Ichigo couldn't believe it.
His friends, they had grown strong. Through fights and conflict and hardships, they awoke their hidden powers, refined them, became warriors that even the Soul Society respected.
And yet, even as he managed to regain his footing after the first, savage attack, Chad's strength didn't save his shield from being caved in by a brutal mace swing. Rukia's discipline and hard work, both having resulted in her shikai being stronger than ever, didn't help her when she was pummeled to submission by an avalanche of blows. Orihime's newly increased powers, that she had shed her sweat and tears to acquire, did nothing to prevent her from being sent flying by a backhand blow that shattered her shield like it was paper.
Ichigo seethed and trembled, a scream pushing to escape but never managing to. He watched, and did nothing. Because there was nothing he could do. There was no hidden source of strength to call upon, no miraculous surge of power to answer his raging emotions. He just… stood there, frustration and powerlessness like a living thing inside of him.
Even when the Quinta Espada, looking unruffled and swaying only from her being slightly drunk, put her bloodied mace on her shoulder and strolled among his fallen friends, right toward him, he did nothing.
Because there was nothing he could do.
"So it's true, mh?"
Ichigo blinked, looking at the Espada in front of him. Vaguely, he thought that she was shorter than she ought to be. He was taller than her of a good head.
Ren Pei watched him with vague, drunken interest.
"Lost all of your power, ain'tcha? That's a shame. I'd loved to fight ya, Kurosaki". She sounded wistful.
It was wrong. It was wrong it was wrong it was wrong. She shouldn't have sounded so disinterested about what she had just done to his friends. Somewhere, someone with his voice made her know just as much.
Ren frowned a bit. She glanced back, like she was just remembering about the people she had just pummeled into the dust.
"Weaklings". She shrugged, disinterested. "Can't bother to remember ya if ya can't even take a smack straight".
It was wrong. His friends weren't weaklings. They were warriors and brave all, strong and precious to him. They weren't weaklings you could just go and forget. It was wrong.
He opened his mouth to say as much, but no words came out. After all, what could he do?
Ren watched him for a moment, thoroughly bored.
She shrugged. "Take him," she said, giving him her back. "The boss will want this guy to stay out of the way".
"But Onee-sama". Ichigo hadn't noticed the trio of smaller Arrancar come down on the street. "The magic ball said not to hurt him".
"And we're aren't going to hurt him". Ren snatched the plate one of the trio offered her. She lifted it up and turned it, making the last drops fall on her tongue. "Just keep him out of the way. That crazy marble can do whatever it wants with him after".
The trio looked unsure, but, evidently unwilling to talk back, nodded at once. There was a blur of movement, then Ichigo had one of them, the angry one, beside him, looking at him suspiciously.
Ichigo just looked back.
"What about these ones?" The happy one asked, prodding Chad's fallen form with a foot.
"What about them?" Ren gestured to the third Arrancar to fill her cup with a slightly annoyed gesture. "Just kill them. Do i have to tell ya everything?"
That hit Ichigo like a bucket of cold water.
"No!"
Caught off-guard, the little Arrancar didn't stop him.
Ichigo pushed the other one away, something that happened more because of the other's surprise than for his efforts, and put himself between his friends and the Arrancar.
"I am not letting you hurting them", he said. Even to himself, his voice felt weak and pathetic. But he was going to be damned before letting that happen in front of his eyes.
The trio of small Arrancar exchanged surprised looks. Ren just watched him, eyes narrowed.
"Are ya now…" She said slowly. A pause. "Ya seems to have it wrong. There isn't shit that ya can stop here, human".
He never saw the blow come.
It felt like a cannonball slamming in his gut. It drove all the air out of his lungs, making him fall to his knees, coughing and hacking. Trembling, he lifted his head, meeting Ren's angry gaze.
"Weaklings that don't know their places piss me off", she growled. "Get real! Your time has passed. There's place only for warriors here, and if you don't have a sword, you just piss off and shut up, got it?"
Ichigo gritted his teeth, both against the pain and the dreadful realization that she was right, that there was absolutely nothing he could do, and that meant that he couldn't help his friends as much as he couldn't help himself.
And yet… and yet, he refused to back down. He refused a thousand times, and, despite the pain almost folding him in two, he kept his chin high, refusing to lower his gaze.
His defiance seemed to anger her even more. Baring her teeth, she lifted a hand to hit him again.
Ichigo braced for it.
But no blow arrived. At least not to him.
The Arrancar's eyes widened in surprise Half a second later, she was invested by an enormous figure and sent flying.
Ichigo blinked, finding himself staring at a giant.
"The hell?" Zaraki Kenpachi, Captain of the Eleventh Division, wore a large grin, eyes gleaming with bloodthirst even as he looked down at him. "What's with that pathetic expression, Ichigo? Did your cat die or something?"
Ichigo watched that veritable giant of a Shinigami, mind struggling to register the impossibly spiked hair studded with bells, the billowing white cloak stamped with the kanji "Eleven", the long katana, chipped and scarred by countless fights and its owner's bloodlust in equal measure.
"K-Kenpachi?!" He blurted, shocked. "The hell are you doing here?"
"Ah?" The expression of the Captain turned into a mix of annoyance and incomprehension. He rested his sword over his shoulder. "The fuck is that supposed to mean? Have you taken a knock on the head, moron?"
Before Ichigo had the time to blurt out that no, he had no idea what he was talking about, a flash of pink emerged from behind the humongous Captain's back.
"Ay, Spiky!" Yachiru greeted enthusiastically, lifting a hand covered by a too-long sleeve. "Guess what? We've come to help you!" She put a finger against a plump cheek. "Well, more or less! Ken-chan came more to fight some strong guys!"
"You can say that alright!"
Ichigo felt a tentative hope blossom. "How are you…?"
"Che!" Kenpachi made an annoyed sound. "This idiot got his brain scrambled. Yachiru, get him and his bunch of losers out of here. Can't kill them by accident".
"Haiiii!"
The little lieutenant jumped out of her usual position and, before realizing it, Ichigo found himself dragged away.
Yachiru grabbed Chad, Orihime and Rukia as well, her minute body doing nothing to slow her down, and carried them all at some distance, out from harm.
"How…" Ichigo stammered as soon as vertigo for the shunpo started to abate. "How did you know?"
Yachiru waved a long sleeve, and a bunch of Shinigami in Fourth Division scampered out of a corner and ran to start treating the wounded.
"Hat-guy!" She chimed. "He called us! Said that you guys needed help! The old beard-guy said: go, Kenpachi, but only you. Other captains need to defend Soul Society! Ken-chan happy happy! He gets to fight more Arrancar!" She sounded cheerful, like some more fights to the death were the best possible things to happen to his caretaker.
Throwing anxious gazes toward his friends and the medics, Ichigo tried his best to translate. So, Urahara - Hat-guy - had somehow managed to contact the Soul Society despite the jamming over communications. It made sense. If anybody could, it would be him. And Yamamoto - old beard-guy - sent Kenpachi to help. The rest of the Gotei had remained in the Soul Society to defend it.
He felt the tension drain away from him, almost making him slump down. Holy shit! They were saved!
But no, he reminded himself a moment later. That Espada, and that other monster, they were still there.
He turned, just in time to see Ren Pei disentangling herself from a pile of rubble.
Ichigo gritted his teeth. That Arrancar looked unharmed, and her reiatsu was as strong as ever, but with Kenpachi there… they could win!
Right?
Kenpachi watched the Arrancar get back at her feet. He glanced toward the three little ones on top of the building. None of the trio moved. They just watched him intently, alternating glances to their brethren.
He snorted. Good for them. Weaklings like those weren't worth the trouble to swing the sword.
"Ohy", he called.
The woman Arrancar stopped shaking her head to fix him with a glare.
"What's your number?" He asked.
The Arrancar blinked. She watched him for a moment, looking him up and down, then something that could have been recognition sparked in her eyes, and she grinned.
"Arrancar Five," she growled with relish. "Ren Pei".
"Another one?" Kenpachi felt a wave of disappointment. "The hell? I already cut a five of yours". He fumed a bit. Couldn't there be a three? One? Or better, the boss of all those clowns? He was still angry at having missed that big fight with that asshole Aizen.
If she was angry for his words, Ren didn't show it; she laughed, sounding delighted.
"Oh, i know!" She said. "You're the Shinigami that cut down Nnoitra, aren't ya? Fuck, man, i wanted to be the one to smash that asshole's head!"
Nnoitra? Was that the name of the thin dude? Whatever. He couldn't be bothered to remember every idiot that he cut down.
A smell wafted against his nose, making it twitch a bit. Was that alcohol? Yeah, it was, and it came from her breath and her clothes.
"Yo, what are you drinking?" He asked, turning interested. She sounded a bit drunk alright.
She laughed again. "My stuff. But if you kill me, you're free to take it". She took a stance.
Kenpachi grinned. "Deal".
The Arrancar disappeared, only to reappear in front of him, her mace held high. Kenpachi swung, meeting her attack with one of his own.
As their weapons collided, a shockwave blasted the street, cracking rubble and sending debris flying.
Grinning, Kenpachi pushed, his blade leaving sparks against her weapon as he sent her stumbling back. He swung, was parried, then swung again. The Arrancar slammed her mace against his sword's flat, sending it wide, then pushed forward and slammed her weapon's handle against his left side.
Kenpachi barely acknowledged the pain. He kicked, planting his foot in her midsection and making her stumble and cry out. Then, he swung, hard. The Arrancar managed to block the attack, but the force was such that she was blasted off her feet. She slammed against a wall, rolled and was back on her feet, debris falling around her.
Kenpachi didn't follow, remaining where he was.
He sighed. "That's it?"
He used the shunpo, quickly closing the distance. The Arrancar's eyes went wide as he brought his sword down. A shockwave exploded out as their weapons collided. They struggled against each other, sparks flying off.
"At least you didn't waste my time with prattle!" Kenpachi pushed, breaking the stalemate.
The mace head slammed against the floor, the long weapon tilting sideways under his pressure. The sudden lack of resistance made him stumble forward, and she took the chance to kick him in the knee.
It felt like someone had patted him.
With a roar, he turned, swinging as he did. His sword met the mace's handle with a deafening clash. The Arrancar held her ground for a moment, then she was sent flying. She slammed against a wall, disappearing in an avalanche of debris and dust.
Kenpachi rested his sword on his shoulder, feeling a steadily growing boredom. This was the level of the new Espada? What a fucking joke. Not even good to get the morning sleepiness out of his eyes.
He waited for the Arrancar to come out, but she didn't appear. Instead, a strange sound caught his attention. Curious, he listened. Not like he had much better to do.
It was a low hum, a vibration barely inside the range of perception. It made Kenpachi think of monsters, growling in the dark. And it came straight from the dust cloud his opponent had vanished into.
Out of instinct, he raised his blade.
"Ah, i am starting to feel it now!" The Arrancar steadily appeared as the dust settled. She was on her feet, the mace thrust into the street pavement, her long hair covering her face.
"Yes! I am feeling it!" She exclaimed, sounding ecstatic. She thrust a hand up. "Little brothers! Give me a beat!"
And then the strangest thing happened: the trio of Arrancar that had been watching until then started to play music.
Kenpachi grunted in surprise. The hell?
The first played a shamisen, the second beat two polished pieces of wood together, the third pounded on a small drum. In a moment, a martial song filled the air, the rhythm steadily growing faster.
And as it did, the female Arrancar rolled her neck, making her long mane of hair draw a circle in the air.
"Fire… burning!" She said fiercely, and the trio of Arrancars echoed her.
"Heart… thumping!" She said, and her little brothers repeated it, making the music go faster.
"Hammer… crushing!" The music reached a paroxysm, then the three slammed on their instruments, sending a clear and deafening note to pierce the air.
And as it came, Kenpachi was invested by a wave of her Reiatsu, that made all of his bells sway and rattle.
Suddenly, she disappeared, debris flying off from where she stood. The Captain lifted his sword. Ren appeared in front of him, mace held high, mane of hair shopping wildly. Laughing, she swung.
The shock of their weapons colliding swept the street like a solid wall. Reiatsu exploded out of the point of contact, snapping and whipping furiously.
"Unh?" Kenpachi was taken by surprise by the force of the blow. Pulled off his feet, he was sent flying like a cannonball, smashing against the third floor of a building and disappearing inside.
Ren slammed the butt of her mace down, cracking concrete, laughing loudly. Reiatsu flared around her as a corona of red light.
"Sorry, Shinigami!" She laughed. "I am always a bit sluggish after i have been drinking a bunch. You know, unsteady on my feet". She put up a toothy grin. "Don't you worry, though. I am starting to sweat it out. And to feel the fight's beat", she added with a lower voice, licking her lips.
She rested her mace on a shoulder, watching the smoking hole in the side of the building. "Well?" She called "Get out of there, Shinigami. We've just begun! I gotta kill you two times for payment for the kill you stole from me!"
Her answer came in the form of a chunk of masonry the size of a person, hurtling toward her. She barely acknowledged it as she smashed it to pieces.
"What the hell…" Zaraki Kenpachi emerged from the hole like a bear pleasantly surprised to discover that outside was spring already. Apart from his ragged uniform, the Captain was unharmed.
The street floor caved under his weight as he moved down at the same level as his opponent.
"So you can throw some swings, Arrancar", he said, grinning and with a manic light in his eyes.
"So can you, Captain". Ren tilted her neck, making it creak softly. Her grin and her gaze were just as eager. "Let's get to it, for real now".
"You gotta be kidding me…" Kenpachi swung, sending debris hurtling away, clearing some space for himself. "And i thought that you assholes were supposed to be blabbing about your evil plans or whatever".
"Fuck that shit!" Ren growled. "The boss is doing her thing. Let her. I am bagging myself a Captain's head tonight".
Kenpachi's grin widened. "I like this one…" Then, stronger: "Let's do it properly then, how about that, Arrancar?"
Ren's eyes flashed. "You said it, Shinigami!"
They clashed in a volcanic explosion of Reiatsu. The street cracked and caved in. Winds whipped furiously from where their weapons collided. Chunks of masonry were thrown in the air, debris pushed and thrown away. And yet, their voices were still the highest sounds.
"Quinta Espada, Ren Pei!"
"Captain of the Eleventh Division, Zaraki Kenpachi!"
After that, it was only violence and destruction.
For a few moments.
"Enough".
Kenpachi had no idea where that big dude had come from, or when. It stood between him and his opponent, blocking his and her weapons with large, skeletal hands.
"Boss!?" Ren's surprise turned to disappointment even as she spoke. "The hell are you doing here?"
The giant turned to her. "It's done. We can go", she said, expressionless.
Kenpachi had no idea who or what that thing was, but no way he was going to let it end now that it started to get funny.
"Ohy, asshole!" He barked. "The fuck are you supposed to be? Get lost!"
The giant - it was covered in bandages, he noticed - slowly turned to him. For a moment, she regarded him impassionately. Then, moving faster than he could react, she punched him.
Her fist covered the space between his shoulder and forearm. As it sank there, Kenpachi felt his bones snap and fracture, a thousand needles of sharp pain piercing his flesh. His arm, his shoulder and more than a few ribs beneath; they all ended in splinters.
His only reaction was to grunt and stumble back, dribbling blood from a hundred lacerations. Half a moment later, he was already swinging.
"Bala".
Somehow, in some moment, she had pushed a long finger against his chest. The tip glowed with red light for a moment, before discharging a projectile. Kenpachi widened his eyes as he felt it slam into his chest. He tried to resist, but the pressure was too much. With a cry that was more out of anger than pain, he was yanked off his feet and sent flying.
He crashed into a building, piercing straight through it, then was hurtled away, disappearing into the cityscape.
After the sounds of battle, the silence that remained was almost deafening.
Sol turned to a flambergasten Ren. "Gather your Fraccion", she ordered flatly. "We're leaving".
The Espada looked ready to protest, outraged at having a good fight snatched from her. A level gaze from Sol had her close her mouth. She still pouted though.
Ichigo couldn't believe it. Kenpachi, goddamn Kenpachi had been defeated so easily…!
He winced when Sol laid her lone eye on him.
"I'll say it once, human", she rumbled. "Stay out of this. This is not your war anymore". She lifted a hand, and a Garganta materialized from thin air. "If you insist on butting in, you and those dear to you will suffer. Nor you will receive help from those you think as allies. And there will be nothing you will be able to stop it".
And with that last, eerie warning, Sol turned and lumbered into the portal, disappearing in the darkness.
"You fuckers better count yourself lucky!" Ren waved a fist against them as she followed her boss. "Next time we meet, you're dead meat!"
The Fraccion scampered right after, Pon still managing to stick his tongue at him before the portal closed.
Then the street was empty, the Arrancar having returned to their lonely world.
Ichigo was left there, with his wounded friends being fussed over by the medics and a heavy weight over his heart.