I had a lot of fun with this one, falling by on my favorite fandom pastime of torturing Ichigo for fun and profit. I hope you enjoy. Relevant interlude to come soon.
Part I
Uryuu was unsettled.
The resistance their party had first met was… exceptional to say the least. Between guards, sand golems, and a ten-meter-thick wall, the two had their work cut out for them. Travelling alone he found absolutely nothing.
There was a pristine white corridor, a few doors with no one behind them, and… that was it. At this point he was keeping his bow drawn more out of paranoia than anything else, not that he would be putting it away any time soon. He refused to believe it could be this easy.
When he finally caught sight of the hallway's end to something different, he nearly cried in relief. Still clutching his bow, he neared a door, this one as tall as the already towering ceiling. He placed a hand on the surface.
Great, more nothing, he thought. With a sigh he prepared to shove the door open–
Only to be knocked into from behind and be sent tumbling forward.
"Thank the gods I f-found you!" A voice wailed into his ear, two arms practically strangling him from behind. Uryuu's immediate response was to shove them off an aim an arrow right at their throat. He stopped himself from firing at the last minute.
"…Pesche Guatiche?" he asked incredulously. The arrow fizzled away.
"Hey! You remembered my full name!" The Hollow cheered. "Wait, you don't have a crush on me, do you?"
He resisted the urge to shoot him anyway. "Do you want to explain what you were doing there?" he snapped.
"Oh! That's an easy one!" The Hollow scrambled upright, sitting back on his heels. "See, first me and my buddies decided to follow after you guys but I think we got separated at some point, and then I was wandering alone and I got so nervous I started hearing things, and I thought I was being followed so I ran, but as it turned out I was the one following you, ha, ha!"
Uryuu caught about half of it. "Doesn't matter," he decided with a shake of his head. "Now whe…" He trailed off, finally seeing the room they were in. "Where are we?"
It was quite the change from earlier scenery. The room they were in was massive, similarly huge pillars jutting up from the floor throughout, keeping him from even seeing the other end.
"Huh, not sure," Pesche said.
This Hollow was no help at all, was he? "Well, it's not like you've been to Las Noches before," he reasoned with a sigh.
"Oh, I have," he corrected absentmindedly. "Never been here before, though. I think we're somewhere in Privaron territory."
…Add that to the growing list of "things just a little off about those Hollows."
"Privaron," he said, trying to see if there was an end to this room they'd found themselves in, "that's nothing good, I'm guessing."
"Former Espada," Pesche said with a shiver, following him. "Aizen goes through those guys like hotcakes. They don't seem very happy about that for some reason."
"Couldn't imagine why." This one was the talkative type, wasn't he? Just his luck.
Suddenly, Uryuu felt a prickle in the air, a shift in temperature. They weren't as alone as he'd first thought.
"Quiet," he hissed. He grabbed Pesche by the arm shoving them both behind the nearest pillar, the Hollow letting out a belated gasp.
"Is it a Hollow? A Shinigami?!"
Uryuu drew his bow, listening. His eyes swept the area, but when he caught a flash of black, he allowed himself to breathe easy.
"I swear I just heard something!" Dondochaka's loud voice also gave it away. The Quincy chose then to reveal himself, noting Sado's sigh of relief.
"I can't say I'm surprised that we ran into each other," Uryuu said coolly. "This castle's layout hardly makes any sense."
"It's not so difficult once you understand…" Pesche started. Uryuu ignored him.
"Find anything?" he asked the Shinigami.
"It's all abandoned," he said with a shake of his head.
"Door after door and not a single person!" Dondochaka cried. "Hey! You don't think this castle is haunted, do you?"
"Isn't that great," Uryuu sighed out. "Well, let's hope this place has more than two doors."
"Didn't you see the one over there?" Pesche asked, pointing to a dark doorway.
Huh, he is good for something. Psyching himself up, he approached it, the others close behind. Sado already had a hand on his Zanpakuto, but the second they walked through…
"And it's more of the same," Uryuu deadpanned. "I don't know what I was expecting."
"Sense anything?" Sado asked.
"Nope. Are you really sure anyone lived here?" he asked the Hollow's accusingly.
"Positive!" Pesche yelped. "Or… at least half positive."
"We peeked through a few doors," Sado said. "Mostly dead ends, but people did live here once."
"That's… comforting."
Sado frowned in agreement. "It makes you wonder where they all went."
Uryuu could see Pesche and Dondochaka shivering in fear behind them. Good, at least they'd stop talking for a little while. They walked together in silence; eyes peeled.
Out of all the Shinigami in their rescue group, the one Uryuu was the least familiar with was… Arisawa. He doesn't think he's spoken a single word to the girl, but Sado was a close second. His interactions with this one included knocking him unconscious and then fighting alongside him for about five minutes. Still, his was an interesting presence, and he stood out from most Shinigami for obvious reasons.
Uryuu wasn't sure how long they walked together, cautiously peeking through doors when they finally made it from one long monotonous corridor to another long monotonous corridor.
"Does Aizen know how to make anything else?" Uryuu snapped.
"We should rest," Sado said. "Night fell a long time ago."
Uryuu huffed, "There's no need to stop on the human's account. I can go on." He'd worked through worse in training.
"No shame in taking a break," Sado said patiently. "If something comes up, we'll be ready."
Uryuu wanted to say something back. He nearly did, but god, when he put it like that it sounded so reasonable. "Okay, we'll stop. Let's find somewhere safe, first. I sense this area isn't quite so abandoned."
They ended up backtracking to the last area, back to "Privaron territory" going into a door that was a little bigger than the others. Sado was the first to go in, Uryuu ready with an arrow right behind him, but much to their relief the room was empty. To their further relief it had beds. Uryuu set up wards at the door, Sado rifling through the room.
"Supplies, mostly medicine," he reported over his shoulder. Maybe this mission wouldn't turn out to be a complete disaster.
"And no food!" Dondochaka cried.
"Do Hollows even eat?" Uryuu asked.
"Only for fun," Pesche said, completely serious. Uryuu rolled his eyes and continued his work.
The next time he looked the two Hollows were out like lights, piled on top of each other on one infirmary bed, because what else could this place be? It left Uryuu some quiet time to go through some of the supply cabinets himself, glancing over the stuff that Sado had already laid out and sorted.
He pocketed several rolls of clean bandages, eyed the bottle of antiseptic before deciding it would take up too much space in his bag, and instead reached for a bottle of what appeared to be coagulants but in pill form. (They could be useful later, he reasoned.)
He also allowed himself a small smile when he broke into a pack of compresses. He'd tried to ignore it, but that first fight left him with some impressive bruises. If he could get some sleep with a few of these they may not be so bad come morning.
Glancing at Sado, seeing he was still busy with his own sorting, he stripped off his cape and shirt, cracking open the wrappers.
There were a few small marks that he spared no time on, focusing first on his shoulder. He was lucky that one didn't get knocked right out of socket when that huge oaf threw that boulder at him. That wasn't even mentioning his stomach. He patched up both, wondering if he should try and find a mirror for his back.
"Let me," Sado said, and Uryuu nearly jumped in surprise. The larger Shinigami was sitting next to Uryuu, hand extended.
For a moment he considered brushing him off, saying something snappy, or even ignoring him. In the end, he just handed him the pack, and turned around. At first, it was silent, awkward, even, with Sado's warm hands at his back. Uryuu wasn't used to feeling so… vulnerable. He tried to ignore the flush at his cheeks. He failed.
"Orihime taught me a few things," Sado explained. "If only we had ice…"
"There was a freezer, but someone disconnected it," Uryuu said, nerves getting to him. "Uh… you seem to be quite close to her… Inoue, I mean."
"We've known each other for a long time."
"I'm guessing that has to do with the Soul Society's culture of forming makeshift family units…" and then it struck him how dry this all sounded. "I probably don't need to explain that to you," he said self-consciously.
Still, Sado let out a chuckle. "It's fine. It used to confuse me, too."
There was a story behind that, Uryuu was sure, but it wasn't like he could just come out and ask, and after hearing something like that he felt obligated to say something in equal measure instead of just asking for more.
(It was something about Sado, something inherently warm. He was quiet, but observant. Imposing, but not intimidating. Most other Shinigami [most other people] Uryuu had met around his size seemed to throw their weight around, as if trying to prove something. Not this one, though.)
"I can't relate," he said with a shrug. "I never got along much with the family I had, so…"
"None?"
Uryuu frowned. "Well, there was my grandfather."
A large hand smoothed over his back one last time, bandage secured. "We have something in common." With a pat he said, "Finished."
Uryuu shivered. "Thank you… Sado." He reached for his shirt, buttoning with haste.
"My friends call me Chad."
He was about halfway through the buttons when he said the only thing that came to mind. "Why?" It was a stupid question. He was backtracking immediately.
"It's my real name," the Shinigami said before he had the chance. "Chad Joaquín."
"That's… unusual," Uryuu commented. "Where is it from?" Why couldn't he stop talking?!
"México. It was my motherland. Japan was my fatherland."
"A Hāfu, then. That makes a lot of sense, actually."
"…Hāfu." The word was said carefully, as it he was testing it. "I like it. There wasn't a word for that when I was still alive. I guess the human world has changed." He seemed so genuinely happy about it, Uryuu felt himself getting happy right alongside him.
"Thank you," he said, "…Chad."
Chad smiled back, and Uryuu's heart skipped a beat.
Oh, fuck.
Part II
Tatsuki would be the first to admit, the way she chose to travel through Las Noches was odd.
She'd started her journey methodically, combing through the halls, searching for signs of any life. It wasn't arrogance for her to say that out of everyone she was the one most likely to find their kidnapped friend. That thought had comforted her… at first.
It felt like she'd been searching for hours, and she'd felt nothing, zip, zilch, nadda. It was ridiculous.
"An entire godsdamned castle with no one in it," she huffed. "I thought the humans ran into guards or something. What happened to them?"
Her frustration festered and grew. Before arriving she'd already been at her wits end dealing with battalion of bureaucrats that made up the Gotei Thirteen. Coming here was supposed to, at the very least, give her an opportunity to work off some of that, but instead, she was just wandering through that bastard's monument to being a huge fucking prick.
It was around then that she started blasting through walls. No, she didn't regret it. It helped that she convinced herself that the move was strategic, that it meant she could get through the place faster. It helped even more that it felt good.
It felt even better when she came across a room that looked different from the others. There was a tiled ceiling, a grid that made up the floor, square holes going down so far that she couldn't see the bottom. At the end of that room, sitting, waiting, was an Arrancar.
"Finally." She grinned. "I was wondering when one of you jokers would show up."
He seemed to be in meditation, brow relaxed, a somber air about him. It belied the otherwise silly figure he cut, huge orange afro, low cut V-neck that went down to his belt, and bellbottoms to match. It was a choice, certainly. He opened an eye.
"I, as well." He stood up. She reached for her Zanpakuto.
"Sorry to keep you waiting, then. You know, I've never actually fought one of you guys. You do introductions?"
He studied her for a moment. "I am Gantenbainne Mosqueda, the one hundred seventh Arrancar of Sōsuke Aizen's army." With a crack of his neck he went into position, fists ready. "You will go no further, Shinigami, on this I swear."
Then he was the honorable type. It's not what she was expecting, but she was willing to roll with it. "Lieutenant Tatsuki Arisawa of the Sixth Division." She brandished her sword. "I will defeat you for the sake of my friends, on this I swear."
The first clash was electrifying. Her sealed sword met with his push daggers, a match up that should have been slanted in her favor, but he held strong, and then proceeded to swing his free fist right at her stomach.
She dodged back, dodged back again as another strike came out, and got a shallow slice right across the bridge of her nose for her troubles. With a grimace she drew back, rolled her shoulder, and with a flip of her sword released her Shikai.
Fighting him wasn't too different from fighting Chad, she noted. Considering how unusual her friend's fighting style was in their circles, this stuck in her mind. He had based his style off a human fighting style if she remembered correctly.
That didn't matter, though. All that mattered was that she knew how to counter it. A "boxer's" style was all about getting the timing right, so all she needed was a change of tempo.
Sword held in close she weaved right, left, back, then with her hand braced against the blunt of the sword she struck.
He dodged just the way she thought he would, being much lighter on his feet than he really ought, considering his size. He was so light on his feet that for a second, she slipped up, tripping around his graceful maneuver, her foot going straight through the grid. A well-timed burst of flames was all that kept her from slipping through entirely and made him draw back in caution.
She followed through, another burst of flames at her feet, and she struck down. With interlocked daggers he blocked her and with a shove he pushed her back.
"Your style is quite unusual," he commented. "I can't decide if you've been formally trained or not."
"I get that a lot," she said, "and right back at ya!" She punctuated this with another charge, going full speed ahead, grinning.
Her heart skipped a beat when he suddenly disappeared. She moved to dodge but was just a second too late.
"Uno!"
His fist impacted with the side of her head. She saw stars.
"Dos!"
Another buried into her stomach, stunning her completely.
"Cientos."
She blacked out.
Awareness came back quickly and sharply, Tatsuki forcing away the dizziness. The first thing that she registered was the cracked concrete she was leaning on. The second was rage.
"…a good fighter, girl. You came at me with your whole heart."
"…You didn't," she coughed out, forcing herself to her feet. "You retracted your blades, you bastard." She spat out the blood in her mouth, Zanpakuto in a death grip. "Big mistake.
"Power of a thousand stars, unleash! Yoenhoshi!"
Was she being a little hasty? Probably, but when she felt that wreath of flame on her head, near oppressive with its heat, it felt right. She glanced at each of the pillars surrounding her, knowing she had little time to choose.
Each of the six were powerful in their own right, but she only had a handle on a few of them. She went for the one that she'd taken quite a liking to in training recently.
"Incinerate!" With a grin she plucked the pillar from the air, and with a flourish it turned into a sword made of fire.
The moment of triumph was short lived, being forced to dodge back immediately as the Hollow sprung towards her, blades out. Good. She dodged left slicing forward, grin widening as he tried the same block from before.
She could see his eyes widen slightly, see as he moved his other fist around to bolster his defense and then grimaced as he realized it didn't help him. She pressed forward and reveled as the heat began to melt down his blades.
He drew back, not making a sound when she sliced through his visor and into his eye.
For the first time she was able to really put some pressure on him, and she was going to make it last. She pursued him mercilessly, hacking and slashing, fire not catching on any of the stone, but below it… Well, smoke was starting to rise. It did not mix well with her concussion. For a moment she lurched, and he took that moment to escape behind the cover.
"You continue to surprise me, girl," he said, "but it seems you've reached your limit." He stood up from his crouch, silhouetted by the smoke. He looked different.
The smoke cleared slowly, and what she saw when it was finally gone was not good. He had grown an entire carapace from hand to hand, arching over his back and going down into a tail. His punch daggers had turned into wicked claws. He lowered the remains of his visor over his eyes.
"…Dragra," he said lowly. His tail went up in a graceful arc. He clapped both his hands in front of him and muttered the words, "Dios luego nos perdone."
Tatsuki could feel the heat from the attack about a second before a huge beam came right at her, and really, she had one option, here. She sucked in a breath and dropped down into one of the holes, one hand gripping stone as hard as she could. When the skin on her fingers was nearly burned off, she had to bite her lip against a scream.
For a moment she hung there, panting, staring at the growing inferno below her, and her mind raced as she tried to think of what she could do next. It settled on something, frankly, batshit insane, but it was all she had.
"Release!" she cried, and she watched as her flame sword went back to its pillar form. She swiped through them rapidly, grabbing one out of the mix and shutting her eyes tightly before calling the attack. "Blind!"
Even through her eyelids she could see the flash that lit up the room, doing just as its name implied. The Hollow let out a cry.
Eyes still closed she swung up to "solid" ground, and with reckless abandon she ran to him, going by Reiatsu alone. She got close, dangerously close, knowing that if she botched the timing of this it was all over.
Just as she felt the brush of his claws, she sealed her Zanpakuto, swiping it from the air and skewering the Arrancar right through his unguarded middle. He choked, and after a moment his weight slid off her.
It was then that she opened her eyes, blinking spots from her vision. The place was wrecked. The smoke was getting unbearable, flames starting to rise into the main room. That last attack of his had blown straight through one of the walls, providing some relief.
Through it she could see… sunlight of all things. She seemed to have finally gotten somewhere, and by sheer coincidence, too. She moved towards it, sparing a glance at Mosqueda.
Her opponent was alive. He was completely out of it, burned and bleeding badly, but he was alive. He was also not what she was expecting. Did she care for him? No, but he reminded her of Chad, and she wasn't just talking about his fighting style, and that meant something.
Rukia was rubbing off on her.
She found herself hefting his heavy ass through the wall before she had time to think about it, and from a safe distance she scowled at the burning room under the shade of a tree.
The first thing she did, settled at a safe vantage point was wrap her wounds. Most of it was simple stuff, apply Orihime's smelly paste to her face, wrap her burnt fingers, pray that she stopped seeing stars in a few minutes and walk off the bruises.
The second thing she did was take a look at where she was, only for nothing to clarify her earlier confusion. They were supposed to be inside a giant dome, right. So, what was sunlight doing here? White buildings were jutting up into a cheery sky; sand paths and trees surrounded her. It felt warm. It didn't feel like Hueco Mundo.
The third thing she did was look down to her… captive. She'd dragged him out of the fire. So, now what? She could always try Rukia's method and get into wacky adventures with him. She'd thaw his cold heart before they inevitably became the best of friends!
Yeah, that sounded stupid.
She activated her Shikai and pressed the burning sword to his stomach to staunch the bleeding. He bolted up with a scream.
"Oh, you're awake."
"Mother of…!" he groaned, lying flat again. "You shouldn't have done that," he said through grit teeth.
"You're in no condition to be making threats," she scoffed.
"No… threat." He swallowed heavily. "I have lost our battle. It is only a matter of time before Aizen disposes of me. I'm afraid your kindness was wasted."
So, that was how Aizen treated his underlings. She wasn't surprised. She'd seen what he did to poor Momo. "Then just lie, hide, do something. You wouldn't want to 'waste my kindness,' right?"
"That is not my way," he said firmly. "Now leave, Shinigami, before they find you, as well."
She relaxed back, sword on her knees. "Yeah, I keep on hearing about a lot of 'theys' but you're the first person I've met in this hellhole."
"That does not surprise me," he said scowling. His eyes grew distant, as if he were deep in thought.
"Explain it then." She said this leaving no room for argument. She was the one with the sword, after all.
For a moment he was silent. This did not last. "The Privaron were given the option to assist Aizen in his research with the chance to regain their old ranks. I was the only one who chose to stay at my post, believing my abilities to be more useful, here."
"You really are something," she said quietly. "Then you weren't always that pathetically high number?"
"No. I was once Number Seven, but I hold no grudge against Aizen for my current position. He made his decision, and I will stand by it."
She stared at him for a moment, scrutinizing him. She still didn't understand him. "Thanks for the info," she said, rising to her feet. "And take it from me. Honor's not worth much if you're dead. If you know what's good for you, you'll run into the desert and never show your face here again."
He did not respond to this. He simply laid his head against the sand and closed his eyes. Well, if he wanted to be that way…
She ran off and didn't look back.
One thing she noticed immediately was that her senses seemed to open up. This place was no longer a blackhole for Reiatsu, something that both comforted her and put her on edge. Now she knew just how surrounded by her enemies she was. She wondered how long it would be until one of them noticed her back.
The stealth she needed to keep up for this mission was exceptional. It was a good thing she was always up for a challenge. She, of course, didn't forget the true purpose of this whole thing. As long as she could find the one signature that was different from the rest, she was golden.
Hopping rooftops, she forced herself to a stop as a sudden spike in Reiatsu neared. It seemed she managed to find a signature that stood out from the rest in record time, but not in a good way. She peeked over the edge, remaining as calm as she could.
He was different from the others, alright. His Reiatsu came out in huge waves, almost making it hard to breathe. Other Hollows cowered in his presence, some outright running the moment they saw him. Only one followed him, head held high.
The former looked right up at her, grinning with too many teeth. The latter darted up to her hiding spot. Holding in a breath she ran.
She didn't feel good about it, either. She never ran from fights, but there was something off about the grinning one, and weakened as she was, she didn't want to take the chance. Using every ounce of speed at her disposal she attempted to outrun his underling.
"Don't bother, Tesra," the Espada (because what else could he be) droned. "It's just another weakling."
Tatsuki had half a mind to turn around and beat his ass for that comment alone, but she knew better. The moment the smaller Hollow stopped pursuing she turned right, pressed herself against the wall, and listened.
"It's all fucking weaklings," he scoffed, "running around like a pack of half-dead cockroaches. Even that fucker Aaroniero's curb stomping one of the little shits." He let out a put-upon sigh. "Gods, what's a guy gotta do to get a little entertainment around here?"
"There are still parts of the desert we have yet to explore," his companion offered.
"Eh, Aizen'll have my balls if I skip town now. Besides, he said this next phase will be a little more exciting. It fucking better be."
They walked off, their muffled footsteps growing distant, and Tatsuki's mind was left spinning.
Next phase? What was this about a next phase? She didn't even know there was a current phase. It struck her that if she followed him, she just might be able to figure out what he meant by that, but the other things he had said were not lost on her.
They weighed on her, actually, worry buzzing through her. One of her friends was in trouble.
She ran in the opposite direction, senses going wild. She had to find them.
Part III
Ichigo's path took him somewhere unexpected.
He ended up in a winding corridor, no doors, no Hollows, no anything. After what must have been hours of walking it all ended with a narrow staircase going up. Since there was no other option, he went up, but what he saw at the top surprised him. Out of all the things he thought this would lead to, sunlight was not one of them.
The realistic sky, the white buildings stretching across the landscape, it was all mesmerizing, almost familiar. It also made no sense.
Putting aside that it was still nighttime at home, it was always nighttime in Hueco Mundo. This had to be fake; he just couldn't figure how. The fact that his dumb brain kept telling him it looked and felt real wasn't helping things.
He stood on a bridge high above, the walkway going to a tall building straight ahead. He considered ignoring it, going down and checking things out, but this building seemed different, somehow, and he wasn't just talking about its incredible height. He was moving towards it before he really had the chance to make a choice.
Ichigo went forward, cautious, but quick. He kept one hand on his sword and the other close to his side as he approached the entrance. It was tall and as wide as the walkway he was on, and it gave no resistance when he tried to open it.
The creak it made was grating, especially in the otherwise peaceful atmosphere. The darkness inside had him squinting.
"Ah, a visitor."
That voice had him flinching, his sword already drawn. His heart was pounding, and he didn't know why. He was a Lieutenant, he told himself. A voice shouldn't have him so on edge. With a scowl he trudged forward.
The figure was odd. He was tall, made even taller by the test-tube looking dome over his head that must have been a meter high. He was also clearly an Arrancar.
"Is it rude to speak with a mask on?" the voice joked. "I guess I should take it off, huh?" A hand reached up to remove it, and what Ichigo saw left him pale and shaking.
"W-who are you?" he asked. With a sword pointed right at that thing's throat he practically snarled, "Answer me!"
"The Novena Espada, Aaroniero Arruruerie," it said casually.
"What are you doing with that face?! Tell me before I cut it off!"
"So vicious!" it whined, and for a moment Ichigo's heart wrenched. "To think that my own nephew–"
Ichigo cut it off, coming in for a strike and nearly stumbling when it dodged smoothly.
"Woah!" It chuckled. "You've gotten pretty good, haven't you?"
"Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!" Ichigo sliced at it again and again, angrier and more desperate with each strike. He was stopped not by a block or a parry, but by a hand, resting on the top of his head, fingers teasing his hair.
"Ichigo," it said in a gentle voice, his voice, "I'm home."
He couldn't even attack. He just stood there, trembling. "I watched you," he muttered. "I-I was the one that…"
"Hey, it's okay," his uncle soothed. "It's okay. I'm okay."
Ichigo refused to cry, no matter how badly he wanted to. He just kind of stood there, eyes wide.
He almost didn't see the sword arching down at him. He dodged, it barely missing his throat.
"A nephew killing his own uncle," the Arrancar chuckled. "I mean, I'm okay now, but then… yikes!"
The words struck him hard, but the pain was just enough to move him forward, his Shikai activated.
"Oh, I see," the Hollow said with an easy smile. "You're here to finish the job."
Ichigo ignored him… it. He couldn't let its words get to him. They were fake. His uncle was dead.
"Getsuga Tenshō!" Energy arched through the air heading right for the Espada. It dodged up, and then left when Ichigo sent another right for him. See, there was one bit of proof. His uncle was a Kidō master. He would have used a shield.
(He never did though, at least not in training.)
He attacked harder, using the full weight of his sword to slice at the Hollow, only for it to dodge once more, that smile still on his… its face.
"Getsuga Jūjishō!" he tried, and yeah, those took a lot more out of him, but he didn't regret it. The cross slash was done at near point-blank range, but still the Hollow blurred out of the way and–
Flicked him on the forehead.
"Still too slow, Ichigo," he sing-songed. Ichigo lashed out in a wide arch, the Hollow dodging back. "You really think you can beat me with those moves?" he chuckled. "Who was the one that helped you learn them? Heck, it was my idea to adapt Big Bro Isshin's move in the first place."
How did he know that?
Ichigo's chest was nearly heaving with panic, but still he lashed out again, far shakier than he would have liked.
"Deep breaths, Ichi," he said, teasing. "I can see you're still not convinced."
Ichigo pointed his sword right at it, forcing it to hold up its hands in surrender. It wouldn't drop that damn smile. "What's there to be convinced by? I saw Kaien die with my own two eyes."
Kaien (no!) tilted his head in thought before his eyes lit up. "Ah! I know what'll prove it." He held out his sword, spun it in that familiar motion, and said, "Surge, Water and Heavens, Nejibana!"
It was his Shikai. Ichigo nearly dropped his sword because that was his uncle's Shikai, his trident. It was right in front of him.
"Now this brings back memories, huh?" he smiled, and he pointed the tip right at Ichigo.
Kaien's method of attack was methodical, hard hitting, and deadly. He spun his Zanpakuto, using its unique weight and design to utterly crush his enemies. Ichigo had sparred against him plenty of times and had never won, even once. At the end, though, he was always congratulated, being hoisted onto his feet and give a pat on the back.
Kaien swung down with deadly precision, Ichigo finding himself buckling under the weight as he blocked, stumbling when it lifted quickly after, and almost falling when it came around again, smashing so hard into his ribs he could hear a crack.
He had no choice but to suck it up and attack again, another Getsuga Tenshō heading right for the Hollow. It didn't even graze him.
"You know Ichigo, dying sucks," he said with a grin, attacking once more, knocking aside his blade and slicing deep into his arm with the follow through before Ichigo had the chance to draw back. "It hurts more than you could even imagine, in fact, and knowing that it was your own blood that did it to you, that's even worse!"
The words have Ichigo stumbling, his slip up allowing the next attack to land, a long slice right across his stomach. He almost collapsed, here, anchoring himself up by his Shikai alone. He was losing, and he was losing fast. He had to do something drastic.
"Bankai!" he yelled, and the second the cloak wrapped around him he jumped forward. "Getsuga Jūjishō!"
The attack was sloppy, he knew. He wasn't even surprised when it failed impacting with the wall instead of his intended target. When it blew straight through the wall, sunlight streaming through the dark room, he felt some slight relief. Kaien didn't, though. He flinched back, distress in his eyes as he retreated into the shadows.
It was here that something clicked in Ichigo's mind. (Or perhaps broke.)
"Uncle," he said with a smile. "What's the problem? You always loved sunny days."
"Ichigo," it warned, "whatever you're thinking…"
"Don't worry, Uncle. I'll remind you."
Ichigo switched targets, and with a single Getsuga Jūjishō filled with every bit of his malice he blew the ceiling to smithereens. The Hollow's face was shocked for a moment. Then it began to scream, distort, and finally…
He wasn't looking at his uncle's stolen face anymore. It was a long tank placed upon his body with two ball shaped Hollows floating inside.
"So, this is your real face," Ichigo said, his gut curling in disgust. "I almost understand why you wanted to hide it."
"Everyone always mocks our face," it sighed out. Its voice was nothing like his uncle's now, high and tinny.
Ichigo scowled. "What now? Your sick plan is through. Your disguises don't work in the daylight."
"That may be true," it said, amused, "but, Ichigo–"
"Don't call me that," he hissed.
The Hollow snorted. "Out of all the Arrancar I am the only Gillian amongst them, and that Gillian managed to reach rank Nine of the Espada. Do you know why that is?"
"Can't say I care," Ichigo said with a dangerous grin.
"I am a Hollow of unlimited potential." It ripped off one of its gloves revealing something near indescribable. It was a writhing mass of tentacles, a circular mouth in the center opening and closing. "Glotonería is my ability. It was with this that I devoured Metastacia as he died, just after he absorbed the body of Kaien Shiba!"
"…What?"
"I received all his power, all his memories. It was all intact. His body resides within me!"
"…So…" Ichigo started slowly, rage rolling off him. The Hollow paid it no mind. "What I'm hearing is, if I kill you, I can put my uncle to rest."
"You'll never get the chance. It's over Ichigo! Feast on him, Glotonería!" It expanded, leaving Ichigo staring up at something that nearly reached the ceiling. It was a towering mass of flesh, grinning, staring, pulsating. Ichigo didn't care.
He attacked recklessly, dodging tentacles, blades and claws alike, ignoring all blows to his body. He pushed forward single mindedly, not even calling any attacks. All he was focused on was slicing every bit he could get his hands on. Rage overtook everything else.
"Too slow," his uncle said. "You're still too slow."
He was tossed aside, rolling before colliding with an intact wall, the trident piercing right through him. For a moment all he felt was pain.
With a shaky hand he gripped his sword and stabbed his uncle in the throat, almost reveling in the open shock on the man's face. (He felt sick.) He sliced up, his Zanpakuto meeting glass. It shattered.
"AAAAHHH!" the Hollow shrieked, collapsing onto the floor, its heads rolling out of the tank. One of them rolled to a stop, already dead. The other writhed in agony. Ichigo felt numb.
He leaned back against stone, breathing deeply, and not noticing when his Bankai disappeared. He did notice that he was bleeding all over the place, though. Damn.
He could worry about that later, he reasoned. He just needed… to close his eyes for a moment…
"Ichigo!"
His eyes snapped open. Tatsuki.
"Ichigo!" she cried. She slapped him right across the face. "Stay awake, dammit!"
"I am awake!" he bit back. "Stop yelling!"
His friend huffed, sitting back on her heels. "Guess you can't be that bad, then, not if you still have the energy to argue."
"Yeah, yeah," he said weakly. "Just help me up, jerk."
She frowned, looking at the scene, or what was left of it. The Hollow had stopped screaming, and he wasn't quite sure when. Her frown deepened before she slung his arm over her shoulder and hefted him up without a sound.
"…What happened here?" she asked quietly.
He said nothing, just staring forward. She said nothing back. The two limped out.
Thoughts? I'll be balancing Rukia stuff and rescue party stuff a bit more from here on out, so get ready for that. (Someone please talk to me in the comments, I'm lonely.)
