Lex Talionis

Chapter 19

After travelling through many of the corridors and hallways that littered the inside of Las Noches, as well as slipping past several patrols, Ichigo was able to reach the location of his fellow Lieutenants. However, before he revealed himself to his allies, his instincts kicked into high alert at the sight before him. Lieutenant Seinosuke and Lieutenant Sojun were both crossing blades against the other, and it was this odd scenario that caused him to remain hidden in the ceiling.

He didn't understand why his peers were fighting each other and could only surmise that it had something to do with the Arrancar who was observing the battle much like himself; and so with great reluctance Ichigo decided to remain hidden until he could gather more information on the situation at hand.

Ichigo took note of the Arrancar's appearance as well as the equally strange reiatsu being emitted by the hollow who was watching his fellow Lieutenants much like a spectator would in an arena. The subtle changes in the Arrancar's facial expressions, two of the glowing eyes on his body, and the hand movements all lead him to but a single conclusion: Lieutenant Seinosuke and Lieutenant Sojun were being controlled by this Arrancar.

As Ichigo remained crouched in the ceiling, his eyes narrowed in thought, "It's safe to assume that there is at least a one to one correspondence with the number of targets this Arrancar can control with the number of eyes he possesses."

Seinosuke's movements were rather lagging and dull compared to Sojun amidst their exchange of strikes. The vanishing reiatsu signature that Ichigo had detected earlier might explain the cause for such effect, but all Ichigo could do at this point was speculate and observe, something he soon realized began to irk him.

Ichigo had operated by himself for decades. He had not made a single alliance in the entirety of his time as a mercenary, let alone a friend, and while he did not know Seinosuke or Sojun well, they were his allies. They were his comrades. The risk of having any relationship, whether it was one of friendship or that of professionalism brought about the inherent possibility of suffering pain of loss. The pain of loss was more than likely Ichigo's reasoning for operating alone, and by listening to his Zanpakuto spirits he was putting forth an effort to accepting his emotions. Unfortunately, since Ichigo would no longer repress his emotions, he had to endure the pain of helplessness as he watched his comrades cut each other apart.

Injuries that varied from shallow cuts to near fatal gashes were exchanged, and Ichigo couldn't help but think that many of the attacks each Lieutenant suffered could've easily been avoided had they been in control of their actions.

"I must wait. I cannot afford to fall victim to this Arrancar's ability. When the moment is right…" Ichigo thought as his comrades continued to mutilate each other, much to his disgust, "this hollow will die."

The battle between the Lieutenants continued. The wounds continued to grow in number. The volume of blood pouring from every newly created orifice continued to paint the previously white walls and floor to a distinctly colored red.

Seinosuke would charge forward with an overhand attack, and Sojun would simply stand there as the blade dug into his shoulder, his expression remaining unchanged. Seinosuke would react in similar fashion when Sojun would eventually retaliate with a slash to the 4th Division Lieutenant's ribs. All the while, the Arrancar standing nearby wore a sadistic grin of satisfaction as his puppets entertained him with battle, deriving pleasure at the damage he was inflicting on his Shinigami enemies both physically and mentally by pitting the allies against each other.

Ichigo had to exercise every last ounce of his patience in order to stop himself from attacking the Arrancar as the battle between Sojun and Seinosuke continued to become more gruesome. Their bodies were enduring an unnatural amount of damage and in all likelihood would not survive the day, let alone be the same again should they live for tomorrow.

Despite the disgust he felt towards their battle, and the loathing he felt towards the Arrancar for his despicable actions, Ichigo continued to observe the battle. Ichigo would not disrespect his comrades by ignoring their final moments. They would not die in vain, nor would their battle be forgotten. Ichigo took to memory every cut, every stab, and every frame of the events taking place before him, for if one asked about the final moments in his comrades' lives, a story could be told.

Of course, Ichigo had a part in this story he would surely tell if he survived this war. He had restrained himself in the darkness. He had allowed this heartless battle between allies to continue. He had eliminated the miniscule chance of saving their lives for the sake of killing the enemy. The moment he gave up on their survival, he thereby owed it to their sacrifice by achieving victory. Therefore, when the moment had finally arrived, Ichigo was more than prepared to carry out his unspoken promise.

Ichigo had silently released his Zanpakuto, using the entirety of his concentration to mask the abrupt rise in reiatsu, and when Sojun's blade was but a millimeter away from impaling Seinosuke's solar plexus, each passing moment in time had slowed and Ichigo finally reacted.

Seinosuke was impaled by Sojun's Zanpakuto, the blade having run through his chest and exiting out of his back, but before a single drop of blood could fall from the tip of the intruding sword, Zommari's head had hit the ground with a resounding thud. Black wispy smoke dissipated to reveal the 2nd Division Lieutenant standing behind the now headless Octava Espada, Zommari Rureaux. A drop of blood fell from the scythe held by Ichigo in the same moment that a drop of blood hit the floor off Sojun's Zanpakuto, and in the following moment both Sojun and Seinosuke fell backwards towards the ground.

Ichigo was immediately by Sojun's side, placing his scythe on the ground as he attempted to save the 6th Division Lieutenant's life with a healing Kidō. However, his mediocre healing was only able to prevent Sojun's condition from worsening, unable to overtake the inevitable embrace that death would bring for Sojun, and they both knew it.

Ichigo glanced at Seinosuke briefly and soon discovered that the 4th Division Lieutenant had long since died before he had arrived to the scene, Zommari having pitted Sojun against nothing but a corpse, which only sickened Ichigo even further at the hollow's actions.

His attention was soon directed back towards Sojun, however, as the Lieutenant weakly grabbed hold of the hand Ichigo was using to perform the healing Kidō.

"It is too late," Sojun said quietly, discomfort etched across his face as he struggled against the pain.

Ichigo could only observe the man lying before him with a passive face, being unable to express the numerous emotions raging within him.

"I'm afraid that I must…make an unfair request of you…Lieutenant Fushou," Sojun ground out weakly in between his fits of coughing.

Ichigo could only nod in acknowledgement as he witnessed the last moments of his comrade's life.

"Please…watch over my son…Byakuya," Sojun managed to say before a pained expression overcame him, "My wife is dead…and my father soon approaches retirement…he will have no one but the family's elders."

Ichigo recalled the boy who Sojun spoke of and couldn't help but have mixed feelings about being responsible for the child, which Sojun had noticed as Ichigo's eyebrows had knitted together slightly upon hearing Sojun's request.

"The elders will not do what is best for him…I do not wish him the fate of becoming their…puppet," Sojun managed, agony racing through his body once more as the last threads of his life were on the verge of breaking.

"January 14th…" Sojun choked, oxygen leaving his lungs as he gathered the last of his strength to speak, "Inuzuri," he was able to say with his final breath.

Sojun Kuchiki, Lieutenant of the 6th Division and member of the Kuchiki Noble Family, had died.

Ichigo stared at the man beneath him for what seemed like hours. The emotions that were previously raging through his entire being had suddenly halted in their tracks upon the last trace of Sojun's reiatsu disappearing.

However, Ichigo could ponder over his thoughts no further as several incoming reiatsu signatures brought him back to reality. There were additional signatures not too far behind and he couldn't afford to be delayed in assisting the Captains in battle.

Ichigo grabbed hold of his Zanpakuto and quickly sealed its form. He cut a lock of hair and the attached kenseikan off the left side of Sojun's head before removing the 6th Division Lieutenant's armband and placing both items in his uniform. Ichigo cut off a lock of Seinosuke's hair in similar fashion and retrieved the 4th Division Lieutenant's armband as well, also placing both items in his uniform.

The reiatsu signatures were fast approaching and it wouldn't be long until he was overrun by hollows of varying strength. Ichigo moved Seinosuke's body next to Sojun's so they were parallel and as he closed his eyes while slowly taking in a breath, he outstretched an open palm towards his comrades' bodies before softly saying, "Hadō #54, Haien."

An oblong blast of purple energy was propelled from his hand and incinerated both Seinosuke and Sojun's bodies, leaving no evidence behind other than the feint smell of burnt flesh.

Ichigo didn't spend a single moment there any longer and quickly left for the Las Noches exit, his thoughts being taken away from his comrades' deaths to the battle he could sense taking place between his fellow Captains and an Arrancar on the rooftop.

Meanwhile, the remaining half of the assault team in the desert had engaged in battle against the hollows that had come to meet them upon their arrival in Hueco Mundo.

Zaraki was laughing gleefully as he crossed blades with an Arrancar wearing an eye patch who wielded an axe-like sword that had two crescent moon-shaped blades fused together at their back, creating a unique looking weapon, much to the 11th Division Captain's excitement.

Kensei was engaged in battle with a blue-haired Arrancar in hand to hand combat, neither individual feeling all that inclined to draw their swords, both of them content with the current circumstances of their fight.

Mashiro, the Lieutenant of the 9th Division, was currently in the process of taunting a rather large Arrancar while simultaneously dodging his attacks, which only infuriated the hollow even more as the frequency and volume of his verbal obscenities only increased as their exchange progressed.

Mayuri paid no attention to the hollows that had arrived nor did he take interest in the battles taking place, feeling that such savage behavior was not nearly as stimulating as his struggle with reopening a gateway to Soul Society, but the remaining hollows not engaged in battle weren't as disinterested as the 3rd Seat of the 12th Division.

"Hey, white face!" a rather short Arrancar spat towards Mayuri, failing to catch the scientist's attention.

The Arrancar began walking towards Mayuri, his ill will towards the Shinigami quite evident if his aura didn't make that obvious enough. The Arrancar was rather short; the remnants of his hollow mask were that of a bulky helmet similar to the shape of a hammerhead shark, the right side of which was wrapped in bandages, thereby obscuring his right eye.

Standing only but a couple of yards away, the Arrancar's agitation reached an all-time high as Mayuri continued to disregard his presence, still tinkering with various devices in his possession as he attempted to intellectually defeat whomever was responsible for sealing them in Hueco Mundo.

"Don't ignore me Shinigami!" the Arrancar yelled before drawing out his sword and bringing it down upon Mayuri to split the scientist vertically in half.

"Che," Mayuri said, clearly annoyed by the Arrancar's distractions.

Before the Arrancar's blade could come any closer towards Mayuri, his actions faltered when he saw a small vial break upon hitting his mask, the contents of which splashed on both his face and mask. He could ponder its effects no longer as a searing pain erupted from the point of contact and much like acid, the liquid ate away at his body. In under a minute's time the Arrancar whose name Mayuri cared not to learn had been eaten away completely into nothingness.

After witnessing their comrade's quick defeat by a method none of them were familiar with, they opted to not disturb Mayuri and simply watched the ongoing battles.

Ichigo had long since exited Las Noches and was speeding towards the rooftop, almost desperate to help his comrades by this point after witnessing the death of his fellow Lieutenants. The reiatsu he was sensing up ahead was staggering to say the least, but Ichigo didn't let that impede his focus nor his destination.

"C'mon Rose, we can't let the bad guy make us look bad," Love exclaimed with a haggard sigh as he panted while trying to catch his breath, a mix of blood and sweat pouring down his face.

His fellow Captain would have worn a look of exasperation if he too wasn't just as tired and injured, "The hero must always struggle at the beginning…only then will victory reach its perfect melody," Rose commented before reeling back his released Zanpakuto; a golden whip, tipped with a flower.

"Well I sure as hell don't like the sound of the beat down we're receiving right now," Love grimaced as he shouldered his own released Zanpakuto, the massive spiked-truncheon doing little to reassure the 7th Division Captain as Ulquiorra began stalking towards them once again.

The Quinto Espada outstretched his hand and pointed his index finger at the two Captains, and while the Captains braced themselves for the attack, an assailant from out of nowhere shot towards Ulquiorra before he could fire.

Ichigo was putting forth all his efforts in his speed and as he finally arrived at the rooftop he wasted no time with assassination attempts or assessing the situation. He found his target and simply attacked.

Ulquiorra managed to dodge the assault, and while he could match Ichigo's speed initially, as their battle progressed he was steadily falling behind. Not long after, both Love and Rose soon joined the 2nd Division Lieutenant in the fight and the three shinigami didn't allow Ulquiorra a single moment to breathe let alone mount an offensive.

Upon Ichigo's arrival, Love and Rose had gotten a second wind. Their motivation now reinvigorated at their comrades' arrival as the encounter was finally turning in their favor.

When Rose was left exposed to an attack, Love would garner Ulquiorra's attention, and when Ulquiorra attempted to parry, Ichigo would slip in a cut on the outstretched arm. The three of them had never functioned as a group in battle before, but Ulquiorra wouldn't have guessed otherwise based on how well they complimented each other.

However, the damage that they had inflicted upon the Arrancar was soon healed by the Espada's high speed regeneration; cuts on the arm would heal moments after they were created. Ichigo had even managed to decapitate Ulquiorra's hand amidst a combined flurry by the three shinigami, but the Arrancar had simply regenerated a new hand like new.

"Organs," Ichigo muttered during a slight pause in their assault, and the three shinigami continued their attacks once more with new focus.

Unfortunately, that slight pause gave Ulquiorra ample time to create distance between his shinigami attackers, "Resurrección, Segunda Etapa."

While both Love and Rose had faltered in their steps and stood rooted in place, Ichigo didn't hesitate in the slightest. He continued forward, flash-stepping towards Ulquiorra with unrelenting speed and nothing but focus and determination despite the monstrous reiatsu being released by the Espada.

Love and Rose realized too late their mistake and as such the momentum and rhythm they had collectively, was now disrupted. They both ran after Ichigo to catch up, but he was moving far too fast and the distance between Ichigo and Ulquiorra was too short for them to be able to provide support.

Several feet before reaching Ulquiorra, Ichigo flash-stepped behind him and brought forth a devastating swing of his released Zanpakuto, the scythe cutting through the smoke created by Ulquiorra and aimed to cut the Espada's spine in half. The blade screamed through the air and the pressure alone could probably be felt by Love and Rose from the amount of force Ichigo had put behind his attack.

Ichigo was met with resistance.

His blade was halted immediately with unwavering strength, and before Ichigo could pull back his blade for a second attack, a beam of black energy with a green outline shot towards him. Ichigo was far too close to avoid the attack; it was through instinct alone that the beam shot through his shoulder instead of his chest.

Love and Rose both arrived two seconds too late. Their comrade now injured and not supporting them in conjunction with their attacks quickly turned their confidence in victory back to the despair of loss. Ulquiorra was already defeating them both prior to Ichigo's arrival and that was with far less reiatsu than he had now.

Despite the wound in his shoulder, Ichigo immediately jumped back into the fight to support his comrades, but even when they managed to sync their attacks, Ulquiorra's strength proved to be far more than they could handle, and it showed. Their wounds were increasing with dangerous frequency and they had yet to cause any damage to the Quinto Espada.

They were losing an uphill battle, and regardless of how focused and determined Ichigo remained in their struggle, a drop of fear fell through the cracks and the levee was on its way to break despite Ichigo's thoughts.

"I won't let them die…"

Ulquiorra's sword pierced Rose's forearm, and Love quickly rushed a swing aimed towards the Espada's neck, but Ulquiorra easily leaned back and planted his feet on Rose's arm, pushing himself backwards, thereby withdrawing the blade from Rose's flesh and avoiding Love's attack.

"I can prevent their deaths…"

As Love attempted to bring down an overhead strike, Ulquiorra horizontally cut the underside of Love's arms before kicking him in the stomach, vaulting the Captain towards a pillar on the roof. Rose flung his rope-like Zanpakuto at the Espada's legs while Ichigo aimed a kick at the back of Ulquiorra's head. Ulquiorra simply flipped forward dodging both attacks, managing to kick Ichigo's outstretched leg with his heels and firing another energy attack at the kneeling Rose. Rose's reiatsu dropped to nonexistent levels.

"I just need to focus more…"

While Ichigo regained his balance after being kicked sideways by Ulquiorra, Love charged towards the Espada but proved to be of little challenge on his own. They exchanged attacks and after a series of swings Love had managed to inflict some minor gashes on Ulquiorra, but his high speed regeneration easily remedied the wounds. Love had fought aggressively to land those attacks and in the process had left himself vulnerable to Ulquiorra's answer, and unlike the Espada, Love did not have high speed regeneration. Love's reiatsu all but disappeared entirely after Ulquiorra had stabbed him with a lance of green energy.

"I will…"

The dust settled and only two remained.

Ichigo charged forward, just as quickly as he had in his first attack. He ignored the pain he experienced through his wounds. He ignored the torment in his mind at witnessing his comrades' fall to death's embrace once more. He ignored the telltale signs that defeat was imminent and resistance futile.

He could feel the heat of the lance Ulquiorra held, and while he managed to avoid injury more efficiently than both Love and Rose, he could only fight against time for so long. He back stepped a downward slash, but Ulquiorra managed to land a kick on his sternum sending him flying into the pillar wall.

Ichigo crumbled to the floor and sat unmoving. He could see Ulquiorra slowly walking towards him. He could hear himself breathing and nothing else. For some reason it felt good to breath, an oddity he couldn't really explain given the circumstances. He simply inhaled and exhaled. The distance closing at a painstaking pace, but he didn't pay it much attention. His jaw started to vibrate with each new breath, and time slowed further after releasing the air in his lungs.

Ulquiorra had eventually halted in his tracks, unflinching and unmoving. Deafness crept upon him as sound soon left his ears. The contrast in his vision, however, was soon beginning to intensify. At the point of the hollow hole in the center of Ulquiorra's sternum began a glowing light. The light soon obscured the Espada's form from view and was replaced by a smiling young girl, Nikkō.