Ryūken Ishida took a frustrated look at the two kids in front of him, Karin and Yuzu examining their pendants. "How did I get roped into this again?" He thought, thoughts drifting to his son, training in the other room. "Oh right, a Soul Society captain's gone rogue and wants to destroy the town. They tell us not to get involved with our business and then when they actually need help they ask literal children for it." He sighed before addressing the two young girls. "A Quincy can form spirit weapons by gathering Reishi in the air. Traditionalist Quincy utilizes this method to create bows and arrows as their primary method of attack. By standard, the bow is known as a Heilig Bogen. The Quincy Cross is used as a focus for this bow."
The man then clasped his hand together around his pendant, before pulling a hand back as if pulling on an invisible string. As he draws back the invisible string, a blue arc of energy forms at his fingertips, taught lines following his other hand as it pulls back. He aims at one of the targets in the room and lets the 'arrow' of light loose, obliterating it. "Focus on the feeling of the reishi around you as you drawback. Pull it in, and let it 'fill in' the shape of the bow. The pendant will do most of the heavy lifting." After those last words of advice, he steps back to observe.
Karin went first, extending her senses outward and trying to draw the energy around her into the pendant. After a few seconds, she started to frown. The energy was already there and she could feel and move it, but she couldn't draw it in very well.
Ryūken quickly noticed. "Breathe deep. Let it out slow."
Karin complied and felt her anxiety settle a bit more, flowing out with her breath.
"Close your eyes. And concentrate."
The student did as she was told, and she felt a small jolt as energy started condensing in her hand. It was slow, but eventually, warm energy coursed around her hand. Unable to resist any longer, her eyes opened and an energy bow formed in her hands. It wasn't perfect. The bow looked rather intangible and transparent, bits of Reishi was leaking outward from it, and it felt rather weird to touch for Karin as if she was holding to gas, but it was there. Karin smiled wide. "I did it! It feels like it'll slip through my fingers any second but I did it!" She pulled back and an arrow appeared in the bow. She fired it at a target and gave it a large crack in the outer region.
"Barely," Ryūken argued. "Although it was a better first try than most." He turned to Yuzu. "You next."
Yuzu and Karin both turn to each other, Yuzu nervous but determined and Karin utterly galvanized. Without a word, a conversation was spoken between them, easing Yuzu's anxiety. Like Karin, Yuzu takes a deep breath and concentrate. Arm extended, hand at opposing wrist. To everyone's surprise, the reishi coalesced around her hand rather quickly. A few tugs of her hand and bow began to fill in.
It feels... more solid than she expected it to. It's as weightless as a bow made of light should be, in Yuzu's opinion, but from Karin's description, she thought it would feel like air.
It doesn't, though. Yuzu curl your fingers and she feels it. Solid, like a bow made of actual materials. The texture however wasn't anything she fell in her life. She draws her other hand back, and the string pulls taught, an arrow forming in an instant. She can feel the energy building up in it - much faster than she expected. Almost panicked, she points it at one of the targets and fires. The arrow grazes the target and blasts a semicircle shaped hole on the edge.
Ryūken looked visibly stunned for a second before composing himself. "Impressive, but your aim could use work."
Yuzu jumped in place and cheered. "Yes!" Karin grimaced at the clear difference in natural talent but eventually just sighed. "I just need to get used to firing arrows." She thought.
The next minutes consisted of Karin and Yuzu firing arrows at the various bullseyes targets. Karin had trouble making arrows at first but she soon got the hang of it, her arrows growing more physical with each shot. Yuzu's arrows were incredibly powerful she had trouble aiming them. Unlike Karin, her problem wasn't as easily remedied. Despite Ryūken's coaching, she had trouble hitting anywhere but the outer area of the target, and while the power of the arrows was great enough to destroy the targets anyway, it was still annoying to Yuzu and Ryūken.
"What am I doing wrong?" Yuzu frowned as she glared at her bow.
"Archery isn't something most people pick up easily," Ryūken stated, before checking his watch and walking off. "It's about time I helped with Uryū's training for now. Be here tomorrow at 6:00 PM sharp."
"Alright, cool. Before we go, though, could you give me one quick final lesson? Namely, how the hell do I disperse this thing?" you wave the bow about a little.
Ryūken raises an eyebrow at your question. "What do you mean 'how'? You just stop drawing in energy and it will die down."
Yuzu grew a bit uneasy. "Umm...How do you stop drawing in energy?"
Ryūken starts to actually look a bit irritated, now getting the feeling that the unique linage of Isshin's kids was about to rear its head. "What do you mean 'how'?!" he repeats, louder.
Yuzu was looking panicked. "I mean reishi coming to my hand and not going out."
"Same!" Karin was looking like she was getting there herself, which wasn't doing any favors for Yuzu's nerves. They both starting fire arrows en masse at the targets, but they were still taking in power faster than they could shoot it.
Fortunately, Ryūken quickly came up with an idea. He walked behind the two and placed his hands on the inside of their shoulder blades to their bow arms. "Focus the energy here. Keep shooting, but filter it through that point first."
It takes Yuzu and Karin a moment to focus through their combined panic enough to try, and a bit longer before 'trying' moves on to 'succeeding' but eventually the energy starts compressing on itself and bleeding away. Also, their arrows start coming out looking a lot more streamlined than the vague blurry streaks of blue that they were shortly after.
After another minute or so of firing as many arrows as fast as you can, the girls feel the energy drop away to a more reasonable level and quickly pull the pendant's chain off of their wrists before it starts up again.
"Well..." Karin sighed in relief as nothing happened to her or Yuzu's hands. "That happened."
"Quite." Ryūken sighed with her. "Hopefully your brother won't have that problem." Yuzu and Karin gave each other, confirming Ryūken's suspicions.
"Father!" Uryū called out as he burst into the room. "I could feel a surge of power from the other side of the house. What the hell was going on here?!"
Ryūken's gaze switched from his son to the now sheepish daughters of Isshin and back. "More proof that I am far more generous for my own good."
Gin stepped out of the Garganta, Zommari, Luppi, and Ulquiorra right beside him as he walked into the living world.
Gin's ever-present smile grew wide as he surveyed the area. The former captain and Arrancar were in a park just on the edge of Karakura town.
"So this is the hometown of the Ichigo Kurosaki," Zommari stated in a mix of intrigue and diligence. "Let us see if he is as worthy of Aizen's time as he seems to be."
Ulquiorra gave a mild pulse of his Pesquisa, his eyebrows raising slightly at the abundance of spirit particles in the city. "I see why he would live here." He expressed. "But where is he?"
"You'll need to push your Pesquia out further than that, dummy." Luppi snarked, pulsing his reiatsu far more. And then frowning when nothing of relevance came out. "The heck? I can't feel anything other than some spiritual humans! Did he go to Soul Society?"
"Doubt it." Gin said as he walked off. "He's probably under some spirit dampening barrier around here. Wouldn't put it past Kisuke to ensure we couldn't just pop up wherever he was." His smirk grew as he turned in a seemingly random direction. One where the Arrancar noticed a young girl that seemed to have noticed them. "Doesn't stop from asking, though."
"Who..." Tatsuki took a battle stance as the weird people that had walked out of a hole in the air approached her. "Who the hell are you?!"
Luppi smirked, seeing what Gin was insinuating. "You know Ichigo, human?" The alarmed realization that covered Tatsuki's face confirmed their suspicions.
All of a sudden, Rukia's Shinigami cell phone rang, at the same time Ichigo's Shinigami badge screamed "Hollow!"
Orihime paled. "Now?!" Soifon was still in the barrier, fighting her hollow. Shinji was busy dueling against her hollow berserk state, flying around covered in chitin like armor and her stinger enlarged to the point where it covered where entire limb and about to switch. He was using his tricky Shikai to redirect the hollow's stinger, but her enhanced speed was still a lot to deal with.
Ichigo scowled, he was the only one that could reasonably handle Soifon's speed, but he couldn't leave Karkura Town. "Son of a bitch!" Ichigo swore as he turned and ran out of the area the Vizards were training in, Rukia, Orihime, and Chad hot on his heels.
"Wait," Komomura shunpoed over and grabbed Rukia's shoulder. "You still don't have control over your hollow. Let me go."
Rukia grimaces, not wanting Ichigo to go without her, but ultimately relents. "Keep him safe." She states as she walks back to the kido box, tensely waiting for her turn.
"I will," Komamura stated as he rushed off to join the others.
Tatsuki yelped in pain as she was roughly carried on Luppi's back. "Think this'll draw him out?" Luppi asked. He had drained a bit of Tatsuki's soul to keep her from fighting and was waving her around in hopes that her low Reiatsu would catch Ichigo's attention and draw him here.
"Most likely," Ulquiorra replied. "Ichigo and co. had defeated at 2 captains in his endeavors for a shinigami he had recently met, one of his human friends in danger will no doubt call him here with all of his power," Tatsuki growled at the insinuation. She was one of the toughest kids in her class and one Ichigo could count on when he needed backup. To be reduced to a damsel in distress by strangers stung in ways she didn't know she could feel.
Gin tensed as he sensed multiple powerful souls coming this way, at least 3 of their reiatsus growing more enraged by the second. "Welp. They're coming. And from the looks of it, they've sensed our little hostage. Protip: Try not to die."
Luppi tightened his grip on the human and placed his other hand on his blade. "Let's see what this fake Arrancar can do to the real deal-"
It happened almost too fast for them to recognize. Orihime's Koten Zanshun shot at Luppi with almost unheard speed. Luppi had just enough time to Sonido away before he lost his arm, and as it was, he lost a hand instead.
Tatsuki dropped to the ground as Luppi screamed in pain, holding the blood gushing limb tightly. "Fuck! What was that?!"
"Me." The invading force saw Ichigo, Orihime, Chad, Uryū, and Komamura standing there, all glaring holes at them. Orihime's and Ichigo's eyes in particular were completely hollowfied and glowing. "Get away from her." Orihime hissed, feeling the hollow in her flare-up massively. After the fight with Mayuri, she had a little more trouble reigning in her temper. This hadn't been too much trouble due to her kind-hearted nature, but seeing her best friend in danger shoved all that aside.
"Whoa there!" Gin raised his hands in mock surrender, he and the Arrancar quickly flash stepping away from the girl. "We barely did anything to her!"
Komamura quickly rushed over and picked the girl up. After a quick kido scan, he sighed in relief. "She's fine. A bit of reiatsu was taken but it'll heal in a day at most." His relief was only stopped by his confusion. Why hadn't she been more injured? He doubted Tōsen would let harm come to the girl at all, but Gin, at least to his memories, had no such reservations.
"What do you want?" Orihime growled, still incredibly incensed by her friend's state.
"An offer," Zommari stated as he walked up to the group. "To join the Espada."
Two figures blurred around a field of trees and flowers, neither making a hint of a sound or even a trace. The flowers were stepped on too lightly to bend. None of the trees had any footprints on them, despite the two bouncing on them nonstop. The occasional thud of fist or leg on flesh could be heard, but for the most part, this battle was completely silent.
Soifon heaved and sweat as she soared across her Inner World, having not stressed herself to this caliber since obtaining her Bankai. The fight with her hollow began with her ambushing her out of the blue while she was calling for Suzumebachi. The little fairy had seemingly disappeared and the hollow was almost certainly responsible. Fortunately, the solution was rather simple. Kill the hollow before it killed her.
With a Shunpo and a few speed clones, she blitzed across the area, trying to disorient the hollow with her insane speed. Then, as it struck again, she attacked with Suzumebachi as well, knowing she'd see the pattern in her clones and strike the last in line. A hand grabbed the hollow's gauntlet as it did so, faking a grab for it. As the hollow tried to pull away, her own Suzumebachi soared toward her face at blinding speeds, only to be caught by the hollow's own freehand. A brief struggle came out as both Soifons struggled against each other before they disengaged, both nicked by each other's Suzumebachi. Despite this, Soifon felt far more triumphant. She got nicked at the wrist, a little under her gauntlet. A simple adjustment of said gauntlet covered the Hōmonka mark near entirely. The hollow however was cut at the palm, leaving a Hōmonka mark wide and vulnerable.
The hollow scowled at this before disappearing, seemingly vanishing into thin air. Soifon looked around and frowned, she couldn't see her anywhere. "Where is she..." She thought. "She couldn't have left and taken over my body yet, could she-" Her body suddenly screamed at her, and she flashed backward, narrowly avoiding a stab in the side and making a nick instead from the hollow, who again vanished after the failed strike. Soifon frowned. "How did I dodge that?" She thought. She hadn't sensed or heard anything.
The fight continued like this, Soifon trying to feel where the hollow and failing to, yet somehow dodging anyway. Unbeknownst to her, her centuries of well-honed tracking and stealth had given her the same sense of knowing where her opponent was as Kenpachi, albeit in a different way. While Kenpachi's many battles and bloodlust gave him the battle to feel where his opponents were with feeling his blade, Soifon could sense her opponent just by the moving of the air. A fact she was realizing more and more with each attack. Even so, she was still cut every so often, and since each hit gave her hollow more targets to instantly kill her, she had to find a way to end this fast.
She gathered all her thoughts as she continued her dodging. Most Kido would take too long to cast, and Hakuda would be too dangerous to do with her opponent's weapon. "But what about both?" She thought as a certain technique came to her. It was dangerous for her to use this technique, this could kill her, Yoruichi said so. "Even so," Soifon thought coldly as the wind picked up around her arm. "Better death than becoming a hollow and sullying the Gotei 13's name."
A burst of wind blasted out from her arm in every direction, knocking down the trees and buffeting everything else. Soifon quickly pinpointed her hollow in the flying debris and charged, stabbing the stinger at her head. Just like last time the stinger was grabbed by the hollow and the hollow's Zanpakuto was grabbed by Soifon. The two were once again in a deadlock, however this time, Soifon was ready. She activated Shunko around her Zanpakuto again, forcing the hollow to let go. And in a flash, Soifon tightly gripped the limb of the hollow's zanpakuto hand and thrust it at her palm, activating the Hōmonka mark with her own weapon.
The hollow rose her hand to her face, already disintegrating, before and speaking. "Well done, my queen." And just like that, she was gone, leaving only the other Zanpakuto in the original's hand. Soifon sighed in relief. "That was one hell of a fight." She thought as she looked around. "Suzumebachi? Are you back?"
"Yep." The pixie-like Zanpakuto spirit replied, buzzing over her wielder. A small, pink-eyed young woman with long brown hair tied into two long pigtails at the back. She had a collar of white fur around her neck, puffy shorts and leggings with alternating yellow-black stripes on them, and black shoes. "You okay?"
"I'm fine," Soifon said as she put on the other Zanpakuto on her other hand. "This could be quite useful. How do I summon it though? It is the same as the original?"
"Not sure." Suzumebachi shrugged, confusing the captain. "You could probably find out from your hollow."
It took Ichigo a few seconds to realize his ears weren't playing tricks on him when he heard Gin's offer, as it did everyone else. It took another few seconds for someone to give a reply.
"What?" Orihime asked, outrage somewhat subsided by the inane question.
The Espada are Aizen-sama's elite," Ulquiorra explained tonelessly. "There are ten of us, ranked according to power."
"Um, No," Ichigo growled. "Why the hell would you think we would join you?! Hell, would Aizen even of what happened."
"You got screwed over by Soul Society," Luppi replied as he wrapped his long sleeve around his wound. He knew that he'd have trouble fighting anyone here, except for maybe Chad, but he thought he'd have time to drop the girl before someone attacked him. "Except for the exiled captain, none of you have any real loyalty to that place. Quite the opposite in the Quincy's case."
Komomura growled at his stay at Karakura Town being viewed as 'exile' while Uryū frowned at the reminder of his people's massacre.
"As for what Aizen did to you all, it was nothing personal. It was clear that at least two of you could be a match for Soul Society's Captains so he faked his death under the assumption that they wouldn't immediately kill you and question you instead, giving you chance to escape." Ulquiorra replied factually. "He even lowered the security of the prisons before doing so."
Orihime and Uryū's eyes widened as they remembered their easy escape from their cell. How the "advanced" spirit canceling shackles were taken care of with a hairpin. "That was him?" Orihime thought.
"The plan was never for Rukia to die," Zommari stated. "You were supposed to save her and bring her to Aizen so he could get the Hōgyoku from her."
"As for why we want you on our side," Gin shrugged. "That should be obvious, shouldn't it? We rather have as many captain-level beings with us as possible.
Orihime scratched her head. "Calling anyone but Ichigo-Kun and Komomura at the level of a Captain is kinda stretching things..." She replied sheepishly.
"And once we take over Soul Society," Luppi grinned salaciously. "We'll rule over the place and do away with the high and mighty attitude toward keeping the balance. Someone like you, if you joined us now, you all could easily become high-ranking Espada and rule over entire sections of Soul Society. We're a rising movement, guys. You'd do well to take advantage of our generosity now."
"Sounds tempting." Ichigo lied, he had no intention of joining these guys. "...But I'm going to pass."
"Same," Uryū added.
"Thirded." Orihime continued.
"I'm afraid I will have to decline," Komomura replied as Chad merely shook his head.
"Wait, what?!" Luppi snapped incredulously. "What part of 'ruling the world' did you not register? Tōsen went with it?"
"Would he have done so if he knew what Aizen was planning?" Komomura growled as he drew his blade.
"Planning what?" Gin said childishly as if trying to play off what the Vizard seemed to know.
"Um, Sacrificing our entire town to make a key to the Soul King?!" Uryū snapped. "You don't seriously think we'd allow that do you?!"
Luppi paled, now knowing they found out. Zommari and Ulquiorra frowned, now seeing that they were at an impasse. Gin merely kept his grin, having another idea under his belt.
"Not to mention," Ichigo added. "Aizen hollowfying Komomura and Soifon didn't seem necessary to me. And even if it was nothing personal, Aizen ripped the Hōgyoku out of Rukia and left us to the Soul Society's mercy, which would've resulted in our deaths if it weren't for Yoruichi. The day I bow my head to that man is the day I'm looking down on his corpse."
Zommari's eyes narrowed into slits at the last statement. "I will not tolerate any more ill words spoken to Lord Aizen." He intoned as he drew his sword. "Insult him again at your own peril."
"...Why?" Orihime asked, wondering why anyone would follow someone like him. "Why are you all following him?"
"He's the strongest guy willing to side with hollows," Luppi replied casually. "Why wouldn't I?"
"Similar to Luppi, Aizen is one who has order to the sands of Hueco Mundo," Zommari added. "While your impression of him is cruel and callous, to us, he is the savior that delivered us from mindless hunger. While we still require to eat more hollows to maintain our strength, we are capable of thoughts beyond the next hollow to eat. To be an Espada is the greatest honor Lord Aizen can bestow! To be included in their ranks is the dream of almost every Arrancar in Lord Aizen's army!"
Gin shrugged. "I just think Soul Society needs reform. The Rukongai sucked for me, Matsumoto, and lord no how many others, and the Central 46 were a bunch of corrupt old unreasonable pricks."
"As for me, I have little better to do and Aizen is powerful enough to force my hand anyway," Ulquiorra explained tonelessly, getting a frown from Zommari. "I also seek to understand humans and their reliance on brittle emotions, and he provides opportunities to learn."
"I see," Komamura replied. He had a feeling that Ulquiorra's reason for working with Aizen was the most reasonable as Aizen's payment for Momo's devotion had shown. He'd try to get him to cut ties with the man, Soul Society's likely unwillingness to side with protect a hollow tied his hands. "I don't suppose you plan on leaving now we've given our answer?"
"I fear not," Ulquiorra answered as Luppi drew his sword with a dark grin. "Our mission for if we failed to recruit you is to gauge your power and threat level."
"Try not to die too quickly," Luppi grinned as his reiatsu spiked. "Strangle, Trepadora!"
The good guys readied their weapons as Luppi erupted in reiatsu. When it subsided, the hand that Orihime was healed, and a strange shell-like object was on his back with eight holes, each hole sprouting enormous white tentacles.
"...That's a weird Shikai," Uryū said as he readied an arrow and shot it at Luppi, who merely blocked it with a tendril.
"Shikai?" Luppi laughed. "This is far better than a dumb Shikai. My Resurreccion releases the power that I sealed in my Zanpakuto and I regain the abilities I had as a normal Hollow! Now..." Orihime's eyes widened as a tentacle shot at her. "Don't think about where this is going, Don't think about where this is going, Don't think about where this is going!" She frantically thought as three of her fairies made a triangular shield. "Santen Kesshun!" The tendril slammed into the shield and Luppi growled.
"You, Chad, and Uryū got him and the black guy?" Ichigo asked. They could tell that Ulquiorra and Gin were on another level compared to Luppi and Zommari and that Komamura and he needed to take them on.
"Easily," Uryū stated as he raised his bow at Zommari. Chad's armor morphed around his arm before opening at his shoulder and Orihime's fairies hovered next to her, all but stating the same.
Ichigo charged Ulquiorra and Gin with Komamura right behind him. "Bankai!" He roared as his reiatsu spiked and his sword condensed on itself, swinging the now elegant katana at Ulquiorra with gusto. Komamura, not want to cause a scene, merely declared: "Roar, Tenken!" as an ethereal blade came down Gin.
Ulquiorra blocked the blade with both hands on his own, his mask of indifference shedding some small curiosity. Gin merely Shunpo'd out of the way and released his own Shikai. "Shoot to kill, Shinso!" Komamura raised his blade to block the extending blade.
Komamura was admittedly nervous. In general skill and experience, the two Captains were relatively the same. If anything, Komamura might even have an edge in experience from his older age. In matchups, however, Gin was a great threat to him. The precisity and speed of Shinso made it incredibly difficult for his powerful, but slow Tenken to properly match. Quite quickly he found himself on the back foot, trying to find a way around the speedy thrusts he blocked.
Somewhat quickly, a plan came to mind, albeit an unpleasant one. He put one hand in front of his face as he blocked with the other and tensed, mimicking the motion that the other Vizards had done when making their mask. Black energy with hints of red trailed from his fingers as he dragged his hand through the air, and his mask materialized on his face as his hand moved over it. The mask in question was a dog mask obviously, covering his whole face except for the eyes and a slit across both sides of the mouth, and even extending slightly down the chin. When he finished, he had to restrain the urge to gasp – incredible power was flowing through him. But he couldn't get distracted. He had a former Captain to fight.
Gin in question looked quite surprised, maybe even impressed. "Well, I'll be!" He exclaimed at Komamura's apparent speed and ease with using his hollow power. "Didn't think you had it in ya to handle hollowfication so easily."
"For your information," Komamura growled, as his strength and speed increased and his voice was mixed with his hollow's. "Soifon and I aren't in exile, we were sent to Urahara's to control the hollow powers Aizen forced onto us!" He opened his mouth and charged up a Cero, greatly alarming Gin. A hasty Shunpo allowed Gin to avoid getting blown up.
"Not bad, Komamura!" Gin applauded. "To wield those hollow powers so soon after getting them. Who helped you?"
"I'd rather not say," Komamura said as he swung at the former captain again, who blocked it Shinso and a great amount of effort. "Can't have you strike at people just for helping us-" Suddenly, the mask broke off and shattered. "What?"
"Looks like that hollow power had a time limit." Gin smirked, thrusting his sword out at Komamura and putting him on the back foot again.
Ichigo wasn't having as much trouble with Ulquiorra at first. His incredible speed and Getsuga Tenshos kept the Arrancar dodging. Ulquiorra could tell for as easily as Ichigo fired them and even despite him somewhat holding back to not destroy the area, they were too powerful to take on without abandon. Even so, he wasn't worth using his Resurreccion on. "At least not yet." He thought as he fired a Cero at Ichigo's back. Ichigo spun on his axis and cut the blast in twain, getting little more than singed in the process. However, he wasn't fast enough to avoid the Bala Ulquiorra punched in his direction, taking it right in the face.
"Gah!" Ichigo stumbled as he was knocked down. The blast wasn't that damaging, but it broke his nose and hurt like hell. As discombobulated as he was, he wasn't able to see the Cero that Ulquiorra made until he was hit in the chest, sending him crashing to the ground. "Fuck." He groaned as he got back up, not a moment too soon as Ulquiorra was quickly up in his grill and attacking again.
Orihime, Uryū, and Chad were having the most trouble against their opponents, Despite it being 3 on 2. Or more accurately, 3 on Zommari in particular. Luppi was a threat sure, but his Resurreccion was fairly easy to dodge if you were fast enough, which Chad and especially Uryū were after their training. Orihime had merely jumped on and ridden on Chad for the fight, her Koten Zanshun easily handling all of the tentacles by cutting them up before they came close. They seemed capable of regenerating without much issue, unlike his main body. The few shots Uryū and Orihime had gotten on his midsection stayed.
It was Zommari that was so hard to deal with. The hollow's speed was comparable to Byakuya's and his skill in making afterimages rivaled even Soifon's. The fight had just started when Zommari flickered behind Orihime and nearly knocked her out with a well-executed chop to the back. After that the bastard was flickering around the area, straining the three teens to keep track of him, lest he gets past Orihime's Santen Kesshun barrier and knocks her out. It didn't help that any complex attack Uryū started was met with either Zommari's blade or a rush of tentacles from Luppi. The latter could be blown apart by Uryū's arrows, but it stopped him from using any of his Quincy equipment. Not helped by the fact that he was fairly new to most of it.
Uyruu scowled as he used Hirenkyaku for the nth time, feeling his legs aching more than he ever thought possible. Having this fight crop up in the middle of training, he hadn't had any real time to rest. He could easily draw reishi from the air around to replenish his reserves, but his human body, not as durable as a hollow or shinigami, was tiring anyway, as was Chad's and Orihime's. "This isn't working!" He thought. "At this rate, we'll pass out from exhaustion before we injure them!" He tried to think of something to do before that happened, and an idea popped into his head. "Orihime! Chad!" He called out, rushing over to the two. "Get me some air!"
Luppi smirked. The humans were getting desperate, were they? "No, you don't! Hierro Virgen!" He snarled, firing all eight of his tentacles as spikes came out of them. "We weren't supposed to kill the girl or the orange-haired one yet, but Aizen never said anything about Quincy!" He thought, trying to run Uryū through while he was focused on whatever plan he had. Zommari merely rushed Orihime and Chad as they turned their attention to Uryū, intent on cutting down the latter. While he'd have rather use his Resurreccion to kill his enemies, driving amusement from watching them tear themselves, these human weaklings hardly warranted the effort of using his released state.
Uryū paled as he saw the spiked tentacles closing in on him and Orihime having to use Santen Kesshun to block Zommari's stab in Chad's back. "Shit!" He thought. "I'm not going to make it!"
Before either of the two Arrancar could make due on their lethal intents, a white and black blur sped across the area, and all of Luppi's tentacles had been cut into shreds.
"What the-" Luppi's head whipped around to see another spiritual human smirking at him, an extremely tall and lean-built young man. This wasn't someone he was briefed on. "Who the hell are you?!"
"Just someone in town." The young man replied, his posture showing calm confidence in his actions.
Luppi scowled as his tentacles grew back and sprouted more spikes, ready to run this bastard through.
"A silver rod strikes the five-fingered stone bed…"
Only to realize that he took his eyes of the Quincy.
Looking up, he saw Uryū in the air hurling a silver rod at him, having been hurled into the air by Chad. By the time it hit, he'd already started to charge a Cero to fire at it but didn't have time to fire off even a Bala before the rod morphed into a man-sized pentagonal Quincy cross, which quickly enveloped him near entirely, leaving just his tentacles free. "What the hell is this?!"
"Gritz," Uryū stated proudly. "It allows me to completely envelop a target in a stone casing, covered by our Quincy cross. It can be broken out of with enough strength, but as your power is mainly in your tendrils, you'll have to focus your efforts on tearing the prison just to fight me. You can't fight me blind, can you?"
"Bastard!" Luppi roared as his tentacles converged on himself, bashing against his stone prison. "Don't get cocky, you fucking human! I'll break out of this cheap trick and rip you apart-"
"No, you won't." Uryū countered as grabbed a silver weapon from his belt, which quickly sported a glowing blue blade. The Seele Schneider. With hardly a second of waste, he pulled the blade back on his arrow and fired it directly at Luppi's head. The Arrancar didn't even register what hit him as the blade speared right through his face. The Quincy technique Gritz fell apart under the reiatsu-absorbing abilities of the Seele Schneider, revealing the undoubtedly-dead form of Luppi.
Zommari's eyes widened in disbelief. "Impossible! A human couldn't possibly kill an Arrancar so easily!" He then paled as Uryū, still in the air, charged a large amount of reishi in his bow.
"This one just did," Uryū said proudly. "And you're next. Licht Regen!"
Zommari swore as he Sonido'd out of the deluge of arrows. "This 'Quincy' is more dangerous than I expected." He thought as he brought his sword up horizontally in front of him. "I see that I should've used my Resurreccion sooner-" Zommari choked as a fist buried itself in his back. He was so focused on Uryū's ariel assault he didn't even notice Chad and Orihime sneaking up on him and thus was completely unprepared for Chad's punch. Zommari was launched clean into the air as the blast of the armored fist.
Gin and Ulquiorra noticed the death of Luppi and the cornering of Zommari with no lack of surprise themselves. "Ah man," Gin pouted at Luppi's sudden and abrupt end. "I kind of liked that guy."
"Souten Kisshun!" Orihime called out as black overtook her eyes, she'd need her hollow to do this. Ayame and Shun'ō flew up to the stunned Espada and held him in place with their shield. "Uryū!"
Uryū didn't need to be told twice. Drawing another Seele Schneider as he landed, he pulled it on his bow and aimed right up for Zommari's head. Orihime dissipated the shield right as Zommari was struck right through the head.
Orihime swallowed, lowering her shaking hands as she registered what she did. "These guys want to kill everyone here. They attacked Tatsuki. I can't let them get away with that." She muttered under her breath.
"Orihime, you okay?" Chad asked as he put her down on the ground, visibly concerned.
"Yeah..." She sighed. "I a-" Her assurance was cut off as Zommari appeared from thin air and tried to stab her through. It was a literal split second dodge as she and Chad were given gashes on their sides rather than being impaled. "GAH!"
"Chad! Orihime!" Ichigo yelled out in horror as he tried to rush over, only to be blocked by Ulquiorra.
"I believe that our business is not finished." The Espada state coldly.
Ichigo's eyes narrowed into slits as he rose his hand to his face. Technically, he wasn't entirely sure he could make a mask like the Vizards considering how his hollow powers worked. But right now, he wasn't really thinking straight and was under the impression that his greater control over his hollow powers could make up for it. Thankfully, he was right as black energy with hints of red trailed from his fingers as he dragged his hand through the air, and his mask materialized on his face as his hand moved over it. "I'll end you!" He roared as he charged at Ulquiorra, his newfound speed and enhanced Shunpo making him seem to teleport right in Ulquiorra's face, a Getsuga Tenshou already in the blade.
Sensing the immediate danger, Ulquiorra quickly Sonido'd out of the way of the energy blast, wincing in pain as the attack grazed him. "Powerful." He thought as he fired a Cero in retaliation, only for it to be deflected by a sword slice.
Ulquiorra frowned as he regarded a growling Ichigo, who's hollow mask was increasing his power to impressive levels. Since he put the mask on, he had been able to contend with Ulquiorra somewhat. He released state would undoubtedly destroy Ichigo, but the mission was to obtain a better grasp on his abilities, and going all out now would only insight Urahara and Yoruichi to come to the battle, and he couldn't handle those two outside of Hueco Mundo.
"This is good, if this is the toughest Aizen's got then we don't anything to worry about!" Ichigo thought before taunting in his dual-layered voice as he swung. "Looks like the power of Arrancar isn't all it was cracked up to be!" Ichigo roared, a Getsuga Tensho pushing the bat Arrancar back. Despite the goading, Ichigo didn't really care about whether Ulquiorra released or not. All he knew was that he had to take out as many of Aizen's minions as he could. "Every Arrancar we kill decreases Aizen's forces and taking out an 'Espada' will only take care of more potential problems." He thought.
However, Ulquiorra was aware of this. While Luppi was an inconsequential weakling, barely deserving to be a replacement Espada, and Zommari was at the lower levels of them, they could hardly just send Espada to their deaths and expect to win. Mind made up, Ulquiorra quickly disengaged from the battle and called to Gin. "Gin, we should go now. We have sufficient information on the threat level of Aizen's enemies." With that, Ulquiorra opened a Garganta and began to step in.
Gin nodded as he leaped back from another of Komamura's sword strikes and made a break for the portal as well. "Yeah," he replied. "I can feel Yoruichi and Urahara coming here as well. It'd be trouble if we died here."
Zommari Sonido'd away from a punch from Chad before retreating back with the others. "This is not over. Whether by Lord Aizen's hand or his subordinates, Karakura Town will fall."
Fuck!" Ichigo and Komamura rushed at the Garganta, hoping to kill the invaders before they could escape, but their masks shattered before they could make another attack, and Ichigo's legs suddenly throbbed in pain.
"We will meet again, shinigami," Ulquiorra and Zommari stated.
Gin gave a cheeky wave. "Buh bye now." With that, Ulquiorra, Gin, Zommari were all gone.
"Damn it!" Ichigo swore loudly as he and Komamura tried to get up, exhaustion, and pain in Ichigo's case, stalling the progress. "The hell is this?!"
"Apparently, the hollow mask is quite draining." Komamura groaned as he finally rose to his feet. "Good to know."
"Aw," Urahara pouted as he and Yoruichi. "We missed it."
"At least it's pretty clear that Ichigo and his friends can protect without much help." Yoruichi looked mildly relieved.
"Sorry," Orihime shrugged as she healed herself and Chad. "Gin and the Espada ran off rather fast after Uryū started shooting them down. Although we can't take all the credit," She then turned to the stranger standing there. "This guy came out of nowhere and helped us."
"Yo. The name's Ginjo." He replied, his tone casual yet clearly curious. "Ginjo Kūgo We just came into town with my friends when we felt those powerful spirits come out of nowhere."
"We?" Ichigo's interest in this guy started to rise greatly, along with everyone else. "You have friends with spiritual awareness?"
"Depends," Ginjo replied. "By spiritual awareness, do you mean just seeing ghosts or having powers too?"
"Either or," Yoruichi answered. "But mostly the latter."
"Then yes," Ginjo answered.
"What are you doing here anyway?!" Ichigo asked, suspicious of this out of nowhere help.
"We headed to this place cause we were looking for new recruits," Ginjo answered. "...but you guys don't seem to have powers like us, do you?"
Ichigo and friends looked at each other, unspoken words exchanging before. Uryū wasn't sure about this man, but Orihime was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt as was Chad, especially since he helped them against Aizen's forces. Ichigo wasn't as willing to trust him but didn't have any concrete reason to deny him. That being said, he didn't want this guy or any of his friends to get involved in this manner if it was too much for them, let alone if they didn't want to. Eventually, they decided to take a plunge and say what they are.
"I'm a shinigami," Ichigo half-explained. "Well, substitute shinigami. Hat-and-Clogs, Komamura, and Yoruichi are the real shinigami." He elaborated, pointing to the former captains.
"Technically, we are exiled shinigami but yeah," Yoruichi added.
"I am a Quincy," Uryū continued. "A race of humans that had evolved to gain spiritual powers. However, we have been rather low in numbers as of late."
"Chad and I have hollow powers," Orihime stated. "I can reject things, and Chad makes armor form over himself."
"Hollow powers?" Ginjo repeated, visible surprise on his face. "You two are fullbringers too?"
"Fullbringers?" Chad asked, Orihime just as confused as him.
"...You don't know what fullbringers are?"
"Ah," Urahara snapped his fingers as he realized something. "I knew what your powers were when I saw them, but I couldn't remember the name. Fullbringers. Those that were born with the ability to manipulate the souls that reside in all physical matter."
"Souls in physical matter?" Orihime asked again. This looked like they were walking into unknown territory again.
"I'd rather explain at our place," Ginjo said as he turned and soared off. Orihime, Chad, and Ichigo, curiosity getting the better of them, followed without complaint. Yoruichi quickly sped past them and followed Ginjo.
Uryū turned to Urahara and Yoruichi. "You can handle any trick this guy might pull right?" He asked.
"Ye of little faith," Urahara replied. "I can but wow, he hasn't even done anything yet."
"I'd rather be safe than sorry," Uryū shot back. "You were on our side from the beginning and even you weren't entirely truthful."
"All right, fair point," Urahara admitted as he began following the others. "But yeah, I could likely handle them if they try something."
"Good," Uryū added as he ran to join the others.
Rukia opened her eyes to see that she was in her Inner World. It was a constantly snowing winter world. The wind and snow were light and gentle but the place was still far too cold for even a shinigami. At least a Non-ice type shinigami. Rukia walked across the place to see where her hollow was. "She must be here somewhere," Rukia muttered before calling out. "Hey! Come on out! I know you're around here!"
This action proved effective as Rukia quickly heard footsteps from something approaching. She whipped around to see her double, biting back a gasp. The woman staring at her was a mirror image of herself, right down to the facial features. If it hadn't been for the unnaturally pale skin, and the very Hollow-like black and gold eyes...she would think she was looking into a mirror.
Rukia drew her sword. "Let's get this over with quickly." She thought as she pointed it at her hollow. "Prepare yourself hollow," She spoke with all the confidence she could muster. "I will strike you down and bring back Sode no Shirayuki. Here and now."
"My my." Rukia's hollow smiled a smile as cold as the environment. "You seem quite sure of yourself for a damsel in distress."
Rukia merely narrowed her eyes and started to stab her sword into the ground a few pieces, attempting to use Hakuren. However, the hollow reacted to this quickly, bringing her sword out in a very familiar stance.
"Is that Gin's stance?" Rukia blinked in confusion, wondering what her hollow was doing. "She can't be serious. Sode no Shirayuki can't extend." She dismissed the thought, holding her blade out as well. "Hakuren!" The particles, building up at the tip of Sode no Shirayuki, are released as a large, powerful avalanche of cold air.
However, Rukia's hollow proceeded to prove her dead wrong. "Shirafune." Rukia's eyes widened dramatically as ice formed around her opponent's blade and it shot forward as if it were Shinso. The blade pierced right through the avalanche of Hakuren and headed toward a stunned Rukia, although she managed to gather her wits and rather quickly dodges out of the way.
Even so, the second the sword hit the ground, all the snow in the air and ground froze, and a violent chill started taking Rukia over. "Shit!" She swore as the cold crouched up her arm and leg. "Hadō #73. Sōren Sōkatsui!" Thrusting out her hands, one of them still freezing, and fired a massive blast out of them, blowing away the frost crouching up her body.
Rukia's hollow merely shunpoed out of the way, before swinging her still elongated blade at her opponent. Fortunately for her, Rukia was ready. "Hadō #33. Sōkatsui!" A second, smaller shot of energy shattered the ice covering the sword. A feeling of mild relief covered Rukia as she was given time to breathe.
"Can't help but notice you're using Kido more than your sword." The hollow taunted as she charged. "Then again with your powers shut out for so long and you trying to please nee-san over her before that, it wouldn't be surprising if she simply dumped you for me."
Rukia growled in response as she slashed her upsidedown when her hollow got too close. "Tsukishiro!" A circle was drawn in the ground, one the hollow quickly backpedaled from as became a pillar. Using the pillar as cover, she thrust her sword out and snarled. "Sode no Shirayuki is my blade. We have danced together through thick and thin, have been trusted partners through many trials. Our bond is strong. Stronger than anything she could have with you! Shirafune!" Despite her admitted confidence in her and Sode no Shirayuki, she wasn't entirely sure this trick would work. She wasn't even aware her sword could with her third dance, mainly using it as a way to repair the blade after that terrible night with that horrid hollow Metastacia. But if the sword could really extend...
Rukia's hollow took a step back, preparing to make another after getting around that pillar. This thought came to a halt as a surge of irregular spikes came from both sides of the pillar, heading straight for her. "Well, I'll be damned! You picked that up quick!" She laughed, a noticeable amount of fog coming from her mouth as she did so. "But don't think you truly know Sode no Shirayuki!"
It was at the point that the ground shook, catching Rukia off guard as her hollow tried to dodge past all the spikes coming off the blade and the frost it made when the hit the ground, with mixed results. By the time the hollow was on her, she was covered in frost and showing signs of frostbite, not that this was stopping her much. Rukia's hollow thrust her blade at her head, the shinigami narrowly dodging the blade by leaning backward. In a panic, she heaved and swung the whole spiked mass at her hollow, tearing through the pillar in the middle of it in the process. Fortunately, this act caught the hollow very much off guard, and the entire mass of spikes slammed into the hollow with prejudice, puncturing her full of holes. The pincushioned hollow barely managed to get one last cut on Rukia's face before she fell to the ground, defeated.
Despite this, she smirked, seeing her shinigami counterpart barely able to stand. "Not bad, but not good either." She coughed as she started to fade away. She didn't have much time left, so she had one final thing to say. "You should quit letting your sword coddle you, or you might never handle what's next."
Rukia shook in place, drained of all energy, and turning blue from frostbite. Despite how quick this fight was, she was completely and utterly exhausted. However, she couldn't fall now, she had to find her sword. "Sode no...Shirayuki! Are...Are you there?!" She suddenly felt a hand grasp her shoulder. The hand was cold to the touch, yet never felt warmer. She turned to see her Zanpakuto standing behind her, a kind smile on her face. Sode no Shirayuki manifested as a tall, very pale woman dressed completely in shades of white and ice blue. Garbed in a simple, traditional ivory-hued kimono with a sash possibly the softest shade of blue that Rukia had ever seen, Shirayuki's sleeves extended well past her fingertips, and the kimono flowed down to cover her feet.
"Yes. Yes, I am." Sode no Shirayuki said. "It's been a long time, hasn't it?"
Rukia started to tear up. She hadn't seen or heard from her sword since she gave her powers to Ichigo and life has been a roller coaster of untold proportions since then. Before she could stop herself, she wrapped her arms around her Zanpakuto spirit and hugged her for dear life. She didn't start sobbing but tears did start flowing down her face. "I...missed you." She gasped, trying not to break down.
"I know." Despite her graceful tone, it was easy to see that Sode no Shirayuki was holding on to her wielder as fiercely as vice versa.
"Ulquiorra, Gin, Zommari. Welcome back."
The three followers of Aizen reached the throne room and pushed the doors open. The sight that greeted them was the assembled Espada and Privaron Espada, standing in a row before their master's throne along with Tōsen. Although it was clear that something had changed within the ranks.
"A new Arrancar?" Ulquiorra thought as he saw a new arrancar with burnt orange hair and mismatched eyes, one brown and one aqua green, standing beside Szayelaporro. "His reiatsu seems familiar...Wait, where's Yammy and Aaroniero?"
"Where is Luppi? And how was Karakura Town?" Aizen asked.
"Luppi is dead," Ulquiorra replied tonelessly. "The Quincy has improved last you fought him and has acquired several new tools as well." This surprised the others somewhat. While no one really cared for the potential Espada, the fact that he was a potential Espada or at least a replacement meant this Quincy may be capable of contending with them soon.
"As for Karakura Town, the place is pretty tough now. The Quincy isn't the only one improving in such a short time." Gin explained. "Komamura has already managed to gain some control over the hollow powers you gave him." Tōsen turned to Gin in interest.
"Did he?" Tōsen replied. "I thought that he'd have trouble accepting them at first."
"I don't know what to tell you." Gin made a grabbing motion over his face, before dragging it down. "He made a hollow mask over his face and got way faster and stronger and could fire Ceros as well." The Espada were all quite interested now. "Didn't last very long though."
"Ichigo had the same power," Ulquiorra added.
Zommari chose to add as well. "The girl came rather close as well. She had no mask, but her eyes were that of a hollow. She trapped me in a barrier where the Quincy could shoot me, despite her spiritual power not being that exceptional. If not for my mastery of Shunpo, I highly doubt I could have survived." It was subtle, but it was very clear to the observant that he was frustrated by this greatly. "As blasphemous as it is to say this, I'm not surprised that she managed to cut you." This caught most of the room off guard. Zommari worshipped Aizen to the point of intoxication. It was his very aspect of death. For him to see someone capable of harming the former captain was... beyond words.
Nnoitra scoffs at that. "That bitch couldn't be that tough. She was just a human girl." She mocked. "You could have just used your Resurreccion and slaughtered them all."
Ulquiorra frowns. "That was not the plan." He argues. "Aizen's plans for the spiritual humans was to subjugate them. They have great power, and their growth is more so, but Aizen's is very good at using one's strength against them." Nnoitra scoffs at that. "Second of all, their power could just as easily destroy them as well."
"They could just as easily become actual threats as well," Grimmjow argues. Nnoitra's head whips to Grimmjow in shock and outrage, clearly offended at the suggestion that anything with two X chromosomes could possibly hold a candle to him, let alone harm him.
"Is there anything else to report?" Aizen cut in before a serious argument could start.
"One more thing," Zommari added. "Another spiritual human was there in addition to the ones that invaded the Soul Society."
Aizen's back straightened at this news, showing noticeable interest in this development. "Is that so?"
"Yes. He was a tall and lean-built man with fair skin, brown eyes, and shoulder-length black hair." Ulquiorra explained. "He wielded a large sword but did not seem to possess shinigami powers."
"He actually played a part in Luppi's death," Zommari added, further interesting the rest. "He gave the Quincy the cover he needed to use his new trinkets."
Grimmjow gave a feral grin. These humans were clearly growing into something interesting. "And if this pussies don't want to take the prey, then I'd love to."
"Anything else?" Aizen requested. The three shook their heads. "Very well, I will factor this information into my plans. Now...Ulquiorra, Zommari, join the line."
"A reranking? So soon after the last one?" Ulquiorra and Zommari thought, even as they obliged walked to their respective numbers. It was clear that something had happened. More notable was the smiles on Gin and Tōsen, as if they knew something the others didn't.
The other Espada pulled open their shirts, bearing their tattoos.
A light appeared on the end of Aizen's finger. An instant later, Ulquiorra felt a burning sensation on his chest. When it dissipated, he looked down to see the '4' had become a '5'. A cheer of joy turned his attention to Dordoni, who now had a '10' on his chest again.
Blinking in confusion, he looked ahead of himself to see the '3' Harribel had on her breast had become a '4'. Barragan didn't seem to be fuming, and Starrk's number didn't change much, so clearly whoever rose in rank only made it to Tres... "But even so..." Ulquiorra thought. "Who did it?"
The answer came in the form of the new Arrancar that had shown, now walking toward the number 3 spot as everything else moved to their new spots. Or specifically, Barragan who noticed the stranger after mere lookover. "I see. I wondered why you seemed so familiar." Barragan stated. "What brought about your evolution, Aaroniero?"
Almost all of the other Espada other than Ulquiorra gave surprised noises at this, and even Ulquiorra was caught off guard by this development. Grimmjow in particular roared in shock and outrage. "The FUCK?! That's Aaroniero?!"
"Ah," The now Tres Espada smirked at their fellow Arrancar, speaking in two familiar voices. "I'd be offended for how long it took for you all to recognize me if it weren't for the fact that I could barely recognize myself. But as for what happened my king, I devoured Yammy after defeating him in a battle with Tōsen."
Multiple eyes widened at that. While nobody really liked Yammy, the man being an intolerable idiot who only got to the spot he had by raw power, the implications of him being eaten by Aaroniero were easy to make.
"Yammy's raw power," Ulquiorra thought. "Now powering Aaroniero's thousands of powers..."
"The weakling parasite's an actual threat now, isn't he?" Nnoitra thought, a dark smile creeping upon his face. "I think I'll fight him once I kill those humans!"
Tōsen gave a dark smile at the memory. The mission Aizen gave him was to feed the brute to Aaroniero after he ate Grand Fisher. Something that Tōsen took great pleasure in. Yammy, in addition to being too stupid to truly further Aizen's agenda, was arguably as violent as Kenpachi, if not more so. The barbarian would kill anything he could get his hands on, for no other reason than 'just because'. After blinding the fool with his Bankai and helping Aaroniero devour the bastard, Tōsen had only one other wish. That Kenpachi would meet an equally ignoble end.
Aizen was equally invested in the new Tres Espada, albeit for very different reasons. Aaroniero was a hollow that Aizen had at first dismissed as another pawn. And how could he not? They were the only Arrancar to fail to achieve Adjuchas, and for how skilled and varied their arsenal was, it mattered exceptionally little considering any captain level opponent would destroy them in power. However, the incredible growth potential of Ichigo and his friends had reminded him of the weakest Espada. "And thank me they did," Aizen thought as regarded the Espada. "Not only will Aaroniero be a great test for Ichigo and Rukia, but the sudden jump they made will incentivize the other Espada to improve as well. Well, most likely not Starrk and Barragan, but they hardly need to do so."
Aizen was preparing the Arrancar for war. And heaven help anyone reckless enough to get in his way.