Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach!
Rin'negan Naruto: No, that is one thing I can promise. Yammy will not be stronger then Ichigo and in this story there will be no such thing as a Zero Espada. I myself have found the entire concept ridiculous from the very beginning. In my story Yammy was just an above Adjuchas when he was turned into an Arrancar. He might rise or even fall in rank but he will never surpass those Espada that were previously Vasto Lordes.
Secondly yes, Ichigo will eventually get to learn a handful of the more powerful Kidou spells. That is the entire reason for his training in the Arts of Kidou to begin with.
Shigur3': I honestly appreciate the kind words. I try my hardest and it is very rewarding to read people actually enjoy that which I write.
Apart from that I don't mind adding once more that there will be no Zero Espada and thus Yammy will simply be the Décima and nothing more.
Kazekyuu: Well as far as I can see my Sixth Espada is also called the Sexta. So perhaps you misread on that one, either that or I misunderstood your question. About the other one, are you absolutely positive it is meant to be Quarta? I have to ask because the site I checked the rankings on actually did say Cuatro instead.
RyumaOmega: I have to admit and I am aware of his regenerative abilities however for reasons I don't even have I just haven't mentioned them ever since he was taken in by Aizen I believe. Thanks for the heads up. I will either edit it in into the last chapter or be sure to mention it in future chapters.
Ligerheart: Afraid I simply refuse to use Harribel for something as degrading as Fracción. Not that there's anything wrong with Fracción but considering the fact that I like the character of Harribel in canon a lot I won't use her for that. I do intend to use her later on in the story but for what I am still unsure.
I have to admit that I liked your suggestion for an Aspect for Ichigo. It is just that I already had that entire part written out when you reviewed that I didn't feel the need to weight them up against eachother anymore. In the end I am quite happy with the Aspect I've chosen as I do intend to turn Ichigo into a somewhat compasisonate person, even if he is an Arrancar and even if he will deny it for a long time to come.
As for Nel and the Aspect of Sacrifice. It could be a possibility indeed since Harribel is not even in the Espada currently and it might even be such a bad choice for her. I will certainly keep that in mind, thanks!
DarkJason: All very interesting questions but I am sorry to say I won't directly answer them. It might ruin some pleasant surprises. I will tell you however that atleast one of those scenarios will happen at one point or another.
Yonda: I'm glad you're enjoying it. As for Fracción, I am agreeing with you on that subject. As of now I have no intention to add any Fracción unless someone manages to convince me otherwise.
And yes I suppose I am writing at a fairly fast pace considering that I started this story like last Sunday or something. But I'm enjoying it and I always hated (and still hate) waiting for new chapters to come out! So I will do my best to keep them coming as fast as possible.
Chapter 5: Bittersweet Reunion.
It was minutes after his meeting and subsequent lesson with Aizen and Ichigo was sitting on the couch in the sitting room of Nel's living quarters. Upon entering, Pesche and Dondochakka had directed him to the couch while they went to get Nel. Surprisingly a mere twenty seconds later the both of them had come running out of the room they had entered in search of Nel wearing a frightened expression on their face. They were currently hiding behind the couch for reasons Ichigo did not know.
At the sound of the door Ichigo looked up to find Nel entering the room dressed in her Arrancar outfit, looking rather, sleepy? It was just past noon and Nel was just about coming out of bed. Yup, sounded just like her alright.
When Dondochakka and Pesche heard Nel enter the room they jumped out from behind the couch. During the next few seconds Ichigo probably saw the most bizarre thing he had ever seen during his short life as a Hollow and now Arrancar. Pesche and Dondochakka had both jumped out from behind the couch wearing makeshift bindfolds to cover their eyes. They crouched their way towards where Nel was located. How they knew she was there remained a mystery to Ichigo. As soon as they reached her they started muttering barely coherent words of apology to Nel, all the while kissing the top of her shoes.
Ichigo could only stare dumbfounded as he looked at Nel towering over her two Fracción with a...blush, on her face. Nel. Was. Blushing. When Ichigo took notice of this he burst out laughing instantly silencing the two Fracción who turned to look around. When they saw the normally collected Primera Espada laughing out loud they couldn't help but stare dumbfounded at him in return.
Nel meanwhile, turned to look at Ichigo as if he was from another planet, the same sleepy expression still etched onto her features. Was this her friend? The normally collected and fairly serious Primera Espada, Kurosaki Ichigo?
"Do I want to know what happened that caused you to blush Nel?" Ichigo asked, still chuckling after his laughter had died down.
Nel, deciding to take advantage of the situation decided to tease him a bit. Despite her earlier embarrasment she really didn't care much about what happened. Remember the apologetic and embarrassing looks of Pesche and Dondochakka she couldn't help but chuckle inwardly.
"Oh nothing much. Pesche and Dondochakka just thought they would come check me out in my underwear before I had to get dressed. It seems you missed out on the show, though if you ask me really nice I might repeat it just for you, Ichi." She told him with a wink and a seductive smile.
Pesche and Dondochakka in the meantime were horrified. Nel had just explained what had happened without doing so much as blinking even once. Even more so she had made it sound as if it were their intention. Both of them knew that the Primera and Nel shared a very close relationship even though it may look only strictly professional in public and even seemed rather reserved in private. No, they truly didn't want to know what Ichigo might do to them would he not be convinced of the fact that they were as innocent as it got in all this!
Ichigo meanwhile wasn't even thinking about punishing the duo. If one thing was obvious to him it was that Nel was trying to tease him by exaggerating. Nonetheless he felt his face heat up at the thought of her earlier suggestion. Realising she wouldn't let him live it down, ever, if she caught him blushing as well he quickly turned his face to the side in an attempt to hide the blush.
Nel however, wasn't stupid and quickly caught on to what he was trying to achieve. Stepping closer to him she leant forward to grab his face and turn it around. Upon seeing the blush on his face she burst out laughing instantly. She would bet anyone would be willing to pay a fortune to get a picture of his face that very moment. The usually seemingly stoic Primera Espada, Kurosaki Ichigo was blushing. The thought alone would make her chuckle and if it weren't for the fact that she was still just out of bed and rather sleepy she imagined she would be rolling on the floor laughing right now.
"Oh my god Ichi, you should see your face!" She exclaimed, laughing. "It looks so...so..." She paused unable to continue talking as her laughter increased by seeing the annoyed look on his face, all the while still blushing. The combination of annoyance and embarrasment looked so out of place on his face it was hilarious. "...so cute!" she cried out as she finally managed to get in a few words.
At this, the dam burst. "Cute?!" Ichigo cried out. "Let's get this straight, Neliel. I. Don't. Look. Cute." He shouted, an indignant expression etched onto his features which caused Nel to laugh even harder.
Pesche and Dondochakka in the meantime could only stare dumbfounded at the two Espada. Nel was all but rolling on the floor in laughter after having just accused the Primera to look cute. The thought alone was so absurd that it was actually funny. Ichigo meanwhile looked much like a lost puppy, expressions on his face rapidly coming and going and changing from one expression to another.
As Nel's laughter slowly died down she sat down on the couch and leaned into Ichigo causing him to blush again, the same sleepy expression somehow crept right back onto her face again. She turned to look at Ichigo only to notice him looking right back at her. After a couple of seconds of intense staring the corners of his mouth quirked up into a smirk. Nel instantly smirked right back at him. Seconds later however, her features returned back to their sleepy form.
"Tch. What were you doing sleeping so late anyway? I've been up for hours." Ichigo told her.
"Hmpf, I'm tired Ichi! And I'm cold!" Nel complained.
Ichigo was stunned. He realised Nel could be a bit childish at times and to be honest he did kind of like that about her. But right now she was taking the term childish to a completely different level. He chuckled softly which caused Nel to turn her face to his with hopeful eyes. That didn't bode well, Ichigo reasoned.
As soon as Ichigo finished that thought, Nel turned to lie down on the couch. She stretched her legs and unceremoniously dropped her head in Ichigo's lap almost causing him to jump up.
"N-Nel! What the-" Ichigo started but he stopped when Nel's arms slid around his waiste and she buried her face into his stomach.
"Jus' wanna sleep," she mumbled, rather incoherrently.
Pesche and Dondochakka at the time thought it best to retreat to their own quarters. Looking at Nel they were pretty sure she wasn't going to get up for a while. They knew all too well what she was like when she wanted something.
Ichigo in the meantime figured there was no peaceful way he was going to get out of her death grip. So he settled for just letting her lie down for a while. It wasn't as if Aizen had given them a time frame, he merely told them it should be done today. And the day was long way from ending.
=0=
Three hours later Ichigo and Nel could be seen exiting a Garganta in the middle of the park in Karakura Town.
Thinking back on the afternoon happenings Ichigo strangely, couldn't help but smile. Even he had to admit that it had been strangely comforting having Nel's head rest in his lap while she slept. It had been awkward for the first few minutes but he gradually got used to it and had been dissapointed when she woke up and removed her head from his lap.
Currently he was thinking about just how much he had started to enjoy being around Nel. He had tried to deny it at first ofcourse but he'd gotten over that a long time ago. It was undeniable that he enjoyed her company. He didn't feel completely at ease with the thought though, being a relatively new Arrancar he still had to get used to the wide array of emotions running through his head at times and he had to admit he got a whole new perspective on humans who had to deal with these things since birth.
Now however was not the time to start thinking about these things. They had a mission to accomplish and the sooner they were done the sooner they could return to Las Noches.
They talked over their plan briefly before leaving to the real world. Karakura Town was a pretty huge town and chances that the three of their targets were not all in one spot were pretty high. Therefor they'd decided to have Nel raise her reiatsu just a little bit to fool them into thinking she was merely a strong Hollow while Ichigo hid his. It would alarm them of a Hollow in the vicinity and Nel had hoped they head towards all at once.
It was an easy plan and it didn't take a genius to figure it out either. If it worked it would make things significantly easier for the two of them.
Deciding they'd stalled enough Ichigo nodded to Nel, allowing her to go on with their plan. Despite the fact that they were very close to one another Ichigo was still the Primera and so Nel's superior. Nel could be very childish at times but she certainly wasn't one to forget about her duty.
A few minutes after Nel slightly raised her reiatsu Ichigo could feel three reiatsu signatures making their way towards them.
"Hey, Ichi," Nel's high pitched voice called out softly. Turning his head around he raised his eyebrows, signifying for her to continue.
"I was just wondering. Aizen asked us all to choose an Aspect of Death to our liking, one which represented our situation, skills or personality. If I may ask, have you found yours yet?" She carefully asked, as if afraid he wouldn't want to tell her.
"Ah. I have." Ichigo answered with a smile as he looked around the park. At the squirrels climbing and jumping through trees. At the children playing and swimming in the pond under their parents watchful eye. And finally at the clear blue sky that was devoid of any hopelessness and despair. He remembered once upon a time when he had first arrived into Hueco Mundo, he'd felt at home. He thought that if there was any place he would ever truly consider home it would be there. Now, thinking back, he thought he was a fool for thinking such a thing. Hueco Mundo, devoid of life and happiness. A place of eternal war, conflict, hopelessness and despair. A place where one had to fight for their survival all the time. Ichigo had vowed then and there that he would never become as Hueco Mundo was. No, Ichigo would respect life, he would value it and treasure it. He vowed not to kill needlessly.
"It was the Aspect of Life." He added, smiling.
Nel's eyes widened at this revelation, she knew Ichigo was compassionate deep down. He just didn't show it often, or never at all to those who weren't personally involved with him. She smiled at him softly.
"Why?" Was the single soft-spoken question she asked. It was a logical question, life was the opposite of death. They were asked to think of an Aspect of Death after all. She was confident Ichigo would back it up with good reasoning though.
"Life, Nelliel," Ichigo started slowly. "is many things. Life is birth, life is growing up, life is hardships and maybe above all life means bonds.
Life sounds ideal to those who are dead. But people do not kill themselves for nothing. The living do not wage war for no reason. And a friends betrayal might hurt you more then any weapon ever could.
Without life there can be no death as without dying one cannot truly live. The Aspect of Life represents both the living and the dead. The Aspect of Life is the one and only true Aspect of Death. That is what I believe." Ichigo explained.
At his explanation Nelliel's eyes widened to an impossible degree. He thought of all that just to justify his aspect? She knew Ichigo had become intelligent since becoming a Vasto Lorde and after that an Arrancar but this she had not expected. There were things contained in his reasoning that should only be known by the living yet he must have figured them out by evaluating the actions of living humans or even Shinigami who are a lot like them in many aspects. The Las Noches library must hold more information then she believed.
Her thoughts however were quickly interupted when three figures ran into the park. Sensing their reiatsu signatures she knew they were their targets.
As she looked into Ichigo's direction she saw him already looking at her. They locked eyes and nodded. From here on out it should be a walk in the park, which was ironic considering their location, nonetheless they would exercise caution.
Ichigo stood tall, his hands in his pocket and his collar still hiding his mouth from view as usual. Nel stood next to him her arms by her side and her Zanpakutou bound horizontally on her lower back.
When the three humans came closer their eyes widened when they came upon Ichigo.
"I-Ichigo?!"
"Kurosaki?"
"K-Kurosaki-kun?
Ichigo frowned at this and Nel turned to look at him curiously. That was...odd. She could swear they were looking at his eyes as if they knew him.
=0=
Ishida meanwhile was looking at the figure with the orange hair with a sense of dread. Looking into those eyes and considering the orange hair he was certain this was Kurosaki Ichigo, his old rival.
Thinking back however, he realised it was entirely possible. They knew now, that Aizen was out to create an army of Hollow/Shinigami hybrids. They knew Ichigo had turned into a Hollow, but not once in their wildest fantasies had they considered they would come up against him like...this. What was he though? Was this the hybrid Urahara had spoken of. They looked truly human, Ishida couldn't find any sign of a mask left on Ichigo at all. However both he and the other Arrancar seemed to be wielding Zanpakutou which Ishida found extremely disconcerting.
The green-haired woman also seemed to have a cartoonish skull adorned on the top of her head. If one were to ignore that though she could certainly pass for a human.
Looking at his friends he could see the hopelessness in their eyes. They too had realised the just who was standing in front of him. Although, admittedly they couldn't be certain just yet. Said person had not even reacted to his name, on the other hand that could very well be cleverly hidden behind a mask of emotionlessness.
"Ishida Uryuu, Yasutora Sado, Inoue Orihime. Aizen-sama has ordered us to bring about your death. Prepare yourselves!" The voice of the imposter Ichigo rang out.
=0=
Ishida Uryuu, Yasutora Sado, Inoue Orihime. Aizen-sama has ordered us to bring about your death. Prepare yourselves!" Ichigo's voice rang out.
Nel looked at him, keeping her emotionless mask in place but wondering just what he intended to achieve by lying to them. She knew they were only ordered to find out what these humans were capable off. Ichigo knew this as well, she figured she would play along though. Keep up the pretence.
She could see the eyes of the three humans widen after Ichigo had made his statement. The Quincy managed to bring out his bow and jump back in time to avoid Ichigo's strike. The other human boy however wasn't so lucky as his stomach was pierced by Ichigo's bare hand.
The human girl quickly made to make her way over to her friend.
"I-Ichigo.." Yasutora Sado's weak voice called out as Ichigo's hand pierced him.
Ichigo's eyes widened at this. Who were these people that claimed to know him? Or atleast know of him? Were his thoughts as he reappeared back next to Nel.
As he turned to look at her he could see a worried expression etched onto her face. Standing with his back to the humans he gave her a pleading look. She smiled softly in return.
Ichigo stepped back next to her. "Don't worry Ichi, I'll take care of it for you." She exclaimed perhaps a little too loud as the Quincy's eyes widened at this revelation.
"Wait!" He called out. Causing Nelliel to delay her charge. She rose her eyebrows at him indicating for him to go on.
"What is your name?" Ishida asked the orange haired hybrid.
Ichigo considered his question for a moment before deciding that in the end it really wouldn't change a thing.
"Kurosaki Ichigo." He answered, calmly.
The Quincy's shoulders sagged at this. So it was him after all, how could one expect him to fight his rival in a battle to the death? If he were a Shinigami perhaps he would so he could send his friend on to Soul Society by purifying him. But as a Quincy he would destroy him, he would forever erase his existence in this world. It was not something Ishida could do to him.
"But enough talk. Nel," Ichigo nodded towards her, letting him know she could go ahead. "show us the extent of your powers, humans."
=0=
"-show us the extend of your powers, humans."
Were the words that caused Ishida to jump back again to bring out his bow, before he got the chance however he heard a buzzing sound behind him and felt something hard impact with his head. Looking at the silent figure of Kurosaki Ichigo was the last thing Ishida did before his eyes closed and he lost consciousness.
=0=
"-show us the extend of your powers, humans."
Those were the words that caused Sado to motion for Inoue to release her Souten Kisshun allowing Sado to rise and move again. Standing up the first thing he heard was a buzzing sound and looking towards Ishida he saw the green haired woman appear behind him and deliver a vicious kick towards his temple.
Quickly transforming his arm Sado charged reiatsu into it as the woman stepped over Ishida's body and calmly began walking towards them.
Realising he had stored sufficient reiatsu in his arm he slammed it out towards her and opened his fist. The resulting blast of spiritual energy was huge and both Chad and Inoue would've closed their eyes had the bright light of Chad's attack not started diminishing right then and there.
Taking a closer look Sado realised the spiritual energy was being sucked into the woman as if she was swallowing it. Now that he thought of it, if he wasn't mistaken he could actually see her swallowing up his energy blast.
He could feel himself start to tremble as his entire energy blast dissapeared into the woman's mouth. Just how tough were these Arrancar? It was like she was toying with them, first knocking Ishida out cold in one hit and then swallowing the strongest attack he had ever fired as if it were water. Shocked, Sado realised he was frightened.
When he returned his uncertain eyes to fall upon the seemingly young woman she once again opened her mouth for Sado to see his own energy blast coming back at him, only pink in color this time, rather then blue. Realising Inoue was still within the blast radius he panicked, for him to die by his own mistake was his own fault but he would not drag her down with him. Quickly moving further into the blast radius to stand in front of her he planted his feet firmly into the ground and closed his eyes before the blast of pink consumed him and he knew no more.
=0=
Meanwhile Inoue could only stare in horror at the spot she had projected her Santen Kesshun onto mere seconds ago in a last ditch effort to protect Sado. The shield had held for not even a second before it broke and the blast consumed Sado, who kept standing in front of her firmly, protecting her from it.
Turning her head around she looked at Sado. And what she saw made her want to puke. Tears started leaking from her eyes. How could Kurosaki-kun order that woman to do something so vile? Surely he didn't like it, surely he didn't mean to hurt Ishida and Sado?
Sado's body was covered entirely in angry red burn marks. Several small portions of his skin were blackened and charred. The majority of his hair had been burned off entirely except for a small portion at the back of his head. The remains of his clothes hung of his body in rags, ripped and burned to pieces on every part of his body.
As she turned to look back at Kurosaki-kun with tears still fresh in her eyes, she was surprised. The woman who had just, without visible effort knocked Ishida out cold and heavily injured or even killed Sado stood next to him, her eyes closed in what looked like regret. However it was gone again as soon as the woman opened her eyes and they were full of fierce determination, Inoue knew her last seconds on this world had arrived.
=0=
As Nel closed her eyes to press back the regret of hurting and even injuring those who stood no chance to protect themselves she thought of Ichigo. These people recognized him and so they must be from his past in the real world.
She would not want him to carry the burden of hurting and possibly killing his friends even if he didn't remember them. She however would gladly bear that burden for him.
It was sad though, she didn't want to kill this woman. But they were ordered to find out what their powers were capable of. If they weren't forced to protect their lives they would and could never bring out the full potential of their powers. The downside was that if they failed to bring them out, or if they simply weren't strong enough they would die.
So far she had figured out a little bit. She noticed that the big man's arm could be transformed, seemingly at will. It could then be used to fire huge blasts of spiritual energy in a straight line at their opponents. Nel thought it much resembled a Cero and so she decided she would attempt to absorb it by using Cero Doble. Even if it would fail against this particular attack, it's not like it would kill her, her worries however were unfounded as she absorbed and returned the attack without a problem.
Returning the attack brought her to her second point. The point where she noticed a small triangular shaped shield appear in front of her Cero Doble and attempted to block it. It held only for a mere second before breaking but still considerably weakening the attack. Nel was glad the girl had done that though, it likely saved the other human's life in the end.
The third out of the three humans had been dissapointing. The Quincy, Ishida Uryuu. Nel had Sonido'd at a deliberate slow speed to allow him to see her move about and he had failed. She had knocked him out after, Aizen had told them the Quincy wasn't what he was interested in anyway. It were the two humans powers that he wished to evaluate.
As she opened her eyes again fierce determination was coarsing through her veins. She would attack the final of the three humans so that if the girl was unlucky Nel would bear the guild of killing an innocent woman and not Ichigo.
Looking at Inoue, as she believed she was called. She saw her encasing her human friend in a big yellow barrier, just like earlier when his stomach had been pierced by Ichigo. She noticed how the human's wounds started healing at a considerable pace and believed that at this rate he would be healed up in no time and they'd be force to have to fight him, again. However before she attacked she noticed something out of the ordinary. The human's clothing were returning to their former state, pieces of cloth that had been burned to nothing returned out of thin air. Nel's eyes widened at this before she sighed. When Aizen found out about that particular ability he would likely have her killed at one point or another, she would be of far too much use to the enemy.
Pointing her hand at the girl she started charging reiatsu into her palm. That is, untill a hand grabbed her shoulder, causing her to look around only to meet the face of Ichigo. His face remained impassive, but his eyes were tender as he shook his head, signifying her to stop.
Smiling, she did just that. She was glad he had decided to spare her the burden. Just as she was about to thank Ichigo however a red light started to emit from the other side of her head, the side opposite of where Ichigo had grabbed her shoulder. Turning to look around she saw his other arm was snaked around her head, already charging a Cero pointed right at the girl. Turning to look at Ichigo in horror she saw determination etched into his features. Just as she was about to slap his hand away the Cero fired and the girl eye's widened in horror as she continued healing her friend before she was obstructed from view by an explosion of debris and dirt.
Focussing a burst of reiatsu into his fingers, Ichigo slammed them into the air and threw Nel into the Garganta to Hueco Mundo before quickly stepping in himself and closing it behind him.
=0=
As soon as Ichigo stepped out on the other side of the Garganta he came face to face with a sad looking Nel.
He had to admit he hadn't seen Nel get genuinely angry before but he had certainly expected her to be angry now. He knew she knew he had seen through her act of taking the blame for any possible deaths of three humans who seemed to recognize him from a possible previous life.
He had thought it incredibly stupid and yet admirable of Nel to make such a sacrifice. He knew Nel valued life very highly, as did he and so taking the lives of people who could hardly defend themselves let alone deserved to die was a very hard thing to do.
Which is why he stopped her at the very last second. He realised they had seen enough of their abilities. They might've been able to see more if they had gone on but he chose not to for two reasons. The first and most important one being that he didn't want to burden his friend, Nel. And the second one was one he was sure Nel hadn't even noticed in her state of emotional turmoil that several additional reiatsu signatures were quickly approaching their position and would've arrived in mere seconds. So Ichigo finished his mission in the easiest way possible. Distract the enemy by attacking their helpless friends while you make your escape. And it worked brilliantly, as the other incoming reiatsu signatures instantly changed directions to save their comrades rather then engage their target.
And so he looked at Nel and smiled at her. Upon seeing her confused expression he chuckled slightly before explaining himself.
"They're alive. They were saved by four other incoming reiatsu signatures. Likely the four Shinigami Aizen defeated back in Soul Society." He explained.
Her expression of confusion turned to one of relief and then of happiness. It was clear to him that she had been worrying about it.
As Ichigo turned on his heel to make his way to Aizen's throne room however Nel stopped him.
"Ichi..." She began slowly. "You saw that girl's powers?" She asked tentatively.
"Ah, Nel, I have seen her powers." He stated. Sensing the question she was going to ask he answered her before she got a chance to.
"I am inclined to believe she is somehow able to turn certain thing back in time, likely that which is contained within the shield, however hard that is to believe. My other explanation sounds even more impossible." He told her.
She looked at him with raised eyebrows, silently letting him know he should go on.
"The other explanation would be that she is somehow able to repel or reject certain events from ever having happened. However I do not exaggerate when I say that a technique such as this scares me. It would allow her to 'heal' lost limbs even when say, the limb itself was destroyed. It might even allow her to resurrect the dead." Ichigo finished with his eyes closed.
Nel let out a sigh as she heard his explanation. She had expected something along those lines. While previously when Ichigo had still been her 'little Adjuchas' she was by far more intelligent then he was. He had since increased in more then one area however. She had guessed something along the same lines Ichigo had mentioned, however she wouldn't have gone as far as to be able to resurrect the dead. Still she supposed it was entirely possible, she just hadn't wanted to think of anyone possessing such a power.
As she opened her eyes she looked at Ichigo and gave him a quick nod. It was time they reported their succes to Aizen.
=0=
As the smoke cleared, Inoue Orihime wondered why she hadn't felt any pain? Was there no pain in death? Or had she just been too afraid to take notice of it. Or perhaps she died before she realised she'd felt any pain.
Those were the things she thought about silently...untill she opened her eyes. And found Urahara Kisuke standing in front of her with a goofy look on his face.
"My my, Orihime-san how nice of you to join us!" He exclaimed brightly.
At the mention of us she looked around herself and found the figures of Shihouin Yoruichi, Tsukabishi Tessai and Kurosaki Isshin standing behind her. When Isshin locked eyes with her she instantly looked away, refusing to meet his gaze.
Seeing the older Kurosaki caused her to realise just what would have happened had the four of them not appeared. She would have been killed by her former crush who was now dead. Killed by Kurosaki Ichigo.
Forcing any thoughts of Kurosaki Ichigo from her mind for the time being she turned to look at Sado who was slowly but certainly healing. She focused all her renewed attention on willing the wounds to dissapear and for him to become his old and normal self again.
Isshin meanwhile was looking at Inoue with an expression akin to pity. He didn't know what the girl had witnessed these past minutes. But one thing was certain whatever it was that attacked Yasutora Sado must have been powerful, for him to literally have parts of his body charred like that. It was inhuman. Then again, Isshin didn't think it was humans that attacked them.
It was weird though, for the briefest of seconds Isshin had thought he felt a reiatsu signature which was slightly similar to the one his son used to have. It was rare for a reiatsu signature to be familiar in any way. It would occassionally happen among family members and on very rare occassions a stranger's signature could be slightly familiar to someone else's.
"Isshin," Urahara's voice shook him from his thoughts, locking eyes with Urahara he looked at him questioningly. "Take Orihime to the shop please, get her some tea to calm down a bit. We'll be along with Sado and Uryuu soon enough."
Nodding, he picked Inoue up bridal style and shunpo'd away.
=0=
As Kurosaki Ichigo and Nelliel Tu Oderschvank entered the Espada's meeting room Aizen's voice instantly silenced the already present Espada's useless blabbering.
When Ichigo and Nel reached Aizen they both kneeled down and bowed their heads in a manner of greeting and as a sign of respect.
Aizen, after a moment, motioned for them to get up. "Ichigo, Nelliel," He spoke up calmly. "What have you to report?"
Ichigo looked at Nel and nodded. Allowing her to start explaining. "The Quincy, Ishida Uryuu, should not be considered very powerful. I intended to test his strength and moved at him with a deliberately slow burst of sonido. He never even caught a glimpse of me moving or standing behind him before I knocked him out. We believed he was not worth our time.
The second human, Yasutora Sado had an...interesting, power. He was able to transform his right arm into something very Hollow-like. After which he was able to gather reiatsu into it and when enough had been gathered he would fire a beam much resembling a Cero. I decided to tempt fate and was able to absorb it using Cero Doble incapacitating the man as his attack was returned returned in kind.
Up untill this point not much was seen about the woman except for a strange healing shield which healed the pierced stomach of Yasutora Sado after Ichigo had attacked him right upon confronting the trio. When my Cero Doble was fired upon her friend however a triangular shaped shield appeared in front of him for a mere moment before it broke and he succumbed to my attack. Naturally, we weren't too impressed with her up untill this point either." Nel explained.
After she finished explaining up untill the point she was now she locked eyes with Ichigo and looked at him questioningly, as if unsure if she should continue. Ichigo merely smiled at her and answered the question by starting to speak himself.
"After Yasutora Sado was hit by Nel's Cero Doble his skin was charred in many places and he was even missing some chunks of flesh on his body. Other then that his clothes were entirely burned and ripped to shreds leaving no doubt about the fact that had the girl not brought up her shield in time he would have undoubtedly died from Nel's attack.
As the girl proceeded to use the same healing powers again Nel and I proceeded to watch the events that unfolded with interest. We were...shocked to find out what happened." Ichigo told them, leaving the tension hanging in the air for a few seconds before continuing.
"The 'healing shield', Inoue Orihime used twice in our encounter today, it does not actually heal. When she used it for the second time pieces of skin that were charred beyond salvation were returned to their unharmed state. Pieces of cloth that had literally burned to nothing returned and his entire outfit mended itself. Pieces of missing skin returned out of seemingly nowhere. Nel and I have discussed this and we believe the girl is either able to somehow revert back time on the objects contained within her shield or seemingly even more impossible...reject events from ever having happened. Meaning she would able to restore for example lost limbs, even limbs that have been flat out destroyed. And above that, assuming she can reject events, theory states she should be able to resurrect the dead." Ichigo finished.
Silence hung thick in the air for a while before some of the Espada started whispering among eachother. Aizen's face had turned into a thoughtful expression and even the more loud members among the Espada were silent, if only for a moment.
"So why didn't you kill them?" Grimmjow's voice rang out from among the gathered Espada.
"Yea, I would've slaughtered them all. That's what happens if you send a woman on a combat mission!" Nnoitra shouted.
"Because Aizen-sama hadn't asked us to. We were sent to evaluate their abilities and we did. Not everything is about killing for senseless self-satisfaction Séptima, Sexta." Ichigo said with emphasis on the last two words, causing Grimmjow to growl in anger and Nnoitra to send him a murderous glare.
"Nnoitra, Grimmjow." Aizen's voice called out. "I would appreciate it if you would not insult our Primera and Tercera. I ask you to supress that urge, should it come up again and if you can't... realise this, they have more worth to me then you do." Aizen stated flatly causing some people to raise their eyebrows. Aizen had never shown any form of blatant favoritism before.
"Ichigo, Nelliel." Aizen started again, not allowing people's thoughts to wander on his last words any longer. "You have done well. We may take action towards this Inoue Orihime in the future. But for now, rest." Aizen concluded, signifying the end of their meeting.
=0=
As Kurosaki Isshin lay in bed that night he was having a tremendous amount of trouble catching sleep. The information that had been shared with them that evening, first by Inoue and later confirmed by both Ishida and Sado had been...troubling. Truth be told troubling wouldn't begin to describe it, his only son had turned into a Hollow, that was old news and he had been starting to get used to that fact, despite how hard it was on him especially with two younger sisters remaining. But no, fate didn't spare him even a little bit this time, it appeared as if his son had sided with Aizen and was now part of his Arrancar army.
Isshin was wondering if Ichigo had retained his memories. It was rare but it happened to Hollow, occassionally. He guessed it was a fool's hope and in Ichigo's case it was probably better to hope he didn't have any memories of his previous life left. Considering how he merely watched Ishida and Sado being taken out and was on the point of killing Inoue when the four of them intervened.
On the other hand, Isshin could also see the advantage of this situation. The chance Isshin would've come across his son as normal Hollow was close to none during his lifetime. Now that Ichigo had joined with Aizen however there was a good chance they would eventually come up against one another meaning that if Isshin could beat his son he would be purified and sent to Soul Society.
Another thing that had piqued Isshin's interest was Inoue's explanation of the woman that was with Ichigo. She had been rather ruthless apparently but after she had all but decimated Sado her face had looked regretful for but a moment after which it hardened again. As she prepared to launch a Cero at Inoue, Ichigo had stopped her simply by laying a hand on her shoulder. She had smiled and he had sneakily fired a Cero of his own as if not wanting the woman to see what he was doing. Her eyes had visibly widened according to Inoue when the woman saw what he was doing but was too late to react.
Isshin decided his son had become a true enigma along with the woman he almost seemed to care for. But his son was a Hollow no, an Arrancar but even so Hollow and so in that case Arrancar too didn't or barely felt any emotion at all Isshin reasoned. There was no reason for Ichigo to care for anyone but himself. Despite this, Isshin vowed to find out more about his son and this mysterious woman.
=0=
Congratulations to those of you who asked me to reconsider the original plans for the romantic pairing of Nel and Ichigo. I have decided to continue with that idea after all although it will probably start out very slowly and continue to develop at a slow pace as well.
I decided to try my best at a small part of humor at the start of this chapter. I have no idea if it is any good myself so any comments and opinions on that subject are much appreciated.
Next I would very much like to ask you what you thought Ichigo's aspect. I gave it a lot of thought and finally decided on what we have now. Mainly because I want Ichigo to turn out as a compassionate person. The truth he already is now, he just doesn't realise it yet. As an Arrancar he is now being exposed to a huge array of completely foreign emotions and he has yet to sort them all out.
Thanks for reading yet another chapter! R&R!