So I've been MIA for a while. That's because I had a very sick parent and I was the carer. I don't want to get into it in too much detail. It didn't leave any time for anything else. Hope you understand. I decided to skip a little of canon to get to a point where I can start fresh, as it were, and focus on Utsumi seperately. I plan to take this a different direction from Bleach canon. That seems to be the biggest criticism I've had for this story which is entirely fair. Also that Utsumi's underpowered. I didn't want to make him too powerful too soon, you know? Maybe I went too far the other way. I'll look into it. Oh and did you guys want longer chapters? Thanks. It may take me a bit to get back into the flow, fair warning. I've got some new techniques for Utsumi to use given to me by NinjazNeverDie.
They had split up. After a chant of friendship and solidarity, Utsumi took the left most path. It was a narrow and winding path that seemed endless. He knew he had gone further down, the air got thick. The dry and acrid air clung to his nostrils. It was odd to Utsumi that there were no side doors of traps. He took his time edging forward, his hand rested on his zanpakuto. He knew there would be some form of trap. The only question was whether it would be kido or a Hollow technique. Utsumi practiced caution above all, he needed this to succeed. He needed to get Aizen.
Further down the path there was a flickering orange light. Utsumi crept closer, keeping his Reiatsu surpressed. The last thing he wanted was to announce his presence to the entirety of Las Noches. The Shinigami reached the doorway, it was arched with an intricate etching on the frame. It was an large chamber with concrete support pillars with similar etchings to the door frame. There were lights coming from sconces on the walls. A fountain was in the middle. It had a large base. It went up three levels getting smaller as they went up.
Utsumi approached the fountain and sat. His fingers dipped in to the water, swishing it about. It was warm, as if it were a hotspring. A voice came from the other side of the fountain, "Esperanza do this!" the voice said, mockingly. "Esperanza do that!"
The Arrancar had dark green hair, hazel eyes and fair skin. Her Hollow mask wrapped around her forehead like a bandana. She was tall and thin with wiry muscle definition. Utsumi could sense the reiatsu. It was strong, stronger than those who invaded the world of the living. It begins here, he thought as he stood.
Esperanza startled, "Oh! Who do we have here?" she wondered aloud, "I guess Aizen was right, as always."
"Right about what?" Utsumi said, drawing his Zanpakuto.
"That you would come." she said as if it were obvious, "That you would try and rescue the girl. Is the one who killed Yylfordt with his bare hands with you?" she was practically salivating at the thought.
"You don't have to be a brainiac like Aizen to predict we'd come here." Utsumi said, "We stormed the Seireitei with even less than what we have now."
"Ah yes!" she said, "I had heard about that." Esperanza smirked, "So are we gonna get it on?
Utsumi steadied his feet, "I'm just waiting for you to stop talking."
"Let's get started." She was gone in an instant.
Esperanza flashed away first and appeared behind Utsumi. He blocked her sword from behind and spun. They flashed apart and together, swords clashed and ehoed around the chamber. Utsumi fizzed a shakkahou just past Esperanza's left shoulder leaving scorch marks on her bare shoulder. She flinched and fired a lime green bala which shot past Utusmi's right cheek, Esperanza shot another and another each hitting the pillars. They cleaved out craters down one side. Utsumi got in close again. Esperazna pushed back her physical stregnth was close to Utsumi's depsite the size difference. She kicked out Utsumi's legs and flashed away.
"Show me your best, Shinigami!" she roared, relishing the rush of battle. Menial tasks be damned, this is what she lived for, "If this is all you got, you have no chance of beating me, nevermind an actual Espada."
Utsumi flashed behind her. He charged her. The point of his Zanpakuto lead the way. She brushed him aside with grace before slashing his back on his follow through. He felt every inch of the blade slash across his back. "If I kill you, I'm sure Lord Aizen will be most pleased. Maybe pleased enough to give me a promotion. What do you think?" She asked with smile watching Utsumi writhe.
"I don't think so." Utsumi ground out, "If you think this is anywhere near over, you're sorely mistaken." He swung his Zanpakuto around his hand and set himself again. He blinked once and was gone.
Esperanza looked around for him and the Shinigami had just vanished. She looked up just before Utsumi struck. A cloud of dust surrounded them. It lingered in the air for what felt like hours. Once the dust settled Esperanza was stood, hunched, trying to catch her breath at one end of the room by a door. Utsumi was stood by the fountain.
As soon as he caught his breath, Utsumi was on the attack again. He slashed and carved at Esperanza. She was equal to it, deflecting and blocking everything Utsumi through at her. Esperanza lept back. Utsumi launched himself forward, not letting up. He couldn't. It was as if Masayoshi led him into battle by herself. He was a willing servant. Utsumi began to pummel Esperanza down. She fell to one knee and then two. At Utsumi's mercy, Esperanza fell forward. Her sword fell to the floor.
"Where is Aizen?" Utsumi asked, "Where is he keeping Orihime?"
"You won't reach her." she said to the ground, "She's being guarded by the Espada."
"Espada?" Utsumi asked, "Aren't you an Espada?"
"You fool." She said looking up in challenge, "I'm a Privaron Espada." When she sees the look of confusion on Utsumi's face, Esperanza continues, "It means I used to be an Espada. They have surpassed me in many ways. If you can't beat me, you'll stand no chance against even the lowest ranked Espada."
"I've already beaten you." Utsumi said.
"Have you?" She replied clenching a fist in the dirt.
"You're on you're knees, Arrancar."
Through clenched teeth, the Arrancar replied, "My name is Esperanza Arido!" She through a handful of dust into Utsumi's face. She rolled away from Utsumi's reflexive swing and scurried across the chambed, darting behind a pillar. "Erode, Desierta!"
Esperanza's mask covered her face and her Zanpakuto split into two smaller ones and her hands grew bone like spiked gauntlets. She punched the pillar she was stood behind. In one hit, the thing fell kicked up a dust storm in the chamber again. She slid out and used her sonido to get around the scout for her enemy. She used her two swords to hold herself a top of the pillars. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the slightest movement in the dust. She flung herself off the pillar and crashed down onto Utsumi. Her Zanpakuto dug into is shoulders. He bucked and spun, trying to get her off. Before he could, Esperanza pulled out and lept off Utsumi's back and flashed back to the top of a pillar where she once again, scouted her prey.
Utsumi stumbled around. Blood poured from his shoulders. He needed to clear the dust as quick as he could. He tightened his grip on his Zanpakuto. Pain shot through his arms. He hoped she would be kind to him. Even after his many mistakes, many misteps in the past, Utsumi needed Masayoshi. He needed her to win. They needed to work together. One more time. "Reveal the truth, Masayoshi!" He called. His katana turned a deep blue scimitar. He held his Zanpakuto up in the air and called, "Kurenjingu Sagi!" A wall of water crashed down and sloshed up the walls dragging down all the dust and clearing the air. Utsumi looked up through the last specs of dust still lingering in the air, "I see you." he said, "Let's finish this." Water settled at his knees as he looked up at Esperanza. A thick, cold mist started to rise from the water. "Mizu Bunshin."
"Aww, you ran me a bath." Ezperanza mocked, "Saves me time for later." The Privaron Espada flew toward Utsumi with deadly intent. Utsumi stood his ground used her momentum against her threw her against a pillar. Her body disappeared into the mist. Utsumi stepped backward into the mist.
The mist sent a biting cold down her spine. Esperanza looked around and couldn't see her prey through the dense fog. He can't see me either she thought. Keeping low she edged her way through the fog. The only sound in the room were faint drips and drops of water hitting the floor. Her feet barely left the floor as she crept through the fog. There was a hazy figure on her left, she noted. A predatory smirk came across her face. He had no idea, he was just as lost in the fog as she was. She had the upper hand again. Inching closer to her target, Esperanza slowed her breathing. There was a beat of complete silence when she pounced. She plunged her daggers as deep as she could. The figure collapsed as soon as she made contact as if she popped a balloon. Esperanza was left alone in a cold puddle of water. Then she felt the searing pain across her back.
Utsumi darted through the mist and slashed across Esperanza's back. Once he attacked he skulked back into the mist. He watched her as soon as she hit the floor until the she attacked the decoy. Mist creation was a double edged sword for Utsumi in some aspects. Although Esperanza couldn't see him clearly, his vision was also impaired.
"Where are you?" Esperanza yelled, "You bastard!" She got low again. Stalking through the mists. She could feel his icy stare on her as she went. Her stomach had a block of ice in it. She saw another sillouhette of her prey. She shot a bala at it and it disappeared. "You won't fool me again, Shinigami!" Once she was sure she wouldn't be attacked again, she continued through the mist. Her bone club hands reached out for a wall or pillar to get her bearings. She had no idea where her enemy was, if he was even still there. Maybe he ran away she thought. She slowed up and patted in front of her, water ran over her bone covered hands. The fountain, recalled. In the middle of the room, he could attack from anywhere. She needed to get out of there and find a wall.
Out of the fountain, a watery figure appeared. It was shaped and looked like her enemy. It even moved like him. "What are you?" she asked, her fists up prepared to defend herself. The figure looked at her, cold and still. When it didn't answer, she stabbed it through the chest. Her arm disappeared into the figure. The figure turned to mist. Esperanza screamed in pain. She could hear sizzling and when she looked to where the the figure had stood, the Arrancar saw two stubs where her hands were.
Utsumi appeard from behind her, coming out of the fading mist. His Zanpakuto held loosley against his hip, in his hand. "Tell me where Aizen is." he ordered, "Where is he keeping Orihime?"
The Arrancar fell to her knees again, clutching her stubby arms against her chest. "I don't... I don't know." she ground out, "I'm not privy to the grand plan anymore."
"You must have some idea." Utsumi prodded, crouching down on his haunches.
She began to breath heavy as she fell on to her back. Esperanza Arido looked up to ceiling of the chamber, "I don't know where the girl is kept." she muttered, "All I know is that she will be guarded by the strongest of us."
"How would I tell if I'm heading in the right way?" Utsumi asked.
"The lower the number, the stronger the enemy." Epseranza lay still for a moment, eyes closed. The damp from the floor seaped into her bones. The cold lingered on her skin. She peeled her eyes open one more time, "You can't win. Even though you've killed me, you cannot hope to even match the power level of the Espada."
"You'll live." Utsumi replied, "It may take a while, but you'll be fine."
Esperanza balked, "You can't leave me like this." she took a deep breath, "It's a fate worse than death. Give me a merciful death, please. Make it quick."
Utsumi stood and gripped his Zanpakuto. He looked down at Esperanza and really saw her. Her Hollow mask had retreated back to just the forehead. She looked up at him pleading, desperate for death. He flipped the scimitar round drove it through her deep black hole just below the belly button. He sealed his Zanpakuto and sheathed it on his hip. He looked back one last time as Esperanza Arido disappeared for good.