Yawwwwnnn…Morning readers, had a late night last night and couldn't find that comfortable spot to sleep, lol. Running on only two hours today and every time I sit down I feel like I'm gonna zonk out. But it's okay I guess. Anyway, no reviews this week, and sadly Spades must have gotten busy again, so no 'Spades's Banter' either. But that's alright, cause this week we get the first part of the Arrancar invasion to Karakura Town. So, I'll drop this off here and let you al get to the action.
(I DO NOT OWN BLEACH; ITS CHARACTORS, NAMES, LOCATIONS, OR STORY! THAT HONOR BELONGS SOLELY TO TITE KUBO AND HIS TEAM! ONLY THE OC, AND RANDOM NAMES NOT MENTIONED IN THE BOOKS OR ANIME ARE MY OWN!)
Chapter 29
(Karakura Showdown, Part 1)
South Side of Karakura Town, Five Minutes Later
Ikkaku leaped back just as Edrad's fist came crashing down into the pavement where he once stood; the man's fist creating a small pothole as the asphalt underneath shattered.
The 3rd seat landed on his feet a short distance away, but then immediately charged back forward at the large Arrancar as he gave a loud battle cry and swung out with his left hand that held his zanpakutō.
Gathering a small amount of spirit energy into his hand, Edrad blocked the attack with his bare palm, raising his other arm up to block the second attack from his opponent's scabbard that was in his right hand in a reverse grip.
Edrad looked closely at his opponent to see that, even though the man was battered and bruised, and was clearly losing the fight, he still had a wide, and very content smile on his face. The man somehow seemed…happy…about the fight.
"What's the matter? Having trouble keepin up?" Ikkaku taunted.
The larger man growled a bit before throwing his left arm out, knocking Ikkaku's scabbard away as he did, then charged some spirit energy into his hand again as he thrusted his fist at the man's head.
Ikkaku leaned back as he jumped into the air, landing on his hands before pushing back off in a half flip to land back on his feet, now a few yards away. He then gave his larger opponent a dark chuckle as he got back into a fighting posture.
"You've got some good reflexes, big guy. I'm impressed." He praised.
Edrad grinned a bit. "You're not so bad yourself. I'm amazed that you haven't included your friend over there in this fight." He stated, glancing over to a side street where Yumichika stood nonchalantly watching the fight.
The soul reaper chuckled again. "That's one of my little rules. I like to fight my opponents one-on-one, without anyone getting in the way. The fight's more enjoyable that way. So, you don't have to worry about my friend there. He's not going to join us for this one." He informed.
The larger man smiled. "Is that so? Then you have at least some of my respect. And I admire your courage, soul reaper, but I'm sure you realize that without your friend's help, you are going to lose this fight."
Ikkaku chortled lowly. "Is that right? Sorry to break it to ya pal, but I haven't lost until I'm dead. That's one our 'squad's' rules; you never back down in a fight. If you win, you live. If you lose, you die. And that reminds me, we were so quick to get this started, we never properly introduced ourselves. I'm Ikkaku Madarame, 3rd seat of the Zaraki squad." He greeted.
Edrad huffed at the man. "I see. Unfortunately, I find that it's nothing more than a waste of time to give my name out to someone I'm going to kill. So why bother?" he sneered in a dismissive tone.
The 3rd seat's smile dropped to a frown of disappointment. "That's too bad. Something that I teach to everyone I train, is that if you are prepared to die in battle, it is a sign of respect to die knowing the name of the person who had defeated you. But I guess I can't blame you for having a different etiquette than me; being a hollow and all." The man mocked.
The Arrancar rose both brows. "Oh really? Well, if you can prove your worth to me, then I might consider telling you my name." he proposed.
Ikkaku's smile returned. "With pleasure!" he yelled.
The man then charged at his opponent once again, swinging out with his hand that held his scabbard as he twisted his body in midair. Edrad placed his spirit energy into his hand to block the attack, causing it to deflect off.
But the momentum of Ikkaku's body brought his sword arm around right afterwards, causing it to strike the same hand again. The larger man kept the energy in his hand to block the second attack, also causing it to bounce away.
As it did, Ikkaku brought his scabbard overhead and swung down on the man's head; but Edrad held his other arm up and allowed the weapon to hit his forearm, stopping the attack. With his previous hand, he then punched the man in the gut, forcing him back the way he came.
Ikkaku's body landed on the ground a few yards away before rolling along it until he stopped the roll and leaped back to his feet. The instant his feet touched the ground, he was already launching another assault on the larger man; thrusting his blade at him.
Edrad threw his energy charged fist to catch the man before he could complete his attack, but the 3rd seat simply jumped into the air and started another spinning flurry of attacks; starting with his blade, then alternating weapons with each hit.
The large man looked at him with surprise as he deflected each of the man's blows, seeing the same happy expression on the man's face from before. Using the brief instant between attacks, Edrad cuffed the man in his shoulder, sending him to the side and through a tall wooden fence.
Ikkaku crashed right through it with a slight grunt as the impact forced the air out of his lungs. His adversary turned and walked up to the new opening, stopping to look inside and see that the man's body had created a small trail in the ground from where he had landed and scooted across.
"Ha…pathetic. Is that all you've got, Madarame?" Edrad asked with crossed arms.
The man laughed lowly before starting to get back up. When he got back to his feet, he began flexing and rotating his right shoulder with a grin on his face.
"That was a good hit. Same as the one before. That technique of yours, putting some spiritual pressure into your hand to block or attack, is pretty effective. You almost broke a few ribs with the first hit." He informed, then returned to his battle stance. "Round two, coming up." He said further.
He then darted forward at his rival, his blade held out to stab, with a loud yell. Edrad prepared to deflect the attack, expecting the man's usual routine.
'He uses such a rough method to fight with, but he clearly has the skill to do it.' Edrad thought, then stepped to the side and threw a fist at Ikkaku's side, only to be blocked by his scabbard. 'He keeps attacking with his sword, while using his scabbard to defend after his attack. But because I know which sides he'll use to attack or defend, it makes him easy to manipulate.' The Arrancar thought further.
Ikkaku turned his body as he swung across with his blade. Edrad was in a poor position to defend against the attack how he wanted, so he was forced to draw his zanpakutō for the first time in the fight to stop the man's blade.
Both warriors stopped to stare at each other for a moment. Ikkaku had a pleased grin etched on his face, while Edrad a look of anger. He had preferred not to draw his zanpakutō, feeling that his opponent wasn't strong enough to warrant using it.
Edrad growled deeply at the man before drawing his zanpakutō the rest of the way out of its scabbard and taking a swing at Ikkaku, forcing the smaller man to back up a few yards before returning to his stance.
The larger man got into a stance as well while glaring at Ikkaku with resentment. "Damn it. Humiliated by having to draw my zanpakutō against a lowly soul reaper like you. I'll never hear the end of it." He seethed.
Ikkaku chortled lowly. "Don't feel too bad, big guy. I'm a lot stronger than I look. But now that I pushed you far enough to draw your zanpakutō, now I just gotta push you enough to release it." he commented.
Edrad rose a brow. "Is that what you think? That by pushing me far enough I'll release my zanpakutō for you?"
"Sounds about right." Ikkaku answered.
The Arrancar scoffed at his opponent. "If that's the case, you've got a hell of a long way to go before you push me far enough to release my zanpakutō." He informed.
Ikkaku's smile grew wider. "Then let's get started." He said, then charged at the man again.
He leaped into the air, holding his scabbard in front of him while holding his zanpakutō above his head to cut down on the large man. But Edrad swung out with his, catching the 3rd seat's scabbard and forcing the man away to the side.
The officer flew through the air a short distance, landing on his feet against the side of a telephone pole facing up, his body hunched over. It was only a second later when Ikkaku pushed off with his feet right back at the Arrancar. He then twisted his body to the left, preparing to swing with his blade.
Edrad narrowed his gaze at him. 'Here comes his blade, so predictable.' He thought, then swung out to catch his opponent's attack.
The two weapons clashed loudly, stopping each other. But Edrad's eyes went wide when he saw that, instead of Ikkaku's blade, he had stopped the man's scabbard, now in his 'left' hand. He looked up just in time to see Ikkaku finish his twist and swing overhead with his blade.
'He switched hands!' he thought in panic, just as opponent's blade made contact.
After the strike, Ikkaku planted his feet on the man's chest and pushed himself away a few yards; landing in front of Edrad in a combat stance. He looked the man over and chuckled to himself at the damage he caused.
Edrad growled in anger as he held onto his right upper arm that was now bleed profusely. "Damn you, Madarame. You must be crazy, fighting like that. I'll grant you, you can score big hits with that tactic, but that's only if it works. Cause if it don't, you'll only get yourself killed." he hissed.
Ikkaku snickered darkly. "Is that right? It's just part of the game for me." He stated.
The larger man's eyes shot wide. "Game?! You think this fight is some kind of sport?! You mean to tell me that you're fighting because it's 'fun' to you?!" he asked in shock.
"That about sums it up. And it's bad news for you my friend. I've got all of your attacks figured out. I'd give it about another five or six minutes before you're forced to release your zanpakutō. Then the 'real' fun can begin." He commented.
Edrad's mouth morphed into a small smile as he huffed lightly in amusement. "So…if I take what you're saying at face value…you been holding back this entire time. And, if I want you to fight me fully, I have to release my zanpakutō…is that right?" he inquired.
Ikkaku let out two short huffs of air in enjoyment. "You got it, pal." He said in acknowledgement.
The Arrancar scoffed at him. "Fine. Since you are so adamant, and refuse to take me seriously until I do so, I'll show you my zanpakutō release." He said as he held his blade in front of him, resting his hand on top of the blade. "You seem to be a fearless warrior, and in most cases that is admirable; but you need to learn what true fear is. You need to experience something so terrifying that it makes you tremble down to your bones. Once I'm done with you, you'll learn it's not smart to pick a fight with an Arrancar. Awaken, Volcánica."
The man's zanpakutō then shattered into tiny pieces before his entire body was wrapped with powerful spiritual pressure. The fragments of his zanpakutō then started gathering on his body; melting and morphing into molten rock as the white substance began consuming his arms and shoulders.
The 3rd seat watched with widened eyes as Edrad threw an arm out to the side, the appendage growing longer and much more muscular before the fist hit the ground. The white, molten substance began covering his chest and surrounding his head as he tossed his other arm out, also growing and becoming more defined.
The Arrancar's shoulders suddenly grew out into large, plate-like extensions that rose a few feet above his head; a small hole that was roughly six inches in diameter on the flat surface of each one. Once the shoulder extensions finished their growth, the wall of spiritual pressure vanished, presenting Ikkaku with a clear view of the man's released form.
"So…that's your released state is it?" he inquired, now with a broad grin.
Edrad rose a curious brow at the man. "Judging by your reaction…I'm guessing you've seen an Arrancar's Resurrección before?" he questioned in surprise.
Ikkaku chuckled lowly. "I've seen it before, but I've never faced one up close. And now that you've released your zanpakutō, I guess it's time for me to get serious as well." He stated. The officer then slapped the front of his scabbard to the bottom of his zanpakutō's hilt. "Extend, Hōzukimaru!"
His two weapons then fused together where they touched, before straightening out with the scabbard growing into a long wooden pole, and the blade shortening until the entire weapon became a long halberd-like blade-pole.
He twirled the weapon in circles above his head a few times before bringing the weapon down to his side, holding it with both hands. The man stared at his opponent with a very pleased grin on his face, giving the man a last chortle.
"Now we can begin the 'real' fight, my friend." He announced, then charged forward at the large man with a loud yell.
With Rukia
A large, and very wide beam of snow and ice shot straight up into the air, solidifying into a large pillar of ice a moment later. It was joined by three other ice pillars that had been erected earlier in the battle.
Di Roy landed on his feet comfortably a few yards to Rukia's right side, his zanpakutō drawn with the scabbard discarded and lying somewhere else on the battlefield. He then lunged out at the woman with his outstretched fingers, attempting to run her through.
Rukia turned her body and raised her palm to her oncoming opponent. "Hadō #33, Sōkatsui!" she chanted.
Blue, electrical energy then burst out from her hand, flying right at the haughty Arrancar. But with a simple burst of sonído, Di Roy blitzed past the kidō, now much closer than before.
"Nice try, soul reaper! But it ain't gonna work!" he yelled as he thrusted his hand forward.
The woman twisted her body just enough to allow her to place her blade in the way of the man's hand. His fingers struck the side of her blade with enough force to propel her off her feet and back several yards, her feet dragging across the ground as she struggled to maintain footing.
With another buzz of sonído, Di Roy was upon her again; swinging his zanpakutō at her exposed side. But because of his last attack that she defended against, her blade was in perfect position to use one of her dances.
"Some no mai, Tsukishiro!" she snapped, swinging her sword out in front of her.
Di Roy flinched before growling in annoyance, then used his sonído to get out of the attack's freeze radius. His body left the area a brief instant before the beam of ice shot up to the sky, hardening into a solid cylinder of ice.
"I told you…" he said, now behind her and causing her to turn over her shoulder. "…that won't work!" he finished as he lifted the wrapping covering his right eye to reveal a charging Cero. "Cero!" he yelled, sending the powerful beam of energy at the woman.
Rukia gasped lightly before leaping into the air, the Cero crashing into the ground and exploding upon impact. She came to a stop several feet in the air above Di Roy as he looked up at her while recovering his mask.
"You sure do an awful amount of dodging around, soul reaper!" he mocked with a wide grin. What's the matter?! Can't handle a little fight?!" he taunted.
"If you expect me to just sit there and take a hit, you're gravely mistaken, Di Roy. And I wouldn't be so quick to judge your opponent." She returned, then held her zanpakutō with the blade facing down. "You've only seen 'one' of my dances so far. So, let me show you my 'second' dance. Tsugi no mai…" she started, then began stabbing the tip of her zanpakutō into the ground.
With each stab, a small stream of ice particles began flowing out of where she stabbed. In total, she stabbed the air underneath her four times in a half circle, where she then took on a battle stance with the zanpakutō's tip pointing at Di Roy.
"…Hakuren!" she finished.
The four streams of ice then flowed to the tip of her blade, before bursting out towards the Arrancar in a massive wave of ice and snow. Di Roy's eye went wide as the mountain of ice barreled down on him.
He used his sonído again to move out of the way just in the nick of time, reappearing a short distance to the left of where the attack had almost claimed him. He watched as the ice-wave crashed into a nearby warehouse, instantly freezing every single inch of the structure that was caught in the attack's radius.
"Hadō #73, Sōren Sōkatsui!" Rukia yelled, somehow now right behind him.
Di Roy turned around just as a large blast of electrical energy crashed into his back; sending the man flying into, and plowing through the roof of the warehouse Rukia's attack had just froze. His body landed on the floor inside with a loud crash that she could hear from outside.
The Arrancar growled in anger as he climbed back up to his feet. "Damn you, soul reaper! You'll pay for that!" he stated. He then held his zanpakutō next to his mask with the back facing him. "Resound…Onda Sónica!" he commanded, tapping the back the blade against his mask and causing it to give off a low humming sound.
The man's body was then surrounded by a mass of green spiritual pressure as Rukia landed on the ground a short distance away with her zanpakutō ready to defend. She looked towards the mass, unable to see inside, as she waited for the Arrancar to attack.
Windows shattered, and the metal support beams reverberated as the dense pressure threatened to bring the structure down on top of them. Rukia could actually hear the metal groaning from the stress.
The mass of pressure and energy finally began to dissipate, granting Rukia a small glance at the being inside it. Her eyes widened a bit as the last bit of pressure then vanished, revealing DI Roy in his new, and released form.
While his lower body was relatively unchanged, his upper body was completely different. His mask, although the same shape and size, now had a toothy visor that covered the man's face; the bottom of it extending down to his collar bones.
His arms and hands were gone, replaced with a pair of very large, three-foot-long prongs. At the bases of each prong were two small objects that looked very similar to mallets, hovering over about half a foot past where the prongs converged.
His shoulders were now large, round spheres with small indents where his 'arms' were connected to in a ball-joint manner; giving the prongs a full ninety degrees range of motion in any direction from center.
Rukia cringed when Di Roy started laughing maniacally, but took a step back when he pointed one of the prongs at her.
"Time to die, soul reaper!" he hissed.
One of the devices of the side of the prong then slammed down on it. The entire room was then filled with the unbearable, exceedingly high-pitched blast of sound that shattered every single window in a two-block radius and shook the whole building.
Rukia quickly covered her ears and screamed in pain as the wave of sound began to tear at her eardrums. She wobbled this way and that as she growled out against the horrible pain that resonated inside her head.
Fortunately, the sound only lasted a few seconds before it quickly died down; the area around them now deathly quiet. Rukia was now standing and hunched over with her hands still over her ears; a small trickle of blood running down her hands as the sudden, and very unexpected attack had ruptured her eardrums.
Di Roy started laughing again as he saw the damage his attack had done to her. "What's wrong, soul reaper?! A bit too loud for you?! Why didn't you say so?! I would have turned it down for ya!" he mocked, then continued laughing.
His words never reached her, as the attack had now left her essentially deaf. She hissed and groaned as she tried to cope with the horrible pain that still resided in her ears; her whole world now sealed in complete silence.
'Damn it! What kind of an attack was that?! I've never heard of an ability like that! I can't hear anything! And this pain, it hurts so bad that I can't concentrate!' she though as she opened an eye towards the Arrancar, who was still standing in the same spot.
He had his head tilted a bit, making it look like he was speaking to her, but she couldn't hear a single thing; expect for the horrible ringing sound that bounced around inside her head, only adding to the massive headache the attack had caused.
The man then aimed his appendage at her again, causing her to widen her eyes as both of the mallets slammed down on the prong. A massive soundwave shot forth at her, tearing a gash in the ground and destroying everything in its path.
She quickly leaped from the ground and into the air as the shockwave passed by, holding her zanpakutō to her side while bracing her head with the other hand to try and sooth the pain, even though it was doing very little in doing so.
She came to a stop, now several yards high in the air, and turned around to see that the soundwave had created a large hole in the wall of the warehouse that was nearly eight feet in diameter.
Her senses were still so jumbled up, that she never even detected that Di Roy was now behind her; one of his prongs pointed at her fully exposed, and unprotected back. The woman never even knew what hit her when she was suddenly sent right back down to the ground and crashing through the roof of a different warehouse.
Di Roy was laughing like a madman at his sudden victory. "How do you like my Resurrección, soul reaper?! The tuning forks that make up my arms produce a very loud, and very powerful wave of sound that destroys anything it touches! Just a light tap with one of my mallets was enough to rip your ears open! And the residual vibrations inside your head make it impossible for you think clearly, or even detect my spiritual pressure!" he informed in an evil tone.
He then held out one of his forks towards the building where she had landed. "So how do you plan to fight me, now that all you have left are your eyes?!" he added, then snapped his two mallets down, creating another shockwave.
The wave sailed through the roof, obliterating it almost entirely, before crashing into the ground; blowing out windows and doors throughout the entire building. It proved to be just enough, as it was only a moment later when the whole building collapsed on itself, burying the woman under several tons of metal.
Di Roy continued manically laughing, but a voice behind him cause him to stop and flinch. "Hadō #31…" it said, causing the man to turn around and see Rukia standing behind him, palms facing him. "…Shakkahō!"
A red mass of energy quickly formed in her hand, but it surprised Di Roy a bit when the mass suddenly exploded in her hands, throwing her right back down to the ground. He grinned widely as he laughed even more.
"What happened?! Something wrong with your kidō?! I guess you can't concentrate enough to use it with all that ringing going off inside your stupid head!" he mocked.
Rukia managed to recover in time before she fell to the ground, flashing away and reappearing back in front of Di Roy, who simply stood there and continued laughing. She hissed in pain before growling at the man.
'Damn! This throbbing pain in my head is breaking my concentration! I can't focus enough to use my kidō! And if that wasn't enough, it's also keeping me from being able to detect his spiritual pressure! If he used his sonído again, the only way I'll be able to tell where he's at is if I actually 'see' him! And his attack definitely broke my eardrums, so the only thing that will fix it is Orihime's healing, or a very long session of healing kidō! Damn!' she fretted.
Di Roy tilted his head. "What's wrong, soul reaper?! Aren't you going to attack?!" he taunted behind his mask.
Rukia flashed back to stand in front of Di Roy, her cheeks soaked with semi-dried blood that had oozed from her ears, and her shihakusho was now charred and torn a bit from her backfired kidō. She got into her ready stance and took a calming breath.
"This isn't over yet, Di Roy! I may not be able to hear anymore, but as long as I can see you, this battle is far from over!" she announced sternly.
The man chuckled darkly at her. "That's just fine for me, soul reaper! I'll kill you, and then I'll get to work on the rest of your friends!" he yelled.
Rukia huffed as she got ready for his attack, glaring fearlessly into his eyes.
With Renji
The end of Zabimaru's extended blade flew into the air after being deflected by the back of Yylfordt's hand. With a quick jerk back, the blade segments of Renji's zanpakutō quickly retracted until it returned to its normal state.
"Really. The same tactics over and over again. It's getting ridiculously boring fighting you. And here I was, hoping you could at least put up a decent fight." The blonde man mocked.
Renji growled lowly at him. "Shut up! I'm not through with you yet!" he stated as he swung his zanpakutō out again, extending the whip-like blade out as he began twirling it above his head. "This battle is far from over!" he yelled, then swung the blade at his opponent, the weapon slinging out at impressive speed.
Yylfordt chuckled lowly. "Honestly, is it even possible for you to do better than that, brother?" He taunted, then vanished using sonído.
The Lieutenant lightly gasped with widened eyes, turning to see that his opponent was now right next to him with his arm held across his chest. Before he could react, the Arrancar backhanded him with enough force that it sent him flying towards the ground.
"So weak." The Arrancar said with a sickening smirk, then dove after the Lieutenant. "I guess it would be best to end this now." He stated as he brought his zanpakutō back to swing.
Renji recovered swiftly as he regained his footing in the air, looking up to see his opponent barreling down on him.
It was now clear to him that he really had no chance of fighting the Arrancar in his current release state. He felt it was a bit pitiful that he should have to use his Bankai, but it appeared to him that he had no choice.
"I told you, it's not over!" he yelled, then held his retracted zanpakutō in front of him. "Bankai!" he commanded, causing Yylfordt to stop his assault.
Renji was quickly engulfed in a mass of red spiritual pressure swirling around him, completely concealing him from his opponent. Yylfordt watched the display in front of him with his smirk as he waited for the man to finish with his release.
"It's about time you got serious, brother. I thought you were going to try and bore me to death. Guess I was wrong." He taunted further.
The gathering of energy and pressure suddenly died down and vanished. In the center of where it used to be was Renji, encircled by a very large creature that looked very much like an exceedingly large anaconda skeleton.
The head of the skeleton was roughly the size of a small van, with yellow eyes and adorned by a mane of thick, red horse hair. On the vertebrae, each segment of the boney structure was one meter in diameter, and possessed a single, two-foot-long spike on the top.
The creature was wrapped around itself loosely with Renji standing in the center, his attire changed a bit. He now wore a pinkish-red cowl over his shoulders, with the fabric of the adornment extending down to his right wrist, and a baboon's skull on top of his left shoulder.
The large snake's skull of the weapon lifted its head before hissing loudly at Yylfordt and moving its coils in circles around Renji. Yylfordt grinned smugly, amused by the sight of his opponent's released zanpakutō.
"Hihiō Zabimaru." The Lieutenant announced, causing Yylfordt the chuckle darkly.
"So, this is a soul reaper's Bankai? It's big, I'll give it that. But I wonder how it would fair against me." The Arrancar mocked.
"Why don't we find out!" Renji yelled back as he pulled back on his handle, then flung it back over his shoulder.
Zabimaru's snake head then sailed forward towards the Arrancar, its large mouth opened half way. Yylfordt held his zanpakutō out in front of him, the snake's head crashing into it as it began to very slowly push him back on his feet.
The man looked at the creature with an amused face. "Wow, it seems that it does possess a bit of power behind it." He commented, then narrowed his gaze a bit. "But not nearly enough for me." He added.
Using his free hand, Yylfordt threw a fist at the upper jaw of the zanpakutō's head. A small dust cloud erupted as the large head was sent flying through the air, straight back towards its master who stood in the same spot with eyes widened in shock.
"…How?! That's impossible!" he said in a mumble.
Yylfordt smiled at him. "Pathetic." He stated, then used sonído to appear right in front of Renji to slash at his chest.
The Lieutenant groaned in pain and shock, before regaining his composure enough to yank back on his weapon and cause the snake's head to sail right past him; only inches from his right shoulder.
The Arrancar sonídoed away at the last second, reappearing where he was before. "Even in Bankai, is that really the best you've got? And you call yourself a Lieutenant of the 13 Court Guard Squads. If you're an example of their higher officers, then it's truly amazing that they've lasted this long." The man ridiculed.
Renji growled loudly at him. "Shut the hell up! This fight isn't over yet! Hikotsu Taihō!" he yelled, swinging out in front of him at his opponent.
Zabimaru's head charged at the man as it began charging a powerful, and dense mass of spirit energy inside its mouth. When the head was near the halfway point between the two men, Zabimaru opened its jaw wide.
The enormous collection of spirit energy then shot out from the snake's head at a velocity that nearly broke the sound barrier. Yylfordt's eyes went wide as the large beam of energy barreled towards him, too fast for him to react in time.
The sky exploded when the beam of energy met its target, lighting the sky up in a bright, and large flash of red spiritual pressure. Renji grinned widely at the sight before him, happy that he had finally defeated his opponent.
The residual spirit energy began to fade away, leaving only a large cloud of smoke in its wake. The light breaths of wind in the air began to blow the cloud away, only to reveal something that instantly removed the grin from Renji's face.
There stood Yylfordt, and besides his clothes having bits of soot on them, and a couple of small tears in the fabric, he was completely unharmed. What made it worse was the fact that the man was smiling deviously at the Lieutenant.
"Was that it, brother? Was that the best you got? That Bankai of yours really is pathetic. Here…" He paused a moment and held his zanpakutō next to his head, the tip pointing at Renji with his smile getting even darker. "…let me show you 'true' power, brother. Impale, Del Toro!"
The man's body suddenly began glowing with powerful, yellowish spirit energy; quickly growing in intensity until the large mass concealed the Arrancar's entire body. Renji remained still as he waited for the man's next attack.
It wasn't long before the spiritual mass vanished, when Renji widened his eyes in shock at his opponent's new form. Yylfordt was standing hunched over, his now much larger and bulkier upper body being supported by his fists that where now resting on the ground.
His chest and forearms were much larger than they were before, and his hollow mask, that resembled something along the lines of a bull, now covered his entire head. His long, blonde hair flowed out from the back of the mask, while the top of it now sported long, sharp horns.
"Are you ready, brother? I think it's time I put an end to your useless life." He stated in a maniacal voice.
Renji had no time to respond to the man's comment, because Yylfordt was very suddenly ramming into the Lieutenant's chest with his head. The red-haired man felt the pain of the hit before he even heard the buzzing sound of his opponent's sonído.
He grunted in pain as his body was sent flying backwards several hundred feet, the entire length of Zabimaru being dragged behind. Yylfordt then began laughing hysterically in a very sadistic manner, the jaw of his mask opened wide as he did.
It took several seconds before Renji's body finally came to a stop in the air, where he quickly jumped back up to his feet and recoiled Zabimaru around him. The man clutched his chest with a wheeze of deep pain as he looked back at the maniacal Arrancar.
'Damn! That release of his made him a hell of a lot stronger! And that speed of his, I never even saw it coming! Was that sonído, or is it an ability his zanpakutō release gives him?! Just how powerful is this guy?!' Renji pondered.
Yylfordt stopped his laughing and looked at the Lieutenant with a very unnerving smile. "What's wrong, brother? Am I too fast for you? Can't handle the bull? Just say the word, and I'll make sure you'll never have to worry about it ever again. Or are you too ashamed to ask? Cause if that's the case…"
The man was gone once again, this time ramming into Renji's side. The impact yet again launched the Lieutenant from his stance, now sending him down to the ground.
"…I'll go ahead and take care of it now." The Arrancar finished, before resuming his insane laughter.
Renji crashed down onto the empty four-lane pavement between some moderately sized skyscrapers, the impact creating a large crater nearly twenty feet in diameter. Zabimaru itself created a long, trench-like crevices wherever its boney structure landed all around the man.
It wasn't but a few seconds later when Yylfordt touched down on the ground several yards down the street, walking slowly on all 'fours'; the sadistic man still laughing lightly as he crept closer and closer to the downed Lieutenant.
"What? Down already, brother? Are a couple of taps to your body really all it took to put you down? Can't you at least make this last a little longer for me?" he taunted as he came to the edge of the crater, peering inside to see the Lieutenant lying face down and trying to get back up.
Renji slowly brought himself up to support himself with his elbows before glaring back at the crazed Arrancar. He was breathing heavily, and blood ran down multiple points of his face; his bandana and hair tie had broken loose, leaving his red hair in a wild mess.
"Damn…you." He cursed between pants. "This…isn't…over." He added as he clenched his teeth, trying to get himself back up to his feet.
Yylfordt watched with an insane grin as the Lieutenant slowly pulled himself back up to his feet, then entered a very weak combat stance as his upper body slouched over in weakness. He yanked back on Zabimaru, forcing it to coil around him once more.
I'm not…done yet." Renji firmly stated.
The Arrancar returned to laughing in a sinister way. "You're still standing, so I'd have to agree with you on that, brother. But don't worry, I'll fix that problem…" He stopped for a moment to lean forward and prepare another charge. "…by killing you." He responded in a dark voice.
With Rangiku
Nakeem stood proudly in the open air with a serious, yet calm look on his half-covered face; his zanpakutō drawn and held at his side with his other hand clenched into a fist. He stared at the busty woman in front of him with contempt.
Rangiku had definitely had better days, especially when it came to her apparel. The entire left sleeve of her kosode was torn off, nearly half of the lower sleeve on the right side of her hakama was in tatters, and she was missing her left waraji.
Her left arm hung limply by her side, the upper arm broken just under the shoulder joint after Nakeem had punched her earlier. She was feeling a stinging pain in her side, leaving her to believe that the large man's attack may have bruised, or even broken a few ribs as well.
She stood as firmly as her body would allow, holding her zanpakutō's hilt in front of her while the ashes of its released state floated freely around her; a good portion of the ash hovering around her broken arm in order to prevent further injury.
"So, is that all you've got?" she taunted at the Arrancar.
Nakeem huffed skeptically. "Your words are pointless, when you're the one who's all beaten up, Lieutenant. I thought that someone of your rank would be more of a challenge, but I guess I was wrong. So, what do you plan to do now, Lieutenant? You plan to keep fighting me with a broken arm, and clearly exhausted?" he sent back.
Rangiku gave him a sly grin. "Didn't anyone ever tell you not to judge your opponent by looks alone? You should know that I still have plenty left in me, Nakeem." She stated firmly.
He narrowed his gaze at her. "Is that so? Then I guess I should stop holding back and finish you off." He threatened, then held up his hand. "Cero." He said, quickly charging and releasing the powerful beam of red spirit energy towards the woman.
Her face fell into seriousness before she flashed away and letting the Cero fly by, reappearing above, and slightly behind the man. She swung her hilt at the Arrancar, sending the grey ash out at him and surrounding him from all sides.
"You're done." She stated, then swung back towards herself.
The ash cloud quickly closed in on itself, encasing the man within and causing Rangiku to grin with a huff of approval. But the ash was suddenly scattered when Nakeem swung his own zanpakutō out, again holding his hand towards her.
"Cero." He uttered, sending another red beam of energy at her.
She was unprepared for the attack, therefor allowing it attack to hit her head-on. The blast from the attack sent the woman flying back as she groaned in pain; her body falling down from the sky and crashing onto the roof of a tall skyscraper.
"Your zanpakutō's abilities are ineffective against me, Lieutenant. My Hierro is more than strong enough to stand up against that cutting ash of yours. You can attack me with it for days, and you would still never be able to hurt me." He proclaimed.
Rangiku got back up to her feet, grunting in pain as she did. She looked up at her opponent, who could now see that a large portion of fabric that covered her stomach and right flank was now burned off, exposing the charred, white shitagi underneath.
She scoffed lightly before reaching into the folds of her kosode and pulling out a small, slim device, placing it next to her ear. The device beeped once before she started speaking into the small device.
"This is Lieutenant Matsumoto of Squad 10, how much longer on that authorization?" she asked in a serious tone.
"We are still trying to acquire authorization for your limiter release, Lieutenant Matsumoto; but as it stands for the moment, the release of your limiter is denied. We're doing everything we can to get the authorization for you as fast as possible. Please stand by." The voice informed in an urgent tone.
Rangiku moaned in annoyance as she returned the device to her kosode. 'Damn…with my power limiter in place, there's no way I can keep fighting him for much longer. What are those idiots doing? Can't they see that this is an emergency? And I'm sure the Captain and Tim are having a hard time as well, especially since Tim is fighting the strongest one here.' She fretted.
Nakeen scoffed lightly as he waited for his opponent to make her move. "What's wrong, Lieutenant? Giving up?" he questioned.
The woman growled at him dangerously. "No! I'm just not in a rush to give you the beating you deserve." She mocked back.
The Arrancar tapered his stare slightly. "Is that so? Then perhaps I should speed things up for you." He said, then raised his hand and began charging another Cero.
Rangiku prepared herself for the attack, gathering her zanpakutō's ash in front of her as she entered her stance.
Nakeem simply smiled at the woman. "Bala." He said in a low voice.
The energy in his hand then shot out at the Lieutenant, but at a speed that was clearly several times faster than a normal Cero. Rangiku, obviously not expecting such an attack, didn't even have enough time to be shocked by it.
In less than a second after releasing it, the mass of energy struck the ground a few feet in front of her, the explosion creating a large hole in the roof of the building and causing Rangiku to fall through it, landing on the floor below.
The man waited a moment for the woman to come out of the rubble, but was a bit surprised when he noticed that she was already standing nearby to his right. Her eyes were widened a bit in shock, but they also had anger in them.
"What in the world was that?! I've never seen a Cero that fast!" she demanded.
Nakeem stared at her for a second. "That wasn't a Cero, Lieutenant." He informed, then turned to her fully. "That was a Bala. It's similar to a Cero in its makeup, but the power is greatly reduced to, just as greatly, increase its speed. It basically turns the Cero into a rocket. Of all the fracción, I am one of only two who can use it." He looked over at the damage he caused, then brought his hand up to look at it calmly for a moment before turning back to the Lieutenant.
"The only downside is that Balas are hard for me to aim. Even though I'm one of only two who can use it, it's still difficult for me to use. That's why I hit the roof in front of you, when I was aiming 'for' you. You should consider yourself very lucky it wasn't an Espada who used it on you. Not only would it have hit you perfectly, but it would have also had a lot more power in it, and certainly killed you." He warned, then dropped his hand.
"But out of all of the Arrancar below the Espada, my Ceros are by far the most powerful. That's where my combat abilities lie, is in my Ceros. I've actually been holding back on the power of my Ceros quite a bit." He stated.
The man then held up his hand again and started charging a much stronger Cero than Rangiku had seen him use before. The mass quickly grew in size, until it stabilized at a size roughly that of a soccer ball.
"Why don't I show you one of my Ceros when I'm 'not' holding back." He threatened.
Rangiku gritted her teeth as she growled lowly. 'Hurry up, you idiots! If you don't get that authorization soon, there'll be nobody here to give that authorization to!' she fretted.
The two warriors stared each other down, before Nakeem gave her a wide grin. "Cero."
With Timothy
Timothy and Grimmjow stood several yards from each other, eyeing the other closely as they both waited for the device in the Espada's hand to take effect. But both warriors became quite puzzled when nothing did happen.
Grimmjow looked around with a raised brow at Timothy's numerous flames, still scattered around the two of them. At the same time, a small bead of sweat started running down the side of the Lieutenant's head.
"Uuuuhh…was something…'supposed' to happen?" he asked with a deadpanned expression.
The Espada looked down as he held the small, cylindrical device up for inspection. "What the hell is wrong with this thing? Is it broken?" he growled in annoyance.
Another bead of sweat ran down the opposite side of Timothy's face. "Did you…check the batteries?" he moaned.
The Sexta turned to him scornfully. "What the hell you talking about? This thing don't run on damn batteries you idiot." He insulted.
"Then what the hell 'does' it run on? Looks to me like it's dead." Timothy observed.
Grimmjow rose a brow. "How the hell am 'I' supposed to know? I didn't build the damn thing."
Timothy stood straight and started scratching the top of his head. "Then maybe it 'is' broken. Why would you bring a busted weapon to a fight, Grimm?" he questioned.
"Shut up! How the hell was I supposed to know it was broken, you bastard?!" Grimmjow shot back.
The Lieutenant rose a skeptical brow. "Uh…you 'check' it." He answered simply.
Grimmjow scoffed at him. "Whatever." He returned, then stuffed the device back into his pocket. "I don't need the damn thing to beat you anyway; Aizen just wanted it to be used in my fight." He informed.
Timothy's face immediately grew serious. "Really. And 'why' would Aizen want that thing used in your fight, Grimm? What exactly was it supposed to do?" he pried.
The man grinned madly. "Like I'd tell you. I guess you're gonna have to wait to find out, huh?" he mocked.
The Lieutenant shrugged a shoulder. "It was at least worth a try. You can't really get mad at me for trying, can you?"
Grimmjow chuckled lightly. "No, I guess not. But that don't matter, all that matters now is our fight. So, what do ya say we get back to business?" he taunted.
Timothy sighed heavily as he tilted his head to the side with closed eyes. "Do we really have to go back to fighting, Grimm? Can't we just call it and leave as equals?" he pleaded.
The Sexta rose a disbelieving brow. "Equals? Us? Hah! Like that could ever happen. Look Tim, I'll admit that you might be a cool guy, but don't think for a moment that the two of us could ever get along. And even if we did, that still wouldn't mean that I don't want to fight you. Now quit goofing off and bring that wolf chick out here, and I want both of you to fight me like you did that big, brawny, Captain guy." He demanded.
The younger man rose a brow as well. "You mean Kit? Well, one, she can't come out while I'm released like this; and two, she's a fox, not a wolf." He clarified, then held his free hand to the side of his head. "She gets very…vocal…when someone calls her that, and 'I'm' the one who has to suffer for it. And I seriously doubt you wanna hear the things she has to say right now for that remark." He warned as he rubbed his head.
Grimmjow started laughing loudly for a moment before smiling widely. "Sounds like you got yourself a feisty zanpakutō there, Tim. I think I'm starting to like her." he commented.
Timothy's face dropped fully. "You have no fucking idea, Grimm. And 'please' don't encourage her. Like I said, 'I'm' the one who suffers here." He moaned.
The Espada gave him a toothy grin. "Sounds like I might need to put a leash on her." He mocked.
The Lieutenant's eyes went wide. "If you honestly think that's even remotely possible, be my fucking guest, Grimm. I've been trying for twelve freaking years to put a muzzle on that damn vixen, and I've come to the conclusion that it's 'not' possible. Besides…" he paused to tilt his head. "…I doubt you'd last more than two minutes with her before she drove you up a fucking wall."
"I am 'not' that bad, Tim!" Kitsune yelled in his head.
"Yes, you are!" he yelled back aloud.
Grimmjow looked at the man like he was crazy. "What the hell's your problem?" he inquired.
Timothy growled as he turned to him. "See what the hell I mean? It never ends with her. You should be thankful she can't come out right now." He stated.
"Oh? And who told you that I couldn't?" she inquired.
He deadpanned. "Uh…you." He answered.
"Oh really? I said that I couldn't come out while you were released, but I never said I couldn't reseal myself and 'then' come out." She threatened.
His eyes widened again. "You wouldn't dare." He stated, then his face dropped not a second later. "I take that back…you definitely would." He moaned.
Grimmjow started snickering. "I'd like to get back to our fight, but I find this to be far more entertaining at the moment." He stated with a wide grin.
Timothy rolled his eyes to him. "You just 'had' to say something, Grimm. And now she wants to come out and I have to talk her out of it." He informed.
"Too late." She stated.
Before he could ask what she meant, the flames around the field vanished as his zanpakutō began returning to its sealed state. Timothy slapped a hand to his face with a whine as Kitsune materialized herself next to him.
Grimmjow rose both brows in surprise as he looked at the spirit with confusion. "What the hell?"
She turned to him and grinned. "Well, hello to you too, sweetie. You wanted to meet me, so here I am. And I gotta say, you look better in person than through Tim's eyes." She stated in a seductive voice.
The Sexta laughed wildly, the jaw-like mask piece on his face opening slightly as he did. "Well well, you really are a feisty one; just like that yellow-eyed kitten from last time. The names Grimmjow. So, who might you be exactly, 'vixen'?" he asked with a wide grin.
Her own grin grew wide and toothy. "My full name is Moeru Kitsune, but you can just call me Kit." She greeted, then crossed her arms. "So, what, you wanna dance, Grimm? I gotta warn ya, I'm quite difficult to handle." She teased.
Grimmjow chuckled lowly. "Oh really? Well, lucky for you, that's the way I like my women; full of piss and vinegar. So, I'm up for a round or two, if you're sure you can handle it." He taunted.
She rose her brows in surprise. "I'd be careful, Grimm. Afterall, foxes eat little kittens like you."
The Espada then looked at Timothy. "I like this vixen of yours, Tim. Too bad I can't take her home with me." He commented.
Timothy gave the man a deadpanned expression. "You can have her. Too bad she's stuck in my head."
Grimmjow chuckled. "Bad luck for you I guess. But whatever. Why don't we get this dance of ours started, 'Kit'?" he asked, now looking at the spirit.
Kitsune chuckled back. "I'd love to, but Tim's right; I can't play like I used to do in the past, Grimm. But…" she stopped to hold a finger up. "…how about if Tim fight's you in his Bankai? You did ask 'me' to dance, so how about we dance the way you like? Personally, I prefer a good, old-fashioned two-step, but this will work just as well." she proposed with slightly widened eyes and a wide smile.
The Espada laughed madly before giving her his widest grin. "Absolutely! I'll gladly take you up on that offer! Just don't be too upset once I beat your partner into a bloody pulp!" he returned.
She chortled back at him before resting her hands on her hips. "Well then, let's dance, Grimm. And try not to step on my partner's toes, will ya?" she teased.
"Hah! I'm gonna be stepping on far worse than his toes, vixen! I'm gonna step on his head!" he yelled, then drew his zanpakutō.
Timothy rolled his eyes to Kitsune. "You just had to provoke him…didn't you?" he whispered.
The spirit nodded. "Yup! Wouldn't be fun otherwise." She informed.
He growled deeply at her. "One of these days, I 'will' find a way to kill you." He threatened.
She shrugged a shoulder at him. "But you'll still love me."
"…I hate you." He hissed in a low voice.
The spirit then vanished back into his inner world as he slapped a hand to his face and dragged it down with a long moan.
"Why is it that I'm the one who always has to suffer?" he whined. The Lieutenant then took a deep, calming breath before looking back towards Grimmjow. "Well…you ready to get serious, Grimm?" he inquired.
The chuckled once. "Ready and waiting. I'd rather fight the both of you, especially that vixen of yours, but your Bankai is more than good enough for me. So go ahead and release Tim, I'll wait right here for ya." He stated.
Timothy sighed heavily. "Alright. But you asked for it, Grimm." He returned, holding his zanpakutō in front of him and grabbing the blade near the hilt with his free hand. "Bankai." He called, snapping the blade. "Furasshu hi Kitsune Hime."
Grimmjow chuckled a few times as he watched the two halves of Timothy's zanpakutō slowly reshape themselves into elongated gauntlets. He turned to see that the flames had returned to the field, now in far greater numbers.
There were far too many to warrant counting, but he could easily guess that there were at least over a hundred flames surrounding the two of them. He chuckled once more before looking back at Timothy to see that the man's entire body was covered with smoldering flames.
Timothy stared at the Espada with a pitiful face. "I was honestly hoping that I wouldn't have to use my Bankai, Grimm. The reason for this is because my Bankai is exceedingly painful to my opponent. I'd prefer not to fight, but if I do, I really try to make it as painless as possible." He stated.
The Lieutenant held a hand out to a cluster of flames nearby, the flames quickly shrinking and flying towards his open palm. Grimmjow rose a brow as the flames seemed to be absorbed into the man's left gauntlet.
But what really got his attention was that the small fox emblem on the man's armored wrist began glowing. With each flame that he absorbed, the emblem seemed to glow brighter and brighter. After absorbing nearly a dozen flames, the etching had a dull, orange hue to it.
"So, I hope you won't hold it against me when I burn you to a crisp." Timothy added as he closed his hand into a fist and held it to his side. "Cause I can tell you right now Grimm, that this is 'going' to hurt…a lot." He furthered.
The man clenched his teeth and growled out as he thrusted his fist forward. Grimmjow's eyes went wide when a basketball sized ball of fire left the end on the man's fist, flying straight towards him at an amazing speed.
"Damn!" he hissed the brief instant before using sonído to vanish.
The flaming projectile continued on unobstructed as Grimmjow reappeared a few yards away from where he was. He watched as the fireball kept going, until it suddenly exploded in midair, sending hundreds of tiny embers in every direction.
The embers flew out about ten feet in their respective directions, until they finally burned out on their own. After watching the whole thing, he began to understand exactly why Timothy had said what he did.
'If that had hit me, it wouldn't have killed me, but it definitely would have left a mark.' He thought, then glanced at Timothy, who was still standing in the same spot. 'His Bankai must give him more abilities to use those flames of his with. That fireball attack of his can't be the only added ability his Bankai gives him, though. I'm sure that kid's got more tricks up his sleeve. Even in his Bankai, he don't have the power to defeat me; but that doesn't mean I want to get my ass cooked playing around with him.'
"What's wrong, Grimm? I thought you wanted to 'dance'." Timothy taunted, breaking the man's thoughts.
Grimmjow laughed aloud at him. "Of course I wanna dance, kid! Show me what you've got!" he sent right back.
Timothy sighed heavily at him. "One 'Kentucky Fried Cat'…" he started as he pulled back his fist. "…coming right up!" he yelled further, now throwing his fist forward and sending another fireball at the Espada.
The Sexta grinned widely at the Lieutenant, before vanishing again and reappearing to the man's right side, ready to swing down. But he froze when he saw Timothy already looking in his direction and sending his right fist at him.
'Damn!' he fretted.
The fireball hit the Espada in the chest, exploding upon impact and covering the entire front side of his body with tiny embers. He growled loudly at the stinging pain of the embers burning the exposed skin of his forearms.
The embers were also beginning to burn the man's clothes, the front side of his shirt already possessing several small holes. But lucky for him, the embers only burned for about five seconds before they started going out.
Once the last ember was out, Timothy looked closely at the Sexta to see that his forearms and face were reddened with 1st degree burns, and the entire front side of his uniform riddled with tiny holes that were charred on the edges.
Timothy sighed again. "You can see now just how painful my Bankai can be, and I haven't even gotten serious yet. Unlike most other zanpakutō releases, where the opponent gets cut up, or hit with a strong force of energy or the such that is rather quick, mine does the job very slowly. So, can we please stop now, Grimm? I really don't want to take this any further; and honestly, neither does Kit." He informed with a bit of sadness.
Grimmjow looked at the man and gave him a toothy snarl. "Are you pitying me?! You think that you and that damn vixen of yours are stronger than me?! I'll kill the both of you!" he yelled in fury.
The Lieutenant rose a brow at him in surprise. "I never once said that, Grimm. I'm not stupid enough to deny that you are easily stronger than I am at the moment, but that doesn't mean I won't cause as much damage that I can before I die. The question you need to ask yourself Grimm, is whether or not a very long, and painful session is worth it all. I'm trying to avoid doing that as much as I can, that's why I'm asking you to please just leave and save yourself the pain." He pleaded.
The Espada started laughing wildly. "I don't think that's going to happen, Tim. If anything, I think he's likely to get more into this." Kitsune commented.
Timothy sighed again. "Yeah…I know…and it's all 'your' fault, stupid." He responded in a whisper as Grimmjow calmed down and glared at him.
"You think a little bit of pain worries me, kid?! Ha! Don't make me laugh. We're both warriors kid, so pain is naturally a part of our lives. It don't matter how strong you get, there will always be pain in a fight. So quit your worrying about me, and 'get' serious; cause I ain't got all night to waist playing kids' games. I'm still waiting for that 'dance' the vixen promised me." He finished with a maddening grin.
The younger man shook his head slowly. "Fine." He answered, then looked back at him with a serious face. "But don't blame me if you go home looking like a freaking lump of charcoal." He hissed.
The man then threw his left fist, followed quickly by his right, and finalized by another from his left; sending three, smaller and faster, fireballs at his opponent. Grimmjow buzzed out of the way, letting the projectiles sail by, and reappeared behind Timothy.
Grimmjow swung at the man's exposed back with his zanpakutō, but when the blade was only inches away, the man disappeared. The Lieutenant reappeared right in front of his previous attacks' flight path with his open palm facing towards them.
The fireballs gathered back into the man's gauntlet before he twisted around and swung his fist out behind him. Grimmjow's eyes widened when he realized that he was now looking at a clone that Timothy had switched out with the instant he finished absorbing the fireballs.
Pain shot up the Espada's back as a small, fiery explosion sent him flying forwards; dozens of tiny embers now slowly burning away at the back of the man's shirt and exposing the skin in small patches.
The Espada recovered quickly, bringing his zanpakutō around underneath him and swinging up. But Timothy was already gone again, now to the man's left with his fist held back and ready for another strike.
"Don't do this, Grimm. It's only going to get worse." Timothy warned in a calm voice.
Grimmjow turned to him with a snarl. 'Fuck! He's better than I thought. I can't catch the fucker while he's jumping around with those annoying flames of his. And I can't release my Resurrección. Aizen wants this damn kid alive, and doing so would easily kill the brat. If it wasn't for those Goddamned flames…' he paused in thought and rose a brow. 'Wait…'
The man started glancing around them, then dropped his brow back. 'Some of those flames are missing…' He then looked at the emblem on Timothy's gauntlet to see it was just barely glowing. '…and it don't look like he has that many gathered in that glove of his. So, either he can control how many are out at a time…' He narrowed his gaze at the Lieutenant. '…or, every time he uses those fireball things, he has to use up some of those flames. If so, then he 'has' to have a limit to how many of them he can make. Let's test it…' he concluded.
Grimmjow sonídoed away, reappearing right in front of Timothy swinging down with his zanpakutō. Timothy then held his right gauntlet up to block the attack, the blade striking the back of the wrist area and cutting a small notch into the metal.
Timothy's eyes widened a little bit in surprise, but still swung out with his left fist at the Espada's exposed chest. The man quickly jumped back as the projectile left the Lieutenant's fist, bending backwards to allow the fireball to sail past overhead.
The Lieutenant used a flame to get some distance before looking down at the small cut Grimmjow had made in his gauntlet. The blade had dug in enough to almost cut through it. Not only that, the impact left his hand and wrist feeling a bit numb from the force.
"Tim, your gauntlets are not there as armor, they are there to channel your flames. They can protect you from minor hits and the such, but don't count on them lasting long in a full fight like this. If Grimm had hit you just a bit harder, he would have likely got a part of your wrist." Kitsune warned.
Timothy scoffed lightly. "Yeah, 'now' you tell me. Stupid vixen." He growled.
"Also, take it easy with your attacks. You're doing good for now, but if you keep this fight up for too long, you won't have any flames left to use." She added.
"You know…it's information like this that would be very useful 'before' getting into a fight, Kit." He mocked with a dropped face.
"Look out!" she yelled.
Timothy gasped lightly, then turned around to place his left hand in front of Grimmjow's incoming blade from the left. The blade hit the top of his gauntlet near the end, again cutting into the metal just above the fox emblem.
"Damn!" he mumbled with wide eyes.
He then reached across himself and grabbed the Espada's blade at the halfway point. Focusing his gathered flames into the palm, he began to superheat the man's blade, causing it to start turning a dull orange.
Grimmjow's own eyes widen at what the Lieutenant was doing, before holding his free hand up and charging a Cero a few inches from Timothy's chest. The man instantly let go of the blade and used shunpo to jump to the side as the Espada fired the attack into the distance.
Giving two quick thrusts with his fists, Timothy sent two more fireballs at the Espada. Grimmjow dodged to the right, avoiding the first attack, and swung out at the second. The blade hit the projectile, causing it to explode, just as he used sonído to get out of the blast radius.
He reappeared a few yards to the Lieutenant's left in a semi-ready stance. He took a look at this zanpakutō to see the area where Timothy had grabbed it was still a tad orange, but the color was beginning to fade as the blade cooled down.
The man then looked at the flames again to see that there were indeed slightly less flames on the field than before. And if he had to guess, the two fireballs the man had sent at him just now were just as powerful as the first ones he used.
'So, it looks like those fireballs 'do' use up those flames each time. Not only that, it looks like he's using more than one for each of the bigger ones. So that means, the more he uses that attack, the less flames he'll have to use afterwards. So that just means I have to keep drawing his fire until he runs out. It'll also limit the areas where he can appear when he uses them to move around. So, I guess that means this is a battle of endurance, huh. That's just fine with me.' He concluded.
The man turned to his opponent with a grin. "Nifty trick you got there, Tim. But very annoying. You've messed up my clothes." He stated as he held an arm up to prove his point.
Timothy gave a breathy scoff. "Yeah, sorry about that Grimm. So I guess you're still not going to consider leaving?" he pressed.
Grimmjow laughed a bit at the comment. "Why would I do that? I'm having fun here. Been a while since I've had to get serious." He said in a happy tone.
The Lieutenant's face dropped. "You sound just like a particular person I don't really like. I hope you're not as bloodthirsty as him." He moaned.
The Espada chuckled darkly. "Nah, I'm not that kinda person, kid. I just really like my fights, and so far you've given me a good one. I'm actually glad that stupid little toy of Aizen's broke, otherwise I wouldn't be able to enjoy beating the hell outta you." He taunted.
Timothy rose a skeptical brow. "Uh…looks to me like 'you're' the one who's been getting beat up, Grimm. Or rather, burned up. But that's beside the point. The thing is, is that my friends aren't going to last much longer with the way things are going right now. So we're left with only two options here, Grimm. Either A, you can save yourself the pain and leave; or B, I stop holding back and roast you to death. I really prefer the former, but that's all up to you." He warned.
He then sighed heavily and closed his eyes. "But then…you could always switch sides, Grimm." He offered.
Grimmjow rose a brow in shock. "Excuse me?"
Timothy opened his eyes again. "You heard me. Switch sides; you don't have to stay with that crazy psychopath, Aizen. Nel's turned away from him, and so can you. You're a cool guy, Grimm. A bit too eager to get into a fight, but still a good person. Besides, I can tell you don't like Aizen too much yourself either." He proposed.
The Espada stared at the man with a shocked look on his face, while the man stared right back with one of hope. The blue-haired man then laughed loudly and manically; the jaw-like mask fragment on his face wide open and moving with his own jaw.
He suddenly stopped and glared at Timothy. "Wow, kid. I honestly never expected that one. You really think that I would just up and leave Aizen? Yeah, I'll admit I don't really like the guy, but he gives me all the fights I want. And that is more than enough reason to stay put. Thanks for the offer, but I don't think so. So, I choose option C; where I roast 'you' to death." He answered back.
Timothy's shoulders dropped. "It was worth a try." He said lowly, then held both hands out wide.
He then began to gather a very large amount of flames into both gauntlets, the emblems on both of them glowing brighter with each one. After a few seconds of gathering, all but a couple dozen flames were now inside the man's gauntlets, both emblems now a very bright, cherry-red.
The Lieutenant dropped down to a boxer's ready stance with a sorrowful look on his face. "I hope you won't have any regrets, Grimmjow. Because, with how big this one's going to be, you'll have no chance to escape the blast. This will incinerate you all the way down to the bones." He warned.
Grimmjow chuckled lowly. "Bring it, kid!" he taunted.
Timothy stared at the man with a bit of worry. "Tim…you're not really ready for this technique yet. You know what will happen if you use it, right?" Kitsune cautioned.
"…Yeah…I do. Hopefully it won't leave me unconscious. It'll at least leave him unable to continue anymore." He returned.
"And if it don't, you'll be completely unable to fight back, Tim. You're pushing yourself enough as it is, and you know it." She pointed.
"I know, so let's hope this works." He concluded. "Bikusen Ikari." He said aloud in a low voice, then brought both fists down to the ground hard.
The two emblems on his wrists flashed a bright white, then went dark as the ground around him instantly sprouted numerous flames, dancing violently. The ground then exploded in a furious inferno, completely encasing him inside.
The explosion burst out with monstrous force, causing Grimmjow's eyes to widen into saucers as the large wall of fire flew right at him. It happened so fast, that the Sexta Espada simply didn't have enough time to react, forcing him to take the explosion head-on.
The explosion flew out several dozen yards, until it finally stopped. As it did, many dozens of tiny fireballs hurled out in random directions from the center of the explosion; each one flying out a certain distance before exploding themselves and showering the field with hundreds, upon hundreds of tiny embers.
Unlike the embers from his previous fireballs, these ones actually stayed lit for a bit longer; leaving the entire battleground littered with smoldering flames. There was simply nowhere you could walk without touching one of these tiny flames.
But after a short while, and after the wall of fire dissipated, they began to burn out. Timothy sat there, knelt down where he was before with both fists still planted on the ground; breathing very heavily with sweat trailing down his forehead.
Both of his gauntlets, that were once a shiny silver color, were now a solid, burnt black color and emitted a steady stream of smoke, rising up. The two emblems on the top of his wrists now distorted and malformed.
Timothy wobbled to the side, nearly falling over from exhaustion, but shifted his hand over to the side to brace himself up. He stared at the spot where Grimmjow was before, seeing the entire area still covered in tiny embers.
"I think…I…I got him." He mumbled between breathes.
He then heard Kitsune sigh heavily. "You better hope so, you're lucky you're even still conscious after that, Tim. I told you that you wasn't ready for that. You've still got about a dozen flames left, so I suggest you use them to retreat for now. You are in no condition to fight anymore." She advised.
Before he could reply to her, he suddenly heard a low chuckle in the distance. His head snapped back to the area where Grimmjow was, and his eyes widened when he saw that, besides his shirt now completely gone, his trousers pretty much turned into beach shorts, and second degree burns all over his body, the Sexta Espada was standing there with a wide grin on his face.
"What! How?!" Timothy breathed out.
Grimmjow had his arms over his face from shielding it from the explosion. He dropped the arms and stared at Timothy with a maniacal glare. He then laughed like a madman as he began walking forward.
"Now 'that' is what I'm talking about! That's what I've been waiting to see! Excellent job, kid! You gave me just the kind of dance that vixen promised me! I owe ya!" he declared proudly.
"There's…there's no way…No way you should have gone through that and be in that kinda shape." Timothy stated.
Grimmjow stopped his walk and scoffed. "I'll gladly admit kid, that attack 'did' have power behind it. There's no doubt about that. But if you honestly think that that power would have been enough to stop me, then think again. I like you Tim, and you have got my respect, but you honestly have no chance at beating me. Just look at yourself. You can barely stay up in a kneeling position, let alone even remain conscious, after that attack. So it's quite easy to tell that, while that attack has power, it's also quite demanding. Look around, Kid." He said as he threw his hand out.
"You've got maybe a dozen or so of those flames left. That's enough for a couple of your fireballs, and to move around a bit, but that's it. You can't honestly expect to keep fighting me with so little, can you?" he mocked.
Timothy gritted his teeth with a low growl before trying to push himself up to his feet. "Tim, stop! Whether or not 'you' want to admit it, what he said is true! There is no way you can keep fighting him like this! And if that attack didn't do anything besides strip him, then you really have no chance against him!" the spirit yelled.
He groaned as he finally made it to his feet and began rising. "I don't care." He returned, then got back into a weak ready stance, weakly trying to hold his arms up. "It's my job to stop you, and I told Nel I would protect her. So, I'll keep going until my last breath, Grimm. So, get ready." He taunted weakly.
The Espada looked at him disbelievingly. "You've got guts Tim, but those guts have made you stupid. The only reason you ain't dead yet is because I can't kill you. But…" he paused and got into a stance of his own. "…that don't mean I can't teach you a couple lessons in pain yourself." He finished, now giving the Lieutenant a sickening glare.
With Toshiro
The Captain stood on top of a three-story structure, his sword arm bleeding with his free hand clutched over top the wound to slow it down, and his left eye shut to prevent the blood from his forehead getting into it.
He was breathing very heavily, his body and spirit energy completely exhausted after his Bankai had given out, reducing him back to fighting the 11th Arrancar in his Shikai. Not that it would do much good, considering that not even his Bankai did much against his opponent.
Shawlong stood in the air slightly above him, his arms behind his back as he stared down at the weakened Captain with disdain. Besides a pair of scratches on his chest and the top of his mask, the man had hardly any injuries.
"You should give up, little Captain. Your Bankai is no more, your body is torn; you can barely hold onto your zanpakutō. I give you credit that you were able to fight as hard as you did, but this fight is over. Give up now, and I'll be sure to give you a quick, and painless death. But if you choose to continue this, I can guarantee that you with die slowly as I carve you up." He offered.
Toshiro stood tall and dropped his free hand to his hilt. "Thanks for the offer, but I refuse to give up to you, Shawlong Koufang." He returned.
Koufang tapered his stare. "Very well. I commend you for your bravery, Captain of Squad 10; and as such, I will do the honorable thing of giving you a warrior's death." He said as he brought his right, clawed hand close to his head. "Farewell, Captain Hitsugaya." He finished, then charged forward.
He thrusted his hand forward to run the short man through his chest as he flew through the air at high speed. But his eyes went wide with shock when his attack was suddenly halted by a hand grabbing him by the outstretched wrist.
"What?" he breathed.
"I am sorry Shawlong, but I cannot let you kill him." A feminine voice said to his right.
The Arrancar turned his gaze to see a teal-haired woman standing next to him, holding tightly to his wrist with a very calm, yet calculated demeaner. She stared at him with firmness, but also with a bit a regret.
He narrowed his gaze at her. "Well well, if it isn't the traitor; Nelliel Tu Odelschwanck. Am I supposed to be surprised to see that you have sided yourself with the soul reapers?" he mocked with a disgusted tone in his voice.
Nel let the man's wrist go, where he quickly sonídoed away to where he was before. The woman turned to face him fully as she stepped in between him and Toshiro, preventing the man from attacking him.
"It does not matter what you feel towards me, Shawlong. Nor does it matter who I have sided with. All that does matter, is that I will not permit you to kill the Captain. I honestly have never cared too much for you, but that doesn't change the fact that we were once comrades. Because of that, I am giving you this one chance to leave here alive, along with the others you have come with. Leave now, or I will be forced to see you as an enemy, and will eliminate you as such." She warned.
Shawlong stood straight as he chuckled. "I see. Exactly the kind of gesture I would expect from you, former Quinto Espada. Even though I never approved of your methods in dealing with others, I still respected your abilities. Your calm demeaner is quite misleading, hiding your true skills. I honestly could never hope to stand a chance against you in the past. However…"
He pointed at the woman's waist. "…you are unarmed. I have heard how Lord Nnoitra had broken your zanpakutō. Without it, you cannot use your Resurrección. And with me in my released state, and you with only your basic abilities, I am easily more than a match for you." He lowered his hand and placed them both behind his back. "I'm sure that once I've killed you, Lord Aizen would be very pleased. I hope you can forgive me for this." He stated with a smile.
Nel dropped her shoulders with a heavy sigh. "I was hoping we could avoid fighting, Shawlong. But unfortunately, you were always as persistent as your master." She stated, then turned to look over her shoulder at Toshiro. "Captain, I ask that you please stand back. I don't want to hit you by mistake." She pleaded.
Toshiro narrowed his gaze at her. "What are you doing here? I thought you were not allowed to leave Urahara's shop." He pointed.
She sighed again. "We can discuss that later, once we are done here, Captain. For now, please stay back." She asked again.
He growled lowly, but finally nodded and rested his stance a bit. "I'm watching you." He warned.
Nel nodded back, then returned to Koufang. "I'm sorry Shawlong, I will try to make this quick for you." She said calmly, then vanished.
With Rukia
"Rukia! Are you ignoring me, you damn midget?!" a young man yelled from a few yards behind the short woman.
Rukia continued to stare at Di Roy in her ready stance, planning her next move. Although she found it a bit odd that the Arrancar had stopped his attacks suddenly, she knew the man 'had' to be up to something; and she was not going to allow herself to be surprised again.
"Damn it! Listen to me!" the other man yelled, kicking the woman in the back and sending her forward.
She fell on her face, laying there for a moment, before turning and quickly jumping back up to her feet. She glared at the culprit who 'attacked' her, then growled and shook her fist at him.
"Damn you, Ichigo! What the hell is your problem?!" she yelled.
The teen scowled deeply. "'My' problem?! What the hell is 'your' problem?! I've been standing here for five damn minutes calling you, and you keep ignoring me!" he returned, then pointed at Di Roy. "And what the hell are you doing just standing there looking at the guy?!"
She looked at the Arrancar, then back to him. "If you're asking who he is, his name is Di Roy, and he's an Arrancar." She said in a loud voice, almost yelling.
Ichigo deadpanned. "Huh? I didn't ask who the guy was…I asked why you were just standing there looking at him." He corrected as he pointed again.
Rukia narrowed her gaze at him. "I already told you who he was, Ichigo." She retorted.
Now he was completely confused. "What the hell are you talking about? Are you doing this to piss me off? Cause I gotta tell ya, it's damn well working, Rukia." He moaned.
"Heh. Guess I've got two soul reapers to kill now. That's fine with me. I was starting to get bored playing with that little one." Di Roy commented, then held out his right prong towards them.
Ichigo turned to him with a fallen face. "Shut up. I'll get to you in a minute." He said in an annoyed voice.
Rukia's eyes went wide, then she quickly jumped at the teen; landing on the man's back and just as quickly held her hands over his ears tightly. He was surprised by the sudden action and swiftly tried to shake the woman off of him.
"R…Rukia! What the hell are you do…"
He was interrupted when one of the hammers on Di Roy's prongs slammed down, emitting the same loud, high-pitched tone that he had used against the woman earlier. Ichigo slapped his hands over hers as, although it was muffled, the sound was still clearly loud enough that it still hurt.
He growled in pain as Rukia screamed out, unable to cover her own ears while trying to protect her friend's. The tone lasted for nearly five seconds, until it began to die down enough that Ichigo could removed his hands off of hers.
She too let go of his ears, falling off his back and onto her knees on the ground as she held the sides of her head; gritting her teeth in agony as her head throbbed endlessly.
Ichigo turned around to her with a growl. "What the hell was that?! Are you okay, Rukia?!" he yelled through the slight ringing in his ears.
When she didn't answer, he walked up and placed a hand on her shoulder, causing her to flinch from the unexpected contact. She looked up at him with a pained expression with tears in her ears.
"Ichigo, I don't know if you can hear me after that, but his attacks somehow use sound. He blew out my eardrums, and I can't hear a thing. You need to finish him quickly." She advised, quite a bit louder that was necessary.
He growled a bit before turning to face the Arrancar. "Just great. And I didn't bring my earmuffs." He moaned loudly as he got into a stance.
Di Roy laughed evilly. "You're lucky the little one saved ya, soul reaper. Too bad for her. She's deaf at a door, now. So, I guess I get to have some fun with you now?" he taunted.
Ichigo scowled at him. "That's a sick way to fight, Arrancar. I'll end this, and make you eat those damn fork things of yours." He threatened.
The Arrancar grinned madly. "We'll see about that, soul reaper."
With Renji
"What's wrong, brother? Is that all you can handle?" Yylfordt mocked as he stood hunched over a few yards to the downed Lieutenant's side.
Renji grunted as he lifted his head from the ground, blood running down the front of his face along his nose, his loose hair flopped down and concealing his left eye as he breathed heavily.
The skeletal Bankai was cracked in several segments, while some of them were missing entirely. Part of the left side of the snake's head lower jaw was broken off, and there was a long, deep crack along the top of the skull; running from the top of the right eye socket and over the left.
The Lieutenant struggled as hard as he could to push himself back up to his feet. "I'm…still not…done yet." He declared as he pulled a leg under him.
Yylfordt laughed manically at him. "You just don't give up, do you brother? That's just fine with me, I'll go ahead and end it for you then."
"Aw, now that's not very nice, mister Arrancar." A voice said to the left.
The released Arrancar turned his head to see a man wearing a green coat, and a green and white striped hat walking up to them. The man had his head down as he walked, so Yylfordt couldn't see the man's face.
"And just who are you, brother?" he inquired.
The man stopped in place and held a hand to the top of his hat. "Me? Why, I'm just a regular candy store owner. Perhaps you've heard of it?" he joshed.
Yylfordt scoffed heavily at him. "And why would a 'candy store owner' want to get involved in this. Quit screwing around and tell me your name." he demanded.
The man raised his head a bit and peered at the Arrancar past the brim of his hat. "Kisuke Urahara, a pleasure to meet you. And you are?" he asked with a playful tone.
The Arrancar turned to him fully and lowered his head. "I am Yylfordt Granz, the 15th Arrancar. And you are foolish to jump in on a fight like this. But no matter, I'll just kill you while brother here rests up, so that I can have some more fun with him when I'm done with you." He said in a crazed voice.
Kisuke grinned a bit. "Is that right? Then by all means, you're welcome to try." He goaded.
Yylfordt narrowed his gaze with a growl. "You 'want' to die? Well fine, I'll oblige you!" he yelled, then charged at the shop owner.
Okay, so the fight over Karakura Town was looking pretty bleak, but with Nel, Kisuke, and Ichigo showing up, things just might start looking up.
A little bit of explanation behind Nakeem and Di Roy's powers; I felt that they both could have used a little more 'spotlight' than they received in the show. Frankly, Di Roy didn't really do shit and just got obliterated by Rukia within seconds, and Nakeem simply stood there with Rangiku playing dead. I felt that needed to be changed up a tad, so I gave Di Roy a Resurrección (which by the way I really hope you all liked), and gave Nakeem a unique power of his own. Seeing as Nakeem was a Gillion when he became an Arrancar, it makes sense that he is obviously among the weakest of the fracción, since they were all either Adjuchas or Vasto Lorde.
As far as Kit's and Grimmjow's little banter, I couldn't help myself. I know it may have seemed a little cliché since Grimmjow had a near identical 'conversation' with Yoruichi, but in case you haven't picked up on it yet, Kit and Yoruichi almost act like they're twins, right? I'm sure some of you will think of the 'triple incantation' as a bit farfetched, and was never at any point mentioned in either the anime or manga, but we should all know by now how much of a risk taker Timothy is. Afterall, Rukia was able to successfully perform a double incantation during her fight with Aaroniero, and she was only at the strength of a Lieutenant.
On a final note, Timothy's second Bankai ability, Bikusen no Ikari (Vixen's Fury), is basically a scaled-up, melee version of Hinotama Surasuto (Fireball Thrust). It uses many more flames to create a much larger explosion as the cost of range. The radius of the explosion is determined by the number of flames used during the attack. It can be used more than once, but this time Timothy just went 'all-or-nothing' against Grimmjow.
Anyways, got work to do if I want to have any chance at getting a last bit of writing done before school starts next week. Again, I'll keep you all posted on that. Till next week, laters.
