Now, I answer two questions. What is the power of Izanami, and what happened to Grimmjow?

Chapter 10

Into the Fog

"Can someone provide me with a decent challenge?" Grimmjow roared.

As the last remaining Espada in Hueco Mundo, Grimmjow hungered for someone to fight.

A group of Hollows charged for him, intent on devouring him, but Grimmjow easily dispatched them with his zanpakuto.

Sighing, Grimmjow stabbed Pantera into the sand and dropped to a seat.

"You look bored, Grimmjow," a familiar smooth voice said from behind him.

Grimmjow whirled to his feet, sword in hand. Then his eyes went wide.

Standing behind him was Sosuke Aizen. Only it wasn't Aizen as he remembered him. "What are..."

"That is not important, Grimmjow. What is important is, will you serve me again?"

Grimmjow snarled, his eyes narrowing. "Serve you, again?" His grip tightened on his sword. "I'll die before I serve you again!"

Aizen sighed, his face with a shadow of regret. "I hoped this would be easy. But I have no option."

Grimmjow watched as Aizen drew his zanpakuto. "But that's not Kyoka Suigetsu."

"No. This is my new power. Now, be lost in the fog, Izanami."

Grimmjow braced himself for Aizen's attack, but nothing seemed to happen. Then, he noticed the fog. Spreading from the sword, this thick fog swirled across the sand, and surrounded him.

"Where are you attacking from, Aizen? This is a cheap trick, even for you."

"Aizen isn't in here, Grimmjow. There's only us."

Grimmjow turned to see someone hidden in the fog. "Who are you?"

The figure stepped forward. "Who am I? What a stupid question." With a shock, Grimmjow saw that the figure looked exactly like him. "I am you."

The copy's yellow eyes looked into his blue ones. "I pretend to be a king, but I'm just a weakling. I surrounded myself with other weaklings to make myself feel more powerful."

Grimmjow staggered back at the words he heard. "No, that isn't true, dammit."

The copy smiled. "Of course it is. When a single, simple human challenged me, I threw away everything to prove how much stronger I was. But in the end, I'm just a weak fool who had to be saved by him."

"Shut up!" Grimmjow shouted. "That isn't true."

"Of course it's true. I know, because I am you."

Grimmjow brought up his sword. "No. You're not me!"

The copy started laughing. "That's right, because now I'm me!"

Snarling, Grimmjow wasn't going to take this. "Grind, Pantera!" With a flash, and plume of smoke, Grimmjow emerged in his resurreccion.

The copy slowly drew his own sword. "Shred, Pantera Negra." Darkness swirled from the sword, surrounding the copy. As it dispersed, there stood the copy in a dark version of Grimmjow's resurreccion. "I am a Shadow, the true self. And I will be the king."

Aizen looked at the fog that even he couldn't see through. If what Izanami had told him was true, something should be happening to Grimmjow at this moment.

Then, he heard loud voices, and the reiatsu of Grimmjow's resurreccion, along with another, similar feeling.

"It appears he denied it," Izanami said in Aizen's mind.

"Denied what?"

Izanami manifested in her transparent form, her white dress flowing in the wind, and her red eyes amused. "He has denied the truth of himself."

The two reiatsus in the fog clashed, and, with a flare, one of them faded.

"It is over," Izanami said.

Aizen sheathed his sword, and the fog dispersed. As it cleared, Aizen could see one figure standing over another.

The standing figure looked over to Aizen with his yellow eyes.

Aizen walked over to him. "So, you are the Shadow?"

He sneered at the form at his feet. "Not anymore. Now, I am Grimmjow Jeagerjaques." Then he kicked at the body, rolling it over to reveal Grimmjow's ravaged face. "And this, is nothing at all."

"And will you serve me, Grimmjow?"

Grimmjow went to his knee, bowing his head. "I serve the one who controls the fog. I will fight for you."

Aizen turned to Izanami's transparent form. "We have our third soldier. Now, it is time for us to announce ourselves."

"So it shall be," Izanami said, fading away.

Souji stretched and cracked his knuckles, pushing away from the desk. He'd finally finished with the paperwork he was helping Captain Ukitake finish, and his shoulders were stiff.

He left the office, and walked to the Captain's Quarters, knocking in case the captain was asleep.

"Come in."

Souji slowly opened the door, and saw the Ukitake's face was pale. "Sorry to disturb you, Captain." Ukitake waved his apology away. "I've finished with the paperwork you requested, and I wanted to know if you needed anything else done."

Ukitake shook his head. "There's nothing of importance. Take the afternoon off, and enjoy yourself."

Souji bowed. "Thank you, Captain. If you need anything, don't hesitate to call me."

"Of course," Ukitake said, then laid back down.

Souji slowly closed the door, and left the barracks, breathing deep.

With a flash, Souji went over to Squad Four, wanting to see Yukiko. As he arrived, he found Teddie sweeping up with a small shinigami with a long face.

"Hey, Sensei!" Teddie shouted, waving his broom.

"Hey Teddie," Souji said, waving back. "Have you seen Yukiko?"

"She was assisting Lieutenant Kotetsu, the last time I saw her." Then Teddie pointed to the person he was with. "Oh, Sensei. This is Hanataro Yamada. He's my new friend."

Souji held out a hand. "Nice to meet you, Hantaro."

Hanataro seemed shocked that Souji was addressing him directly. "Wha...Oh, nice to meet you, Lieutenant Seta," he said, taking Souji's hand.

Souji stepped back. "See you later, Teddie." Then he focused his sense, and honed in on Yukiko's and Isane's reiatsu. He flash stepped to them, and found Yukiko checking on patients. She looked up, and smiled when she saw him.

Lieutenant Kotetsu looked up, and nodded. "Go on, Yukiko. I can finish up myself."

Yukiko bowed. "Thank you, Lieutenant."

Souji and Yukiko walked out, and grasped hands. "So, how's being the lieutenant?"

"Mostly, paperwork. But I don't mind it. How about working in medical?"

Yukiko shrugged. "No difference to me. It was just as hard keeping all of us alive during the investigation."

Souji laughed. "True. We probably made it tough for you quite often."

The two embraced, and were about to kiss, when a resounding crack echoed around them.

Souji looked for the source, his hand on his sword. Then, he saw it.

On a large outcropping of rock with the remains of a wooden platform, a tear began to form in the sky.

"Come on," Souji said, grabbing Yukio's hand. He felt a massive energy forming at the outcropping. "We have to get you out of here."

Fear appeared on Yukiko's face. "What about you?"

Conviction was on Souji's face. "I have to see what's happening."

Yukiko pulled Souji to a stop. "Then I'm going with you."

Souji tried to argue, but the look on Yukiko's face told him it was pointless. "Let's go."

Naoto ran for the Sokyoku Hill, running after Captain Soi Fon and Lieutenant Omaeda. "What could that be?"

"I don't know," Soi Fon said. "But it can't be good."

As they rounded the corner, they met up with Captain Komamura, who was with Lieutenant Iba and Yosuke.

With a silent nod, the six of them sped for the hill.

"Souji!"

Souji and Yukiko stopped as Rukia and Captain Ukitake caught up to them. "Captain, do you know what's going on?"

"We'll find out when we get to the source, Souji. Now, hurry."

As the shinigami came together, they all gathered on Sokyoku Hill, and watched as the sky split.

From out of the tear came a man with brown hair and white robes. As he emerged, all of the shinigami took a collective breath.

"How can Aizen be here?" Rukia asked.

"That's Sosuke Aizen?" Souji asked, remembering what he'd been told about the traitor to the Soul Society.

Aizen stopped, and spread his arms. "Greeting shinigami, new and old alike. I have come to formally inform you that the Soul Society shall fall very soon."

"We stopped you once, Aizen," Renji Abari shouted.

A cold smile spread on Aizen's face. "Except, you no longer have Ichigo Kurosaki to fight for you. Without him, you cannot stop me."

Then his attention focused on the Investigation Team members. "So, these are the newcomers. I think you shall recognize my new lieutenants."

Aizen snapped his fingers, and two other rips appeared. Out of them walked two people.

One was a teenager with black, beady eyes and a gaunt face. The other was a younger man with dark hair and a wicked smile.

"It's Mitsuo Kubo!" Chie shouted.

"And Tohru Adachi as well," Naoto said calmly.

"Who are these two?" Yamamoto asked.

It was Souji who answered. "They were enemies of ours when we fought against Izanami."

Souji focused on Adachi. "I thought you had changed! You were the one who told us about Izanami!"

Adachi slowly drew his sword. "Indeed, I did. I was simply waiting for my moment to strike."

Then he whirled and put his sword to Aizen's throat. "I will not be a puppet again."

Aizen looked rather unconcerned about the blade on his throat. "Did you always intend this?"

"Yes, I did. After I kill you, and stop her once and for all, I'll give myself to them. As gods of death, this time they'll kill me, like they should have before."

"That's unfortunate. I hoped I would not have to do this the hard way."

A shadow separated itself from Aizen's rip, and shot foreword, slashing at Adachi. In that moment of distraction, Aizen placed a circle on Adachi's chest, which spread over him with tentacles. Adachi slumped, and the shadow took him away.

"Now that that is out of the way," Aizen said, as if nothing had actually happened, "I give you fair warning. Stay out of my way, or I will eliminate you all."

Backing away, Aizen spread his arms again. "I will deal with you eventually, of course. But that can wait. I give you my offer. Fight now, and die now, or hold back, and die later."

Aizen walked into his rip, followed by Kubo, and it slammed shut, leaving the shinigami in silence.

The new Grimmjow is what I call a Sombra(Spanish for Shadow). They will serve as my arrancars. If anyone has an idea for a Sombra, pm them to me, with a basic description, resurreccion, and bio(if you so choose).

Please read and review, and spare neither praise nor scorn.