A glass looking ball was tossed onto Ichigo's head, who looked annoyed and rubbed it. It sounded heavy. Ace wondered what it was, but wasn't the first one to ask.
"What is it?" Ichigo asked.
"A spirit core. Give it all your spiritual energy." This would be a problem. Ichigo tried to, but it didn't work. Ace knew he wasn't in good control of the spirit energy. Yoruichi said none of them had good control and Ichigo was not a full shinigami. He didn't have the skills used to help him in this.
Kuukau sighed and had Ganjyu do it. Ichigo was reluctant to give it to him out of pride or just wanting to be annoying. They both got kicked again. Ganjyu got the spirit core and held it, a big sphere appearing around him, made out of light. Ace was sweating in worry.
Explaining why on earth they were doing it like this, using a spirit core on the way there, she said seretei was protected by a sphere, above and below, that blocks out spirit energy. "If you tried to get in directly, you'd be turned to dust." Wow, good thing he hadn't made it to the top of the wall and try to get in that way. Close call, jeez.
So the only way to burst through the shell around was to have their own shell made of spirit energy. "Now, practice. You have a day to perfect it. If you can't, you'll give up or die trying." They each got a spirit core, and Ace held his in worry. He walked to Yoruichi.
"What do I do? I have no spiritual energy," he said quietly. Ichigo already knew this but the others didn't. And he was having a hard time already, too. While Ace was in a worse spot than he was, as he had zero at all. He came from somewhere else, and got his fire from a devil fruit, not spiritual energy contaminating him.
"Try using that haki. Maybe you don't have spiritual energy, but you explained that conqueror's haki was exerting your will over others." She really did her research. "Try using that, but not on everyone in the room or they'll pass out." Ace nodded. He held the sphere up, and narrowed his eyes, thinking of protecting his friend, even if he didn't want it.
Protecting that boy, that faceless boy he'd used this to save once already. A burst of haki came out, and his spirit core exploded in his face, throwing him into the wall. It got everyone's attention, in shock. There was a burnt mark on the concrete floor. Ganjyu was shocked, and Ichigo cringed at it.
Kuukaku stomped in and demanded to know why he'd broken the ball. "I hadn't meant to!" Ace said slightly defensively. "I'm not good at this, okay?" He was embarrassed. "I'll try another one."
"I only have a limited supply. Don't break another one!" Ace huffed, but couldn't promise that. Maybe if he went a bit away from it. He closed his eyes, and intended to use the haki at the core. It turned bright and encompassed him, but it disappeared just as quickly. Ace was not perfect at this type of haki.
Marco had told him he rarely used it, after all. So while he was able to, it was not easy. He panted, his hands on his knees. "Fucking hell," he grumbled. He was so glad when food was called to be ready. Unlike his friend, he was not sticking around to practice when he was hungry. When it was given to them, Ace was disappointed with how small the serving size was.
He ate the rice in one gulp, and then the meat was in a hurry. He got up without excusing himself and hurried back to practice. His stomach wasn't full or satisfied, but it was good enough. Ace saw in the small time they'd gone and waited for food to be served and eaten, Ichigo had overdone his core, and now the whole room was glowing. It damaged the building and surrounding walls, as well. But he seemed happy he could do it until it exploded as he had no control and then lost focus in his happiness about pulling it off.
Now Ace was the only one who was incapable. Yoruichi approached the disheartened teen. "If that haki doesn't work, try the armament." Ace nodded, and held the core. He changed his hands to haki, and attempted to change the ball into haki, too, but it just lost all use and cracked in half. Ace hid it behind him, but Kuukaku saw and was angry that now three were wasted, including Ichigo's.
"Listen, I have no spiritual energy, okay?! I literally have nothing to give it!" he said in anger and poorly veiled embarrassment.
"You have none? Have you ever had any?" Kuukaku asked, touching her chin in thought. Ace shook his head. Yoruichi confirmed this. "Well, then you should be fine to enter normally, shouldn't you? It only blocks out spirit energy. If you have jack shit, you should be fine," she said in a chipper voice.
Ace looked to Yoruichi with an annoyed face. He could have gotten in yesterday! She turned to Shuukaku and asked if there really was no way for him to travel in. "Nope. Ganjyu will be busy reciting an incantation and they'll need to compensate for him. There's no way these kids can cover for two people."
Ace drooped. "But I can be really useful, and I trained. I'm a good fighter and can be really quiet and infiltrate. I even took this horrible pill so I can do this," he said, voice quieting near the end.
"Just go on your own. If you're actually good at infiltration, you can gather information before the rest arrive, right? Are you confident in yourself and your skill?"
"Yes," Ace said. "But I want to be able to help them all."
"This is the only way you'll be able to take part. I have no solution for you," Kuukaku said bluntly. Ace sighed, and asked for some food on the way.
"Wait, you can't go on your own!" Ichigo said.
"Worried about me?" Ace smirked.
"Well, yeah. All of us can work together, you'll have nobody." Ace smiled. He could do it. Maybe being by himself would be easier. The thought of doing it alone was relieving but also disappointing. If he died, he wouldn't drag a partner down. If he was good at hiding, he wouldn't be dragged down by those who were more inexperienced. He knew he'd done fighting and training in his last life.
He could do it. He walked out, assuring them he'd see them tomorrow. "You're not gonna sleep?" Ganjyu asked.
"I can't sleep for the next seven nights. I'll make it by tomorrow morning. Just give me some food so I can restock when I get there," he said. Kuukaku had the guards/servants get him some food, and he packed it in a bag. The others were worried, but he assure them he'd be fine, confident. "Don't worry. I'll see you tomorrow, huh?"
Ichigo looked the most worried, and mouthed an apology. About their fight. Ace nodded with a smile. Of course he forgave him. He took the food and water, and started to run, having remembered their whole time the day before. He took turns between jogging and sprinting. He could do this, he only needed to watch his own back.
It only took four hours of running, and it was almost midnight by now. So, very dark. Meaning he couldn't use his fire or it would be easy to spot. Haki was all he needed. Haki and his fighting skill. When he got to a spot he could tell was empty of anyone, he was worried about turning to dust. Hopefully this would work and he'd not die.
He scarfed down his food and water, and got moving.
He climbed the wall quietly, and peeked over the side. He dropped down lightly, and listened for any alarms going off about his intrusion. He waited a good five minutes, but there was nothing. He grinned. Infiltration successful. Now he had to be able to find someone on their own, and take their outfit. He had no sword, so hopefully that wasn't so odd.
He took his boots off and held them so it was quieter, running in one sock as he stuffed the other in the pill bottle to keep them from bouncing around as he ran. He knew where people were, and avoided those paths. When someone came along, they weren't alone, and so he avoided them, waiting for them to go to the other direction. Then he snuck closer, and found a single person. Great.
He used a small burst of haki. Small ones were not difficult. He would be fine using small ones. He picked the guy up and threw him over his shoulder. He ran down a deserted path, and undressed the man, putting on his clothes. He left the sword, as he had no clue what its stupid name was or how to use the damn thing.
The guy was put in Ace's old clothes, as he wouldn't leave the guy completely in his underwear. He kept his boots in his pocket, and also hid the pills there, too. The uniform was lose and had insanely deep pockets. He never knew they were there, so that was great. He had the awful toe sandals on, and walked leisurely, but also cautiously.
Now, where the hell to go? He had all night to spend snooping around. And with there much less people there at the moment, this was the best time. He searched for strong people, and used his haki to spy on their movements. He listened behind walls as he heard them speak. Mostly about some captain's meeting in the morning.
Once they passed, Ace went through that area. He paused in an open space and looked down. There was a sewer below, but he would get no helpful information by entering there. Damn, a little over six more days of this. He hoped they saved Rukia before then or he'd die of boredom. He widened his senses, looking for his shinigami friend, but couldn't find her.
He found a storage room, and entered it, looking for supplies to help him. He searched quietly through boxes and files before he found what he was looking for. A map. One that would be more useful than his haki, as places were labeled. "Fuck yes," he hissed. He knew where barracks were for each squad. Probably the busiest places, then.
There was the main place, not the maze of paths, but it was far and there weren't many easy hiding places. But it was night time, it would be easier to get through when its dark. He made sure he was alone in the area, and left the building, leaving nothing amis inside, and closing the door quietly. For someone who loved to fight and make a big scene, he was impressed with himself for this unknown and formerly dormant skill of sneaking. When he made it to the wide open space, he looked around, waiting for the perfect spot.
When someone came up walking behind him, Ace had already memorized the area. He stuffed the map in his pants. "Hey, what are you doing out?" the guy asked. Ace promptly willed himself to vomit some of the food. To put on an act.
"Ugh… I think I ate something bad," Ace moaned. The guy walked over, and offered to help him to the nearest bathroom. It was in a squad barracks, and Ace kept his head down, acting embarrassed. "Th-thank you," he said. The guy left him at the door, and Ace fearlessly walked through all the sleeping people and into the bathroom. Nobody awoke.
He waited until he sensed the man leaving, and left the bathroom, tip toeing out, and back to the hall. "Yuck," he mumbled. He knew what that guy felt like, and was lucky he was a good actor, since he was one of the strong guys. Some bald dude with eye make up. Someone you wouldn't expect to help some vomiting random coworker.
Ace had kept most of the food in his stomach, and wondered why he'd ever learned to force a vomit, just willing it to happen. He took back out the map, and made sure to know where everywhere it. He memorized it by reading and processing for five minutes. He then tossed the map into a barrel, useless now.
He was to get information right now. He didn't want to do an all out assault when all the focus was on him. He wanted the others to take some of the heat, too. So he snuck around all night, collecting information about where things were. He even checked out the sewage system and tracked where he could get to by using it.
Of course he didn't have a wink of sleep or need one. He climbed out of the sewers in a place with no people, before an alarm went off. Someone found the guy's body. Now, it was Ace's job not to get caught. Hiding around would be hard and he wouldn't get any information. So, he gathered with the others. He was pretending he was from the 13th division. Only because he'd run past their barracks and found that many were not especially strong.
Ace gathered with everyone, faking worry. "Do you think it's the guys from this morning?" someone asked.
"Didn't Captain Ichimaru take care of them?" Ace asked in a worried voice. "Should we be worried?"
"Hell no, we're shinigami, we don't take shit from humans." Ace gathered around weak members, counting on them not being able to tell something was off about Ace.
"But… didn't one of them defeat Jidanbou? Are they really that weak?"
"Stop worrying so much! We have all the captains ready!" one guy said, throwing his arm around Ace's shoulder. "We'll wait for orders. No need to be so frightened. You new here?"
"Ah, just a bit out of my comfort zone. I don't really know others beside those in my squad. Luckily, they're nice."
"I get that. But you should branch off more, make friends and allies."
"Haha, I think I did, you're pretty nice," Ace said. "What's your name?" he asked with a smile. The ultimate liar. He was awesome. The guy said his name was Yuriken.
"Portgas," Ace said. "You don't think it's weird that I look like a teenager? People think my freckles make me look even younger."
"You got the height to make up for it, though," Yuriken commented. "Besides, there are plenty of teen looking people here. Even Vice Captain Abarai looks like a teen and look where he is."
"I wonder if those face tattoos hurt," Ace mused. "And Captain Kuchiki sure is a tough one. I'd be nervous to be his right hand man. Did you hear… about his sister? I overheard. Okay, I heard them and I listened. Don't tell anybody."
"Yeah, I heard about that, too. Apparently she ended up giving some human shinigami powers. She's being executed in 10 days. Its weird, since usually there's a 35 day junction period, but she only had 25. It's kind of strange."
"Maybe her crime was seen as really bad? Though it is kind of sad, in a way. I bet the death won't be pretty. I heard it's being done by the Sokyoku. That's gotta be scary as hell," Yuriken said. "I've never seen it in action."
"How does it work? It's the big spear, right?" he was throwing this out, hoping to catch something. He'd seen the huge spear on his way in. Surely that was for something special.
"Yeah. It's on Soukyo hill. The offender is held up while the spear is released by kido. Then it raises into the air, bursting into flames, and turns into a phoenix. The heat is so intense it vaporizes the soul when it comes into contact with its victim," Yukrien said. This guy was overflowing with helpful information. If Ace wasn't in this situation, he'd kind of feel bad for using him.
"I wonder if it hurts. Have you ever seen it done?"
"Nah, it's not used much. Mostly for the strongest shinigami. I wonder is Kuchiki Rukia is actually that strong…"
"Probably not if she gave her powers to a human, right?" Ace offered. "Then she'd be helpless. Though on death row, she'll be heavily guarded and chained. I wonder if she'll be staying in a normal jail or not."
"I don't know. I would be its in the Repentance Palace, though. Hardest place to get to from the outside," Yuriken replied.
"This is a depressing topic," Ace sighed. "Well, I'll probably never get high enough in ranks to ever be killed in such a way if I commit a crime. Biggest one I think I'll ever do is perhaps getting too tipsy on some sake and making a fool of myself," he joked.
"Hah! That's not a crime, everyone suffers that. It's like a rite of passage. Once this is over, let's go drinking together." Ace looked meek, and admitted he was a lightweight. Which was why it was easy for him to get too drunk, or just expel everything. So, he didn't drink if he could help it. "Ah, I see. That sucks."
"Yeah. It's embarrassing, but as long as I don't drink, I should be okay. Shit, I have to take a leak," Ace said in annoyance. "I'll see you later. Lucky we're close to the ten squad barrack."
"Yeah, I'll see you later, Portgas. You're a cool guy." Ace rubbed the back of his head and thanked him before hurrying off. Holy shit he'd gotten a ton of information! He internalized all the information. Ten days, and she would be helpless in the Repentance Palace, and then would be executed by the Sokyo on that large cliff. He knew how it would work, too.
He wondered how to stop something huge, a phoenix. And not in the way Marco was one. Very different. But seriously, why would they kill Rukia in such an over the top way? Sure, he'd never really been around her in shinigami form, at her full power, but her magic - kido - had not been able to restain either him or Ichigo. She was one shotted fast, and then out of the fight almost immediately after the hollow attacked.
While he didn't want to belittle her, and wouldn't say it, Rukia was too weak to have a punishment like that. Ace went to a storage room, and waited there the rest of the night, needing to get the information to the others as soon as possible. He would need to wait a bit to go after Rukia. Everyone was on alert that night. They would be the next day, too, but he would use that to his advantage.
He was bored. It was boring. While he waited, a memory washed across the wall in front of him. He had the door barricaded since there was no lock. What was in front of him was himself, back in the orange hat and with the huge tattoo on his back. It was a purple skull and crossbones. He was there, a bunch of faceless men in front of him.
He was pointing to a map, speaking, though there was no sound. Hands were raised, questions asked. It gave him the information that he had been some sort of higher up position on that ship he was on with Marco. They didn't wear military uniforms, so Ace didn't know what kind of ship it was. But now it made sense why he was good at this. If he was a higher up, he'd need to be talented in multiple fields. He eventually got really bored, and decided to lie and sneak some more. For personal benefit. He wanted to know who the strongest was. He made a beeline to that one guy he could tell was semi strong.
"Hey! You!" Ace called, plastering a smile on his face. The bald guy turned around and recognized Ace was the vomit dude. "I wanted to thank you for helping me earlier. I feel much better, thankfully." He looked embarrassed. "Guess I'm not so strong, huh?"
"Just glad you got better before the intruder came in. Seems weak if he's just wandering around and not fighting."
"Maybe they're a woman. That would throw everyone off. But I wonder if they could actually handle the higher ups."
"No way."
"Who do you think is the strongest here?" Ace asked curiously. They were walking around now, on a patrol it seemed. Things were kind of sleepy, maybe because it was so late/early that people didn't have much energy, or nobody was taking the intrusion seriously. Plus, how would anyone had intruded with the whole bubble around all of the seretei.
"Captain Zaraki of course!" the bald man said. "What's your name, anyways?"
"Portgas. I'm kind of new, what's yours? You're a higher up, right? I can tell."
"Ikkaku. But Captain Zaraki would definitely win." He sounded insistent.
"Captain Kuchiki is kind of worrisome. He's super fast," Ace commented. "I'd never be strong enough to be in that position," he mused, sounding a bit bummed. "Well, the responsibility of all those men under you could be stressful."
"You weak or something?" Ikkaku asked. Ace's face turned red, and he looked like he was very embarrassed. He used this moment as his escape, and hurried away, head down.
Now, where was this Zaraki? If he was stronger than Captain Kuchiki, then it would be dangerous. Though Ace wouldn't be overwhelmed by that cheat tactic. And now he was a true enemy to them, not just some human they weren't allowed to kill. He was a bad ass, acting like a pro, gathering information easily.
He wasn't bothered at all by how manipulative he could be. More impressed. So, when early morning came, the sun rising, Ace was in an alley way, waiting, not knowing what time they'd all arrive. But he knew they had when there was a loud BOOM! And alarms started going off left and right. He climbed to the roof, propelling himself between the walls until his head was on the roof, but his body clinging to the side.
They got split up. The person he should give the news to was Yoruichi, the leader, really. Ichigo would get in a fight immediately. Ace jumped walls, jumped buildings, to follow the only animal presence in the area. When he found her, it was in a forest area. He ran over, making sure nobody was around.
"Ace! You made it," Yoruichi said, sounding relieved.
Ace climbed the tree. "Yeah, I got a shit ton of information." He recited everything useful to her that he knew. Her mouth dropped open like a human's when he explained it all.
"How did you get this information? There would be no written plan."
"I pretended. Make some 'friends' that I got a lot of information out of willingly. It was super helpful. Kind of manipulative, but successful regardless," Ace shrugged. Yoruichi was less shocked now, and more impressed.
She said, "Then we should get to that tower as fast as possible, and gather everyone up. Once she gets to the Sokyou, there's no easy way to stop it. Everyone got separated upon entry. How is the pill working?"
"Didn't need a wink of sleep," he said.
"Good. We should get going, now." Ace nodded, and Yoruichi jumped on his shoulder, telling him to find the others. Ace could definitely do that. He found Ganjyu first, fighting some pretty boy. In a different pretty way than you might call Ace, though.
"Woohoo!" Ace said as he jumped and didn't a flying kick, throwing the sword out of the guy's hand, and then whipping around the confused and shocked man with extensions on his eye lashes. He caught the sword. "Ganjyu, we're gathering everyone. I got some good information," Ace said brightly.
"Give me back my zanpakuto!" the man said. Ace turned and tossed it over the other wall.
"Go fetch," Ace told him. The man looked livid, and jumped up onto the walls room, and Ace twisted and dodged before kicking him in the ass so he fell over the side. Then Ace turned to the guy he saved. "C'mon, I have information."
"You're still alive?! I thought for sure you'd die on your own!" the man said, but was smiling.
"No way! You sure all made a big entrance. C'mon, let's go." On the way, Ace relayed all the information to him. He hated these clothes. They felt too loose in too many places. Man, he wanted his shorts and tank top back, damn! By now everyone was in a frenzy, and there was no real place to hide or dodge people.
Ace was with a guy clearly not belonging there. He didn't have shinigami clothes on, and Ace was clearly working with him. They came across Ichigo, who was sitting with Ikkaku, who was defeated. "Oi, Ichigo! I know where Rukia is and how she's gonna die! Time to go," Ace said. "Ah, Ikkaku," Ace added.
"Portgas… are you a traitor?!"
"I was never one of you to begin with. Sorry to lie, but I was undercover after all," Ace said. "I hope I end up meeting that guy and having some fun."
"But… how did you make yourself sick?!" Ichigo asked what he was talking about. Ace said he'd thrown up so he looked sick and could get away. "You walked straight into an enemy barrack just to get away?!" Ikkaku could not understand Ace, and he could see why. Ace had played the part very well, clearly.
"Well, desperate times call for desperate measures. How long are we going to loiter here, Ichigo?" Ace asked. "They're coming, now."
"Right," Ichigo said.
"Bye, Ikkaku!" Ace called behind him. "We have to gather everyone else now." Ace explained, for the third time, what he'd learned. Ichigo was impressed and shocked.
"I thought you couldn't lie!" he shouted.
"I did, too! I guess I can lie when I want to just fine. Though I don't see why I'd lie to people unless it was desperate like this," Ace said. "You guys sure made a lot of noise on your entrance."
"Well, there were five of us and it was the only way in. I'm just glad to see you're okay."
"Impressed, hmm?" Ace wondered.
"I guess, yeah. You were pretty manipulative, huh?"
"Yup!" Ace said brightly. Ace kept running, even though he couldn't find the other three. They just had to get in their range. "I can't find them anywhere near. We're attracting a big crowd." there were a ton of people going after them. "Hey, since we all have the information, we should split up."
"I agree," Ichigo said. So, they all went their separate ways. They would all keep an eye out for the others. Yoruichi stayed with him, though. Ace went running to where the white pillar was. The Repentance Palace. He could see it, and could climb those buildings on his own alright.
When he stepped into the courtyard area, he felt a strong presence. It was extremely strong, and weighed down on him. But he was able to stay upright, and looked up. There was somebody on the roof. Somebody strong. Ace let a nasty grin on his face, ready to have some fun. He got the information to the others, they could do without him if he needed time to recover. "Are you Kurosaki Ichigo?" the man asked. He had bells on his hair, which were spikes from his head. Must take a lot of hair gel.
"Unfortunately, I'm not. I'm Portgas D. Ace. Are you Captain Zaraki?"
"Ace, no! He's too strong for you!" Yoruichi said. "We should run!"
"No, I want to fight."
"It seems you have no spiritual energy. Then you can't even feel my strength. I'm waiting for Kurosaki Ichigo, not you." Ace lit his hands on fire.
"Well, you'll have to deal with me. I'm itching for a fight. And I just spent all night under cover, learning your secrets. It was pretty boring," Ace said. The killing intent from this guy was palpable, Ace just wasn't being crushed by it. The man looked it him critically, but then grinned.
"I guess you want to die then," Zaraki said, and dropped down from the roof. Ace told Yoruichi to get away, who was furious but gave up on trying to get him to leave, to run away. "You have no weapon?" Zarkaki asked, his serrated and damaged sword resting on his shoulder.
Ace kicked off the stupid shinigami shoes, and returned his boots to his feet. Man what awful shoes, indeed. "My body is my weapon," Ace said. "Plus something else. I don't want anyone interfering. God knows Ichigo might want to fight you or step in." Ace shot flames all around the courtyard, licking the walls, keeping anyone else out of the ring.
Covering his arms in haki, he ripped off the sleeves and most of the pants. "I have no idea how anyone moves in that crap."
"Ah, you're the intruder from last night. Where have you been? Hmm?" Zaraki asked, though he was grinning like a mad man.
"Sleuthing, deceiving. Ikkaku sure was a nice guy, though I wasn't the one to defeat him, that was Ichigo." And he shot forward, being the first to attack. He shot fire but then mostly used his haki and hand to hand to try and break past his sword. Since it was one of the strongest people in all of soul society, Ace kept his haki aware in case he caught Ace and attacked.
He was suddenly behind Ace, and he swung, Ace flipping out of the way. A huge crack was in the ground and wall of the nearest building. He shot forward, and Zaraki brought his sword down hard. Ace made a block with his arms in an X, covered in haki. The sword didn't break the skin, but it also wasn't damaged.
"You're a weird human!" Zaraki said, and slammed his sword down again, sparks flying from Ace's skin. The shinigami slashed his sword sideways, letting out a slash of energy, which Ace jumped over by propelling himself up with flames. He moved to punch Zaraki, only to tear a bell and then nearly get a kick in at his back.
Ace held up the jingle and tossed it up in his palm. "How old are you, kid? Were you dropped on the head as a baby?" he asked, and shot forward, seeming more enthused than angry. Ace flipped again and slammed a haki covered foot down on his shoulder. But this man was much stronger than Renji, as Ace didn't get any good hit in there.
He used his flames, finally, and the man's white coat caught on fire. He threw it to the wind, letting it burn into nothing in the air. The fight was really fun! Ace was getting injured, but Zaraki was also bruising pretty badly. Ace's haki was getting stronger and stronger over the looming danger of this man's seemingly endless stamina.
But Ace was incapable of sleeping, so passing out wouldn't be something to worry about. He got an uppercut to his jaw, strong enough to push him back. Zaraki had a large burn on his chest, much of his shinigami clothing burning away. Not a part of Ace's body and so not impervious to damage.
"You're really not scared of me?"
"I've died before, I'm not afraid to do so again," Ace said, wiping his mouth. He'd bitten his tongue.
"Oh?" Zaraki asked. The little girl on the roof still watched silently, seeming not like a normal child. Though Rukia said she was 10 times older than Ichigo, so this girl was probably not comparable to a human child of that size and appearance. "I'll be glad to be the cause of your second death!" and he shot forward again.
Ace ducked, and then slammed a fist hard enough to cripple the ground, opening up to the sewer. He fell in, and decided to throw Zaraki off, who didn't believe for a second he was running away. Ace jumped back through the ground and got onto his back. "Scars on the back are a swordsman's shame!" Ace said, and burnt handprint on his back.
"Boy, I want my entire body covered in the scars of my fights. I don't have any pride like that to throw away! It's just no one's managed it yet!" he shouted, looking frenzied as he slashed rougher and rougher. Ace's haki finally wasn't fast enough, and he got a nasty slash wound to his shirt. It was a shock, to see himself bleeding, but he wasn't foolish or inexperienced enough to let himself be shocked.
He turned into fire, and wrapped himself around the guy, who didn't scream even as his clothes burnt away. "I'd usually have let this kind of thing go first!" but Ace was grabbed by the collar by a burnt arm, and thrown far away from him, landing on his feet. Zaraki's skin was tough, but he had many bad burns. "Living and killing is a great way to pass time, don't you think?!"
"As long as I'm not the one being killed, then yeah!" Ace said, panting. Though the other man was fighting being out of breath, too. From behind, he sensed Ichigo and Ganjyu outside of the flames, and Ace made a fire path for them. Ace was bleeding fairly badly, but not enough to impact his health too much.
He couldn't cauterize his wound with his own fire, as he tried and failed. Ace wished he had some sharp object, but he didn't. He could have easily cut Zaraki if he had a blade covered in armament haki. "Ace?!" Ichigo shouted, seeing Ace bleeding.
"Don't stop! Keep going, don't interfere!" Ace shouted, and made the fire rise on either side of the two, and chase them from behind to make sure they got the fuck outta there. Ace then yanked out a sharp tile of the floor, and covered it in haki.
"I thought your weapon was your body," Zaraki said.
"I guess I need assistance," Ace replied. He shot forward with the sharp rock covered in haki. As Ace stabbed deep into his chest, Zaraki's own sword was shoved through Ace's ribs. All the way through. Ace grabbed it and ripped it out of his hand. Pulling it out, he covered it in haki, surprised this blade wasn't fighting him. Ichigo's sword gave off this bad feeling when being held. Well, his newer sword.
At this, Zaraki wasn't too happy. The spiritual pressure skyrocketed. Ace's hand started to shake, but he had a nervous smile on. "You weren't taking me seriously until now?" Ace asked. His heart was pounding in his ears, and he started to sweat. Ace looked at the sword, and tossed it back. "I won't use your sword. I'm at least that honorable."
"Hah! That could have been what you needed to win, and you wasted it!"
Ace stared him in the eye intensely, and let out his conqueror's haki, which was just as strong as the uncomfortable pressure. Both men were frozen right now, each trying to exert their will over the other. Ace was the first to be able to move, the entire area pulsing with energy. But then Zaraki grinned.
"How long's it been since I've had this kind of feeling? You really are a worthy opponent!" Ace hurried and picked up a rock to stop him from his next power up. He liked a fight, but he also wasn't going to award his enemy time to get prepared. Shot forward, and slammed his haki fingers into his chest, ripping out, more blood spraying everywhere.
He hadn't thought of that before, but his fingers were like metal. Of course you could be stabbed by a metal stick. The wound was very deep, and Ace pulled out his hand. His own side wound was bleeding pretty heavily, too. And his body would not accept the rest to heal up. He couldn't sleep, but did that mean his body couldn't rest and recuperate?
Ace wasn't sure, but it was a worry. "Looks like you do have some strategy to your battle. Stopping me from lifting my eyepatch just saved your life." He coughed some blood. "It was fun, idiot." He collapsed. Ace kept himself upright. The little girl that had been watching came over to pick up the beaten and bloodied captain.
"Thanks a lot, Ace! Ken-chan had a lot of fun, so make sure you play with him again some time!" the child said brightly. Ace coughed, and nodded, unable to reply that he'd enjoy that. The area was destroyed from the battle. Damaged and it might take a long time to repair. He finally collapsed.
But, he did not sleep, he got no rest. He was just there, unable to move, awake and bleeding out. He sensed someone else strong coming over. He had hoped Yoruichi was still around to help, but it was a man and a woman. Not a feline. Above him stood a guy who looked comical. But creepy, too. It also looked like he had a futuristic toilet bowl on his head.
"P-Piss off," Ace spat. He tried to move, to sit up. He shouldn't be this weak. It was only a stab wound. One that pierced deeply. He wasn't Marco. His flames healed him from any damage, Ace's flames helped him from getting injuries, but once he did, it didn't heal over. He had to have a lot of history fighting. How often had he lost?
Ace couldn't remember if he'd lost before, if this feeling was new. His hand twitched, and his arm followed. The only way he could defend himself… he had to hope someone was around to save him. This guy was bad news, worse than even Zaraki or Rukia's brother. This one had wicked intent, not just wanting to kill him.
Flames erupted from his body, and the two had to step back. But he only had that one chance. It was windy right now. He took a shuddering breath, and turned his body into the smallest, lightest flame, and was carried away as forced fire. He couldn't hold it, and landed hard, back in human form. He'd gotten a little space between them.
He could sense that creepy man coming back before a somewhat familiar person came barreling towards him, slammed through a wall and picked up Ace. Chad rescued him. Ace wondered where he'd been all this time. "I'll keep you safe," he said, and that was all he said. Ace directed him where to go with the least people, turning down street after street.
Ace needed treatment, and Chad hurried into the nearest building that had nearly nobody in it. He put Ace on a crate, careful of his wounds. The man barricaded the door shut and looked around the room for medical supplies.
All he could find were bandages and disinfectant. Ace needed better treatment than that. He needed stitches, and a blood transfusion. And there was no way for stitches or blood transfusions to be done without using haki on needles. Ace definitely couldn't stitch himself up. And if he needed to heal, he had to have some sort of food.
There was just not what he needed in this room. "Thanks for saving me. Those guys were bad news."
"How's Ichigo?"
"I haven't seen him in a few hours… He was fine when he ran past me and Zaraki. Ganjyu was with him," Ace explained. "Do you know where Yoruichi went? And did you get the information?" Apparently Chad had been alone the whole time, and ran towards where he sensed a flare of spiritual pressure. He just had this feeling he should go there.
"What information did I not know?" Ace recited the words he'd explained three times. What time was it? It had to be a bit after lunch. He was tired, but not sleep tired. That wasn't coming.
He was distracted while they were inside, and didn't sense someone until he kicked open the door. It was a random man, but Ace could tell was fairly strong. "Hello, again," the man with the pink flowery kimono over his shinigami uniform said. Chad got up defensively to protect the helpless Ace. "There's no need to fight any longer. We're taking all the intruders to a medic bay."
"Why?" Ace asked.
"The situation has changed. You will not be killed for now. And you'll both get medical treatment like the other intruders." Chad looked at Ace, who was pale and sweating, and picked him up to carry him after the kimono man, who looked calm and laid back. "You're in quite good shape after battling Zaraki. He's closer to death than you are." He sounded thoughtful and impressed.
"It was a fun fight," Ace said, being carried bridal style and carefully in Chad's arms, despite Ace being pretty heavy when not attempting to not be. Plus, he was pretty tall. When they made it to the med room, Chad entered and they were locked in from the outside. Ishida and Ganjyu were there. Ace was seen immediately by a healing person.
She didn't speak, but looked frustrated at the wound not healing. "Have you recently taken any drugs? Your body isn't healing properly." Ace rubbed his hands down his face, as they weren't both injured. He was feeling more energy from before, finally able to move. So that was good news.
"I took a pill that doesn't allow me to sleep. Can you just give me some stitches and bandages?"
"It seems that's all I'm able to do," she said, and left before coming back with a kit for fixing his wounds the traditional way. He focused hard to keep his body solid completely as she entered the needle to sew up the wounds. It worked, and his skin stayed solid, the flames not interfering.
After a bit, he sat up. The bandages weren't just normal like in the human world. They were more like the kinds you used for sprained ankles or wrists, tight and secure. "I'm averse to giving you any pain medication in case it reacts badly to the medication already in your system." She was nice, and he appreciated the help.
"Thanks," he said, and was careful while he moved. "Where's Inoue?" he asked, head clear now that he felt more secure, not bleeding out, and his stitches and bandages secure.
Ishida frowned. "We got separated when I fought that mad scientist captain. I defeated him, but Inoue had already evacuated, like I told her to." Ace turned towards the door when he felt multiple strong presences barreling towards them, shouts outside before the familiar, strong presence didn't use the door, but jumped through the ceiling.
Zaraki, the little girl from before, Inoue, Ikkaku and the pretty boy from the beginning, that he made go fetch, all came inside. "I'm not in any shape to whoop your ass right now," Ace said, though he held no grudges over his injuries. That fight had truly been enjoyable. Zaraki grinned. Ace took something out of his pocket, and tossed him the bell. "Forgot to give it back."
"Little shit." Ikkaku and pretty boy didn't look especially happy to see him, but they also held no grudges, it seemed. Neither seemed to hate him. Maybe because their captain had had a fun fight with Ace.
Inoue popped up from Zaraki's back, and was glad to see them all. "Ah! Ace-kun, are you hurt? I should heal you!"
"It's probably a moot point. Since my body is incapable of rest, it's not able to heal up correctly. I'll probably be fine once the pill runs out," Ace said honestly, no trace in annoyance in his voice. He accepted it, and was sure he'd been through worse wounds and been fine. It was just a feeling he had.
Ace turned to Ikkaku, and apologized for manipulating him. "What do you mean? You did it fuckin perfectly, I'm not angry. Though you really are a little shit," the bald man said, not sounding the slightest big irate. Ace smiled.
