Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach, or any of its characters; Tite Kubo does.
A/N: Before we get started, I'd like to give a quick shout out to an amazing story by a good friend and frequent moral supporter of mine, MatsuMama. The story is called Nebula, and it's an incredibly well-written, gripping and all-around awesome Urahara/Yoruichi tale. Here's the link: .net/s/3881927/1/Nebula .
And now, on with the show:
Torn
Chapter 3: Old Friends
Training with Kaname Tosen, Ichigo decided midway through the duel as gashes and cuts littered his body, made his crash-course with Urahara look like child's play. The man was absolutely ruthless, exploiting every single gap or weakness Ichigo was stupid enough to give him. Eventually, after their fifth round had come and gone and Kurosaki thought he was about to pass out from blood loss, the orange-haired Soul Reaper realized what Tosen was really trying to do.
As much as the blind Captain's methods were improving Ichigo's reflexes, speed and overall fighting skill, Kaname's lessons were also purging him of one very important weakness: his fear of death. If Ichigo could stand calm and focused when he had only his ears to tell him where the next attack would fall, he would be utterly fearless when fighting without a handicap. By the time the full moon rose and their final round for the night began, Ichigo's other senses felt so sharp that it was almost like he was using them to see instead of his eyes; he could hear the sliding of Tosen's feet across the ground as he moved and feel exactly what was going on around him by paying attention to subtle shifts in the air currents.
"You are finally beginning to feel, Ichigo Kurosaki, and not just react," the blind Captain said as Ichigo dodged yet another strike and parried with one of his own. "This is the first step you must take if you wish to become truly powerful; only by taking the time to discern your enemy's weak points and attacking accordingly will you achieve true victory in battle. Strength alone may win you battles, but the price you pay using that method is always terribly steep."
"You can sit and wait all you want," Ichigo shot back as he readied for a strike, "but if you leave me an opening that big, no amount of preparation will save you!"
Tosen tensed and shifted his stance to cover what he thought was a weakness in his guard, only to realize when it was already far too late that by doing so, he had opened up the very gap Ichigo had claimed to notice a few seconds earlier. As he reeled backwards from the sharp, searing injury, Kaname's words of praise were at odds with his current state.
"Excellent," he complimented. "You used verbal taunting and misdirection to throw off your opponent's defense. Continue making your mind and reflexes as sharp as your zanpakuto, Ichigo Kurosaki," the blind Captain finished, setting down his blood-stained katana, "and you will become a true asset to our cause."
Being referred to as an 'asset' put Ichigo's teeth on edge, but he shrugged it off for the time being and went to go nap off the soreness in his muscles. After all, he was in no position to question Aizen or his motives.
Not yet, anyway.
That night marked a watershed moment for Las Noches: Gin returned, scratched and torn but nonetheless accompanied by a fierce, panther-like Adjuchas that had the sharpest blue eyes Ichigo had ever seen.
"This one put up quite a fight," Gin recounted. "I couldn't find any Vasto Lorde, Captain Aizen, but out of all the Adjuchas I saw he showed the most promise. Put up such a fuss that at one point I thought I was gonna have ta kill him, but he agreed to come along before it came to that."
"That's good to hear," Aizen said, his voice slightly amused. "Ichigo, please bring the Hougyoku in here."
Kurosaki nodded curtly and flash-stepped away, soon finding himself in the chamber containing the orb. Picking it up, Ichigo was about to return to the main room when he had an idea. Connecting with the Hougyoku once more, he siphoned off just enough power from the artifact that it wouldn't noticeably weaken. Satisfied that he now had a store of energy with which to tame his Hollow independent from Aizen's discretion, Ichigo returned to the main room with the slightest bit of spring in his step.
"Thank you, Ichigo," Sosuke said as he accepted the orb; if he felt anything different about it, he didn't mention it. "Now, my friend," the former Captain continued as he turned to face the blue-eyed, feline Adjuchas, "would you tell us your name?"
"Grimmjow," the panther growled, his voice as sharp as the edge of Zangetsu. "Grimmjow Jaegerjaques."
"Well then, Grimmjow," Aizen spoke, holding out the Hougyoku and beginning to activate it, "let's see what your true face looks like. Bakudo number 99, Part 1: Kin."
Strips of spiritual fabric quickly surrounded and engulfed Grimmjow, but the brown-haired former Captain stopped the spell before the iron bolts ripped into the Adjuchas.
"I apologize for having to immobilize you, Grimmjow," Sosuke said, "but it's the only way to ensure that you don't inadvertently harm yourself during the transformation."
When he finished speaking, Aizen activated the Hougyoku and there was a blinding flash of white light that caused everyone present to shield their eyes. Grimmjow's form writhed intensely at the beginning, with strangled screams filtering up through the ribbons of cloth, but by the time the light faded the Adjuchas' figure was still and silent. The ribbons gradually fell away, revealing a human with neon-blue hair and equally striking eyes. His mask fragment took the form of a piece of jawbone placed on the right side of his face, and his Hollow Hole resided in the middle of his abdomen.
Breathing heavily for a few moments, the newborn Arrancar forced himself to calm down and looked up, surveying the faces of the others in the room. Grimmjow's eyes lingered on Ichigo longer than any of the others, and Kurosaki could tell that Jaegerjaques was sizing him up as a potential rival for the top spot among Aizen's soldiers.
Bring it on, kitty.
"I do not know if it would be prudent to give you a number yet, seeing as how you are the first of your generation," Sosuke broke in, subtly diffusing the tension between his two warriors, "but I can at least give you first pick of the common numeros to be your fraccion."
As soon as Aizen and Grimmjow were out of earshot, a dark look passed over Tosen's brow and he spoke, his voice uncommonly tense.
"I can practically feel the malice and contempt radiating from that one," he said. "He's too much of a loose cannon to be trusted."
"Eh, even loose cannons can serve their purposes, Kaname," Gin replied, smirking. "You just have to be sure to point them in the right direction."
Ichigo sighed and got up to leave, figuring his part here was done, when Aizen suddenly re-appeared.
"While Grimmjow is otherwise occupied, Ichigo," the former Captain said evenly, "I have a task for you to undertake. Consider it your first solo assignment, if you will."
"Yeah?"
If Aizen was at all perturbed by Ichigo's bluntness, he hid it perfectly behind a small smirk.
"Just now I felt an interesting reiatsu signature some distance away from Las Noches; it looks like an Espada that chose exile once I enacted my coup of Hueco Mundo has re-emerged. Here's a sample of his reiatsu," the former Captain paused for a moment to send Ichigo a wisp of spiritual energy, which nestled itself in the palm of his hand.
"When you find him, tell him I'd like to have a word. He goes by the name of Aaroniero Arruruerie."
"I didn't think that creep would die so easily," Thunderwitch spoke up. "If you ask me, though, he can stay buried out there; that… thing is disgusting."
"Putting your personal preferences aside, Cirucci," Aizen replied in a gentle tone that nonetheless managed to make her blood freeze, "Aaroniero is one of the original Espada, and as such I feel that he deserves a chance to redeem himself in my eyes. If he refuses to come along peacefully, Ichigo," the brown-haired Soul Reaper finished calmly, right before flashing away,
"Kill him."
As their leader departed, Gin vanished with a whisper to follow him. Tosen disappeared as well, no doubt to go monitor Grimmjow, leaving Ichigo alone with the three Espada.
"Since when was Aizen our God?" Thunderwitch said acidly, her eyes narrowing. "Just because he's strong enough to carve out his own little chunk of our world, he thinks he can decide which of us live or die?"
"You should be more careful with your words, senorita," Dordonii replied. "Aizen might not be a God, but he's certainly powerful enough to destroy any of us without so much as lifting a finger. If he wants to reign over us, that is his right as the strongest. That is the way Hueco Mundo has always been, no?"
Ichigo felt like saying that Aizen had needed to lift a finger to stop his bankai, but decided against it.
"He's not even a Hollow," Thunderwitch griped. "He's a goddamn Soul Reaper."
"Not that all Soul Reapers are bad, though," Dordonii amended hastily, giving Ichigo an apologetic sidelong glance. Kurosaki just shrugged; he hadn't expected his formerly mortal enemies to trot out a welcoming committee, after all. Figuring he had best start sniffing out this Aaroniero guy, Ichigo got up and flashed away, memorizing the reiatsu signature as he went. The orange-haired Soul Reaper tried to ignore the fact that he was basically being reduced to an errand boy; he was still dependent upon the Hougyoku to control his Inner Hollow, after all, and if running errands was what he had to do to maintain access to the artifact, then so be it.
Back in Las Noches, Aizen was standing on a balcony looking up at the moon when Gin stepped out from the shadows behind him.
"Are ya sure this is a good idea, Captain?" he asked. "Lettin' Ichigo-kun run free like that, I mean."
"The boy stole some of the Hougyoku's essence from me, Gin," Sosuke answered, his voice as cold, smooth and pointed as an icicle. "If his encounter with Aaroniero unfolds as I imagine it will, he will feel compelled to sacrifice that power. Once he does, Ichigo will realize that not only is he once again in my pocket, but also that there is no way he will ever out-think me. When he comes to understand how total my control is, he will cease to even contemplate foolish acts of defiance. Then Ichigo will be our loyal soldier, and when that day arrives Soul Society won't have a prayer."
Ichimaru simply nodded and vanished, knowing not to debate a point with his Captain when Aizen was in a mood like this. The silver-haired Soul Reaper knew that Sosuke was probably right this time, but he made a note to keep an eye on Kurosaki personally, just in case. After all, one could never be too careful.
It took Ichigo a good half hour of constant flash-steps before he finally caught onto something stronger than just a trace of Aaroniero's reiatsu. When he found the Hollow itself a few minutes later, however, Kurosaki's jaw all but hit the floor. The reiatsu signature was identical, so unless Aizen had screwed up, which was highly unlikely, the Hollow before him was Aaroniero Arruruerie. But that was impossible, because the person in front of Ichigo wasn't a Hollow.
It was a Soul Reaper, and one that looked disturbingly similar to Ichigo. They were almost the same height, and if you were to have cut Aaroniero's hair a little shorter and dyed it orange it would have been identical to Ichigo's. His eyes were sea-green, a color that Kurosaki knew he'd seen somewhere before but couldn't quite place. To top everything off, he didn't seem to have a Hollow Hole and carried a zanpakuto at his waist.
What the hell was going on here?
"I see Aizen finally sent his dogs after me," Aaroniero said after regarding the orange-haired Soul Reaper for a few moments, his sinister voice at odds with his seeming-kind face. "Why don't you run along back to your master, boy, and tell him I have no interest in serving under a usurper."
Ichigo sighed; this guy just had to do things the hard way.
"I really don't want to have to do this, Aaroniero," he replied heavily, "but if you won't come with me, I'm gonna have to drag you all the way back to Las Noches myself. You have a problem with Aizen, tell him so to his face."
Aaroniero drew his zanpakuto, eyes set in a murderous glare and his mouth drawn into an equally stoic line.
"If you drag anything back to Aizen, brat, it will be your severed limbs."
Kurosaki drew Zangetsu with a growl, shifting immediately into bankai. If this guy wanted a fight, Ichigo would give him one. As Aaroniero saw the transformation and felt his opponent's reiatsu rise accordingly, his frown gradually widened into a bloodthirsty grin.
"Not wasting any time, huh? I can respect that." Pointing his zanpakuto blade-down, Aaroniero began to spin it slowly around in a circle. As he did so, it pulsed brighter and brighter with yellow energy.
"Surge through the seas and rage through the skies, Nejibana."
The sword's form became thinner and elongated, until by the time the light faded the zanpakuto had ceased to be a sword and was now a blue weapon that looked like a cross between a halberd and a trident. When Aaroniero slammed the pointed end of the shikai down into the desert sands, a ring of water sprang up around him.
"What is your name, boy?" the Hollow with a zanpakuto asked, and Ichigo got over his shock and confusion long enough to answer him, his voice sharp.
"Ichigo Kurosaki."
Aaroniero smiled wickedly.
"Ichigo, huh? That's a strong name. I'll be sure to honor it by not holding back, Soul Reaper!"
The green-eyed man who could have just as easily been Ichigo's older brother charged, whirling his zanpakuto around like a spear as he advanced. Kurosaki managed to block the first strike without much difficulty, but Aaroniero spun his weapon around and attacked from a different angle altogether with blinding speed. Barely blocking it in time, Ichigo was thrown back by the crushing wave of water that followed the strike. Springing back up to his feet, the orange-haired Soul Reaper refocused himself and put the speed his bankai granted him to good use, deftly weaving around the rhythmic yet brutal attacks of Nejibana.
"Let me ask you something," Ichigo said when to two warriors were deadlocked, black blade grinding viciously against blue steel. "How is it that you have a zanpakuto with a normal shikai if you're a Hollow?"
"Simple," Aaroniero shot back, his eyes gleaming. "I absorbed it at the same time I devoured this Soul Reaper!"
"What?" Kurosaki breathed out, surprised. His enemy took advantage of his shock, breaking the deadlock in his favor with a powerful shove and stabbing out at Ichigo's chest, grazing him.
"What do you mean, 'what', boy?" the Hollow taunted as Ichigo reeled backwards, winded from the dodge that had kept him from being skewered. "Like I said, it's simple. I used my powers to absorb the Hollow that took over this Soul Reaper's body, and now Kaien Shiba's zanpakuto belongs to me."
Ichigo's eyes shot wide open as he heard the name, realizing now that the last person he'd seen with those eyes had been Kuukaku Shiba, Kaien's sister.
"If it's still too confusing for you, though," the Hollow continued with a grin as he advanced again, "I can give you a hands-on demonstration after I incapacitate you!"
"Like hell!" the orange-haired Soul Reaper shot back, smacking away Nejibana's next attack with a hard slash from Tensa Zangetsu and stabbing Aaroniero through his right lung. The Hollow wearing the stolen flesh of a Soul Reaper howled in agony, lashing out desperately and forcing Ichigo to back off before he could administer a killing blow.
"You bastard!" Aaroniero cursed as he clutched his wound, eyes that were not his own widening in pain and rage. As he readied Nejibana and made to lunge forward in one more desperate assault, however, he stopped cold in his tracks and began clutching his head. Ichigo looked on, uncertain of what to do, while his opponent appeared to be fighting a completely different battle inside of his own head.
"Damn you, Kaien!" Aaroniero shouted, his voice losing its cockiness and becoming frantic. "Stop fighting me, or I'll kill what's left of your soul here and now! I have no qualms about shedding this form right now, you know that!"
Ichigo's eyes widened as understanding washed over him: Kaien Shiba's soul was still trapped somewhere within the being that had devoured it, and now that its captor was wounded and struggling the Soul Reaper was fighting to get his body back. But that knowledge also presented Ichigo with a problem: he couldn't kill Aaroniero now, knowing that another, innocent soul was trapped inside of him. If only there was a way to break down the bond non-lethally, something he could use to separate the two souls from each other…
The Hougyoku. It had the power to destroy the boundary between beings as different as Hollow and Soul Reapers, so why wouldn't it be able to liberate a soul forcibly contained in another body? Ichigo knew that to do so would mean sacrificing his ace-in-the-hole against Aizen, but that was worth avoiding butchering an innocent Soul Reaper. Concentrating, Ichigo called up the sliver of the Hougyoku's power from within him and projected it outwards, driving the energy into Aaroniero like a spear. There was a single, shrill scream of agony, followed by a blinding flash of light that obscured the Hollow from Kurosaki's view.
Far away, on a balcony in Las Noches, Sosuke Aizen felt the Hougyoku's energy be discharged and his mouth curled up into a satisfied smile.
Back at the scene of the duel, Ichigo shielded his eyes until the light had faded, leaving two figures in its wake where previously there had only been one. One was Kaien Shiba, and the other was a grotesque figure with a glass bell in place of a head, which contained two floating, white orbs that had faces on them.
"What the hell did you do to us?!" one of the orbs screamed at Ichigo in a high voice, before it was silenced forever as the newly-freed soul of Kaien Shiba slammed his sealed zanpakuto right through the glass. Yanking it downwards, the warrior cut the Hollow who had imprisoned him for so long clean in half. Sighing and wiping off his sword, Kaien Shiba turned to face Ichigo.
"Thanks, kid," he said, before he blinked in amazement as he noticed their similarities. "We haven't met before, have we?"
"No," Kurosaki replied with a chuckle, "we haven't, trust me. I can't get you out of here, though," he added regretfully. "Did you pick up how to make garganta from Aaroniero?"
Kaien nodded. "I should be able to manage," he said. "You want to come with me? You are a Soul Reaper after all, Ichigo, and ya don't seem like a bad guy to me."
The orange-haired Soul Reaper shook his head sadly.
"I can't, I'm sorry," he replied. "Aizen has something I need, and until I get it I'm stuck with him, for better or worse."
"I see," Kaien replied thoughtfully, his green eyes now glowing with subtle strength and kindness, rather than hate and rage. "Well, is there at least something I can do for you, once I'm back in Soul Society?"
"Yeah," Ichigo replied, after he'd given it some thought. "Tell Rukia that I…" he paused for a moment, as if re-thinking his choice of words.
"Tell her I'm sorry."
Kaien nodded gravely, before turning and opening a garganta.
"Thank you, Ichigo Kurosaki," he said as he stepped into the inky void. "When we meet again, I'll repay my debt to you."
As the rip in existence closed with a groan, Ichigo sighed.
"Pray that never happens, Kaien," he spoke, "for your sake."
Turning back towards Las Noches, the brown-eyed Soul Reaper now found himself having to think of something to tell Aizen so that he wasn't punished for failing to convince Aaroniero to join the army of Las Noches. As he flashed away, Ichigo prayed that he would still have all of his limbs in the morning.
While the Captains and Lieutenants were still up trying to figure out the best way to attack and kill the four traitors in Hueco Mundo, Rukia was lying in bed watching the owls fly from tree to tree under the light of the moon. The violet-eyed Soul Reaper was about to fall back to sleep when she heard a loud voice shout out from down the hall.
"Garganta! A garganta just opened up right outside of the Seireitei, and the energy signature isn't a Hollow's! It's a Soul Reaper!"
Rukia felt energy flood into her limbs as her heart began to pound harder and faster than it ever had before. Throwing caution to the wind, she jumped out of the hospital bed, grabbed her zanpakuto from the storage closet and flashed out of the room. If it was Aizen, Gin or Tosen she would just sneak back before they saw her, but if it was Ichigo she needed to get there as soon as she could, before someone else showed up and killed him.
Rukia got to the garganta as the rift closed behind its maker, hiding in the shadows as she waited to get a good look at who the man was. When a beam of moonlight fell on his face and illuminated it, Rukia felt light-headed and a little dizzy as all of her breath was suddenly stolen away.
It couldn't be…
Rukia's feet had led her out of the shadows before she even knew what she was doing, pressed on by her disbelieving heart. Surely this was some trick…
"Kaien-dono?" she said timidly. Her old teacher started briefly in surprise turned to face her, flashing the smile Rukia had missed every day since that fateful night in the woods.
"Yo, Kuchiki!" he greeted happily, waving. "Long time, no see."
A/N: So now do you see why Aaroniero wasn't with the original Espada? I have to confess that I'm a big Kaien fan, which is part of why I brought him back, but he also plays a big role in things to come. And the Espada are beginning to emerge, albeit it's just Grimmjow right now. Still, it's exciting, no? I hope you enjoyed it, and please review. I'm absolutely stunned by the amount of positive feedback I've gotten so far; you guys and gals are amazing!
P.S: In case you missed the shout-out at the top of the chapter, you should all check out the story Nebula by my friend MatsuMama if you haven't already. It's an absolutely awesome Urahara/Yoruichi fic, full of romance, angst, great plotting and equally great writing. Here's the link: .net/s/3881927/1/Nebula . Be sure to leave reviews!