Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach!
Minato Uzumaki: About the harem. That's exactly the way I see it and pretty much the sole reason I do not intend to turn into one. Well that and the fact that I never liked harem stories too much myself.
X009: Well it is not that I have exactly cut out Harribel. But if you mean that she hasn't made an appearance then ofcourse you're right. Harribel is one of the top three Arrancar in Canon and so she's bound to make an appearance at one point or another in my story that much I can promise. On the other hand I do not have any plans for her just yet, she might even appear as a Hollow instead of an Arrancar. Who knows? I certainly don't, yet.
And on the topic of Fracción. I believe I will eventually introduce atleast one however the chance that it is going to be an OC is small. I have yet to decide on which of the Numerós will become Ichigo's Fracción if I go through with it though.
DarkJason: I can tell this much. Even though characters such as Isshin, Inoue, Ishida, Sado and others have appeared mostly on the background up untill now I can assure you their role will still be important further throughout the story.
And concerning any possible lemons. I have absolutely no idea about that. I have given it some thought but have yet to decide on that matter. Though I am admittedly leaning more towards no lemons at this point it doesn't mean that my current thoughts are final on the matter.
Chapter 7: The Bond Which Had Been Severed
As Ichigo heard Nelliel's words before she dissapeared in a buzz of sonido he couldn't help but smirk. In the end, he supposed there wasn't really anything to worry about. Nel had been a Vasto Lorde just as he had been, her power far exceeded Nnoitra's.
Looking at said man Ichigo frowned. He'd always wondered why Nnoitra had chosen to use a weapon such as his. If anything it looked like a giant axe with two crescent moon shaped blades on it, one facing towards the wielder and one facing towards the opponent. Other then that the large black chain that was connected to the end of his weapon was bound across Nnoitra's waist.
It appeared to be a very slow yet powerful weapon in close range melee but Nnoitra wasn't slow and something didn't add up here. No, It must be a ranged weapon more then anything, Ichigo surmised. If the chain was any indication then Ichigo was confident Nnoitra would use it to throw his weapon around. Nel had fought Nnoitra twice before already but she hadn't said much about it and Ichigo had never seen Nnoitra fight personally. He decided to simply watch the battle as it proceeded, it should be interesting.
=0=
As Nel reappeared at Nnoitra's side she made a quick horizontal slash towards his neck only for it to be blocked by Nnoitra's huge weapon. Instantly taking advantage of the fact that Nnoitra's weapon was too heavy to be used for an instant counterattack she stabbed her sword through the opening of the crescent moon shaped blade, aiming for his throat. Nnoitra was barely fast enough to dodge her thrust as he spun to the side his shoulder however was still grazed by Nelliel's blade.
"First blood." Were the only two words Nelliel said as she looked Nnoitra in the eyes for a split second before dissapearing again.
10 seconds.
When Nel reappeared right in front of Nnoitra, this time, he was prepared and he instantly launched a roundhouse kick towards Nel's head which she in turn blocked with her right arm and proceeded to grab a hold of it.
Nnoitra, sensing the danger it posed to have his leg held stuck in mid air raised his weapon above his head and slammed it down, causing dust to rise up and twist around them, obscuring them from the vision of their only spectator.
20 seconds.
When the dust cleared however, it showed Nelliel blocking Nnoitra's blade with her Zanpakutou. Her mouth was open and a Cero could be seen forming.
As Nnoitra took notice of this he panicked inwardly. Not knowing what else to do he raised his blade towards the sky again, leaving himself wide open, only to regret that action a moment later. He could feel cold steel slashing vertically over his torso. His Hierro taking most of the damage but blood was still spilled and he could hear himself cry out in pain. Before he could even think of what to do next the leg that was held up into the air was grabbed with both Nel's hands and he was thrown in a straight line into the direction Nelliel's back had been facing untill now. Looking forward his eyes widened as he saw Nel, Cero still charging, aim for him and fire her Cero. Nnoitra currently was wide open with no way to get out of the Cero's path.
Nelliel watched as her Cero approached Nnoitra who had left himself wide open, his weapon dangling on it's chain several feet away from Nnoitra. Too far for him to react in time and grab it to block part of the Cero's impact. As her Cero hit it's target a large explosion rocked the outer walls of Las Noches. Dust and debris rose up all around where Nnoitra had been and went as far as to conceal even her. She hoped he was atleast alive, it hadn't been and would never be her intention to kill Nnoitra. When the dust started clearing however she was surprised to see Nnoitra standing exactly where her Cero had impacted, inside of a large crater. Looking at him she decided he was definitely the worse for wear. The large hat he often wore was reduced to nothing but ashes and the majority of his clothing was singed and showed the signs of obvious burn marks. His skin too showed angry red burns on multiple spots. She was surprised however to see that Nnoitra had survived and knowing Nnoitra he would still be able to continue fighting in his state. One thing was obvious though, he was tiring quickly, as his breathing was ragged and tired.
"I'm surprised to still see you stand, Nnoitra," Nel's voice rang out impassively, it's how she prefered it when in battle. Emotions were nice but in battle they could often hinder you.
"Tch. I ain't stupid, Nelliel!" Nnoitra spat. "I fired my own Cero at yours to reduce the impact I was hit with."
Nelliel was quite surprised, she'd never guessed Nnoitra had it in himself to even think of such things. "So you can use your brain after all, or perhaps you can't it could've been mere instinct, but you're still nowhere near beating me."
50 seconds.
This enraged Nnoitra even further and he instantly threw his Zanpakutou at Nelliel. She, in turn, easily sidestepped the massive weapon, raised her Zanpakutou above her head and swung it down at the chain connected to Nnoitra's weapon, causing it to sever instantly and the weapon to land in the soft sand with a dull thud.
Nnoitra's eyes widened at this and before he even got a chance to react, Nel dissapeared and reappeared in front of him, the tip of her Zanpakutou's blade positioned at his throat.
1 minute.
=0=
Ichigo in the meantime was impressed. Truth be told he hadn't seen Nel fight that often except for some friendly spars with him as well as with a few of the other Espada.
Nel had had complete control all throughout the battle. Ichigo was impressed with the speed she displayed. Being someone who valued speed highly since it was one of his greatest strengths he could appreciate hers greatly. It was a speed that was obviously attained through lots of hard work. Though wether this hard work had been done as an Arrancar or back as a Vasto Lorde Ichigo couldn't tell.
She had claimed she would finish the battle in three minutes and instead had done it in one. Ichigo wondered wether she knew she could've done it in one minute. Then again, knowing Nelliel, he supposed she had known.
His was distracted from his thoughts by a voice coming from his left.
"Nnoitra-sama!" A voice on Ichigo's left side yelled.
Turning his head Ichigo spotted a slim looking male Arrancar with blonde hair. He had an odd looking turqoise colored mark on his right cheek and wore an eyepatch on his right eye. The remnants of his Hollow mask appeared to be a thin upper jaw which formed a circle around his forehead. If Ichigo wasn't mistaken this was Nnoitra's Fracción, Tesla was his name he believed.
Said person instantly rushed towards where Nnoitra and Nelliel were standing, obviously intending to help his master. Ichigo however decided to interfere.
Vanishing on the spot he reappeared behind the running form of Tesla, unsheathed his Zanpakutou, switched it to a reverse grip and positioned the blade against Tesla's throat as he held said person in place by holding a hand over his mouth and pulling him towards his chest.
Tesla's eyes visibly widened as he was grabbed from behind and felt a blade press into his throat. The expression on his face clearly showed that he was aware of who's blade exactly was pressing into his throat as well. It wasn't that hard to figure out after all, the two of them had been the only two present around here except for Nnoitra and Nel.
"This doesn't concern you. This battle isn't yours to fight, Tesla. Nnoitra decided to challenge Nelliel into a fight to the death. It is not your right to interfere in this. If Nelliel decides to, she has every right to finish off your master." Ichigo replied calmly, before removing his hand and slowly his blade as well.
As he sheathed his Zanpakutou again he had to admit he felt sorry for the Fracción. For reasons Ichigo did not understand Tesla was fanatically loyal to Nnoitra. Nnoitra on the other hand held no thoughts of sympathy whatsoever towards his only Fracción. He was treated no better then a common servant.
"H-Hai, Ichigo-sama." Tesla reluctantly replied.
=0=
"One minute, we're done." Nelliel said, just before she removed her Zanpakutou from his throat and sheathed it again as she turned her back on Nnoitra she started to walk away.
"Wait!" Nnoitra's voiced yelled at her. She replied by turning her head to look at him. "I said this was the final showdown, a battle to the death! Why are you walking away, are you afraid of me Nelliel!?" He cried out furiously.
"A battle to the death? You mean untill one of us finishes off the other?" Nelliel asked him.
"Damn right." Nnoitra replied, obviously not concerned for his own fate were such a battle to actually happen.
Nelliel could only look at him impassively. "Not happening." She stated flatly. "Stop trying to act like a grown-up" She continued causing Nnoitra to growl in anger.
"We've been transformed from humans to Hollow, becoming nothing more then mindless beasts." Nelliel started. "We regained logical minds once we became Arrancar. Those that think logically require a reason to fight."
After this she paused. Attempting to let realisation dawn upon Nnoitra. It was good she didn't expect him to get what she meant, for no realisation of the meaning behind her words showed on his face.
"You lack that." She stated flatly. "I do not have a reason to fight you. Meaning I have no obligation to finish you off."
Nnoitra became only more enraged at her words. The sad part being that her words weren't even meant to anger him, they merely informed him of the truth.
"I have a reason! I hate you!" Nnoitra shouted.
Nelliel could only close her eyes and sigh at this. "That's not a reason. That's instinct." She replied wearily.
"You're an animal. I don't recognize you as a warrior. You're not someone I have to fight against. Thus I don't feel like being burdened with taking the life of someone who's not even a warrior." She finished as she turned around and once again started walking back towards where Ichigo was standing. Nodding at him they walked away and soon dissapeared from sight.
=0=
Later that night both Ichigo, Nel and her Fracción, Pesche and Dondochakka were located in the sitting room of Nel's living quarters.
Ichigo had thought a lot about Nel's words to Nnoitra over the past hours. He especially remembered her mentioning a reason to fight, mentioning that Nnoitra had no reason and that it was merely instinct to attack someone whom you hated. Instinct, like a beast, like a Hollow.
Both Ichigo and Nel were very much aware of the fact that they were still Hollow even though they had regained their logical minds by becoming Arrancar. Ichigo was rather confused though. What was his reason to fight? He fought when attacked, but then, wasn't that instinct as well? And wouldn't that in turn put him in the same category as Nnoitra? Other then that his only reason to fight was if Aizen ordered him to do so.
Nel meanwhile, had been wondering why Ichigo had been so silent ever since her battle with Nnoitra. Ichigo had never been one to talk constantly, but he was still pleasant company who liked to speak occassionally. Tonight however, this didn't seem to be the case. She thought she might have an idea as to why he'd been so silent all this time, and so she decided to check if she was right.
"Ichigo, what is bothering you?" She asked, tentatively.
"It's not-" He started but he was instantly cut off by her again.
"Don't give me that. You know I know you better then that so speak up." She replied calmly.
He sighed, he should've realised she'd see through his lies. "It's just that, you spoke of reasons to fight earlier today after your battle with Nnoitra. I don't have any reasons to fight except to do so when Aizen orders me to or when others attack me first, which sounds an awful lot like the instinct you mentioned." Ichigo explained.
It appeared as if Nel had guessed right indeed. She knew she should've been more careful with her words. Ichigo was intelligent in his own right, but he seemed to have an awful lot of trouble with figuring out his own goals, emotions and views on certain things, one of them being this.
"We all fight when Aizen orders us to Ichigo. That, atleast, is one thing we all have in common. We have all chosen to swear loyalty to him so obeying orders is expected of us. However one could still choose to turn his back on Aizen which is another proof of the fact that we have logical minds. Nnoitra on the other hand, would never choose to turn his back on him unless he stopped supplying Nnoitra with the fights he seeks." Nelliel explained.
"That is why he is different from us. He seeks only battle, like any ordinary Hollow living in Hueco Mundo does. He has gained a logical mind but he does not use it, and so he remains an animal." She continued.
"Another thing we all have in common is that we will defend ourselves when attacked. This is not instinct, this is common sense. The difference is that where we choose to defend ourselves first, people like Nnoitra will always be the ones who choose to attack the other first. We would seek a peaceful solution first if the choice were at all present. You, like me, do not like to spill blood needlessly, that much I know, Ichigo." She finished with a smile.
Ichigo felt relief flood his system. She was right, her arguments made sense. Truth be told it wasn't something which was hard to think of either, he believed he was simply too caught up in his emotions to think logically and find the answer he sought. He smiled at her in return, wordlessly thanking her.
"But I'm tired so I'm going to bed. I'll see you in the morning Ichigo." Nel said as she yawned.
"Oi, Nel?" Ichigo called out to her just before she dissapeared into her bedroom. "You mind if I bunk on the couch over here? I don't really feel like walking back to my quarters and seeing as Pesche and Dondochakka are fast asleep in the other couch as well." He told her suggestively.
She smiled at this, he obviously wasn't too comfortable asking such a question. Perhaps he was more tired then he seemed it never did show too well on him. "Sure, Ichi," She replied as sheclosed the door to her bedroom. "Good night".
=0=
Kuchiki Byakuya was sitting in his Division's office late at night. Thinking about the events of the past weeks that simply wouldn't leave his mind.
Byakuya had felt extremely conflicting emotions when Rukia's sentence was announced. He had promised Hisana he would find Rukia and take care of her, it had been her death wish. He respected it as such and had done as she had asked but it was hard to look at someone who resembled the one person that meant everything to you so much. And by respecting and carrying through Hisana's final wish he had also broken the Kuchiki family's law once again.
The first time he had broken it was when he had accepted Hisana, a commoner, into the noble Kuchiki Clan by marrying her.
And the second time he adopted Rukia into the Kuchiki Clan to honor Hisana's final wish.
This time however he felt he couldn't help Rukia. After he had adopted her into the Kuchiki family he had sworn in front of his parent's graves that he would never break the rules again, no matter what. And rescuing Rukia would go against the law of Soul Society yet at the same time it would go against Hisana's wish of adopting and taking care of Rukia.
But before he had managed to make up his mind Rukia was taken to Hueco Mundo. It had come completely unexpected and in the end there had been nothing they could do about it. They were now officially, at war.
Ever since Aizen had left Soul Society no new information had come up about him or his movements. Urahara Kisuke had explained them that it was likely Aizen would intend to create an army of Arrancar by using the Hougyoku to give Hollow a logical mind and Shinigami powers. Soul Society had sent some scouts to Hueco Mundo to attempt to gather information about Aizen. However since none ever returned they had stopped sending them at all.
The only bit of information they'd managed to gather up untill now was the fact that three of the ryoka, the humans if Byakuya wasn't mistaken. Had been attacked by two powerful Arrancar. The attack they believed, had been to discover just how powerful the three humans were. As it were it appeared they hadn't exactly impressed the Arrancar. That in itself however was not what worried Byakuya the most. According to Urahara and his group one of the Arrancar was the human turned Hollow Kurosaki Ichigo. Son of Kurosaki Isshin and the human who was the cause of Rukia's sentence in the first place. Byakuya had thought the boy would've simply died and went on to Soul Society. It appeared that instead he'd turned into a Hollow.
Those were all things that had the Sixth Division taicho concerned but his main worry was still the same as it had been a few weeks ago. Kuchiki Rukia. Was she still alive? Urahara had told them that the object, the Hougyoku, Aizen intended to retrieve from her soul could be removed without her losing her life in the process. Seeing as Aizen hadn't used the Soukyoku it was likely he had found the other method and had proceeded to retrieve the item from her when he arrived in Hueco Mundo.
The real question was however, had she been killed after Aizen got his hands on the Hougyoku or had she been imprisoned? Truth be told, logic stated that Aizen would have killed her off instantly. But Byakuya wouldn't believe that he had untill he saw a body, he vowed that if there were any sign that his adopted sister was still alive, that he would rescue her even if it was the last thing he ever did.
=0=
The next morning Ichigo stood on the training field, working on his Kidou again. Both Aizen and Ichimaru stood close to him watching him work on the new spells they'd assigned.
Ichigo had now finally finished with Bakudou #37 - Tsuriboshi, Hadou #63 - Raikouhou as well as Bakudou #61 - Rikujyoukourou. And so Aizen had instructed him in the use of a new Bakudou spell while Ichimaru had taught him another Hadou spell.
The spell Aizen had taught him was called Bakudou #73 - Tozansho it was one of the higher level spells and it certainly was quite tough to get right. When performed correctly however it would form an inverted pyramid shaped barrier around the caster. Anyone close to the caster would thus be locked inside of it as well. The barrier could be made stronger, tougher and even larger the more reiatsu one poured into it. For now however Ichigo had managed to get to the point where he could form the barrier without the incantation although it took some time and concentration and he couldn't yet add more reiatsu to it without losing control of the Kidou.
Ichimaru had wanted to teach him Hadou #73 - Soren Soukatsui. Ichigo had been reluctant to learn this one however as soon as he heard it was simply two blue balls of energy rather then a single one like in the Hadou #33 - Soukatsui.
Ichimaru had attempted to have him realise that the spell truly was powerful. And among Hadou spells he said, Hadou #33 was one of the most used spells in a Shinigami's arsenal. Not only because it was one of the easier to learn offensive spells. But also because it's power could be increased drastically, depending on the capacity of one's reiatsu.
Ichigo had still believed it to be unnecessary so Ichimaru merely decided to show him. As Ichimaru had fired his own Hadou #33 at a training dummy Ichigo couldn't believe what he was seeing. Instead of a large blue ball of energy that should have emerged from Ichimaru's palm. A gigantic beam of blue energy emerged from it. It was larger then any Cero Ichigo had ever seen and the training dummy was completely annihilated upon contact. Ichimaru then explained that his attack wasn't as strong as it could've been because he isn't that good at controlling his reiatsu, so no matter how much he would pour into the attack it would never reach it's full destructive capacity.
He then continued to explain that with Hadou #73 - Soren Soukatsui one could fire two blue balls of energy. People with high amounts of reiatsu control could pour as much reiatsu into it as Ichimaru had just done with his Hadou #33 without losing the ball-formed shape of the spell and thus without losing destructive power. Admittedly it would be easier to dodge but that's why Soren Soukatsui fired two balls instead of one.
After hearing hearing this, Ichigo finally decided that he would learn the spell after all.
And so here he stood. Aiming his arm at the training dummy in front of him. He was currently still stuck at trying the spell with the incantation but he felt he was steadily improving.
"Ye lord! Mask of blood and flesh, all creation, flutter of wings, ye who bears the name of Man! On the wall of blue flame, inscribe a twin lotus. In the abyss of conflagration, wait at the far heavens."
As Ichigo whispered the incantation he could feel the way he was supposed to lead his reiatsu through his body. He could feel he was supposed to lead his reiatsu in a single path towards his arm must like a normal Soukatsui spell however when he reached his elbow he would have to separate the path into two paths. This proved far harder then it had originally sounded and while he had made good progress he noticed it had been less quick then with any of the other spells he learned so far. As he lead his reiatsu towards his elbows again he once more attempted to split it into two separate paths. This time he felt he was quite succesful, the paths were controlled very well but it was certainly a start.
"Hadou #73 - Soren Soukatsui!" Ichigo shouted and at the same time two blue balls of energy exited his open palm and instantly collided with one another causing them to pretty much blow up in his face.
Turning his head around he looked at Ichimaru with an annoyed expression. When Ichimaru had demonstrated the spell both balls had turned left and right respectively and hit the target simultaneously from two different sides.
Ichimaru looked thoughtful at this, although Ichigo couldn't tell if he was being serious or not. One hardly ever could when it concerned Ichimaru Gin. "Oh? I didn' jus' forget ta tell ya ya were suppose' ta guide them inta the right direction did I now?"
Ichigo let out an annoyed sigh at this, regardless he decided to continue without complaining. It wouldn't do any good anyway.
=0=
When Ichigo turned to leave after his Kidou practise Aizen asked him to wait for a moment. Confused, Ichigo turned back to face Aizen.
"Ichigo, it has come to my attention there was an...incident, yesterday." At this Ichigo's face looked even more confused so Aizen decided to elaborate a bit further. "I believe hearing the names Nnoitra Jiruga and Nelliel Tu Oderschvank might fresh up your memory a bit." Aizen said calmly.
After hearing Aizen's last words Ichigo instantly knew what Aizen was talking about. He didn't think Aizen would have cared about this as much as he apparently did. Deciding to quit stalling he spoke up.
"Ah. There was, Aizen-sama. Nnoitra decided to challenge Nelliel to a fight to the death." Ichigo explained.
As Aizen motioned for him to continue he did just that. "It wasn't much of a fight really. Nelliel beat him in just about a minute and proceeded to spare his life. They got into a bit of an argument after that but otherwise nothing more happened." He finished.
Aizen's face showed no emotion at all after this explanation. It was almost as if he already knew what Ichigo was going to say after all and just wanted it to be confirmed.
"Thank you, Ichigo. It appears I may need to reconsider Nnoitra's position among the Espada if this continues for much longer." Aizen stated. "We cannot have one Espada challenging the others to a fight to the death. It wouldn't do our numbers much good, don't you think?" Aizen asked him with as much humor as Ichigo would probably ever get to see from the man he'd sworn loyalty to.
Ichigo nodded his reply and was dismissed. As he left though he couldn't help but wonder if Aizen had had ulterior motives with this question. Ichigo was sure Aizen should've already known. After all he always knew exactly what was going on around Las Noches.
=0=
After Ichigo had left Aizen he made his way back to his own living quarters. He wasn't exactly tired but he felt like taking a quick nap, he didn't think Nel was up yet anyway. She was such a late sleeper.
When Ichigo rounded the next corner he came face to face with Szayel Aporro, the Octava Espada. That alone however was nothing out of the ordinary. Espada members bumped into eachother regularly outside of their meetings and some even went as far as to meet eachother frequently. Ichigo and Nel being the most extreme example of that. What bothered Ichigo was the fact that Szayel seemed to be carrying a person around on his shoulder. Even more so, said person had a pair of human legs.
As soon as Szayel realised who was standing in front of him he quickly continued on his way towards his lab.
"Szayel!" The voice of Ichigo called out to him. He quickly started walking faster, not wanting to get caught with what he was carrying, he could only hope the Primera hadn't yet identified what it was exactly.
As he thought this however a buzz of sonido sounded behind and then again in front of him. When Ichigo appeared in front of him he involuntarily took a step back but before he could do any more a hand grabbed him by the collar of his coat and pressed him up against the wall, causing that which he was carrying to fall onto the ground.
"I am not stupid Szayel." Were the first words that left Ichigo's mouth. "I am more then aware of the fact that what you are carrying here is a Shinigami. If I'm not mistaken it's one of the scouts that were sent to Hueco Mundo to investigate the situation here. I believe that Aizen-sama's orders were to leave them alone and let them do as they pleased as long as they didn't enter Las Noches. It's funny though, ever since Aizen-sama made us aware of this these scouts have been mysteriously dissapearing." Ichigo told him.
Szayel in the meantime realised he was in trouble. It had indeed been him who had ordered some of his countless Fracción to capture the Shinigami scouts so he could conduct experiments on them in the hope to learn more about Shinigami and how to combat them. But if he was caught his punishment was sure to be severe, of that much he was certain.
"I-I'm sure we can work something out, Ichigo, rela-" Szayel attempted to negotiate but was instantly cut off again.
"No, I'm not sure if we can. I may not be as intellectually genius as you are but I am well aware of the things you are up to in your free time. Thus I am well aware of the things you did with these Shinigami you captured. You are a fool if you think I won't inform Aizen-sama of this, if you are lucky you will only be removed from the Espada. If you are unlucky however, I'm sure you can realise what may happen to you." Ichigo said.
Szayel sighed. "It doesn't take a genius to realise that Aizen-sama will likely have me executed if he found out that I ignored his orders no. But you have to understand Ichigo it was for a good cause! I can learn how to combat the Shinigami by conducting these experiments on them!" He exclaimed excitedly. "I'll do anything for you to you keep this quiet, absolutely anything."
Ichigo meanwhile was disgusted by the man. He seemed to be more then okay with the fact that he had experimented with living beings and in this case Shinigami. Who knew what had become of them? Were they still alive and if they were kind of state would they be in right now? But on the other hand Ichigo realised the advantages of having Szayel owe him one. Szayel was a true genius and the things he could create with his inventions were marvelous. Not only that but other then Aizen it appeared Szayel was the one who was most aware of the things going on in Las Noches.
"Very well. You will take this Shinigami along with all the others you have captured and return them close to the area where you have found them. You do that and one more thing, and I will keep my mouth shut." He told Szayel.
Szayel's face looked very annoyed at the prospect of having to return his test subjects but it appeared he realised well enough that the alternative was definitely the worse option. He nodded, motioning for Ichigo to state his last condition.
"You owe me Szayel," Ichigo started. "You owe me big. If I had taken this information to Aizen-sama you would've been executed and so you owe me a favor and you will return the favor I have granted you today whenever I ask you to or whenever you see an opportunity to. I know that next to Aizen you are the person who knows most about the things going on in Las Noches." Ichigo stated.
Szayel let out a long drawn out sigh. He hated favors. But in the end Ichigo was right, any of the other Espada would've reported it to Aizen immediately in the hope of receiving a promotion. He guessed it was lucky he'd come across the Primera if you looked at it that way. After all Aizen could hardly promote this person to an even higher position. "Very well, Ichigo. I'll see you at the next meeting then." Szayel said before quickly turning around, grabbing the body again and making his way to his quarters.
=0=
Later that evening Ichigo was sitting next to Rukia in her cell with Nelliel lying with her head in his lap, snoring softly. Rukia had been telling him about their adventures together again and occassionally Ichigo would tell her about the things that happened to him after he'd arrived in Hueco Mundo.
When he told her how he'd met Nelliel right after he arrived she appeared to be glad for him. He hadn't been alone, he'd had company and that was something that had made her truly happy.
There was one thing Ichigo had noticed about the things Rukia told him. First of all when she talked about it it all seemed like things out of someone else's life, like he'd never experienced them before while in actuality she was talking about him and his life in the real world. The odd part of this was, that as soon as he woke up he would always try to recall the conversation he'd had with Rukia the previous night. As he did this after waking up in the morning he found that he could recall the events they'd talking about perfectly clear. It was if they'd happened only a couple of weeks ago, or in some cases, he guessed it was with memories he'd been particularly fond of or that had been more important then others, it seemed as if it had happened only yesterday.
And slowly but surely Rukia was also starting to tell him about herself. About her life in the 78th District of Rukongai. How she had met up with some kids who later became the very best friends she could have ever hoped for. About how they'd openly gawk each time a Shinigami appeared in Rukongai and how they'd say that one day they'd become Shinigami too. She told him, with some difficulty about how all her friends except one had eventually died, succumbing to the harsh life of the Rukongai. A life that wasn't a kid's to lead. The last thing she told him was that she and her remaining friend Abarai Renji intended to enter the Shinigami Academy to get out of the horrible nightmare that was the Rukongai.
At the mention of Abarai Renji however, Ichigo's world went black, yet again.
=0=
Ichigo was on his way traveling through Karakura Town. What was Rukia thinking leaving like that? A goodbye note? Who did she think she was? First she sleeps in his closet for two months and next she leaves without so much as saying a proper goodbye.
As he thought this however, a voice interupted his thoughts from nearby.
"Remember this well before you die" It said. "Abarai Renji, the name of the guy who killed you."
As Ichigo turned to look at the proceedings he could see a red haired man dressed in a Shinigami's sihakusyou standing in front of Ishida Uryuu who was lying at his feet. Renji's Zanpakutou held high above his head, preparing to strike the finishing blow. Another man, also dressed in a Shinigami's sihakusyou with long black hair that was kept into some kind of intricate white hairpiece. Other then the hairpiece and the Shinigami's sihakusyou he wore an expensive looking white scarf and had his Zanpakutoh located on his left hip.
"Hold on!" The voice of Rukia resounded through the air. Distracting Ichigo and causing him to look towards the sound of the voice and found her standing several feet away from the two men.
Ichigo instantly leapt into action and rushed towards the red-haired Shinigami.
"Nice to meet you!" The red-haired said man shouted before bring his sword down towards Ishida.
An explosion of reiatsu was unleashed from Ichigo as he got closer to the man who had called himself Abarai Renji causing him to leap away from Ishida, alarmed to the new threat just in the nick of time.
As the dust caused by Ichigo's appearance cleared he could be seen staring at Renji. Locking eyes they looked at eachother, Renji taking in the appearance of this new threat.
"Kurosaki Ichigo! The guy who will defeat you!" Ichigo declared almost instantly. "Nice to meet you."
"Sihakusyou!?" Renji exclaimed, obviously confused about the fact that another Shinigami had stopped him from landing on the finishing blow on the Quincy. "What Division are you from?" He asked, slightly wary about this Shinigami and concerned as to why he could have possibly chosen to stop him.
As Ichigo swung his Zanpakutou over his shoulder Renji was amazed at the sheer sight of it.
"W-What's up with that ridiculously huge Zanpakutou?" Renji asked, becoming more on guard by the second.
'The size of a Shinigami's Zanpakutou reflects the amount of Spiritual Power they possess.' That was what Renji thought as he looked at the impressively large blade.
"Tch. It is big after all." Ichigo stated. "I thought it was big compared to Rukia's but I had no one else to compare it with up untill now."
Realisation dawned on Renji's face as Ichigo said those words. So it was him, and it appeared it was true after all. Renji hadn't wanted to believe it.
"I get it. I get it now." Renji started. "You're the human who took Rukia's powers, aren't you!?"
At this, Ichigo and Renji locked their eyes. Both of them knew perfectly well what would come next, their was no peaceful way out of this. And so Renji jumped up into the air and charged at Ichigo.
=0=
Ichigo groaned as he tried to open his eyes, he wasn't sure where he was but he was lying somewhere pretty comfortable that much he could tell. As he tried to open his eyes, darkness claimed him once more.
=0=
As Ichigo took in the scene in front of him he was confused. It appeared very similar to the one he'd just left, his surroundings were pretty much the same the only difference being that he had moved a bit further down the road.
The other other, blackhaired Shinigami was still standing in the very same spot. It appeared he hadn't moved an inch since the start of the confrontation.
Other then that a battered and wounded looking Renji appeared to be kneeling a bit further down the road in front of Ichigo. It was obvious he was out of breath and hadn't been fairing well against him.
"You're good at scurrying around like a rat, ain't you?" Ichigo heard his voice call out, taunting the red-haired Shinigami. It felt odd, to be a spectator in his own body, he'd heard his voice and felt his mouth move but it was not him that had made the action happen.
His reiatsu rose and Renji's face took on a look of shock and he appeared to be...afraid?
"But that's enough of that!"
Ichigo cried out before he leapt into the air, Zanpakutou held high above his head, intending to land the finishing blow. If these bastards wanted to take Rukia, then they'd have to go through him!
Ichigo could see Renji's body trembling as if willing himself to move but being unable to do so. As Ichigo closed in on Renji he swung his sword downwards expecting to finish him off once and for all. He was confused however to notice his sword hit nothing but thin air.
When he looked down he found his Zanpakutou had been reduced in length. There was barely a blade on it let alone a tip. It wasn't much more then a hilt now. He was confused, what had caused this to happen? Taking in the scene in front of him he found that Renji was wearing an expression much like Ichigo's. It couldn't have been him, he's as surprised as I am. But then who was it?
And then, realization hit him. Turning his head around he found the black-haired Shinigami holding the blade of his Zanpakutou in one hand, standing at the exact same spot he'd been the entire time. As if he hadn't moved at all.
His eyes widened in alarm when said Shinigami dropped the blade of Ichigo's Zanpakutou and moved his hand towards the hilt of his own. Quickly turning around to defend himself he noticed the Shinigami dissapear and Ichigo felt a strange feeling run through his body. As he looked down blood spurted from his chest and he couldn't help but wonder how this had happened and where that Shinigami had gone. As he lost the feeling in his legs he started falling forward in what appeared to be slow motion, and as if answering his unasked question a voice spoke up from behind him.
"You are slow. Even when falling."
=0=
Consciousness once again returned to Ichigo's body. He wondered just how much time had past by now. He could feel the soft and silky feeling of sheets covering his body though there was still a foreign, somewhat soothing object lying on his chest.
Once more Ichigo tried to open his eyes. And as soon as he did this, unconsciousness seemed to overtake him again.
=0=
When he next appeared in the very same street he wasn't too surprised to find himself lying flat on the ground. His mouth was moving but he could hear no sound coming out of it. It was odd as it was the first time that he hadn't been fully aware of everything that was happening. What he did realise however was that he was staring at the small figure of Kuchiki Rukia who appeared to be standing in front of him with her back facing towards him.
Before he could figure out why he couldn't make out the words that were supposed to be coming out of his mouth another voice rang out.
"Don't move!" Rukia shouted at him, her back still towards him.
"Just try moving one step. Just try coming after me. I-I-" She stammered out, seemingly unable to finish. She turned her head around and looked into his eyes. "I...will not forgive you!"
Her face held a sad almost grieving expression. It appeared to be begging him to stop, to move no more. To leave her to her fate and cling to his own life. "Eventually you will die...so lay there and live as long as you will." She said to him, her voice almost breaking down. Tears had appeared in her eyes by now and were close to falling down her face.
As Ichigo took in her words he could feel his world crashing down around him. Rukia was allowing herself to be taken, just so he could have a chance to live, no matter how small it may be.
Ichigo vaguely took notice of the figures around him speaking to one another. His eyes he kept locked firmly on Rukia's back. Eventually he noticed a pair of doors appear in mid air and as they opened a bright white light came out of it almost forcing him to close his eyes. He barely took notice of the two Shinigami stepping through and finally, Rukia too. As the doors closed behind her she took one last look at him before dissapearing from view completely.
=0=
When Ichigo regained consciousness the next morning he felt relieved for some reason. Thinking back on the previous nights he finally understood why. He understood why he felt relieved, he was glad the 'visions' were over, for now. He decided they were extremely uncomfortable and to have three appear one after the other had been rather tiring.
But not only that. He understood why Rukia had asked him to forgive him. But not before he knew everything she had told him. She hadn't yet told him everything Ichigo realised. But he now knew of how it started and how it ended. He could remember it clearly, he could remember everything that had happened in between the three visions. As well as the vast majority of the hours before the first 'vision'.
Above all though he understood why Rukia had asked for his forgiveness. To a stranger's eyes it would've looked like Rukia had betrayed him. Forfeiting his life so that she could be punished for her actions and resume her life in Soul Society.
But that wasn't the case at all. Rukia had realised that Ichigo would've died had she not interfered. He was too stubborn for his own good and had refused to back down time and time again. This time however, he was clearly outclassed.
And so she made it look as if she had seen the light and asked them to refrain from landing the finishing blow as he would die within the hour anyway. She knew there was a chance no matter how small that he would survive, she had known. Next she basically ordered him not to follow her, not to come after her. Not because she would hurt him, not because he would die, but because she wouldn't forgive him if he did.
It was, in a way, genius. It would've been the best way to keep anyone away. But Ichigo realised his former self would not have backed off. He would've gone after her no matter what. Because she was Rukia.
He thought he understood, finally. Just how important a person she had been in his life. He understood why his forgiveness seemed to mean so much to her. For despite their relatively short time together they had certainly bonded with one another.
Deciding to get out of bed Ichigo kicked the sheets off of his body but got confused when his foot hit something much more...solid. He heard a thud that much resembled something falling on the floor as well as weight being removed from his body. No sooner then the weight had dissapeared a loud groaning sound resounded from next to his bed.
Becoming confused he peered over the edge of his bed and the sight that greeted him caused him to burst out in laughter instantly. Nel was lying with her face planted into the ground her legs somehow still resting on the top of his bed.
Turning her head around she turned to look at him with both a sleepy and pained expression. She soon realized what must have happened and her sleepy demeanor dissapeared instantly and was replaced by one of outright anger. Ichigo gulped.
"Kurosaki Ichigo!" She yelled, while standing up. "You idiot, did you just kick me out of your bed?! If you wanted me gone you could've just said so you insensitive prat!" She roared at him furiously.
"I-I-I didn't meant to!" Ichigo stammered, hands held in front of his body, willing them to protect him from this dangerous woman's wrath.
Nel meanwhile, was closing in on him with hands balled into fists. "Honestly, Nel! I didn't mean to! I just woke up and I tried to get out of bed so I kicked away my sheets but...you...were...there..." He finished slowly, letting the words sink in.
His last words caused Nel's anger to dissipate and it was replaced by something skin to embarrassment. She turned her head slightly to the right so as not to have to look him into the eyes.
"N-Nel," Ichigo stammered out. "Just what were you doing into my bed exactly?" He asked carefully.
Nel's face appeared to redden at the question. She honestly hadn't intended to fall asleep with him, she just wanted to be there when he woke up.
"I-I didn't mean to, either." She slowly started. "I was just watching out for you. You'd passed out again like last time and I got cold so decided to lay down next to you for a bit," she stated, obviously embarrassed. "And well, it seems I fell asleep."
Ichigo chuckled at this and as he was about to tell her it was okay when a knock resounded at the door. Frowning he made his way over to the door and opened it.
The person that stood on the other side of the door was none other then Szayel Aporro Granz, the Octava Espada.
"I believe I have something for you, to repay your little...favor."
=0=
And we're done again. Man I had some trouble writing this chapter but in the end I am quite happy with the way it turned out. I just realised the average chapter has been starting to get a bit longer ever since I started writing this story. I do hope to keep it around this length per chapter though!
Now I'd very much like to hear your opinion concerning several things written in this story. First of all, the confrontation and resulting battle with Nnoitra. On a side note I do realise I 'borrowed' a large part of the dialogue at the end from the flashback in the past of Nnoitra and Nelliel.
Next I am curious to know what you all think of an Arrancar using Kidou. I have read some responses concerning that already but I am curious to find out more as Arrancar originally have obviously never been seen using Kidou. Yet since they are a Hollow/Shinigami hybrid it isn't all that odd to think they could use it given that they are properly instructed in it's use.
Lastly I ask you to let me know what you thought of the three consecutive flashbacks. These were obviously kept close to the cannon dialogues and situations as those haven't changed but I am still curious to know if you believe to be at all accurate.
Thanks again for reading yet another chapter and please review to let me know what you thought of it and feel to leave any sort of constructive criticism if you believe something things should or could be improved.