Ichigo's first thought was to go back home. Like that, he could ascertain if his family was okay and maybe even chance an encounter with Rukia.
The streets he crossed were silent, shadowy places, all the summer cheerfulness of only a bit earlier gone as it had never existed. The people laid on the ground or slumped on the seats of their cars. A quick examination relieved him: they were just sleeping.
It didn't change the situation, though. The hell was going on?
There was something strange in the air, like a low, humming sound, just outside of the range of hearing. When he tried to focus over it, his thoughts turned woozy and he almost collapsed. Whatever it was, it had to be the reason for that mass sleep.
Trying his best to shut his ears to it, he made a beeline for his home.
He found the house silent. Glancing at the patients slumbering at the entrance of the clinic, he darted inside.
To his immense relief, he found Yuzu and Karin sleeping in the infirmary. Judging by the open cabinet and the medicines strewn on the floor, the attack had caught them while they were taking stock of the supplies. Thankfully, they were only sleeping. Much less so, no matter how much he tried, he couldn't wake them.
Doctor coat crumpled, Isshin Kurosaki snored on a sickbed in the adjacent room. Seeing him hit Ichigo like a punch in the gut. His father was a strong dude, a Captain-level Shinigami. If that thing caught him as well…
He shook away the creeping doubt. Not the time, Ichigo!
Anxious, he wondered between going to Urahara or Rukia first, before quickly deciding for the latter. His house was right in the middle of his friend's stomping ground, and she was the one with a direct line of communication with the Soul Society. Urahara would come after. Together with Yoruichi, he knew how to take care of himself anyway.
With that decided, he begrudgingly left the clinic and darted back into the streets.
He had no idea for how long he ran. That unnatural night made finding his way difficult, even with his knowledge of the neighborhood. At some point, he started to feel like he was running through some infinite maze of streets and corners and alleys, with no chance of end.
The more time passed, the more his disquiet for his friend's safety grew. What if that monster found her before him? Goddammit, Rukia, where the hell are you?
He tried to perceive her reiatsu, the ability that he had retained the most, but that damn hum covered everything like a blanket, scrambling his perceptions. The usual mass of red strings he was used to was blurred into a giant knot of grey, useless and undistinguishable.
He was making his way around a corner when he caught a movement. Out of instinct, he jumped back, hiding from whatever was in the street. Heart hammering, he peeked from behind his cover.
A rabbit. There was a rabbit in the center of the street.
Ichigo blinked. He rubbed at his eyes, then he did a double-take.
The rabbit was still there. His fur was the color of fresh snow, slightly glowing in the gloom. It looked straight at him with a gem-like eye.
"No way…" Ichigo mouthed. It was official. Something must have got loose in his head. The tension… the tension must be getting at him. There was no other explanation.
The rabbit's long ears twitched, and it turned away from him. A moment later it was hopping away, flicking its back legs at him.
Ichigo watched it disappear between a corner.
He didn't know why he followed it. Maybe it was his instinct. Maybe he had finally snapped and the vague reminiscence he had of that book Alice in Wonderland felt like a logical course of action. Whatever the reason, he found himself tailing a bunny.
The little animal didn't seem to care, just calmly hopping down the streets. From time to time it stopped to nose at a weed growing out of cracks from the asphalt, or to an electric pole, or whatever attracted its attention.
Ichigo was just about to stop that fool's errand, saying to himself how stupid one had to be to follow a random rabbit. Just then, he rounded a corner and found himself staring at the back of a massive, cloaked figure.
Panic surged like a wave, and he jumped back. From behind the corner, he peeked at Sol.
The monster didn't seem to have noticed him, busy doing… something. She crouched by a side of the road, a long hand rustling beneath a mailbox.
The scene was so unexpected, so out of place, that for a few moments Ichigo just stood there, watching, trying and failing to squeeze some sense out of it. His attention was caught by a small, snow-white figure getting close to Sol.
The rabbit showed no fear. It hopped straight to her and nuzzled against her leg.
Without turning from whatever she was doing, Sol extended a massive hand toward the creature. For a moment, Ichigo thought she was going to crush it. To his surprise, she put her hand down in front of it. The rabbit hopped over it and then made his way across her arm and into her shoulder, where it nestled, clearly at home.
Ichigo didn't know what to think. Maybe he had gone mad for real.
Sol turned, fixing him with a displeased glare. Ichigo didn't have the time to move back that she had already turned away. Without a word, she straightened herself up and walked away.
Ichigo just watched her go. She had seen him. There was no mistake. She had absolutely seen him. And yet, she was doing nothing. She was ignoring him.
The words he had heard earlier echoed back in his ears. That thing - Sol -, she seemed to be talking with someone else, someone that didn't want him hurt.
Ichigo couldn't but wonder, bewildered. Who wouldn't want for him to be attacked? And why? That situation didn't make any sense.
With that memory, came the ghost sensations of being crushed by that overwhelming reiatsu. There had been no malice in it, only cold indifference. What a boot coming down on an ant could feel like. Or a tornado coming down on a coast. Ichigo gritted his teeth as shivers ran across his skin. Panting, he swiped beads of sweat from his forehead. Well, she wasn't going to attack him. That had to count for something, hadn't it? Now, to find that damn shortie…
"Ichigo!"
Ichigo almost jumped out of his skin. He whirled around, just in time to see Rukia's black-clad form land beside him.
"Rukia!" He exclaimed, silly happy to see her alive and well. His eyes roved all over her. Thank god, she looked unharmed.
"Be silent, fool", she hissed. She panted slightly and her Zanpakuto was out its scabbard and into her hand, already released in Shikai form.
Ichigo didn't need to be told twice. "The hell is going on?" He asked, lowering his voice to a whisper.
"I have no idea", she whispered back, urgently. "There are Arrancars in Karakura. Both Shiki-san and Umaya-san have been taken down".
Arrancars! Ichigo was struck by a wave of bad memories.
The Broken Masks. The mix between Hollows and Shinigami that worked under Aizen. They had been the ex-captain's soldiers and elites, and heck, if it had been difficult to deal with them. The Espada, the top ten of the bunch, were powerful enough that the entire Gotei 13 was needed to take them down.
And now they had returned?
Ichigo had a mountain of questions to ask. Rukia's steady gaze told him to keep them for himself for the moment.
"What do we do?" He asked.
Rukia glanced sharply at him. "We aren't doing nothing. You're getting out of here".
Ichigo feared she would say something like that. It still hurt.
"I am not leaving you alone", he growled, clenching his fists.
For a long moment, they held each other's gaze.
A sound broke the silent contest. At the same time, they turned to look.
Sol had turned the mailbox aside and was rustling about in the place where it had been.
Rukia frowned. She turned to him, a question in her eyes.
Ichigo shrugged. "No idea. But bad news". He grimaced. "I saw that thing took down all the Vizard".
"All the…" Rukia's eyes turned wide. She snapped to look at Sol, disbelief written all over her face.
With sick fascination, they stared at the strange creature. There wasn't a need to say that the best course of action was to remain hidden. A monster that could take down the Vizard was simply… simply too much.
As they watched, Sol put back the mailbox in the exact same spot where it was, then lumbered away.
Ichigo almost felt dizzy. That had to be the least Hollow gesture he had ever seen.
As the creature disappeared beyond a corner, they both felt the tension drain away.
"What the hell was that thing?" Rukia breathed out. Perspiration covered her skin. She had managed only to cast a glimpse of that thing's reiatsu, and what she had felt…
She shivered.
"Nothing good", Ichigo drawled. And nothing that Rukia could take on alone, they both knew that. "Can't you call reinforcements?"
"I tried!" The Shinigami sounded frustrated. "But there's something jamming communications. I am not sure if the message went through".
The two exchanged a serious look. Jamming as well. That was starting to feel more and more like a well-organized attack. But why? And who was behind it?
"Did you manage to catch what she was doing?" Ichigo asked. Frustratingly, with his diminished abilities, he couldn't pick up enough.
Rukia needed a moment to realize he was talking about Sol. "I am not sure…" she said, wary. "It felt like she was gathering ambient Reiatsu. A very small quantity of it".
Ichigo rolled that bit of information in his head. Why in the blue would that monster be gathering Reiatsu? Karakura was known for its high concentration of energy, but…
"Sampling?" Rukia hazarded, but she didn't sound very convinced.
Ichigo shrugged helplessly. They were fumbling in the dark there.
"I am calling the others," he said, taking out his phone. "If we're lucky, they haven't been hit by whatever affected the people". He glanced at her, waiting for a protest. He knew she wasn't big on pulling "civilians" in those messes, and neither was he, but that wasn't the time to get fussy.
Rukia bit her lip. Eventually, she nodded.
Ichigo nodded as well, serious.
Thankfully, all three of his friends were awake and already out. Not surprising. You had to be blind not to see the damn night in the morning.
"Be careful! See you at Urahara!" After giving the same warning to all three, Ichigo pocketed back his phone. "What do we do now?" He asked.
"We can't fight them". If she was frustrated by that, Rukia didn't show it. "We're pulling back".
Ichigo opened his mouth to protest but she glared at him. "I can't fight them. And you can't fight them. I can shield our reiatsu but it would be a folly to hope they can't overcome my abilities. We must regroup with Urahara and Yoruichi and try to contact the Gotei". Her tone was final.
Ichigo couldn't find a fault in her reasoning, and he hated it. "Fine", he begrudgingly agreed.
Rukia's expression softened with relief. "Good. Let's go".
They tried to sneak away undetected, but they weren't lucky. They had barely gone past a couple of streets before three figures blocked their path.
"Found the Shinigami!"
"Three out of three!"
"Rip her to pieces!"
They were Arrancar, that was for sure. Each had a piece of white helm attached to his head, respectively on the left, on the front and on the right, with a little horn protruding out of it. The resemblance to the older generation ended there. They were all young boys, each the mirror image of the others. Their white uniforms were ample, and each wore a stretch of fur around his neck, just as fluffy as their mops of red hair. One could have mistaken one for the other, if not for the different expressions: the first grinned happily, the second was the face of easy-going and the third looked angry.
Rukia was the first to overcome the surprise.
"Ichigo!" She called, taking a battle stance. "Go ahead! I am taking care of this!"
Ichigo threw her a disbelieving look. "I am not leaving you behind!"
"You damn fool!"
The three Arrancar didn't wait for them to argues: they attacked, crying out and waving long, white talons.
Sounds of battle echoed through Karakura's darkened street.
Hollow against Shinigami. Shinigami versus Arrancar. It was just another battle of that millennia-long rivalry.
Still, that particular instance wasn't going well for the black-clad guardians of the dead.
"Some no mai, Tsukishiro!"
A circle of white light erupted into a column of ice, that engulfed one of Rukia's attackers. The Arrancar kept grinning even while encased in ice. He smashed out of his prison a moment later, coming at her in a shower of white shards.
Rukia was forced to step back before the wild barrage of claws, her blade flashing repeatedly as she parried.
She felt a movement at her right. She jumped, just in time to avoid a slash aimed at her waist.
She never saw the third attacked coming at her from behind.
"Scratch!" The Arrancar howled in triumph, swiping at her back.
Rukia arched forward, a cry of pain ripped from her lips. She found back her balance a moment later. Grimacing, she swung around, her zanpakuto tracing a pattern of ice in the air. Too slow: the Arrancar dodged, deftly rolling away. Then another was on her, and she was forced to defend herself.
Ichigo seethed with frustration. He could barely follow the action, let alone being able to step in to help. But Rukia was in trouble! They were ripping her apart!
Can't i do anything?
He clenched his fists until drawing blood. But no surge of power arrived. In the place where his Shinigami powers had been, now there was only emptiness.
After a last pass, the trio whirled away. They landed in a wide circle around Rukia.
"This Shinigami is pretty strong!" The grinning one laughed. "Much stronger than the other two!"
"Not strong enough!" The angry one growled. "Scratch! Scratch! Scratch!"
"Remember what onee-sama told us", the easy-going one chided. "If the Shinigami can keep up, you ought to introduce yourself!"
"Ack, almost forgotten!" The grinning one covered his mouth with both hands, looking startled.
The angry one grimaced. "Do we really need?" He growled. "Can't we just rip her to shreds?"
"Nope". The easy-going one didn't lose his cool even as he reprimanded his sibling. "Can't say no to Onee-sama's orders". Suddenly, he jumped to attention. "Presenting!"
The other two did the same, albeit the angry one did so begrudgingly.
A moment after, they were whirling and backflipping away, three little vortexes of activity. They landed in a perfect line, each in the same fighting stance.
"Shake in fear, Shinigami!"
"Quake in your boots!"
"You face the mighty Fraccion of Onee-sama!"
"Arrancar thirty-four: Pan Pei!" The grinning one enthusiastically presented himself.
"Arrancar thirty-four: Pin Pei!" The angry one growled.
"Arrancar thirty-four: Pon Pei!" The easy-going one cheerfully said.
There was a long, awkward moment of silence.
Ichigo was griping with his sense of powerlessness. Rukia was covered in bloody scratches and struggling to keep her stance. They still both felt like a big, heavy drop was falling from the back of their heads.
"What the hell?" Pin growled, glancing angrily at both his brothers. "What the hell are you two thinking? I am thirty-four!"
"Uhm, no?" Pan corrected, surprised. "I am thirty-four. You guys are thirty-five and thirty-six".
"But i thought i was thirty-four…" Pon sounded thoughtful.
"No! You're not! Onee-sama told me i was thirty-four!"
"What? No! She said that to me!"
"But she told the same to me…"
"Wait! Wait! Wait! Onee-sama took me aside once and told me i was thirty-four!"
"She did the same for me!"
"…me too…"
"…"
"…"
"…"
"Ack! You mean she lied to us?"
"She did! She absolutely did!"
"You do this, onee-sama…"
"We've been bamboozled!"
"We've been taken for fools!"
"We've been deceived…"
"One-sama, you meanie!"
"Liar! Never forgive!"
"Not cool…"
Rukia and Ichigo exchanged an incredulous look. What in the blue was happening right now?
Pon glanced at the Shinigami, thoughtful. "How about we settle it now?"
His two brothers stopped their bickering to look at him, then where he was glancing.
"Oh?" They said in unison.
Pon hit his open palm with a fist. "The first that kills the Shinigami is thirty-four. How about that?"
Pan and Pin looked thoughtful for a moment, then big smiles broke out on their faces, eyes twinkling with danger.
"You're on!"
"Good idea!"
"Good…" Pon nodded. "Then, ready, set, aaaand… go!"
It was all they needed to resume their attack. They came at Rukia all at once, all eager expressions and bared claws.
But the Shinigami was ready for it.
"Bakudo 62, Hyapporankan!"
Three bolts of golden light shot from her hand. Two of the Arrancars deftly dodged out of the way. The third was sent flying back shrieking, a projectile slamming in his shoulder.
Rukia parried a swipe and dodged another, losing a few hairs, then used the shunpo to get out of the way and to the side. She quickly moved back, trying to force them to hinder each other.
In their eagerness to be the first to land the final blow, the Arrancar fell right for it. The two ended in a line, with the first coming at her while the second was forced to chase, hindered by his fellow.
Rukia parried quickly the Arrancar's swipes, Sode no Shirayuki clashing repeatedly with his claws. Even if her opponent was only one, she was forced to constantly back down to avoid having the Arrancar penetrate her guard. Pin was a vortex of claws and kicks, and between him having two weapons, his speed and his ultra-aggressive fighting style, she was on the back foot.
She felt the wall behind her before hitting it.
Frowning, she waited for a moment, then moved. Pin cried out in surprise as she jumped up. Rukia somersaulted above both her opponents. She grimaced as she felt a pair of claw slash at her foot...
It was a moment. Then she was beyond, and the two Arrancar, carried by their own momentum, had to brake in a hurry as not to slam against the wall. They turned, but she was ready.
"Tsugi no mai, Hakuren!"
Her Reiatsu manifested as an avalanche of snow, roaring out of her sword. The two Arrancar cried out as they were invested and disappeared. The attack expanded as it went on, until, when it stopped, an entire building beside the street was covered by a brilliant coat of ice.
Rukia landed on the street, amidst fluttering snowflakes. She grunted as her foot collided with the ground, and fell to a knee. Panting, she looked at it, then quickly averted her gaze. That was a bad wound.
Still… Did she do it?
Her hope died quickly.
Carried by white ropes, the two Arrancar landed on top of a wall, at some distance. Their sibling joined them a moment later.
"That was dangerous!" Pan commented, sounding more in wonder than scared. The rope retracted back into his claw with a hissing sound.
"Shinigami cheats!" Pon growled, stomping his foot.
Pin didn't say anything. The Arrancar had lost a bit of his relaxed expression and now watched Rukia thoughtfully.
"Can't play with this one", he said, attracting the attention of his brothers. "Too strong".
The duo thought about it for a moment, then nodded more or less grudgingly.
"Onee-sama will be angry if we are late".
"Liar Onee-sama! Can't make her angry, though…"
The trio seemed to reach some kind of agreement.
"Shall we do it, then?" Pan said, excited.
Pin nodded with a smile.
Pan let out a long howl into the night.
Rukia raised her sword as they took to the air.
But they didn't come for her. Instead, they landed on the street in front of her, once again in their line formation.
"Observe, Shinigami!" The first said, pointing a palm toward her and another to his side.
"Your final doom!" The second howled, doing the same.
"The Secret Technique of the Pei Brothers!" The third exclaimed, joining his siblings.
"Hop!"
"Hop!"
"Hop!"
In a blur of movements, Pin went on the shoulders of his brother, so that together they formed a pyramid.
Each pointed both palms toward the center of their formation. Motes of red light emerged from their hands; they joined together in the middle, forming into a large ball of energy, that then expanded into a ring with a hollow sound.
As the trio focused, the ring started spinning. Slowly at the beginning, then faster and faster. While it took speed, three sections of it bulged out, until three spheres were spinning into it. Red lightning crackled inside the ring, jumping from sphere to sphere. Rising reiatsu expanded out, sweeping the street as concentric blasts of wind.
As she realized what was coming, Rukia's eyes widened.
"Dammit…!" The Shinigami tried to move out of the way.
Shouting, the three Arrancar threw their hands outward.
"Cero vórtice!" ("Zero Vortex")
The ring exploded into three torrents of red light; they roared forward, twisting over each other as they devoured the distance.
Rukia ran, but the trio controlled the blast, keeping it aimed at her.
Wide-eyed, the Shinigami saw it come. She couldn't dodge. She wasn't fast enough.
"No, you don't!"
Ichigo had no idea why he moved, or even when. His legs just moved on their own and by the time he realized it, he was already in motion. That didn't mean that he stopped. On the opposite, he just ran faster.
As he jumped in front of her, he heard Rukia scream, probably something about him being an idiot. Couldn't blame her. He knew that he was. But he just… he just couldn't stay back. Not in that moment.
Those thoughts slipped away as he watched the red light fill his vision until the entire world disappeared into it.
"Ah, crap! He got in the way!"
"Abort! Swerve! Turn!"
"Aaaaargh!"
Instead of annihilation, Ichigo was hit by a blisteringly hot wave that sent him sprawling. The air thundered and whipped him, and for a long moment, he thought he was in the middle of a storm, just a second away from being thrown away and ripped to pieces.
Then, it ended.
Ichigo remained sprawled on the street, too dizzy to move. Well, he thought sluggishly, Karakura's night sky was always a looker, no matter if it was fake or not.
Something blurred appeared in his field of vision. He needed to blink a few times before realizing that it was Rukia screaming at him. The girl wore a panicked expression totally at odds with her usually composed demeanor. He decided that he didn't like it.
"Calm down, will you?" He slurred. Talking came difficult. His tongue felt a size too big for his mouth. "I am not deaf".
Rukia's eyes widened, then her expression turned so happy that it was almost heart-breaking. It lasted for a moment, then she scowled something fierce.
"You damn fool! You almost got yourself blasted by a Cero!"
"Did i, now?" His head felt like it was filled with cotton.
It hadn't to be the best time for a tearful moment because Rukia helped him to a sit.
"Damn…" Ichigo breathed out as he took in the sight around.
The street had been wrecked. A furrow large enough for a camion to fall in had been dug all over it, ending into a massive hole into a wall and beyond that into a mass of smoking rubble that had to be a building once.
Ichigo swallowed. Shivers ran across his back. The furrow was only a meter away from where he was laying…
Wearing a focused frown, Rukia was scanning his chest with a hand covered with emerald energy.
"You're okay", she said, and he wasn't sure if that hint in her voice was a scolding, relief, or a mix of both. Whatever it was, something that resembled annoyance sparked in his chest, and he had to repress the instinct to push her hand away.
Rukia got up, taking a defensive stance in front of him.
"Can you get up?" She asked, a hint of concern the only leftover of her emotions of earlier.
"I think so". Ichigo tried. The world took a spin the moment he got up. He stumbled but managed to remain on his feet. "Yeah," he panted. "I can".
Rukia glanced at him. She bit her lip, then nodded.
Her expression sparked that annoyance again. Struggling to ignore it, Ichigo looked toward their opponents.
The trio of Arrancar seemed in disarray. Ichigo heard them screaming and howling about "unfair" and "stupid magic ball" and other nonsense.
"The hell is wrong with them?" He asked, frowning.
"I don't know". Rukia threw him a warning glance. "They're more powerful than their appearance let on. Be careful".
Ichigo would have liked to grin and say that everything was fine. With his trembling legs, all he managed to do was to nod stiffly.
Both knew that they needed reinforcements. Quickly.
Almost evoked by those words, Chad and Orihime arrived just at that moment.
"Rukia! Ichigo!"
"Guys!" Ichigo couldn't but grin in relief at seeing them. Still, one was missing. "Where's Ishida?" He asked, searching for the Quincy with his gaze.
"We don't know!" Orihime seemed upset. "We tried to contact him but…" Her eyes widened as she took in their appearances. "You're wounded!"
Ichigo opened his mouth to say that it was nothing, but before he had the chance the girl had already taken a determined expression, and her hands were shooting out, summoning her sprites.
Only then he realized how beaten up he was, and how good her healing aura was felt. He was about to make a remark, but then he noticed the pool of blood under Rukia's foot. And then her foot.
The girl avoided his startled glance, focused over the Arrancar. Begrudgingly, Ichigo did the same.
The trio was even in more disarray now.
"Ack! Now there are those guys as well! What do we do?"
"Scratch them all!"
"But there is the spiky boy in the way!"
"Onee-sama will not be happy…"
"Who are they?" Chad asked, taking a defensive stance in front of them.
"Arrancar". Rukia's forehead was covered with beads of sweat. She winced as her wound closed. "Be careful. They're strong".
Chad grunted affirmatively.
Ichigo wanted to add something but found nothing to say. Frustration welled in his chest.
"Scratch them!" Pon stomped angrily. "Scratch them all!"
His siblings followed his lead, taking back their stances.
For a long moment, the two groups faced each other.
Laughter pierced the night.
Ichigo stiffened in surprise. He looked around. Yes, someone was laughing. But where…
"There!"
At Chad's call, he looked toward a building some distance away.
There was someone sitting on top of it.
Even with his perception abilities not being what they once were, Ichigo realized immediately that that newcomer was bad news.
She was haphazardly clad in an ample, flowery kimono that let her left shoulder and her chest, covered by tight strips of cloth, uncovered. A long mane of flaming red hair swept from her head and down her back. A visor-like piece of bone covered her forehead, from which two long horns curved upward. Beneath it, two glowing eyes, the irises slitted like those of a cat, looked at them with drunken derision. Her smile was ample, and all teeth.
The Arrancar, because there was no doubt she was one, lazily held a kanabo that was as long as she was tall, the mace planted into the roof's concrete. With the other hand, she held a large drinking plate. A big bottle rested against her leg, that she dangled down the roof.
Ichigo swallowed; felt the same tension passing through his friends. That Arrancar… she was powerful.
"Pathetic, little brothers", she said, her voice carrying easily across the night. She sounded a little drunk. "Can't even take care of a single Shinigami trash".
The trio rebelled at that.
"Don't say that, Onee-sama!"
"We were just about to scratch them all!"
"Onee-sama…"
"Hush". The Arrancar jerked her head, shaking her long mane of hair. "You had your chance. Get back here now. I am thirsty".
Sullen, the trio obeyed. They sonido away, reappearing close to their "Onee-sama".
The Arrancar lifted the plate, and one of the trio scampered to fill it with the big bottle.
The Arrancar took a big gulp, then sighed with satisfaction. Ichigo flinched as her eyes swept over them.
"Ren Pei", she said lazily. "Quinta Espada. Nice to metcha, Shinigami and humans".
Disconcert passed through the group.
"Es… pada?"
"Yep". Ren offered her cup for a refill.
"Impossible!" Rukia contested. "The Espada were destroyed alongside Aizen!"
"Yeah, that guy". Ren shrugged. "The Espada have existed as long as Hueco Mundo. People like Aizen come and go. But Las Noches remains. And so the Arrancar. And so the Espada". She drunkenly chuckled. "That's not completely true, though. That crazy marble of his has left all kind of traces down in our shithole of a home. We Arrancar have been popping up like ever before since its arrival."
Ichigo blinked. That… marble? Did she mean… the Hogyouku?
"What do you mean?" He asked, stepping forward.
Ren considered him for a moment. She smiled, but it didn't reach her eyes. There was a cold, predatory consideration there. "I mean that we are the new generation. And we are here to carve a hole in you Shinigami. All of you". She got up with a huff. "But look at me, babbling away. Let's get down to business, shall we?"
"Careful, Onee-sama", Pon said. "They strong".
"Are they now?" The mace left an indent into the concrete as she lifted it. She swung it easily, resting it over her shoulder.
Ichig's forehead covered with beads of sweat. The Reiatsu of that Arrancar was immense, making it difficult to breathe.
He never saw it coming.
A moment Ren was on top of the building, looking down at them. The next, she was between them, her mane flapping wildly, her mace sinking into Chad's stomach.
Ichigo turned, eyes widening as he saw his friend pulled off his feet, blood coming out of his mouth.
"Doesn't look strong to me", Ren commented with a lazy smile.