Chapter 32: Paths 2
Ruby Rose was just about done for the day. No, it wasn't that late into the day yet, she just felt the need to call it a day for now. She was getting worried for Crescent for one, and her training session with the Tres Bestias left her quite tired. More so mentally than physically, for the trio couldn't so much as catch her in the entire time they tried. But Ruby admitted to herself that she had fun spending time with the trio even if it was tiring. Especially when it came to chasing around Apacci. Perhaps it was a result of her being a cheetah based arrancar and Apacci being a deer based one that she felt such satisfaction chasing her around. Or perhaps it was the way Apacci would get rustled over the smallest of things and Ruby found it to be quite the stress relief while teasing her during the times they spent together. Yet somehow, she had the strangest knot in her stomach today. As if fate had something big planned.
"The war impeding on the horizon must be getting to you. You'll be fine after some well deserved rest" assured Summer from within. "Though…for the strangest reason, I also think something big 's gonna happen really soon"
"Pacci, Mila, Sung-su, I think I'll head back for today. I'm getting a bit worried for Crescent. I think she'll be fine, but I'm worried in case she runs into someone like Nnoitora. I also thought I'd check up on Orihime on the way" said Ruby, waving to her friends. A while after she walked away, the Tres Bestias continued to watch in the direction she left.
"Now I'm sure of it. For some reason, she alone didn't get his message" said Sung-sun. "It's a good think neither of you idiots accidently blurted it out to her"
"Oh piss off, of course I wouldn't tell her, she's got enough things on her mind already!" argued Apacci.
"Still, do you really think this is for the best? Sooner or later, she's going to find out" said Mila Rose. "After all, those two are with them"
"It couldn't be helped. I did try to bring up the subject, but it just didn't happen. Let's just hope that one of us gets to them before they run into the really dangerous ones. For god's sake, why are they even doing this?!" hissed Sung-sun and the three left for their own destinations without wasting a single second more.
Ruby on the other hand proceeded towards where Orihime stayed, hoping that she was still there and hadn't been summoned by Aizen, making her whole visit pointless.
"Wait, whose turn was it to look after her?" asked Ruby, thinking.
"Beats me. But it doesn't hurt to visit her. She might be just what you need to wash off your fatigue. Maybe the two of you should hit the showers" suggested Summer. "A little skinship will help take your mind of things for a while."
"Hmm…..that's not such a bad idea" she agreed. Slowly, but surely, her mood was improving. The prospect of getting a little break definitely appealed to her. Little would she know that this was but the beginning.
"What's the meaning of this?" she asked calmly. And yet, the animosity oozing out of her portrayed such a contrast to her calm tone and expressions that it was scarily unsettling which were only accentuated more by the scars on her face.
"Ru..Ruby…..!" gasped Loly, grimacing. Menoly stood there, frozen. Ruby took another glace at Orihime's broken and beaten form before tightening her grip on Loly's hand.
"Orihime, can you heal yourself?" she asked calmly once more. Orihime paused and then gave a small nod. "Please do" Ruby then turned towards Loly. "Now, tell me. What reason do you have to hurt her to that extent? Was it an order from Aizen? No, it couldn't be. I see no reason why he would resort to something like this. Was it one of the other Espada? Yami? Nnoitora?" she continued to ask.
"Wh….what's it matter to you?! Why are you here in the first place, for a mere human like her?! Now even the Espada are sticking up for her?! Don't you have better places to be, like taking care of those intruders?! So then why the fuck are you-!"
"I see…..so, you beat her up, tortured her, trampled over her for being what she is all because of some petty sense of superiority and jealousy, because that is all I can feel from you" said Ruby calmly, bringing her hand up to her face. "How ugly"
Orihime and Menoly watched, scared and shocked as the red beam from her palm went straight through Loly's head, leaving nothing but a headless corpse that was already disintegrating. What was truly unsettling was that the whole time, Ruby's expressions hadn't changed in the slightest. However, even as she killed Loly, Ruby hadn't done so much as bat an eye. She then approached Orihime who was now healing herself. Ruby stopped when she noticed Orihime's expression shift slightly as she approached her. Letting out a deep breath, Ruby looked at Orihime again, this time with concern and worry.
"Will you be alright?" she asked gently. Orihime was quite surprised, her mouth slightly open. But she managed to answer with a 'yes'. One second Ruby had such a foreboding presence to her, even killing someone right in front of her eyes without any hesitation. And now, she had such a gentle look on her face.
"Did she hurt you as well?" she asked, looking at a completely bewildered Menoly.
"Yo….you killed her…..! Yo…..you…!" Orihime gave no answer. Ruby then walked up to Menoly, grabbing her as she did with Loly. "Orihime, did she hurt you as well? I doubt this is the first time they did this to you" Menoly shrieked silently to herself in terror, her entire being shivering.
"N…No..she didn't" answered Orihime. "Ruby-san…..it's fine, she didn't…it was only her…." she answered. Menoly spared a surprised look at Orihime. Ruby observed Orihime for a few seconds, before looking back at Menoly who was looking at her like a scared kitten. Ruby then eased herself.
"You brought this upon yourselves. You strike first, and I wont hesitate to do what it takes to make sure those I care about are safe from harm. Let this be a reminder to you as well. So never go near her ever again" she warned. Menoly nodded, albeit completely shaken. "Now, what was all that about intruders?" she asked Menoly, who looked confused at the question.
"We….some group of soul reapers intruded the palace a while back, so all Espada and fraccione were ordered to stay put in their own quarters and engage the enemy if they encounter them" she replied. "The Espada and the fraccione were informed about them by Lord Ichimaru…" she replied. Ruby's eyes widened.
"I…that's all I know! I swear! We arrancars weren't told anything about it…:!" insisted Menoly. "I only know because I overheard some of the other fraccione talking about it"
"Why…didn't I receive any information about this? What's going on…?"
"Do you know anything about the intruders?" asked Ruby.
"I didn't hear much, but all I know is that the intruders consisted of a couple of humans, a couple of soul reapers and traitors who were here to rescue that huma-rescue her" informed Menoly.
"A couple of humans, soul reapers…oh man…" said Summer. Ruby simply froze on the spot, her hand slumping as she let go of Menoly's hand. It can't be, there's no way it could be them. She thought to herself.
"How long back was this…?" she asked Menoly.
"I really don't know, I only overheard it sometime back" she insisted with pleading eyes. Ruby's silver eyes met Menoly's green eye.
"I see. You can go back now" she said.
"Wh…what?"
"GO. And never try to pull anything like she did ever again" she warned. Menoly gave a confused look, a quick, nervous nod and then bolted out of the door. After there was no sign of her, Ruby facepalmed herself.
"Ruby-san….?" Called out Orihime out of concern. "Is everything….?"
"It has to be them. It has to. Why…..? Everything was fine just moments ago. Why is this happening now? Why are they here…?! And how long as this been going on?" she asked herself.
"Ruby-san, I'm fine, really….there's no need for you to worry about…"
"If I'd arrived any later, who knows what they would've done to you? And this was after Nel assured Ichi and the others that nothing would ever happen to you so that they don't have to come after you and endanger themselves. And yet…how can I bring myself to face him now..?" asked Ruby. Orihime hung her head.
"I'm sorry….this is all my fault…..if only I'd called one of you when this first started, I could've avoided all this. If only I wasn't so stubborn to take care of this issue by myself, I wouldn't have worried you so much. After all you've done, I'm still causing problems for everyon-"
"Alright, alright, no more blaming yourselves, both of you" came Summer's voice. "Incidents happen. Many times because of things that are out of our control. And neither of you had any awry intentions. So let's not make the situation even worse by degrading ourselves thinking about self-depreciating thoughts, alright? Good. Now, let's think about this calmly. Let's accept that we have intruders first. Seeing as they're a couple of humans, soul reapers and 'traitors', we can have a good guess as to who it is. And for whatever reason, my honeybun is the only Espada who wasn't notified. I'll assume Aizen's upto his mischief again, but its not important now. The next step is to see what's our best scenario."
"I…Earlier, I could feel Kurosaki-kun's reishi spike, but it was only there for an instant" replied Orihime. She could hear a sigh.
Well…..that pretty much confirms who it is then. But that's good. The lesser unknowns we have, the better. I'm still interested in who these 'traitors' are, but I can take a few guesses. It's most certainly one of us. No one else would be daring enough to be helping complete strangers intrude upon Las Noches against Aizen's wishes. That means it could be anyone apart from those three girls, since we were just with them. Now that I think about it, Crescent HAS been gone a while now. Knowing her tendency to cause mischief, I wouldn't be surprised if that little tyke found herself with Ichi and the others. Which is assuring in a way. If we assume they're here to rescue you and bring Yuzu back, we only need to look for them. I wonder if the others moved out after hearing this information. I would be surprised if Nel, Tia and the others did nothing after learning that Ichi and the others are here. Hoh boy, I'm a bit worried that your guy might just go after Ichi to teach him a lesson. I wouldn't be surprised if he got pissed that Ichi decided to come here anyways even after delinquent-kun beat it into him" theorized Summer. "We can either look for Crescent or Yuzu or we could go and check to see if Nel and the others have something planned. What do you say, sweetie?"
Ruby stayed silent for a while, lost in thought. After what seemed like several minutes, she finally got up, going over to Orihime's side.
"Let's go find them. Orihime..….I want you to come along. That way, I can protect you if something happens" she said, offering her hand.
Unohana Yachiru was enjoying a solitary night by herself gazing at the moon and lost in her own thoughts, playing her Shamisen as she did. By her side was a gourd filled with fresh Sake and a small cup. The meeting earlier certainly had its effects on her, she thought to herself. It was so blatantly obvious that Isane needed but one glance to tell that something was bothering her captain. How careless of me, thought Unohana, pouring herself a fresh cup of sake.
"That's surprising" came the voice of Kyoraku. "I never thought you were one for alcohol, captain Unohana. It's been a while since I've seen you play that as well. But considering what happened, with Natsuko-chan and all…..I can understand" he said, approaching her. Alongside Kyoraku was Ukitake. She merely glanced at them to acknowledge their presence and went back to her drink.
"I don't see Isane-chan around" noticed the captain of squad 8, looking around.
"I wished to be alone for a while, so I asked her to take over some of my duties temporarily" replied Unohana. That was the cue that the duo needed to respect her space as well. Ukitake hinted at his companion to come back another time, but looking at the expression of his friend, he knew he wasn't going to get sleep anytime soon.
"Mind if we join you?" asked Kyoraku, sitting down. Ukitake sighed and did the same.
"…do as you please. However, I'm afraid you'll have to get your own cups, captain Ukitake, captain Kyoraku" she said, sipping her drink.
"Oh, that wont be a problem!" he replied animated, pulling out two cups and a peg of alcohol from within his robes. Unohana could only shake her head. "You boys haven't changed since at all since a 1000 years" Somewhere in the corner of her mind, she could picture Summer sitting beside her, gulping down on her own glass of alcohol, going rosy red and babying Ukitake and Kyoraku. Unohana's mouth curved into a melancholy smile.
"Who would've thought…we would hear something so outrageous today" remarked Ukitake. "Ah, I'll pass Shunsui. You know I'm no good with alcohol"
"Come ooon, it's fine for today, right? Even Unohana-san is drinking, times like these wont come often" urged Kyoraku, pushing a filled sake cup towards Ukitake. "And you're right. And that thing about Natsuko-chan's daughter…..oh dear me" he said, chugging his cup.
"Ruby Rose….was it?" wondered Ukitake, finally taking a cup for himself. He felt he needed it, now that the repercussions of the day's events caught up to him. "Unohana-san, didn't Summer-san mention that she was the only one here? Even as a child, I remember she would spend a lot of time looking for her family. So then how….?"
"I don't know…" said Unohana. Her voice sounded tense, once again a stark contrast to her normally mature and composed demeaner. "But one way or another, I intend to find out. And….." She stopped mid-sentence. And what?, she asked herself. What did she plan to do after that?
"I understand how you feel, captain" said Ukitake. "I still remember the first time she came over to my folk's house all those years back before I was even taken in by the Seireitei. Back then, my lung disease turned my hair white, and there wasn't a single day that passed by without my parents praying to every kind of god they could come across in hopes for my recovery. Being the superstitious folk that they were, they believed that I would eventually be cured of my disease. I still don't know how or where Summer-san came from. But one day, she just barged in, demanding to see the child who was on death bed. I can still recollect the look of utmost concern on her face. Even as I lay there, I can still remember her scolding my parents, saying 'What this child needs are medicine and rest! A doctor! Antibiotics! Anything but what you've been doing! Please hold on, I should have a few antibiotic pills, I'll be right back!'. She didn't leave my side for the next few days. Cooking meals for me and my folk, helping me bathe and singing me to sleep. I'm still surprised how she was able to do all that in between her duties as a soul reaper. Saying that I'm forever grateful to her is a gross understatement. In those days, and the days that followed after, she really did feel like my own mother"
"It's just like her to go out of her way with no concern for her own well being just to help others. Enemy or ally alike. She really was….a fool" remarked Unohana, taking another sip. Even so, a fool I couldn't leave by herself nor could get rid of, she told herself, feeling a noticeable twinge on her right shoulder.
"Really puts things to perspective, doesn't it? A thousand years later we find out her daughter is a powerful arrancar working for a traitor that intends to commit an unforgivable crime. Yamaji was one thing, but Natsuko-chan really did a number on herself putting up with me. I can still picture her huffing and chasing after me when I would refuse to go to bed on time. And her stories! If they were goon enough to get someone like me to become a soul reaper, really tells you something doesn't it?"
"For all means and purposes, her family is like family to us too. Which would make Ruby-san like our sister. Having said that, can we truly do it? Can we truly bring ourselves to strike her down?" asked Ukitake to himself and to his companions, staring at his cup. "Nothing would make me happy than to avoid confrontation with her. After all that Summer-san has done for us, it would be just as unforgivable for us to strike down her daughter. On one side, I wish I could personally go to Hueco Mundo myself to find out about Ruby-san. On the other, I'm glad I don't have to be the one to confront her in the event that we have to face her in battle"
"Looks like the alcohol's getting to you Mr. Nice guy" remarked Kyoraku. "But that reminds me, things may not be so simple ya know? For one, who knows if Ruby-chan even knows about Natsuko-chan. We also don't know her motives but we can take a few guesses. Captain Hitsugaya did mention that Ruby-chan was in cahoots with the arrancars that abducted Orihime-chan. And seeing as how they were so passive in the conflict with Captain Hitsugaya's group, we can ascertain that Ruby-chan and her companions may not be like your typical hollow or arrancar. If she's anything like Natsuko-chan, it would fit in well with the recent happenings. Personally, I want to believe that a good portion of the arrancars in Aizen's army are only doing his bidding because he's stronger than them and he's forced them to serve him. Would make our job a lot easier for one. After all, it's extremely rare that soldiers from opposing sides of a war have something against each other. In any case, there's only one way to know and that's to ask her or Urahara-san. Since he's stubborn about keeping quiet, we can only count on you, Unohana-san"
"Captain…..Summer-san…..her last mission before she disappeared….it was to deal with the arrancar named Arturo Plateado, correct?" asked Ukitake.
"Yes" she replied. "Natsuko…..she had a very peculiar ability. It was unknown whether it was a Shinigami's ability or where its origins lay. What was apparent was how powerful it was. The light from her eyes could decimate hollows in a mere second, but was completely harmless against the Quincies and Soul Reapers. 'The eyes of a god', she would always call it. It was the perfect weapon as it made sure that it only targeted those that were natural enemies of us Shinigami, that is, this included powerful hollows such as the gillians and adjuchas. And that's why she was chosen for that mission. The arrancar named Arturo Plateado was a very powerful individual. His presence alone was enough to consider him as a major threat to our forces. Originally, I was the one assigned to take care of him. That alone should tell you the gravity of the situation. But it was Natsuko who later requested that she be allowed to take care of him instead, since my presence was vital to keeping Yhwach's army at bay. Considering her strength, I knew right away that it was a mission that was suicidal, even with her ability. After all, it was very dangerous to Natsuko as well. Using her eyes would deplete her of nearly all of her reiatsu and she would be left completely exhausted and defenseless, not to mention unconscious. But she was adamant and decided to go anyway. That was the last I ever saw of her. I can still remember her face as she asked me to wish her luck before heading off to face him. And to this day, no trace of either him or her remain, though I searched for Natsuko for nearly a century after that"
"Until now that is" said Kyoraku, having what was probably his 10th cup. "Things are different compared to back then. We aren't just different 'divisions' anymore, and the way we've done things back then are vastly different form how we do them now. Which is why, I have no doubt that you'll do what you think is best, Unohana-san. Both for Natsuko-chan's and Ruby-chan's sake. Who knows, just like Yoruichi-san said, I wouldn't be surprised if Ruby-chan decided to help us midway against Aizen. Which is why, I'm looking forward to you going to Hueco Mundo just as much as you are, Unohana-san"
"Rest assured Shunsui, Jushiro. You can leave her to me. I want you boys to focus on the task at hand as will I when I embark to Hueco Mundo tomorrow" she replied, addressing them by their first names since a long, long time. With that, the three continued to drink away their feelings and worries in silence under the dim luminance of the moon.
At first, they didn't think much of Yami. Perhaps it was because of how dimwitted he appeared and how it had taken almost no effort from Uryu's side to topple him all the way to the bottom of Las Noches. Uryu's strategy had been simple, and even now, Renji had trouble believing that it worked so well. Yami was large, even with his zanpakuto sealed and Uryu was far nimbler and faster. Uryu started by taunting Yami, getting him to chase after him. And then, he would goad Yami to attack him in a series of sword strikes, all of which Uryu avoided by nimbly stepping back with each swing. Uryu kept hopping back and back and back until at on point, he used his Hirenkyaku to disappear and appear right behind Yami. In response, Yami would forcefully twist and start attacking back in order to keep the momentum of his attacks going. The quincy would simply continue repeating his series of nimble movements of hopping back, using hirenkyaku to appear behind Yami and repeating the same in the other direction until….
*SNAAAAP!*
Yami's left leg completely twisted the wrong way, making a full 270 degree turn. The sound of his tendons and ligaments snapping was as clear as the sound of ripping fabric. With a heavy thud, Yami fell flat on the floor.
"Yo….you bastard….! What did you do….?!" He growled, trying to stand up. Uryu merely pushed his glasses up, casually going around the fallen arrancar and removing the hilts of his quincy reishi swords, Seeleschneider, and stabbing them down in a five pointed array around Yami.
"I see now….! By making that guy move as fast as himself and then forcing him to change his direction so abruptly….he was relying on the fact that given his size, such movements would slowly but surely put massive strain on his muscles, tendons and ligaments. All he needed to do was stall that guy long enough till his muscles failed…..not to mention, each time he was going around his enemy, Uryu was slowly but surely increasing his speed. But this guy was too dumb to notice that and ended up increasing his own speed to keep up. Increased speed, sudden changes in movement and his size…and this was the result. Damn, to come up with a strategy like that on the spot…..what a guy..!" thought Renji to himself. But it really had been easier said than done. At times, Uryu's own fatigue meant that he received his own fair share of cuts and close calls. And at times, Yami had fired balas instead, that had been impossibly hard to dodge, as evident from the burn marks singing his left shoulder and right abdomen. It had taken all of Uryu's focus to keep track of a lot of factors to ensure that his strategy didn't go awry. After all, this had been the only way for Uryu to have toppled his opponent. In Hueco Mundo, their abilities were heavily affected because of the opposing nature of reishi in the air vs their own. And the only thing that was allowing him to absorb the surrounding poisonous reishi in the air was the bracelet given to him by Urahara. His strategy was one that came about due to necessity.
"Woah there, we can't have you doing that" remarked Uryu firing a quick barrage of five arrows into Yami's mouth when he tried charging a cero. The cero wobbled and disappeared. In a last ditch attempt, flailing around, he tried firing balas from his hands.
"In that state, you're only postponing the inevitable" said Uryu, using hirenkyaku to speed past him and slice at his wrists. "Don't think your hierro can protect you from this" he said, showing the seeleschneider in his hand. "Although, it's a waste of time explaining so let's just finish this. Oh and just for insurance" he said, making deeper cuts into his right leg muscles and arm muscles, making sure to sever any muscle or tendon. Then, he took out Yami's Zanpakuto from its sheath and threw it aside.
"GRRAAAAAAHHHH! YOU BASTARD! IF I COULD JUST! IF ONLY I COULD JUST-!"
"With this, even if you did survive and could move, you wont be able to use your Zanpakuto. Trust me, I absolutely despise doing this and cutting at an enemy when he's defenseless. But…..my resolve is far stronger than my desire to use round about tactics" replied Uryu casually, going up to one of the five points and fishing out a small capsule. "Enjoy the ride down, arrancar. I have to say, they really did overestimate you guys. I expected something a little more from someone called an Espada" he said, pouting the shining contents of the capsule onto the hilt. Sharp lines of reishi travelled towards the center where Yami lay helplessly, and the entire area enclosed within the five swords was enveloped in a massive pillar of super concentrated reishi, surely incinerating anything inside it. The force of the attack had been so massive that the floor beneath Yami simply caved in, and Yami continued to fall through all the floors that made up Las Noches until he hit the very sands the palace stood on with a dull thud.
"What….was that…?!" asked Renji, wide eyed.
"Later. I hardly doubt that attack was enough to kill him. You saw yourself, didn't you? His hierro as he called it was formidable enough to block hits directly from your Zanpakuto without taking any damage. I wouldn't be surprised if he survived that. Even if he'll be immobile if he does survive, I still don't want to think that was the end. After all, if someone like Aizen hand picked these guys, there must have been more to their strength. And I'm not willing to stick around to find out. We should get going before he decides to come after us again" suggested Uryu, picking up his swords. "Remember, I'm a quincy and hence, I can't be using too much of my strength carelessly. If this thing breaks, I wont be able to absorb any more reishi from the air without killing myself. So I'd rather prefer that we avoid confrontation any further" he said, pointing to the bracelet that Urahara given him. A delicate lifeline that was the only reason the quincy could even use any of his techniques. "But, there's a limit to how much reishi I can continuously absorb using this without breaking it"
"Hmm…alright, fair point. Let's keep moving then" he said hesitantly before giving one final glace at the gaping hole in the floor before heading out with the quincy towards their destination.
What a strange feeling, she thought to herself as she boosted herself up to Cirucci's level, with Yachiru keeping her opponent busy with her antics. She felt invigorated, refreshed and for a strange reason, happy. Perhaps it was the fact that she was able to keep up with the likes of an arrancar. Perhaps it was the thrill of the fight itself. Perhaps it was the prospect of being able to show Ichigo, Karin, Yuzu and by extension, her aneki that she too was capable of holding her own against an arrancar. Or perhaps it was the assurance she got knowing how much in control she was; both her own emotions and the tide of the battle itself. Regardless, it wouldn't be too long until the battle ended.
When the two of them were hiding behind the pillar before the fight started, Yachiru hadn't been too keen on finishing off her opponent quickly, instead wanting to play with her instead.
"This one is just too weak for my Kenny to fight. So I'll help ya out instead!" she told Tatsuki enthusiastically. While she appreciated the help, she'd hoped that she would get the chance to practice the skills she'd learnt with Yoruichi, which had been…..memorable by itself. Tatsuki still gulped at the thought, recollecting how she even made it through the entire month.
Flashback, One month prior
"Just leave everything to me" said Yoruichi to Tatsuki with a mischievous smile. The two were currently in Urahara's base planning for their next steps. Uryu and Karin were with Ryuken, Ichigo was training with the Vizards, Chad was being helped by Isshin. That left only her and Yoruichi agreed that Tatsuki should naturally be with her but the tone of her voice told her that things wouldn't be so simple.
"Right, we get this place for ourselves every other day so let's make it count. But before that, we're still missing someone" she said, looking around. Tatsuki did a mental head count, but couldn't figure out who else was supposed to be there.
The space in front of them shimmered, glowing with light. A doorway then appeared. A Japanese sliding door within a circular portal. And from within the portal emerged two people. One was Isshin, who was the one that likely made the portal. And the other was-
"Yo! Been a long time since we've hung out, hasn't it Yoruichi?" came the woman's enthusiastic response.
"K..kukaku! You're here…?!" exclaimed Tatsuki.
"Yup! Figured I'd come over and see how my cute little cousins are holdin' up! And you guys too of course! I'm having that oaf watch over the place so it's all good! And besides, I thought it'd be fun to see the World of the Living! Yoruichi and I used to hang out a lot and yet, I've never visited the World of the Living before. I really have you to thank, uncle" she beamed.
"Eh, don't sweat it. I do feel bad for Ganju though, for not being able to come. And besides, I'm happy you kids are finally getting to visit your uncle's place…well, atleast one of you" replied Isshin. "In any case, I think I'm done here, I'll leave you be" he said, going up the ladder leaving Yoruichi, Kukaku and Tatsuki by themselves.
"Well then! What's up on our agenda for today? I hope you have something fun, Yoruichi. It HAS been a while since we last did something fun" she asked excitedly.
"Oh you bet I do, dear Kukaku" she smirked mischievously, eying Tatsuki. Kukaku looked at the bewildered Tatsuki before flashing her the same mischievous grin. The raven-haired tomboy gulped. "I thought I'd train this one here in Shunko. But before she can do that, she needs to be familiar with her element first. And that's where you come in"
"Ah~I see now. Of course" nodded Kukaku.
"Uh…Yoruichi…? What do you mean by element?" asked Tatsuki.
"Shunko focuses on combining hand to hand combat with kido. By augmenting your hand to hand moves and attacks with kido, you get a tremendous boost in your fighting abilities. Luckily, you can already do that since you can fire fireballs and create explosions by firing your reishi. Shunko is essentially the same, but with a lot more control. It also involves becoming attuned with your element. And yours is fire"
"If it's a boom you want, then you need look no further than Kukaku Shiba's amazing fireworks techniques!" she grinned with pride.
"Will I really…..be able to be as strong as them?" asked Tatsuki.
"You'll be able to hold your ground alongside them. As a human, that in itself is a phenomenal achievement. It's about as best as you can get. When comparing to Soul Reapers and Arrancars like Ruby, to put it bluntly, there's no comparison. But at the very least, you'll be able to watch over them" she assured. "But…this wont be easy. For a human to learn Shunko, especially given the explosive nature of your reiatsu. Chances are that with each step, the amount of pain you'll go through will be far more than any of those guys during their own training. Honestly, its not worth it if you ask me. There's no reason for you to be involved. Do you still want to go on?" she asked. Tatsuki nodded. Yoruichi gave a sly smile.
"It's settled then. If you're that determined, then I wont refuse you. Rest assured, for all that you go through, you'll be far, far stronger than you can ever imagine. You're in safe hands" purred Yoruichi, placing her hand on Tatsuki's shoulder. Kukaku did the same, giving her a 'reassuring' grin. Tatsuki gulped. Dear Aneki…..what have I gotten myself into?
And thus began her 'training'. And just as she feared, her time with Kukaku and Yoruichi had made her question herself, wondering if she'd taken on far more than she could chew. The very first thing she remembered from their time together was being stripped, dragged along by Yoruichi and Kukaku who did the same and jumping into the hot springs inside Urahara's base, which then led to an hour long marathon of questions, teasing, nagging and at times, flirting from the duo.
"So, Yoruichi was tellin' me about this dream of yours. Sounded preeeettty interestin' to me. Mind sharin' some details with onee-san as well?" demanded Kukaku, inching up to Tatsuki's face
"Oy, Yoruichi! I thought we agreed to keep it between ourselves!" protested Tatsuki.
Yoruichi sheepishly put out her tongue "Oops, my bad….I might've slipped it out when I got drunk when we met after we invaded the Soul Society".
"Uncle told me all about Ruby. It's too bad she's stuck in Hueco Mundo. I would've loved to see what kind of woman she was, especially since she took care of Ichigo and the others. So? What's she like? You can tell me" she asked.
"Oh you'd love to meet her! She's an absolute gem of a person" said Yoruichi fondly.
"Well, if you're sayin' that, she really must be one helluva amazing chick" said Kukaku. "But then again, yer a cat and she's a cat…well, cheetah but ya get my point"
"That too" agreed Yoruichi.
"But hold up, didn't you also mention that this one saw Ichigo in that dream of hers? What? Don't tell me ya got a thing for him?" she asked mischievously.
"And what does that have to do with anything?! Don't you think you're being a little too familiar, Kukaku!" questioned Tatsuki, flustered.
"Well, he IS my cute little cousin, so of course I'd be a little more than curious. So? Have ya told him how you feel? Hmm? How about we go meet him right now? If there's somethin' you want, ya go get it up front. That's the Shiba way! If you plan to get my help, then you'll have to learn to do things my was as well!" she smirked. And to her dismay, Kukaku actually dragged Tatsuki along to Ichigo's house with a bemused Yoruichi following along, enjoying every bit of it.
And that's how the entire month had been, which wasn't even counting the times they showed no restraint in training her. Be it getting her to endure reishi explosions, fighting hand-to-hand with both Kukaku and Yoruichi at the same time, or getting to use her abilities to exhaust her to the atmost limit until she could naturally use them without exerting herself too much.
Flashback end
And that's not even including the number of times she would shamelessly break into Ichigo's room or Karin's room by using me or pretend to be Ichigo while flirting with me while Yoruichi pretended to be Aneki, she said to herself, shuddering at the sheer memory of it. But she such thoughts aside for the time being. Right now, none of it mattered. Or rather, they were things she could think about much later. Because right now, she felt great. The best she had been. She felt powerful. Accomplished. The rush of adrenaline as she used her fireballs as a means of propelling herself and giving more maneuverability while reading her enemy and trying to avoid hits as she did, getting in close and landing a few hits, all of which while she was in danger of being sliced to ribbons by the spinning yoyo like Zanpakuto of the arrancar. She was felt absolutely fantastic. Yachiru looked quite excited when she looked at her.
"This is fun! You remind me of my Kenny! I'm sure you two will be good friends, Suki-suki!" chimed Yachiru, hopping around and nimbly avoiding Cirucci's spinning blade.
The first phase of the battle had been easy enough. The arrancar had underestimated them, seeing a mere girl and a human fighting her, both of which were terrible mistakes. She was distracted, having to fight two opponents who stayed a good deal of time airborne. Plus, her yoyo like zanpakuto was harder to use against airborne enemies. And….Yachiru had proven to be much more stronger than any of them gave credit for. More than once she'd deflected Cirucci's spinning blade like it was nothing. And she was supposed to be weakened because of the reishi here? Thought Tatsuki to herself.
"Aarrgh, that's it! Clearly I underestimated you both. And I'll admit that was my bad. But I won't make that mistake again" she said. "Now Rip off, Golondrina!" Pink reishi flared around her in a massive torrent of power. Large wings sprouted on her back with ten crescent shaped blades. Her mask became a beak like headpiece, with a feathery mane that covered most of her body and legs. She also had a prehensile tail, sharp talons for hands and disc like armour around her shoulders. "Moving around like that won't save you now, intruders!" she declared, taking to the air.
"What's that..! You just became a big bird!" chimed Yachiru, completely unperturbed.
"Let's see if you can laugh after this, girl!" she said, chasing after them. Anything that her wings came in contact with were rent apart effortlessly. Tatsuki tried firing a fireball at her.
"Not good enough!" she declared, the fireball disappearing the moment it touched her wings.
"Hyaaah!"
Cirucci was interrupted when the pink haired soul reaper swung her blade sideways at her, which she dodged by moving aside.
"If that was an attack, I'm not sure why you're even trying. Even that girl's attacks had more of a….huh..?!"
*SPLAAAAT!*
A fresh spray of blood flew out of Cirucci's midsection, staining her feathers red.
"Wh…what…?! But how….?! I was sure I avoided it!" she exclaimed.
"You can run as far as you want. But my blade cuts you even if you do dodge it" she said with the same cheery expression. But somehow, it felt more menacing now than it ever did before. "Here, I'll let you see it" she said. "Come on out! Sanpo Kenju"
Never had the arrancar wished that she could eat her words as much as she had now. Saying that she had underestimated this girl had been more than a gross understatement. Standing there, with her open smile plastered on her round face were two other…..things that barely resembled anything that she expected from a soul reaper's sword release. One of the creatures was tall and made of bone with teal hair. It wore a black cloak and had a large bone running through its head vertically, wielding a long dagger-like blade that had another blade protruding at the top edge. It looked so much like a hollow that she wouldn't be surprised if the girl did confirm the same. The other creature was plump and covered in yellow fur, leaving its eyes only partially visible, wielding a cleaver.
"Yachiru…..you…!" exclaimed Tatsuki. It wasn't the form of her shikai that surprised her. After all, she had so little exposure to soul reapers compared to the others that she simply wrote it off as another form a sword release could take. What really surprised her was the change in her demeanor. Yachiru still had her silly grin pasted on her face. And yet, her presence had completely changed. Without any warning whatsoever, Yachiru swung down, and the two beside her copied her movements. Cirucci barely managed to avoid getting hit, but not before they nicked the edge of her right wing. The crescent blade attached to the very tip of her wings came clean off. The force of Yachiru's swing was so great that it cleaved right into the floor, leaving a deep groove.
"I'm sorry birdie, but I really want to go see Rosy. So if you don't mind, I'll be finishing this, 'k?" she said, swinging her sword in a series of attacks. Each one of them copied perfectly by the two beings summoned by her. And each one sending gusts of wind as she swung, gouging out any piece of stone, rubble or whatever else came in its path. Cirucci was having a hard time moving about, the gusts of wind making it harder for her to maintain lift and the two creatures alongside Yachiru making it hard for her to focus on a single target. They had such a wide reach, it was nearly impossible for her to completely avoid all hits. Though her crescent shaped blades did nullify the damage for the most part, it still surprised her. Because she'd expected her wings would go clean through Yachiru's blades.
"Damn you….how the hell do you keep cutting into my hierro?! And why can't my blades cut through your sword?!" she bellowed, batting away another attack from Yachiru.
"Teehee! That's cuz there's nothing I or Kenny can't cut!" she said with childish glee. Cirucci had an incredulous look on her face.
"If close combat wont work" she said, flying several paces back. "I'll just use long ranged attacks!". The arrancar dislodged the blades on her wings, flinging them in a deadly spray of attacks instead. Some were deflected away by Yachiru, and some others were blown away by Tatsuki who decided to join in on the fray.
"Suki-suki? What're you doing here? You shouldn't be up here silly, otherwise Sanpo Kenju will hit you instead" she cautioned.
"Listen…..if you can buy me some time and take care of those wings of hers, I think I can get a good shot in with Shunko. I just need a few seconds to prepare. Think you can manage that?" she asked.
"Shunko…? You mean like what Hon-Hon uses?" asked Yachiru curiously. The tomboy nodded. "Alright! I'll get you some time! I don't need the help, but I really wanna see Suki-suki's shunko!" she said, continuing to protect both herself and Tatsuki from the blades that were attacking while Tatsuki began to gather reishi around her. This technique had been so alien, so advanced to her that even now, after a whole month's work, she still couldn't do it as she pleased and needed ample time to control the reishi as she pleased and direct its flow along her arms and back.
"Oh no you don't!" said Cirruci, charging up a pink cero in her hand. The pink beam sped towards Yachiru, only to be met with a flaming fireball nearly twice as big. The two collided in an explosion, sending both parties backwards several paces from the sheer force of it. The arrancar watched, wide eyed, where the human girl whose reiatsu was barely a flicker compared to the pink haired soul reapers and her own once stood. Now, her reiatsu was like a searing flame, radiant and bright, just like the flames around her. The fabric on her arms and back had been blasted away, instead covered by flames draped around her, like clothing woven out of fiery reishi itself.
"Woahhh! Suki-suki's all flashy and bright!" chimed Yachiru, her eyes sparkling.
"What…..the hell…?!" exclaimed the arrancar.
"Let's go get Ichigo and the others, shall we?" called out Tatsuki, and Yachiru. The two charged forward. Cirruci put up her guard, watching out for any attacks that might come charging from either direction. Her window to avoid attacks looked even smaller than before. Granted, the human's reiatsu had increased but it wasn't nearly enough for the girl to become a serious threat. At her current level, the girl's spiritual pressure was about as much as a low ranking captain. The pink haired girl on the other hand was the more threatening one. But even so, her spiritual pressure hadn't been as much as hers anyways, just a little stronger than the human's. In the end, she'd expected that she would have minor nuances dealing with the duo, but would come out victorious eventually.
However, it was over before she even knew it. With four quick strikes, Yachiru deflected the blades that were flung at her. But Cirucci hadn't worried since there were still five more blades that were still protecting her front side and she knew that neither the girl nor the soul reaper could cut through the blades. So even their combined assault would have no effect on her.
Except, the only one in front of her was Yachiru. The girl was nowhere to be seen.
"Don't tell me…she used the soul reaper as a means to cover her while she could….!"
*BOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMMMM!*
The arrancar felt her entire body ring as she was sent flying across the entire hallway, going through multiple pillars before finally coming to an ungraceful halt. Standing just behind where the arrancar had been standing just moments before was Tatsuki, with her fist outstretched and panting heavily. The reishi surrounding was in wisps, slowly dissipating.
"I…so…you used…..cover…..and…..attacked….with…..one….big….attack…" groaned the fallen arrancar, singed, burned and blasted. Her wings lay uselessly beside her. "Ah….dammit…" she moaned before finally falling silent.
"Woahhhh….that was great!" clapped Yachiru, sheathing her sword.
"I wouldn't have been able to get that hit in without you distracting her….thanks" she said, and the two hi-fived each other. "Is she….dead..?" asked Tatsuki, observing the fallen arrancar.
"Nope" said Yachiru almost immediately. "Don't worry, I'll finish her off" she said, drawing her sword. But Tatsuki stopped her.
"It's fine…..let's not…"
"Are you sure? She's the enemy you know?" asked Yachiru, tilting her head.
"It's alright…..let's just go and find the others" she urged. Yachiru continued to look for a few moments before shrugging. "Alright, if you say so. Hey, you don't look so good. Will you be alright?" asked Yachiru, looking at Tatsuki who was heavily panting.
"It's alright…..I'm just a bit tired. But I can still go on…huh….?" Tatsuki could feel her head feeling heavy and her vision was blurry. She could feel a strong pull as her body tilted backwards. Instead of hitting hard ground, she was caught by a pair of two small hands.
"Wh..ah..?"
"It's alright, I'll carry you till you recover" said Yachiru, smiling. "Whoop!" With one heave, the girl effortlessly carried the raven-haired tomboy over her shoulders. The last thing she remembered feeling before her head went blank was how disappointed she was that she was this fatigued with a single attack and that for a little girl, Yachiru was strong to carry her around like that.
"Kaien…..is….is that really you?!" asked a stammering Rukia. But…no…..that can't be…..that's because I…..I killed him….so then…..how…?!
"Kaien….you mean….Kaku-nee's brother..?!" asked Karin.
"Yo!" greeted the arrancar, stepping down. "I see little Rukia is still kickin'!" he grinned. "And who might this cutie be?" he asked, eying Karin closely. She took a step back, glaring at him. "Whoa there! She's a feisty one!"
"Kaien…! Is that…?!" asked Rukia once more.
"Well what do you think, dumbass! And I thought you'd be happy to see me, instead you've got this dumbass look on your face" he remarked . Silent tears began to fall from Rukia's face. Kaien had an embarrassed look on his face.
"Aah, you're really gonna make me look like the bad guy here" he remarked, coming up to her with what appeared to be a piece of cloth. However, Karin pointed her Zanpakuto at him, stopping him.
"Ruki-nee! How can you just trust everything this guy says?! He himself told us that he was an arrancar!" said Karin, keeping her sword pointed towards Kaien. But the arrancar was unperturbed.
"Now, now little kitten I know you have all reasons to be suspicious" he said, waving her off.
"Don't call me that!" she snapped back.
"Alright, Karin-chan then" he said, earning a surprised look from both of them. "No need to look surprised, you know. I HAVE been here a while and Aizen made sure we knew what his enemies looked like. His enemies that is" he replied, emphasizing on that word. "The moment he showed us yours, that orange haired kid, and Yuzu-chan's pictures, telling us 'These are the children of Isshin Shiba and Masaki Kurosaki, a Quincy. Our opponents', I was shocked to say that least. I mean, who'd have ever thought old man Isshin would've gotten hitched and even have kids?! Am I right?" he grinned.
"Ye…yes…!" replied Rukia with a weak smile. Yes, she told herself. His mannerisms, his goofy nature and his calming presence. There was absolutely no doubt that it was him. And yet, it still didn't explain why he was here.
"And now I can see that all three of his kids got entangled with you too. Aah~ah, you never seem to be able to get away from the Shiba clan, now can you?" he asked her with a smug grin, rubbing her head. A flustered Rukia could do nothing but stare awkwardly. But in her mind, that act had further strengthened the fact that it was indeed, her old mentor Kaien Shiba.
"Even if that were to be true, 'Kaien', that still doesn't explain how you're here" questioned Karin.
"You ARE quite the feisty one, arentcha? But alright, I was hoping we could take things a bit easy. However, I can understand we wont get anywhere before I deal with this first" he said, sitting down. "Let me explain then. Before I begin, let me ask you something. That night, you were fighting a soul reaper who had his body fused with a hollow. Now, what does that remind you of?" he asked.
Rukia gasped "You….you can't mean!"
"Ping pong! Exactly! An arrancar. The only difference was that that hollow was was a regular hollow, not a menos type. Therefore, I didn't have the conventional appearance of an arrancar. Plus, that hollow was one of Aizen's experiments. A failed one, might I add. One that was meant to be an arrancar when it fused with a soul reaper, but as you could probably tell when you fought me, it hadn't worked. After being cut by your blade, my body was wounded enough that the hollow's influence weakened, allowing me to stay in control. After that, I was taken to Hueco Mundo by Aizen. Imagine my surprise then, our meek captain of the 5th division being someone that powerful, working with and experimenting hollows in secret? The same guy who was responsible for dragging you, me and captain Ukitake into a big mess? There was just so much going on that I didn't even know where to start. Not to mention, imagine my state being fused with the same thing that was responsible for killing Miyako" he said with distaste.
"Wh..what do you mean?! The hollow you were fused with….you're telling me that it was the same one that killed Lady Miyako?!" asked Rukia surprised. Kaien nodded. "That's….I just….I can't….."
"Ah, don't sweat it" he said. "But you know, it took me time, I'll give you that. I knew that Soul Society would get rid of me if I ever tried to come back, even if I was the one in charge of this arrancar body. Still, I knew that the only way for me to do anything was to make use of this power, as much as I hated having it. And that's why, I bade my time, waiting for the right opportunity to strike at Aizen. Why you ask? Well, I figured if I could help the Soul Society get rid of Aizen, I might be allowed to join their ranks again. Which meant I could be with you and captain Ukitake. My drive to proceed with my plans only grew stronger after learning that captain Shiba was out there too, with his kids who also were soul reapers" he said, looking at Karin. "And your timing is impeccable. You see, Aizen's forces will be split up now. He's going to war against the Shinigami. He'll be too busy to take mind of betrayal coming from one of the previous Espada. After all, he isn't the type to really care about those that are no longer useful to him. Once I was driven out of the Espada, I lost the position but I gained cover. All I needed to do was execute my plan with some of the other hollows as well who share my plans to get rid of Aizen for their own reasons. You'd be surprised to know that even amongst the Espada, not everyone shares his views"
"Ah you're right! I remember that arrancar named Nel telling us the same!" agreed Rukia. Kaien nodded.
"Exactly. Actually, its not just her. It's very well known that her and many of the other top ranked Espada are only doing Aizen's bidding because he's stronger than them. So, you see, everytime I came across such information, I knew I had more allies here than ever. So all I needed to do was wait for the right time" he said. "But tell me, why are you both here? Don't get me wrong, I'm always up for some long-awaited reunion, not to mention finally getting to meet my cute little niece, but even you should know that coming here to Hueco Mundo, where Shinigami and Quincy powers are weakened, with a small squad is utter foolishness. So then why?" he asked. Rukia was about to reply but then Karin intervened.
"We're here to see Ruby-nee" she replied. Kaien's raised his eyes in surprise.
"Wait, Ruby-nee…? By that, do you mean Ruby Rose? THE Ruby Rose?" he asked. He continued to stare at them quietly.
"What's wrong Kaien?" asked Rukia. Karin's eyes twitched.
"Her huh? She's a strange one alright" he replied. Karin raised her eyes. "What do you mean?"
"There's no one more famous in all of Hueco Mundo….no, all of Las Noches as Ruby Rose. You see, she's one of the very, very few arrancars who became an arrancar without Aizen's Hogyouku. Not to mention, she's an Espada. An arrancar at that level becoming one without Aizen's help? You can see why she's so famous"
"Yeah I know that. Ruby-nee told us that too. That she had 'always been an arrancar'" replied Karin.
"But that isn't all. You see, she became an arrancar by fusing with her mother, Summer Rose, who was a Shinigami. And let me tell you. Summer Rose is…peculiar, even for me" he said, deadpanned. "Imagine this. She's the only one who gets to do what she wants, whenever she wants around Aizen. It wouldn't be wrong to say that Aizen even has a soft spot for her. You could compare her to lieutenant Yachiru Kusajishi and how she practically had everyone around her fingertips, including captain Yamamoto. And as you can imagine, many aren't particularly happy about it. More so out of jealousy I would say. Since she's able to do things that most arrancars can only dream of doing. I'll be lying if I said I wasn't a tad bit jealous myself. Even so, I've only spoken to her a few times and even tried to get her along with my plans. After all, someone like that would be whom I exactly needed to topple Aizen. But she's refused me. Didn't say why though. It's a shame, compared to the other scum around here, she's the nicest one out of the whole lot. Anyways, you're here to see her? Why?" he asked.
"We're here to help convince her to join us against Aizen" replied Karin. Rukia opened her mouth to ask her what she was talking about, but Karin quickly and subtly asked her to keep quiet. Kaien's surprise grew even more. "Well…..color me surprised. Who would've thought our goals would be so aligned? I'm all up for it, but as I said, I've already asked her. What makes you think you can convince her?"
"I can. Trust me" she said, determined. Kaien paused for a bit before he continued. "Well, seeing as how my cute little niece is so confident, why not? If it works, it works. If not, well…..she's not one who would kill you or anything of the sort. If fact, I thought it would be nice to go visit her myself. Since you guys intruded Las Noches, I thought I could use the distraction to lay the foundations of my plans. I'm assuming you don't know where she is?" he asked them. Karin shook her head. "I figured. Even I get lost here sometimes, seeing as how I'm still a bit new here" he said. "Even so, nobody knows where Ruby Rose is. You see, she's rarely in Las Noches most of the times, and chooses to spend most of her time outside. But….one of her Espada companions would know for sure" he said. "We could go ask them. Maybe Nelliel. She's just as 'humane' as Ruby is. And she's quite close to her too. Asking her is what I would do. And I know where her quarters are"
"….sounds like a plan. Why don't you take us along then" asked Karin. Kaien nodded and pointed towards a door. "It's that way" he said, urging them to go on. Rukia wasn't sure where Karin was going with this, but upon Karin's insistence, she decided to go along. They walked along a few paces and they could hear Kaien's footsteps following along.
"Karin…..what was all that about?" she asked.
"Ah you'll see Ruki-nee. I have it all figured out" she said confidently.
"…..well alright. I'll trust you" she replied. "Still, I….I still cant get over the fact that Kaien's here, alive and well" she said with a heavy smile.
"…."
"And you get to see how Kukaku's big brother….your cousin looks like. Aren't him and Ichigo similar? You know, the first time I saw your brother, I was shocked to say the leas-"
*WHOOOSH!*
*KLAAANG!*
Not even Rukia's thoughts had caught up to the sudden and abrupt interruption to their conversation. She jumped hard when she heard the sudden noise of steel meeting steel. Looking back with a confused look, she saw Karin's Zanpakuto locked with Kaien's Zanpakuto, both of them smirking.
"Very impressive. What gave me away?" asked Kaien, his tone quite different from before.
"Wh…what's going on?! Kaien….why are you..?!" she asked, mumbling and confused.
"Ruki-nee? You still haven't figured it out? This guy….this thing isn't Kaien!" she snapped, pushing Kaien's zanpakuto backwards. Kaien continued to smile.
"What…?" asked Rukia, confused.
"Well now that's a damn shame. I thought I could atleast get rid of one of you before having to fight the other one. Nosy brats like you really are a pain in the ass" he said.
"Kaien…?"
"Ruki-nee, I already told you. That thing isn't Kaien! Even he himself admitted it! I never bought it for a single second" she growled, on guard with her Zanpakuto. "Ruki-nee, I'm surprised you didn't notice before I did, seeing as how you knew Kaien better than me. But I guess I was able to tell because I was much more wary of him than you were. It's alright though. You take it easy for a while. I'll go handle him!" Karin rushed forward, engaging in a clash of swords. Their clangs as steel struck steel echoed throughout the chamber.
"Why're you still fighting like a soul reaper? Still trying to put on the act, monster?" snapped Karin.
"Act? My dear niece, that wasn't an act. I'll admit there were some parts that I just made up on the spot, but there were parts that were very real as well. For one, this IS Kaien Shiba, in the flesh" he replied. "Why don't you believe me?"
"You're asking ME why? For one, you tried to KILL Ruki-nee, and more than that there was more than one instance to let me know that you weren't the real Kaien" she said. "Firstly, if you really cared for your so called 'niece', then how come you never mentioned talking to Yuzu all this time? Surely everyone knows Ruby-nee in Las Noches, as you yourself put it. And Yuzu is with her. Its strange how you never mentioned trying to talk to her even once. And the entire time we were talking, you didn't drop your guard even once. Even Ruki-nee let herself be completely defenseless. I'm a bit disappointed" she said, looking at Rukia. "Not to mention, her NEVER referred to himself as Kaien the whole time!" Rukia's eyes widened. That…..that's true…! How….?! I knew Kaien for so long…..and yet…..how did I not see that…?! Despite not having known him, she could tell. And yet….. Rukia clenched her teeth.
"Why….?" She asked in a low voice.
"Why? Now isn't that a strange thing to ask" replied 'Kaien'. "You killed me, didn't you? So, is there anything strange in what I did? In fact, I should be the one asking you. Why aren't you prepared to die by my hand for what you did? After all, if you didn't do what you did, I would still be with my captain and adorable little sister and brother, not to mention my nieces and nephews. So allow me to ask, Rukia. Are YOU prepared to die by my hand, Rukia?" he asked.
"Alright, I'm taking you down" said Karin, having had enough. She charged at him pointing her sword for a thrusting attack. The arrancar quickly parried her sword and kicked her, sending her several paces back.
"Tch, of course he wouldn't be such a pushover. I've already released my Shikai and he's only using his sword. But then again, I'm not going all out yet either!" said Karin. "Ruki-nee, you go on ahead. I'll take care of this imposter and join you soon" she said.
"Wait Karin, don't just..!"
"Imposter?" asked the arrancar in a low tone. "Now that's something I can't let fly. It seems you're really set in believing that I'm not the real deal. Maybe this will help you see" he said, twirling his zanpakuto in his right hand. "Surge, Water and Heaven, Nejibana" Rukia and Karin watched in surprise as the glowing zanpakuto transformed, forming a trident that was a cross between a Japanese spear, a Chinese halberd and a traditional trident. As he swung the trident, it sent streams of water around him.
"So? Still doubting me? This should prove without a doubt this is the real Kaien-"
"That's enough!" growled Rukia, drawing her own weapon. "You've fooled me once, arrancar. But I wont let you besmirch Kaien's memory ever again. No matter what tricks you use to convince me otherwise, it wont work! The real Kaien would never try to use such deceptive tactics as to attack me from behind, even if he wanted to kill me. And he would never try to take the life of those he considered his kin!" she said. "Dance, Sode no Shirayuki" The blade in her hands transformed into the beautiful looking zanpakuto Karin remembered seeing.
"Well, I'm glad you were able to pull yourself together, Ruki-nee. So, shall we?" she asked. Rukia gave a small nod. Mist was slowly seeping from Rukia's zanpakuto, providing them temporary cover. Karin flash stepped over to the arrancar's side, beginning a series of heavy strikes. The arrancar had no difficulty dodging them, even retaliating by sending whips of water to strike at her. Having no solid shape, Karin had trouble completely negating damage. Rukia then jumped in, covering for Karin so that she could put some distance between herself and the arrancar. But the arrancar merely batted away her Zanpakuto, retaliating with a slice that left a light cut on the left side of her neck.
"What's wrong, Rukia? That's far lighter than I remember you being able to hit. Don't tell me you can't bring yourself to strike back at your dear old Kaien" he taunted, thrusting at her in a frenzied attack.
"That's none of your business!" Rukia then used her zanpakuto's Tsukishiro technique to try and imprison the arrancar in pillars of ice. However, his control of water nullified any attempts by her to try and use her ice based zanpakuto techniques. Karin then launched a barrage of blut enhanced quincy arrows, the majority of which were deflected or blocked by Nejibana's swirling water attacks while the rest went right behind him, leaving holes that let in the sunlight from the outside. Just as they were moving about, Karin noticed a slight instance wherein the arrancar's appearance seemed to change the moment his face passed through one of the narrow light beams invading the room.
"Ruki-nee, did you see that?" she asked.
"Yeah….I wonder if that's the reason why he didn't try to take us on when we were outside" remarked Rukia. "Come to think of it, he's been avoiding damaging the area too much. Nejibana should be much more powerful than this and he's been using it so defensively"
"I have an idea. I'm going to create some open space and you can use that opportunity to deliver a finishing blow when he's startled. Ready?" asked Karin. Rukia nodded.
Rukia then jumped aside, allowing Karin room to fight. Drawing her sword back, Karin began pouring reishi into her blut enhanced blade.
"Getsuga Tenshou"
Karin had hoped that the crimson crescent shaped beam would atleast do some damage and immobilize her opponent before letting the sunlight through. But such a big attack was much too obvious to have actually connected. Even so, it got its job done. The beam passed right behind the arrancar, destroying half the ceiling and wall behind him.
"Wh…what in the world…?!" exclaimed Karin.
Standing before a stunned Karin and Rukia was the arrancar who now looked completely different from before as he was bathed in the sunlight that now covered half the room. Gone was Kaien Shiba's face, instead replaced by a long cylindrical glass tube filled with liquid in which two spherical floating heads were present.
"What a shame, we had hoped to let you witness your beloved mentor's form just a bit longer" said one of the heads in a gruff voice. "In any case, allow us to reintroduce ourselves" said the other head in a high pitched child-like voice. "We're the privaron Espada, Aaroniero Arruruerie. We can understand if you are shocked by our current appearance, but however, we must request you that you keep that opinion to yourselves. We are quite tired of hearing it after so long"
"Ruki-nee why're you just standing there?!" asked Karin, rushing forward. "Now that we know that he's not Kaien, let's just finish off this freak!"
*BZZT!*
With a quick sonido, Aaroniero appeared right in front of Rukia who was still in the shadows. Out of reflex, Rukia swung her snow white zanpakuto at the arrancar's head, only to hesitate and stop when the face morphed back into the familiar face of her mentor.
"Ruki-nee!" called out Karin, worried for her and rushing to her aid.
"Even now you still wont strike me down, eh? You're just as foolish as you always were, Rukia" remarked the arrancar exasperated.
"Don't be mistaken, arrancar! Your sudden transformation caught me off guard and I'm surprised an arrancar like yourself feels the need to use my mentor's form against me just to win" she taunted.
"That's what you think? You still don't get it, do you?" he said. "I was merely interested to see what kind of reaction you, a soul reaper would have upon seeing the form of a dear one you killed. I didn't think a lot of soul reapers had such notions that went directly against their principles and duties. But enough talk. It's time I ended this" he said, removing the glove from his left hand, revealing a deformed fleshy stump for a hand. "And you're quite mistaken about something. My power isn't to shape shift. It's to devour and take on the form, power and abilities of whatever I eat. My potential is infinite. None among the Espada can truly evolve as much as I can. When I devoured Kaien Shiba arrived at Hueco Mundo, fused with the body of a hollow, I gained all of his abilities, memories and even his form. So what you saw earlier truly was Kaien Shiba as he were. How you ask? Here's let me show you just how by releasing my resurrection. Devour, Glotonaria!"
Upon saying those words, 'Kaien's' body began to morph and expand at a rapid rate, repelling both Rukia and Karin who tried to strike at him with her quincy arrows. His body kept deforming, growing and transforming until it took up half of the room. Hie lower body now consisted of a grotesque blob resembling an incredibly bloated invertebrate with many stubby tentacles, large red eyes, large mouths with teeth. The mass itself was bubbling and shifting. Karin scrunched her face in disgust.
"Behold, this is the combined form of the 33650 hollows I've devoured in my entire life as a Gillian, as well as your beloved mentor" said Aaroniero "Even as powerful as the two of you are, fighting an collection of tens of thousands of hollows at once…..I do wonder how you'll fare"
Rukia stared at the grotesque form Kaien's body had morphed into, several different emotions running through her head. Her beloved mentor, the one who always uplifted her whenever she doubted herself. The one who taught her how to be a better person and a better soul reaper. The one who would always encourage her whenever she got looks of scorn from the others who envied Rukia for getting posted as part of squad 13 thanks to her brother's influence. And, the one who was always keeping those in her squad going, no matter how grim the situation looked. It was too much. For such a person to be met with such a fate right in front of her. And once again, she was fated to face him, even though the first time had left such a permanent scar on her. She could only hang her head.
"Ruki-nee! Get a hold of yourself!" came Karin's voice, shaking her by her shoulders. Rukia violently jerked upwards, gasping when she saw Karin's determined face. "I know you don't want to see Kaien's body being defiled like this by this freak" she said, glaring at Aaroniero's gigantic form. "And trust me, I know how unfair it is for you to have to face him again after what you went through. That's why I thought I would take care of it and spare you the pain of reopening old wounds. But…..do you really want to let that guy continue using Kaien's body to go around devouring hollows and becoming even more of an abomination?! Underneath all that, even if he's using Kaien's body, he's still an arrancar, a hollow! Don't you think you should purify him and release Kaien? He doesn't deserve any of this!"
"But….I just….I can't bring myself to kill him…not again….I don't think I'd be able to ever forgive myself…" she replied.
"You're not killing him" said Karin, drawing reishi from the air. The bracelet in her hand was thrumming, vibrating with power. Bright red wings began to slowly form on Karin's back. A small glowing circular halo with a five pointed star was also materializing on top of her head. "He's been suffering all the time. If he's been part of all those hollows, I'm not even sure what he must be going through. You're only helping him finally attain the peace he deserves. That's why, it has to be you, Ruki-nee. I could finish him off sure, but….I also want you to overcome your guilt and your nightmares of having to kill him back then. Just like how I did when mom died. Just like how I did when Ruby-nee left us" she said with a small smile. "I'll create an opening like last time. I know you can handle it, Ruki-nee"
Opposite her, Aaroniero had done charging up his own attack, a gigantic purple cero that was half as big as he was combined with swirling water currents formed from Nejibana's abilities. Karin however was unperturbed. The reishi wings on her back were fully material, as well as the five pointed disk shaped halo on her head. The red veins in her body were glowing with more power than earlier, and her Zanpakuto was glowing with overflowing reishi.
*CRAAAAACK*
A noticeable crack appeared on the bracelet on Karin's hand. On that cue, the arrancar and Karin both launched their attacks.
"Quincy Vollständig: Getsuga Tenshou!"
"Gigante Cero Azul!"
The red and purple waves of pure torrential power collided in a colossal explosion, sending copious amounts of steam, dust, debris and shockwaves outwards. Even amongst the thick and heavy veil of dust in front of her, Karin could make out the vague outline of the arrancar's form. But that had been well within her expectations and the only thing on her mind had been Rukia.
Rukia leapt towards where the arrancar had been, her Zanpakuto primed to slice down towards his face. Even as she was driving her sword downwards towards the arrancar's upper body which still held Kaien's form, the bitter memory of that rainy day was playing itself in her mind over and over again. That same face that was now making that same expression of pain, that same familiar feeling of holding her sword intending to stab him just as she did all those years back.
I…..I just can't….not him….not again….
She was afraid she would divert her sword at the last second. And just then, out of the corner of her eye, she could see Karin and her expression that spoke of the immense trust she had on her. And with that her sword wavered no longer.
*SCHIIICK!*
Her snow-white sword passed clean through Kaien's face. Her hands were still shaking, and she could see tears well up in her eyes.
"Kaien…I'm sorry for everything…..and…..thank you….."
The face of the arrancar changed once more, transforming into the long cylindrical tube with two spherical heads, with Rukia's zanpakuto going clean through the glass. The heads gave out one final, desperate blood curling scream before turning to ash and disappearing.
Karin ran up to the purple eyed soul reaper who was standing with her head lowered, her zanpakuto reverting back to its sealed state.
"Ruki-nee…." She called out softly. She could hear her soft, muffled sobs. Karin went up to her, putting her hand around her shoulder and back of her head. "You were amazing, Ruki-nee…." She said. "Really….you're something else. Because of you…..Kaien, Kukaku, Ganju, dad and even you…..can finally be at peace. And it was all thanks to you, Ruki-nee."
Rukia's cries grew louder, her tears falling in a steady stream. She returned the embrace, holding on tightly to Karin.
"Look at me…..I'….I'm supposed to be the adult here…..and yet….I'm the one being consoled by you…."she sobbed "Thank you…..thank you…."
Karin gave a warm smile. "We're family, right? You don't need to thank me, Ruki-nee. I'm just happy you can finally be at peace. With this thing in this state, I can't absorb anymore reishi without breaking it completely. And if that happens, I'll be a hella lot of trouble. I'm sure it'll happen anyways, and I'm sure I'll come right back to depending on you at that time. But for now, you can depend on me" She said, showing her damaged bracelet. "Let's….take a break here" she suggested. And with that, the two of them stayed that way in each other's embrace before reconciling with their thoughts and feelings and heading out.
This week it's a double chapter, so enjoy! The next chapter is already up, so continue onward! I felt it was getting too long, but before I knew it, I hit 20k words in one chapter alone. So I thought it would be best I split it up and release it as a double chapter.
Response to reviews:
Zacatac: Well, she can. It's just that Ichigo jumped in before she got the chance to get into the mood to play with her opponent. And well, you'll see more of her in the next chapter.
Kragh: Thanks a lot! Well, you were right!
Cyan-Snake: Hmm, probably not. But it will happen for sure. You'll find out in the next few chapters because there's a big fight upcoming.
ccl1995: Yeah but we'll get there real soon. Ahaha true!
firewyrm2: Indeed. It truly shows how much of a wild card Ruby is in his plans.
Mobian: Yeah indeed. Not in this chapter, but real soon. Indeed. He tries to control the most unpredictable of all of his pieces in Hueco Mundo. But that's Aizen to you. Yeah this part is something I want to write about soon as well!
Lucian Naruto: Maybe. I don't want to expand on characters that aren't really main or even side characters. That would take up too much space. But, you might see some hints here and there about what some of the others think of Ruby and her gang.
Argorok: Thanks a lot! You'll get to see that real soon my friend.
Spellflame: She can use both her Shinigami powers and Crescent rose at once. Just not yet.
Crimsongear: Yup and thanks! You could say that. There's a lot more to their story of course, after all, someone like her wouldn't just melt just like that. Summer and Unohana have had their own differences, and they didn't always start off like that. That's why I thought it would be nice to write about them in a separate story at some point. We shall see.
Reaper: I'm really glad you noticed it and glad you liked it! True, even her own friends and those around her tend to forget how old she actually is. She's far from being a child.
Vedahzii: True. I remember him saying that he deemed her unnecessary and that she wasn't useful enough to him anymore. But yeah you're right, it still was stupid. Even if he didn't need her help.
AnimeA55Kicker: And that's exactly what happened :D
Rairi Valelira: True. Aizen made quite a few dumb choices in cannon, and here, I'm trying to have him make not so many of them.
Fregreg: Thank you! But of course, I for one, have grown quite attached to this story and want to see through it till the end. The readers are also quite supportive, encouraging me to keep going. True. I have something planned, but we shall see.
Xeno01: I know what you mean. This is something that is addressed in the next chapter. Not just Orihime, but some of the others and their dumb choices as well. You could say that this was something they needed to hear but didn't in canon.
Yeah. It wouldn't make sense for Ruby to spare them, at least not Loly who directly caused Orihime harm. She's not being all edgy and dark, and neither is she being like her former, innocent self or pacifistic like Yuzu is. She's gone through stuff. She knows what she really cares about and doesn't hesitate any longer to do what's necessary but doesn't revel in the fact that she's ok with killing someone nor does she get affected by it and make it a big issue.
A scenario that could happen. It really depends on how their interaction goes.
Well, we saw a bit more on that, hope you liked it! I would've loved to write Summer's whole arc as a separate story, because I had a few ideas to cover there. Maybe sometime I can. We shall see.
It's something I only briefly mentioned but didn't really expand on. Maybe at some point I will. Could even be during the time when Summer and Unohana have a long talk. But she took two weeks to just gain something resembling her conscience. And then, it took her all the time after that to put herself together.
She would already know, considering that Summer has used silver eyes during her time as a soul reaper and Ruby has her experiences.
Guest: Thanks a lot!
dreadix: Around an year has passed. This is shown in the chapter where she sees the current state of Remnant. As for when she'll appear, I don't want to spoil it but I planned it so that it will be during a time where she gets back what she deserves for all the pain she goes through.
I'm…..not sure how to respond to that. Personally, I think Yuzu losing her memories was nothing compared to the parts where she was in Hell which some others have mentioned saying that it was too much. But I don't want to tackle that issue again. I try my best but I cant please everyone. Still, I hoped you enjoyed reading it so far.
Zifryt: Ahaha yeah! True, and its coming real soon, like within the next 1-2 chapters. Thanks again!
NEGATARO: Thanks a lot for your support as always!
hmataco: Thanks! I know it isn't mentioned in this chapter but I plan to talk about how different his hollow mask training was. It's quite different and it serves to show a few things. One of them being his relation with old man Zangetsu and how much Ichigo actually trusts him over Hichigo. I did! Atleast '5000 words per hour'. It has helped for sure. But my main problem has been scripting what I want to write. Usually once I know what to write, it goes quite smoothly. But that was a good recommendation. I'm still yet to get to the other books you recommended, but I will if I can get them. Thanks again!