Yo everybody! I have to say this is the fastest chapter I've ever written. Enjoy.
Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach or Gundam Seed. It's not becoming a crossover, I'm just using three characters from it.
Chapter Sixteen
Security Room
Los Noches
Gin Ichimaru sat at one of the consoles, playing the hallways. He had been keeping an eye on how the intruders progress. The intruders had, unsurprisingly, done quite well. Kurosaki and the quincy had both just beaten two of the Privaron Espada. Rukia was currently fighting Aaroniero while the other human was battling a third Privaron Espada.
"Hmm...It looks like Renji hasn't had any fun yet. Let's see how you fair against Szayel." Gin said as he moved the necessary hallways.
Gin noted that Mizuiro was closing in on the quincy while Keigo seemed to be heading toward the area the other human was in. So he decided not to move the hallways in that area. Ichigo on the other hand, was heading towards Ulquiorra's Domain, where Orihime was.
"That won't do." Gin said to himself as he started altering where Ichigo was heading. "Why don't we see if Tatsuki can come through on what she said."
Elsewhere
Domain of the Sixth Espada
Tatsuki could feel Ichigo's spiritual pressure grow closer and closer. Which didn't make sense. Ichigo had been heading towards Ulquiorra's Domain, where Orihime was, a moment ago. But now he was heading towards her Domain. Someone was playing with the hallways. Likely Gin having some fun or perhaps Grimmjow hoping to have a chance to fight the two of them so he could regain his number. Either way it didn't matter to her.
"Someone's coming." Shani Andras, one of her Fraccion, said.
"Nice. Some action." Orga Sabnak, another of her Fraccion said, looking up from his book. "I wonder how strong they are."
"Doesn't matter how strong they are. We'll annihilate them." Clotho Buer, her final Fraccion said as he played his WonderSwan handheld video game.
Shani was sprawled out on a couch, his headphones on and lost in his own world. His shoulder length, pale green hair covered the left half of his face. Covering both his mask fragment and his mismatched golden eye. His mask fragment consisted of a small piece surrounding is left eye with a small line running from his eye to halfway down his cheek. His other eye was purple. He wore the standard white sandals and the black sash and socks. Instead of a hakama, he wore baggy white pants with ripped knees. His coat was similar to her's, save it had normal shelves, a collar, and it didn't expose any part of his chest. Also the ends of the shelves and the coat itself, had a torn and ragged edges. His zanpaku-to, a large scythe, rested on the side of the couch.
Orga sitting in a chair, reading a paperback book. He had slicked back, olive green hair and blueish-green eyes. His mask was a line of short spikes, angled back, running from the center of the top of his forehead and down the back of his head. Like Shani, he wore the standard sandals, sash, and socks as well as the standard hakama. He wore a white long sleeve shirt and a sleeveless arrancar coat which he wore like a vest. His zanpaku-to was a pair of blue, angular shields with razor sharp edges, which allowed Orga to use them both as a shield and weapon. Normally, they were strapped to his back, but at the moment, they were resting on the side of the chair.
The ever argumentative Clotho, was sitting a chair as he played his game. He had blue eyes and short, bright red hair. His mask fragments consisted of a boney ridge on each cheek and under his chin. He too, wore the standard white sandals and hakama, the black socks and sash. He wore a standard arrancar coat with an open collar. His zanpaku-to was a heavy, spiked ball with a black handle which was clipped to a small metal loop on his sash.
Tatsuki had hand pick these three arrancar to be her Fraccion. Shani, Clotho and Orga had all been early experiments of Aizen's when he started using the Hogyoku. As a result of those experiments, all three were at least a little crazy, if not completely psychotic. It wasn't uncommon for the three of them to wildly attack anyone or anything in the middle of a battle. Even each other. Actually, they frequently attacked each other in the middle of a battle. As a result, most of the other arrancar considered them crazy and didn't want anything to do with them.
In fact, it was their mental 'instability' that caused Aizen to keep them out of the ranks of the Numeros. Had he, then they would have been numbers eleven, twelve and thirteen. Aizen had also kept them locked up most of the time. Letting them out only when he needed them which wasn't very often.
Tatsuki, however, didn't care. They were strong and that was good enough for her. And she happened to be one of the few people in Los Noches, outside of Aizen, that had some semblance of control over them. Particularly after she offered to free them from their cells permanently.
Tatsuki stood up from her chair. "This one is mine."
"Aw...C'mon boss." Clotho complained. "Let us kill them."
"No. The one that is approaching is Kurosaki. He's mine and mine alone. Though, if he bores me, you three can finish him."
Shani and Orga nodded. Clotho growled. "Fine."
"Good. Now I'm going to go and greet our guest. You guys wanna come?"
Elsewhere
Mizuiro had discovered Uryu's handiwork. That wretched quincy had the gull strip Cirucci of her soul chain and soul sleep and then leave her alive. Robbing her, not just of her powers, but her purpose and her existence.
He knelt next to Cirucci. He had rather liked her. Not as much as say Halibel and her Fraccion. But she was one of people in Hueco Mundo, he had grown to like. And now that quincy had stripped of everything but her life and called it a mercy. It sicken him.
Cirucci slowly opened her eyes. "Mizuiro..." Cirucci weakly said. "That human...he..."
"I know. I promise, I will give you the mercy that the quincy refused to give you and I will make him pay."
Mizuiro stood up and drew his sword and raised it. Cirucci nodded her head. "Thank you Mizuiro." she said before closing her eyes.
Mizuiro brought his sword down.
A minute later, he was off, chasing after Uryu. He would show the quincy the error of his ways. Then he would kill him.
Elsewhere
Ichigo ran through the corridors of Los Noches, Nell in hand, Zangetsu in the other. Dordonii's words still on his mind.
Dorodonii laid beaten on the floor, most of his wounds healed by Nell's saliva.
"Beaten again." Dorodonii said. "First those three, now you, nino. It seems I was never meant to be an Espada again."
"Those three?" Ichigo asked.
Dordonii weakly chuckled. "A few weeks ago, Aizen-sama offered myself and two other Privaron Espada, a chance to rejoin the Espada. All we had to do was beat three new arrancar. There names were Mizuiro Kojima, Keigo Asano, and Tatsuki Arisawa."
Ichigo's eyes widened. "You fought against them?"
"Yes. We fought them with everything we had and we were winning...until they released their zanpaku-tos. They beat us, much like you beat me. And they've only gotten stronger since. Which isn't surprising considering one of them is now an Espada."
Ichigo's heart skipped a beat and his eyes widened even further. "What?"
"Arisawa became the Sixth Espada after she beat Grimmjow for it."
Tatsuki was now an Espada. What's more, she had beaten Grimmjow for it. Whom he had at best, fought to a draw. Though he probably could beat him if his mask lasted longer than eleven seconds. Tatsuki was right, he really should have trained harder on keeping his mask intact for a longer period of time.
Again he found himself worrying about Rukia, Chad, Renji and Uryu. Tatsuki, Keigo and Mizuiro were all suppose to be at about the same level. Ichigo knew he could fight on their level for a time at least, but the others...
His thoughts were interrupted when he felt Rukia's spiritual pressure take a nosedive. Ichigo stopped dead in his tracks. Had Rukia died?
A quick double check confirmed that Rukia hadn't died but was currently weak. Fortunately, he couldn't sense any foreign spiritual pressure near her. She had beaten who ever she was fighting and was likely recovering right now.
"What ith it Ichigo?" Nell asked.
"Nothing. Don't worry about it."
Ichigo resumed running down the corridor until he reached the next chamber.
It was a large room, with large pillars lining the walls. Directly in front of him was a staircase that lead to another door. The room was dimly lit. In fact, most of the light was coming from the two doorways.
"So, you've finally arrived. And here I was thinking that you die before you got here Ichigo." a voice called out.
Ichigo instantly knew who it was.
"Tatsuki." he said as he set Nell down.
Tatsuki appeared at the top of the steps, grinning, along with a trio of arrancar he had never seen before. "Welcome Ichigo, to the Domain of the Sixth Espada. My Domain. And these are my Fraccion. Shani, Orga, and Clotho. Oh, by the way, Rukia is dead."
"No she isn't" Ichigo said. "I felt her spiritual pressure drop but she's still alive."
"Well not for long anyway." Tatsuki replied. "She managed to kill the Ninth Espada but not before he managed to impale her. I doubt she'll survive another ten minutes."
Ichigo's eyes widened in shock. He had to save her. Ichigo turned around and was about to head back the way he came when Tatsuki spoke again, "What'd think you're doing Ichigo?"
"I don't have time at the moment to fight you or your buddies, Tatsuki." he replied.
"And you think that way is the way to go." Tatsuki said. "It isn't Ichigo. They only way to save Rukia, to rescue Orihime, is this way. Through me."
Tatsuki snapped her fingers and the doorway sealed shut.
"It seems that I have no other choice but to fight you Tatsuki." Ichigo said as he turned around.
"Good. I have to admit, before I simply wanted to beat you to prove to you and everybody else just how strong I've become."
"I never thought of you as weak, Tatsuki." Ichigo said, interrupting her.
"LAIR!!" she shouted. "You, and all the others, thought I was weak, helpless, pitiful. That's why you hid everything from us! Why you lied to us! But now I'm stronger than you. And I will destroy you. Not because you thought me weak. Not because you lied to me. But because of what you are! An abomination to everything that I am!"
Ichigo was taken back by what Tatsuki had said. He wanted to try to reason with her, to try to explain his actions to her. To try to reach any of the humanity still inside her. But it was clear that there was no other option but to fight.
"Hey boss, can we play that little thing?" Orga asked.
Ichigo moved in front of Nell, to protect her from any threat.
"I wouldn't waste my time on that little thing. She actually looks weaker than Orihime."
"Nell, get back." he said.
The pint-sized arrancar nervously glanced at Tatsuki and her Fraccion than Ichigo. "Be careful Ichigo." she said as hid behind one of the pillars.
"I will."
"Aw...Is Ichigo's little friend worried about him?" Tatsuki mocked as she walked down the stairs. "Don't worry. Ichigo's death will be relatively painless. And I plan to preserve his body and mount it in my Domain, so you can visit him anytime you want."
Ichigo shuddered at Tatsuki's grisly comment.
"Did I scare you Ichigo?" Tatsuki said as she reached the floor. "You should be scared Ichigo. I meant every word of it."
Ichigo raised Zangetsu and flash-stepped behind Tatsuki. But Tatsuki kept up with him, she grabbed his sword arm and threw him across the room and sonidoed. Ichigo got back up to his feet, only to feel Tatsuki's knee connect with his stomach.
Ichigo lurched forward and coughed up some blood. Then a fist impacted his face, sending him staggering backwards.
Ichigo knew what he had to do to beat her. He raised his left hand over face, preparing to summon his hollow mask.
Tatsuki smirked and drew her own sword. "Yes. Put that ugly face on. So I can rip it off!"
Ichigo brought his hand down, summoning his mask while Tatsuki swung her sword at him, but Ichigo parried the blow and sliced horizontally across her chest.
Ichigo struck again but Tatsuki blocked it and kicked him in the chest. Ichigo staggered back.
"Getsuga Tenshou!" Ichigo shouted as he swung his sword.
Tatsuki attempted to block the wave of black energy that surged towards her. The wave struck Tatsuki and exploded. Before the smoke even cleared, a cero shot out towards Ichigo. Though Ichigo blocked the cero with Zangetsu, the force of the cero's impact sent him flying backwards into the wall.
When the smoke cleared, Ichigo was standing, his mask was intact and aside from a few minor burns on his hands and his coat, he was fine. Tatsuki was still standing, there were burn marks along her jacket and her hands, forearms, and her abdomen.
The two warriors glanced at each other for an instance before the two flash-stepped/sonidoed and struck. They swung again and again at each other. Blade struck blade, blade struck flesh. Numerous cuts spread across their bodies as time slowed to a crawl, but neither warrior cared. All that mattered was the battle and winning.
Crack...crack...crack...CRACK!
Most of Ichigo's mask shattered, breaking their focus. The entire right side of the crumbled, leaving the majority of the left side intact. A feral grin spread across Tatsuki's face. "Looks like your time is up Ichigo. Now, DIE!!"
Tatsuki swung her sword downward, intending to slice Ichigo in half. Ichigo raised Zangetsu to block the attack and to Tatsuki's surprise, he managed to stop the blade a few inches from his head.
"What?!" Tatsuki shouted in disbelief. "How?! Your mask is gone! How can you have the strength to block this attack?!"
"My mask isn't entirely gone." Ichigo said.
Ichigo knew his mask wasn't gonna last much longer. But hopefully, it would last long enough for Ichigo to beat her.
Ichigo pushed her back and pulled Zangetsu back. He gathered as much reiatsu as he could. Black flames swirled around the length of Zangetsu. "GETSUGA TENSHOU!!"
Ichigo swung Zangetsu, releasing a massive wave of black flames as he felt the remaining part of her mask crumble. Tatsuki's eye widened in shock as she raised her arms to block the attack. The wave hit her dead on and exploded, leaving a smoke filled crater.
"Boss!" Orga yelled. "No way!"
Clotho growled. "You're gonna pay!!"
"Yes he will, Clotho." Tatsuki said as the smoke started to clear.
Tatsuki looked like she was in rough shape. There were a number of cuts and burns on her skin. The right sleeve of her coat was gone while there was only a little bit left of the left sleeve. Her coat no longer extended past the top of her hollow hole. There were tears and burns all over her coat and hakama. Ichigo was surprised that she was still standing with all that damage. All she said was, "My turn."
Tatsuki sonidoed and reappeared right in front of him and swung her sword at him. Ichigo raised Zangetsu to block, but the force of Tatsuki's swing was so great that it knocked his sword out of his hands before tearing across his chest. Ichigo staggered back while Tatsuki sheathed her sword and grabbed him like a piece of luggage. Tatsuki then started running towards one of the rows of pillars. She drove Ichigo headfirst through the pillars, shattering all of them in two. Then tossed him across the room.
Ichigo struggled to get to his feet. His head was spinning. Blood was dripping down his face. He managed to get onto his hands and knees but couldn't get any further. He heard Nell scream his name.
Ichigo looked up at Nell, who was running towards him. Suddenly, Tatsuki appeared in front of her. Tatsuki grabbed Nell with one hand and lifted her up to her face.
"Now what is a little arrancar like you, doing with Aizen-sama's enemies?" Tatsuki asked.
"Ichigo'th my friend." Nell said as bravely as she could.
"Friend huh? Well then, that means you're a traitor to Aizen-sama. And traitors deserve only death." Tatsuki said as she raised her free hand up to Nell's face.
"Nell!" Ichigo shouted as he climbed to his feet. "Let her go Tatsuki!"
Tatsuki looked over her shoulder at him. "So you're still able to get up and fight Ichigo. I have to give you credit Ichigo. You're..."
Tatsuki stopped talking as her eyes widened. She then looked to her left for a moment. "Impossible! Orihime's on the move! Someone has freed her!"
Ichigo was surprised at Tatsuki's announcement. He could sense Chad still fighting, while Renji and Uryu were moving deeper into Los Noches and Rukia was still out of commission. So who had freed Orihime? And where was she for that matter?
"Shani, Clotho, Orga, she's still in Ulquiorra's Domain! Go there, find her, kill the person who freed her and bring her here! I'll join you once I finish with Ichigo! Remember, Aizen-sama has ordered us not to harm Orihime unless in self-defense."
"But we can do what ever we want to the one who took her, right?" Shani asked.
"You got it."
The three grinned and sonidoed away.
"Here Ichigo." Tatsuki said as she grabbed and tossed Zangetsu at him. "Let's finish this."
Ichigo caught Zangetsu. "Let Nell go Tatsuki."
"As you wish." she said before tossing Nell at him.
The second he caught her, Tatsuki charged at them, her sword drawn. Ichigo barely managed to dive out of the way. Tatsuki tore through the wall behind them and landed on the desert floor outside of her Domain.
Ichigo set Nell down and headed towards the hole in the wall.
""Wait! Don't go Ichigo!" Nell shouted.
"I have to. Tatsuki was my friend before Aizen turned her into that monster."
Ichigo leapt through the hole. When he hit the ground, he looked at Tatsuki. Tatsuki looked back. Both of them were bleeding and battered. Both knew they only had enough strength for one last attack.
Both warriors roared as they started to run at each other.
They struck.
Ichigo and Tatsuki stood there, facing each other, for moment.
"Dammit..." Ichigo groaned before falling lifelessly to the ground.
"A draw..." Tatsuki coughed up some blood. "I hate draws..."
Tatsuki fell to the ground as well.
Both laid lifelessly on the ground. Tatsuki's blade was impaling Ichigo's chest while Zangetsu was going through Tatsuki's chest.
"Ichigo! Ichigo!!" Nell shouted as tears started to roll down her face.
Elsewhere
Grimmjow forced Orihime down the seemingly endless corridors. Where they going, Orihime didn't know. Why Grimmjow had taken her, for that matter, was equally unknown to her.
She could feel Ichigo and Tatsuki fighting again.
She suddenly felt both Tatsuki's and Ichigo's spiritual pressures drop to almost drop to almost nothing. She stopped immediately. "Ichigo...Tatsuki..." she quietly said as her eyes began to water.
"Keep moving." Grimmjow growled as he pushed her forward. "Damn Kurosaki. Damn Arisawa. You two better not die before I get to kill you."
Elsewhere
Chad looked up form the fallen Gantenbainne. He had just felt Ichigo reiatsu almost entirely disappear.
"Hang on Ichigo." he said as he started running towards where Ichigo was before he spiritual pressure almost entirely disappeared.
Nearby
Keigo was shocked when he felt Tatsuki spiritual pressure drop to near nothing. It was Ichigo, he knew that much. He was the only one out of the intruders that could possibly beat them.
Though ultimately he wasn't worried. Her Fraccion would see to it that Tatsuki would get medical attention right away. After all, if something happened to Tatsuki, then Aizen would likely lock those nutjobs back up in their cells.
Why Tatsuki made those three lunatics her Fraccion was beyond him. But it was her choice. When he would become an Espada, his Fraccion would be a bunch of hotties.
Keigo grinned at the thought. Aaroniero was dead, which meant that there was an opening on the Espada. Perhaps if he brought Aizen Chad's head and mismatched arms, Aizen would promote him.
'Well Chad, it looks like today is your unlucky day.'
Keigo sonidoed in front of Chad. "Hey Chad!" he greeted. "Where're yah going?"
That's all for now.
Why I chose the Druggies (a nickname for Shani, Orga, and Clotho) as Tatsuki's Fraccion? Well, originally I didn't plan on having Fraccion for Tatsuki but when I started writing this chapter, I thought that maybe I should give her a few. And I happened to be watching an episode of Gundam Seed, when the idea popped into my head to use those three as her Fraccion. So I decided to use them. You'll be seeing more of them in later chapters.
Review!