Lex Talionis
Chapter 18
As Ichigo awoke from sleep, he couldn't help but notice how refreshed he felt, despite the rather heavy drinking he did the night before and the emotional whirlwind he experienced with Lisa throughout the day itself. His thoughts wandered over the kiss he shared with his fellow Lieutenant and was for all intents and purposes broaching unknown territory. Life for him up until joining the Gotei 13 was filled to the brim with assassination, subterfuge, and the emotional disposition of a psychopath; nothing he had experienced thus far could prepare him on how to handle his predicament, and while he welcomed challenges of all kind, this one terrified him in a manner he wasn't aware existed.
Of course, any moment in which he could reflect and introspectively gaze at the problems in his life, a disturbance would always find its way to him wherever he may be and the disturbance on this particular occasion was none other than the 2nd Division Captain, Shihōin Yoruichi.
Upon opening his eyes he was greeted with Yoruichi's face that was only but an inch away from his own; passionate eyes and a sultry grin was plastered across her features, and all he could do was close his eyes shut and exhale a soft sigh that was laced with a seed of frustration as the beginning of his day started off like any other.
He could feel her hot breath on his ear, creating a sensation he was far too ill equipped to handle, and she whispered softly as goose bumps sprinted across the left side of his neck, "It's time to wake up, Ichigo."
All he could do was clench his teeth as he desperately tried to not let his emotions overwhelm him while at the same time giving them the freedom to surge uninhibited throughout his body, but unfortunately it would take more than ignoring her for Yoruichi to stop playing with her favorite toy.
She stopped supporting herself with her arms and opted to snuggle into the crook of his armpit while the index finger of her left hand softly traced the skin of Ichigo's bare chest, knowingly making him even more uncomfortable.
"Have you ever been to Hueco Mundo?" she asked, the tone in her voice was vacant of any teasing or playfulness that was present last she spoke.
He calmed his breathing, still trying to ignore her rather inappropriate embrace, "I have not."
Her finger ceased its movement along his pectoral, and as she pushed the flat of her hand on his chest to lift herself up, she simply laid beside him with an elbow propped underneath her lithe form, and gazed at him with concerned eyes, "There are hollows in that world more powerful than any Captain."
Ichigo cracked open his eyelids once more and stared at her curiously before settling his gaze on the ceiling of his bedroom, "I expected as much."
They shared a silence for what felt like several hours, but after a couple of minutes had passed, Yoruichi stood up from his bedside and exited through the door.
After observing and reflecting on Yoruichi's behavior, the seriousness of the day settled on his conscience and he prepared for their infiltration of Hueco Mundo.
A Hell Butterfly had relayed that the departure for Hueco Mundo would take place atop Sōkyoku Hill and early afternoon had come sooner than expected. Captains and Lieutenants of just about every division had attended to see the assault team off with words of confidence and moral support.
However, one Lieutenant in particular could not be found anywhere in sight, Yadōmaru Lisa.
Yoruichi gave him a reaffirming nod not with a playful smirk, but knitted eyebrows as her arms remained crossed underneath her chest. Kyoraku held a soft smile and gently squeezed his shoulder as he wished him luck, with the request that he return soon so that they may share a drink and story over his "adventure" in Hueco Mundo.
The slight disappointment he felt at not seeing Lisa notwithstanding, Ichigo reeled in his emotions and focused on the task at hand, for any mistake however small it might be could mean the difference between living and dying for any one of them.
"Eliminate any enemy you come across. Report back when the majority of Aizen's forces have been defeated," the Captain-Commander growled out, every Captain in the assault team nodding their heads in acknowledgement, with the exception of Zaraki who was getting impatient.
"Good luck!" Urahara chirped as he opened the Garganta and the assault team, one by one, walked through, none of them sparing a glance behind them.
Once in the precipice world leading to Hueco Mundo, they were simply greeted with darkness and a reverberating silence. Kensei lead the team and used his reiatsu to create a walkway and they travelled towards what they hoped to be their desired destination.
Ichigo took the rear and his senses were on high alert for any entity that may be following them, but for the entire trip nothing out of the ordinary caught his attention.
After a few grumbles and questions concerning whether they were there or not by the 11th Division Captain, Kensei stopped in his running as he felt a magnetic-like wall in front of him preventing any further travelling.
"Kurotsuchi," the 9th Division Captain muttered, calling the 3rd Seat's attention who walked towards the front with a device in hand.
Mayuri grumbled about Kensei's rudeness and began tinkering with the device he was holding, ignoring the 9th Division Captain's retorts. After several minutes of adjusting his device, a tear formed in front of them revealing a vast white desert.
"It's open," Mayuri exclaimed, ceasing Kensei's outburst. He took the lead once more and jumped through the tear down towards the desert ground.
One by one, much like how they had entered the Garganta, everyone exited it and leapt into Hueco Mundo. Ichigo was the last one to follow and just prior to leaping through he could've sworn that he had sensed a reiatsu signature nearby, but as he looked back towards the vast darkness they had travelled through, not a sound nor sight made itself known as he couldn't detect any reiatsu signatures in the immediate area.
After one last glance back into the Garganta, Ichigo leapt through the tear and fell down towards the desert ground of Hueco Mundo. He landed on his feet much like everyone else had and took in his surroundings.
The sky almost looked gray, but darkness swam over the land up to the horizon. The few clouds that accompanied the pitch blackness appeared to have as much life as the desert trees sparsely present in the white sand. The air tasted stale and felt heavy with each breath. The crescent moon was the only source of light, which only amplified the harsh brightness of the ground.
A voice soon interrupted everyone's evaluation of Hueco Mundo however, "Welcome, members of the Gotei 13 to my world, Hueco Mundo."
Ichigo's eyes narrowed as he instantly recognized to whom the voice belonged to, as did everyone else it seemed, "Aizen Sōsuke."
"Your visit was easily anticipated and I must express my thanks for being so predictable; it made preparations for this event quite convenient. I must apologize for being such a poor host by leaving so shortly after your arrival, but my dear Arrancar and I have business to attend to in Soul Society. Please enjoy your stay, members of the Gotei 13," Aizen said almost cheerfully before silence reigned over them once more.
"Kurotsuchi, open a gateway back to Soul Society!" Kensei growled out, anger evident in his voice at them being duped so easily.
Meanwhile, several powerful reiatsu signatures could be felt approaching their location quickly and Ichigo could only regret ignoring the gnawing feeling he had in his gut yesterday in the emergency Captains and Lieutenants meeting.
"It's not working, something is preventing any portals from being opened," Kurotsuchi responded while continuing to tinker with the device in his hand.
"Dammit!" Kensei exclaimed, frustrated by their predicament.
"We should split up. One group stays here to deal with those hollows coming our way while Kurotsuchi tries to reopen a Garganta, and another group will handle Aizen's remaining forces in that structure over there," Love said, slightly exasperated at their situation but otherwise not unnerved to the extent of Kensei.
"A device must be preventing me from creating a portal to Soul Society. I will attempt to circumnavigate its effects, but destroying it will greatly expedite my progress," Kurotsuchi muttered, to which Love simply nodded in acknowledgement.
"Rose, Lieutenant Fushou, Lieutenant Yamada, Lieutenant Kuchiki, and I will head towards the structure, the rest of you remain here," Love stated.
They immediately began flash-stepping towards the structure off in the distance, taking a route that wouldn't intersect with the incoming hollows. Sand was kicked up in every direction as the five pairs of feet quickly sped across the desert, the structure becoming larger and larger as they closed the distance between it and them.
As they landed atop what appeared to be a subsection of the structure, Ichigo spoke up, "We could speed this up if I went in search for whatever device is preventing us from leaving, Captain Aikawa."
Love regarded Ichigo briefly before nodding his head, "Don't engage anyone in combat, just find that device and destroy it, we'll take care of the bad guys," the 7th Division Captain said lightly.
Ichigo simply nodded before vanishing from their sight in a flash-step, masking his reiatsu while covering twice the ground that they had managed thus far in their infiltration of this monstrous structure.
"Look at em' go," Love chuckled, while Rose simply rolled his eyes at his fellow Captain's antics.
Their attention was immediately refocused however, as a presence made itself known, "I have been tasked with protecting Las Noches, and so I must ask that you leave," a voice stated as a figure walked out from around the corner of the entrance in front of them.
The figure was that of a slender, yet fairly muscular man of average height. Short, messy black hair ran down his scalp and pale white skin. His upper lip was completely black and he stared at them with green eyes and slit-shaped pupils; teal lines descended from the lower part of his eyes down to his jaw line. He wore a white jacket, black sash, and white hakama. His jacket had rather long coattails and his collar rose quite high. A broken white mask adorned the top-left side of his head, forming a broken horned helmet.
Love quirked his eyebrows at the man in front of him, whom he easily recognized as an Arrancar, "You sure look depressing. Sorry, but we're not leaving till you and all your friends have been handled," he said nonchalantly.
The Arrancar regarded them for only but a moment longer before closing his eyes briefly, "So be it," he stated before drawing his sword and a massive amount of reiatsu was pressed down on them.
"Ulquiorra Cifer, Quinto Espada in Aizen-sama's army," the Arrancar stated before rushing toward Love, who barely managed to draw his Zanpakuto and parry the strike.
Love's eyes widened in surprised at the Arrancar's strength, worry was settling within him as it became evident that there were more powerful Arrancar than Ulquiorra that they would have to contend against.
Ulquiorra pushed Love's blade away before kicking him square in the chest sending him flying into a nearby wall and proceeded to attack Rose.
Love withdrew himself from the wall and jumped back into the fight against the Quinto Espada, "Yamada…Kuchiki…go meet up with Ichigo while Rose and I deal with this guy!" the 7th Division Captain managed to grit out as he struggled to match Ulquiorra's strength.
"Yes!" they both replied before flash-stepping into what they now knew to be called Las Noches in search for the 2nd Division Lieutenant.
Each corridor, wall, and passageway all looked the same to both Lieutenant Yamada and Lieutenant Kuchiki as they both carefully flash-stepped through Las Noches in hopes of finding their fellow Lieutenant, but neither knew if they were getting closer or farther away from their destination as Ichigo was concealing is reiatsu perfectly.
However, unlike Ichigo, their reiatsu was not concealed as efficiently and so attention was eventually drawn to them in the form of yet another Arrancar as they were intercepted midway through another flash-step.
"I am Zommari Rureaux, Octava Espada," the Arrancar stated as both Lieutenants adjusted their footing in preparation for an incoming attack much like they witnessed with the Quinto Espada who was now fighting both Captain Ōtoribashi and Captain Aikawa.
Zommari simply stood there unmoving as he stared at them both expectantly, "What are your names, shinigami?" he asked.
The Lieutenants both shared a look with each other before answering, neither one letting down their guard for a second, "4th Division Lieutenant, Yamada Seinosuke."
The other Lieutenant responded in kind not long after, "6th Division Lieutenant, Kuchiki Sojun."
Zommari was tall, muscular, and dark-skinned, with large lips. It appeared as though the remnants of his mask consisted of a row of bony spikes along the crest of his head, creating something similar to a Mohawk hairstyle along with a pair of skull-shaped earrings and a thick bony necklace. Aside from the bony spikes on his head he was completely bald and had yellow eyes. His jacket appeared to be a mandarin-style uniform with a small opening at his chest area, and wore a hakama similar to that of Ulquiorra, along with traditional martial arts training shoes.
"Why do you wait to attack, shinigami?" Zommari asked, having maintained his position since arriving.
Seinosuke's eyes narrowed slightly at the taunt, while Sojun maintained his composure unlike his fellow Lieutenant. Seinosuke didn't wait a moment longer before he flash-stepped forward with his Zanpakuto reeled back to strike, ignoring Sojun's pleas to stop.
Zommari easily dodged Seinosuke's reckless attack and slashed across the Lieutenant's chest with his blade before kicking him in the ribs, vaulting the 4th Division Lieutenant into a nearby wall, leaving Sojun alone to deal with the Espada.
Sojun swore internally at his predicament and Seinosuke's rash behavior, the necessity of caution increasing dramatically now that his fellow Lieutenant lay unconscious several yards away.
Sojun went on the offensive against Zommari, although with a much clearer head than his comrade, which allowed him to narrowly dodge and parry the Arrancar's deadly attacks.
"You must be angry at me for defeating your friend so easily," Zommari stated whilst they crossed blades with one another, the taunt quite evident to Sojun who maintained his composure.
"It is pointless to continue this battle, you do not stand a fighting chance, Lieutenant Kuchiki," Zommari stated, his attempts to disrupt Sojun's focus failing yet again.
The 6th Division Lieutenant narrowly dodged an attempted stab by Zommari and soon discovered that the Arrancar had created a copy of himself, much to Sojun's surprise.
"I have the fastest sonido of all the Espada. By adding in a few more steps I can create a clone of myself. There is no shame in being surprised by this technique as it is akin to a magic trick, and as such is intended to evoke such reaction," Zommari boasted of himself while simultaneously speaking to Sojun with a condescending tone.
Sojun surmised that Zommari's ability to clone himself was not limited to one copy, for underestimating an opponent in enemy territory was a novice mistake he would not succumb to, and his estimation proved accurate as he flash-stepped away from last he stood to dodge a second copy of the Octava Espada.
Their battle continued. Sojun was unable to land any attacks on the original Zommari, the numerous clones making it difficult to discern which reiatsu signature belonged to the original, but fortunately Zommari was also just as unsuccessful in harming Sojun, which slowly began to irritate the Espada.
"I can see in your face that you think it possible to defeat me. I shall destroy that confidence and put you to shame then," Zommari stated before squatting down with his knees pointed outward and levitating his sword in front of him. He let go of his sword which remained floating, clasped his hands together, and rotated his head ninety degrees despite the cracks in his neck that could be heard before saying, "Brujería!"
His sword bent into the shape of an edged spiral and a thick white smoke began to emit from the corners of the spiral, eventually covering his body only to transform into a thick, white, foamy liquid mixing with his energy. As the liquid disappeared, Zommari's new form was revealed; dozens of eyes covered his body and his legs along with the rest of his lower body was now covered with a pink pumpkin-like structure, surrounded by cyclopean faces that somewhat resemble his own face.
"I shall take the sovereignty of your confidence!" Zommari bellowed and one of the eyes on both his shoulder and chest began to glow a deep purple, which Sojun interpreted as the time to move and so he flash-stepped behind Zommari in order to avoid a possible attack.
Zommari glanced behind him and a smirk ran up his face, "It is too late Lieutenant Kuchiki, I have taken your sovereignty…" he stated before glancing at the unconscious form of Seinosuke, "and his too."
Sojun spared a glance at Seinosuke and was able to make out a sun-shaped marking on the 4th Division Lieutenant's forehead. Sojun wasn't sure of the meaning behind this symbol, but as he unknowingly had the same symbol on the side of his own face, the implications were soon made very apparent as he realized that control of his body was no longer in his hands.
Meanwhile, Ichigo was carefully traversing through Las Noches in search of the device preventing them from leaving Hueco Mundo, but such task was proving more difficult than he expected. He had narrowly bypassed the Arrancar now doing battle against both Captains outside the entrance and he had yet to come across any other enemies since entering the enemy base.
The corridors all bore an identical resemblance to one another, but having mapped each reiatsu signature in his head Ichigo was able to create a makeshift map in order to narrow down each possible location for the device he was searching for, but he was running out of time. The reiatsu levels of both Captains and Arrancar doing battle were not only increasing but moving to increasingly higher elevations, while the Lieutenants he soon realized had just recently been confronted by another Arrancar.
He refocused on the task at hand, leaping across the beams high up in the ceiling towards the next possible location of the device. Ichigo had already covered a third of Las Noches, and as luck would have it the section he had just arrived to was emanating a strange type of energy.
However, as he scanned the surrounding area for any reiatsu signatures, he could sense at least a dozen past the entrance he observed up on his perch in the ceiling. Despite the majority of the signatures being rather weak, with the exception of one, he didn't want to risk being discovered while he searched for this device. He racked his brain attempting to formulate a plan, and thankfully it came to him in the form of Kidō.
He leapt down to the floor from the ceiling and pointed his palm into the open hallway away from the entrance. After softly whispering, "Hadō #31, Shakkahō" at least twenty times over, all of which had varying degrees of power put into them, he managed to adjust their speed of travel by tweaking the flow of his reiatsu, thereby causing them to move towards their target at different speeds.
Ichigo leapt back up to the ceiling and observed his plan in action. Throughout the entire hallway and likely hundreds of yards away, explosions of different sizes began erupting along the walls, floor, and ceiling as Ichigo's attacks made contact. Much to his relief, he sensed all reiatsu signatures converge on the entrance, and witnessed all of them run down the hallway in pursuit of what they presumed to be an enemy invader.
After enough distance had been made, Ichigo finally jumped back down and quickly ran through the entrance into what he soon discovered to be a laboratory, which only convinced him further that he had found the correct location for the device. He took quick glances at the monitors lined up against the wall, each one connected to the wall itself or some item resting on a pedestal located in front of its respective computer. He eventually caught the glimpse of several keywords that made him halt in his tracks.
He skimmed his eyes over the words decorating the monitor in front of him, and after several mentions of Gargantas, atmospheric integrity, and the number of times adaptive countermeasures had been executed, Ichigo proceeded to unsheathe his Zanpakuto and quickly severed the connection between the computer and the artifact in front of it.
The monitor flickered briefly before going black, but the artifact continued to emanate a strange type of energy; and so he raised his palm at the artifact and shot a Kidō spell directly at it, a loud all-encompassing snapping noise followed after the explosion.
Ichigo didn't waste any time and quickly exited the laboratory and leapt back up into the ceiling, traversing the beams once more while masking his reiatsu to avoid detection by the previous occupants of the lab who were now desperately returning due to the most recent explosion in the area.
He could hear a scream of rage off in the distance as he created more distance between himself and the laboratory, but the sudden disappearance of one of his fellow Lieutenant's reiatsu signatures spurred him to quicken his flash-steps towards their location, his concern for them returning as his mission had been accomplished.