Chapter 33: White lies of the God (Sinful Blades)

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach.

"Normal speech"

'Inner speech/thoughts'

'Inner spirit speech'

'Inner hollow/Zanpakuto speech'

xxx

Little bit later, a tired Ichigo walked along Aizen as the latter led him towards his place in Hueco Mundo, where he offered Ichigo a place to rest. Since Ichigo didn't want to waste any more energy that he already had, he wasn't keen on talking and so the only one who spoke was the former Captain.

"I am quite curious, Kurosaki. Did you decide on some sort of mission to eradicate all hollows in Hueco Mundo? You did slay quite a lot of them."

However, Ichigo felt like he didn't want to spend the next few hours just listening and so he decided to ever so often offer a response.

"I had nowhere else to go."

From the corners of his eyes, he could see Aizen tilting his head towards him in a slightly confused manner. For a few seconds, the man seemed to just stare at him with a studying gaze. Then he turned away.

"I find that hard to believe, Kurosaki. You are a very important person for the Gotei 13."

Ichigo snorted.

"You mean a tool or an asset, not a person."

"Hm, quite. Gotei is a military organization, after all. It may feel a lot more humane than it was decades, centuries ago, but at its core, it is still an establishment created for the purpose of fighting wars and battles. You may be whoever you are, Kurosaki, but in the eyes of Gotei, you will be a soldier first, person later. Always." Aizen said in a bit more serious tone than before, causing Ichigo to squint at him with eyes full of disbelief.

"And who am I?"

Aizen chuckled.

"Only you yourself know the answer to that, Kurosaki. I'd say you are a person, who definitely should have a place to go."

One of Ichigo's eyebrows rose and he threw a glance at Aizen to see a smooth smile hovering on the man's mouth. It was the type of smile one had when facing somebody who was obviously trying to avoid telling the truth and Ichigo realized it a second later. He formed a frown and cast his eyes down.

"I was about to be punished for… misbehavior and the punishment was to let the Captain of the 12th Division experiment on me. Suffice to say, bullshit. There's no way I'm letting that crazy bastard anywhere near me." He said slowly and formed a fist with his left hand, so that Aizen could see it. In response, Aizen hummed quietly and nodded to himself.

"Misbehavior… is that how they call turning into a hollow nowadays?"

When Ichigo turned his head and gave him a searching stare, Aizen dismissively waved with his hand.

"Oh, please. We both know I know. There's no need to obscure the truth." Aizen said and then, for a short moment, he moved his eyebrows close together and went silent. Ichigo watched him from the corner of his eye and remained silent.

"I see. So, the Commander remains a fool and tries to uphold the obsolete laws that shouldn't be taken at face value. Interesting. So, you traveled to Hueco Mundo in order to escape his reach? Is this your way of telling me you finally decided to see the truth and accept my original offer? It still holds true, by the way." Aizen finally spoke and turned his whole body to look Ichigo straight in the eyes. The teen tensed but knew that such a question would eventually come. It was inevitable. He knew what he was supposed to say but his stomach shook and a small bead of sweat formed on the side of his face. Licking his suddenly dry lips, he opened his mouth.

"Well, of course not. I lied about everything and I'm actually here on a mission to assassinate you." He said in what he considered to be a firm voice.

Aizen's eyebrows shot high and he stared at Ichigo in surprise, clearly not expecting such an answer. Soon after that, though, a small smile began to play on his lips. Once it appeared, it quickly spread across his whole face and he chuckled wholeheartedly.

"Ha-ha! Superb answer, Kurosaki Ichigo. Does that mean I should just kill you here on the spot?"

Nervously chuckling with him, Ichigo felt a shiver running down his spine and fought the urge to immediately flee. During a split-second that Aizen's laugh caused the man to look away, he gulped. He moved one hand towards the hilt of his zanpakuto and when he saw Aizen catching a glimpse of that, he provocatively patted the sword.

"I wouldn't go down without a fight, though."

Aizen stopped laughing but a wide grin remained on his face. The man nodded to Ichigo.

"No, I suppose not. Very well, Kurosaki, I guess I should take your attempt at humoring me for a positive answer?"

Ichigo nodded and his expression changed to a serious frown. Seeing that, Aizen did the same.

"It's not like I have any other option, Aizen. Don't make any mistake, I still despise you for many different things. It's just that being on my own is equal to a suicide and, before I could pick a side, a decision was made for me." Ichigo said roughly and turned his head away from Aizen. Instead he looked in the distance. Because of that, he couldn't see Aizen's facial expression.

"Is your hatred connected to that Kazumi girl, Kurosaki?"

Ichigo's hand shook and he almost tripped on a sand dune from the shock. He forced himself not to immediately snap and settled for a tiny growl. Without looking at the man walking next to him, he hissed.

"What do you think?"

There was barely any pause before Aizen offered him a reply.

"I think it does and so I think I should start correcting our…hmm, relationship by telling you the truth."

Ichigo's head snapped to the side and gave Aizen a piercing gaze.

"What the hell do you mean?"

He watched Aizen's face seemingly drop any hint of its usual pompousness and the man settled for a neutral expression.

"I know it may come to you as a shock, seeing as you are not used to Shinigami telling you the truth but here, in Hueco Mundo, I will be telling you the truth. For example, the Kazumi girl. True, I didn't care for her in a way I care for others. I'm not a saint and I will never pretend to be. To achieve my goals, I have sacrificed and I will continue to sacrifice much, Kurosaki. However, in this particular case, I recruited the girl only because I thought she could help you." The man said and Ichigo fought against every fiber of his body that was telling him to just sack Aizen in the face.

"…you're treading on thin ice, Aizen." He muttered with a sharp edge in his voice. Aizen simply nodded.

"I will not pretend I did it out of the care for your personal well-being because I didn't. Until you came to Seireitei, I thought of you as something I could use to achieve my goals. Now, now I see you as much more. That's why I'm telling you all this. Moving on. I thought she could help you survive and shape your personality. I didn't give her any orders, aside from the one that she should spy on you. I did that only to keep track on your progress, to know whether you can become useful or not. Unfortunately, I did not foresee that your hatred towards Shinigami could become that strong and that you and the girl would develop a deeper bond. In the end, it still went as I wanted it, but not quite as planned." The man continued until Ichigo stopped moving and hastily took out his zanpakuto, only to repeatedly stab it in the ground with so much power, the grains of sand rose in the air and briefly obscured the teen. After a moment, Ichigo stopped and, breathing heavily, he leaned into his sword, embedded in the ground.

"You still had your fingers in her death! She could live if not for those damn reiatsu masking cloaks! I could have saved her!"

There was a brief moment of silence, during which only Ichigo's heavy breathing could be heard. With his eyes pointed at the sand around the blade of his sword, Ichigo couldn't see Aizen.

"So could Yoruichi Shihōin, yet she did not. Besides, I did not supply any cloaks to whoever you are implying. I do have similar ones but mine can do more than just mask reiatsu. You are thinking of cloaks designed by Urahara Kisuke. He left the design blueprint for them in Shinigami Research and Development Institute where many from the 12th Division have an access to it and, I think I already told you this, things from the 12th Division have the tendency to appear at Rukongai's black market from time to time."

There was a slight chill seeping from Aizen's words but Ichigo didn't notice it. He focused his attention to a different detail. The one about the black market. Feeling anger rising within him, his face twisted into a grimace that was similar to the one of disgust, but was actually fueled by desperation. In one swift movement, he plucked his zanpakuto from the ground and released a wordless Getsuga at the sky. Then he fell on his knees.

"If… if that's really the truth…" Ichigo breathed and glanced at Aizen with a desperate look. Aizen returned his gaze without flinching.

"You are free to doubt my words, Kurosaki. I won't hold it against you. Just think about it. Up until the very last moments before my defection, I mostly only watched you from the shadows. Aside from the Kazumi girl, I barely interfered with your life directly. I wanted you to grow by yourself, make your own mistakes and learn from them so you could grow strong. It was others who interfered directly and hid the truth from you, obscured it with petty lies and sweet words." The man said.

The words hit Ichigo. They pierced right through his body and mind. Just as he remembered, it was hard to argue with Aizen. The man had an incredible capacity for twisting the words and telling them either with brutal honesty, or shrouding them in a cloud of uncertainty. However, a small, stray thought entered Ichigo's mind and began to nibble on his consciousness.

'Is… can he be actually telling the truth? Obviously, I can't just trust him but… but what if Aizen truly isn't the real villain of this story? Is it possible all of it is just a mixture of weird coincidences? It can't be, right?'

"Come, Kurosaki. There is still a long way to go. I will tell you more on our way."

Ichigo listened to him and slowly got back on his feet. He didn't trust Aizen, that much didn't change. But there were definitely seeds of doubt planted deep within his mind and it was just a question of time whether they would bloom and grow, or dry up and wither. For now, he decided to just go with the flow. There was enough time to make hard decisions. Until then, he had a mission.

It was quite a bit later when a construct of some kind appeared at the very edge of his vision, far in the distance. When he looked at Aizen with a questioning gaze, the man nodded.

"Yes, that is indeed our destination. Our fortress. I call it Las Noches."

When Ichigo turned away from Aizen and looked back at the very slowly growing fortress, he heard Aizen continued speaking.

"There's one more thing you should know, Kurosaki. Do you know why I played the sweet, caring Captain back in Seireitei? Why I posed as a trustworthy and friendly man whom almost everyone loved?"

"No."

Ichigo noticed Aizen's features changing ever so slightly, though it may have been just an illusion.

"When you uncover the most guarded secrets and dirt of a place you thought to be perfect, when you break through the illusion and find the deception everywhere you look, when everything you thought to be real becomes a fabrication of the past sins, the only way to survive is to keep your worst enemies as close as you can. Be careful, Kurosaki, as the time when you'll realize the truth is coming."

Narrowing his eyes, Ichigo's eyes darted back to the image of the large building in the distance and he felt apprehensive.

'There are times when his choice of words alone makes me want to bang my head against the wall. He's just as cryptic as Urahara Kisuke and the others yet somehow, somehow I feel there might be truth hidden in him. Maybe he just believes so much in his version that to him, it actually becomes the truth. I don't know. I wish Zangetsu was here to tell me his opinion.'

Deep within his psyche, a voice whispered without Ichigo hearing it.

'Be careful, Ichigo. That was the most important and the biggest truth he told you so far. Don't fall for his truth but, at the same time, do not be deaf to it. The real truth is hidden everywhere around you. You just have to find it yourself.'

…

Once they were standing right in front of the entrance to the Las Noches, Ichigo realized the sheer absurdity that was its size. It took them hours from the point where they had first spotted the structure to actually reach its walls, so thinking about it logically, Ichigo knew the fortress was humongous. But, as they passed through the entrance, he understood just how much he had underestimated its size. If there was anything he could compare Las Noches to in size, it was the entirety of Seireitei.

"Huh?" He blinked in surprise when sunlight suddenly assaulted his eyes and forced him to lower his head to try and shield himself from it. Time spent in gloom Hueco Mundo took its toll and he wasn't accustomed to such intense light. Then it hit him.

"Wait, why is there a sunlight?"

Still squinting hard, he carefully glanced up only to see bright blue of the sky, snow-white, tiny clouds and a blinding sun. It was so bright, even the sand that was still all around them stopped looking as irritating as it had before.

"No sense in living in eternal night when you have the technology to change it." Aizen quipped and then pointed his hand towards a collection of several large buildings that seemed to be situated in the middle of Las Noches. Still in awe, Ichigo followed his line of sight and nodded in understatement. However, due to the sheer size of the Las Noches area, it took them so long to reach their final destination that by the time they finally got to the entrance of the central structure, Ichigo had already lost the sense of time. Inside, Aizen led him through great number of rooms, halls, staircases and spacious corridors, until they reached large doors at what seemed to be the upper part of the structure. There, Aizen stopped walking and looked back at him.

"Behind these doors, you will meet my best troops I like to call the Espada. While you live here, I hope you can learn to get along with them."

"…you expected me to come with you, didn't you?"

Aizen just smiled.

"Given your situation, I expected you to use your brain, Kurosaki. I'm glad I was not wrong." He stated and the doors in front of them opened.

Immediately, Ichigo's senses were assaulted from every direction with a multitude of several different spiritual signatures that ranged from quite normal to quite extraordinary.

'Though still nothing in comparison with Aizen.' He mentally noted and when Aizen stepped inside the room, he followed after him.

"My Espada, I present you our newest guest, Kurosaki Ichigo."

Stepping from Aizen's shadow, Ichigo was finally met with the sight of a large table and ten beings who, more or less, looked just like regular humans sitting at it. They all stared at him in surprise that ranged from barely existent to barely contained. Ichigo immediately recognized two of them.

'Ulquiorra and… if I recall correctly, Yammy.'

Unintentionally, when his eyes passed the former, Ichigo's reiatsu flared a bit.

"Pche, it's that trash. I thought he died. How about it? Want a rematch, Shinigami?"

Ichigo, along with the rest, looked towards the owner of the voice, the one he identified as Yammy, and narrowed his eyes. Before Aizen could stop him, he spoke to the hollow.

"No."

"Ha! Afraid to lose?"

"Yes."

When Ichigo uttered the unexpected answer, all of the Espada glanced at him with varying degree of confusion. Even Yammy himself seemed to be dumbfounded. Not even Aizen was able to hide his surprise. But the man quickly masked it with a smile.

"Now, before we can get to friendly bicker, it would be polite to introduce you. Kurosaki, going by my Espada's given numbers, these are," Aizen said and pointed his hand towards Yammy.

"Yammy Llargo, currently the Diez Espada."

Then he pointed at another one, whose appearance seemed different from the rest, as his body looked just like human yet the head had large, cylindrical shape, completely inhuman.

"Aaroniero Arruruerie, the Noveno Espada."

Unlike Yammy, who ignored his introduction, Aaroniero politely nodded to Ichigo, who felt the need to return the gesture. Aizen's hand moved and pointed at the next Espada.

"Szayelaporro Granz, the Octava Espada."

At first glance, Ichigo immediately decided he didn't like that one. Szayelaporro was a thin male with shoulder-length pink hair, remnants of his hollow mask in form of glasses and a far too smug grin plastered all across his face. While being introduced, Szayelaporro simply widened said grin.

"Zommari Rureaux, the Séptima Espada."

Next one was a muscular, dark-skinned male with noticeably large lips and a bare head that was covered only with a row of bony spikes along the crest of his skull. Zommari, just like Aaroniero, nodded in greetings.

"Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez, the Sexta Espada."

Ichigo narrowed his eyes when he looked over Grimmjow. It was a muscular, though not as much as Zommari, male with light blue spiky hair and a penetrating gaze that sent shivers down Ichigo's spine. The man's attire seemed loose and, for the better or worse, Ichigo could think of only one word while looking at him.

'An animal.'

"Nnoitra Gilga, the Quinto Espada."

Finally moving his eyes from Grimmjow, Ichigo felt another, similar vibe coming from Nnoitra. He was an extremely tall man with a thin and seemingly lanky body. If there wasn't a powerful reiatsu seeping out of him, Ichigo was sure he would have thought of Nnoitra as somebody weak. However, while his body seemed fragile, his face brought unpleasant goosebumps all over Ichigo's body. It was set in a huge terrifying smile that revealed his long upper teeth.

"Ulquiorra Cifer, the Cuatro Espada. I believe the two of you met already."

Ichigo stared at Ulquiorra and tried not to let his emotions get the better of him. There was a myriad of thoughts, ideas and plans running through his mind and he had to form a fist to prevent himself from outright attacking the man on the spot. Still, he was unable to stop himself from speaking. At the same time as he opened his mouth, Ulquiorra did the same.

"Trash."

"Trash."

Somebody laughed and Ichigo narrowed his eyes at Ulquiorra, who seemed unfazed by the sudden turn of events. Standing next to Ichigo, Aizen clapped his hands once.

"Ah, I see you understand each other well. Good. Moving on."

His hand moved towards the only female in the room and Ichigo felt his anger deflating like a balloon. Instead, a slight discomfort tickled his stomach and he had to try his hardest not to avoid looking at her.

"Tier Harribel, the Tres Espada."

As his eyes darted from looking and not looking at her, there were some details he didn't notice but he was definitely sure Harribel was a female if only because of two large bulges beneath the fabric of her zipped jacket. She had short golden blonde hair and her skin seemed to be bit darker than his own, yet lighter than Zommari's.

"Baraggan Louisenbairn, the Segunda Espada."

Glad to have an excuse not to continue looking at Harribel, Ichigo glanced at the next Espada. The first thing he noticed was that Baraggan looked a lot older than anyone else in the room. He had a thick white moustache and completely white hair, which only further enhanced his elderly appearance. Still, despite his obvious age, he looked quite stocky and muscular. The other thing Ichigo noticed was a five-pointed crown set just above Barragan's forehead. Also, the man was looking at him with clear disdain and Ichigo hurriedly looked towards the last person in the room.

"Coyote Starrk, the Primera Espada."

"Sup."

Raising his eyebrows, Ichigo blinked in surprise. The Primera was the only Espada who greeted him vocally and he nervously nodded his head in return. Furthermore, the Primera looked so human-like, Ichigo briefly doubted he was even a hollow. The man had wavy, dark brown hair that ended at the base of his neck and a faded goatee. It was only when Ichigo noticed a fanged bottom jaw positioned below his neck that the teen realized Starrk truly was a hollow.

"Now that we are all acquainted, I should inform you that Kurosaki Ichigo will stay with us for some time. Also, for those who are ready to object that it is pointless because Kurosaki just admitted to being weak, I can assure you of one thing." Aizen said politely, yet his voice felt commanding. He moved his hand so it pointed at Ichigo and continued speaking.

"Kurosaki is the only person who has the potential to become stronger than anyone in this room. Including me."

As Ichigo widened his eyes in surprise, a multitude of voices rang across the room.

"What?"

"Bullshit."

"… a trash will always remain a trash."

"Hmm."

"Interesting."

A half of the Espada couldn't contain their emotions while the other half just stared at Ichigo with speculative, analyzing eyes that caused him to shift uncomfortably. In his mind, Ichigo cursed Aizen but, at the same time, he tried to think of the reason behind such unnecessary words. Before he could think of anything, though, Aizen lightly tapped him on the shoulder.

"Now, Kurosaki. Follow me and I'll show you to your quarters."

Ichigo jumped from his mind to the real word and set a fixed gaze at the man.

"You really had everything prepared."

Aizen just smiled.

"All things happen according to a plan, Kurosaki. Including those that doesn't."

…

It took Ichigo more than an hour to finally fall asleep but once he did, he slept like a log. His room wasn't very spacious, there wasn't much furniture and it felt nothing like home yet, for some reason, it was the best sleep he had in weeks. No dreams, no nightmares, no nothing. Just a dip into the darkness where he floated without tormenting thoughts or emotions. He didn't know how long it lasted for and he didn't care. The only important thing was that once he woke up, he felt refreshed and more than just well-rested. There wasn't any emergency and nobody called for him, a fact that allowed him to remain sprawled across his new bed with eyes pointed at the dim ceiling above him for another hour. He used the sudden influx of free time to just relax and think about nothing but also everything. Then he got to his feet.

'Aizen said I can do whatever I want for at least a few days but I don't think I can just laze around. Maybe I'll just go train. It's probably the only thing I can do here.' He thought and looked for his clothes, only to find them gone and replaced with something different.

'Interesting.'

Near his bed, hanging over a chair, was a new set of clothes. In contrast with his Shinigami attire, they were completely white and reminded him of the attire the Espada wore. Fortunately, even if it did surprise him, the new clothes seemed to have been similar to his old ones in a sense of being sleeveless. As he grabbed them and inspected them, he noticed the fabric was soft and pleasant to the touch. Shrugging, he slowly put them on, only to realize that his new attire consisted of normal Shinigami hakama and a long robe he had to put over it.

"Hm, feels quite comfortable." He mumbled.

Strapping his zanpakuto to a red sash around his waist, he left the room and was on his way to the outside, where he could train in peace, when he bumped into an unfamiliar person. A carpet of green hair filled his vision and he almost lost his balance.

"Oh, sorry." He apologized and glanced at the person to find a friendly looking female shaking her head.

"Oh, no, I'm sorry. I was in a hurry because Pesche and Dondonchakka hid somewhere yet again and I'm not in a mood for games right now. Really, they should have known that now that I returned to my original form I won't behave like I did before and… uh, look at me, I'm rambling again. I always seem to do that at the worst moment and…" The female babbled and then, when her eyes that had been darting all over the place settled on Ichigo's face, she trailed off and gave him an incredulous look.

"Uhm, who are you?"

Ichigo's brain froze for a moment and the only thing he managed to do was stare at her with the same expression she had.

"Kurosaki Ichigo." His upbringing acted for him and he automatically introduced himself.

The female scrunched up her chin, pursed her lips and, for a few seconds, she seemed to think. Then, as if she suddenly remembered something, her face lit up and then dried up.

"Ah, you are the new guy… the Shinigami."

An awkward silence fell between them. Seeing as she was finished talking, Ichigo tried to take a step forward, to leave, when she spoke again.

"I'm Nelliel Tu Odelschwanck."

Ichigo glanced at her and saw her hand stuck forward. His brain briefly froze again and he stared at the hand, baffled. Nelliel narrowed her eyes and slightly waved her hand.

"Shinigami don't greet each other?"

Blinking, Ichigo automatically grabbed her hand and shook it before he realized what was going on. A chill ran though him and he quickly withdrew his hand.

"I… sorry. I'm not used to intelligent hollows." He blurted.

Nelliel narrowed her eyes further and Ichigo's brain finally restarted. He put his hand up in defense and started waving them from side to side.

"Uh, I didn't mean it like that. I'm… sorry."

"No harm done. You look young so you probably haven't met many hollows in the first place."

Without thinking, Ichigo continued to babble.

"Not many that looked, talked and felt like a normal human."

Nelliel's eyebrows shot high but her expression mellowed a bit. Ichigo quickly nodded to her and hurried away, to save himself from further embarrassment. It felt like she wanted to speak more, but Ichigo didn't want to deal with it. The corridor they bumped into each other was far too narrow for him to be able to do that. It was just because of his surprise that he withstood standing so close to her without freaking out.

'You are panicking, Ichigo. Just take a deep breath. It's been a long time since it got this bad. I thought your… condition got better?'

As he stumbled through the door leading outside of the building and the soles of his bare feet touched the sand, he formed a reply for his inner spirit.

'Y-yeah, I thought so too. I don't know what happened. She just… she surprised me. I didn't think a hollow could feel so… so much more human than some Shinigami do. Also, it's probably her body. She looks like a true woman. You know… big breast and wide hips and all.' He mentally said and tried to catch his breath.

'…hm, so you did notice.'

Leaning against the wall for support, Ichigo's mind registered the answer and caused him to straighten his back and form a frown.

'What's that supposed to mean?'

However, his inner spirit withdrew from the conversation and left him without an answer. Slightly irritated, Ichigo took one more deep breath and then moved forward, to find a suitable place for training. When he found it, a small shadow below a large, cylindrical structure that was leaning to one side, he sat down and entered the pose known as Jinzen.

With closed eyes, he spent nearly an hour trying to locate and communicate with his zanpakuto spirit. He didn't succeed. Zangetsu either couldn't hear him or stubbornly refused to do so. Either way, Ichigo was stuck without any option of communicating with the only other person in Hueco Mundo, besides Yhwach, that he knew. A bit angry, he growled and decided to try it one more time when he heard now a familiar voice coming from near him.

"That was rude, you know. I wasn't finished talking."

His eyes snapped open, only for a female figure of Nelliel Tu Odelschwanck to enter his vision. She was standing only few feet away from him and so he hurriedly scooted a bit further. Fortunately for him, she either didn't notice or decided to ignore that small action.

"Can I help you?" He asked in a strained tone.

Giving him an odd look, she plopped down on the ground, opposite of him, and stretched her arms. Then she shook her head.

"You are a bit weird, aren't you?" She stated. Before he could object or get offended, she continued.

"Since you are new to this place, I was given the task of informing you about various things about Las Noches when you just ran away."

Pushing himself a few inches further away from her, Ichigo just shrugged. He felt there was no need to apologize for something he couldn't have possibly known. When he remained silent, Nelliel clearly took it as a sign and opened her mouth again.

"The one thing you should know is the hierarchy of Las Noches residents. There is Aizen-san, Ichimaru-san and Tōsen-san. They act as the leaders. After them, there are Espada. They are ten in total and their respective number represents their strength. The lower the number, the greater the power… what's wrong?"

Pale as death, Ichigo stared at Nelliel in absolute shock with his eyes bugged out. Palms of his hands instantly turned moist from sweat and he felt his throat drying up. What he just heard was absurd and he had difficulty comprehending the implications.

'Ulq… that bastard. He's number four. That means he's just the fourth strongest? And he still wiped the floor with me like I was a rug. No, even worse.' He mentally rambled. Outwardly, he only managed to whisper.

"Son of a…"

He noticed Nelliel looking at him strangely and so he quickly gulped and tried to get a hold on himself. The truth shook him but there was no point in dwelling on it. The only thing he could do was to train and train until even Ulquiorra seemed like a pebble on a road.

"Sorry, continue."

Nelliel quietly hummed but didn't seem that much interested in his thoughts, so she continued her explanation.

"As I said, Espada. After them, there are two groups that are more or less equal in terms of hierarchy, although not quite in terms of power. One group is called Fracción and they are subordinates of Espada. Each Espada has a right to have a Fracción but also a right to not have one. Most of them do but it's practically just a preference. For example, Segunda Espada's Fracción consists of six members, while Séptima Espada has no Fracción at all." There, she paused and waited for Ichigo to nod as a sign he understood. He did and so she continued.

"An Espada may be demoted either when he loses strength or ceases to be useful and, in most cases, they are demoted to the Privaron Espada. A Privaron Espada is still a powerful Arrancar, only outclassed by the members of Espada." Nelliel paused again but this time because of Ichigo's frown.

"What is an Arrancar? I don't think I heard this term before."

Blinking rapidly, it took Nelliel a few seconds to speak again.

"Oh, I see. I thought... alright. Normally, Arrancar are a group of Hollows that gained similar powers to that of a Shinigami by removing their masks. In doing so, they receive a variable boost in power and reasoning. Every single resident of Las Noches is one. However, most of the Espada are Arrancars that Aizen-san created through means that are fairly unknown to me."

Ichigo felt his brain getting overwhelmed with the number of questions that immediately popped up in his mind and so he quickly raised one hand and outstretched it towards Nelliel to stop her. Thinking fast, he cut out the most important part and let other thoughts move to the back of his mind, where he could ignore them for the time being.

"Hollow who removed their masks and are strong. Got it."

Nelliel's eyebrows bent ever so slightly but she nodded and continued.

"The last group is Números. Most of them are average Arrancars and they are numbered from eleven to ninety-nine. An Espada can choose some of them and then they become their Fracción. Well, that's all for now, any questions?"

Busy getting over the fact that there were at least one ninety-nine hollows within the buildings where he now slept, Ichigo barely realized she asked him a question. It was only when she tried to tap him on the shoulder that he noticed.

"Ah, yea. So, Números and Espada are both ranked and numbered, what about Privaron Espada?"

Nelliel slightly shook her head.

"Only Espada are ranked through their numbers. Números are given their number in order of their birth as Arrancars. Also, yes, I completely forgot to mention it. We are also given numbers that go from one hundred up."

Ichigo tilted his head and looked at her with some confusion in his eyes.

"We?"

Nelliel's eyes opened wide.

"Right, I forgot to say. I am also a Privaron Espada. My number… is not important."

Ichigo stared at her quite intensely as another set of questions popped up in his mind, one more pressing than the other. However, it seemed being a Privaron Espada was not a subject Nelliel wanted to discuss so he decided not to press and ask. Then he realized that her being a Privaron meant that, at one point in time, she was an Espada.

'Strange, I don't feel a particularly strong reiatsu from her. Maybe she's just good at handling it, though. Well, better than me at least.' He thought and nodded shortly.

"Well, I have no other questions so… thank you?" He said and looked at her in a way which suggested he was expecting her to leave. However, Nelliel either didn't notice it or chose not to. Simply leaning backwards, she remained sitting opposite of him and stared at the bright, blue sky.

For some reason, Ichigo felt like he didn't want to be rude, but the thirst for training got the better of him.

"If, if you don't mind, I'd like to train for a bit." He stated and saw her lower her gaze from the sky to his face. She appeared to be baffled.

"Go on."

"Alone."

Her eyebrows shot high.

"Oh."

She slowly straightened her back but didn't stand up as Ichigo expected her to, what caused him to frown. She shrugged.

"I heard that you have the potential to get very strong. I'm interested."

Ichigo clenched his jaw and lowered his upper eyelids in an irritated manner. Seeing that, Nelliel formed something similar to a smile. She waited until he was done rolling his eyes and pointed at herself.

"Besides, I could help you train. It's been some time since I could spar with somebody. Most of these folks refuse to do so."

Dissolving his previous expression, Ichigo looked at her with studying gaze. He tried to ignore the discomfort at seeing her shape and instead focused on seeing her with every other sense besides his sight. A stray thought formed in his brain.

'I may very well just accept. Zangetsu's not talking to me and there is no way in hell I can train anything related to my Quincy side while in here. Also, I don't have any books on Kido, so that's out of the question as well. Besides, she used to be an Espada, so she's probably stronger than me. Yeah, what's the worst thing that could happen.'

He gave her a nod.

"Fine."

…

It took Ichigo barely half an hour to find out just what exactly could go wrong after accepting Nelliel's offer to spar. At first, it all began quite innocent. The two of them just exchanged some light blows, with each blow getting either parried, blocked or evaded. They both tried each other's battle in what seemed to be a friendly bicker. However, as time progressed, Nelliel began to press more and more, until Ichigo felt like it was no longer just a light training.

He cut.

He sliced.

He slashed.

He ducked.

He jumped.

He flashed.

He cut yet again.

Nothing seemed to penetrate an iron-like defense of the female Arrancar. On the other hand, Nelliel returned the favor with different results.

He was cut.

He was sliced.

He was slashed.

No matter what he tried, Ichigo knew he was way over his head. Reiatsu pouring from both of them held the same power, yet the difference in overall power was anything but equal. Only few times he got close to actually hitting her but she always managed to escape from his reach at the very last moment.

At first, Ichigo felt good about the spar but with the passing time, that good feeling changed and turned into something twisted, something vile. She was beating him soundly and she barely broke a sweat. It was mind-numbing. Humiliating. Irritating. Infuriating.

But also humbling and purifying.

In his anger, he was just barely aware of the good points. His focus on the bad clouded his mind, weakened his judgement. With each new cut on his body and with each new droplet of his blood spilled, he fought less like a Shinigami and more like a hollow.

There was still a reason within him. There was still a heart within him. But the instinct of the beast overshadowed both with an overwhelming dominance.

Still, he remained sane and did not let his inner animal completely take over him. A small thing, a tiny fact engraved all over his reasonable part of the brain kept him lucid.

It was just a spar and he was using only his base zanpakuto.

Breathing heavily, he put most of his remaining strength into the last strike, and when Nelliel came at him from a spin, he ignored her blade and slashed at her as hard as he could. He felt a cold steel gnawing at his chest but, to his surprise, he also saw his zanpakuto cutting through Nelliel's unguarded shoulder. The fabric of her attire gave up immediately and, after a brief struggle, so did her iron-like skin.

A bit of blood spurted from her body.

"I give up." Ichigo stated loudly and immediately hopped backwards. It seemed like he wasn't the only one keen on ending the spar, as Nelliel did the same. With her free hand, she reached for the cut on her shoulder and let her fingers dip into the freely flowing tiny river of blood. She brought her bloody hand before her eyes.

"He was right."

Since his wounds weren't exactly serious, Ichigo slowly plopped on the ground and let his regeneration do its work.

"Excuse me?"

As if distracted, Nelliel quickly lowered her hand and looked at him in a way that baffled him even further. There was a certain emotion in her eyes and even though Ichigo didn't really want to believe it, he had to allow the possibility of him guessing it right.

It was a look of approval.

"Aizen-san. He was right about you having a great potential."

Ichigo stared at her for a full minute before throwing his head backward and breaking into a wheezy chortle of amusement.

"Bwahaha. Are you kidding me? You completely destroyed me without even trying."

He laughed till there were tears forming in the corners of his eyes. He was still chuckling when he looked back at the female Arrancar, only to find her staring at him in absolute seriousness. Curious, he formed an amused frown.

"What?"

"I'm not joking, Kurosaki Ichigo. And by the end of our spar, I was not going easy on you. From the beginning to the end, I could see and feel you improving. You steadily changed the flow of your attacks to adjust to my style. Slightly correcting the rhythm of your breathing, you began to keep up with my movements. And, without even knowing the thickness or strength of my Hierro, you correctly gauged just how much power you needed to cut through it. I'm… honestly, I'm baffled. I've never seen anyone improve so much over such little time. It's like you're a sponge, just soaking up every single detail of the battle without even knowing it." She said lengthily and left Ichigo staring at her with stunned expression.

He was expecting anything but certainly not such good-natured compliments. It took him by surprise and caused the part of his brain responsible for speaking to turn itself off. He could hear his inner spirit saying something witty but he paid it no mind. With his lower jaw hanging loose, he continued to stare at her for what seemed to be hours.

"It was just a fluke… I got lucky." He muttered and his eyes darted in every direction, while one of his hands shot towards his head and scratched it. It had been a long time but Ichigo felt embarrassed. Taking pity on him, Nelliel formed a small smile.

"Be that as it may, you did better than I expected."

Without warning, a large spiritual pressure crashed on Ichigo's shoulders and caused him to widen his eyes in alarm. Instantly abandoning his unease from Nelliel's compliments, he quickly scanned his surroundings. With slightly narrowed eyes, he located the origin of the reiatsu and bit the inside of his mouth.

'Espada number five.'

"He did better than expected? It's you who did worse than expected, Nelliel!"

There, in a short distance away from them stood Nnoitra, the Quinto Espada, with his teeth bared and his face twisted in a derisive and arrogant sneer. The reiatsu pouring out of him was visible to the naked eye and Ichigo took note that it was yellow in color.

Ichigo glanced at Nelliel, who seemed unaffected by the pressure, as she returned Nnoitra's look with a bored glance.

"As always, you act like a beast and not like an intelligent person, Nnoitra. Whatever you want, take it and leave." She said loudly.

However, Nnoitra seemed to ignore her words and took a few steps towards her. With a menacing look in his eyes, his hand moved towards the hilt of his sword but before he could grab it, Nelliel released a pulse of her own reiatsu. Ichigo quickly noted it was almost equal to Nnoitra's.

"Are you going to go against Aizen-san's orders, Nnoitra? The two of us are prohibited from fighting ever again and no matter what you say or how much you try and taunt me, I will not break that order."

Nnoitra's expression dried up and turned sour. Unwillingly, he stopped moving his hand and let it hang loose. Then he hit her with a piercing glare.

"Do not think you are safe for even a second, Nelliel. Just because you were given a second chance at being here, do not forget the scar on your mask. I can give you another one and nobody could stop me. Not even Aizen."

Staring at Nelliel from behind her, Ichigo's eyes bugged out when he heard that. He was sure Nnoitra couldn't beat Aizen even in his wildest dreams but that wasn't the part he took note of.

'Privaron Espada can be demoted after losing power to be in Espada. Is he the one who caused it?'

Nnoitra's words clearly struck something and Ichigo noticed Nelliel's hands forming fists. She didn't move and gave no indication of having any desire to fight, yet he could feel the emotions pouring out of her.

"Really? Last time, you needed a help from another. You can't do anything alone, Nnoitra and do you know why? Because you are just an animal. A beast that is kept together only with its instinct for killing and destruction. Somebody like you can never beat me alone."

From the distance, Ichigo wasn't sure whether he saw right or wrong, but he got the impression Nnoitra's brow twitched in anger. The Espada formed a seething grimace and his tongue came out from his mouth, a yellow energy gathering at its tip.

"There is no place for a woman on the battlefield. Especially not for you, Nelliel! Eat this!"

Hurriedly getting back on his feet, Ichigo watched in horror as a large blast of hollow energy shot from Nnoitra's mouth in form of a powerful Cero. To his shock, Nelliel didn't move an inch and seemingly just waited for the attack to strike her right in the face. He opened his mouth to yell at her but then she opened her mouth and swallowed the whole Cero like he always swallowed Yuzu's dinner.

After a brief pause, Nelliel opened her mouth and returned the same Cero, though clearly enhanced, to its owner. Surprised by this development, Nnoitra barely evaded the powerful blast as it roared past him until it exploded in a sand dune, far away from their location.

Ichigo could see the staring match between the two Arrancars and waited for their next move. However, both Nelliel and Nnoitra turned away from each other, marking the end of the short dispute with a loud silence.

'Well, that was interesting.'

End of Chapter 33.

Well then, yet another chapter done.

Truthfully, I'm almost sure some of you will say: "hey, how come Nel is an adult?"

The decision to turn Nel adult and not leave her as a child has been made many months ago and suggested at the end of Chapter 25: Oblivion. I'm mentioning this in case somebody would wand to... you know... accuse me of not planning things, heh.

Aside from that, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and are looking forward to the next one.

Now, to reviews:

MugetsuIchigo - like I said in the last chapter: shhh.

The Last Kenpachi - I thought about it for a full minute but rejected the idea.

EVA-Saiyajin - oh, you have no idea how glad I'm to see somebody write that. I was afraid I wasn't showing it well enough.

Coyn1206 - oh boy, I feel the pressure already. I hope I won't completely disappoint.

Zionchar11 - into the rabbit hole ^-^

howmanyisthat - I usually don't respond to reviews for older chapter in AN of new one but I digress, cause I want to say I'm sad you think so. I wasn't exactly omitting details, I just wanted readers to put the pieces by themselves. I'm sorry it didn't work out as well as I intended. Ichigo's emotions being a mess may have been mentioned too much, I don't disagree there. The whole sequence you mentioned - well, it seems I didn't properly convey my intentions there. Sorry. I do hope you'll return once the story is finished, though.

Dinner - no need to apologize. And yes. Indeed it did.

Guest, Lord Wolfe, Aburg76 - thank you.

That's all for now. A fairly good amount of important information is coming your way on the next chapter :

Chapter 34: Tools to reach the Heavens (A stepping stone) - will be posted 1st/2nd March!