Chapter 3: Westward Bound II: Chasing Dusk

"No... Fraccion?" Szayel Aporro Granz retorted and scratched the back of his head quizzically, "Didn't you say the Fraccion were supposed to fight with us? I don't think we Espada can do this by ourselves..."

"No worries," Tousen Kaname reassured, "We just don't want them to get in the way of the fight." They thirteen gunslingers stared off into the horizon; the sun cowering behind the structure of Karakura Town.

"What makes you think they'll get in the way of the fight?" Zommari questioned, although he himself did not have any Fraccion of his own.

"We can't afford too many casualties," Gin Ichimaru remarked, his grin spreading even wider, "And we don't want any friendly misfire, now do we?"

Starrk had never been without Lilynette for the five years since he had found her abandoned on the street, so he frowned down on the idea of leaving to fight and not coming back to her. But he did also fear watching her die in his arms.

Lilynette was the only Fraccion with the Espada, the rest being back at Las Noches, and she was itching to brawl. "Not fair! I wanna whoop some Karakura wannabe ass!"

Ever since they had lost Nel (Harribel as her replacement) and Luppi, Grimmjow somehow got his arm back-which still left the Arrancar in awe at how the Orihime Inoue girl did it (Inoue was saved by a few of her friends seven months ago)-, and failed to attack and destroy Karakura which resulted in the surviving Espada breaking apart and scattering across the west, everything seemed to be somewhat normal again.

And yet, despite what the Ten Espada had been through, six still remained. Starrk. Harribel. Barragan. Ulquiorra. Grimmjow. Nnoitra. Szayel Aporro.

Yammy had lost his life to a double gang-up from Byakuya Kuchiki and Kenpachi Zaraki. Byakuya had previously killed Zommari Leroux, and Nnoitra had almost been killed as well by Zaraki. Szayel has some problems with Renji, Mayuri Kurosutchi, and Uryu. Ulquiorra and Grimmjow were both critically injured by Ichigo-which was how he became sherriff: popular demand. Harribel was holding her own against Lisa Yadomaru, Toshiro Hitsugaya, and Hiyori Sarugaki (Who was promptly shot through the side and practically split in half by the force of the blow).

Aizen, of course, wasn't very happy after Starrk had been taken down by a four way gang-up from Juushiro Ukitake (Who was wounded by Wonderweiss Margera), Shunsui Kyoraku, Love Aigawa, and Rojuro Otoribashi.

So, Aizen took matters into his own hands and shot Harribel twice-once in the chest and once again in the shoulder when she fired back.

Barragan was almost killed by Soifon, Omaeda, and Hachigen Ushoda. Aaroniero Arrururie was killed by Rukia-but it was no surprise. Although he was the weakest of the Espada, he possessed impressive skills. But they weren't worth anything to Aizen.

"Harribel?" Starrk shook her awake at the break of dawn, just as the girls were starting to arouse as well, "You were muttering again. Come on, we need to go. The wolves howled earlier than usual, and I don't suspect anything good to come of that."

Red Star sat up and clawed at her crusty eyes, "Hn... Five more minutes..."

"Can't spare it," He retrieved her hat from the ground nearby, wiped it off, and placed it on her blonde head, "We need to hurry and make it to the canyon before the storm comes."

By storm Starrk met the occasional sandstorms or thunderstorms. Sandstorms were large twisters and sometimes even tornados that struck in the outskirts of the west. It was hard for travelers to roam from town to town because of the danger, but because the storms weren't often there wasn't a lot of commotion over it.

Lilynette shot up with a start. As soon as she did, a coyote howled. Starrk cast his gaze into the distance where the cloud where starting to darken. "It's going to rain..." Lilynette hated storms. They always pierced fear into her heart, and the coyotes weren't exactly fond of the rain, either.

"Starrk!" Lilynette cried, worry crossing her expression, "We hate thunder!" She always included the wolves. Rain was a good thing in the west, but it was rare, so Lilynette never really had any problems.

"I know," Starrk uttered and adjusted his hat, "We'd better hurry then."

The canyon loomed over them-casting the group in a chilling shadow. "Can't we just go around?" Lilynette asked, "This place is freaking me out enough as it is from just the outside." Peaches hoofed at the ground in agreement.

"Suck it up," Starrk scolded, "We can't afford to waste any more time going around. Unless you WANT to get trapped in the storm?" A shiver shot up his spine so suddenly he couldn't keep himself from shuddering, "...There's someone following us."

"I know," Harribel replied, "I asked him to follow us but keep a low profile. Didn't I mention that to you?"

"No, you actually didn't," Starrk growled and risked a glance over his shoulder.

Sure enough, on a bold black and gray stallion sat Ulquiorra Cifer. His piercing green eyes, messy black hair, and pale skin-the familiarity of the black and brown clothing he always preferred wearing... "Long time no see, Starrk."

"Ulquiorra!" Starrk exclaimed, "What brings you here? Besides Harribel's terms of agreement?"

"Harribel's terms of agreement?" Ulquiorra questioned, "I think you mean my terms of agreement. I'm the one who spread the word about Aizen's return," Murciélago began to fidget and Ulquiorra scratched his neck to keep him calm.

Starrk shot a quirky look at Harribel who just shrugged back, "What? I did ask him to follow us, though."

"Anyway," Ulquiorra hissed, "I'm going to go around the canyon so I can rendezvous with Barragan and his gang. I hope I can make pace before the storm catches up with me," He turned away from them, "I'll meet up with you guys back in Karakura in a few days. Stars; Los Lobos, I need you to convince Kurosaki about Aizen. Grimmjow and his group should arrive a few days earlier than me."

"With caution, "Night Wing"," Harribel said blandly, "You never know who's watching..."

Night Wing shot a cold glare back at her, "Tell me about it." And with that rode off with the wind.

"Anything else you mind telling me before we continue on?" Starrk forced a frown at Harribel, although he honestly wasn't that upset over the fact that she wasn't being entirely open with him.

"All I know is that Ulquiorra is trying to gather the Espada before he tells us everything about Aizen's plans," Harribel locked glares with him, "He's been following me because of you, Starrk. He knows Aizen wants something from you... But he can't figure out what."

"Why didn't you tell me this sooner?"

"Because then you would've said no to coming with me. We need you, Starrk, so I couldn't take any chances-" Starrk was already riding off, Casco kicking dust up behind him as he sped down the canyon, "-STARRK! WAIT! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?"

"What's wrong?" Apache exclaimed as Cierva the other horses began to stir with uneasy emotions.

"Catch him!" Harribel barked and chased after the Primera. Tiburon was a larger horse than Peaches and the Stars, so she could run with the breeze and easily catch up to the fleeing Casco-which she did. Racing alongside the gunslinger, she called over the roaring of the rushing wind, "WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING?"

He didn't respond but persuaded Casco to pick up speed-and Casco just happened to be a little larger than Tiburon so he gained the upper hand without breaking so much as a sweat.

"STARRK! COME ON! CUT IT OUT ALREADY!"

He ignored her and only pressed for a quicker pace. Harribel could hear Tiburon's panting, like a beating drum pounding against her chest. "Ride, Tiburon," Harribel whispered into her ear, "We need to catch up."

The slamming of hooves against the ground-that was gradually turning into solid red-purple rock to blend with the bluff. She was close behind him now...So close she could just reach out and touch the flapping tail of his horse... Starrk took a sharp turn and sped up the trail petruding from the face of the cliff.

Harribel stared up as he scaled higher, but the trail slowly drew to a close and only lead back down onto the path Harribel was currently tracking. There was a massive cave entrance nearby... and Starrk abruptly skid to a halt, Casco's hooves ripping up gravel and dirt.

The darkness loomed over the Primera and he dismounted his stallion. Harribel slowed to a trot, and finally a dead stand still. She jumped from her horse and both her hands were instantly balled up in his collar, "What the hell, Starrk?"

He remained just as silent as he was before; a smirk broke open his face, "We haven't done that in a while! I win! Again!"

"Starrk!" Harribel released her firm grasp on his shirt, "You asshole! You could've just said you wanted a race!" There were a few moments of laughter, the tension lifting from both of them-and the two horses-for a couple of seconds.

"Harribel," Starrk mentioned when their excitement died down, "I don't know what Aizen wants from me... But whatever it is, he isn't going to get it. And Bel, I'm not going to let him hurt you like that ever again."

Harribel could feel a dull pain burn in her chest and shoulder, but it was gone as soon as it had come, "Starrk... You still never answered my question: What happened to us?"

He scanned her frost-bitten emerald eyes, "Aizen's what happened."

"Shinji!" Hiyori delivered a lethal slap across his unsuspecting face with her sandal, "Quit daydreaming! Ichigo's holding a meeting for the Vizards in an hour!" Vizards: The Police Force of Karakura Town. They were a group of 9 including Ichigo, but Rukia and Renji were not part of the family. Their skills did not even come close to the gun wielding skills of the Vizards. They were legends across the west, but nightmares to most outlaws and bandits.

"OW!" Hirako rubbed his sore cheek, "Tone it down, will ya? I'm trying to work here!" He was still skimming over the reports from seven-tomorrow making eight-months ago, "Geez, I'll never get through all these reports by tomorrow!"

"Need me to take some over for you?" Lisa questioned as she stalked into the office, a stack of folders tucked under one arm, "I just finished my work so I guess I have some time until the meeting."

"What's this meeting for, anyway?" Kensei Muguruma was lounging in the corner of the room, his feet propped up on his desk top. He was fiddling with his rifle, "That kid is always coming up with something just to get us together."

"He enjoys our family time," Mashiro Kuna remarked, "Something that Kensei can't understand!"

"Shut the hell up!" He snapped, baring fangs, "You always get me involved in your stupid conversations!"

They were seeing who could stick their tongues out longest at each other. Hachi merely shook his head, undecided if he could believe in such a level of immaturity. "He said something about Espada," Hiyori stated, "But he didn't give me much information to go on."

"When did Love and Rose leave, speaking of information?" Kensei questioned, giving up to Mashiro's childish games. He lit the end of the cigar he had been chewing on before and inhaled a long drag. He despised smoking, but he knew it pissed Mashiro off to see him slowly kill his own lungs.

"Ten minutes ago, dumb ass," Mashiro hissed and folded her arms back against her chest. She turned around in her chair to face the wall and ignore him.

Her pale gray eyes, her exceedingly sadistic expression... Everything about her. I want to know more about her... Soifon. Wait... now that I think about it, why does that name sound so familiar?... Hm... Think... think harder... Soifon... Soifon...

"HOLY SHIT!" Ggio exclaimed and sat up, startling the rest of his gang and King, "Barragan-sama, I met Soifon!"

"That bitch?" King slammed his hand down on the same rock he was perched on, "When did you meet her?"

"Just yesterday!" He sprang to his feet and jumped onto a boulder to analyze the horizon. There was a single rider approaching from the distance, but Ggio knew it wasn't her. "Hey, King-sama; guys? I think I see Night Wing!"

"Ulquiorra..." Barragan muttered, "You had better know what you're doing."