Welcome back readers. After literally years of waiting, you all finally get to learn Timothy's second zanpakutō powers and 'Johnny's' true name in this chapter. I know you all have been itching like no tomorrow to learn what these are, so I'll keep this section of the chapter short.
Outside of what I mentioned in the previous chapter, not much has happened besides work and just general IRL stuff. In other words, I've been busy as hell. Once again, sorry about the large delays between chapters, and I'll continue to get them written and posted for you all as quickly as I can.
But enough of that, onward to the chapter.
(I DO NOT OWN BLEACH; ITS CHARACTERS, 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!)
(A/N: There are references and uses of kidō techniques in this chapter that are not a part of the Bleach anime or manga. These kidō spells are the creation of 'draconichero18' from DeviantArt, and credit for it goes to him. The names and descriptions of these kidōs are used with the creator's permission.)
Chapter 52
(His True Name: Part 2)
Flashback, Urahara Shop, 5 Days Prior
Timothy was seething. Once again, his perverted partner thought it was the greatest idea ever to play her usual pranks on him and Nelliel. While it didn't bother him, at least, not anymore after dealing with it for over thirteen years, it did bother Nelliel. And that did bother him. The woman may have been a very accomplished fighter, someone even he would be hesitant to face when she was serious, but when it came to times like these, she was, for lack of a better term… a pushover. If she wasn't in her 'serious mode', Nelliel was a very timid person. Very… innocent.
Making her the perfect target for someone like his partner and Yoruichi to tease.
He had no qualms against teasing, since everyone teases everyone at some point, even Nelliel had teased the two back a couple of times, but there was such a thing as 'too much teasing'. At this point, it was more than simple teasing, it was bullying; something that Timothy despised.
But, there was nothing Timothy could do to stop it, at least at the moment. Sadly, as much as it pained him, he had something more important to do. Last-minute training with 'Johnny'. This was it, his last few hours to try and learn the name of his other zanpakutō spirit. For the past four days, he had fought against the dark-clothed spirit in an attempt to beat him and learn his name. With no success.
Last night, while he was lying in bed with Nelliel, something that still made his cheeks turn red, and after she had fallen asleep, he had stayed up for another hour or so, thinking back on every second of his fights with the spirit, trying to think of anything he might have missed. And every few minutes, he brought his thoughts back to an old phrase the spirit had told him…
"Slow and steady wins the race."
What, exactly, did 'Johnny' mean by that? Sure, he understood that if you rush you were more likely to lose or make bad mistakes, but the way the spirit was pressing the phrase hinted that there was something else behind its meaning. Or, at least, what the spirit intended it to mean. There were also the times that 'Johnny' told him that he had given him everything he needed to beat him. But what? What was it that the spirit gave him? The only physical object the Lieutenant was given was the zanpakutō he used to fight the spirit, so unless he was missing something about the weapon, then whatever it was he needed had to be mental.
With a sigh, the Lieutenant raised a hand and cupped his chin in thought. "'Slow and steady wins the race'... Given me everything I needed? But what? It's gotta be something else he said besides the hare and tortoise thing, so… what else did he say?" he mumbled to himself. With another sigh, he began rubbing his temples lightly, crossing his other arm. "He kept telling me I needed to calm down. And yeah, when I took a second to actually calm down, I was able to do a little better in the fight, but that's really just common knowledge. People always do better when they're calmer. So that can't be all of it. There's more to this."
"Ah, good morning to you, Tim." a deep voice greeted.
Timothy stopped and turned his gaze to see Tessai sitting cross-legged on a nearby boulder in a meditative posture. The Lieutenant then saw that he was so lost in thought that he never noticed he had walked across the vast expanse of the training area and up to the large man unawares.
Getting past his surprise, he offered the man a smile and wave. "Morning, Tessai. Sorry, had my head stuck in the clouds again." he offered.
The man smiled back and shook his head. "There is no need to apologize, young Tim. These are trying times, and you have much to think about right now. It is perfectly natural for you to be lost in thought. I assume you are ready to begin your training once more?" he asked.
Drooping his hands with a heavy sigh, the Lieutenant raised his head to the sky. "If I'm being perfectly honest… nope, not at all." He sighed again and crossed his arms. "I've been training and getting my ass handed to me on a silver platter for four days now, and I still have no idea on what the hell I'm supposed to do. Neither Kit nor 'Johnny' are being very helpful with giving me hints. I just… I just wish I had more time. The last four days just seemed to… disappear on me." he moaned.
Tessai nodded with a hum before getting to his feet and stepping up to the man, resting a hand on his shoulder. "Time is a very stubborn thing, Tim. While it is always moving at a constant pace, neither moving faster, nor slower, it also tends to work against us without our knowing."
Timothy scoffed through his teeth with a roll of the eyes. "Yeah right. Sorry, but I'm gonna have to disagree with you on that one, Tessai. I can't tell you the number of times I've sat down doing something, and next thing I know, several hours have passed. Or, when I'm waiting on something and that damn clock just…" The man froze and his eyes widened when something dawned on him. "... drags on…" he spoke under his breath.
'The clock… on the cathedral… I noticed it the day I started my training. Something was off about it. Not the way it looked… or what the time was on it… but… And then… then there was what 'Johnny' said…'
"Time… passes quickly… for you… Timothy."
"The more… you rush… the more time… you lose."
'Time passes quickly… for me… Not us… for me. And… the more I rush… the more time I lose? No… No, I don't lose time by rushing… I waste it, but not lose it. So… Why did he say it like that? And… Time… working… against me… Time is… against me…'
Timothy's eyes went even wider in realization before they narrowed. 'That son-of-a…!'
He snapped his gaze to Tessai and grinned widely at the man. "I think I'm ready to start now, Tessai. If you wouldn't mind, of course."
The man nodded with a hum. "It would seem you have found a solution to your problem. Very well. One moment."
While the large man returned to his boulder and got back into his meditative posture, Timothy lowered his head and chuckled under his breath. He couldn't believe it. How could he have missed the clues the spirit had given him? And so blatantly obvious ones too? But, then again, considering the circumstances and how absurd the end result was, could he really blame himself for not considering the possibility?
"The barrier is in place, Tim. You may begin when you are ready." Tessai informed him.
The Lieutenant nodded without speaking and dropping into his own meditative posture, laying his blade across his lap. Taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly, Timothy grinned madly and closed his eyes.
'I've got you this time, 'Johnny'. This time, I know your game. I just have to figure out how to beat it.' he thought to himself as he allowed himself to be pulled back into his inner world.
Palace of the Sexta Espada, Present
The second Timothy vanished via shunpo, Grimmjow's instincts started to tell him that something was wrong. In a flash of shunpo that was faster than the Sexta Espada had seen before, the Lieutenant was upon him with his blade raised high to cut down on him. His eyes widened slightly in surprise and reflexively raised his arm up, allowing his hiero to absorb the impact. His surprise grew when he saw that the man's blade was starting to cut through his hardened skin even deeper.
'The fuck?!' he thought in his surprise.
Snarling, he whipped his tail around him to slap at his opponent, but before it could reach him, the man was already gone in a whisp, reappearing to the Espada's right and preparing another flurry of thrusts. Again, his reflexes kicked in and he raised his other hand up to the Lieutenant, palm open and rapidly charging a ball of raw, blue power.
"Cero!" he called, firing the energy attack at the man.
His target being at close range, and hunched down in preparation for his thrust attack, Grimmjow wasn't sure on whether or not he had hit Timothy with the powerful attack when it exploded in front of him, kicking up a field of dust and debris. Not willing to take the chance, he used sonído to buzz out of the dust field and back several yards to clear his vision around him. Narrowing his eyes in a growl, his gaze shifted left, right, and up into the pillars above, looking for any possible attack.
"Bakudō #53…" Timothy spoke from within the cloud, Grimmjow snapping his eyes back towards the sound. "Maboroshi Tsubasa."
He felt a brief spike in Timothy's power as his eyes caught a flash of orange light inside the dust cloud. Before he could ponder it, the dust cloud was swiftly blown away from its center, and an object flew into the air. Following the object, Grimmjow growled in growing anger when he saw Timothy floating twenty feet off the ground, a pair of large, orange wings attached to his back.
The Lieutenant raised his free hand next to his head, his fingers poised as if to grab something. "Rivers of the south, walk with your bubbling mouth to the rock near the footholds. East and west merge, to form an elongated weapon of justice." he chanted.
The Espada watched in near surprise as a mass of orange energy gathered in the palm of Timothy's hand. The mass then spread out in two directions, forming a long, slender pole of spirit energy with a pointed tip. A tip that was now pointed right at Grimmjow. The light from the wings and spear-like weapon almost drowned out the small flicker that seemed to come from the man's other hand, but Grimmjow was too fixated on the weapon pointed at him to worry about it.
Timothy narrowed his eyes at the feline Espada. "You might wanna move, Grimm. Hadō #40, Sora Ransu." he called, throwing the orange spear at him.
The spear moved so fast that Grimmjow didn't even have time to gasp in shock before it hit him. The ground exploded and a yell of pain was heard as the Sexta Espada was thrown back nearly a hundred feet before his body hit a faraway pillar. The angle his body struck the pillar had caused him to bounce off and fly a further forty feet to the side before he finally hit the ground with a thud.
Recovering quickly, Grimmjow coughed a couple of times as he picked himself back up. His senses instantly detected danger and he reacted, turning around and using both forearms to block a diving thrust from a now airborne Timothy. His attack blocked, Timothy flapped his wings, forcing himself back and upwards into the air. Stopping back at his previous twenty feet height, he held his blade out towards the Espada.
"Hadō #32, Okasen." the Lieutenant called.
Yellow, electrical energy gathered in his blade before flowing to the tip in a ball of energy. A second later, multiple bolts of electricity shot from the tip of his blade towards Grimmjow in a wide arc. Like the spear, the bolts moved with tremendous speed, and he was again unable to react fast enough to dodge the barrage. Bolt after bolt struck the ground, leaving behind several six-inch wide scorch marks on the floor where they had missed the target. The ones that did hit Grimmjow caused him mild pain in the immediate area where they struck him. A near total of fifty bolts of electrical energy hit the area around him with a radius of ten feet, with over a dozen of the bolts hitting the Espada directly.
When the attack ended, Timothy reared his blade back and dove down once more. Still recovering from the onslaught of Timothy's kidō, he was once again unable to react when the man's blade struck him with impressive speed. Little did he realize at the time that the only reason the attack hadn't killed him, or otherwise left him unable to fight, was the simple fact that Timothy's aim was slightly off. Rather than striking the Espada in the chest, where Timothy was aiming for, the blade pierced right through Grimmjow's hiero and dug deeply into his left shoulder.
The Espada roared in pain and reacted quickly. With a whip of his tail, it wrapped around Timothy's outstretched arm and pulled him away, ripping the blade out in the process and eliciting another hiss of pain from Grimmjow, before slinging the man overhead and into a nearby pillar with a crash.
Now enraged, Grimmjow turned to face the destroyed pillar and the cloud of dust that Timothy's impact had created. He only had to wait a few seconds before his enhanced eyes could pick out the man's recovering form, and once he had, he was immediately on the offensive. His eyes caught the quick flicker of light coming from the Lieutenant's hand, but at this point, he couldn't care less. All that mattered was getting back into the fight.
"oo low." the man spoke, but something was off about it. With a quick thought, Grimmjow could have sworn that his voice seemed…
His thoughts were broken when he suddenly found himself kissing the floor from an impact to the back of his head. His face acting as a brake, his lower body was slung over his upper in a failed somersault. His lower body dropped to the floor and, now face-up, slid across the floor until it came to a stop. Rolling over, the Espada spit the dirt and bits of stone from his mouth and moved to get back up quickly.
"ou fee it ow, do't yo?" Timothy spoke again and Grimmjow's head snapped to his left to see the man standing calmly nearby, his arms hanging limply at his sides. Again, his mind detected the oddity of his voice, but Timothy spoke again before he could think on it. "Yo wan ed to ee my npa tō's ower, wel, ow y u ha." The Espada watched as the man raised his zanpakutō up a bit for him to see. "It ook e fo r d ys to gure ou it po er. Le s se if ou c n be t my cord."
Grimmjow only had a second or two to catch a glimpse of the man's weapon before he vanished again. He didn't notice anything different about the weapon itself, however, he could have sworn that he saw something glowing on the hilt. Multiple somethings. But he was dragged from his thoughts again when he felt himself kicked in the side, the power of it throwing him off his hands and knees and across the ground a few yards.
When his body stopped, he quickly forced himself back up to his feet as fast as possible and swiftly looked around him, looking for his opponent. "Ar y u ha rd tim und sta ing e? ell th n… How about now?" Timothy asked.
Grimmjow noticed the sudden change in the man's voice before he found himself under a barrage of thrusts. But, unlike Timothy's previous assaults, this one was by far many times faster than before. The man's thrusts were now so fast that Grimmjow couldn't even see the man's arm and blade as he was stabbed numerous times in the torso and arms. Thankfully, the quick jabs were mostly unable to get through his hiero, merely deflecting off the hardened skin, but a few were still able to get through, though just barely.
Timothy continued his assault as he spoke again. "Have you noticed my zanpakutō's power now?" he questioned, and the Espada only snarled in fury. "I told you, it takes a while for my zanpakutō to get going. And now that he has…" Grimmjow caught sight of another flicker, but this time, he saw that it came from the man's zanpakutō. Taking the chance, he spared a glimpse at the weapon and his eyes widened when he saw that ten of the twelve protrusions of the hilt were glowing a dark, blood-like red.
Timothy narrowed his eyes quickly in a condescending manner. "Y re d ne." he said in a dark tone, his voice returning to its odd manner from before, though now even more difficult to understand.
Stopping his assault, Timothy rapidly, with a speed Grimmjow didn't think possible, raised his blade and swung down, breaking through the Espada's hiero and cutting deep into his chest from left shoulder to right hip. Grimmjow yelled out in roaring pain and his legs lost their strength as his body fell down to his knees, blood pouring from his mouth as he coughed.
Timothy stood a few feet away, having backed off a bit to avoid a possible counter from his opponent. Looking down slightly at the kneeling Espada, the man narrowed his eyes as his thoughts briefly went back to the harsh training he suffered only days prior.
Flashback, Timothy's Inner World, 5 Days Prior
Timothy opened his eyes to the familiar scene of a large, open field of rich grass, a few stone buildings, and the massive cathedral that consisted of his inner world. The first thing he did was pay very close attention to his surroundings, starting with the smaller buildings, before landing his gaze upon the large, old surface of the cathedral's large clock face. Narrowing his eyes a fraction, he paid close attention to the movement of the hands, along with the low, clunking sound of the clock's ticking.
He stared at the large timepiece for a few moments before scoffing quietly. 'So…' he thought to himself upon confirming his suspicion. 'That really is what his game is.'
"Are you… ready… to continue?"
Timothy dropped his gaze down until he spotted 'Johnny' standing at the entrance of the cathedral, staring at him. The Lieutenant turned to face him fully and offered the spirit a firm nod in response. "As I can be." He took a moment to look around, then back to the spirit with a raised brow. "Where's kit?" he asked in return.
"She… will not… be joining… us… this time… This time… it is… just you… and myself." he answered.
The man nodded firmly. "Never thought she would miss out on her 'entertainment', but whatever, her loss. Now, let's get started." he said with a smirk.
'Johnny' narrowed his exposed eye in suspicion. "You are… quite… confident… this time… I take it… you have… a plan." he commented.
Timothy's smirk then grew into a sly grin. "Let's just say that… I've come to a realization. I think I've finally got a way to beat you, I just need to figure out how to implement it."
The spirit nodded and raised a hand next to his head, snapping his finger. Like the other times before, a zanpakutō fell from the sky and embedded itself by the tip at his feet. Reaching down, Timothy drew the blade from the ground, giving it a test swing, as another zanpakutō fell from the sky and into 'Johnny's' grip, who also gave a practice swing.
"This is… your last… chance… to learn… my name… Timothy… You have… three hours… to succeed… Make… them count." the spirit warned.
Timothy nodded firmly and dropped into a combat stance. "If my suspicions are right, three hours should be plenty. Otherwise… well, I guess it'll be off to Hueco Mundo at half strength."
The spirit narrowed his eyes dangerously. "You still… intend…"
"Of course I do." Timothy interrupted, taking a deep breath. "With or without your power, Orihime needs our help, and I'm going to do whatever it takes to get her back home. Even if it literally kills me… again. So, for both our sakes, and for Kit's, let's hope I can figure out what your name is. And this time… don't hold back, 'Johnny'. Give me everything you've got."
The two stared at each other for a moment, until the spirit nodded firmly. "Very well… prepare… yourself… Timothy."
Timothy nodded back and took a deep, calming breath, letting it out slowly. Closing his eyes, he took a second breath, then released it again. Finally, he took a third breath, held it, and reopened his eyes in a stare at the spirit. 'Stay calm…' he told himself, vanishing the next instant.
'Johnny' raised his blade, and a clash of metal rang out around the area when Timothy appeared before the spirit. Timothy didn't waste a second, vanishing again to reappear behind his opponent in an upwards attack. Again, 'Johnny' blocked the attack with little effort and moved to counterattack. Timothy saw it coming, and reacted with a counter of his own. For the next two minutes, the two were locked in a frenzy of attacks, counterattacks, blocks, and dodges. Had anyone without heightened senses been present, all they would have been able to see was a blur of red and black moving about in a dance of death.
The encounter had lasted for nearly three whole minutes before the duo broke apart, about ten yards of distance separating them. 'Johnny' returned to his relaxed, standing posture, while Timothy was hunched down in his combat stance. The Lieutenant let out the breath he had been holding since before the battle began and took another calming breath. 'Need to keep calm and relaxed. I can't get excited or angry, or it's all over.' he continued to instruct himself, something that was already proving to be a challenge.
Right away, only five or six seconds into the engagement, Timothy could tell that the spirit was holding back. That wasn't going to work. If he was going to prove his theory, he needed 'Johnny' to go at him with everything. He didn't have time for the spirit to get to max power at his own pace, he needed that power now. Which meant he was going to have to goad the spirit.
"I thought I said not to hold back, 'Johnny'. Like you said, I've got three hours left, so I don't have time for you to take it easy on me." he taunted.
"Hmm…" the spirit scoffed. "You are… more aware… than you… were before… Your reflexes… improved… more deliberate… Forgive me… but… I wished… to test you… and now… the real… battle… begins." he said, vanishing.
Timothy had but a second to take in a quick breath of air and hold it before he was forced to block an attack from his right flank. He had no chance to plan a counter, as he had to immediately twist and block a follow-up attack from the left, then again from the rear. Over and over, Timothy was forced to block or dodge an attack from a random direction, never given the chance to retaliate against the spirit.
The engagement was broken when 'Johnny' gave the man a kick to the back of his knee, dropping him down a bit, followed by another kick to the side of his head. The man's body was sent flying over the ground a few yards before he recovered with a twist of his body, landing back on his feet. He exhaled slowly then swiftly took in another breath, dashing forward the instant his lungs were filled.
The pair entered another round of rapid attacks, blocks, and counters, with Timothy quickly finding himself on the defensive again. He could tell that the spirit was still holding back a bit, but chose not to address it, considering that he was having a lot of trouble at the spirit's current level. It did dishearten him a bit though, seeing just how outclassed he was in comparison to his own zanpakutō spirit.
The Lieutenant hissed in pain when 'Johnny' scored the first hit of the day on his right shoulder, though at least it wasn't deep. Recovering quickly, Timothy forced himself to keep calm and continue with the fight, only to get hit again on his right lower thigh on the outside. His temper was starting to build when he was hit a third time just under the cut on his shoulder…
And that was when he noticed it.
Knowing he would lose the fight if he let his temper continue to build, he once again pushed it down and kept himself as calm as he could. The task was made a little bit easier when he thought about his task, a task that was able to complete. But that was the easy part of his plan, now he just had to figure out how to implement it. But no matter what he did, he knew one thing, keeping calm was the key to victory.
With a flipping kick, Timothy was able to break away and get a bit of distance. He tried to take a quick moment to take another breath, but 'Johnny' was on him in an instant, appearing on the man's left with his blade held high. "You… are learning." he complemented, swinging down.
Timothy chose to dodge the attack that time, the spirit's blade colliding with the ground and kicking up a small cloud of dust and dirt from the force. Timothy reappeared before the spirit the second the blade hit the ground, his own blade pulled back and poised to thrust. 'Johnny' lept back, pulling his blade from the ground, and took step after step backward as Timothy came at him with a series of rapid thrusts.
The spirit scoffed, and with a flick of his wrist, deflected the seventh thrust, throwing its aim off to the right. Timothy's eyes widened slightly in surprise as the spirit came to a sudden stop, the man's face running right into 'Johnny's' extending fist. The Lieutenant's face was thrown to the side from the hit and his body stumbled forward before falling down when 'Johnny' kicked the man's legs out from under him.
"But not… enough… it seems." the spirit insulted, turning and swinging down on the man.
Palace of the Sexta Espada, Present
Footsteps, that was all that Grimmjow was able to perceive of the outside world as he fought through the pain flooding his chest. More than that, his thoughts were raging, trying to figure out just what had happened. The fight had suddenly gone against him. The footsteps steadily grew louder as he continued to ponder the events of the fight.
At first, everything was going well for him. Sure, Timothy was able to get a couple hits in, but the Espada was holding back, a lot. Over time, the Lieutenant was becoming a better fighter, getting faster and more effective. Grimmjow had simply chalked it up as the man finally getting his head in the fight, and so he let loose a little more. He figured that, eventually, he would get Timothy to fight at his maximum power by beating him up, forcing the man to fight harder and allowing the Espada to hold back less, repeating as necessary until the man gave him the fight he truly wanted.
Until about five minutes ago.
That was when everything just… went to shit. He couldn't explain it, but, somehow, Timothy's speed just skyrocketed. No, not skyrocketed; exploded! It was like flicking on the bathroom light. One second, everything was fine, then, in a flash, Grimmjow suddenly found himself fighting just to stay on his feet.
His eyes suddenly widened. The flash. That was when it all happened, right after the odd flash of light. Closing his eyes, both from the pain and in thought, he went back through the fight and replayed everything through his mind. One… two… three… three flashes. No… there were more than that. Clenching his eyes tighter, he struggled to remember anything he could have possibly missed, or ignored. Six… seven… eight? Eight flashes?
"Tr ing to igur it ut?" a voice asked. Grimmjow's eyes snapped open, and his head lifted. His eyes narrowed with a snarl of pure fury at Timothy, now standing only feet away from him and looking down on him. "ll admi, i to k me oreve to fi ure ut as w ll." he spoke again, his words hard to interpret due to how… odd they sounded.
Grimmjow bared his fangs in a growl. "What the fuck did you do?!" he demanded.
Timothy's calm expression didn't change as he answered. "Ex tly wh t you w nted; I howed y u my ew powe." The man stopped and shook his head slowly with a sigh. "Okay, it's getting really annoying having to talk like this. So, can we just call it? In case you didn't notice, I'm really pressed for time right now."
The Espada snarled even louder with tightly clenched teeth. "Fuck no!" he roared, his spike in adrenaline blocking the pain and allowing him to quickly push himself back up to his feet. He then jabbed a clawed finger out at the man, eye wide and maniacal. "I still don't know what the fuck you did, or what this damn power of yours is, but our fight's not finished yet, Tim! I may look all beat up and done with, but I promise you…" His lips pulled back into a very happy and pleased smile. "I've still got a lot left in the tank! So don't think for even a second that I'm done in!" The Espada let out a pleased chuckle. "It looks like you finally pulled out all the stops and decided to fight me for real. Even after what I said earlier, I was still holding back, cause I knew you were too. But that's over and done with." His chuckle then turned into a full blown laugh of pure glee. "Now neither of us are holding back! Now we can get this fight started for real this time!"
With a push of his legs, Grimmjow leaped back and dropped into a combat stance. "Bring it on, Tim. Don't you fucking dare hold anything back. Give me everything you got! Give me a real fight!" he demanded.
Timothy stared at the Espada for a moment before nodding."Three and a half minutes." he responded.
Grimmjow raised a brow in confusion. "Huh?!"
Timothy dropped down into his own stance, his blade held back in preparation for a thrust. "You have three and a half minutes until my power is at its maximum, Grimm. You have that amount of time to try and defeat me. Because, if you don't beat me before that time runs out…" The Lieutenant narrowed his eyes dangerously at the Sexta. "I will become untouchable." he warned.
"What the fuck?!" Grimmjow raged. "I'm finally gonna get a good fight, and you're gonna stand there and tell me that I only get three fucking minutes?!"
"Three minutes and fifteen seconds now. The more you stand there bitching, the less time you get. So, I suggest shutting up and attacking if you want anything resembling a fight at all, Grimm."
Enraged, Grimmjow let out a massive flood of spiritual pressure that filled the room, letting all of his restrictions fall away and his true power come forth. "If all I get is three measly minutes, then I'm gonna spend em beating you to a pulp!" he roared, the two of them dashing forward.
When the two of them were only feet apart, Timothy thrust his blade forward, so Grimmjow threw a clawed hand out and across, surprisingly catching and deflecting the blade away from him. Now given an opening, he thrust his other hand towards the man's chest, slashing across it. Timothy was able to bring his other arm up in time, allowing the Espada's claws to strike his forearm instead.
Hissing slightly in pain, the Lieutenant twisted his body around, lifting a leg up high. Like Timothy had done, Grimmjow raised an arm up next to his face, the man's shin hitting his own forearm. Before Timothy could react, the Espada's tail flipped up and over his back, wrapping around Timothy's leg, and lifted him into the air. With a single swing around, Timothy was thrown back down to the floor, but not before the Sexta turned and raked a clawed hand across the man's back as he flew by.
Timothy growled in further pain before crashing into the ground. Recovering quickly, he swiftly got himself back up to his feet, but Grimmjow was already on him again. The Lieutenant was forced to block as the Espada swung at him with his claws and whipped at him with his tail, using it as a bullwhip. Blocking the claws with his zanpakutō and dodging and weaving around the tail attacks, Timothy was steadily forced back as he defended against the reinvigorated Espada, every now and then the Sexta getting a shallow hit in, but nothing more than a scratch beyond what he had already received.
The Espada was laughing in pure happiness, even when Timothy was suddenly able to break his assault and put him on the defensive. Timothy then entered into a series of rapid thrusts, and like Grimmjow only seconds ago, he was able to get a hit every now and then. But, even though Grimmjow was getting pushed back and was on the defensive, getting hit worse than he did to Timothy, he was still laughing. The Lieutenant was beginning to think that the blue-haired man might have lost it.
Suddenly, the tables were turned again when Grimmjow allowed himself to be hit with a stab. Taking advantage of Timothy's very brief moment of surprise, the Espada grabbed the man's outstretched arm, holding the man to him, and raised his open palm to him. The Lieutenant's eyes widened a bit when Grimmjow began charging a cero only a foot from his chest.
"Let's see you dodge this!" Grimmjow said in his 'happy' voice.
Timothy recovered from his surprise and narrowed his eyes at the Espada. 'Crap…'
"Cero!" Grimmjow yelled.
Thinking quickly, Timothy used his free hand to grab the Espada's wrist and yank it down, pointing the attack right at their feet. Grimmjow had just enough time to widen his own eyes in shock before the ground exploded beneath them. The two were broken apart from the force, thrown in opposite directions and tumbling through the air.
Grimmjow recovered first, twisting his body around just before impacting a pillar, landing on his feet, rather than something else. Using a clawed hand to dig into the stone surface behind him and hold himself to the surface, the Espada looked up and across the room at the rising dust cloud. After a few seconds, it began to clear, and Grimmjow grinned merrily when he saw Timothy in a similar stance against the side of a faraway pillar, held up by his embedded zanpakutō and looking right back at him.
Grimmjow laughed loudly in glee before pressing off the surface with his legs and dashing through the air, creating a small wave of air pressure as he did. "Ha ha ha! That's it! This is the fight I've been looking for! Bring it, Tim!" he yelled, watching as the man withdrew his blade and pressed off his own pillar to intercept him.
Flying at each other at impressive speed, Timothy raised a palm towards Grimmjow, who raised a palm right back. A ball of red energy began to grow in Timothy's hand, while Grimmjow prepared a blue one.
"Hadō #31, Shakkahō."
"Cero!"
Both attacks launched at the same time, flying ahead of their respective casters and colliding with each other. Both attacks exploded simultaneously, creating a massive, airborne explosion. The enormous dust cloud it created was only present for a second, before the two combatants flew in from either side of it and was blown away instantly when the two clashed, claws and blade locked with each other while they remained in the air.
Timothy kept a straight face, while Grimmjow had an expression of pure joy written on his own, their faces only inches from each other. "Heh, I gotta give it to ya, Tim, you actually put up a decent fight. Better than the shit I've dealt with in the past here. It pissed me the fuck off at first, I was starting to think you were just another weakling. But boy, am I glad as hell to admit that I was wrong. This is the best fight ever!"
Timothy continued to stare into the Espada's eyes for a moment longer before responding. "You're right… it 'was'."
Grimmjow raised a brow in question. "What?"
The man's lip's pulled back into a smirk. "Time's up, Grimm." he mocked.
The Espada's eyes widened before they shot over to the hilt of Timothy's zanpakutō, just as the twelfth, and final sphere flickered to life.
"It… ver." Timothy said, his voice taking on that odd tone, this time, having a cold edge to it.
Grimmjow wasn't sure what exactly happened next. All he knew was, the very instant Timothy had finished speaking, the man was gone. Not even a fraction, of a fraction, of a second later, the Espada found himself falling from the air, his back to the ground and him looking back up at Timothy. The man was staring right back at him with a calm, emotionless face, it was almost freaky. Something red, something liquid, was falling through the air with him in his vision. It didn't take but a second after that before the flash of pain reached his senses, and he then realized that the liquid was blood. His blood.
The Espada's body hit the floor with a crash, kicking up dust from the impact. Timothy flashed into place a short distance away and carefully walked closer to the site. Though his expression didn't show it, he was hurting. He was getting exhausted quickly, and as much as he really didn't want to disappoint his rival, he needed to end this fight, and quickly. But even with his zanpakutō's power, he still had to be cautious. If there was one thing he had learned about Grimmjow, it was that the man didn't give in.
Stopping only a few feet away, he looked down at the Espada lying before him. Grimmjow was lying on his back, hissing and growling in pain. And he was a mess. His body was now littered with numerous cuts, stabs, and slashes across his torso, arms, legs, and head. All of the wounds were bleeding badly, though, from what Timothy could tell, none of them were life-threatening. The Espada would be out of action for quite a while, but he would live. While the man was an enemy, Timothy couldn't exactly say that he was evil, nor did he really hate him, he was just someone who was fighting on the opposite side than he was.
Grimmjow, fighting through the pain, managed to open a single eye and glare at the Lieutenant, but surprisingly, it was with a look that lacked hate and anger. If Timothy had to guess, he would have said that the Espada almost seemed… pleased.
The Sexta Espada coughed once, expelling a small amount of blood, and actually grinned at him. "Heh… he… not… not fucking… bad… Tim. But… we're… not done… yet." he said sternly. With a growl, the Espada managed to roll onto his front and fought to pull his arms and legs under him. "I'm… not done yet." he assured firmly.
Hissing in pain, Grimmjow struggled to push himself up to his hands and knees, but was only able to make it halfway before his strength gave out and he collapsed to the floor again. Snarling, he turned his head towards Timothy in a glare. "I'm not… fucking done! This fight… isn't over! It's not over!" he yelled at the man.
Honestly, it hurt Timothy inside, seeing Grimmjow in the state he was in. He knew his position all too well, having been in the same position a few times in the past. Your will to fight was still as strong as ever, but your body just simply couldn't go any further. The few times Timothy had been in that state, he felt like he was a prisoner, and his body was the cell.
Knowing that the man was finally beaten, Timothy sighed heavily, and with a flick of his blade, he sealed his zanpakutō's power, returning it to its normal state. "I'm sorry, Grimm, but it's over." he said in regret.
Grimmjow's eyes widened for a second before narrowing in a furious glare. "The… The fuck it isn't! I told you…" Drawing his arms and legs again, he was actually able to get himself up to his hands and knees this time, although he was visibly fighting not to collapse again. Timothy watched in slight surprise as the Espada's resurrección failed and resealed itself, Grimmjow's body returning to its original form. Grimmjow clenched his teeth tightly as he continued to fight to stay up. "It's… It's not over. Our fight… is not over!" Raising his head, he snarled at Timothy in anger. "Release your damn zanpakutō, Tim! We're not damn well through yet!"
Timothy sighed again and shook his head. "Even if you were still in fighting shape, Grimm, the battle was already over." he stated.
"What the fuck you talking about, you bastard?!" the Espada demanded.
"It's simple, Grimm, the power of my zanpakutō, it's just… not something you could have stood up against, not at the level it was at." he said, looking down at his blade.
Flashback, Timothy's Inner World, 5 Days Prior
Reacting quickly, Timothy rolled and held his blade up, blocking the attack, and kicked a foot out to trip up the spirit. Seeing the counter, 'Johnny' expertly hopped over the limb, letting it pass under him, and used his own foot to kick at Timothy's raised sword arm. Timothy yelled out in pain when the spirit stomped down on his sword wrist, pinning it down to the ground, and stabbed his blade into his left shoulder. Reflexively, Timothy grabbed the spirit's blade with his free hand and made an attempt to pull it out, but the blade did not budge.
The pain was causing Timothy to lose his calm state, starting to veer into anger again, as 'Johnny' leaned forward and closer to the man's face. "You may… be calm now… but… you are… still… complacent." he scolded, giving his blade a twist and drawing a pained hiss from Timothy. "You allowed… yourself… to be… pushed… Pressured… Forced… to miss… key… details." he added, twisting the blade again, hearing the man hiss again.
"You are… unable… to learn… my name… You… will go to… Hueco Mundo… and you… will die… Your friends… will die… The girl… will likely… die… All… simply because… you… are weak… Unable to… defeat me… doomed… to fail." the spirit sneered.
Timothy groaned through his teeth, trying to fight through the pain and remain calm. With a ragged breath, he pushed the pain back and glared into the spirit's eyes. "You're wrong." he growled.
Raising his lower body off the ground, he hooked his left leg over the crook of 'Johnny's' sword arm and pulled it down, pulling the spirit forward and off balance. Twisting his lower body, he swung his right leg around, managing to kick the spirit in the head. The blade was violently yanked free from the man's shoulder, drawing out another yell of pain. Timothy ignored it and used his lower body's momentum to kick himself back up to his feet before leaping back several yards.
Bringing his sword arm up, he pressed his hand to the wound and glared at the spirit as he got back to his feet as well. "There's no denying it; yeah, I've got some problems I've gotta work out. I know that there's a lot I don't know yet. And yeah, compared to some, I am weak. I'm fully aware that if I go to Hueco Mundo like I am now, the chances of coming back are hardly anything. But, like I told you last night, I. Am. Not. Giving up! I will never give up on my friends and family. I will always fight for them, no matter what it takes."
Timothy narrowed his eyes at the spirit in a growl. "You're right that I've missed a lot over the past few days. To be honest, I'm still having trouble believing that I missed it. The past four days, they went by fast. Too fast. Yeah, I know the saying that 'time flies when you're having fun', not that what we've been doing is exactly what I would call 'fun', but when I look back on the past four days, time really flew." He narrowed his eyes accusingly at the spirit. "Like it was sped up."
'Johnny' narrowed his eyes back at him as he continued. "And our fights… I didn't catch it before cause I was under the assumption that you were just so much faster than me. Yeah, I'll admit that you're a lot stronger than I am, and a lot faster; but it's just like I said before, you were too fast. At least to me." A smirk found its way to his lips with a light chuckle. "That's your power, isn't it? Time? You're somehow able to change the flow of time for me, right? Or rather, how I perceived it."
The spirit's eyes narrowed even further, but Timothy could swear that it was due to a smirk the spirit's cloth mask was hiding. "If that… is… the case… why… is it… you… that is… being… affected… and not… myself?" he questioned.
"Simple: If it was you that was being affected, then those four days wouldn't have passed by so damn quickly. Also…" Fighting the pain, he raised his left hand and pointed at the large clock on the cathedral with 'Johnny' glancing at it. "That clock." he added, lowering his hand again. "The first day, when I first came here, I noticed something was off about that clock. Every day I noticed it, but could never figure out what that something was. But, earlier, something Tessai said to me made me think, and that was when I caught it, the thing I was missing about that clock." His smirk turned into a wide grin. "It's moving too fast."
'Johnny' turned his gaze back to him as he continued. "Ever since coming back here today, I've been keeping an ear out, listening to the clock's ticking, listening for any changes. Then, earlier in our fight, I lost a little bit of my calmness when you hit me, and that was when I caught it. The second I lost my cool, the ticking got even faster. At the same time, you just so happened to get a speed boost, and that confirmed my theory."
His grin fell into a scowl. "Your power allows you to change my perception of time, and its effectiveness is controlled by my emotions. The more angry, agitated, or excited I get, the more its effect increases. On the other hand, if I keep calm, the less effective it is. So, basically, as long as I keep calm, your power's effectiveness can't increase; and I'm willing to bet that as time goes on, provided I stay calm, your power over me decreases, until it's no longer in effect. So go head; tell me I'm wrong."
The two stared at each other for a long moment. After a minute, to Timothy's surprise, 'Johnny' actually began to laugh. It started out as a light, breathy chuckle, then moved on to an actual, out loud laugh. In all honesty, the sound of the spirit's laughter unnerved him. The spirit laughed for a good thirty or forty seconds, before stopping and giving the Lieutenant a wide smile.
"Well done… Timothy… Your… observations… have served… you well… Indeed… that is… the nature… of my… power." he confirmed. "Now… close… your eyes…" he instructed, and the Lieutenant did so. "And search… deep… deep… within… yourself… your soul… your being… Deep down… you know… You know… what… my true name… is… You need… only to… find it."
Taking a deep, calming breath, Timothy began searching inside himself. He tried picturing his being as a book, a book that contained everything there was about him, known and unknown. He pictured the pages of the book turning, page by page, the turning growing faster and faster. On and on, the pages poured by. Instinctively, he began to raise his zanpakutō up in front of himself at chest height. As the pages continued to flow by, his grip on the weapon loosened, until he was no longer holding it, the weapon seemingly floating in place now. Faster and faster, the pages turned, and as they did, he lowered his hand and gave the bottom of the hilt a tap with his middle and index fingers. The weapon spun in place in a clockwise manner as the pages continued to turn.
The weapon spun around, making a total of twelve turns, before he raised his hand and grabbed the hilt again, the tip pointing down. "Flow…" he whispered into the air. Suddenly, the pages came to an abrupt stop, and there, written in bold symbols, was what he had been fighting so hard for. Opening his eyes, he stared directly into 'Johnny's', seeing the spirit actually smiling in glee at him.
"Akuma no Tokei."
The pair watched closely as the zanpakutō's blade began to bend forward and visibly shorten and widen, an audible whining noise coming to their ears as the metal strained to reform itself; the metal sheen of the blade took on an ominous, dark red color. At the same time, the pouncing fox guard over the hilt also started to reshape, stretching out at twelve, equidistant locations into inch-long 'prongs'. As they did, the base of the guard got smaller and smaller, until it was only an inch in diameter, while a small 'bulb' appeared on the tip of each prong. In his hand, the hilt changed from its black base and orange wrapping, to a dark red base and teal wrapping; its length seemed to be shortening as well. Once the transformation was complete, the blade had gone from its standard length to a shorter eighteen inches, the blade now straight and wide.
The transition complete, Timothy brought his weapon up to eye level and closely inspected the changes to his zanpakutō while feeling the reduced weight it now had. All in all, while the weapon's new form reduced his reach by almost ten inches, it was light, and much easier to handle, with either one hand or two. From a quick glance, one could say that the weapon resembled that of a roman gladius, bar the large pommel.
"You have passed my trial." 'Johnny', now known as Akuma no Tokei, spoke in a pleased-sounding tone. Timothy raised his gaze to the spirit to see him walking towards him slowly. "You have discovered my true name and acquired my powers. Well done." he congratulated.
The Lieutenant raised a brow in surprise, instantly noticing the change in the spirit's speech. "You're talking normally. Though still a little bit sluggish, it's not all slow and drowned out like it was."
Akuma no Tokei nodded. "Indeed. The reason for this is simple. Though I am your zanpakutō spirit, you and I were not in tune with each other. My power was disrupting the balance of time between us, causing my perception of it to be slower than yours. And now that you have learned my name, we have become one, the balance has been achieved, and we are now capable of speaking equally."
Timothy nodded in acceptance and turned back to his weapon for a moment and sighed lightly as he lowered it to his side, looking back into the spirit's eye. "The trial took longer than it should've. Now that I stop and look back on everything, I'm a little pissed that I didn't catch onto all those clues earlier. To be perfectly frank with you, when you really sit and think about your 'trial', it wasn't really that hard."
Akuma no Tokei raised a brow in question. "Is that so?"
The man nodded firmly. "From the start, I was under the impression that I had to defeat you to learn your name. But, looking back, you never once said I had to actually beat you in a fight, did you?" The spirit made no reply, so he continued. "That was your trial, wasn't it? I just had to figure out what your power was; because, the simple truth is that, with only my natural, physical abilities, there is just simply no chance of defeating your power. Even if I had Kit's abilities in the trial, my chances were still slim to none against you."
The spirit nodded once. "You are correct. In our fight, you stood no chance of defeating me. Your one goal, one task, was to discover the nature of my power. By doing this, you would be able to discover my true name by searching within your soul. And now that you have, my power, is now your power."
His eyes dropped down to the weapon at Timothy's side. "You are correct in your assumption of how my power works. Spiritual pressure is a measure of the potency of one's spirit energy. The stronger it is, the stronger the spirit energy. However, there are certain factors that affect the flow of spiritual pressure. One of these is emotions." he stated, looking back into Timothy's eyes. "When you are calm, your spiritual pressure becomes calm as well, flowing steadily. However, if you were to become excited, angry, or even agitated, it causes one's spiritual pressure to flare in preparation to a possible threat. It is a reflexive instinct. One can train to help manipulate this instinct, but it can never be fully controlled."
Raising a finger, he then pointed at Timothy's zanpakutō. "My power is affected by that flare in the spiritual pressure of the one whom you target. For every two minutes that your opponent remains in an elevated state of emotion, one of the spheres on your guard will ignite, thus slowing the target's perception of time by one percent. Another two minutes of your opponent in this state will cause another to light, doubling my power's effect, and slowing their perception by two percent. A third sphere will cause it to double again, making it four percent. A fourth…" He paused, allowing Timothy to figure it out.
"It doubles again, making it eight percent." the Lieutenant deducted, earning a nod from the spirit. "So, for every two minutes I keep my opponent upset, angry, or excited, your power doubles. So… if my math is right… if all twelve spheres are lit… it slows my opponent's perception by… over two-thousand percent?!" he said in shock, and the spirit nodded again. "Holy shit…" he mumbled.
"Indeed." The spirit confirmed with a nod.
Timothy could only blink in epic shock. "Jesus… compounding at its finest, huh?" he mumbled aloud.
"To put it simply, when my power is at maximum effect, your opponent's perception of time is one-twentieth of your own. Keep in mind, that those two minutes are to your perspective, not your opponent's. However, be warned…" Akuma no Tokei started, getting the man's attention and holding two fingers up. "My power has two weaknesses. The first, is that, besides the ability to alter a target's perception of time, it bears no other ability. Unlike Moeru Kitsune's power, wherein you are able to use her flames as stationary weapons, and as points of teleportation, as well as being able to use these flames as projectiles from your blade, my power bears no further combat abilities outside of perception alteration. Altering time perception is all my power is capable of performing."
Timothy nodded in understanding. "That sucks, but I guess it kinda makes sense. What's the other drawback?" he asked.
"The second weakness is that it requires a constant supply of both yours and your opponent's spirit energies to continue functioning. With more time and training, you will be able to do this instinctively, however, for now, you must consciously feed this energy on your own. If you do not, the effects already upon your opponent will begin to wear off, at double the rate it was applied. For example: if three spheres are lit at the time you stop feeding my power with your energy, it will only take three minutes for the effect to completely wear off. Also, if your opponent should become calm, calming their spiritual pressure, this will also cause my power to lose its effect, though at the rate it was applied. Keep in mind, however, the more spheres that are lit at a time, the more energy that is required to maintain the ability."
"I assume the energy requirement is doubled for each sphere as well?" Timothy asked, getting a nod back.
"Yes. In conclusion, you must be careful with how you use my power. If you use it too much, or for too long, you will exhaust your spirit energy, and you are aware of what that will result in." the spirit confirmed.
Timothy sighed and nodded. "Game over." he mumbled.
"One more thing you must know before you leave." Akuma no Tokei said, regaining the man's attention again. "You now have access to both Moeru Kitsune's power, and my own. You are now able to use them as you please; however, only one of our powers can be accessed at a time. If you have my power released, and wish to use hers, then you must reseal my powers and call upon hers. It is the same in reverse as well."
The man nodded firmly. "Thanks for the warning. But, two questions: is there a way to quickly reduce the level of perception alteration without having to cut the feed and wait for it? And, can I stop the effect increase if I need to?"
"There is, however, more training is required to teach these to you. If you attempt the techniques as you are now, you are more likely to cause the ability to cancel out, rather than reduce its effectiveness or halt the increase of effectiveness. Meaning, you would have to use my power from the beginning again." the spirit answered in warning.
Timothy nodded once more and allowed his zanpakutō to vanish from his hand. "Gotcha. Well, I guess it's time for me to head out. Might as well use what time I've got left to make sure everything is ready." he said, then bowed at the waist to the spirit. "Thank you, so much, Akuma. I really needed your help.
Akuma no Tokei narrowed his eye dangerously. "My name, is not 'Akuma', it is Akuma 'no Tokei'." he corrected.
The Lieutenant raised himself and smiled cheekily. "I know, but your name's kinda long, like Kit's, sooo… I'll just call you Akuma. Or maybe just 'Kuma'. That's even better." he said with a thoughtful expression.
A shiver shot down his spine instantly when the spirit actually growled at him. "You will not dare address me as such." he warned. "I detest that name. It is far more fitting to address me by the name you had previously."
Timothy blinked at him and shrugged. "Okay. Johnny it is then. To be honest, I think that one's better too."
"That was not the intention of my words!" the spirit snarled.
The man shrugged again. "Tough luck. I'm calling you Johnny. Later, 'Johnny'." he teased with a smirk, vanishing a second later to return to the real world and leaving, now 'officially named', Johnny alone in the field.
The spirit snarled even louder in anger for a moment before calming slightly and taking a breath. "I suppose… it is more fitting than being addressed as 'Kuma'. I pray that she hears not of it, for I shall never see the end of that female's torture." he mumbled, then turned and began walking towards the cathedral.
Palace of the Sexta Espada, Present
Timothy sighed with a small smile and shrugged. "Yeah, I could have dragged the battle on longer, but all that would have done is waste time I don't have and humiliated you. You're really not a bad guy, Grimm, someone that I wish I could say I was friends with, we're just not on the same side, sadly."
Grimmjow's lips pulled back into a feral snarl, his pointed teeth gnashing tightly. "Don't you fucking pity me, you bastard! Now shut up and bring that power of yours back! We are not done here!" he raged, trying to push himself up, but couldn't, lest he fall down on his face again.
Timothy shook his head slowly. "I'm sorry, Grimm, but it is. If my friends and I are somehow able to rescue Orihime and get her home, by all means, give Kisuke a call and tell him you want to fight me. To be honest, even though I got my ass handed to me last time, I actually enjoyed that fight, when you look past the enemies part. Hit me up, and I'll gladly have another fight with you. God knows Kit wouldn't say no. You two are perfect for each other." He mumbled the last part to himself.
The man sighed and sheathed his zanpakutō and gave the downed Espada a firm glare. "I wasn't just talking out of my ass when I said I'd fight you anytime, Grimm. As long as I'm not already doing something, and you ever want a rematch, I'll meet you head-on. But for now, just accept that the fight is over, and that you lost this time. Honestly, while it sucks, there's really no shame in losing a fight against an evenly matched opponent. Who knows, next time you could be the winner."
"Yeah." a new voice spoke up, and both men turned to see Kitsune appear next to Timothy. She took a few steps forward and knelt down next to Grimmjow, patting his back. "You did real good, Grimm. But Tim's right; against Johnny's power, you really didn't stand much of a chance." she admitted with a smile.
The Espada raised a brow. "'Johnny'?" he questioned.
Timothy nodded once. "My other zanpakutō spirit. It's not his real name, obviously, but it's just what we call him."
Kitsune nodded with a giggle. "Yeah. So, anyway, cheer up, kitty cat. And besides, think of it this way: you can take this time to recover, and next time, you and I can have that little dance I promised. Sound good?" she said with a sly grin.
Grimmjow stared into the spirit's eyes for a moment, then finally scoffed and looked away with a grin. "Damn vixen." he grumbled, then snapped his gaze back up to Timothy. "Fine. I'll let ya off easy, this time. But next time…" He then turned to Kitsune with a fanged grin, one that she matched. "Your little vixen is mine to play with. She and I are gonna have a lot of fun together."
The spirit snickered in a way that only emphasized her vulpine nature. "Oh, I am definitely looking forward to it, kitty cat." she confirmed. She ruffled his hair a bit and stood up to walk back to her partner, swaying her hips and waving her tail seductively at him while Timothy moaned in disbelief. Coming to a stop next to Timothy, she spared a last glance over her shoulder and gave him a seductive flash of her brows. "Can't wait for us to have some more 'fun' the next time we meet, Grimm. Laters." she said with a wave as the two turned to leave.
The Espada's expression then turned serious. "Wait." he called out in a firm tone, making the pair stop and face him. His eyes narrowed for a moment before he scoffed with a roll of the eyes while looking away. "I don't know where your little girly friend is, but I can tell you this: Aizen knows you and your friends are here." he warned.
Timothy nodded. "Yeah, we kinda figured. I mean, you found us, right?"
Grimmjow scoffed again and shook his head. "You don't get it, Tim." he growled lowly, then turned back to them. "That fucker knew you were here since the second you arrived in Hueco Mundo. He knew about you guys playing around in those tunnels or whatever. He also knew about those two crazed lunatics you fought down there. Don't ask me how he knew, but trust me, he knew. He's been watching you from the start."
Timothy and Kitsune shared a worried glance at each other, both thinking the same thing. If Aizen knew that they were there ever since the beginning, and they were only now running into enemies and Espada, then something was definitely up.
"There's more." the Espada added, regaining the pair's attention. "I don't know what the fucker's up to, but for some stupid reason, just before you broke in here, Aizen had a meeting with the Espada. At first, we were told not to get in you and your friends' ways; but at the meeting, he said we could get involved if we wanted. The only restriction he gave us was that we weren't allowed to fuck with you, as in you specifically."
The Lieutenant narrowed his eyes in suspicion. "The Espada weren't allowed to attack me? What for?"
Grimmjow shook his head. "Don't know. However, someone showed up at the meeting, someone none of us had seen before. The guy was all cloaked up and shit, so I got no idea who he is, or even what he looks like. Either way, Aizen told the guy to go looking for you, and that he was the only one who could mess with you two."
"If this is true, why did you come find us anyway?" Kitsune asked.
The Espada barked in a laugh and grinned widely at Timothy. "You think I'm gonna just let Tim waltz right in here, do whatever, and let someone else take my fight? Yeah, fuck that! The only one who gets to fight him is me!"
Timothy rolled his eyes and turned to Kitsune. "We have got to get him and Zaraki in the same room together. My bet's on Zaraki though. That guy's just… a demon in human skin."
Kitsune shuddered at remembering their fight with the Squad Eleven Captain. "Yeah… I second that." she responded in mild fear and foreboding.
Grimmjow raised a brow in confusion. "What the hell you two talking about?"
"Nothing." the pair answered together. "Just that we both know someone that you would find yourself in heaven fighting." Timothy followed.
The Espada grinned madly. "Sounds like my kinda guy." he growled, then went serious again. "Also, one more thing. Aizen also gave everyone explicit instructions that you and that carrot-top kid were not to be killed, for any reason."
Kitsune raised a curious brow. "Ichigo?"
"Yeah, him." the Espada answered with a nod. "The kid with the orange hair and shit. Don't ask why he wanted you two left alive, cause I ain't got no clue. The rest of you guys were fair game."
The spirit stepped forward again and knelt down before the Espada, giving him a firm gaze. "Why tell us all this? Aren't we your enemies? Or better yet, won't Aizen and the other Espada kill you for telling us this?" she asked carefully.
Timothy nodded firmly. "Yeah. You do realize that Aizen's likely to skin your ass, right?" he followed in questioning.
"Tsk, who the fuck cares. Yeah, I follow the fucker, but like I told you before, it's really only because I get to fight whenever I want." he answered with a weak grin. "Fighting's all I really care about. I don't give a shit if you're a soul reaper or not."
Kitsune sighed in exasperation, lightly slapping a hand to her muzzle. "You are something else, I swear to God." she mumbled, earning a chuckle from the Espada. "So what now, Grimm?" she asked, lowering her hand and giving him a firm glare. "What's your plan now?"
His grin fell a bit in confusion. "What the hell you talking about?"
Timothy threw a hand out at him. "She means; what the hell do you plan to do after we leave the room, you idiot." he corrected, getting a snarl from Grimmjow. "If Aizen's been watching us from the get-go, then we're all stupid if we think for even a second that he's not watching us right now. I can guarantee he just heard everything you said. In other words, you're a traitor to the Espada, Grimm. And if you think for even a second that they're not gonna kill you, or at best, lock your ass up for telling us all this, then you're more retarded than I thought possible. So, once we leave here, what do you plan to do?"
The Espada's lips pulled back into a feral grin. "If they wanna come try and grab my ass, then I'll get another good fight. Live or die, at least I was able to get a good fight out of ya, Tim. Heh…" He turned his eyes up to Kitsune still knelt down before him. "Too bad we won't be able to dance, vixen. I was looking forward to it."
Kitsune's face fell a bit listening to him, where she turned her gaze back towards her partner, giving him a sorrowful look. He returned it with a slight one of his own and sighed with a nod, getting one back.
"I'm going to regret this somehow." he said in a pitiful voice as he walked forward. "Why can't anything be simple and straightforward at all?" he complained, coming to a stop and kneeling next to the Espada. "Come on, you idiot." he said as he grabbed one of Grimmjow's arms and pulled it over his shoulders.
The Sexta looked at him with a shocked expression. "Wha… What the fuck you doing?" he snarled.
Timothy's eyes met his and narrowed. "What does it look like? We're giving you a hand. You're coming with us."
Grimmjow's eyes widened briefly before narrowing again with a growl. "The fuck I am! Let me go, you bas…"
He was silenced when Kitsune slapped the back of his head with her hand. Grabbing his blade, she sheathed it and swiftly grabbed his other arm and did the same as her partner. "Oh, shut it, you stupid kitty cat. We're not leaving you here to just die, which you will. So be quiet and get your feet under you. Neither of us wants to actually drag your ass throughout all of Las Noches." she snarked with a fanged grin.
"I said let me go, damn it all! Just fuck off!" the Espada raged.
Timothy shot him a fierce glare, silencing him again. "Grimm, I'd be quiet if I were you. Trust me, you don't wanna be on Kit's bad side, which is where you're headed. Just shut up and let us help you."
The Sexta scoffed and rolled his eyes. "Oh yeah? And just where is it you plan on hauling my ass to?" he questioned.
"Back to Kisuke's." the spirit answered as the two pulled Grimmjow to his feet. "He should be able to do something to help you out. I mean, he helped Nel, so he obviously has nothing against Arrancars, or Espada. Who knows; maybe if you ask him nicely, he might even fight you himself."
"Tsk, yeah, I heard a few stories about that guy. So tell me, Tim…" He paused to look into the Lieutenant's eye. "He as good as I've heard?" he asked with a wide grin, anger still evident in his eyes.
"Mooorrre than likelyyy… better… Much better." Timothy answered.
Kitsune snickered as they began to walk forward, the Espada now supporting most of his weight with his legs. "Don't forget about Yoruichi." she reminded him.
The Lieutenant's expression fell instantly. "Oh yeah… can't forget about her." he mumbled in a deadpan.
Grimmjow raised a brow at her. "She's that cat lady, right? The one I fought the first time I faced you all in the world of the living?" he asked, getting a nod back from both.
"Yyyuuup. She's the demon cat." the man confirmed.
The Espada broke out into a quiet, dark chuckle, his mouth now a sinister smile. "Oh fuck yeah. Maybe getting carried away by you two idiots ain't so bad of an idea afterall."
Timothy turned his gaze over to his partner with a fallen expression. "Oh yeah, him and Zaraki definitely have to meet."
She met his gaze and nodded firmly. "Agreed."
The two turned back to the front and slowly carried the injured Espada from the room, turning down the hallway and disappearing. Once they were gone, a figure walked out from behind a nearby pillar, looking towards the doorway where the trio had left. The figure narrowed its cold, expressionless, green eyes only the slightest bit with a light scoff.
"It seems one more has turned his back on his comrades. How despicable. Trash, like the rest." Ulquiorra spoke quietly to himself. The Cuatro Espada scoffed again before lifting a finger and flicking the air next to him, opening a garganta. "Lord Aizen will likely find these events… entertaining. Had it not been for his instructions stating otherwise…" He spared a last glance at the doorway and his eyes grew even colder. "You would have be disposed of, like all other trash, Grimmjow." he stated into the air, before stepping into the dark portal with it closing behind him.
Alright, so we finally found out what 'Johnny's' true name and power is, after such a long and tedious wait. I'm sure some of you have noticed that I did not respond to any reviews at the beginning, as is tradition, but seeing as what the review entailed, I was not going to answer it at the beginning of the chapter cause it would have spoiled the surprise. So, I'll take this quick chance to answer that review now.
TheBiggestIrisFan21: Real quick, before I answer your review, I'm going to go on a limb here and say that you are the previous 'Thesaiven21' from my last chapter's reviews, just renamed. If not, sorry about that mix-up. Anyway, I'm glad you liked the fight so far, and I hope you enjoyed the second half of the conflict. And yup, you guessed correctly with regards to 'Johnny's' powers, which in all honesty, surprised me. Awesome deductions! As for your questions: if Timothy was to lose, they wouldn't necessarily be 'fucked', that was just Kit making a figure of speech saying that their mission would end up being almost impossible at that point. As for Ichigo's vizard training, yes, he is being trained, but because of Orihime's kidnapping, he was forced to leave before his training was done, only able to call upon his hollow powers for a limited time. No, as Ichigo is at this time, he would not be able to beat Timothy with absolute certainty, more like a fifty-fifty chance to win if they fought. However, if his 'true form' were to break loose, then yeah… Timothy's screwed to all hell. And Kit is aware that Ichigo has been doing training, as is Tim, but neither are aware of the details. Finally, in regards to the Thousand Year Blood War, I can't offer ANY details on that, simply because I don't have any idea if I'll be using that arc at all. All I can offer is that it's possible.
Whew, didn't mean to take that long on the review, but clarification was needed on some of those questions, lol. Anyway, this chapter concludes the fight between Tim and Grimmjow, and I hope none of you were disappointed with how it all went. Again, thanks for reading and I'll try to get the next chapter out as soon as I can.
Laters.
