Ashbel: Hello Fanfiction readers! Ashbel Longhart here to finally bring you another new chapter!
Seth: It's about time. Do you know how long I've waited for this?
Ashbel: Don't start going crazy on me now, Seth. The chapter is here which means it's time for the moment everyone has been waiting for. That's right. I'm talking about Seth taking on Grimmjow! Cue disclaimer!
Seth: Already on it.
(Disclaimer: Ashbel Longhart does not own RWBY, Bleach, any songs, any anime elements, or anything else that may appear familiar to you. They all belong to their respective owners. He just own this story and his OC's)
Ashbel Alright people! Get ready for it's time for another epic battle and this one is one people have been waiting for. Even Seth's been waiting for this moment.
Seth: It's time Grimmjow and I settle the score once and for all.
Ashbel: Well, looks like Seth's ready to rumble. So why don't we stop talking and get reading? Let's go!
"Talking"
'Thoughts'
"Grimmified"
"Kuro"
"Shiro"
"Crescent Rose"
EP 48: Howling at the Moon, The One True King
(RWBY Dorm Room)
It was a brand new day at Beacon Academy and yet already the feeling in the air was already filled with excitement. Down below on campus grounds, thousands of students and people made their way to an airship which would take them to the coliseum in the sky as another new day of epic battles was about to commence.
In the dorm room of Team RWBY(S), said team watched as their fifth and only male member was finished getting himself ready for the tournament.
"Alright, that should be everything." Seth said as he slid Zangetsu through the sash that held his pants.
"You sure you have everything you need?" Ruby asked.
"What else could I need besides my sword?" Seth asked he gestured to Zangetsu.
"You can at least take a few Dust with you." Ruby insisted as Weiss held up a few vials of said substance.
"Ruby, I'll be fine. Why are you so worried about?" Seth asked.
"I have to agree. What's got you so worried, sis?" Yang asked. "Seth here's the most likely to win the entire tournament."
"I think you're forgetting that there's still one more person that can give Seth a run for his money." Weiss said, reminding everyone who was still in the tournament.
"Grimmjow." Blake said as everyone thought back to the Arrancar.
Seth himself suppressed a growl as he thought back to Grimmjow's match. His opponent never stood a chance.
"With you having defeated Byakuya, Grimmjow is the only one who can possibly defeat you."
'No.' Seth thought as he clenched his hands into fists. 'I won't lose. I'm not the same guy I was back at the docks.'
Even after all this time, the night of the docks was still fresh in his mind. The night the Espada had stabbed Ruby through the gut and where Seth was unable to defeat him despite having Bankai. He was powerless to do anything.
'But I'm stronger now.' Seth thought as he placed a hand over his Zanpakutō.
"Seth?" Ruby spoke up, having seen the way Seth was acting.
Calming down, Seth went and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry, Ruby. If I do happen to face him, then this time I will beat him. So you and the others make sure to cheer me on!"
"…Right!" Ruby nodded as the entire team departed for the coliseum.
"You're still worried about something." Crescent spoke up in Ruby's mind.
Ruby looked down for a moment before looking up and stared at Seth's back. She had full confidence that Seth will win, granted if his opponents were normal Huntsmen-in-training. But against an opponent like Grimmjow, she couldn't help but be worried. The history between the amnesiac and the Espada was not the cleanest and Ruby would be lying if she said she didn't have a slight fear of the blue haired Arrancar. After all, he did almost kill her.
"Don't worry, Ruby. You forget that I was with him during his training at Las Noches and I can tell you that he's still yet to show you and the others his full powers." Crescent said.
'You mean Seth still hasn't fought at full strength?' Ruby found that a bit hard to believe. After Seth's fight against Byakuya, she thought she had seen everything Seth had to offer.
"That's right though he'll only use that as a last resort. Plus, while he hides it, Seth does have one worry on his mind." Crescent said.
'What is it?' Ruby asked.
"Well, with him knowing that his dad is now here and with thousands of people watching the tournament, you and the others included, he's worried what everyone will think of him."
'Huh? What do you mean?' Ruby asked. Last time she checked, Seth didn't care for public opinion.
"If Seth does end up fighting Grimmjow, then you and the others will see what I mean."
Left with that grim foreshadowing, Ruby stared worriedly at Seth who kept his sights forward, his mind thinking about the blue haired Arrancar he hated with a passion.
(Insert After Dark by Asian Kung-Fu Generation)
(Intrumental) The song suddenly begins as we see the blade of Zangetsu, Yang's Ember Celica, Weiss' Myrtenaster, Blake's Gambol Shroud, and then Ruby's Crescent Rose. And then, the scene changes the lights of the Amity Coliseum being lit up as platforms moved until the stage was set and at the center was Team RWBY(S). And then, the scene changed to the outside, showing off the whole entire coliseum as the title appeared right in front of it.
(Senaka no kage ga nobikiru sono aima ni nigeru) Smoke and steam bursts from down below as crowds of people filled the stands as appearing one by one was Team RWBY(S). Ahead of them were their friends and opponents: Team JNPR, SNNN, RRIY, TRHK, and finally, Grimmjow who was smirking predatorily at Seth.
(Hagare ochita hana ni mo kidzukazu ni tobu) The scene changed again to show Cinder and her team surrounded by flames as Cinder's right eye glowed.
(Machikado amai nioi ryuusen tooku mukou kara) The scene changed to the outside to show a smirking Aizen with a small army of Arrancars before they were replaced with a small army of the White Fang with Adam standing in front of them.
(Dokoka de kitta you na nakigoe) Seth and the others were then seen as thousands of Grimm surrounded them. The team was not intimidated as Ruby, Weiss, Blake, and Yang were surrounded by Aura before Seth held out Zangetsu and entered Bankai.
(Yokaze ga hakobu awai kibou wo nosete) Yang was seen with Chad, fighting against Nnoitra and Telsa. Then we see Weiss with Uryu fighting against Zommari as the Arrancar enters his Resurrección. Then we see Blake protecting Orihime and Nel from White Fang members and Grimm as Orihime held Nel protectively.
(Doko made yukeru ka?) We then see Ruby fighting against both Roman and Neo before the scene changes to show Seth fighting against Grimmjow, their blades meeting as they faced one another.
(Sore wo kobamu you ni sekai wa yurete) A spark appears as the scene shift to show a comatose Amber before everything goes dark as we see in a small container, the half of the Hogyoku.
(Subete wo ubai sara) Aizen suddenly appears and goes to grab the half until Ozpin suddenly appears and holds his Zanpakutō, Chronos, at Aizen's neck, stopping him.
(Yume nara sameta dakedo bokura wa) We then see each battle reaching its climax. Yang was on the floor, her right arming missing as a deadly aura surrounded Chad. Weiss was covered in blood as light surrounded Uryu. Blake was on her knees as Ulquiorra held his sword at her neck.
(Mada nanimo shiteinai) Ruby was then seen as light bursts from her eyes as Seth materialized his Grimm Mask and in response, Grimmjow went into his Resurrección form.
(Susume) Both Seth and Grimmjow roar as Grimmjow unleashes his strongest attack, Desgarrón, and Seth met his challenge by sending a full powered black Getsuga Tenshō before the scene changes to Tensa Zengetsu being stabbed into the ground as laying around it were other weapons before the song ends.
(Amity Coliseum)
In a figurative sense, the entire coliseum was ablaze with excitement, as common occurrence now a days as the expectations for another exiting fight had everyone gripping the edges of their seats. Amongst the seats meant for participants, Team RWBY found themselves sitting with Nel, her brothers, and Orihime. Not only that but they also found themselves sitting next to Qrow and Winter who was surprisingly still here.
"I'm surprised you're still here Winter." Weiss said, not that she was complaining. "I would have thought you'd have left already after the Doubles Round."
"That was the original plan, yes, but General Ironwood has instructed me to stay to increase security." Winter explained though why that was is unknown to her. There were plenty of Atlesian Knights stationed all around Vale so she didn't see the point of her being here just to increase security further.
"Geez, I wonder why?" Qrow sarcastically said, ignoring a glare from the older Schnee as the caped Huntsman sip on some soda since he couldn't bring his usual whisky with him, much to his annoyance.
"Also," Winter added in. "I'll be honest when I say I am curious to watch your teammate's matches. Despite his young age, his skills are higher than the average full-fledged Huntsman which shouldn't be possible, really."
"Well, you can say Seth is special." Ruby said with a small smile.
"You sure you're not saying that because you're his girlfriend?" Qrow questioned his niece.
"N-No! That's not true!" Ruby denied, blushing a little as Qrow laughed.
"Seth is going to win, no matter who he faces!" Nel said confidently as she sat on Ruby's lap.
Meanwhile, down below to the arena, the remaining contestants were all lined up as they were all ready to fight one another. Seth in particular kept his gaze/glare on Grimmjow who returned it with equal force. Those around them could feel the tension between them and started to sweat out of nervousness.
At a different part of the stadium, one Cinder Fall and her subordinates sat nervously. Why were they nervous you ask? Why, because Cinder's father, Aizen, was sitting with them, his face calm as could be with the same smile on his face.
"You've done what I asked of you, right?" Aizen asked his daughter without looking at her.
"Y-Yes." Was all Cinder said as she did her best to calm herself down in the presence of her father. She hated feeling like this but there was little she could do against a man like her father.
"If I may ask, father," Cinder began as she spoke as calmly as possible. "Why are you so interested in this Seth Aberrant?" From what she could tell, he was obviously a part of the Shinigami clan which explained his above average amount of Aura and his above average skill in combat.
"Hmm, let's just say he's a little…experiment."
"Experiment?" Cinder raised an eyebrow but the man did not speak so she instead turned her attention back down to the arena.
"Ladies and gentleman! Welcome back for the second day of the finals!" Port's voice ran out through the coliseum as the crowd all roared in excitement.
"It's good to everyone still filled with excitement but then, why wouldn't you be?" Oobleck said as he took sip from his thermos. "We have seen multiple exciting fights that have been over the scale!"
"Right you are, Bart." Port said. "So why don't we see what exciting fight we have up next? As a reminder for everyone, the matches will all be selected randomly which the contestants having zero time to prepare. So fighters, hold onto your pants and let's get ready to rumble!"
The crowd once again cheered as up on the screen, a dial of faces spun with everyone wondering who would be fighting. But out of everyone, Cinder's group knew what was to come. After all, Aizen had requested it as the dials came to a stop.
"Seth Aberrant vs… Grimmjow Jaegerjaques!"
Surprise appeared on said fighters' faces before the two turned to one another. Grimmjow sent a predatory smile at Seth who sent back a glare that promised the Arrancar pain. This is what they've been waiting for.
"Okay, I take back what I said, Seth might have some trouble." Nel said, a look of worry on her face. And she wasn't the only one worried.
"Oh no…" Ruby muttered as she could hardly believe what was on screen. Was this some sick joke? They had been talking about the possibility of Seth facing him and it actually happens. Was the world messing with her?
"Why did it have to be him?" Ruby said, her voice filled with worry.
"You sound like you know this Grimmjow guy." Qrow said, noticing instantly the worry in his niece's voice.
"We've…run into him before." Blake said, also looking worried as the night of the docks came to her head.
"How powerful is he?" Winter asked, curious as to why the team was worried.
"Extremely powerful." Blake said. "When Seth fought him the first time, he couldn't lay a scratch on him and Grimmjow didn't even draw his sword against him until the very end."
"He…also almost killed me." Ruby added, getting surprised looks from both adults and Nel's group who didn't know this.
"He what!?" Qrow said before looking down to the arena where the other contestants were leaving to give the arena to the two fighters. "What the hell is Oz thinking of letting that guy in this tournament?"
"We were wondering that too." Yang said as she and the others questioned why Ozpin allowed Arrancars into the tournament.
"I've never actually seen this Grimmjow fight before, but I can tell he won't be an easy opponent to defeat." Weiss said, her judgement stemming from the Aura she sensed from the Arrancar.
"Grimmjow is ranked the Sexta(Sixth) Espada, one of the top ten Arrancars at Las Noches." Pesche informed everyone. "I've heard from other students that he's been training ever since he saw that he was participating in the tournament so his strength might not match his rank. This won't be an easy fight."
"Seth…" Ruby mutters as she unconsciously claps her hands together. When was the last time she prayed for Seth's safety?
Nel saw Ruby clasping her hands in worry and wanted to reassure her that everything would be fine. But for some reason, she couldn't find it in herself to speak up so she instead turned her attention back down to the field.
Back down to the arena, both Seth and Grimmjow stood on opposite sides of the platform as the countdown began.
"So, we're finally here." Grimmjow said, hands in his pockets.
Seth didn't respond as he drew Zangetsu from its sheath, threw away the scabbard, and muttered, "Bankai."
Unlike the other times where there would be an explosion of Aura, this time a stream of black Aura seemingly spewed out form within him, enveloping his entire form before with a simple motion of swinging a sword, the Aura dissipated, revealing Seth in his Bankai garb and with Tensa Zangetsu in his hand, the chains clanging and echoing.
"Heh, getting seriously already? Fine by me." Grimmjow said, cracking his neck a few times before he moved his shirt to reveal a tattoo of a six that also somehow resembled a panther head. "This won't be any fun if we fight with kid gloves."
Seth stayed silent once again as he placed a hand over his chest and from under his coat, his own Gentei Kaijo tattoo appeared.
"Gentei…" Seth began.
"Kaijo." Grimmjow finished as from both fighters, pillars of cyan blue and black Aura exploded form the two and the R.B.A. reacted to the fighters' increase in Aura.
=Opposing Spiritual Auras Detected! Opposing Spiritual Auras Detected! Have Reached Past the Limited Settings! Now Activating Remnant Battle Arena!=
"Ho ho? Looks like both fighters are getting serious right off the bat!" Port said before checking the countdown. It was almost time so he began to countdown as everyone in the coliseum joined him.
"3!"
Light enveloped the coliseum as the temperature began to rise.
"2!"
Once the light faded, everyone found themselves in the protective floating bubbles and found themselves surrounded by sand and pyramids.
=Field 2: Desert=
"1!"
Winds blew sand around Seth as he looked up. There, standing on top of one of many pyramids that decorated the land was Grimmjow, smirking predatorily and arrogantly as he stared down at Seth, his own Zanpakutō in his hand and resting on his shoulder.
"Live or Let Die…Fight!"
And with that, both fighters disappeared in an instant, reappearing in the air as their swords met and a resounding clang echoed throughout the desert as fierce winds blew caused form the shockwave the two had created when their swords had met. The shockwave was so powerful that those in the protective bubbles found themselves hanging onto something as the bubbles shook.
"Damn!" Qrow cursed as he hand onto the edge of his seat, staring in surprise at the fighters. "Just how much power are those two generating?"
In another bubble that consisted of most of the Shinigami group, they too were surprised at the sudden shockwave.
"Well, the Zero-taichou sure knows how to put up an opening act." Rangiku commented.
"I'm surprised this Grimmjow guy matched Mamoru's strength." Renji said, using Seth's real name.
"Aizen's Arrancar's are not to be underestimated." Byakuya said before turning to Takeru. "What are your thoughts, Takeru-sama?"
Takeru didn't respond as he instead kept complete focus and attention on the fight.
Back to said fight…
*CLANG!*
*BOOM!*
*CLANG!*
With a crash, both fighters landed as their swords were locked together, fighting for dominance. Putting in more strength, Seth won the deadlock, pushing Grimmjow back only to widen his eyes when red energy gathered at Grimmjow's free hand. Acting quickly, Seth swung Zangetsu and struck the charging Cero, stopping it when suddenly, Grimmjow unexpectedly threw away his sword and charged another Cero in his hand. Knowing he had to act fast again, Seth shouted.
"Getsuga-!"
*BOOM!*
Sand and smoke blew as a red beam was fired surrounded by a cape of black Aura. Jumping out from the smoke, Grimmjow laughed loudly as he stared down at Seth who managed to cancel the Cero blast in time, only having a slight burn wound on his left cheek.
"HAHAHAHAHA!" Grimmjow laughed loudly, smiling and glaring as he spoke. "That's it! This is what I've been waiting for! A chance to crush you with everything I've got! Isn't that the same for you, Seth Aberrant!?"
"Do you really need to ask?" Seth said, glaring at the blue haired Espada. "You hurt Ruby. And that alone is enough reason for me…to rip you apart!"
"Heh, I'm glad to hear that. At least you're being honest." Grimmjow said before pointing to the scar across the chest. "Remember this scar? It's the one you gave me the night at the docks."
"What about it?" Seth asked.
"Orihime may have been able to grow back my arm and get rid of the scar covering my rank number, but this scar is the only one I kept with me. And you want to know why?" Seth didn't respond so Grimmjow just kept speaking. "It's to remind of the night you humiliated me! Because of you, I almost lost my place as an Espada!"
"Are you done talking yet?" Seth asked, not caring for Grimmjow's story.
"Hmph! Keep acting smug." Grimmjow said as he flew over to where his thrown sword was at, embedded into a stone sphinx as he pulled it out and stood on top of the man-made construction. "We'll see who's stronger…once I finally slit your throat!"
With a step of Sonido, Grimmjow was behind Seth, throwing a fist to the back of his head, but the amnesiac was quick and dodged out of the way before swinging his sword at Grimmjow who blocked it with his own. Rushing forward, Grimmjow unleashed an onslaught of furious fast blows as Seth expertly blocked and countered them to the best of his abilities as their trading of blows was taking them into the skies, amazing all who watched them.
"Tell me something." Grimmjow spoke as he continued to swing his sword. "Why do you care so much for that brat? She can't be the only reason you want to kill me."
"Someone like you could never understand." Seth said as he blocked another sword swing before kicking Grimmjow away. "My reason for hating you has always been for what you did to Ruby. It's always been that way since the beginning."
"The beginning? Heh, please, what's been since the beginning is the conflict between our races." Grimmjow said, getting a confused look from Seth. "Did you already forget? You're a Hunter, I'm a Grimm. Since the very beginning of Remnant, the two have always been fighting. So let's keep up with traditions and fight! Whoever's left standing gets to live!"
"You talk too much!" Seth said as he and Grimmjow once again fought.
*CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG!*
Multiple shockwaves occurred each time the swords of the two fighters met, kicking up sand all around as they both unknowingly raced down to the ground as Seth was on the attack this time with Grimmjow being on the defense.
With one strong swing, Seth sent Grimmjow flying back before he gripped Zangetsu with both hands and called forth his Aura to wrap around the blade of his Zanpakutō before sending an energy slash straight towards Grimmjow who, upon seeing Seth gather Aura, stuck his free hand out, gathered red spiritual Aura and fired a Cero right at the nameless Getsuga Tenshō. The two attacks met and to the surprise of both Seth and Grimmjow, both attacks canceled each other as an explosion blew them both back. Regaining their balance, Seth landed on one of the many pyramids of the battlefield while Grimmjow flipped and skidded across the sand. Refusing to wait, both fighters leaped and flew straight into the smoke cloud, said smoke being blown away when both fighters met at the center, their swords meeting once again into another deadlock as a shockwave blew away the smoke.
"Heh, you're doing better than I expected. That's good." Grimmjow smirked as he and Seth fought for dominance as the amnesiac didn't respond back. "So, what's it gonna take for you to bring out that mask again?"
That was when Grimmjow saw it, a flinch. Immediately taking the chance, Grimmjow raised his foot and kicked Seth back before swinging diagonally, striking Seth across the chest and drawing blood but not that much as Seth's Aura protected him from the worst of it. The amnesiac gritted his teeth as he skidded back in midair, surprising the audience as he was standing on air.
"Seth! Are you alright!?" Seth turned around in surprise to see that he had stopped right in front of the bubble holding Ruby and the others.
"I'm fine!" Seth assured her before turning back around to see Grimmjow landing on the ground, stabbing his sword into the sand before he went and cut his index and middle finger.
"Maybe this will convince you to bring out that damn mask!" Grimmjow shouted as he whipped his hand outward towards Seth before spiritual Aura that would be used for a Cero mixed in with Grimmjow's blood, turning the energy color blue.
Nel's group all widen their eyes in surprise before they screamed for Seth to dodge that attack.
"Seth! You have to get away from that!" But Seth did not move for if he did then whatever Grimmjow was doing would hit them instead.
'What is that!?' Seth thought alarmed.
"My guess, nothing good."
"Defend yourself!"
"Take this! This is the Ultimate Cero only Espada's can use!" Grimmjow shouted as he roared, "Gran Rey Cero(Grand King Zero/Royal Hollow Flash)!"
And with that, the blue Cero was fired, traveling much faster than a normal Cero. It spun like a razor upon release, compressing and decompressing due to sheer power and speed alone as, if one looked closely enough, it disturbed the very fabric of space itself.
Initially planning to dodge, that plan was thrown out the window when the unique Cero blast traveled towards him at a much faster rate. With Ruby and the others behind him and doubting that the bubble could protect them from the blast, Seth went gripped Zangetsu tightly in both his hands before swinging down, the black meeting with the blast as Seth found himself immediately pushed back.
'Shit! What power!' Seth thought in surprise as he felt his arms were about to be vaporized just from under the pressure alone. 'Grrr...Ember! Magnhild!'
"On it!" Ember responded.
"One support coming right up!" Magnhild saluted.
With the aid of the two Spirits, Seth was soon surrounding in flames and pink colored lightning. Soon, Seth's strength quadrupled and with a mighty roar, Seth pulled up and sent the Cero blast up into the sky where it went and exploded. And what an explosion it was.
*BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!*
People screamed but it wasn't from just the explosion. Sirens blared loudly as 'Warning' and 'Error' signs popped up all around as the battlefield started to static.
"What's this!? What's going on!?" Port thought out loud as he and Oobleck looked around in surprise.
"What's happened!?" Oobleck spoke through a communicator to those managed the R.B.A. System.
-The R.B.A. System's gone nuts! Everything's going haywire!-
=F-f-f-ff-Field-d 1/2: C-Ci-De-d-Deser-ity=
Suddenly, light blinded everyone as the people all felt a shift in space. When the light died down, everyone looked to see what happened and gasped.
What was once a desert which could be found in Vacuo was no longer common looking, but rather unique. The golden grans of sand had turned faded gray, almost white in color, as the pyramids and sphinx that had decorated the battlefield has been replaced by skyscraper-sized buildings, sticking out from the very sand with bottom portions being buried.
"What the hell!?" Seth cried out in surprise as many others did too as he looked around. "What happened?"
"It must have been that Cero blast Grimmjow used." Kuro said. "The very raw power and speed of it disturbed the very fabric of space itself and when it exploded, it must have made the R.B.A malfunction. What we're seeing now is probably a fusion of Fields 1 and 2 due to said malfunction."
"Well...shit. I hate to think if that attack had actually hit us."
Seth silently agreed with his Inner Grimm as he stared down at Grimmjow.
"Well, damn. Didn't think you actually stop and deflect it." Grimmjow said with honest surprise in his voice before he went and grabbed his sword, removing it from the sand. "Guess I'll just have to use the old fashion way to get you to bring out that mask."
With a tight grip on his sword, Grimmjow leaped up towards Seth who met his challenge and leaped down towards him, still covered in fire and lightning.
In just a second, the two met and their blades clashed but to Grimmjow's surprise, he found himself overpowered instantly as he was pushed back. Seth swung upward, hitting Grimmjow's sword and forcing his arm upward, leaving him open for a slash across the gut. Grimmjow's Aura protected him from the devastating wound when he soon found his face in Seth's hand, pushing him back with great force as with great strength, the amnesiac threw the Espada towards one of the buildings of the fused field and watched as the blue haired Arrancar crashed into it.
'I'm starting to see why you love throwing people, Shiro.' Seth thought.
"Told you it was fun!"
*BAM!*
"Guh!?" Suddenly, Seth was struck across the face by a fast projectile sent him skidding back a bit in midair. Coming to a stop, Seth turned to see Grimmjow with his arm stretched out.
"Well, I didn't think this Bala(Bullet/Hollow Bullet) thing would be that fast. It's punch is pretty good too though it's really not my style." Grimmjow mused as he stood at the edge of the hole he made in the building when Seth had thrown him.
Picking up his sword, Grimmjow jumps out of the building and down to the sandy ground before looking up towards Seth who was wiping his face off of any soot from the Bala that had exploded right in his face.
"You're really stubborn, you know that?" Grimmjow said as Seth looked down at him. "I've thrown everything I have at you and you still refuse to bring out that mask. Do you think you can beat me without using it?"
Seth said nothing, remaining silent as the audience was wondering what Grimmjow was talking about.
"A mask? What the heck's he talking about?" Qrow said mostly to himself before turning to Ruby and the girls. "Any ideas, girls?"
All four of them shook their heads, not having the slightest idea what Grimmjow was talking about...all except for one Ruby Rose who had a clue.
'A mask...is he talking about the Grimm Mask Seth used to carry around?' Ruby thought. After the night of the docks, Ruby had not seen any sign of Seth having the mask on him. The last time she saw it was when Seth had defeated Shiro and returned from being a Grimm so she knows Seth must have it on him. It's been one of the only clues he's had since the beginning of his amnesia. But that begs the question...
'What does the mask have anything to do with this fight?'
Of course, the only ones who did know what Grimmjow was talking about, that being Nel, her brothers, and Orihime, all stayed quiet.
As Ruby was in her thoughts, Crescent and the other spirits all knew what Grimmjow was talking about, what he was demanding of Seth.
"Be careful how you play this, Seth." Crescent said in a quiet voice so Ruby wouldn't hear her.
Back down to the fused battlefield, the two swordsmen continued to have their standoff, neither speaking against one another before finally, Grimmjow broke the silence.
"Hmph! That's quite arrogant of you, Aberrant. You believe you can beat me without having to bring out your mask?" As Grimmjow spoke, he lifted up his Zanpakutō, holding it up like the start of a low sweep stroke, and then places his left hand on the blade as said blade light blue. "In that case, I'll just have to use even more force to bring it out!"
Then, it happened.
"Kishire(Grind), Pantera(Panther/Panther King)!"
At that command did Grimmjow rakes his hand along the length of the Zanpakutō blade with a swift motion, while calling out its release command, which in turn releases a torrent of spiritual power that creates tremendous gusts of wind in the immediate vicinity that blew up a humongous amount of sand.
"Whoa!" Yang, the group, and every one of the coliseum all cried out in surprise as the wind generated by Grimmjow had shaken everything, making all hang on for dear life again.
"What's happening!?" Winter shouted over the intense winds. They were so intense that even she could barely hear her own voice.
"Girls, are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Ruby asked her team.
"It's the same as the night of the highway." Weiss said, remembering the night they fought Roman in the Atlesian Paladin prototype and the night Seth, Sado, and Uryu fought those Arrancars.
"He's using his Resurrección form!" Dondo said as if confirming the girls' thoughts.
'So, I'm finally going to see it. His release state.' Seth thought as he stood against the winds, perfectly fine standing in midair.
"Be careful, Seth. We do not yet know what may be cable of now."
Seth's response was simply to hold up his sword in front of him as he stared down where Grimmjow was at, hidden behind all the swirling sand.
Finally, what seemed to drag on for several minutes the sand dispersed, revealing to everyone Grimmjow, only now different.
Grimmjow's appearance has changed drastically into something more feline and predatory. His teeth have become jagged and sharp, his hands turn into black claws and his feet become black clawed paws, similar to that of a cat, along with a slender whip-like tail that's longer than his own body. His hair has becomes very long and flowing, and the markings around his eyes enlarge and extend to the tips of his ears, which become swept back and cat-like. He loses his distinctive jaw mask, which is replaced by a sort of a headgear upon his brow covering his forehead. His clothing has also changed, becoming form-fitting white segmented armor as he also has blades protruding from his forearms and his calves.
"Did...Did he just become a Faunus?" Qrow asked, pointing down to Grimmjow's new cat-like ears as others thought this too.
"That's no Faunus." Blake said with absolute certainty. Her own Faunus sense were going haywire, telling her that Grimmjow's new appearance was nothing close to being a true Faunus, no matter how much he looked like one now. It was more of humanity's number one enemy: a Grimm.
(BGM: Bleach OST Power to Strive)
Grimmjow stood up properly, a growl appearing from his mouth before that growl erupted into a roar. And what a roar it was.
"Grrrr...RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"
*SWOOOOOOOSH!*
'What the!?' Seth thought in surprise as he instinctively raised his arm against the fierce winds that were assaulting him. All around him, the bubbles that kept people safe were shaken a third time now.
'A shock wave? From just his roar!?' Seth thought in surprise before he blinked in surprise. The reason for this was because the second he blinked, Grimmjow had jumped and appeared right in front of him, smiling predatorily.
'Fast-!"
*BAM!*
Before Seth could even finish his thought, Grimmjow had went and struck him with a double palm strike, sending him flying back like a speeding rocket and crashed straight through two buildings. Seth attempted to recover only for Grimmjow to appear right behind him from a burst of Sonido before the Arrancar went and kicked him in the back, sending him skyward.
"Shit!" Seth cursed as he tried to stop himself from spinning, turning around in order to look down where the Espada in his Release State was only to widen his eyes when he felt a presence behind him. He didn't have to look to know who it was but he looked back anyway to find Grimmjow going to swipe him.
Thinking fast, Seth used Blake's Sembalnce and replaced himself with a clone which disappeared the second Grimmjow struck it. Seth then appeared behind the Arrancar and swung his black daito only for the blade to be stop by one of Grimmjow's arm blades.
"Come on, you'll have to do better than that!" Grimmjow said before he spun around and struck Seth in the back of the head with a backfist, dazing him as he was sent down to the ground.
Seth grunted as he felt himself skip along the sand like a flat pebble through a pond. He managed to get his balance back again, flipping back to his feet though he felt himself still being flung back as his feet skidded across the sand with no sign of stopping. It didn't help that he was still somewhat dizzy from Grimmjow's backfist.
"Dammit! Brakes, brakes, brakes, brakes!" Seth chanted as he tried to stop himself form skidding when Grimmjow appeared behind him against with Sonido.
"Sorry, there are no brakes in this fight!"
*BAM!*
Pain shot through Seth as he almost felt his back breaking from Grimmjow's kick yet his back held strong and tough. Didn't mean that didn't stop Grimmjow from continuing.
"Now get ready to SPIN! OUT! OF! CONTROL!" Grimmjow shouted as he sent Seth flying one again, spinning like no tomorrow as he crashed into another building.
(BGM End)
"Seth!" Ruby cried out in worry. And she wasn't the only one.
"Shit! He's getting clobbered out there!" Yang said, the drink in her hand having been crushed from her grip.
"This is nothing compared to those Arrancars the night of the highway." Weiss said, resisting the urge to bite her nails.
Back down to the battlefield, Grimmjow lowered his leg and stared silently at the building he had kicked Seth into. After a quick moment, he saw Seth appear form the crashed hole, covered in dirt and a bit of bruises and much to his annoyance, still no mask on.
"Tch! You're really stubborn aren't you?" Grimmjow clicked his tongue in annoyance. "What's it gonna take you to take out that damn other side of you?"
Seth didn't respond back, focused on catching his breath first. Grimmjow clicked his tongue again before he tried to think of another plan to force Seth into bringing out his mask. His eyes then caught something not too far from him, the bubble that held Ruby and the group. A smirk appeared on his face before he raised one of his arm blades and brought up his other hand before slashing it, drawing blood.
"Why don't we try this again?" Grimmjow said as he gathered spiritual Aura into his bleeding palm, the blooding mixing with the energy and turning it blue.
Seth gritted his teeth, seeing that Grimmjow was charging up another Gran Rey Cero and brought up Tensa Zangetsu in defense, ready to ask Ember and Magnhild for help and maybe even Crocea and Mors too. But then, Grimmjow did unexpected. What the Arrancar did was turn his back to him and aim his Cero at...Ruby and the group!
"Try and save your friends from this!" Grimmjow said as he sent the Gran Rey Cero flying.
"No!" Using a combination of Shunpo and Ruby's Speed, Seth appeared right in front of the protective bubble that housed Ruby and the others, scattered black colored petals before he swung Zangetsu at the Cero blast.
The second the blade met the blast, Seth felt himself immediately pushed back as the blast was unlike the one Grimmjow had used before going Resurrección.
"Seth!" Ruby cried out to her boyfriend as she and others covered their eyes from the light of the Cero blast.
'Shit! I...can't...hold it...back!' Seth thought as he gritted his teeth. Not even using Yang's, Nora's and Jaune's Semblance was helping him in the slightest.
"Oi, King. Don't you think it's time for you to stop holding back? If you keep this up, you'll die."
'I know that! But...'
"What? Are you worried what people will think of you. No, what you're worried about is what your friends will think of you; what you're little Queen will think of you."
'That's not-!'
"True? You can't lie to me, King. Kuro and I know what you think so I'll tell you up straight. You got a choice right now. Either you continue to hold back and let this attack not only kill you and those behind you, or you stop being a pussy and use my powers. This is why you fought and defeated me for. To defeat the guy who hurt the most important person to you. So, what're you gonna do?"
Seth didn't answer back and didn't bother to point out that said 'choices' was an ultimatum. But between letting those behind him die or he takes action, he didn't have to choose. He simply let one hand go of Zangetsu and raised that hand up to his face.
"Good answer. Remember, King, you'll age if you pull back and you'll die if you hesitate. Abandon your fears, look ahead, and keep move forward! And you better not damn stop, no matter what!"
And with that Seth brought his hand down and...
*BOOM*
The Gran Rey Cero exploded, taking Seth with it.
"Seth!" Ruby cried out before she and the others had to hang on for the explosion rocked the bubble they were in as it was so close to them.
"What happened!?" Blake cried out as the bubble soon stopped shaking and filling their vision was the sight of smoke surrounding their bubble, blocking their view of outside.
"I can't believe he used another Gran Rey Cero!" Orihime said, surprised.
"What the hell is a Gran Rey Cero?" Yang asked.
"Unlike a normal Cero which a user fires a concentrated blast of spiritual Aura, a Gran Rey Cero is a technique only Espada can use." Orihime said as she began to explain. "By mixing their own blood with a Cero, an Espada can fire a Cero with much greater attack power and speed, in addition to having a change of color unique to them. It is many times more powerful than a normal Cero, disturbing the fabric of space as it travels."
"Did you just say it disturbs the very fabric of space!?" Weiss asked and Orihime nodded as everyone turned back only to see their their view was still being blocked.
"Damn, can't see anything, what's going on?" Qrow said as he was tempted to just get up and get rid of the smoke himself.
But in an instant, someone else did it for him as the smoke was blown away by none other then Seth who looked completely fine with no sign of injuries from the Cero blast despite being the closest to it.
"Seth! You're alright!" Ruby smiled, glad that the one she loved was fine. But a look of confusion soon came to her face when Seth just kept showing them his back, not turning around to check if they were alright. "Seth?"
"Hahahahahaha! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Suddenly, Grimmjow started laughing uncontrollably, scaring a lot of people as the Espada continue to laugh.
"Why's he laughing?" Winter asked, wondering what was the 'man' laughing about. He almost seemed...happy for some reason.
Grimmjow continued to laugh for a good minute before he finally calmed down and smiled. "It's about damn time you brought it out. Now we can really kill each other!"
"Seth?" Ruby called out the teen who still refused to turn around. Was something wrong? And why did the Aura around him feel so...dark?
"Ruby." Suddenly, Crescent spoke up, getting her wielder's attention.
'Crescent, what is it?'
"What you're about to see may...no, it will surprise you. Just...try not to freak out."
'Huh? What do you mean?'
"...Seth, show her."
Seth seemed to flinch at that before he relax his shoulders a bit and slowly, he began to turn around. Ruby didn't know why but she felt her heart starting pound like crazy as she slowly watched Seth turn to her. And then, she saw it.
Bleach white in color like that of a freshly clean bone, ten markings making up the left side which made said side look more red than white, it's appearance akin to that of a human skull, and finally, right through the eye holes golden and black eyes stared right back at her.
Seth had donned his Grimm Mask.
Ruby's eyes widen in surprise at the appearance of the mask on the boy she loved. And she was not the only one for her team, her uncle, her partner's sister, and everyone in the coliseum was starring right at Seth in surprise as Seth's new masked appearance was displayed upon multiple screens where people from all four Kingdoms were watching.
"Wha...What the hell?" Yang breathed out in shock.
"Seth?" Weiss muttered the teen's name, finding it hard to say anything else.
"Is that...you?" Blake seemingly continued from where Weiss left off, also starring at the fifth member of their team in shock and a bit of fear.
Seth seemed to see this as his eyes showed a pained look before he focused his attention on Ruby.
"...You okay?"
'His voice, it's...' Ruby unknowingly flinched at Seth's distorted and hollow voice. It was not the voice she grew to love every single day.
"I...I'm okay..." Ruby managed to answer.
"I see. That's good." Seth said as he looked away from everybody as if ashamed to show them his face. "And...sorry."
"Eh?"
"You're...scared, right? I know I look pretty creepy right now." If one didn't listen closely, they would have missed it, the hurt in his voice not from physical pain, but from something else.
"Seth..."
"But, don't worry. It's okay. I'll...end this quickly." Seth said before he flew down to where Grimmjow was.
"Heh, finally decided to take this seriously?" Grimmjow asked with a raised eyebrow.
Seth didn't not respond back. Remaining silent, Seth went and attacked Grimmjow, suddenly, surprising the Arrancar as he quickly raised an arm and stopped Seth's sword with his arm blade only to suddenly be kicked under the chin and sent flying hundreds of feet into the sky. Flipping in midair, Grimmjow looks down to see no sign of Seth until said masked Shinigami appeared right behind him via shunpo before shouting.
"Getsuga Tenshō!"
What was released from Tensa Zangetsu was not a simple energy slash. No, what was released was a wave of black spiritual Aura that completely enveloped Grimmjow at point-blank range. The wave seemingly continued on and on until it finally subsided, leaving smoke that was blowing in the fierce winds that was caused by Seth's attack. Yet despite all this, laughter could be heard from within the smoke.
"HahahahahaHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Waving his arm, Grimmjow blew away the smoke that hid him from view, showing that he was somewhat fine as a small trickle of blood flowed from his head. But he did not care about that for he focused his entire attention on his opponent.
"That's it! That's the spirit!" Grimmjow shouted as he glared right at Seth who stood and looked calm. Staring right into those calm yet rage filled eyes, Grimmjow continued. "Those eyes! I can't stand those goddamn eyes! And that's why you gotta die, Seth Aberrant!"
"A second time. You tried to hurt Ruby a second time, right in front of me." Seth spoke, a cold rage hidden within his voice as he glared right at Grimmjow. "Grimmjow Jaegerjaques, today's the day you die!"
And with that, both fighters charged towards one another. And they both met, multiple shockwaves occurred all over the battlefield.
To the eyes of civilians and even Huntsmen-in-training, the action had become too fast to follow as destruction appeared all over the field. Those that could follow were Ruby and her team, and trained Huntsmen.
They watched as both fighters met and clashed before disappearing and then reappearing at another spot on the field, clashing again. They then disappeared and reappeared again in the sky, jumping back away from each other before charging back. They watched Grimmjow thrust his hand forward for a stab only to miss when Seth moved to dodge. Seth swung his sword down only for Grimmjow to dodge at a hair's breath before he spun and kicked Seth's head with a good roundhouse kick, sending the amnesiac spinning back as his mask was still fine. They watched Seth recover quickly before turning around and stopping one of Grimmjow's arm blades from hitting him. Grimmjow went and sent his other hand for a stab but was literally beaten to the punch when Seth struck him across the face with a flaming punch before Seth flipped and sent Grimmjow down crashing to the sandy ground with a lightning charged axe kick. They watched as Seth flew down to where Grimmjow was at, flying straight through the sand cloud as he swung Zangetsu down and blew away said smoke, revealing that Grimmjow had dodged and was spinning around on his hand, delivering a well-placed kick to Seth's side where his ribs were at as the masked amnesiac was sent skidding and rolling in the sand. Seth let out a grunt as he flipped back up to his feet and Grimmjow did the same, flipping back to his feet before he and Seth charged straight towards each other once again. And once again when they met, the minute their attacks struck, a shockwave occurred.
"They're evenly matched." Soi-fon pointed out, amazed at how this battle was progressing.
"Yeah, but sooner or later, one of them is gonna slip up or tire out." Renji said but his attention was elsewhere. Mainly on the Grimm Mask Seth had donned.
The other Shinigami's were also focused on Seth's mask as Takeru looked on worriedly.
'My son, Mamoru...What has happened to you in the month's that you've gone missing?'
*WHAM-CRASH!*
Being pushed back, Seth crashes into a building as Grimmjow had pushed him back with pure strength, throwing brick and glass all over the place as Seth pushed back Grimmhow's hand, it's claws trying to stab him as Grimmjow kept pushing. A ripple of light soon surrounded the two, red for Seth and blue for Grimmjow before disappearing, signaling that both of them no longer had their Aura to protect them.
"I see you've increased the amount of time you can maintain that mask of yours." Grimmjow said as he tried to overpower Seth. "You must have trained hard in order to do that. That's good. If your mask cracked so soon like last time, then this fight wouldn't be any fun. Don't you think!?" As he spoke, Grimmjow raised his free hand and thrusts it forward, his claws aimed right for Seth's face...
*GRAB!*
Only for the masked amnesiac to stop and grab it, surprising the blue haired Espada.
"You're saying...this fight would be boring if my mask cracked?" Seth said as he gripped Grimmjow's hand tightly. "Don't make me laugh. If you're so worried about this fight being boring, then I'll spice it up for you!"
(BGM: Bleach OST Encirclement Battle)
*THOOM!*
Grimmjow widen his eyes in surprise. He could feel it, the air around Seth had turned dense with killing intent. Before he could pull back, Seth had thrown the hand he grabbed aside, leaving Grimmjow wide open for a slash across the chest which, surprising many, drew blood as said blood spew out from the new open wound.
"Do me a favor Grimmjow and stay just the way you are right now." Seth said as he sent the Espada a look that could send a chill down even the most hardened Huntsmen. "Or else the one who'll be bored with this fight...will be me!"
With that did Seth launch off the building he was on and towards Grimmjow, sword swinging and already wrapped in his Aura. Just because his Aura could no longer protect him that doesn't mean he still couldn't use it to attack. Grimmjow barely moved in time to dodge the black blade aimed for his head before he quickly brought up his arm and stopped the second swing with his arm blade. Gritting his teeth under the pressure, Grimmjow swung his leg and kicked Seth's arm, aiming to break it but the boy was more durable than that as he pushed the leg off of him and swung his black daito at the blue haired Espada who jumped back to dodge. Grimmjow then began to spin around like a top towards Seth. A clawed hand struck first followed by a clawed foot but Seth dodged both and rushed in to attack, but he didn't expect Grimmjow to throw in a third attack using his tail as said tail struck him across his masked face and sent him crashing down to the ground.
"Ha! Is that all you got, Seth!?" Grimmjow shouted before he launched himself down towards where Seth had crashed, smiling predatorily and crazy-like.
That smile was soon wiped off when a black blade emerged from the smoking sand cloud. Moving quickly to avoid getting stabbed through the eye, Grimmjow steered right but couldn't dodge completely as the blade dug into his harden skin and scraped against it like metal scraping against metal. Grimmjow was lucky that the blade didn't dig though deeper or else he doubted he'd be able to use his arm. Soon, Grimmjow escaped the blade and skidded to a stop, turning around to see Seth already attacking again, swinging his sword at him. Quick to respond, Grimmjow spun around in time to block the blade with one of his arm blades and another shockwave occurred, throwing sand everywhere. The two struggled in a deadlock but Seth refused to let this go on as he moved his leg and struck Grimmjow across the face with a well-placed kick, sending the Espada flying and crashing into the base of a building. Seth gave chase immediately and swung his blade down on the downed Arrancar but Grimmjow flipped to dodge the blade before he proceeded to go up the building, running up and moving like a real panther would as his claws dug into the building to keep him from falling. Seth gave chase once again, appearing next to Grimmjow as he seem to fly next to him when in actuality, he was using his Aura to continually jump in order to keep up with Grimmjow. Seeing his opponent, Grimmjow jumped off the building and spun around like a wheel, throwing a spinning overhead kick to Seth who responded by swinging his sword upward. And once again, a shockwave occurred when both attacks met up.
"My god..." Port breathed out as he and others couldn't believe the fight they were seeing. "Bart, what the heck are we seeing?"
A bead of sweat trailed down Oobleck's cheek as he pushed his glasses up. "Both fighters continue to fight even after their Aura has been depleted of protection. And due to their appearance, Peter, it's almost like we're seeing a fight between two Grimm-no, not Grimm. While I hate to use this on one of my student's, what we're seeing here is a fight between...monsters."
People found themselves agreeing with the pro-er, doctor. With how Seth looked, black jacket, black and white hair, and a bone white mask, he looked like a human Grimm. And let's not get started with Grimmjow. With how fiercely and violently the two were fighting, they couldn't help but see them as monsters. Of course, one thought differently.
"Seth is no monster!" Ruby shouted, having heard what Oobleck.
"Sorry to say, but I agree with the doc." Qrow said, getting an angry and betrayed look form Ruby. "Ruby, just look at that fight out there. How on Remnant is any of what's going on out there normal?"
Ruby wanted to say anything to disagree with her uncle but she found herself unable to come up with anything. Looking back down to the battlefield, she saw Grimmjow grab Seth's leg before he spun him around and then threw him. Seth spun around before he skidded to a stop in midair. Staring at the back of the boy she loved, she couldn't help but think...
'Is that...really Seth?'
"Take this!" Grimmjow shouted before he pushed his arm back to allow his elbow forward before from his elbow, five acutely shaped projectiles were fired right at Seth.
The projectiles flew faster than a bullet but Seth was able to dodge them by simply moving his head to the side as they flew right past him. But to his surprise and horror, the projectiles were now on a course towards Ruby and the others.
(BGM End)
"No!" Acting without thinking, Seth shunpos in front of the bubble that housed everyone and took the projectiles to the back, one hitting his left arm while the rest hit his back as said projectiles actually exploded a little, adding even more damage to Seth's back as Seth gasped out blood.
"Seth!" Nel and the others all cried out in worry for the masked amnesiac.
"S-Seth…" Ruby, unlike everyone, spoke softly in surprise and nervousness.
"I'm fine. This is nothing." Seth said, his back smoking a bit as he raised his head to check if everyone was alright. But doing this showed everyone his Grimm Mask in full detail and boy did it send a chill down everyone's spine.
Ruby tried her best to hide and suppress it, she really did. But the fear in her eyes was seen by Seth who flinched at those eyes. Quickly, he turned and leaped down to where Grimmjow was, refusing to look at everyone as if ashamed at himself. Ruby watched as he flew back down to the ground, sweating a little.
Yang saw the state of her sister and asked, "Ruby, you okay?"
Ruby looked at her sister before looking down, ashamed of herself. "I…I don't know…"
It only took a few seconds for Seth to reach the ground as he landed on his feet softly. Now that both fighters were pausing, it allowed everyone to see the state they were in.
Bruises and cuts covered Grimmjow's form. The slash wound on his chest was still covered in his own blood as specs of it got on his face. Not only that but the headpiece and parts of the armor covering his left arm looked ready to fall off.
As for Seth, multiple cuts was littered all over him, leaving tears in his jacket. His left shoulder had the biggest slash that drew a bit of blood as some of it somehow got on his mask. On his back, the projectiles from earlier had open up new holes as he was breathing heavily.
"You went and protected your friends. How sweet of you." Grimmjow said mockingly as he watched breath heavily. "What's wrong? Out of breath? But then again…" Grimmjow raised his left arm and one of those acute bomb projectiles appeared and shot out from his elbow and towards a building behind him. And then…
*BOOOOOOOOOOOM!*
The whole building came tumbling down, surprising many people.
"You did take five of my Garra de la Pantera(Claw of the Panther). I'm surprised you're still even standing."
"Holy shit! One of those did that!?" Pesche said in surprise.
"And Seth just took five of those to the back." Orihime said. "No doubt a bone or two is broken."
Down below, Seth wasn't intimidated at what Grimmjow had just displayed. He was still standing which means he can still fight and that's all that mattered.
*crack*
Suddenly, a crack was shown on Seth's mask and Grimmjow saw this.
"Looks like you've reached the limit of your mask." Grimmjow said.
"What, this?" Seth said as he placed a hand on the crack before moving his hand out, pulling out more of his power to fix the crack of his mask. "Sorry, but I'm not even close to my limit yet!"
"Heh, you're a tough guy. You can take pain." Grimmjow said as he took a stance when suddenly, his headpiece cracked before part of it fell off.
Under his mask, Seth smirked. "Heh, you sure you're not the one who's hurting here? If you got time to run your mouth, then you got time to figure out how to survive." Seth held up Tensa Zangetsu and glared at the Arrancar in front of him. "That's three times you've tried to hurt Ruby right in front of me. Your life is mine."
"Heh, you want my life? Then you'll have to come and take it!" Grimmjow said before he and Seth charged towards one another.
Ruby watched as the sands hid the fierce battle between Seth and Grimmjow as her mind wandered to Seth and his new masked appearance.
'I shouldn't be bothered by it. I shouldn't afraid of it. This is Seth, the guy who lit up my world when it was at its most darkest.' Ruby thought, yet she still doubted herself and she hated that. 'I can't be afraid. I can't be afraid...but when I look into those eyes, I just don't see Seth through them. I don't see the man who I fell in love with. And the way he's fighting right now, it's like he's a whole different person. I shouldn't feel this way, but...'
"Ruby…" Crescent muttered, worried for her wielder.
'I'm…the worst.' Ruby thought to herself, closing her eyes.
Back with the fight, he know he should do it but Seth found himself looking over to where his friends were at. Everyone was watching intently to the fight yet the one he cared for the most was closing her eyes.
'She's...scared, isn't she...?'
"Watch out!" Gambol's shout snapped Seth out of his thoughts before he quickly acted.
*BOOM!*
Seth grunted as he was pushed back, blood spewing from a new wound from his head as parts of his mask broke off. At the same time, Grimmjow was pushed back, a slash wound now decorating his left cheek. Both fighters stopped themselves before charging in once again. Seth's sword met Grimmjow's arm blade but there was no deadlock as Grimmjow immediately swung his right leg and struck Seth across the face, sending the teen flying. Seth rolled and skidded across the sandy ground before flipping back up to his feet, now having lost 1/4th of his mask. But even then, Seth was not allowed a moment to catch his breath as he looked up and saw Grimmjow coming down upon him with a spinning axe kick. Refusing to back down, Seth retaliated and thrusts Zangetsu up. The sound of steel tearing through flesh was heard as Zangetsu's blade stabbed right through Grimmjow's leg. Said Arrancar bit back the pain as he used his other leg to continue where he left off, striking Seth with an axe kick.
*BOOM!*
"This is bad." Blake began as she watched Seth and Grimmjow jump out from the debris. Seth had lost more of his mask while Grimmjow still had the ability to stand despite one of his legs bleeding from the stab earlier.
"Seth's starting to tire out." Weiss said as the fight was slowly shifting to Grimmjow's favor.
"He tried playing it off but Grimmjow's attack earlier did more damage than we thought. He can't keep this up." Yang said as she winced when she saw Seth get kicked under the chin thus losing more of his mask again.
Ruby remained silent as she still kept her eyes closed. She wanted to open her eyes, see the fight to the very end, yet she couldn't get her eyes to open.
'I really am...the wor-'
"Go Seth!" Ruby jumped up in surprise and found her eyes finally opening before looking down to the source of the cheering.
"Keep fighting, Seth! You can do it!" Nel cheered as loudly as she could as her brothers and Orihime joined in to.
"Don't stop! Keep going!" Pesche said as he waved a flag that had Seth's face on it. Where he got it from, no one knows.
"Keep fighting!" Dondo cheered.
"You can do it, Seth!" Orihime cheered though not as loudly as the other three.
Nel then turned to Team RWBY. "What are you guy's doing? You have to cheer him on too!"
"H-Huh?" Ruby pretty much spoke for the rest of her team on that.
"Come on! What are you guys doing? You guys are his friends He's out there fighting so you should be cheering for him!" Nel said, waving her arms around cutely before turning to Ruby. "You especially should be cheering for him!"
"Huh?"
"What do you mean, 'huh?' Seth's out there fighting for you!"
"Seth's fighting…for me?" Ruby repeated in confusion.
"Yes!" Nel said. "Back at Las Noches, he never stops talking about you! He always thinks about you! He told me about the time he met Lord Grimmjow and how he regrets not stopping him from almost killing you! That's why he's worked so hard! He came to Las Noches and put on that mask all for you! He knows how dangerous his powers are yet he's still using it all for you! Now he's in pain and bleeding! He's bleeding and suffering all! For! You! If you, the one who he cherishes the most, won't cheer him on, then who will!?"
In that instant, Ruby's body froze at Nel's words. Then, like booting up a computer, her mind started working and then, everything became clear to her.
'She's right.' Ruby thought as she turned back to the battle where Seth was being pushed back by Grimmjow. 'The reason I wanted to get so strong was so I could stand by Seth's side, so I wouldn't be a burden and wouldn't have to worry him. I trained so hard and bled just so I could stand by his side. But somewhere along the line, I must have forgotten…no matter what, Seth's always going to worry. It doesn't matter if I'm strong or not, he's always going to worry because he cares…just like how I always worry about him even though we both don't want the other to. I'm so stupid, how could I have forgotten? Seth is Seth. It doesn't matter if he puts on a creepy mask or turns into a Grimm. Because Seth…will always be the man I fell in love with. And I need to tell him this. I need to shout it out! I need to let him know! Because the thing I'm afraid of isn't Seth turning into some kind of monster. What I'm afraid of...is losing him!'
*WHAM!*
Seth grunted in pain when he crashed into the base of a building, rubble and glass scattering all over as Seth quickly picked himself up and stood back up.
"You're really spent now." Grimmjow commented, walking over to his opponent as he looked at Seth's condition.
There were now more cuts and bruises on him than before and he was covered in sweat. But the thing that stood out most was the state of his mask. The entire left side and bottom jaw were gone now, leaving Seth with ¼ of his mask left. Not only that but he was breathing heavily, exhausted.
Flexing his clawed fingers, Grimmjow declared, "It's over, Aberrant."
Seth did nothing but glare back, refusing to give up. He racked his brain for anything he could do but his body was exhausted and he only had enough Aura for five full powered Getsugas. Ten if he didn't say the name.
'Damn! What now?' Seth thought when suddenly…
"Don't die…" Seth's eyes widen in surprise. The voice that spoke was quiet, but Seth heard it loud and clear. The voice belonged to someone he knew very well.
"Don't die, Seth!" Ruby's voice broke the silence as Seth slowly turned his head around, looking up to where Ruby was at to see tears in her eyes.
"R-Ruby…?"
"You don't have to win…I'm alright now…you don't have to try so hard…just please…don't get hurt anymore…I can't stand it…"
Seth stared wide eyed in surprise at the girl he loved. At the same time, Grimmjow rushed in from behind to finish him off.
"Aberrant, you're finished!" Grimmjow declared as he sent his arm forward.
Alarmed, Ruby shouted over to Seth, "Seth, look out-!"
*GRAB!*
Ruby's worries were soon dashed as without even looking, Seth had grabbed Grimmjow's hand, surprising the Espada himself and everyone in the coliseum.
And slowly, Seth turned his head to him and said, "Sorry, Grimmjow. It looks like I'm not allowed to sustain any more damage."
And with that, Seth threw Grimmjow's hand up, making him wide open for…
*SLASH!*
A mighty downward slash from Seth. The blow opened up a new wound on Grimmjow, drawing a great amount of blood. Seth watched closely as light faded form Grimmjow's eyes as he fell backward unconscious.
'It's over.' Seth thought before communicating with Crescent. 'Hey, Crescent?'
"Yes? What is it?"
'Tell Ruby that I'm sorry for worry—'
*GRAB!*
Seth never got to finish his request as suddenly, his sword was grabbed by none other than Grimmjow who had regained consciousness and was using his sword to stay standing.
"Not yet…It's not over yet!" Grimmjow began as Seth stared wide eyed at him.
'He regained consciousness that fast!?' Seth though in surprise.
"You…You think…You think you've…defeated me!?" Grimmjow shouted as he glared up at Seth and attacked.
"Seth!" Ruby and the others cried out in worry.
*STAB!*
Everyone felt their breaths being caught in their throats when Grimmjow's clawed hand plunged right into Seth's gut, causing blood to gush out and drop to the ground. Seth coughed up some blood before he gritted his teeth, raised his leg, and kicked Grimmjow right in the face, forcing him to not only remove his hand but to also force the two away from each other.
Grimmjow flicked his hand to remove the blood from it as he glared right at Seth. He was holding the spot he had stabbed and, as if responding to his injury, some of his mask fell off, leaving him with only enough to cover his right eye as said eye couldn't even be seen through the mask anymore. Yet still, despite the grave wound, Seth stood with weapon in hand and stared right back at Grimmjow…and it pissed him the hell off!
"Those eyes…" Grimmjow began as Seth huffed in exhaustion. "Those eyes of yours keep mocking me! It's always been like that since we've met. No matter how many times I beat you, somewhere deep inside of you, you always think you can still beat me. You always believe you're superior to me! And that pisses me off!"
Roaring, Grimmjow dashed towards Seth, claws ready to tear him apart. In response, Seth held up Zangetsu. Seth ducked under the claw aimed for his face before moving to the side to avoid another claw aimed for his side. He then jumped back to avoid a kick only to get struck under the chin by Grimmjow's tail, sending him flipping back as he skidded to his feet. Looking up, he saw Grimmjow's clawed hand about to hit so he quickly raised his sword and successfully blocked it while being pushed back a little.
"Ha! What's wrong?" Seth couldn't help but smirk at Grimmjow. "Does being treated as an equal by me anger you that much?"
*STAB!*
Seth's eyes widen in pain before he coughed up more blood when Grimmjow plunged his other hand into Seth's gut like his other hand had did before. But Grimmjow was not done yet. With a kick, Grimmjow sent Seth up into the air.
"It doesn't matter!" Grimmjow shouted as he held out his hand, declaring something to everyone in the coliseum. "It doesn't matter if it's a human, Faunus, Grimm, Shinigami, or even another Arrancar! Anybody who looks down on me will be crushed!"
Grimmjow then leaps up into the air. Seth thought he was going to attack but that changed when Grimmjow reappeared up behind him via Sonido.
"And right now that's you, Aberrant!" Grimmjow shouted before thrusting both his hands forward and his claws start to glow.
"What is he doing?" Yang thought out loud.
"Well, my gut tells me it's nothing good for the kid." Qrow said.
And Qrow was proven right when with a clawing motion, each of Grimmjow's claws becomes a long, sharp blade completely composed of Aura. The sky seemed to darken under their bright, intense light as everyone in the stadium stared up at the Espada wide eyed.
(BGM: Fall Out Boy – Novocaine)
"What on Remnant…?" Port breathed out in both disbelief and awe.
Using his Aura, Seth skidded in midair before standing up right. Once up, he stares at Grimmjow and his glowing claw blades in surprise.
"What is that?"
Grimmjow smirks at Seth's look of surprise before answering.
"Desgarrón(Laceration/ Panther King's Claw)." After answering that did he raise one of his hands as the glowing blades of Aura followed it. "This is…my greatest technique!"
*SWOOSH!*
When Grimmjow clawed downward towards Seth, the blades followed and were sent right to the amnesiac. Just the simply motion seemed to the cut through the very air itself as Seth quickly raised Tensa Zangetsu to defend, one hand behind the blade to support it.
*CLANG!*
*TAKTAKTAKTAKTAKTAKTAKTAKTAKTAKTAKTAKTAKTAKTAKTAKTAKTAKTAK!*
The second Grimmjow's blade met Seth's sword, he was immediately pushed back as sparks flew from the friction between his sword and the glowing Aura blades. Seth growled as he tried to push back but the force behind the attack was like trying to stop a meteorite with no force behind you to back you up. In no time, Seth was pushed back as the blades traveled behind and over him.
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Grimmjow laughed loudly as Seth's struggled brought joy to him. "It's over, Seth! You're finished! You lose and I win! And you want to know why!? It's because I…AM THE KING!"
*SLAM!*
Grimmjow stopped laughing and stared in surprise as Seth stomped to a stop and raised his pitch black sword up, the tip screeching and scratching when it met the Aura blade above him. Roaring like a beast that actually sent a small shockwave, surprising Grimmjow further as Seth's blade dug into the Aura blade before visible cracks could be seen. Then, with one final push, Seth swung through the Aura blade and broke it. And just in time too as the other four blades stabbed right into the sandy ground as their glowing blades were right next to the bubble that held Ruby and the others. Seth had protected them again.
"You know…You're not the only one who wants to win." Seth began while the four Aura blades around him began to fade.
"What?" Grimmjow said as he glared down at Seth, angered that his first attack did not finish him off.
"You want to kill me because of how I look at you?" Seth then raised his head to Grimmjow and when he did, it's revealed that his left eye had returned to its normal white sclera and chocolate brown iris. "I know how you feel!"
*SHINE!"
Suddenly, Seth stuck his left hand out and used his Aura to forcibly use his Semblance to call upon Weiss's Summoning Glyph. People expected Shiro to appear like he did during the match with Byakuya but what appeared was not Seth's Inner Grimm, but rather his sword.
Now armed with two swords, Seth leaped up towards Grimmjow. In response, Grimmjow sent his other five glowing Aura blades down to Seth.
"Just like how you hate how I look at you, I hate how you look at me!" Seth shouted as he swung his blades at the giant Aura blades and, to Grimmjow's surprise, actually stopped them!
"Every time you look at me, it makes me feel weak! It makes me remind myself of how powerless I was to protect those close to me! And that's why I'm here, fighting you! I'm here to prove that I have the strength to protect those I cherish the most! This time I will defeat you! This time…!"
*ZZZZZZZZ!*
Suddenly, images of his daughter, Scarlet flashed through his mind. Her happy smile and scarlet red hair flowing as she ran around. All of the good times he and Ruby spent with her, eating together like a family, going to the amusement park, they all showed up in his head.
But those were not the only images that came to mind.
Another girl appeared. She appeared to be around 13 years at best. Her large amber eyes stood out to him and her purple hair tied with a red ribbon seemed to stir something within him. Was this something from his past? It probably was. Was it a life he was unable to protect? Somehow, Seth knew the answer to that as he practically screamed out.
"This time I won't lose anyone I love ever again!"
Right before everyone's eyes, Seth seemed to glow blue and red. The black Tensa Zangetsu in his hand was wrapped around in the usual black Aura but this time, outlining the Aura was the color blue. At the same time, a white colored Aura outlined in red surrounded the white Tensa Zangetsu in Seth's other hand.
'What the hell is that!?' Grimmjow thought as his instincts were telling him to move.
"You want to throw around ultimate techniques, then here's mine! Something I saved just for you, Grimmjow!" Seth yelled as with sheer force of will, he powered through the Aura blades in order to swing both his swords in a crossing motion while shouting out the name of his new technique.
"Getsuga…Jūjishō(Moon Fang Cross-Shaped Piercer)!"
Everyone saw it before their very eyes. Seth had fired a Getsuga Tenshō from each of his sword, one black and blue, and the other white and red. Then, the two fused together into a cross-shaped blast, the color of it turning into Seth's signature grey color that completely plowed through Grimmjow's Desgarrón. And then…
*BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!*
A major explosion happened that shook the coliseum if not all of Vale itself. A bright light had also resulted in the explosions as everyone covered their eyes, Grimmjow included as he raised an arm to shield his eyes. Then he saw it, a familiar black blade coming towards him. Acting fast, he swung his arm out and used his arm blade to intercept it.
"Ha! You're gonna have to do better than that, Aberr-!"
*STAB!*
(BGM End)
Grimmjow's voice was caught in his throat when he felt himself get stabbed right through chest, the area right under where his heart would be. Looking down, he saw Seth had stabbed him with his white Tensa Zangetsu. Looking to the side, he saw the black Tensa Zangetsu that he had intercepted had no one holding it. That could only mean one thing. Seth had thrown it at him. He had been duped.
"Damn…you…" Grimmjow managed to say to Seth before his consciousness slipped from him and he started to fall back once Seth removed his sword from him. Blood fell as he fell backwards and would have continued if Seth had gone and grabbed his arm, catching him as the last of Seth's mask crumbed away as his right eye was back to normal too.
Seth was silent as he stared down at the unconscious form of Grimmjow. One the light of the explosion had faded, everyone stared up at the two fighters in surprise. No one knew what to say as silence fell upon the entire stadium…until a mechanical voice broke the silence.
=Grimmjow Jaegerjaques: Defeated=
=Winner: Seth Aberrant=
At that announcement did another bright light envelop the people as everyone shielded their eyes to avoid being blinded. Once the light was gone and people could see again, everyone found themselves back at Amity Coliseum albeit in a wrecked condition. Multiple tears and cuts are seen all around the center arena, no doubt from Seth's and Grimmjow's battle. Speaking of said fighters, Seth stood at the center platform with Grimmjow laying on the ground next to him.
Looking up and around, Seth could see it all. The uncertainty and fear on the people's faces. And they were all directed to him. He didn't let those looks bother him that much as he turned to where his friends were when suddenly…
"And that's the match, ladies and gents!" Seth jumped in surprise when Port's voice broke the silence over the coliseum.
"And what a match it was, Peter. Our two fighters fought like wild gladiators!" Oobleck commented. "But in the end, it's Mr. Aberrant that came out on top! A round of applause for him, people!"
Oobleck and Port started to clap and slowly, other people joined them yet Seth could still see the uncertainty and fear in them. He didn't care. Turning to where his friends were, he saw Nel and her brothers yelling over to him while Orihime made sure the young Arrancar didn't fall off the edge. Yang was giving him whistles, Blake and Weiss simply clapped for him and gave out words of congrats that was too hard to hear over the cheering. He was surprised to see Qrow and Winter with them, clapping too. Yet the one he wanted to see the most was nowhere to be-
"Seth!" Hearing his name, the amnesiac turned around to see Ruby running towards him, having probably jumped down in order to run to him.
"Ruby-Oof!" Seth grunted in surprise and almost fell on his but when Ruby used her Semblance to cover the distance between them and give the Shinigami a hug.
"You're alright! You're alright! I was so worried!" Ruby cried out as she continued to hug her boyfriend.
"Ruby! R-Ruby! I'm wounded, remember?" Seth gritted out as he hissed in pain.
Realizing that her boyfriend was injured, she quickly separated from him, not minding that his blood was now on her. "Oh! Sorry! It's just, I was so worried and—!"
"It's okay, I understand." Seth said as he held one of the spots Grimmjow stabbed. "Just, try and be more careful next time. Wait until I've recovered, then we can hug."
"Seth~!" Multiple voices called to the amnesiac as Seth turned to see the rest of RWBY along with Nel's group running to him.
"Seth!"
*ZOOM!*
"Whoa!" Seth skidded back when he caught a flying Nel in his hands. "Idiot! How many times have I told you to stop doing that!?"
"I'm so glad…" Seth stopped shouting and his anger blew away like the wind as he saw the crying Nel. "When you started bleeding, I thought you…I'm glad you're alive…!"
Seth let a small smile appear on his face as he breathed out through his nose before placing a hand on Nel's head. "Thanks, Nel, for worrying." Seth then raised his head to the others and asked, "What about you all? You guys alright? Some of Grimmjow's attacks almost hit you."
"You have two holes in your gut and you're asking us if we're alright?" Yang said before shaking her head. "Only you, Seth. Only you…"
Seth just let a rare goofy smile appear on his face as he scratched the back of his head.
"So, mind explaining what you just did?" Qrow asked, gesturing to the white Zangetsu in his hand.
"That was no doubt a Glyph you summoned. You did the same thing in your previous match as well." Winter pointed out. "Glyphs are a heredity Semblance in the Schnee Family. How were you able to use it?"
"Ah, well, how do I say this?" Seth scratched his cheek while Ruby was smiling next to him.
'Heh, mask or no mask, he's still the Seth I know. I was stupid for even worrying about that.'
"Hm?" Noticing his girlfriend was looking at him, Seth asked, "What's up?"
"Oh, nothing." Ruby said as she took his free hand and gripped it tightly. "I'm just glad you're alright and that you won. You've wanted to settle the score for a while now, right?"
"Yeah, you're right…" Seth said as it finally started to sink in. "I beat Grimmjow…I won…I won! I WON! YEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH~!"
Ruby and the others all smiled at Seth as he let out his victory scream…until he started to lose his balance.
"Whoa…victory scream…bad idea…feeling dizzy…!"
"Well what did you expect with the amount of blood you lost?"
'And where the hell were you during the entire fight? You know, I don't care, too busy falling right now.'
"Seth!" Quickly, Ruby went and caught Seth before he could fall down. "Geez, stop worrying me like this!"
"Again, sorry for worrying you." Seth said as he struggled to stand back up before turning back to the others. "Now, to answer your ques…tions…?" Seth trailed off once he saw everyone was wide eyed. "What's wrong, guys?"
"…huff…huff…!"
Seth's and Ruby's eyes widen before they both turned around and saw the unbelievable sight of Grimmjow standing up.
"Oh you gotta be kidding me." Mors exclaimed in surprise.
"How is he still able to even stand up!?" Gambol said.
Then, right before everyone's eyes, Grimmjow's body started to glow before his form started to shift. Slowly, he lost his feline Resurrección form and returned to looking more human as his powers returned to its Zanpakutō form.
But that didn't change his state of health. He was still covered in the wounds Seth had dealt him, his hair and clothes were a mess and covered in blood and it seems his wounds were having double the effect on him now as he could barely stand now. Yet he still had the energy to glare at Seth.
"I'm…huff…not done yet!" Grimmjow said, huffing in between as Seth pushed Ruby back despite her protests. "There's…huff…no way I'd…ever…huff…let you WIN!"
Roaring, Grimmjow charged at Seth whose expression remained calm. All around, the people started to panic thinking Grimmjow was going to murder the amnesiac while security rushed into stop the Arrancar but were too slow. Ruby and the others quickly grabbed their weapons to stop him when Seth rushed forward, surprising everyone as the white Zangetsu in his hands vanished and then…
*GRAB!*
Seth went and grabbed the arm that Grimmjow was using to wielding his sword, the blade just missing his head as Seth held him in place.
"That's enough, Grimmjow. You've lost." Seth said as the Arrancar continued to try and gather breath and energy in him. "I know I said multiple times that I would take your life during the fight, but now that the fight is over, my head is clear again. I won't kill you, Grimmjow. And do you want to know why I've changed my mind?"
Grimmjow didn't answer so Seth just continued speaking.
"It's because even if I killed you, nothing would change. Or rather, nothing has changed. You tried to kill Ruby yet she's still here with me, giving me support along with everybody else. You may be some king who just eats and crushes everybody you hate until you're all alone, but I'm different. I've got loved once who helped me become who I am now and the last thing I want is to make them see me as a murdering monster."
"Seth…" Ruby and the others muttered, a bit surprised at Seth and what he was saying right now. They all knew how much he hated the blue haired Arrancar, enough to want to kill him, but it seems his time in Las Noches as made him erase that thought.
"What's the point of being alone? Wouldn't it be more satisfying to fight me over and over again? You enjoyed it, didn't you? Our fight just now? So…just let it go!"
"Shut up!" Grimmjow shouted as he pulled his arm back before swinging his sword again. "You think I need a lecture from you-!?"
*SWOOSH!*
Before Grimmjow could finish swinging his sword, a familiar axe-like weapon, the blades being crescent shaped, suddenly appears and strikes down the blue haired Arrancar, surprising everybody as Grimmjow cruses under his breath before falling as the weapon that struck him down was pulled away and into the hands of none other than…
"You just don't know when to stay down." Nnoitra said as he caught his weapon. "Why don't you just hurry and die, you loser?"
"Nnoitra Gilga…" Seth said, recognizing the Arrancar as said Arrancar walked over to Grimmjow…and stomped on him!
"Gah!" Grimmjow caught up a bit of blood as Nnoitra had stomped on his chest wound.
"Hey! What're you doing!?" Yang exclaimed.
"What's it look like? I'm punishing the loser of my 'team.'" Nnoitra said as he grinded his foot on Grimmjow, getting more cries of pain. "Tch! I don't know what Lord Aizen was thinking, letting you finish in the finals when it should have been me. You went and lost, just as I predicted."
"Fuck…you…!" Grimmjow manage to grit through his teeth, glaring up at the Arrancar.
"What was that? I couldn't hear you? Speak up!" Nnoitra said as he raised his foot to stomp on Grimmjow again when he was stopped by Seth, his black Zangetsu back in his hands with the blade blade stopping the offending foot. "Huh?"
"Back off, Nnoitra." Seth said as with whatever strength he had leftover, he pushed the Arrancar away.
"Ha! What's this? Grimmjow, you're ass just got saved by the guy who beat you!" Nnoitra said as Grimmjow could do nothing but glare at the eyepatched Arrancar. "You make me sick."
"Back off!" Ruby and the rest of her team stood in front of Seth and Grimmjow, weapons out and ready to be used.
"Just who the hell do you think you are, attacking your own teammate?" Yang exclaimed as her eyes briefly flashed red.
"Girls, stand down." Seth said, getting looks of disbelief from the girls.
"You want us to what!?" Weiss exclaimed.
"You girls are no match for him." Seth said.
"We've been training for two months for guys like these." Blake said. "Who is he if you think we all can't beat him?"
"He's Nnoitra Gilga, the Quinto(5th) Espada." The one who answered that was Orihime, getting surprised looks from the girls before turning back to the now revealed Espada.
"Heh, take a look if you don't believe me." Nnoitra said as he held out his tongue to show off a number 5 tattoo.
"No way…" Ruby spoke for her whole team as it sank in for all of them. This Espada was a rank higher than Grimmjow.
"Heh, long time no see, Seth." Nnoitra spoke over to the amnesiac, shouldering his giant weapon. "How's that back scar I gave you?"
"Just fine." Seth said as he held his shoulder to touch his back. "How's the cut on your arm I gave you?"
"Hmph, that was a fluke and you know it. It's already been healed." Nnoitra said before turning back to the girls. "Move it. I'm taking back that loser to Lord Aizen one way or another."
The group was about to refuse when Grimmjow grunted before he forced himself to get up.
"Hey, you're in no condition to-!"
"Shut it." Grimmjow interrupted Blake. Getting back to his feet, he limped over to Nnoitra while still glaring at him.
The 5th ranked Espada brushed his glare aside and turned to leave with Grimmjow following. The others watched as the two Arrancars left when Grimmjow stopped turned around.
"This isn't over, Seth." Grimmjow said as he raised Pantera at Seth. "One day, I'll prove to you that I am the true king!"
"…heh." Seth smirked. "Just try it."
"Hmph!" And with that, Grimmjow left, leaving Seth and the others all alone at the arena.
"…You sure know a lot of unique people, Seth." Yang commented, breaking the silence.
"That's an understatement." Seth said, laughing a little when suddenly, Ruby took one of his arms to support him. "Ruby?"
"Let's get you patched up." Ruby said.
Seth blinked at her before smiling. "Thanks."
"No problem." Ruby returned the smile before she and the girls helped Seth out of the arena and to the infirmary while Qrow and Winter simply watched them.
"My niece sure picked one hell of a guy to fall in love with." Qrow commented before turning to Winter, noticing a look on Her. "What's wrong?"
"The power those two displayed is not normal." Winter said.
"What, are you scared?" Qrow said before looking around at the damaged arena. "Then again, I guess I can't blame you with the power they displayed."
"I'm not scared. Just...concerned." Winter said as she made mental note to report this to Ironwood.
Up at the seats, Aizen was smiling as always as he turned to his daughter and asked, "Will this be enough to use to your advantage?"
Cinder didn't answer right away as she was bust looking at all the faces of the people and what they were talking about. There were many but a common expression everyone had was one of suspicion, worry, and fear as a single word could be made out from all of the talking.
Monster.
"Yes," Cinder began as she turned to her father and smiled. "I believe this will work nicely."
"That's good to hear." Aizen returned the smile before his Scroll suddenly rung. "Hello?"
-Lord Aizen- The voice coming from the other end belong to none other than Ulquiorra. -I have found the location of the Hōgyoku.-
For the first time, Aizen's smile widens. "Excellent."
(Insert Believe by Kalafina)
(Instrumental) The song starts as we see Seth's Grimm Mask on the ground. The camera moves closer and closer towards the mask until it seems to go through the eye holes and everything goes dark.
(Mada nani mo shiranai futari data) The time is night as we see Seth and Ruby sitting side by side. Ruby was laying her head on Seth's shoulder as the two stared up into the sky, looking at the stars and the shattered moon of Remnant.
(Hidarite de hakanaku kyomu wo masagutta) The scene changes to Uryu and Weiss who were enjoying cups of tea, small smiles adorning their faces as they simply enjoyed each other's presence as the morning light rose from the window.
(Wazuka na kattou ga kimi no te wo shibatte) The scene changes to Sado and Yang who were currently sparing. Flames surrounded Yang as smiled, throwing a punch at Sado who caught the punch with a small smirk as the sun rose at noon.
(Mirai no sugata wo azamuku) The sun began to set as sitting outside under a tree was Blake reading a book as usual.
(Mamoru koto sae shiranai kedo) The scene changes to Seth who is standing alone in the stadium, eyes closed as he was deep in thought.
(Itsuwari no omoi demo kamawanai) Seth then opens his eyes before he grabs Zangetsu, draws him out, and black Aura enveloped him before dispersing to reveal his Bankai state.
(Ikite mitai) Seth then turns around as he was in fact not alone. Across from him was Grimmjow who was smirking predatorily at him with his sword in hand.
(Jibun wo) In an instant, the both of them charged at one another and when their swords clashed, a bright light blinded everything.
(Megurikuru toki no naka de deatta) The scene changes to show the stadium filled with people cheering as they all watched the exciting battle of Seth and Ruby vs. Renji and Rukia.
(Kimi to ita boku wo shinjiteiru) The scene changes as a different battle was being fought, this one being Seth charging through the million petals of Senbonzakura as Seth set his eyes on his opponent, Byakuya.
(Kono yume ga yasashiku hateru made) The scene changes again to Seth vs. Grimmjow. They were both in a desert as Seth with his Grimm Mask on swung Tensa Zangetsu covered in black Aura while Grimmjow in Resurrección struck back by throwing a claw hand at him.
(Kirihirake aoi hibi wo) Ruby is seen running towards the arena as she smiles when she sees a bloody, but an alright Seth who smiles when he sees her. Ruby jumps towards him, arms thrown out as Seth opens his arms and catches her in a hug.
(Fight your fate) The last scene shows Crescent Rose stabbed into the ground as Ruby's cloak was tied to it and blew in the wind while Zangetsu was stabbed into the ground next to the scythe as the blade was stabbed through Seth's Grimm Mask.
Ashbel: And...done! Holy shit that was epic!
Seth: You seem happy.
Ashbel: How can I not be! That's fight I've written so far made me feel unsure, but this one is just I wanted! Granted I had some of this fight planned out in my head but I didn't think it would turn out so smoothly. Bet you guys didn't expect me to bust out a Getsuga…Jūjishō!
Seth: I don't think anyone saw it coming.
Ashbel: Anyway, allow me to apologize for making you readers wait for so long. Lately my life has been very busy and it doesn't help that I barely have access to a computer now a days. But I managed to finish this up and I'll try to do the same for the rest of my stories. God knows I have to get back to my React fic. So, how do you feel, Seth?
Seth: I feel that I've finally finished everything I've wanted. I now know that I'm strong enough to protect those I care about.
Ashbel: Eh heh heh heh...
Seth: What was that laugh?
Ashbel: Nothing...for now.
Seth: And what does that mean?
Ashbel: It means now that you've overcome Grimmjow, it's time to throw some new challenges for you.
Seth: What!? Oh I just can't catch a break, can I?
Ashbel: Nope. Anyway, I hope you all loved today's chapter as much as I did. Tune in next time for I have something special for this Halloween. Which reminds, Seth.
Seth: What?
Ashbel: Did you know Ruby's birthday is on Halloween?
Seth: ...It is? *Ashbel Nods* ... *Seth then runs out the door at the speed of sound.
Ashbel: And there he goes. Well, I'll see you guys next time on Halloween. This has been Ashbel Longhart here, signing out.
