Hello everyone. I'm sorry for the longer wait than usual for this chapter, this month has been a bit...Hard for us. Greatkingrats internet was being a pain in the ass. As for me...My Grandfather died on October 4th. He was a great man, and if it weren't for him, there is a good chance I wouldn't have gotten into anime at all, and this story wouldn't even exist. He's in a better place now though. (Better then the soul society that's for sure) and I'd like to dedicate the chapter to his memory.
But, that's enough with all the depressing stuff. Your here to read something fun! I think you'll all enjoy what is to come. Please, let us know what you think.
Thanks once again to Greatkingrat88 (for writing) and jcampbellohten (for being our Beta)
Bleach is owned by Tite Kubo and Shounen jump. Fairy tail is owned by Hiro Mashima and weekly shounen magazine. I own NOTHING. This is all just for fun.
Erza approached the halls of the first division once again, to attend a captain's meeting called by the captain-commander himself. It would be a war council, to inforthe leadership on where they stood. Some would be asked their opinions, and others would simply be expected to listen. Erza had heeded the call when it came, taking Momo with her, heaping the thankless task of running the division on her hapless third seat. There was no choice; this was about Aizen, and she had to be there.
Currently she stood outside the meeting hall, waiting for the rest of the captains to arrive. She had come early, so far only beaten to it by Unohana and Soifon, two habitual early risers- in fact, Erza sometimes wondered if they slept at all. Soifon was accompanied by Yoruichi, who had stayed behind alongside Erza to spend time with Soifon. Judging by her solemn expression, however, she was not here to tease or play around with her former pupil.
"Erza?"
It was Isane, the vice-captain quietly having made her way over to her, and Erza greeted her warmly.
"It's good to see you, Isane. How have you been?"
"Just- just fine, actually," she smiled shyly, looking unusually cheery. "Better than fine, even."
"You look tired. Are they working you hard at Fourth?"
"It's... stabilized. It's still hectic, what with all the new patients..." At the thought of the freed prisoners, Erza's face darkened, and Isane hastily said, "I actually wanted to thank you. For, uh, Nemu. For freeing her."
Erza brightened again; something good had indeed come of the incident. "It was well past time," she said sternly, and nodded. "How is she getting along?"
"My captain put her up in the medical science labs in our division. She has no rank at present, but she seems happy enough. It's never been this well organized."
"I'm glad," said Erza, and nodded.
"She's living with me now. I... kind of hope she'll stay. We can finally be together, for real," Isane said, smiling even wider. "She has a lot of healing to do, but... still, thank you."
"It was... nothing," Erza said, a little taken aback. Fixing Isane and Nemu's relationship had been the least of her concerns, but the idea that such happiness could come from her rash, harsh decisions was uplifting.
"Isane?" Unohana said gently. Isane straightened up, and quickly hurried back to her captain's side. Still, she couldn't stop smiling. Erza smiled back.
"It seems the others are arriving," Unohana commented. "Perhaps we'd best move into the meeting chambers?"
Indeed, Kuchiki Byakuya and Komamura Sajin had both arrived, followed by a yawning Kyouraku and a worn-looking Ukitake. Erza nodded at Momo.
"Let's go."
Some ten minutes later, they were all gathered there, even a reluctant Kurotsuchi. He had shot her a hateful glare, one that Erza had sternly met, but he had remained silent. It seemed the captain-commander had been less than kind to his objections, something Erza appreciated.
As they all stood gathered in two rows, six on each side, the old man himself finally entered. Slow and majestic, he stood before them all, and raised his voice.
"We have not been idle these past weeks, my captains. Our intelligence network has been gathering information, evaluating every conceivable action by the traitor Aizen during his time with us. We have furthermore absorbed data from those with familiarity with his methods-"
Erza knew well what he meant, as did everyone else. She had spent many hours the first week, explaining to the second division's best operatives everything she could possibly remember about Aizen's plans, his resources, what hollows he had available, and so on. Even voluntarily giving up that information had been unpleasant; she knew perfectly well that these were the same people who would not hesitate to torture their prisoners. She had, after more time than she thought was necessary, given them everything she knew. So far, it had been kept confidential.
"-and we have also reached out to former officers in exile with even further data. I am pleased to announce that Aizen Sousuke, who so prided himself on blind-siding us, who had us all in the dark, no longer has that advantage over us."
He nodded at a functionary, a short servant Erza assumed was an assistant, who quickly tapped a few buttons at a panel. From the ceiling a wide screen lowered, at least as broad across as the length of a man. There was a flicker of static, then the shape of a person began to form on it. The functionary muttered, adjusted a few things- Erza couldn't tell what- and the image finally became clear, a last few lines finally disappearing. On the screen was the unmistakable presence of Urahara Kisuke, appearing to tower over them, the messy background of his lab contrasting with the dignified setting of the meeting hall.
"Ah, captain-commander. So good to see you again." His tone was cheery, but polite. You're really enjoying this, aren't you? Erza thought.
"The captain's council recognizes Urahara Kisuke as an official consultant," Yamamoto said gruffly. "With all present, I declare this briefing in session. Head of intelligence, report."
Soifon stepped forward and bowed. "All available resources have been dedicated to unravelling Aizen Sousuke's doings. Much is yet to be uncovered, but so far, all we've found is that he was remarkably good at covering his tracks. My vice-captain has proven useful in unveiling certain past business of his, but nothing has yet been revealed to show us anything of significant value. The most I can report, unfortunately, is that there has been no unusual activity across the world of the living. If anything, hollow activity is lower than before. For the time being, all seems quiet."
Of course it would. It's the calm before the storm. Of course you wouldn't find anything, not with a power like Aizen's.
Yamamoto gave Soifon a nod, and she stepped back.
"Urahara Kisuke?" said Yamamoto.
"The one and only," Urahara's voice said cheerily. "Yes, it just so happens that I've spent considerable time gathering information on Aizen, from the outside. Not with the vast and skilled resources of the Gotei, of course, but I believe I've had a unique... perspective. That, and it helps to know what you're looking for."
Smug bastard, Erza thought. Then again, she couldn't blame him. Losing everything and having the Gotei turned against you hurt, she knew that from personal experience.
"I understand Aizen recovered an object of considerable power," said Yamamoto.
"That is... true," Urahara said. He sighed, the wind seeming to go out of his sails. "You all ought to know what it is, I suppose. In short- and I realise my concept of 'short' differs from that of most people- it is at once my greatest achievement and my greatest failure. It is called the hougyoku, and its power is, if not godlike, then at least something akin to it. When I was head of the science and research division, my chief project was the manipulation of reishi, the ability to change spiritual matter at will according to whatever design one had in mind. I guarded this knowledge carefully, and I laboured for years. It consumed me. Such power... well, what I accomplished was scientific progress of a kind hundreds of years ahead of the Gotei's finest. I won't bore you with the details, but the fruit of my labours was an incredibly complex computer matrix able to manipulate and rearrange reiatsu at will. I housed it in a small orb, and it became something of power. The thought of it was, of course, intoxicating. With such power, I could transform any rank-and-file soldier into a fighting machine. I could turn any captain into the best possible version of themselves- or into a dry, lifeless husk. I could even change minds and memories, or disperse their energies altogether. My creation had absolute power over life and death. Imagine that, my captains- the ability to take away power, or give it, just by manipulating your innate energies."
Erza looked back and forth between the captains, a little taken aback. It was no wonder now why Urahara had been so keen to help them. Where some of her colleagues remained dispassionate, others looked uncertain. The idea of Aizen possessing such power was terrifying.
"I realized, even before my exile, that this power was... too great. I did not trust myself with its use, and I certainly did not trust the Gotei. Deciding its power was too much for anybody to handle, I locked it away, eschewing decades' worth of research. A bitter pill, but necessary. But then... well, I know some of you recall the hollowfication incident a century or so ago?"
"We do," said Yamamoto.
"At that time, Aizen experimented on four captains and four vice-captains, to merge hollow and shinigami abilities. His research, coincidentally, was very similar to mine- but flawed and imperfect. In trying to save them, I was incarcerated and framed for the incident. I escaped, taking the hougyoku with me. Somehow, Aizen had to have learned of its existence at this time. I kept it with me in the world of the living, keenly aware of how dangerous it was. Finally, I saw an opportunity to erase it: I inserted it into a gigai, worn by Kuchiki Rukia. The idea was that it would... meld with her being and thus erase itself. I tried all other methods, but the thing is all but indestructible. It was all I could conceive of. Aizen somehow detected this, and using his zanpakutou, he took control of the Central Forty-Six, calling for her arrest. Thus, I sent my own expedition force to retrieve her by any means possible."
"You failed," Soifon said sharply.
"Yes," Urahara conceded, "I did. Aizen now possesses the hougyoku, and with it the power to churn out arrancar at will. However, we are not lost. It is not easy to use, and it has its limits. Furthermore, we have an ace in the hole. Yoruichi?"
Yoruichi stepped up, and raised her voice. "I had one task specifically during that mission. Failing the extraction of Kuchiki Rukia, I would make an... addition to the hougyoku's matrix. At the bridge, during the confrontation with Byakuya, I activated a small device, sending out a signal to the hougyoku itself, embedded in her body. The code was received, and we now have-"
"A bona fide spy program!" Urahara said, a bit of cheer returning. "Yes, that was my plan B. I am currently monitoring the artefact's activity, which is... very frequent. It does, however, give us a good idea of just how many soldiers Aizen is producing, and just how powerful they are. To that end, I'd like to compare notes with Captain Scarlet."
Yamamoto nodded. "Captain Scarlet, step forth."
Erza did as ordered, after a second's pause. She had always assumed Urahara Kisuke had an ulterior motive, but she had never known that such guilt, such blame lay with him. Worse, she had never expected Yoruichi to withhold information like that.
"The real question," she said uneasily, "is how many vasto lorde-class hollows Aizen commands. All else I believe to be perfectly manageable by any captain in this room. Ten vasto lordes, transformed into arrancar, would mean completely irreparable damage to the Gotei Thirteen. The captain-commander would certainly have the strength to deal with them, but we would likely have lost every captain before that, along with the majority of all our officers, not to mention our rank-and-file soldiery."
There was a shudder across the room. Vasto lorde was a name spoken fearfully among most, almost like a boogie man. The strongest, most evolved of all hollows, they rarely showed themselves. Having met them personally, Erza knew the rumours were not exaggerated.
"And how many does he possess, Captain Scarlet?" Yamamoto demanded.
"To my knowledge, four," said Erza. "I even... befriended two of them during my time with Aizen."
It was difficult to think about, and harder still to admit, but she had to. Forcing her tone to be level and professional, she continued. "The strongest available is a name well known to us: Barragan Luisenbarn."
"The king of Hueco Mundo?" Kyouraku muttered. "Damn..."
"He was king. He has been subservient to Aizen for some time. Following that, Tier Halibel, Ulquiorra Cifer and Neliel tu Oderschwank. I have already appraised Second Division of the exact details of their powers and abilities. Suffice it to say that each one of these three are terrifying foes if they were to be transformed. A naturally formed arrancar is powerful enough, but one augmented to reach their full potential?" She shook her head. "With the vasto lordes he commands, and the dozens of adjuchas at his disposal, plus former captains Tousen and Ichimaru, he will have a force of elite fighters at least equivalent to ours. In my opinion, we should assume we are outnumbered."
"How badly?" said Yamamoto. Surprised at his tone, neutral and even- she had expected he might bluster something about the endurance and might of the Gotei- Erza continued.
"Badly," she said, "but in no way are the odds insurmountable. The hollows are not what you would call team players, and the only thing keeping his newly empowered soldiers from tearing each other to shreds is Aizen, himself. I find it unlikely that they would form a cohesive fighting unit. Rather, they will present individual, but very potent threats."
"Not to mention," Urahara cut in smoothly, "that you have allies to count on, myself included. I can give you nothing specific at this time, but I might have something further to bring to the table besides Yoruichi and myself."
"This is no time to play coy, Urahara Kisuke," Yamamoto said gruffly.
"Coy, me?" Urahara said innocently. "Why, I'd never. But it just so happens that I am working on quite a few things that should give us an edge when the time comes. Aizen knows each of your strengths inside and out; he has all the information he could possibly want... but I have been outside his prying gaze for quite some time."
Yamamoto nodded, seeming displeased still. "A file will be sent to each captain and vice-captain," he said grimly, "containing all available information, including battle data. This will update every week, as our consultant feeds us more data. No matter how busy your schedules, I expect each and every one of you to familiarize yourself with this information. Memorize it. Learn it inside and out, because it could save your life. This is an order. Understood?"
"Yes, sir!" Erza cried out, along with most of the other captains.
"Captain Scarlet," he said, turning to Erza again, "in your mind, what flaw if any does Aizen Sousuke possess that we can use to our advantage? You alone have true insight into his nature."
Erza paused to think for a second.
"Hubris, sir. He had an absolute tactical advantage. He could easily have stolen the hougyoku from Kuchiki Rukia, faked his death to take command of the hollows directly while keeping Ichimaru and Tousen undercover. He could have orchestrated the murder of any number of us, and we would never have seen it coming. He could have struck without warning and crippled us, only to later attack with an army of powerful arrancar. Instead he revealed his hand early, because he is too arrogant, too sure of his victory to use such an advantage. The power of his zanpakutou is great and terrifying, but it has made him too arrogant for his own good.
"He is no fool, be sure of that, but he is also delusional. I believe he believes that he wants what is best for the Gotei- it is important to him to defeat us in the open, to destroy the Gotei and what it now stands for to replace it with a new order. He is vain and theatrical, and he will not choose the most pragmatic of approaches. I wouldn't put stealth past him, but if I am right, he will come knocking on our door, facing us head-to-head with an army meant to be unstoppable. If anything becomes his undoing, it will be his ego. This, we could perhaps use to our advantage."
Yamamoto looked pleased, ever so slightly. "Your assessment sounds fair, captain, and will be given due consideration."
He turned to address the rest of the room. "Dark days lie ahead of us," he continued, "but I hope it is perfectly clear in light of this information that this is a war that we can and will win. Aizen, too arrogant to believe he could lose, has given us time to prepare, and where we knew little of his actions, motives, and resources before, we now know plenty. Our enemy has given us the chance to prepare, and we will make him rue this overconfidence. Understood?"
"Yes, sir!" the captains cried once more. As grim as the mood was, Erza felt uplifted, and she was not the only one.
As the meeting ended, the captains all going about their business, Erza lingered. Soifon was delivering some report to Yamamoto in a hushed voice, classified no doubt, and Yoruichi waited at a distance. Well enough. Erza walked up to the dark-skinned woman, looking her in the eye.
"Well, don't you look serious?" said Yoruichi, as jovial as ever.
"You lied to me. To us," Erza said firmly.
"Lying is a strong word. I didn't tell you about something."
"Don't split hairs," Erza scoffed. "Urahara gave you a mission. You kept it from us. Would it have been that hard to tell us?"
"I know you haven't been an intelligence operative, like me, or like him," Yoruichi said slowly, "but I think you understand the concept of need-to-know basis?"
"Do I?"
Yoruichi sighed. "I'm sorry, but this... it was necessary. Kisuke keeps things close to his chest, and I don't blame him. Having a plan B is common sense, and you didn't need to know. If that offends you..."
Erza grunted. "It's not how I do things."
"Well, it's how I do things. Sorry."
"...We'll talk later," Erza muttered, and turned to walk out. Yoruichi's words hadn't been unfair or illogical, but something in her recoiled at the idea of keeping secrets from one's friends. That was what she lived by now. No more lies. Yoruichi might have had her reasons, but Erza didn't have to like them.
By a river in Bavaria, two figures stalked through the forest. As the shape of a long abandoned boathouse came into view, the leading figure urged her companion to halt by raising a fist, and they both took a knee by a thick alder tree.
"Can you sense it?" said Bambietta.
Her companion, Liltotto Lamperd, closed her eyes. "Seven- no, eight presences, of varying spiritual power. They seem dormant."
Bambietta nodded. She would have chastised Liltotto for missing the eighth at first glance, but truth be told, she had only counted seven, herself. "Good."
Bambietta Basterbine was in full battle regalia, wearing the custom-made suit of full plate mail given to every paladin. The rims of its pauldrons were lined with gold, a sign of their king's trust in them, a mark of their rank, and she wore a white tabard over the plate itself, white with the vanden cross in black on the chest, and a sword sheathed by her side. Completing the uniform was a long, white cloak, emblazoned just like the tabard with the vanden cross. Her companion was equally armed and armored, albeit less gilded. Bambietta was not a fan of formality, but as easygoing as she was, Bambietta knew when she should observe the Codex Vanden. A full blown mission ordered by the lord commander was one of those times to be sure, especially when she was to evaluate a paladin candidate. Not that Liltotto knew that, of course; it was in fact vital that she remain ignorant. Liltotto was a talented young woman, enough so that Subutai himself had taken an interest in her, but whether she was ready to be exalted beyond the rank of chevalier was very much unclear.
"Paladin, if I may ask," said Liltotto nervously, "just what are we hunting? You said you picked me to go on a mission because you didn't want to go alone, but... you never said just what we're hunting. You brought a sword, so I assume we're out to kill something? The people in that boathouse are not quincies, so..."
"They're vampires," Bambietta said bluntly.
"Vampires?" Liltotto said incredulously. "You mean the bounts, paladin? I thought we exterminated them?"
Bambietta shook her head, and grinned. "Nope. Vampires."
"Surely, you can't be serious."
"I am always serious. And don't call me Shirley," said Bambietta, unable to contain a snicker.
"But I didn't call you Shirley. 'Surely' is only superficially similar to 'Shirley', and-"
Bambietta let out a sigh, deep and theatrical. "Kids these days," she complained loudly. "I set up a perfectly good Airplane reference, and you miss it completely. It's a pop culture classic! For pity's sake, Liltotto, we have TV in the castle!"
Liltotto gave her a look. She very much took discipline seriously, unlike her superior, but she was not so intimidated by Bambi's rank as to let herself get pushed around.
"I don't watch TV."
"You're lame and boring."
"Vampires, paladin?" said Liltotto, nodding toward the boathouse.
"Yup," Bambietta said and nodded. "Unfortunately, not the red trench coat-wearing, Nazi-vampire-killing kind. Although it's not the sparkling kind either, so it balances out, I guess."
"Surely- I mean, certainly you cannot be serious? This is no time for jokes, paladin."
"See this?" said Bambietta, and looked Liltotto in the eye. Her eyes rolled back up into her sockets, showing only the whites. "This is me, rolling my eyes so hard they're going a full ways around and- ouch, actually, that kind of hurts..."
"...Bambi, how did you ever become paladin?" said Liltotto flatly, as Bambietta's eyes went back to normal.
"Through my natural grace, dignity, and professionalism, of course."
"Of course."
"I'm not kidding, anyway," said Bambietta. "Well, not about the vampires. I mean, technically they have this boring-sounding German name, but that's lame. They feed on spiritual energy that they steal from others, and that's close enough, damn it."
"They... feed?"
"I'll explain. You know us quincies, how we train from a young age to master our grasp our powers?"
"Yes?"
"Well, once in a blue moon, people are born with the ability to control reiatsu, only with no skill or knowledge on what it is or how you control it. And sometimes, that leads to people who figure out that hey, you can gain strength by eating energy from other people. They don't learn control, they just get... intoxicated by the rush of power. They feel filled up by the energy, and they stop eating normal food. They grow skinny and ugly, and feed only on souls. Sometimes these people band together. It's not common by any means, but it happens. We've been tracing these bastards for a couple years now, and they finally made a big enough mess that we could locate them."
"Mess?"
"They ate two families over in the last town," Bambietta said grimly. "Souls gone, leaving only dry, desiccated corpses. They're evil people, 'Totto. They're only waiting out here till they get hungry again."
Liltotto nodded firmly. "I understand, paladin."
"Vanden justice," she said, knowing she would have to say no more.
"Vanden justice," Liltotto repeated.
Bambietta grinned. "Good girl. You're taking point on this one. I'll have your back with my bow, but that's it."
"I- me?" Liltotto said, sounding surprised. "Bambi- paladin, I-"
"You heard me. Now, get a move on. We hit them on my mark. Don't give them a chance to react."
"Yes- yessir!" Liltotto said, her voice in between zealous and nervous.
"Alright. On my mark... ready... Für seine Majestäte, Wandenritter!"
Liltotto drew her blade, and charged.
Walking through the now ruined boathouse, Bambietta surveyed the carnage. Liltotto was a chevalier, a Vandenritter elite, and the demi-human ghouls had stood little chance. She had burst through the rotting wood of the house's wall, and within seconds five of the creatures, once humans and now little more than beasts, had been slain. Another had been slain trying in vain to fight back. Her longsword bloodied, Liltotto stood over the two remaining 'vampires', who cowered on their knees before her. Her tabard was stained with thick, dark blood, some of it having sprayed over her face. To the wretches before her, she surely looked like a nightmare. Nightmare? Knightmare, even, and Bambietta pondered using that as a pun. No- now was not the time to mess around.
"Threats subdued, paladin," said Liltotto, holding her blade out at the two survivors.
"Good girl," said Bambietta.
"What of these two, paladin? They've surrendered."
Bambietta looked her protégé in the eye sternly. "You know the answer to that already."
"I... do?"
"You do," said Bambietta, closing her mouth. What came next, Liltotto had to figure out for herself. Hunting hollows was one thing, even with the excellence that Liltotto did, but dealing with monsters that had willingly chosen to cannibalize their own kind, that was something else.
"Vanden... justice," Liltotto muttered. She took a deep breath, and raised her blade.
"No, please!" one of the creatures cried out, shrill and terrified. "We'll take our punishment! We'll-"
With two swift cuts faster than a normal eye could follow, Liltotto severed both their heads. Their wretched bodies slumped to the ground, thick, dark blood running from their necks.
"Vanden justice," Bambietta said approvingly. "This is how it's done. We don't have a court, or a prison, or a law system. We're not human society. Murderous scum that prey on the innocent are not permitted to live."
"...Yes," Liltotto murmured, nodding weakly. "Bambi... they were not strong at all."
"Sure weren't."
"No, I mean... I think a small team of normal knights could have slain them easily. Why send a paladin and a chevalier to do such a menial chore?"
"Good question, 'Totto. Why would we?"
Liltotto blinked. "I don't understand."
"Think, girl," said Bambietta impatiently, gesturing with her hand. "You think the lord commander would send us out for a joke?"
"Of course not. He's much too serious..."
"But you got picked for a reason."
"Yes... I mean, I still don't understand..."
Bambietta sighed. "When you killed those two beaten men just now. Why did you do it?"
"Bambi-"
"I'm not dicking around," Bambietta said seriously. "Answer the question."
"...Well, it's like you said. Vanden justice-"
"Describe to me, right now, in your own words why you killed them."
Something seemed to dawn on Liltotto, and her eyes widened a little. She paused, then took a deep breath. "They were... evil. No- not evil. Just selfish and destructive, acting without regard for human life."
"Basically the same, but yes," Bambietta said, gesturing with her hand for Liltotto to continue.
"And we take care of this, because nobody else can. Because if we don't, more people suffer."
"When you raised that blade, 'Totto, did you raise it because I told you to?" Bambietta looked the chevalier in the eyes, putting on a stern face for once.
"No. You said... I knew the answer already. We're not like the shinigami. We obey orders because we know they're rightfully made, not just because they're orders. We understand why we're given them. We're not kept in the dark and expected to act on blind faith. We know our place, and we know why it is so."
Bambietta nodded, pleased with the answer. "And if you're given an order you know is wrong?"
"Then we respectfully refuse."
Bambietta grinned, and reached inside her coat. After fidgeting for a second, she pulled out a golden chain, holding it up in the air. At the end of it was a medallion, emblazoned with His Majesty's personal heraldry, a mark of honor granted only to one rank among the knights of the Vanden.
"That's a paladin's locket," Liltotto said, awe in her voice.
"Think fast!" Bambietta said, and tossed the piece of jewelry across the room. Surprised, Liltotto fumbled, only barely catching it before it hit the ground.
"Bambi- paladin, that's a priceless chain!" she exclaimed, her tone as outraged as it was shocked.
"Congratulations, 'Totto," Bambietta said, grinning wider than ever. "Ya passed. Welcome to the paladins."
"What?" Liltotto all but shrieked. "But- but I'm- I'm just-"
"Just really grateful to your amazing mentor?" Bambietta suggested cheekily.
"I'm too young!" Liltotto cried. "I haven't even lived out a whole lifetime yet! And I know for a fact there's a dozen chevaliers who could defeat me easily, and I could never beat any of the paladins!"
"Listen, kid, you made chevalier in less than twenty years," Bambietta said dismissively. "You're a prodigy, and you know it. Besides, being paladin isn't about being strong. It's about strength of character. A paladin has to have impeccable integrity as well as top-notch skills. Which kinda makes me think... how did I make paladin, actually?"
"This isn't funny, Bambi!" Liltotto exclaimed. "If this is some joke-"
"Look at the medal. Does that look phony to you?"
"But-"
"Look at it!"
Still in shock, Liltotto examined it. It looked exactly like Grand Master Haschwalth's, or Lord Commander Subutai's, or like Bambietta's. It had a golden glow to it, looking newly made, but authentic.
"You really think I'd joke about this?" said Bambietta. "I fuck around a lot, sure, but some things... some things are sacred. The order is everything to me. I wouldn't make that up."
"So, you mean..."
"Yer a paladin, Harry. And a damn good one, I reckon."
Liltotto stared at her flatly. "You just made one of your stupid references again, didn't you?"
Bambietta chortled. "Couldn't help myself, sorry. Still... old Subutai asked me to evaluate you personally. That's why we went up against these weak-ass ghouls. Point wasn't strength. That'll come with time."
"So..."
"You've acquitted yourself excellently in battle against the hollows. Menos grande are nothing to you at this point. But hollows, purging them is just a matter of strength and skill. They're monsters, and they can't help it. It's in their nature. But the eight you just killed were people, people who chose to do evil. They were human beings just like you, even if they were twisted, and you still killed them."
"Yes, I did," Liltotto mumbled.
"Don't look so down!" Bambietta scolded her. "They were bastards, and they deserved it. That's what I mean by strength of character- the strength to do what was needed, to stick to your guns even if it's not all cut and dry. You made the right choice, 'Totto, and from now on we're equals. Got that?"
"...Yes, Bambi!" said Liltotto firmly.
Bambietta shot her another grin. "Good girl. Now-"
She tensed up. "Oi, the little bastard hiding outside, show yourself already!" she demanded.
Within half a minute, a knight appeared, seeming a little short of breath; his schwalbenflug was a little rushed as he slid to a halt, hastily taking a knee.
"The fuck you want?" Bambietta demanded, irritated to have the moment interrupted.
"Begging your pardon, paladin," the knight rambled quickly, "but I carry a message for you."
"That couldn't wait?"
"Bambi, be nice," Liltotto said.
"It could not wait, Lady," said the messenger knight quickly. "It was ordered by His Lordship the Grand Master."
"Haschwalth?" Bambietta muttered. "All right, spit it out."
"You are ordered to report back to Vandenburg immediately. From there, you are to relocate to Japan, Tokyo area, Karakura Town."
"That shitty place?" Bambietta muttered. "Well, fuck it... let's go then, 'Totto. I'll need to go tell Haschwalth what a good girl you've been, anyhow."
Lighting up at the praise, Liltotto nodded eagerly, and the two of them quickly flew away.
It was Monday, the last week having passed in a haze of demanding chores; paperwork, meetings, subordinates messing up, more paperwork, and it was a miracle Erza had gotten any training done at all. However, despite all the demands of captaincy, Erza was dead set on holding true to her decision. She was going back home for the evening, just like she had decided early on. Duties be damned, family mattered more. So it was that, at seven, she packed up her things, closed the door to her office, and went to fetch a gigai. She had already sent Orihime a message earlier, telling her daughter she was coming. On her way out, though, Momo caught up with her.
"Are you going back, captain?" she asked innocently.
"Well, yes," Erza said. "Like I said before... I have to. I'll be back first thing in the morning. You'll be alright without me for the night. If there's an emergency, send me a hell butterfly."
"Actually..." said Momo a bit nervously, "I want to come with you."
Erza blinked. "Really?"
"I want to see where you went all these years," Momo said determinedly. "I want to know what kind of family you made when you weren't with us."
"But I need you here. You're my vice-captain. Who else can I rely on to keep things running?"
"It's just for the night, right?" Momo countered. "Captain- Erza, please?"
Erza sighed. She found it difficult to say no to Momo's pleading look; she had this way of looking like a lost puppy, and it was practically like cheating.
"And if there's an emergency?"
"I'll tell the third seat to send a hell butterfly," Momo said quickly. "I'm not saying I'll come with you every night, but..."
"Alright," Erza conceded. "No harm, I suppose."
"Yes!" Momo cheered. "I mean, uh, thank you. Captain. Erza. I'll, uh... I'll go notify the third seat. Don't leave without me!"
Awkwardly, Momo rushed off, and despite herself Erza couldn't help but adore the cheerful look on her vice-captain's face. Sure... just the one night couldn't hurt, right?
The two of them put on gigai before they approached Erza's old apartment. It looked much the same as before, although it wasn't quite as smooth as the one Urahara had provided her so long ago. She made a mental note to try and get it back; say what you will about him, the man was an excellent engineer. Momo, for her part, looked quite different in her new outfit: a short skirt, a blouse, and a chic vest. It was cute, Erza noted as they walked through the streets toward her place.
Momo had remained quiet for most of the walk, although Erza could tell she was brimming with questions, with things to say. She wondered if she should try to put Momo at ease, but didn't quite know how. Momo was passionate about her friends, and she had wondered about Erza for so long. But what was there she could say after all this time, when there had been such a rift between them, literal and metaphorical?
With these questions on Erza's mind, they finally reached her apartment. It was hard to believe it hadn't been more than two months since she had left it. It felt like an eternity. It was absurd how quickly she had grown accustomed to the fifth division again, how quickly she had taken to life as a shinigami after being away for twenty years. The apartment, now that she walked inside it, felt like some bizarre remnant of somebody else's life.
One thing, though, felt real. As she closed the door, she heard a happy cheer and the rush of two feet, and she felt the energy of Orihime, brimming with excitement. The teenager practically threw herself at Erza, hugging her close.
"Erza!" she burst out happily. "You're back again!"
"Of course I am," Erza said calmly, smiling as she looked down on her daughter's cheerful face. "I told you I wouldn't leave for good, didn't I?"
"Of course you wouldn't. But I super missed you still. Not that there's anything wrong with the Kurosakis, they're nice people- actually, come to think of it, something is wrong with them, but not more than usual-"
"I hear you, I hear you," Erza said amusedly, stopping Orihime before she could launch into one of her charmingly odd tirades again. "I think you remember Momo?"
"Oh!" Orihime said, as if she had just noticed the vice-captain. Momo had a strange look on her face, one Erza couldn't quite decipher, but she quickly put a smile on her face as Orihime greeted her.
"I didn't recognize you without your uniform. Did you do something to your hair? It looks pretty cool," Orihime bubbled excitably.
"It's, uh, the bun," Momo said meekly. "I... left the cloth part out?"
"Well, it looks great on you," Orihime said confidently. "So, are you here on, like, some cool, covert mission?"
Before Orihime could start humming the "Mission Impossible" theme- and it wouldn't be the first time- Erza cut her off.
"It's just a sleepover. She wanted to see how I lived."
"That's cool. Not as cool as a covert mission to save the world, but still cool," said Orihime.
"Well," said Erza, gesturing toward the apartment, "this is it. Not much to look at, but at least I didn't live poorly."
The apartment wasn't anything special, just a couple of rooms, a kitchen and a bathroom, but it had been plenty for her and Orihime.
"It's so strange..." Momo murmured, as she walked inside the main living room. "All this time, while the Stealth Corps was out on the look for you, you were holed up in a place like this? It's so... normal."
"Except for the ghosts," said Orihime. "Although, come to think of it, ghosts are pretty normal for you people, I guess."
"Home is what you make of it," Erza said simply. "I never needed anything fancy. The people in my life mattered much more than my living quarters. It's not luxurious, but we made it work."
"Luxury is overrated, anyway," Orihime said dismissively, "and relative. I mean, compared to some places, it's pretty luxurious. Which doesn't matter, because that's overrated."
"You're right," Momo said with a smile. "It's all about the people in your life with you, after all, isn't it?"
"...Yeah," Erza said, and nodded.
"O-kay!" Orihime burst out cheerily. "Since it's a sleepover, that means we have to do, like, sleepover stuff. Cocoa and marshmallows, and girl talk!"
"But we're out of cocoa," Erza countered. "We can't make cocoa without cocoa, you know?"
"Not with that attitude," Orihime said perkily. "Although, to be honest, I don't even know what 'girl talk' is, but we're all girls and we can all talk, so I think that'll sort itself out."
Erza burst out into laughter, and Momo after her, and the tension eased. This was her daughter, alright: bubbly, random and loveable.
Ichigo stalked through the night streets, patrolling restlessly. The pills had worked just like Urahara had promised; he'd had no further nightmares since he'd started taking them, but he still didn't sleep easily. Whether it was just a matter of readjusting, or whether the hollow was fighting back, he was developing a bit of insomnia. Rather than lie awake in his bed for another night, he'd decided to patrol the town, ditching his physical body for the shinigami's form.
The pills had worked very well. In this form, Ichigo felt slow, sluggish, and much weaker. It was a headache and a half, and it frustrated him deeply, but he knew the alternative was worse. He'd heard nothing from that bucket-hat since, which didn't exactly reassure him, but at least the problem was being worked on. He really wished Erza were there- she always knew what to do, what to say...
He couldn't go to his parents. Not after the dreams. Keeping it to himself wasn't healthy, but whom would he go to?
His brooding was interrupted as he sensed the ripple of a portal opening, and the malevolent energy of a hollow manifesting itself. It had to be huge-class, although he couldn't be sure. His sensory abilities were poor to begin with, and through the reiatsu-suppressed haze the pills had induced, he couldn't make much out except that it was powerful, and its general direction.
Well, whatever. Even weakened, he was powerful as they came. He had beaten a captain. A non-menos hollow shouldn't be a problem. Dashing forward in the direction of the hollow, he pushed himself hard, straining against the reduction of his powers. Beating the ever-loving shit out of some hapless hollow would honestly be therapeutic about now.
The beast wasn't hard to find. Recklessly, it had walked through the streets, heading for an apartment complex, presumably with some particularly rich soul inside it, ripe for the taking. Ichigo wasn't about to let that happen. Letting his reiatsu flare, he charged toward the beast.
It was an ugly thing, like all its kind. It had a broad, muscular torso covered in short, black hairs, looking like a gorilla, but its talons were rat-like and it carried itself on two pairs of legs. Its mask was a wide grin, like it made a mockery of the carnage it was about to reap.
Losing himself to anger, letting out all his frustrations, Ichigo roared and surged forward. The beast noticed him well ahead of time, and turned to face him. It was as tall as a house, easily, but it moved deceptively quickly. As Ichigo came in with a powerful swing, it parried with its forearm. The blade drew blood, but the thick, hairy hide absorbed most of the blow. Before Ichigo could recover, both of the hollow's front legs lashed out, sending him tumbling back. Managing to roll back up on his feet, Ichigo snarled, and jumped up. It had a thick hide, all right. That just meant hitting harder.
Surging through the air, he cut at the beast again. It parried, but this time Ichigo's blade sunk deeper, down to the bone before it was stopped. The monster lashed out, but Ichigo anticipated its attack, catching the blow with his foot, using the force to propel himself backward, nimbly performing a back-flip before charging in again. Just before he completed his headlong charge, he dashed to the side, raking his blade across the monster's side. It screeched with pain, and spun around to face him, but Ichigo was already elsewhere, dashing behind it, grasping his blade firmly in both hands, making ready for another strike.
This was more like it! Weak or not, he'd destroy it. He'd make it regret ever coming here before destroying it. A monster like this deserved to die, deserved only oblivion, and he'd grant it!
He felt a pang of satisfaction as his blade stabbed into the creature's back, and twisted it before jumping back to avoid a backhand strike. The monster roared with pain again, and charged forward head-first, jaws open wide. Ichigo met it head on, batting aside one of its paws before placing his sword to block its snapping jaws. He was pushed back, but stubbornly held his ground until the monster's momentum died.
Now I've got you, you son of a bitch, he thought. One hard hit to the mask, and the damned thing would be done for...
The monster raised its head, stepped back, and shrieked. Ichigo skipped back, blade raised, making ready to strike as it charged. One leap forward would take him inside the monster's guard, and his sword would come down before it could strike back...
Then he looked into the hollow's eyes for just a second, and time seemed to slow. The entire world seemed not to exist anymore, just the oppressive, merciless stare from those soulless eyes, the bone-white mask beaming with malevolence. He felt like there was nothing else, like there was only the monster's mask in the entire universe, staring down at him. He felt like he was drowning in the red glare of its eyes, and suddenly he saw... himself.
He froze.
Ichigo was swiftly brought back to reality as the beast's forearm connected, sending him flying like a ragdoll. For a second he was weightless, sailing through the air with the air knocked out of his lungs, and then there was pain as he slammed into a wall. Dizzy, wheezing for air, he struggled to get up on his feet, but before he could get any further than being on all fours, the monster was upon him. Still dizzy, he lashed out with his blade, but the monster batted it aside with one arm, and slammed the other into him with ferocious strength. He was sent tumbling again, and the hollow let out a malevolent, gleeful laugh. Again it charged, and Ichigo knew there was no time. He felt dizzy, disoriented and weak. Somebody might come and help, but did he have that much time?
Instinctively he rolled out of the way as a crushing paw slammed into the asphalt where he had been not a second ago, and desperately he tried to get up on his feet. Should he call out Zangetsu? No- what good would that do when he couldn't even bring the blade to bear?
At the corner of his mind, he felt something eating at him, something telling him that it didn't have to be this way, that he should just give up...
He felt panic rise in his chest. Stress! Life-or-death situations, when he was weakening, that was when- that was when the hollow was growing stronger! Furiously he scrambled away from another attack, knowing he was only seconds away from being pinned down, killed and dismembered, all while trying to remain focused, keeping his sense of self intact. What was he going to do?! He couldn't let it happen, couldn't let himself turn into a monster!
The beast charged him, confident of its victory now, a pair of legs and both arms out and ready to crush him. It rose, and Ichigo knew he couldn't dodge them all. He turned his back, desperately scrambling away.
After crawling a good ten yards across the street, he realised he was not being crushed, that there was no pain- well, no new pain- that he was in fact alive. Not understanding what was going on, he scrambled to his feet, blade in hand, and turned around with his weapon at the ready.
As reality caught up with him and his vision cleared, he started to see what had happened. A tall, decidedly masculine figure was fighting off the hollow, already having sliced off one of its legs, the limb lying bloody and twitching at the side walk. Was it a shinigami? No- he didn't wear the robes; he looked to be wearing a jacket and pants, like some everyday human. A quincy? No- he was using a sword, and a big one at that.
Getting over the shock, Ichigo raised his blade, unwilling to let his rescuer fight alone, and even more unwilling to let the beast get away after having trounced him. It was, however, completely unnecessary. Dodging under one of the monster's clumsy, powerful attacks, the new arrival surged up, just like Ichigo had meant to, and slammed his sword sideways into the mask, cracking it in two with ease. The beast roared, thrashing and flailing as its spiritual components began to dissolve, its very being coming undone rapidly. In a matter of seconds, the monster was gone.
Ichigo stood with his guard up, staring at the man who'd rescued him. It was hard to make out anything; the night was dark, and only the odd bit of moonlight lit up the streets. Carefully, Ichigo walked closer. The man was tall, he could see, and wore a black leather jacket. His blade had the look of a European greatsword, at least as long as Zangetsu, and almost as thick.
The stranger shot him a glance, then turned around, slinging the blade over his back, walking away.
"Hey!" Ichigo called out. "Hey, you! Stay where you are!"
The stranger took a few more steps, then slowed down. He turned his head around, not even bothering to turn around to face Ichigo, and shot him a look.
"I bail your ass out, and you act like I'm the one who owes you?"
His voice was fairly deep; he was clearly an adult, and his tone was somewhere in between amused and annoyed.
"At least tell me your damn name!" Ichigo demanded. Another unknown factor was the last thing he wanted right now.
The stranger shrugged. "Whatever. It's Ginjou, kid. Kugo Ginjou."
"Well, thanks for saving me and all-" Ichigo began, but the stranger- Ginjou- ignored him, walking away again. Ichigo blinked. What the hell? Part of him wanted to chase after the guy, but right now he was in no state to do so- the hollow had roughed him up, and right now he'd rather be at home. Ginjou had saved him, after all, so he wasn't likely to be a threat, even if he seemed suspicious.
Irritably, Kurotsuchi Mayuri tapped his foot. After having spent nearly a week salvaging what could be salvaged from the absolute atrocity Erza Scarlet had dared visit upon him, terrifying his subordinates at every turn, he had finally walked back to Fourth Division to see if he could retrieve some of his specimens after all. That woman running it was one of Yamamoto's cronies, he knew, but perhaps he could explain to her the value of scientific knowledge. The very thought of all those specimens, the data they contained, just how much could be restored if only he got his hands on them had him manic, well past the point of reasoning.
She met him at the gates of the hospital with a serene look on her face. The very look of her infuriated Mayuri, but he forced himself to be restrained. Patience was not one of his virtues; he was used to getting what he wanted when he wanted it, and needing to negotiate for something was a concept mostly alien to him. The Central Forty-Six had always been happy to provide whatever resources he needed so long as they got a few baubles in exchange, and he rarely ventured outside the facility except for the sake of gathering more data, or the occasional mandatory meeting. In his lab, he was king. Here, he was not. It was an irritating notion.
"Captain Kurotsuchi," said Unohana calmly, "to what do we owe this visit?"
"Well," Mayuri said, carefully making his voice be calm, level, reasonable, "as I am sure you know, I was recently robbed of some vital research subjects. I had hoped to retrieve them without issue... if you please."
That last word was like gall in his mouth, but as needs must...
"You speak of the forty-three patients admitted into my care last week?"
That many had survived? That was better than he'd expected.
"That I do," he said, with what he hoped was a courteous tone. "As I am sure you understand, as a woman of some scientific prowess, yourself, losing them could prove devastating for my research- and in the long run, for the Gotei itself. I would rather resolve it discreetly than have to file a claim with Second Division."
He was doing all right. He'd flattered her a little, and delivered a threat that was not overtly hostile. Surely she would agree?
"I do understand it would impede your research, yes," she said, nodding slowly.
"Of course!" Mayuri said, some legitimate joy seeping through the cracks. "So, if you'd just-"
"Captain Kurotsuchi, do you know who I am?" she said. Her tone, suddenly, had an edge to it- not harsh, but not kind either.
"I'm sorry?"
"Answer the question," she demanded.
Mayuri took in an irritated breath of air, and forced himself not to snap at the woman. He had no time for imbecilic games!
"You are Captain Unohana Retsu, of course."
"That I am. Unohana Retsu, captain of Fourth Division, and the chief doctor of the Gotei Thirteen."
"Well...?"
"Tell me, Captain Kurotsuchi, are you familiar with the Hippocratic Oath?" He opened his mouth, but before he could reply, she continued. "It's long enough, but the most important aspect of it is do no harm. Could I let these people back into your care, assured they would come to no deliberate harm?"
"Of course," Mayuri lied quickly. "They'd be given the best care-"
She leaned in, her eyes narrowing, and Mayuri flinched, taking a step back.
"You are an excellent liar, Captain Kurotsuchi. Psychopaths usually are. But when the truth stares you in the face, even the best of lies is pointless."
"I don't understand-"
"Do you know why I am feared, captain?" she said. She leaned in closer, and Mayuri felt a bead of sweat trail down his face. She looked and sounded perfectly calm, but something about her made him tremble, even through his desperate urge to salvage what knowledge he could.
"I am feared because I am feared. Fear itself has given cause to more fear. My reputation has sustained itself to a point where I have never needed to do more than smile and ask politely. You are too young to know, of course, that there is a reason I was feared in the first place. I have seen what you did. Consider yourself lucky that Captain Scarlet found you, and not I. I would have cut you in half and set the pieces on fire."
"This-this is outrageous!" Mayuri blustered. Throughout all her harsh words, she had maintained a level, calm tone, yet Mayuri- so unaccustomed to intimidation- felt a chill run down his spine.
"I usually never speak this plainly," said Unohana, calm still, "but you will not come back here again. If I see you on these grounds, or anywhere close to these people- you or any agent of yours- I will do to you what you did to them. Is that clear?"
"I-I-" Mayuri stuttered.
"I thought so," Unohana said, and smiled. "Now, run along if you please, Captain Kurotsuchi. I am sure you will be very busy starting over. Without the use of prisoners."
In defeat, Mayuri suppressed the urge to snap back at her and walked away.
Restless, but not without cheer, Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez roamed through the halls of Las Noches. He and his fracciones had been given quarters of their own, but lazing around got old quickly. Some time had passed since he had been changed, and he was still getting accustomed to it. The idea of walking on two legs was alien to him. At some point, he knew, he had to have been human, but that had been so long ago that he couldn't even remember who he'd been. He looked at his hand, so human in its shape, and made a fist, once, twice. He'd been given a choice of clothes, and had settled for simple pants and a vest, exposing his chest.
This new form thrilled him, despite looking so much like a weak, pitiful human. He'd gotten power of a kind he'd only dreamed of before, radiating energy. He was the séptimo espada now. He'd finally made it.
A zanpakutou hung by his side, and although he'd only just started to learn how to use it, he was already... so, so strong. He grinned to himself. He wasn't going to stop here. The top was still his goal.
As he walked through the halls, he came upon a common room, large and well furnished. Two espada were there- Neliel, the quinta, and Halibel, the tercera- comfortably seated on a sofa. Looking to see their reaction, he sat down opposed to them, shooting them a look. They were much, much stronger than him, he knew, but he'd never let that intimidate him before. Besides, there was peace in Las Noches- another weird, human idea Aizen had brought. Fighting to the death was strictly forbidden, something never heard of before.
At first, the two of them paid him no mind. Eventually, though, the tercera looked back.
"Did you want something?" she said coldly, and her tone spoke plainly what she thought of him- an ant, beneath her.
"Don't be so hostile," said Neliel, and smiled at him. "We're not just hollows anymore. We don't have to always keep our guard up. Lord Aizen saw to that."
Grimmjow wanted to gag. A vasto lorde, with such a pathetic view of hollows?
"I know a mad dog when I see one," Halibel said dismissively. "This one is good for one thing only." She looked at him sternly. "Be grateful, Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez. Lord Aizen chose you for his army. But if you imagine this is just like Hueco Mundo out there, with all this petty bluster and shows of power, then you will be sorely disappointed."
"Gee, ya think?" Grimmjow said, and shrugged. "And here I was just busy admirin' you two, bein' magnificent and all. Revelin' in your presence, and such."
Halibel did not respond to his sarcasm, deciding he was not worth the attention, and looked away. Neliel, though, seemed warmer. All the more fool her, though Grimmjow, and made a mental note that she was soft- maybe he could ambush her some time, take her out?
"We're coming into a new era," said the green-haired espada happily, "and Lord Aizen will lead us to it. No more need to fight each other. No more misery."
"Sounds like weakness to me," Grimmjow scoffed. "Hell, if you two go soft... well, ya know how it works." He made a fist, then opened it again, clenching his fingers like they were claws.
"You would not live past the first attempt," Halibel said coolly.
Neliel shook her head. "I hope you'll see in time. You're still new to this, after all."
"Don't act like the both of ya are old and sage to bein' arrancar," Grimmjow chortled. "Lord Aizen may have turned you first, but you're what, a week older than me? Hell, just earlier he made a new espada- scrawny little shit with some dumb tattoo on his face. 'Lord' Aizen's churning us out by the dozen, and that ain't cause he's got a bleeding heart- it's 'cause he needs an army."
"For a cause," Halibel said.
Grimmjow rolled his eyes. "Ya really believe he cares? He wants the Gotei. Ya think he'll need us when that's done with?"
"Assuming you'd survive the war," Halibel said.
"Me, I got no intention of dyin'. I'm gonna climb up, one way or the other."
"I'm sorry you don't understand," Neliel said calmly, and Grimmjow realized she meant it. He despised the weakness of compassion, and he despised pity even more. How did somebody with such a weak heart climb that far?
"I think I understand better than the lot of you," he said cockily, still grinning, "but sure, it's a fair deal. We get power, and he gets to use us. We're tools. It's the way it works. He's a smart one, I'll give him that. Ya don't often get to see a shinigami that thinks like a hollow."
"Take that back!" Neliel demanded.
"Or what, Oderschwank?" Grimmjow retorted.
Neliel stood up, and glared at him. "Lord Aizen does not think like a hollow. That's the whole point. He's finally put an end to this... whole miserable status quo where everyone has to be afraid of everyone, all the time, because you never know who might snap and kill you for more power- power that's going nowhere, serving no purpose other than to grow bigger until somebody else comes along and ends it. We finally have something bigger, Jaegerjaquez."
"Like throwing ourselves at the shinigami to die, instead of each other?" Grimmjow snorted.
Neliel looked like she would retort with something fierce, but she was cut off.
"Enough," said Halibel, remaining seated. "Neliel, calm yourself. It is unbecoming of a vasto lorde espada to be goaded so easily by a base and simple brute."
"I... yes, Tier," said Neliel, and sighed. Meekly, she sat down. Grimmjow made a note to himself that maybe this was why somebody so weak of mind had made it so far- she was a useful tool to somebody much stronger.
Halibel locked eyes with Grimmjow, and cocky as he was, there was no denying the authority and power of her gaze. She spoke with confidence, and said, "We may not be much older than you as an arrancar, adjuchas, but we have long been among Lord Aizen's most trusted. You would be wise to forget all you know about hollow society. This is no longer a killing field. Civil conflict will not be tolerated. Not by us, and certainly not by the lord himself."
"Look at you," Grimmjow said, pushing his luck, "all comfortable and secure. Bein' a hollow is all about climbing up. It's what made us strong in the first place. Lettin' your guard down is gonna get you killed. Maybe it'll be later rather than sooner, but it will."
"Leave," Halibel said simply. "Your antics are irksome to me. Our lord may not permit your killing, but I will discipline you if necessary."
"All right, all right," Grimmjow said, standing up. "I gotta go practice with my brand new sword, anyway." He turned toward the door.
"See to it that you at least kill a captain with it before you are slain like the simpleton you are," Halibel said coolly, as he walked away.
Grimmjow did not answer, walking away thinking to himself. Vasto lordes, man... they were the envy of all hollows, but something about all that power, all the years they'd lived, it seemed to get to them. Make them weird enough to start believing in things. Hollows didn't need causes. They didn't need a reason to be. Climbing upwards, killing your way to the top or dying in the process, that was all the meaning they ever needed. It bred strength. Well... he had a lot of growing left to do, himself, anyway. For now, he was obedient to Aizen, subservient to the dumb cunts sitting comfortably on their couch, but everything eventually came to an end. He was Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez, in his mind a king, and he would never be satisfied just being seventh. Nnoitra, Neliel, Ulquiorra... each one was just a worthy obstacle on the ladder of brutality.
It had become routine. After school, Ichigo, Orihime, Chad, Tatsuki, and even Uryu would walk together at least part of the way. They didn't always talk, didn't always make merry, but something about this summer vacation had brought them together, given them a close bond of a kind that irked Keigo to no end. Today, though, Ichigo had been absent, as he had been for multiple days already, and Orihime had hurried home, having gotten a message from Erza. This had left Chad, Uryu, and Tatsuki. With neither of the boys being particularly sociable, things had gotten fairly quiet until Uryu had suggested they patrol the town for hollows, something nobody had had an objection to. Tatsuki was eager to refine her skills, and Chad seemed to concur.
Pickings had been slim. They knew it should be considered a good thing, but it had made the afternoon somewhat dull. They had finally taken a rest, as night started to approach, sitting down on a park bench.
"Well," said Tatsuki, not expecting much of a reply, "things sure changed, didn't they?"
It was an empty, bland statement, but she couldn't think of anything better. It needed to be said, except she couldn't say it better than that. Of course things had changed. They had changed forever that fateful night when Rukia walked into their lives.
"They have," Chad said simply, and Tatsuki was not surprised to not hear him elaborate.
"I cannot share your perspective, unfortunately," Uryu commented. "You are newcomers in a world I've been part of since I was a toddler. It must be strange."
"Well... yeah," Tatsuki muttered, "like, nothing is the same anymore. I still go out with my girlfriends sometimes, but... I'm looking over my shoulder, sensing for hollows every now and then, and I know if one did attack, I couldn't explain they were in danger without sounding like a crazy person. They... they wouldn't understand."
"They can't, no," said Uryu. "We're different. Apart. Again..."
"Yes, yes, you've done that all your life," Tatsuki said dismissively. "We get it, mister elite quincy."
"Things changed for you, too," Chad quipped. "After all, were you not alone before this happened? Did you not take some measure of pride in this outsidership?"
"I... well, the thing is," Uryu muttered awkwardly, and Tatsuki marveled at the way the muscular youth had hit the nail on the head so well. He did not say much, but when he did, it tended to be useful.
"You are not alone anymore. We may be different and aside from most, but we stand together. We're still people. We still do as most people do, most of the time."
"...True enough," Uryu said.
"...Anyway, has anyone seen Ichigo?" Tatsuki said, trying to change the topic. Uryu was not good at these things, she knew, and she might as well spare him the awkwardness.
"No," Uryu said. "I think he went his own way as soon as school ended."
"He's been acting... weird for a while now, hasn't he? Ever since last week," said Tatsuki.
"We all deal with it in our own ways, I suppose," said Uryu.
Tatsuki snorted. "More like bottling it all up, because that's what boys do. If this continues, I'm going to have to smack some sense into him. We can't very well be defending this city all by ourselves. Not that we can't, but..."
She trailed off. Nobody had told them to, actually. She wasn't even sure they had to. But something about using her powers and using them well felt intoxicating. She still wanted to prove she had the strength to be useful. Her contribution to their sortie into Soul Society had been minimal and stained with failure, something she had not forgotten.
Things fell quiet for a while.
"Anyway, I guess you got it covered by yourself, anyway," she said to Uryu, not wanting everything to go quiet. It was annoying. Without Orihime or Ichigo, both of her companions were pretty joyless company.
"Hey," she said again. "Ishida, I'm talking to you."
He looked into the distance. "Can you sense that?" he said, seeming focused.
"Rookie here," Tatsuki said, and shrugged. "What, a hollow?"
"No," Uryu said, shaking his head, "worse."
"...and I told him, 'No way, José! I'm not that kind of girl!' And then I tossed him, just like Tatsuki showed me, and he totally flew through a wall!"
Erza laughed, and Momo with her. Orihime was a blessing, her easygoing nature having helped to smooth out any awkwardness with ease. She was currently regaling them with a tale- which was ninety percent fictitious, Erza was sure of it- of how she had dealt with a boy who had had trouble with the concept of 'no', which apparently ended like something out of a comedic anime.
"Anyone want more cocoa?" Orihime said merrily. Somehow, she had produced a drinkable amount, although Erza had to stop her from adding vinegar to the mix.
"Sure," Momo said happily. "I'll take another mug, if you've got one."
"We've got plenty!" Orihime assured her. "How about you, Erza?"
Suddenly, Erza stood up. In the distance she could feel it. The malevolent energy of a hollow- no, something else entirely; much like a hollow but... different. Stronger. More focused.
"Momo, get out of the gigai," she said firmly. "We've got work to do."
"Oh. Oh!" Momo said, appearing to sense it a second later. "And we were having such a good time."
"It won't know what hit it," Erza said confidently. "If Aizen wants to test us, he'll not find us wanting. On me. Orihime, you stay here."
"No way!" Orihime protested. "Won't I be safer around you, anyway?"
"I..." Erza muttered, not having expected her daughter to deliver a proper argument. "Fine, but keep low. Don't interfere, and don't get caught."
"Yes, sir!" Orihime said perkily, snapping a smart salute. Erza sighed, as she got out of her gigai with a bit of trouble, wishing she'd thought to bring a badge.
"We should be careful," said Chad. Like his companions he stood up, on alert. Even he could sense it now, an energy in the distance, vile and oppressive. "Erza is in town, is she not?"
"What, and leave all the glory to them?" Tatsuki scoffed derisively. She looked at Uryu. "Ishida, are you going to sit back and let the shinigami protect you?"
"I... no," Uryu muttered, and adjusted his spectacles. "No, that wouldn't do."
"That's what I thought!" Tatsuki said, balling her fists with a grin. "Come on, guys. Time to show those bastards who's boss around here!"
Overruled, Chad simply nodded. He couldn't let them go alone, after all.
From out the rift stepped a tall, blond arrancar, a white cape adorning his muscular shoulders. His face was malicious, the visage of a being drunk with power and looking to show it off. He was smartly dressed for an arrancar, but the blade on his side, and the mask fragment on his forehead, made him unmistakable as a monster. Lord Aizen had given him leave to pillage, along with the nine comrades- that is, servants- that he'd brought, and pillage he would. He looked down on Karakura town, looking so pitifully small from above. He'd paint the town red... and when its defenders came rushing, he'd paint it redder still. If he could consume enough power, maybe he'd even rise to the rank of espada. Who knew? Regardless... this would be fun.
Well now, quite the chapter we had now wasn't it? We sure do have much to discuss, so lets go over a few things shall we?
First of all, yes, I AM using the fullbringers and I plan on doing the arc. Now I know that ALOT of people hate this arc (Greatkingrat hates it with a passion in fact) but I liked it for what it was...Anime wise. Manga was too slow paced with a unsatisfying final battle. But, to those of you who didn't like the arc, don't worry. Ours is going to be very different from the cannon one. For starters, we're already doing some setup right here. I'd say more but...I don't want to spoil what we have planned. Just have faith in us to do this right.
Next up, is that yes, Neliel is a vasto lorde in this cannon. While we didn't know what she was in the original bleach, I think her performance against nnotira suggests she was an Adjuchas. Even if she was rusty, a vasto lorde arrancar using their released mode should be able to DESTROY a Adjuchas in their base form. So we decided to make her a vasto lorde to make her stronger.
Finally we have the knights of vanden making their next appearance. I'm very happy with how this scene went, and I think it further showed just how different the knights of vanden are opposed to the militaristic Vandenreich. Oddly enough I had originally planned on having the two of them killing some quincy Nazi's lead by Stern Ritter J, but decided against it. Using "vampires" was a far better way to help build up the world a bit.
Also yes, the bounts did exist...Key word being did. Safe to say that they were wiped out by the Knights. They put up a better fight than the "vampires" you saw here mind you...just not good enough.
Why are they going to Karakura town though? That's a secret I'm not willing to give up, but one you'll all find out soon enough. Needless to say things are going to get interesting.
Oh before I end things, I have a Authors note from Greatkingrat88.
"In case you're wondering about the use of German, and the different spelling of "Vanden", I wanted to clarify: the Vanden Knights come from diverse backgrounds, mostly but not exclusively European, and speak a wide variety of languages. As such they use German as a common language to unite them all, and many of them also speak English- which is what Bambi and Liltotto were speaking. Some are considerable polyglots, like Haschwalth who speaks fluent Japanese. Bambi and Liltotto are speaking English, but German is the common language all of the Vanden speak.
In German, it is "Wandenritter" since a "V" is an "F" and a "W" a "V" in German pronunciation. In terms of invoking something formal, like an order to attack, they return to the language that unites them all; the King's tongue. Which is probably the German version of Ye Olde English. In English, it's "Vanden", in German it's "Wanden"."
Well said. Regardless I hope that you all enjoyed this chapter. Please, let us know your thoughts on what happened in this chapter by leaving a review. I helps us know if we're doing things right or not.