Evening everyone, I hope you all have been well since my last posting. At least over here on my side things have gotten a little bit better, outside of worrying about the Russia/Ukraine war and the ridiculous gas prices. But, those fall under the realm of politics, and I have no intention of starting a discussion in that regard. Other than that, everything's been going okay.

It's been a few months since my last posting, and yet again I have to apologize for taking so long to get new chapters out to you all. For now, here's the next one for you all to enjoy. But, like always, gotta answer a couple reviews before the good stuff.

Faz551: I'm sorry that some factors of story didn't meet your expectations, and I just want to say that I'm honestly not mad. While I am a bit sad to see someone didn't like the story, as would any writer, I do thank you for your thoughts about why the story didn't suit your taste.

'Guest': Thanks for the review, and going by what you said, except for the issue you pointed out, you seem to be enjoying the story so far. As for Yoruichi's mannerisms, I have gotten a couple of reviews and PMs basically saying the same thing. And, to be honest, I do agree that I did go a little overboard with her 'playfulness' and her flirtiness. I have been meaning to correct it, but at the moment the story is focusing on the Hueco Mundo group and Yoruichi hasn't made any appearances lately. However, we should expect to see her again in either the next chapter, or the one after that.

Now then, with the reviews done, let's move on to the story.

(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 53

(Tres Bestias)

With Chad, Palace of the Quatro Espada

Mila Rose hissed quietly under her breath as she felt the pain radiating from her body. Steam rose from it as she was bent down on a knee, supporting herself with a single arm and head dropped low. There were multiple burn marks and cuts across her hardened skin, skin that normally should have protected her from most attacks. At least attacks that were on par with her own strength. But the last attack went right through her defenses as if they were never there.

Raising her head slowly, her gaze fell upon the broad-shouldered, muscular human teen that stood only a few yards away, paying close attention to the teen's left arm. She had a moment to study it briefly before the young man attacked, figuring by its appearance and name that it must have been a powerful ability, but she truly did not expect it to have enough power to force her to her knees. Afterall, the man was only a human, not a spiritual being.

"I warned you, Mila Rose." Chad spoke in his usual, monotone voice and getting her attention. The teen raised his left arm up enough for him to study it himself. "I don't have enough control over this power yet, so I'm sorry that my attack was weaker than it should have been."

Her eyes widened a bit in mild shock at his admittance. The attack that did this much damage to her was weaker than it was supposed to be? Just what kind of power did the man have, she wondered. Gritting her teeth, she slowly pushed herself back up to her feet, ignoring the stinging of the burns spread across her body. Raising her sword arm, she flexed her shoulder a bit and let out grunting breaths with each pop of her joints.

"Heh… gotta give it to you, Chad, that attack packed quite a punch, no pun intended." she admitted with a slight smirk, now working on her other shoulder. "Really caught me off guard, if I'm being honest."

Chad raised his eyes to her and nodded once. "I'm sorry. I intended to finish the fight with a single punch, so you wouldn't have to suffer." he said with a tone of sincerity.

The Arrancar chuckled and gave him a grin of amusement. "A single punch, huh? Sorry, kid, but you must be overestimating yourself if you think a single attack could take me out. But I will give you that in my current state that it would be hard for me to win against you. I gotta say, I never expected a human like you to have this kind of power." she complemented.

The teen hummed lowly and lowered his arm again. "I don't think you understand, Mila Rose. I meant to attack you with a quarter of my power, but that attack was only a tenth of my total power."

Her eyes widened again in shock, but narrowed again in disbelief. "Is that so?" she questioned, getting a single nod from the teen. "I take it that arm is the best of your abilities?" she asked further.

Chad glanced down at both of his arms with another hum. "I don't know. There are still some things I don't know about my powers yet. It's possible there may be more to my powers, but for now, my left arm is my most powerful ability."

"I see…" Mila Rose spoke under her breath. "If that's true, then I guess it's only fair that I show you the best of my power as well. You know about an Arrancar's resurrección, right?"

The teen raised his gaze to her and nodded. "Kisuke and Nel both told us about them. It's a second form that an Arrancar can take by releasing their zanpakutōs." he confirmed.

Mila Rose scoffed at the mention of Nelliel's name. "The traitor. She's nothing but a damn murderer." she seethed.

Chad slowly shook his head. "She didn't kill her friends, Mila Rose. Not on purpose anyway. She was tricked by Aizen. You were one of her comrades, right? You must have known she would've never hurt her friends." he questioned.

She narrowed her eyes at him in suspicion. As much as she wanted to deny it, the teen did have a point. Mila Rose and her two companions never really interacted with the former Quinto Espada, but they knew enough about her that she considered both Pesche and Dondochakka her best friends, even considered them brothers. The odds of her spontaneously attacking and killing them was just… not in her nature. Aizen had given all the Espada and fracción proof that stated she did kill them, yet something just wasn't right about the whole thing. Was Lilynette right? Did Aizen somehow orchestrate the entire thing?

But she couldn't think about that at the moment. She mentally shook the thought away to deal with later and refocused on the teen before her. "It's not really my concern. Regardless of what really happened, Lord Aizen has branded her as a traitor and murderer, and his orders are all that matters. But that doesn't matter right now. So, you know about an Arrancar's resurrección, but have you ever seen one?" she asked and he shook his head. "Alright then, why don't I show you."

Raising both arms, she held her left arm horizontal and level with her chest, while raising the right slightly higher and rested the broad side of her blade against the top of her forearm. The blade took on an orange glow as her spiritual pressure increased rapidly.

"Devour, Leona." she called firmly.

Reaching its peak, and calling upon her release, Mila Rose's spiritual pressure exploded into a vortex that concealed her from view. Not knowing what to expect, Chad braced himself and raised his right arm in preparation for an incoming attack. He watched the scene before him closely, waiting for something to happen. He didn't have to wait long before the vortex began to calm down and he could once again see his opponent in the center of it. In the five seconds or so it took for the release to complete its transition, Chad noticed that there had been a number of changes to the Arrancar's form.

The first thing was that Mila Rose's zanpakutō had gotten much longer and wider, but still retained much of its overall shape from before. The woman's hair had gotten much longer and thicker, now long enough to nearly reach the floor. Her mask had changed as well, now in the form of an armored plate upon her head, with a long, rich, thick gold mane of hair flowing behind her natural brown. Her black boots, that went to her knee, were now white and rode up to his mid thigh. And, while slightly changed, she retained the cuffs around her upper arms, and the bracers on her forearms were now longer and covering her entire lower arm and hands. But what really caught his attention, and was the cause of the pinkish hue to his cheeks, was the woman's attire.

The armor that was resting over her sternum had changed into a set of scale-like armored plates that rested under her breasts, barely concealing them. The segmented skirt was now gone, replaced with something that resembled an armored thong. The teen had to turn his head away for a moment to try and clear any potential… less than savory thoughts that tried to come to mind.

Mila Rose stared at him for a moment, noticing that he was avoiding looking at her, and she knew why. With a scoff, she rested her blade against her shoulder and planted her free hand on her hip. "Come on, Chad. Don't tell me you're one of those bashful types." she grumbled, unamused.

The teen took a moment to clear his throat and find his words again, still avoiding looking in her direction. "I'm sorry. Your resurrección is… a bit distracting, Mila Rose." he admitted.

She scoffed again with a roll of her eyes. "Sorry, Chad, but this is the form of my resurrección, so you'll just have to get used to it. Instead of worrying about my appearance, you should be more worried about our fight. I'll let your distraction go this time, but next time I won't be so accommodating. So, I suggest you get over your bashfulness and get ready."

Swallowing, Chad turned back to her and fought to ignore the woman's provocative appearance. "I'm ready, Mila Rose."

The Arrancar nodded firmly and brought her blade back down as she lowered herself into her fighting stance. "Good. Now, you said that last attack was a tenth of your power? Well, if that's the case, I suggest you stop holding back, Chad. Or this fight's going to end very quickly for you."

With a buzz, she vanished, suddenly reappearing right in front of the teen with her blade held high overhead. Bringing his right arm up, the broad side of his defensive power blocked the attack. Chad could instantly tell that the woman's strength was much, much higher than it was previously. He knew from what Kisuke and Nelliel had told him, Ichigo, and Uryū before leaving that an Arrancar's resurrección increased their power by a very large margin, but he had honestly not expected the increase of power to be this much. And this was just a fracción he was facing. If he were to run into an Espada…

With a battle roar, Chad pushed back against Mila Rose's blade, forcing her back enough for him to throw a punch with his left hand. During his punch, he quickly built up a small mass of energy in his arm, discharging it when he reached full extension at the woman. With a swing of her blade, Mila Rose was able to deflect his attack into the wall like a baseball and bat, charging back forward immediately after.

Twisting his body and stepping back a single step, Chad dodged the attack cleanly while thrusting his right arm at her shoulder. Ducking, Mila Rose avoided his attack and delivered a punch of her own into the teen's stomach. Chad grunted from the force of the hit, but was glad to notice that it did little more than that, complements of his harsh training with Yoruichi.

While the original team was busy with their own training, Ichigo had gone on to continue his training with the Visoreds, while Yoruichi had taken to giving both Chad and Uryū their own training, when she wasn't busy with her own personal matters. Chad knew that the purple-haired woman was holding back on him, as he had no chance of ever matching her speed, but even so, the teen had to admit that the woman was a lot stronger than she looked. Only after fifteen minutes with her on the first day the two were already exhausted. But, in the end, Chad knew that the five days training with her had paid off greatly, his left arm serving as a testament to that.

Recovering almost instantly, Chad grabbed her outstretched arm with his right and pulled Mila Rose out and to his right. Turning his body with hers, he pulled back his left arm and brought it down with heavy force. The Arrancar was a bit surprised by the quick recovery and counter that it left her unable to dodge the teen's fist. With a loud grunt, Chad's fist struck her exposed flank, driving her down onto the floor with a pained gasp. Knowing it wasn't enough, Chad reared his left fist again and punched the ground where she fell.

A buzz hit his ears just before his fist hit the floor, and the teen quickly recoiled and jumped back a few yards right before Mila Rose's blade swung at the spot where he was at. Now in a ready stance again, Chad charged and fired another energy attack from his left arm, but it was easily avoided and the two found themselves in close quarters again. Back and forth, the two traded blows and punches, dodged and weaved, switching between offense and defense.

After a few minutes of exchanging blows, Mila Rose suddenly stopped and hopped back several yards. She took in a deep breath of air and Chad got into a protective stance. "Rugido de Leones." she whispered, then leaned forward and let out a powerful, and very loud, animalistic roar.

Obviously not expecting an attack of this kind, Chad was easily thrown off his feet and through the air. The teen's body flew head over heel, unable to recover, through the long hallway and into a side wall, crashing through it and into one of the many rooms of the palace. Chad's body was finally stopped by a couch inside the room, crashing into it and sending it and him into the far wall, breaking the furniture in half. He groaned as he pulled himself up from the wreckage and back up to his feet while ignoring the ringing in his ears, only for Mila Rose to appear before him in a buzz and punch him straight back down again.

The woman stood up straight, planting a hand on her hip and scoffing at the downed teen. "Come on, Chad. I know you've got more than that. Are you giving up already?" she sneered.

Chad coughed twice from the dust and pulled himself back up again, quickly throwing a punch at her. The woman hopped back out of the room through the hole his body made and back into the hallway. Coughing once more, he raised his head and stared into her eyes. "I'm sorry. I didn't expect your power to increase as much as it did. I was caught off guard." he answered in his monotone voice.

She rolled her eyes with another scoff. "Well, now that you know, can we finally get serious?"

The teen nodded once and dashed after her into the hallway as well. Mila Rose hopped to the side in a dodge. "I also didn't expect that last attack of yours." he admitted, turning to face her fully in his boxer stance.

He raised his right arm up and blocked the woman's counterattack, pulling his left arm back for another punch. But she simply reached out and grabbed his fist with her free hand, stopping him and smirking at him. "Yeah, I bet. Rugido de Leones is one of my special attacks. I can let out a loud roar that has enough power to throw my opponents off their feet. I can't say it's good for doing damage, but it's enough to give me the upper hand."

"I see." he responded, then continued to pull his arm back.

Mila Rose gripped his hand tighter, pulling back even harder, but was surprised when she saw that he was actually pulling her closer to him, his physical strength greater than her own. Narrowing his eyes slightly, Chad yanked his hand back and out of her grip, her own eyes widening when a small mass of energy collected at the tip of his knuckles. He thrusted forward, his fist hitting her sternum while releasing the built-up energy. With a 'thrum' the woman was launched off her feet with a yell of pain and sent flying many yards before landing and dragging across the floor.

Somewhat surprised, Chad raised himself and stared at his now smoking hand while Mila Rose got back up to her feet. Clutching a hand to her chest, she stared at the teen with a surprised expression of her own, more so than the teen.

'What the… Was… Was that… what I think it was?! No…' She shook her head and rubbed her sore chest with a growl. 'No, that's impossible. There's no way he could have done that. Not a damn human. But… it definitely felt like…'

"What the hell was that, Chad?" she questioned in a growl.

He continued to stare at his hand, opening and flexing the finger a few times. "I'm not sure. That was a first for me as well." he admitted.

Mila Rose scoffed and wiped a trickle of blood from her mouth with her hand. "Oh yeah? Well, it doesn't matter. Let's get back to business." she said, then buzzed up to him, blade raised high.

Jumping back, Chad avoided the attack and quickly charged right back in, his left fist held back. Recovering, the woman held her blade up and used its broad side to absorb the impact. The force was enough to push her back several feet, yet again surprising her with his physical strength. Her body came to a stop, and she immediately rushed right back in, beginning another round of trading blows.

Moments later, Chad let out a low yell as he pulled back his arm, gathering a large amount of energy within it before thrusting. Mila Rose sensed the incoming attack and, with a scoff, quickly buzzed back a short distance. With Chad launching his attack, Mila Rose held her blade up to the attack again. The mass of energy hit her blade, and she was able to hold off against the attack, standing her ground. However, the attack was still enough to break her block at the end, leaving her open to the second attack that was right behind the first. Her eyes widened in shock just before the second mass of energy struck her directly.

Mila Rose was launched off her feet and thrown to the floor and a loud grunt, never seeing the third attack in the form of Chad now standing above her with a punching fist coming. She grunted again in pain as the fist slammed right into her stomach, her eyes wide. Chad reared back his right fist for a follow-up, but as he threw his fist down, the woman swung her leg and kicked one of his out from under him. His staggering back to avoid falling down caused him to back away from her, giving her the chance to quickly get back up to her feet and press the attack again.

Now on the defensive again, Chad took step after step back from the woman's blade swings, punches, and kicks, each of the attacks missing him by only inches. Needing to get back on the offensive, the teen grunted as he pushed more power into his right arm, causing the broad, shield-like portion of his forearm to take on a light, bluish glow. Raising his arm up, the extra power infused into his arm was enough to block Mila Rose's blade without damage, acting like a strengthened form of hiero, and lightly surprising the woman. Acting on that surprise, Chad dropped his arm, bringing her blade along with it, and swiftly grabbed her sword arm by the wrist. With a hard yank, Mila Rose was pulled forward, and right into his extending, crackling, left fist.

The woman's eyes and mouth went wide open, bile forced from her throat with a pained gasp as the man's fist dug deeply into her lower stomach. Her body would have been sent flying back, had it not been for the tight grip Chad was keeping on her wrist. With another yank, her upper body was pulled downwards into a slight bow, the woman still too stunned to avoid the powerful drop of the teen's fist onto her mid-back, dropping her down to the floor; but because Chad was still maintaining his tight grip, her body was twisted around just before impact, causing her to land on her back instead.

Mila Rose let out a silent scream of pain as she felt her back was struck, not once, but twice in quick succession from the fist and floor. Hesitating for only a second, Chad released her arm and drew back his fist again for a finishing blow, hoping it would be only enough to simply end the fight, rather than do extensive damage to the woman. But just as he was bringing his fist down, Mila Rose's eyes snapped open at him, and fighting through the pain, quickly charged and fired a cero from her mouth at the teen.

Not expecting the sudden counter, Chad's eyes widened, and he quickly moved to avoid the attack. Unfortunately, because he was too close, and because the attack was charged so rapidly, the teen had no chance of dodging. The area exploded with power as the cero struck the human point-blank, having enough power behind it to throw him up into the ceiling with a loud grunt, only to come crashing back down onto the floor a moment later.

Only two things saved Chad from losing the fight then and there. The first was that, because she needed to get the attack out as quickly as possible, Mila Rose had to sacrifice a great amount of the attack's power in order to increase its prepping and launching speed; meaning that the cero was only around a third of the power it should have been. The second was because, at the last second, and only because of instinctive reflexes, Chad was able to bring his right arm up just enough to absorb a fair amount of the blast. But even with those two factors working for him, it was still a point-blank blast from a cero, even a weakened one.

With an even louder grunt, Chad crashed onto the floor a few yards away from his opponent, who was now struggling back onto her feet. Gritting her fanged teeth, Mila Rose used the back of her hand to wipe away the trail of blood from her mouth and chin, then her palm to remove the blood from in and around her right eye, caused by the small wound just above her hairline. Coughing twice, the woman spit out more blood from her mouth and forced herself, albeit slowly, back to her feet, having to use her zanpakutō to brace herself up as she looked to where her opponent landed.

"Damn…" she hissed under her breath. 'There's no bullshiting that one.' she thought with narrowed eyes, standing up straighter and pulling her blade from the ground. 'Even an idiot can tell that if that punch had hit me, while I likely wouldn't be dead…' She watched as Chad struggled to get back to his own two feet, slightly pleased to see that she wasn't the only one left damaged by their recent clash. The teen, like her, was now bleeding from a wound on the side of his head, and blood was falling from his mouth as well. She snarled under her breath and lowered herself as much as she could into a fighting stance without losing balance. 'That punch would have done me in easily. Damnit. This 'Chad' is no mere human. He's something else as well.'

With a scoff, Mila Rose's lips pulled back into a pleased grin, forcing more blood from her mouth, making her have to wipe it again. "Damn you pack a mean punch, Chad. Not gonna lie, you almost had me there." she admitted as the teen finally got back to his feet.

"Hmm." the teen replied, wiping his mouth as well. "Thank you for your honesty, Mila Rose. But we both know that I was lucky I hadn't been defeated with your Cero just now. If I was only a little bit slower bringing my right arm up, I would have lost to you."

The woman chuckled lightly, wincing when the action stung her chest. "Yeah, we both had a close call on that one. But even so, the fight's not over; not until one of us is dead!" she roared, charging forward. Chad grunted in agreement and raised his fists in defense as the woman closed the distance between them rapidly. Drawing her blade back behind her, Mila Rose brought it up and over her head in a downward slash. Chad naturally reacted by bringing up his shield arm and ducking lower to block the attack.

But it was a feint. Just before her blade was to strike the armored appendage, she changed the blade's direction in a diagonal swipe past the teen's left side, missing him, and using the blade's momentum, instead brought her left fist forward and into the teen's exposed torso. She obviously didn't have the raw, physical strength that her opponent did, but a forceful punch from a released Arrancar was still nothing to laugh at.

With a grunt, Chad's body slightly doubled over from the force of the hit, his forehead dropping onto the woman's shoulder before being thrown aside by a knee in his flank. With another grunt, the teen was sent flying into a nearby wall before falling to the floor. Mila Rose didn't give him any time to try and recover, already upon him by the time he landed. With a harsh kick, the man's body was tossed aside once more and sent rolling down the hallway a short distance.

Again, the Arrancar was on top of him, but by using his body's momentum, Chad was able to redirect his roll and land back on his feet in a crouch. With a quick charge of energy in his left arm, the teen met her downward slash with his fist. Even being a small amount of energy compared to how much he normally used, the energy collected in his fist was enough to act like armor, protecting his hand from the blade's sharpness. The two forces met, and it was Chad who proved to be the more powerful at that time; Mila Rose's blade almost bounced off the teen's fist with a loud 'ting' of metal, as if she had swung at a wall.

But it didn't stop Chad's fist. With a battle cry, Chad pushed his fist further; up, and right into the woman's chin. Her head was thrown backwards, and her body lifted off its feet from the hit while being thrown back several feet. She crashed unceremoniously back on the floor sprawled out before hissing and rubbing her aching chin as she sat back up, glaring at her opponent. But her eyes widened when she saw Chad was towering above her, his left fist held back and charging in power before thrusting down at her. Considering the position she was in, Mila Rose knew she had no chance at dodging the attack, and instead chose to bring her blade up to try and stop the teen's fist.

She also knew that she had little chance of being able to do that successfully. And true enough, Chad's fist struck the blade and pushed it right back down on top of its owner's sternum. The pair heard an audible cracking sound behind the woman's painful exhale of air and bile, and the ground beneath her crumbled into a small crater from the overpowering hit. Drawing back again, Chad charged his fist briefly before thrusting down again.

Even in her shocked and dazed state, Mila Rose was able to notice that the teen was standing with his feet on either side of her left leg. Having no other option, the woman quickly raised her left leg and sent her shin right into the space where Chad's own two legs met. It wasn't going to win her the fight, but it was enough to save her skin. The immense pain Chad felt in his groin made his eyes go wide and was enough to throw his aim off; his charging fist missed Mila Rose's face by inches, impacting the floor right next to her head.

Her opponent now caught off guard and off balance, Mila Rose delivered a swift punch to the side of the teen's head, throwing him off her and to the side. Taking the chance, she used sonído to get some distance, reappearing a few meters away from the teen and leaning against the wall with her free hand and holding her stomach with her sword arm. Just applying the smallest amount of pressure sent a roar of pain through her body, and she could feel a stabbing sensation inside her chest. It didn't take an idiot to know that the teen's last punch had broken a few ribs.

What was worse, looking down, she discovered the source of the 'cracking' sound they had heard earlier. At the midpoint of her blade were numerous cracks, obviously from overstrain on the metal. That both shocked and worried her. The metal blade of an Arrancar's zanpakutō was supposed to be exceedingly tough, able to withstand the harshest of treatments and torture. Yet, this man, this teenage boy, was able to nearly fracture it with just his fists alone? One more hit like that, maybe two, and her sword was done for. Just how strong was this man?

Gritting her teeth in fear and anger, Mila Rose raised her gaze to the slowly recovering teen across from her. Like her, Chad had to use the wall for support, his legs and knees unstable after the grueling hit to one of, if not the most sensitive part of his anatomy. To his credit, he refrained from grasping the area to soothe the ache, instead clenching his right fist tightly in shivering twitches in trying to fight the pain. Mila Rose actually felt a little bad for the teen.

She was a warrior of honor, always preferring to fight as fairly as possible; not that that meant she would never use the occasional trick or two to try and get the upper hand. But to go after the natural weakness of the human male's body was just downright dirty, a fighting style she avoided as much as possible. There was just no honor in it, and that was the source of her current anger. She wasn't angry at Chad, she was angry at herself for having to resort to such a pitiful way of fighting.

Clenching her teeth even tighter, the woman growled deep in her throat and turned her eyes away from him. "Sorry about that, Chad, but you left me with no choice that time. Don't go thinking that's how I normally fight." she hissed.

Chad's knees and fist were still twitching from the throbbing pain, threatening to make him lose his balance. "That… was dirty… Mila Rose." he answered in a strained voice, making the woman growl again in anger towards herself. "But I… can't blame you… for doing it." he added, causing her to look at him again. "You… You said it your… yourself… this is… a fight to the death… It is normal for someone… to do what they must… to survive." he consoled; honestly not as mad one would assume someone to be after being hit in such a sensitive area.

Mila Rose scoffed and glanced at her cracked blade. "Not that I fared any better." she grumbled and turned back to him. "Neither of us can keep this going much longer, Chad. As much as I'm actually enjoying this fight, I think it's time we settled this. One last bout, with everything we've both got." she proposed, pushing off the wall and getting back into a combat stance.

The teen nodded once with a hum, doing the same, but still fighting to stay on shaky feet. "Agreed. But, before we do, can I ask a question?" The woman narrowed her eyes, but nodded. "Why do you fight for Aizen?" he asked in a strained voice, seeing her raise a brow in slight confusion. "You should know how he is; what he has done. He turned against one of your own, made her kill her own friends. Why do you wish to fight for someone that can do such horrible things like that?"

She narrowed her eyes again. "You're talking about Nelliel again, right?" she asked, getting a nod. "I'll admit I don't know all the details about that story, but either way, the answer's still the same: Appaci, Sung-Sun, and I aren't fighting for Aizen. We could honestly care less about him and those two that came with him, or many of the others here for that matter. No, we're not fighting for him, we're fighting for our Mistress, Lady Harribel." she corrected.

"Lady… Harribel?" he questioned.

The woman nodded firmly. "Yes, the Tres Espada, Tier Harribel. We fight on the same side as Aizen only because she has sided with him. For what reasons, I can't say, she never told us her true reasons. But it doesn't matter, she chose to fight for Aizen, and the three of us will fight alongside her no matter what."

Chad nodded in understanding. "I see. Can I ask one more question?"

She growled in annoyance, but nodded. "What?"

He paused for a moment before speaking. "Why do you fight for Harribel?"

Her eyes widened briefly before narrowing in anger. "That's not your business." she snarled.

The teen lowered his head and nodded slightly. "I'm sorry if I upset you, Mila Rose. You're right, it's not my business."

"You're damn right it's not. Now, enough questions. You ready to finally settle this?"

He looked back up at her and, despite his shaking, was still able to get into a feasible fighting stance. "I am, Mila Rose." he confirmed, drawing back his left fist and charging it with a considerable amount of energy.

The two of them stared into each other's eyes for a moment longer before charging forward.

With Rukia, Palace of the Tres Espada

Rukia stood in place, her sword arm raised above her head and zanpakutō held in a reverse grip as she twirled her wrist around at a steady rhythm. The long thin ribbon attached to her weapon's hilt followed her movements through the air around her, creating a barrier of sorts made of sub-zero temperatures. Any who came close would instantly feel the agonizing cold surrounding her, and those who dared further to touch the 'barrier' protecting her would freeze solid within seconds, as the two Arrancars standing before her quickly discovered.

The two of them were standing several meters away just beyond the reach of her ribbon at full extension, talking quietly to each other. Rukia could have reinitiated the fight at any time, but considering it was two against one, and the nature of her ability, it was probably best to let them make the move. One thing she didn't like was the analyzing look the green-haired woman was giving her, like she was figuring out how her ability worked, or had already done so and was planning a counter for it.

Twin bursts of light instantly broke her from her thoughts, and she steadied herself in preparation for attack as the two women across from her were concealed in masses of condensed spirit energy, one red and the other pink in color. After witnessing something similar from Nel, she could tell that this must be an Arrancar's resurrección, or rather two of them. The short woman knew that things were going to be considerably much harder for her in just a moment. Fighting two fracción-level Arrancars was challenging enough as it was, but fighting two of them while in resurrección was going to be a big problem.

After a few moments, the masses of energy dissipated, and Rukia narrowed her eyes at her opponents' new forms. Apacci still retained her previous form, but now the vast majority of her body was covered in brown fur, only her head and a slim line down her chest to between her breasts was still bare skin. Her feet had also changed, now a pair of hooves rather than actual feet, and she also sported a pair of long, curved antlers protruding from her forehead while still retaining the small horn in the center from her mask. From a quick glance, Rukia would guess the woman resembled a humanoid deer.

Sung-Sun's changes on the other hand were a bit more drastic. From head to hip, her hairpin-like mask that now extended to cover half of the top of her head was the only notable change she could see. Below the hip, however, it was another story. Her legs were gone, seemingly replaced with what Rukia could only guess was the body of a very large snake. A human and snake hybrid of sorts. Neither of the two women seemed to be armed with any weapons, but just the intensity of their combined spiritual pressures was enough to convince Rukia that being weaponless likely meant nothing to the two of them.

The short woman narrowed her eyes and tensed even more, knowing this fight just got several times more intense. "It really is degrading that we had to resort to using our resurreccións, but we cannot deny that this power of yours is not something to be taken lightly." Sung-Sun stated in a calm tone.

Apacci scoffed and stuck her nose up at Rukia. "'Degrading'? It's fucking insulting is what it is. This tiny-ass little midget, forcing us to release our resurrección? It really pisses me off. I'm gonna fucking destroy you." she snarled in anger.

Rukia could only smirk in mental amusement at the deer-like Arrancar's agitation. "Well, why don't you go ahead and try then? I'll turn the both of you into giant popsicles." she taunted.

Though she held an outward confident look, inside, Rukia was starting to worry; when earlier the two had troubled looks on their faces, obviously a result of her new ability, they now had confident looks of their own. It was like they had figured something out and had a plan. 'Did they figure out how my ability works?' she questioned herself internally.

Before she could think more on it, the two Arrancars vanished in a buzz of sonído. Tensing, Rukia turned, and with a flick of her arm and wrist, pulled her ribbon around to create a denser wall between her and Sung-Sun, who had appeared on her right. With an agile flex of her body, Sung-Sun whipped her snake-like body around and slung a large portion of her tail at the freezing barrier like a whip.

It surprised Rukia at first that the woman would purposely attack the barrier directly, having to know that doing so would damage her. But that surprise turned into shock when she saw that, while the portion of her body that had hit the barrier did quickly freeze, with only another flick of her tail the ice seemed to just fall off in small pieces, with little damage to the woman's body. Looking at the affected section of tail, Rukia saw that the 'skin' seemed to be much denser than she originally thought, almost like thick but maneuverable armor.

"What the…" she breathed in surprise.

But that surprise was quickly pushed aside when Sung-Sun flicked her tail again, and with more force. The force from the hit was easily enough to push the lightweight ribbon back and towards its owner. Realizing this, Rukia quickly leapt back a bit and watched as the woman shed the ice from her skin yet again. However, to her relief, she did notice that the area that had struck her barrier twice was now slightly pink.

'So, her body's not immune to my Injūshiro, just more resilient to its effects.'

Her thoughts were broken when Sung-Sun charged again, using her tail as a whip. This time, however, instead of using the side of the appendage to attack, she used the more armored underside and brought it down on top of her like a hammer. Knowing that her ribbon had zero chance to stop the attack, Rukia brought her blade forward and blocked it from above with both hands on the hilt.

"Got you." the woman said with a smirk.

Rukia's eyes widened in realization just as Apacci buzzed into place behind her. "You're dead, bitch!" The second woman roared with glee, her head lowered and presenting her antlers in a rapid dash towards the shorter woman. It was obvious that the Arrancars intent was to ram into her in a headbutt, like a stampeding animal, using the horn on her forehead like a spear.

Rukia narrowed her eyes at the charging woman. 'So that's their game.'

Sung-Sun raised a brow in confusion when Rukia, instead of showing fear or worry towards her charging partner, only grinned. Sliding her left hand down the hilt of her zanpakutō, Rukia slipped a middle finger into the small ring attaching her long ribbon to the base of the zanpakutō. With a small 'clink', the ring detached from the hilt, the ribbon now attached to her hand.

Sung-Sun's eyes widened in shock before she turned towards her partner. "Wait! Stop, Apacci!" she yelled in fear.

Apacci's own eyes widened as well, just now noticing what Rukia was doing, but it was too late to try and stop. With a twist of her body and a flick of her wrist, the ribbon was sent on a new path, right towards the deer-like Arrancar. The icy ribbon twirled and wrapped itself around the Arrancar's left leg, the areas of the limb touching the fabric instantly starting to turn a dark-purple color.

Knowing it was already too late to avoid the attack, and not wanting to make her own attack pointless, Appaci continued her charge, ignoring the horrible stinging pain in her leg. Rukia's eyes widened a bit in surprise, obviously expecting the short-tempered woman to abandon her attack in self-preservation instead of committing onward. The tip of her horn pierced Rukia's side just under her ribcage, eliciting a cry of pain from the woman before she was sent down onto the floor by Sung-Sun's tail. The sudden loss of strength from the hit allowed Sung-Sun to break through the woman's guard and continue to drop her tail upon the woman's shoulder with a heavy force.

With Rukia's attack stopped for the moment, Appaci dropped down to try and untangle the ribbon still wrapped around her leg. She hissed and growled as her fingers began stinging as well while gripping the ribbon. With effort, she was able to remove the cursed weapon from her leg before Sung-Sun appeared behind her, wrapping her arms around her and using sonído to get their distance again. Upon coming to a stop, Appaci hissed and growled louder in pain, dropping to a knee and rubbing her leg rapidly to try and soothe the pain.

"Goddamned… fucking… annoying bitch!" she raged under her breath. "Damn that fucking ribbon thing!"

Sung-Sun watched Rukia for a moment before looking down at her comrade's injured limb, now a deep purple in color across the shin, and most of the thigh. It was obvious that frostbite was beginning to settle in, if it hadn't already. "How does your leg feel, Appaci?" she questioned carefully, knowing how the woman was likely to answer.

And true to her expectations, the hot-tempered woman's gaze snapped up to her in a heated rage. "How the fuck do you think it feels, you stupid idiot?! It fucking hurts!"

The snake-like woman rolled her eyes and sighed. "Obviously, but that is not what I meant. I meant; can you feel your leg at all? Are you able to move it?" she clarified.

Appaci snarled and snapped her gaze towards Rukia, now getting back up onto her feet, though a bit wobbly and holding the ribbon hand to the spot where the Arrancar's horn had pierced her. "Above the knee hurts like hell…" she hissed before running her hands down lower towards her calf. "But… I can't feel anything below that. Not even my fucking toes." she added, turning back to her partner. "And yeah, I can still move everything, for now at least."

Sung-Sun nodded in a pitying understanding. "I wouldn't expect you to feel anything past that injury. The injury above your knee is close to frostbite, while the one underneath is already frostbitten. Any nerves past that point are likely cut off until the problem is fixed. And all that after only a few seconds of contact with that ribbon. I had not expected her to be able to detach it from her zanpakutō like that. Otherwise, I would have come up with a better plan." she admitted, glancing towards Rukia, now in a fighting stance and watching the two.

Appaci scoffed in anger and growled in pain as she stood back up. "Yeah, well, now that you do know, what's the fucking plan now? Every time we get close to the bitch, it takes everything just trying to avoid that stupid ribbon of hers."

Sung-Sun nodded firmly. "I know. And with not having any weapons in our released forms like Mila Rose does, fighting in close quarters will only work to her advantage at this point."

Her partner rolled her eyes. "Then why don't we just Cero the bitch to death? Keep out of range of that ribbon and hit her from a distance?" she proposed.

The snake-like woman shook her head. "She is too nimble for that. Either she would avoid our attacks, or use her kidō to block them." She sighed heavily and shook her head again slowly. "I hate to say it, Appaci, but I do not believe she is an opponent we can defeat on our own. We are simply not suited for her style of fighting." she admitted.

She expected her partner to snap at her in rage of ever considering they could lose this fight, but the silence that followed her admittance made her look over. Again, she expected a look of anger from the temperamental woman, but instead she was looking at Rukia with a very observant glare. "Appaci?" she probed.

Appaci didn't answer at first, only continuing to stare at their opponent for a moment longer before leaning closing in a whisper. "Look at her zanpakutō."

Raising a brow, Sung-Sun shifted her gaze over to the short woman's zanpakutō, expecting to see something different. But from what she could see, nothing had changed. "What about it?" she whispered back.

Appaci narrowed her eyes into slits before answering. "It's shaking."

Sung-Sun looked closer and, indeed, it appeared that the woman's blade was shaking slightly. Shifting her gaze to the rest of the woman's body, she saw that, like the blade, her whole body was shaking as well. "It's not just her blade… her whole body is shaking as a whole." she observed.

"No…" Appaci countered. "Not shaking… shivering."

Sung-Sun's eyes widened slightly in realization. "Her own powers are affecting her!" she said in a breathy gasp.

A malicious grin found its way to Appaci's lips. "You know what that means, right?" she asked, turning to her partner. "She can't keep that power up forever. That stupid bitch's own power is hurting her just like it's hurting us. I'm willing to bet that if she keeps using it for too long it'll take away her ability to fight. So, in other words…"

"We just have to keep her using it until that happens." Sung-Sun confirmed with a nod, getting a snicker and nod back from her partner. "A sound plan, but one that could still end with us being defeated if we are not careful. Even with your advanced healing, that leg will take a considerable amount of time to recover after only a few seconds of contact with her ribbon. Any longer than that and you might have lost it."

Appaci scoffed through her teeth. "Don't remind me. All we gotta do is keep the bitch on her toes until she stops using that power of hers, or it kills her. Simple as that."

Sung-Sun rolled her eyes and turned back to Rukia. "Nothing is ever simple with you." she mumbled.

"What was that?" Appaci hissed.

"Nothing. Alright, let's go. You focus on her left, I will stay on her right."

"Tsk, whatever." the deer-like Arrancar waved in dismissal before the two vanished with a buzz.

Rukia, seeing them vanish, tensed her muscles in preparation, making them shake even harder. True to the two Arrancars' observations, her body was, indeed, chilled deeply and shivering in order to naturally generate lost heat. Unlike most other zanpakutōs, whose powers normally didn't affect its owner, Rukia's fourth dance, Injūshiro, didn't have that same consideration. Granted, she was immune to the direct power of Injūshiro, meaning that if her ribbon touched her, purposely or by mistake, its freezing abilities would not affect her; however, her body was still just as vulnerable to the natural, cooling temperatures around her caused by her dance as anyone else was. And while it was possible to climatize one's body to the cold over time, therefore mitigating the residual effects of her power, Rukia never got the chance to do so before leaving for Hueco Mundo.

And now, she was feeling those effects. While she was in no danger of receiving any cold-weather injuries currently, it wouldn't be long before she became hypothermic. She needed to end this fight quickly, before it came to that point because, even if she won the fight, she would be useless until her body recovered, which could be some time.

A buzz to her right broke Rukia from her thoughts and she turned to block an attack from Sung-Sun's tail. Her tail blocked, Sung-Sun raised one of her sleeves to Rukia, and the shorter woman was surprised when a normal-sized snake extended from the end, poised to strike. When the snake struck out at her, Rukia, with a flick of her wrist, brought the ribbon up to wrap around the odd 'appendage'. Seeing this, the snake recoiled to avoid the weapon, as did Sung-Sun when, with another flick, the ribbon was sent at her.

With another buzz, Rukia knew Appaci was now behind her, obviously a repeat of the previous attack. But unlike last time, she didn't have the element of surprise against the tempered woman. Not that it mattered, her ribbon was still a very dangerous weapon. Keeping her block against Sung-Sun, Rukia twisted her body and ribbon arm around to meet the approaching woman. She was pleased to see that her last attack, though it didn't incapacitate her foe, still reduced said foe's agility, now moving slightly slower than before. More than enough time to bring her ribbon to bear and force Appaci back again.

Continuing her spin, she brought her ribbon around again back towards Sung-Sun, but now against her tail overhead. With a flick forward and back, the ribbon wrapped itself around the thick appendage tightly, the freezing effects quickly turning the white, armored scales into a dull pink. With an actual, snake-like hiss from the woman, Sung-Sun whipped her tail back to break free from the ribbon. It was then Rukia realized her mistake in wrapping her weapon around a long and very flexible appendage when the ribbon went taut, ripping her from her feet and slinging her over her foe; Sung-Sun had inadvertently used Rukia's weapon against her, even at her own expense.

Fortunately, Rukia was able to twist and flex enough through the air to unwind her ribbon and release the Arrancar's tail before gracefully landing back on her feet. Only sparing a second to berate herself for such a novice mistake, Rukia went on the offensive and sent her ribbon flying at Sung-Sun like an actual whip. The end of the ribbon didn't make the signature 'cracking' sound as it struck the woman's armored body, but was rather more along the lines of a whispering 'pop'. It was a sound that was easily outmatched by Sung-Sun's yelps of pain, both from the freezing effects of the ribbon and the actual impacts on her body.

Another buzzing sound to her rear told Rukia that the other Arrancar was now behind her, and with a yank on her end of the ribbon, sent it back the other way towards Appaci. The deer-like woman ducked low to avoid the weapon and continued her charge with her horn. With another expert yank, Rukia caused the end to 'pop' from the sudden change in direction as it flew towards Appaci's back. Seeing it coming, the woman scoffed and dodged to the side, halting her attack for the moment.

With Rukia's attention now focused on her partner, Sung-Sun used the opportunity to charge forward herself and wrap the end of her tail tightly around Rukia's lower leg, pulling back with a yank to throw the woman off her feet again. Her feet being tugged from under her, Rukia twisted and slashed her blade against the scaled hide of Sung-Sun's tail, but the blade simply bounced off with little effect.

Sung-Sun smirked behind her sleeve at the attempt. "My tail might not be immune to your ribbon, but its scales are more than enough to stop your blade, Rukia. Your zanpakutō cannot pierce them." she taunted as Rukia was dropped onto her back.

Seeing her chance, Sung-Sun wound her tail further up the woman's leg, trying to capture the other one as well and bind them together, immobilizing her. But Rukia foresaw this and reacted quickly. Bringing her left hand back up to the bottom of her zanpakutō's hilt, she reattached the ribbon to the hilt and removed her finger from the ring. Drooping her hand back down, she grabbed the ribbon about two feet from the joint and started to swing her zanpakutō around in circles in the air above her.

Sung-Sun only had a second or two to see what the woman was doing before the sword was sent flying towards her human-like upper body like a tethered spear. With a flex of her tail, Sung-Sun pulled her upper body to the side, narrowly avoiding the deadly projectile as it sailed past where her chest used to be. Little did she realize at that moment that Rukia never intended to actually hit her with that attack.

After letting just enough of the ribbon's length slip through her fingers as the blade flew, she gripped the ribbon tightly with a backwards yank. The ribbon went taut, and her zanpakutō on the other end suddenly changed direction, now flying sideways towards the snake woman. A sting of pain hit her left arm and upper back as the ribbon, towed along by the flying zanpakutō, began to wrap around her upper body. With nearly half of her tail coiled around Rukia's leg, she wouldn't be able to move quick enough to avoid being bound in the ribbon while dragging the short woman with her. So, to save her own skin, Sung-Sun quickly uncoiled her tail from Rukia and buzzed clear of the attack. The sudden loss of support for the ribbon to wrap around caused the zanpakutō to lose its sideways momentum and fly lazily through the air until it clatered to the floor.

Now free from the snake woman's clutches, Rukia rolled backwards and back up to her feet, only to be sent flying from something ramming into her lower back. She could feel something hard and pointed breaking through her skin and digging deep inside her body as she was thrown off her feet once again. She released a yell of pain, both from the hit, and from the pointed object ripping from her body as she was throw several feet away to land in a lump on the floor again.

"Ha! Take that, you bitch." Appaci snarled in glee.

Rukia hissed as she rolled her body on the floor and pushed herself up to a knee, feeling the searing pain in her lower back where she was hit. Shifting her ribbon to her right hand, she brought her left back behind her to touch her back, bringing her hand back around again to see blood covering her palm. Looking up, she saw Appaci standing a short distance away, her blood now covering the Arrancar's horn.

The soul reaper gritted her teeth and hissed through them. "Damnit!" she cursed, pushing herself back up to her feet again. With a yank on her ribbon, her attached zanpakutō, sitting out to the side on the floor where it had landed earlier, was pulled back towards her. Switching hands again, she caught her zanpakutō in her right hand just as Sung-Sun appeared behind her. Twisting on the ball of her foot, she took a swing at the attacking tail, deflecting the limp with a clang of metal. Hooking her finger into the ring at the base of her hilt, she separated the ribbon again and sent it flying to her left at a charging Appaci.

The deer woman dodged right, letting it whip by, but with a flick of her wrist, Rukia sent her ribbon back at the Arrancar again. Appaci was forced to abandon her charge, buzzing clear of the attack just before it was able to make contact. Reappearing on Rukia's right this time, the tip of her horn started glowing a bright-red color.

"Eat this, Bitch! Cero!" the deer woman yelled in anger.

With a scratchy noise, the beam of raw energy was shot at the short woman. In response, Rukia raised two fingers of her sword hand towards the incoming attack. "Hadō #33, Sōkatsui!"

Blue energy rapidly gathered at the tips of her fingers before firing at the incoming attack. The two attacks collided in an explosion of dust, obscuring the two attackers from each other. Rukia turned on her heel with her blade raised to stop Sung-Sun's tail yet again, flicking her wrist to follow up with an attack of her ribbon. But the snake woman vanished with a buzz before the weapon could reach her.

Scoffing through her teeth in annoyance, Rukia turned around with her ribbon in tow to stop an approaching Appaci. The deer woman leaped over the ribbon with a twist of her body, bringing her undamaged leg around for a drop kick and forcing Rukia to dodge to the right, right into Sung-Sun's swinging tail. The scaled limb struck Rukia in her side, sending her flying several feet before landing on the floor in a roll.

She managed to get to a knee in time to see both Arrancars charging towards her, Appaci with her head held low to attack with her horn, and Sung-Sun with her tail held up high for a downward pound. Thinking quickly, she waited until the last second before sending her ribbon out at Appaci. The deer woman had too little time to react before the ribbon wrapped itself around her frostbitten leg mid-charge. Leaping back with a yank of the ribbon, Rukia ripped Appaci from her feet and forward. Just like Appaci had done to her only seconds earlier, Rukia had pulled the Arrancar right into the path of Sung-Sun's tail. With no time to react, Sung-Sun watched in horror as her partner was sent crashing into the floor with her attack.

"Appaci!" Sung-Sun cried in fear.

"Bakudō #35, Hebi Shiru." her opponent spoke from behind.

Sung-Sun gasped and moved to turn around, but her body was stopped by a long, purple tether that wrapped tightly around her upper body. Looking down, she saw that the tether holding her actually took on the appearance of a large cobra, gripping her in its coils. Just like a real snake, the serpent made of energy slithered around her slowly upwards, the coils getting tighter as it progressed.

"What?!" she gasped in her tightening breath.

"How amusing." Rukia said in a low tone. Sung-Sun raised her head to the woman to see that the end of the 'snake's' tail was extending from the woman's two fingers of her sword hand. "A snake, being squeezed to death by a snake. Talk about karma." she continued with an emotionless expression on her face.

Sung-Sun tensed her muscles to try and fight against the snake's coils, only for them to get tighter and draw a pained gasp from her lungs. Rukia huffed in slight amusement at the attempt. "That's funny… you of all people should know that the more you struggle against a snake's coils, the faster they constrict."

Sung-Sun tried to move her tail to try and knock the woman from her feet, but Rukia was standing just out of reach, and with each movement she made, the coils got tighter quicker. "Damn… it!"

"You bitch!" Appaci yelled, suddenly above and behind the short woman with her fist held back.

Snapping her head towards her other opponent, Rukia quickly flicked her wrist up and sent her ribbon at the deer woman. Filled with rage after being hit by her own teammate, and seeing that same teammate currently bound up tightly in a kidō spell, the thought of dodging or abandoning her attack never crossed her mind before the ribbon wrapped itself around her torso from navel to under her breasts. She only had a second to widen her eyes in shock and fear before her body was yanked from the air and down to the ground again. After crashing, Appaci wasted no time in trying to get back to her feet, but only made it to her knees before even more of the ribbon was twirled around her and pulled taut even higher on her chest, pinning her arms to her sides.

Immediately, she could feel the pain of her body starting to quickly chill to freezing temperatures, and struggle as she might, she couldn't get the ribbon loose. Snapping her eyes up to Rukia's, she let out an enraged scream of fury. "You fucking bitch! Get this thing off me right now!" she yelled, the pain growing even more intense by the second.

"It's over." Rukia said in a quiet, strained voice. "In another minute, your body will turn to ice, while your friend will be strangled to death. The way I see it, the two of you have only two options: admit defeat… or die."

Appaci growled in her throat and struggled even harder against the ribbon, but with her body rapidly chilling, her strength was quickly being sapped away. "I'll fucking kill you! You're dead, you hear me?!" he roared, her own voice starting to weaken as well.

"Personally, I'd rather not kill you." Rukia continued unfazed. "We didn't come here to kill anyone, only save our friend. So I really hope you'll consider the first option. But you better make the decision fast, because I'd give it another thirty seconds before your body shuts down from hypothermia, and your friend from a lack of oxygen."

Behind her, Sung-Sun struggled to breath, the energy snake around constantly getting tighter and tighter. More than the pain of its restricting coils, she felt shame and embarrassment from having been defeated in such a manner. Flexing her arms, she was able to get just enough room to take in a small gust of air. "A… Appa… ci…" she called in a breathy whisper, getting the deer woman's attention. "I… It's… over… She…She got… us." she said, her breathing getting tighter.

Appaci clenched her teeth tightly in a snarl. "T-T-The fuck sh-sh-she did-d-d!" she ground out in a shivering voice, now really feeling the cold and suddenly starting to feel light-headed.

Sung-Sun was able to slowly shake her head at her partner. "No… She… She's won… Appaci."

Her partner shook her head in anger, and with how light-headed she was now, the act only made Appaci lose her balance and fall onto her side. Her body was shivering violently, trying and failing to reheat itself. She noticed that she couldn't feel anything below her shoulders anymore, where the ribbon ended, as her body began to shut itself down from the cold. "D… Da… mn… iiit." she cursed, her voice now nothing more than a breathy wisp.

Sung-Sun looked at her partner in worry for a second, then back to Rukia. "Ru… Rukia… Kuchi…ki… y… you… win." she said in a defeated voice.

Rukia nodded firmly at her and lowered hand, dropping the kidō and releasing Sung-Sun to fall on the floor, gasping for lost breath. With a flick of her wrist, the ribbon holding Appaci unwrapped from the Arrancar's body and returned to fall to the floor at her sides. "Drop your resurreccións, both of you." she demanded.

With a hesitant nod, Sung-Sun closed her eyes and let her powers reseal back into her sai-like weapons at her sides. With an approving nod, Rukia turned to the nearly frozen Appaci. "You too."

Not moving, Appaci slowly rolled her eyes up to glare at the short woman. "Daaamnn… yoooouu." she breathed in her throat, her vision blurry. Nevertheless, either by loss of strength or by command, the deer woman's resurrección faded away and resealed itself into her chakram weapons, one of which was frozen solid and broken in two.

With another nod, Rukia raised two fingers to her lips. "Carriage of thunder, bridge of a spinning wheel. With light, divide this into six." With that, she pointed her fingers at Sung-Sun. "Bakudō #61, Rikujōkōrō."

Six familiar blades of yellow energy suddenly surrounded the green-haired Arrancar before diving in and impacting her around her torso. In fear, the woman turned to Rukia with a questioning glare of betrayal.

"Don't worry." the soul reaper said in a calming voice. With a slow, shaky swish of her blade, Rukia resealed her zanpakutō into its standard form and sheathed it. It took a few tries, considering that her entire body was shivering violently, but she eventually returned the blade to its home. "This kidō will only keep you from moving from that spot. It'll take a while to wear off, but at least it'll keep you from attacking me again. As for your friend…" She paused to turn to a shivering Appaci. "It'll also be a while before her body temperature returns to normal enough for her to move freely, so I don't have to worry about putting a kidō spell on her."

Turning back to Sung-Sun, she took a slow, shivering breath. "Also, let this be a warning to you. If either of you come after me again… I will kill you both." she said, emphasizing with a cold glare at the woman.

With that, Rukia turned and began slowly walking away towards a large doorway in the distance. She only made it about ten meters before Sung-Sun spoke up. "We were never going to kill you." she said, making Rukia stop and look over her shoulder at the woman with narrowed eyes.

"What do you mean?" she questioned.

Sung-Sun raised her head to look into the shorter woman's eyes. "We don't know why, but all of the Espada and fracción were ordered not to interfere with you and your friends. We were told to ignore you all."

Rukia turned around and glared suspiciously at her. "Ignore us? What are you talking about? Are you telling me that the Espada were ordered to let us walk around without interruption?" she questioned further.

"Yes." Sung-Sun confirmed with a nod.

"And none of you know why?" she asked and the woman shook her head. "Alright, if that's the case, then why did you two and that other woman come after us?"

That drew a sigh from both women. "That bastard, Ichimaru." Sung-Sun admitted.

Rukia slumped her shoulders. "Let me guess… he talked you three into fighting us just for his amusement?" They both nodded. With a heavy sigh, she pinched the bridge of her nose. "I really hate that man."

"Join the club." the partners spoke in unison.

"Whatever." Rukia breathed with a dismissive wave of her hand. "Back to the part about not killing me. So you three were told to fight me and Chad, but not kill us; so what were you going to do if you did defeat me? Considering that you were not even supposed to fight me in the first place."

Sung-Sun sighed lowly. "We would have simply left you alone afterwards. Believe me, we are just confused about all this as you are."

Rukia crossed her arms and tilted her head. "So… if Chad was to lose against your friend… she would just leave him alone afterwards?"

"More than likely."

The soul reaper breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that, if they were telling the truth, then Chad would be fine, win or lose. "Hey… bitch." Appaci called out.

Rukia turned to her in a glare and growled. "My name is Rukia. And just to let you know, I do have a kidō spell I can cast that prevents you from talking until it wears off. And, considering that it's a low-level kidō, with a full incantation it would take days to wear off. And it's not a spell that can be removed by force." she threatened with a grin.

Appaci recoiled slightly in fear of such a horror before narrowing her eyes and growling back. "Whatever... Anyway, this… isn't over… Even if… you get outta… here today… I'll find you… and we'll… settle this… for good… You hear me?" she snarled.

Rukia closed her eyes and nodded. "If that's what you want, then by all means, come find me. Just remember what I said, that next time I'll finish you for good. Now, if you will excuse me, I need to go help Chad, and get back to finding our friend. Goodbye." Turning around, she continued to leave the room, leaving the two Arrancars where they were in silence.

Quatro Espada's Palace

The air tore open with an audible ripping sound, the black portal of a garganta split open in an empty living quarter on the lower level of the palace to reveal Ichigo and Nel in its expanse beyond the opening. Once the portal was opened to its widest, the pair quickly stepped out, both instantly alert for any possible hostilities. Upon seeing that they were alone, they both relaxed a bit in relief.

Her mind going back to earlier, Nel turned her gaze to a fixed direction and sighed tensely. Noticing and figuring out the reason for the woman's distress, Ichigo gave her shoulder a comforting pat, drawing her attention back to him.

"Don't worry about him, Nel. That idiot'll be fine. Even I've gotta admit that Tim's gotten a lot stronger over the past couple of weeks." he soothed.

The woman smiled weakly for a moment in gratitude, but frowned again with another sigh. "I'm not doubting him, Ichigo, but…" With yet another release of held air, she turned back in the direction of her former palace. "I can't help but feel that somehow he won't make it out of this. I wish it was me there fighting Grimmjow instead of Tim." she admitted.

Ichigo began rubbing the back of his head sheepishly with a deep breath. "I'm not really into that sappy crap, but I don't think talking about the chances of Tim failing are gonna help. Right?"

Nel nodded once. "Yeah, you're right. Still, the second we find Orihime and get her back home, I'm going straight back there for Tim. Come on, I managed to get us back inside Ulquiorra's palace, but I was only able to get us into the lower levels. I'm not familiar enough with the palace, so I'm sorry for not…"

Ichigo waved her off instantly. "Hey, don't worry about it. At least we're inside instead of out there trying to find a way back in. Besides, I think we've already figured out Orihime's not on one of the middle floors, so we can probably head straight for the upper ones, right?" he asked with a smile.

She turned back to him and smiled back with a nod. "Yes. If none of us have found her by now, then she must be higher up in the palace. What concerns me though is that if Grimmjow showed up, then they know we're here, and may have already moved her somewhere else."

The teen sighed heavily. "Is there anything we can do if they did?" he asked and the woman shook her head.

"Not really. And as much as I think it's unlikely, I do have to admit that the chance that Uryū was right does exist; Lilynette could have lied and lured us here. I just… I just don't see her doing something like that to me. What if my listening to her gets us all killed?" she said with growing fear.

"Yeah, it's possible." he confirmed with a nod. "But then again, we all went with it. We all decided to commit to the girl's information, so if she was leading us into a trap, then aren't we all at fault?" he offered.

Nel smiled wider and chuckled under her breath. "Wow, look at you, acting all smart and wise all of a sudden. Don't let Uryū hear you, he might think you're trying to take his place as the smart one in the group." she teased.

He narrowed his eyes at her, growling in embarrassment through his clenched teeth. "Shut up."

The woman laughed a bit louder and used a hand to ruffle up his hair a bit. "There's the Ichigo I know. I was starting to think you might be an imposter." she teased further, making him huff and cross his arms.

"Whatever. So where do we go from here? Do we start off a few floors higher than we were before?"

She stopped her teasing, taking on a serious expression with a hum. "I think that would be a good idea. We'll have to move much faster now as well. They know we're here now, and they have a general idea of where, so it'll be much easier for them to find us. Also, we will have to watch out for any of the other Espada. With Grimmjow here, it's safe to say that at least one of the others are looking for us as well."

Ichigo tilted his head in thought. "You think that Ulquiorra guy will be one of them?" he wondered.

The woman shrugged her shoulders. "I can't say. This is his palace we've broken into, so it honestly wouldn't surprise me. What does surprise me is how long it took for one of the Espada to find us. Things haven't exactly been quiet for us recently."

He scoffed with a roll of the eyes. "Don't I know it. Well, it's only gonna get harder the more we stand here yapping. Let's go." he said with a wave of the hand and walked away.

She smiled weakly and held up a hand. "Uh… Ichigo?" she called, causing the teen to stop and turn over his shoulder to her. Chuckling weakly, she pointed her thumb over her shoulder. "It's this way." she corrected.

His face turned pink while he coughed into his hand in embarrassment. "Er… yeah, right. Well… lead the way, I guess."

Nel giggled and nodded. "Don't worry, I won't get us lost, fearless leader." she teased.

"Shut up!" he growled back. "You're just as bad as Tim is." he grumbled.

She shrugged a shoulder and turned to walk next to him as he passed by. "Well, it could be worse. You could have to deal with Kit."

He blanched instantly at the thought and shook his head. "No thank you. I seriously have no idea how the hell Tim can put up with that demon, after the things I've heard." he mumbled, then turned to Nel with a wide grin. "Like with you and her's obsession with ice cream, or something like that?" he teased, now making her turn away with blush.

"Sh… Shut up! I can't help it, okay? It should be a crime for something to be so good. And it's not really fair that that stupid fox keeps stealing it all behind my back. Pig." she grumbled.

The teen snickered and patted her back. "Aw, is the big, bad, former Espada angry cause someone ate her ice cream?" he cooed with a smug grin.

"Ichigo…" she called, getting his attention and turning to him with a death look. "It is in the interest of your continued health that you drop the subject. If you keep this up, I might just have to let Gamuza teach you a lesson; and if you've heard about my… addiction… then I'm sure you've heard about how ruthless she can be." she threatened.

His eyes went wide and he swallowed tightly before nodding. "Oh, yeah, Rukia told me about… that. Shutting up now." he said quickly, turning away in fear.

He missed the smug grin she stole from him in victory. Deep down, it pleased her that she still had the capability to make others tremble in fear of her when she wanted to; not that she would do that on a normal basis, but it was still nice to put people like Ichigo Kurosaki in their place once in a while.

It just needed one last touch.

"Or better yet…" she started, making him swallow in fear again. "I could go have a talk with Yoruichi. You know, tell her how much you missed her, wanted to get to know her better."

He paled instantly, turning back to her in horror. "You wouldn't! You'd never be that heartless."

Nel chuckled deeply, making it sound evil for added effect. The purple-haired demon was right about one thing afterall, the poor substitute was easy to mess with. "Oh, I don't know, Ichigo. Have you forgotten that I'm a hollow? And that hollows are supposed to be, as you call it, 'heartless'?"

"I'll buy you a pint of ice cream!" he threw out as a last defense.

She raised a brow at him in slight surprise. "Make it a gallon." she countered.

"Done! Just don't get that damned cat-demon involved in this." he pleaded.

"And you have to make sure that kit stays away from it." she added with a grin.

"What am I? Your damn keeper? You keep an eye on your stupid ice cream." he shot back with a raised fist.

Nel crossed her arms and sighed in defeat. "Fine. And it better be cookie dough. I've still yet to have any and I've been dying to try it. And after what happened with the bucket I gave to Kit, I think she might be a little hesitant to eat it."

The teen snickered and matched her grin. "Yeah, I heard about that too. Nice one. Wish I coulda been there to see that." he said, laughing even more.

"She got what she deserved, let's just leave it at that."

"Just another reminder not to get on your bad side." he observed. "Gotta say though, never woulda thought to use chili seasoning in ice cream as a tool for revenge. Smart."

Her grin got even wider. "Actually, Ichigo, Rukia was the one who gave me the idea. So I think it's her you should be wary of." she warned.

His eyes went wide with another swallow. "The midget thought of that?! Damn, that little brat is evil."

"Careful, Ichigo, or I might just have to tell her you said that." she teased.

The teen growled deeply in anger. "Damn, heartless hollow." he seethed. Nel's expression fell at his words and his anger instantly evaporated when he realized what he said. "Crap! Uh… s… sorry, Nel. You know I didn't mean it like that." he mumbled while rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.

Nel shook her head sadly. "No, you're right, Ichigo. It's like I said earlier; I am a hollow… and I am heartless. And I don't think anything can change that." she said sadly. "It is what it is. I'm just glad that you, Tim, Kit, and all the others don't hate me because of it. If I could change what I am, I'd do so in an instant. But I can't, so I'll just have to live with it." she admitted.

Ichigo sighed heavily and dropped his hand. "I don't think it really matters what you are, Nel. Yeah, you used to be an Espada and all that, but from everything I've seen and from what Rukia's told me about you, I don't think you're really heartless. I mean, you're here helping to get Orihime back, and you're helping us to beat Aizen. What's heartless about that?" he asked with an encouraging smile.

His words were at least capable of drawing a weak smile and nod from the woman. "Thanks, Ichigo. That means a lot. I guess… I guess you do have a point about that. But… Can I… ask you something?"

The teen smiled and nodded firmly. "Sure. What's up?"

Nel sighed and started rubbing her left forearm shyly. "Do you… Would you or the others think differently of me… if I wasn't a hollow? I mean… if I was a human, or even a soul reaper like you… would you think better of me?" she asked sheepishly, turning away. "I know that Tim wouldn't, that much is obvious, but you and the others don't know me as well as he does, so…"

"Nah." the teen dismissed with a wave of his hand, drawing her attention to him again. "I mean, yeah, all of us were a bit skeptical about you at first, but can you really blame us, considering how things are between soul reapers and hollows? Ever since I first met Rukia and got my soul reaper powers, all I ever heard was that hollows are these evil beings, out to eat human souls and kill soul reapers. I'll admit that, when I first noticed that you're a hollow, I thought the same about you; but after the first week or so, I noticed that you're not like the other hollows and Arrancars. You're more… caring… I guess you could say."

The woman smiled playfully and gave him a pat on the back. "Why, thank you, Ichigo. That's so sweet of you to say." she teased, making him blush.

"Yeah yeah, whatever." he responded while scratching his cheek in embarrassment. "Anyway, the point is that I've realized that not all hollows are as evil and heartless as the Soul Society says you guys are. Like you, there's some that really don't want to hurt others, they just don't really have a choice. I guess. Thinking back on it, it seems like hollows attack souls out of some need or something. Right?" he wondered aloud.

Nel nodded once with a sigh. "Yes, you are right. I can't remember anything about my previous life, before I became a hollow, but I do remember that when I first woke up as one far, far away from here, I remember having this… urge, this need to devour human souls, an urge that I felt that wasn't right. It felt like the need was suddenly a part of me when it wasn't before. At first, it confused me, and…" She ducked her head and turned her gaze from him.

"I won't lie and… and say that I've never… consumed a soul before. Like any other hollow, I was driven by that need to devour a soul. At least at first. I couldn't explain it, it was just something I felt I had to do, like a survival instinct or something. Like… trying to sate a hunger. But even as I was devouring those souls, I always felt… wrong… what I was doing was wrong. I wasn't sure why at first, why it felt wrong; just like how the sudden urge to devour felt wrong. I don't know if all hollows feel this way at first, eventually getting past the feeling as they consume more and more souls, but I didn't like the feeling. It was after my twenty-third soul that I finally had enough. After that one, I never consumed another soul again. I never even went to the world of the living after that night."

She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "But I still felt a deep hunger inside of me, the need to consume something. I tried to ignore it, and I did for a decent amount of time, until, one day, an Adjuchas found me and tried to kill me. He almost did, but I eventually won in the end, killing him. I was about to walk away, but that was when I had the urge to consume hit me again. I tried to ignore it and just… walk away, but I couldn't. The urge just kept getting stronger and stronger. But, at the same time, I noticed that, unlike human souls, I didn't have that wrongful feeling inside me. When I walked closer to his body and stared at it, I tried to find that feeling, but it just wasn't there. It was like consuming souls was wrong, but consuming my own kind was fine. And so…"

Her pause drew Ichigo's attention. "So you ate him?" he finished in question, getting a nod in return.

"Yes. I expected that wrong feeling to come to me the second his skin touched my lips, but it didn't. In fact… I felt the opposite. It felt… right… consuming the Adjuchas. So that is how I managed my hunger. I wandered the sands of Hueco Mundo for a long, long time, finding, defeating, and consuming other hollows and Adjuchas. Eventually, I became an Adjuchas myself, then finally a Vasto Lorde. It was about thirteen years ago now that Aizen found me not far from here and asked me to join him." She closed her hands into tight fists with a low growl. "The biggest mistake I've ever made. Had I known what kind of man Aizen was that day, I never would have joined him. If I didn't simply walk away, I would have tried to kill him." she seethed through her teeth.

Concerned, Ichigo placed a comforting hand on the woman's shoulder, getting her darkened attention. "Hey, don't blame yourself, Nel. That bastard tricked a lot of people. The guy's a snake, and we all fell for his hypnotic tongue. Besides, if you didn't join up with him, you wouldn't have met the rest of us, or Tim for that matter. Don't you think that's worth it in the end?" he asked.

Nel smiled and nodded with a sigh. "Yeah… I guess you're right. I just… I just wish that Pesche and Dondochakka didn't have to die for it all to happen. And worse yet, by my own hands." she said, now looking down at her open palms. "I killed the two who I looked at as my own brothers. Even though I was an Espada, and they my fracción, I never viewed myself as above them. Sure, we 'acted' like I was, when the need arose, but I always saw them as my equals. My siblings. And then I had to go and kill them, just to amuse that wretched man's game." she snarled.

Ichigo squeezed her shoulder gently and shook his head. "It wasn't your fault, Nel. And I don't think they blame you either. I'm sure your brothers knew that you were being tricked by Aizen, and that they don't hate you for it. If you ask me, I kinda like to think that they'd be glad that you've found new friends and a new life. Don't you?" he asked with a smirk.

She sniffed once and nodded with tear-filled eyes. "Yeah… I guess you are right about that much. Thanks, Ichigo."

The teen shrugged and turned away with pink cheeks. "Uh, yeah, don't mention it. Anyway, uh… we should get back to looking for Orihime. Got any idea on how we're going to get back up to the upper floors?" he asked in embarrassment.

Nel giggled at his reaction and nodded. "Yes. While the layouts of the palaces vary, depending on the respective Espada that lives within them, the basic structure is still the same. There are a set of stairs in every cardinal direction. Since we are closer to the eastern side of the building, we'll make our way to the eastern stairwell. Do you think we should find the others and tell them to make their ways higher as well?" she asked.

He hummed while scratching his cheek in thought. "We can try, but the problem is that if we've been found, chances are that they have as well. It'll just take too long to get to them, and by the time we've found everyone and made our way to the upper floors, Aizen would have likely had Orihime moved somewhere else. As much as I'm worried about them, I think it's best if we continue on without them for now."

The woman nodded once again. "I agree. We will just have to trust that they are alright and can handle themselves."

"Do you think that they've run into an Espada as well?" the teen inquired in fear.

"I don't know, but considering it was Grimmjow that showed up earlier and not Ulquiorra, I would have to say that the chances are high."

"Tsk, if I had to guess, I'd say that that pale-skinned bastard is guarding Orihime personally." he commented.

"I agree." she confirmed with a nod. "So we should be ready to face him when we find Orihime, if that is the case."

Ichigo glanced at her with a raised brow. "I thought you said we should run if we run into that guy?"

"If we do come across Ulquiorra guarding Orihime, I will deal with him on my own while you take her and escape. Hopefully, I'll be able to buy you enough time, then escape myself and find you later for our final escape from Los Noches. It will not be easy, but if he is watching her, it's the only chance we have."

The teen gave her a worried look. "Do you think you can handle him on your own?" he questioned carefully.

She scoffed through her nose and shook her head. "Not a chance. I doubt Ulquiorra will need to get even remotely serious in order to defeat me, but like I said, it is our only option at this point. Don't worry about me, Ichigo. Just grab Orihime and leave."

"Tsk, yeah. You know Tim would kick my ass if he found out that I just left you alone like that." Ichigo mumbled.

"Then I guess it'll be our little secret, right?" she returned with a smirk.

He snorted and rolled his eyes with a matching smirk. "Yeah, right. Just gonna put it out there that if he does find out, I'll be relying on you to keep him busy while I make my escape. Maybe I can convince Mr. Hat-n-Clogs to lock him up in a barrier for a bit." he commented and they both shared a laugh.

"Yeah, I don't think that Tim would like that very much. Though, I can see Kit going along…"

"Ichigo?"

The substitute and former Espada both froze in place, eyes wide at the sound of a familiar voice. In sync, they both snapped their gazes to the left, their eyes growing even wider at the sight of the person who stood only yards away in the doorway of a side entrance to the room they were in. Hesitantly, hopefully, the teen took a single step toward the person, his mouth opening and closing as he fought to find his voice.

"Or… Orihime?"


Alright then, that's another chapter down… and many more to go. Again, I found myself looking back to when I first started on this story, when I said I had a goal of reaching 450K words. But here we are, now breaking the 800K mark, almost double of what I wanted, and we're only just a little past the halfway point. With that said, I really want to thank you all for all the help, support, and patience you all have given me. When I was taking my college English class a couple years ago, my teacher asked us what a writer's most important tool was. Her answer was simple: criticism. Good or bad, a reader's criticism is what really helps the writer improve, and you all have done that in 'spades', no pun intended old buddy, lol. Hope you're doing well.

Anyway, thanks once again reading my story and I will try to get the next chapter out swiftly. Have a good one all.