further orders. All Privaron Espada and arrancar are to be on high alert for the time being, and at all costs you will defend this palace from any who stand against us." Aizen finished.
The connection faded a moment later, after which each among the group looked at one another before vanishing, eager to see exactly where they were going and what they were going to do.
A/N For positional purposes with the next chapter, meaning how I intend to end it and everything, the next chapter will either be posted this Friday or next Tuesday, I haven't decided on which yet, and I make no promises that it will be out this Friday.
Explanations:
Aizen's Backstory: To be perfectly honest, it always bothered me that he didn't have one. Gin had one, Tosen had one, and many of the Espada had one, and each made them a little bit more human and a bit harder to see fade away. Aizen, arguably one of the most incredible villains I have ever seen, got no such treatment, and even now in the Manga I am not sure if he is making a return or what… so frustrating. On top of that, he isn't the type that just wants to watch the world burn, which means he has a reason. The lonely thing may not even be it, despite that was what it was hinted at for about two minutes in the anime/manga. Either way, I am not sure how I feel about how it turned out, I mean I liked the way I did it, but I felt it could have been a little bit… I don't know, better I guess.
How Many More Chapters?: Well, it will be more than ten… I am now a hundred percent positive about that. How many more, I don't know, but it is coming to a close-ish.
What Story is Next?: I figured I should leave this out here since everyone is probably wondering what I will be doing next. I've already decided that it won't be the sequel to this, despite the fact that there will be one. The ending to this will be not as open-ended as most stories that have a sequel, and as a result I am using that as a bit of an excuse to work on something else. For those of you that don't know how I work, I finish a story, and then move on to another. I, thus far, haven't posted more than one story at a time, and will likely continue that trend. In the future, maybe in the next chapter, I will be listing a few of the idea's I have been toying with, all of which are Bleach by the way, and all of which I believe have an IchigoxHarem pairing… oh, and I should mention that lemons will also likely be in this work for those of you who have requested it. This is mainly because I have heard many people request it, so I will be adding a few in by popular demand. If you are offended by this, feel free to say something as my mind is usually never set on one thing or another. So basically, more on this next time… I hope!
Reviews:
Akuma-Heika: Thought I should clear this up, no Ichigo's second release is not as strong as Yamamoto in Bankai, that thing is way to fucking over-powered. Ridiculously so, actually, and still the Quincy King kicked him to the curve… needless to say, I won't have that kind of stuff happening xD.
horney07: To be perfectly honest, I am not entirely sure how many more chapters it will be. In terms of length, it is rather long compared to many other stories, and at the end I will proudly be able to say I stuck with it till the very end. I can't stress enough how much I really hate it when authors abandon a story or don't update it frequently enough, especially when it is good, so I have to say for this reason WHENEVER I START ON A STORY I WILL FINISH IT (Knock on Wood…). Hopefully, I will be able to keep this promise in the future and with the next story I make.
The Knight Hunter: I thought about doing that and then I thought mother would have been better… either way, I am pretty sure you knew what it was going to be xD.
