Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach, or any of its characters. I do, however, own this story.

Torn

Chapter 6: The Will to Kill

Gin Ichimaru liked to consider himself a patient person. He could sit, wait and scheme with the best of them; his role in Captain Aizen's mutiny had proved that. Right now, however, Gin was starting to get angry. So far, every Hollow that he and Tosen had crossed paths with had either fought with them and got turned into a corpse, or had refused to help Aizen construct his new world order and got turned into a corpse. The only thing the two former Captains were leaving in their wake was a trail of dead, and not the horde of new conscripts that would have been infinitely preferable.

"I really hope the next one we run in'ta ain't a Vasto Lorde," the garnet-eyed Soul Reaper grumbled, "because I'm gonna kill the next living thing I see."

"Need I remind you how counter-productive such a course of action would be, Gin?" Kaname replied evenly. "If we indulged your bloodlust whenever it flared, Hueco Mundo would be a barren waste long before the Espada were completed, let alone the rest of Aizen-sama's army."

"Killjoy," the silver-haired former Captain huffed as the duo traveled on, seemingly oblivious to the six-armed Hollow that had been stalking them for some time now, hiding his reiatsu. Nnoitra Jiruga's eyes flashed with an almost rabid glee: for the first time in far too long, he had found an opponent capable of withstanding his full strength.

This was going to be fun.

Far below the surface of Hueco Mundo, meanwhile, several Adjuchas were discovering a new definition of the word 'agony'. Wanting to prolong the bloodbath as long as possible, Grimmjow had held back and refrained from releasing his zanpakuto. The raging force of nature that was Ichigo Kurosaki couldn't have cared less about controlling himself, though, and was carving swathes of destruction through his enemies with reckless abandon.

"What's the matter, Grimmjow?" he jibed as the black edge of his zanpakuto ripped another Hollow in half. "Can't keep up with me?"

The Espada's eyes narrowed furiously; he'd never backed down from a challenge before in his life, and he sure as hell wasn't going to back down from one issued by this punk. Noticing a slight hitch in the Soul Reaper's next killing blow, the blue-eyed Arrancar smirked.

"You look like you're getting tired, Kurosaki," Grimmjow shot back, only to be met with a smirk that mirrored his own.

"I'm just giving you a chance to catch up," the Soul Reaper parried. "You look like you need it!"

That was it. This kid had pushed him far enough. Nobody mocked Grimmjow Jaegerjaques and got away with it, not even someone with as much raw power as Ichigo. Turning his zanpakuto so that the flat of the blade was facing him, the Espada put his palm on it and spoke.

"Grind, Pantera!"

Kurosaki felt the spike of power behind him and smiled; he had been trying to goad Grimmjow into fighting at full strength this whole time, and the Espada had finally gotten over himself. Now they could really start wreaking havoc on these vermin, and the faster they got that done the sooner they could get the hell out of here. Dark, damp and decaying underground forests teeming with Hollows had never been on Ichigo's list of favorite places to spend time in, after all.

The battle soon shifted from a brawl into something approaching a slaughter in Ichigo and Grimmjow's favor, which was only compounded by Pesche and Dondochakka lending a hand to repay the orange-haired Soul Reaper for setting them free. The air was almost tangible with reiatsu at one point, so many bala and cero had been released. Just as the Adjuchas' ranks were about to fold completely, though, a thunderous voice boomed throughout the cavern and exhorted the battered Hollows.

"Hold the line, you whelps! Are you really struggling this much against a half-breed maggot and a turncoat Arrancar who sullies the name of the honorable Espada? What the hell is wrong with you!?"

Jaegerjaques and Kurosaki found their previously un-impeded charge halted by a menacing wave of reiatsu that seemed to radiate from deep within the cavern. There was a buzz of sonido a heartbeat later, and suddenly the menacing wave became far more immediate and malicious as a figure appeared in front of Aizen's two warriors. It was a male Arrancar, with dark orange eyes, a mask fragment that covered his right upper-arm like a piece of armor and a zanpakuto that resembled an odachi in a black sheath at his hip.

"Who the fuck are you?" Grimmjow snarled bluntly, and the Arrancar merely chuckled derisively.

"I, you turncoat, am Kira Irukon. True holder of the title of Fifth Espada," he continued, his dark orange eyes gleaming with killing intent,

"And your appointed executioner for this evening."

Gin felt the reiatsu unveil itself behind him at last and his smile widened; he had been wondering how long that Hollow was going to wait before making a move. Turning his head back over his shoulder, Ichimaru opened a single, blood-red eye and spoke.

"Looks like our tail's decided ta start wagging after all, Kaname," he said almost flippantly, and Tosen nodded gravely as he began to draw Suzumushi. He was swiftly stopped by a wiry hand grasping his wrist, and his sightless eyes glanced over to regard his comrade questioningly.

"I'll take care of this," Ichimaru explained casually, unsheathing Shinso. "After all, it's clear this guy wants me to; his killing intent's been boring in'ta my back this entire time."

The Hollow in question stepped fully out into the light, his yellow eyes pointed slits behind his mask. His six, razor-sharp arms and lanky, yet tense and muscled frame all combined to give the Hollow the appearance of a praying mantis forged in the pits of Hell.

"I take it you must be Gin Ichimaru, one of Aizen's right-hand men," the Hollow hissed out.

"That's right," Gin replied cordially. "Why do ya ask?"

"To be honest, I'm kind of considering signing up; I've always been a supporter of carnage in all of its various forms, after all," Nnoitra explained. "But before I do, I wanna make sure the people who serve under your master aren't all worthless pieces of trash."

Gin's smile widened, his teeth appearing from behind his thin lips like a fox baring its fangs.

"Ooh, I like this one, Kaname," he said, subtly moving Shinso into attack position. "Well, Hollow," the silver-haired Soul Reaper continued as the edge in his tone became more and more pronounced, "I'd be more than happy ta show you my strength, if that's what it'll take to convince ya to join us. Just try to do one thing for me."

"Oh?" Jiruga's voice was snide and insincere as his many arms readied them for battle. "And what would that be, Soul Reaper?"

Ichimaru's predatory grin widened.

"Don't hold back. Shoot to kill, Shinso."

It took all six of Nnoitra's arms to block the frighteningly fast blade, but his defense held. One of Gin's eyebrows rose quizzically as he retracted his zanpakuto for the moment.

"Didn't try ta dodge that attack, huh?" he mused. "That was pretty gutsy of ya, Hollow. You got a name?"

"Nnoitra Jiruga," the Hollow answered acidly, tensing for a strike of his own as his voice gradually rose, "and that wimpy little wakizashi of yours can't kill me, Soul Reaper!"

"Really?" Gin mused half to himself as Nnoitra charged. "Prove it."

Shinso's blade screamed forward as Ichimaru released it without calling out its name, causing Nnoitra to stop his charge. The Hollow stood his ground, not even flinching as the blade pierced right through his chest and went clean out the other side. The silver-haired Soul Reaper's smirk vanished in his surprise; he had thought Jiruga had been bluffing.

"Huh," he grunted, beginning to retract Shinso from the exit wound. "Well, this is awkward."

"You're taking the blame for squandering this opportunity, Gin," Tosen stated plainly, "not me."

Ichimaru was about to reply when his eyes opened in shock as Shinso stopped retracting. Turning his gaze back to face the Hollow he was sure he had killed, the former Captain was quite surprised to see Nniotra clutching the blade of the zanpakuto that had pierced him only seconds ago. As the Soul Reaper watched in silence, the wound in Nnoitra's chest closed up before Gin's eyes.

"Like I said," Jiruga growled, "this pathetic zanpakuto of yours can't kill me, Gin Ichimaru!"

"Well, well," the red-eyed Soul Reaper said, his eyes gleaming like rubies, "it looks like you're going to be fun after all."

Ichigo and Grimmjow each appraised this Arrancar who had called himself the Fifth Espada, looking for weaknesses and finding none.

"Well, Kurosaki," Jaegerjaques said after a moment's pause, "it looks like the puppet master's done just pulling the strings."

"Yeah," the Soul Reaper replied, "that it does. I thought it would have taken someone like this to rope together so many Adjuchas." Tensing as he readied his zanpakuto, Ichigo hesitated and glanced over at his comrade. "Should I handle him," he asked, "or do you want to do the honors? I'd feel bad if I had all the fun."

Grimmjow grinned widely, stepping forward to engage Kira. Before he could attack, though, a new presence entered the cavernous underground. The late arrival was heralded by a reiatsu so potent it made Grimmjow fall to one knee and made the ex-Fifth Espada kneel down completely, almost hunching over onto all fours. Ichigo alone stayed on his feet, but the immense pressure of the reiatsu was causing his knees to buckle as if he'd suddenly turned into a terrified little kid. To add to the Soul Reaper's concerns, the power Hichigo had bestowed upon him was fluctuating more and more rapidly by the second; a surefire sign that it was about to burn out. Right when his legs were about to give way, Kurosaki felt the pressure lift completely. Far from vanishing, however, the previously-overwhelming power morphed into a much calmer, more menacing and far more concentrated reiatsu that was drawing closer and closer by the moment.

"Which one of you three is responsible for this?" a voice spoke out suddenly, one that oddly reminded Ichigo of Captain Unohana's. It was seemingly placid, but with an undercurrent that spoke of terrible power simmering just below the surface. Looking over, the orange-haired Soul Reaper saw the form that possessed both the terrifyingly potent reiatsu and the calm, steely voice. Standing in the midst of such power, all Ichigo could do was stare in shock and awe.

The Hollow looked like something he'd only seen before in books on mythological creatures: the one the Greeks called a Centaur. The Hollow's lower half was not that of a horse, however, but rather an antelope, grayish-white in color. Its upper half was light green and resembled a human torso, but lacking any features to distinguish it as male or female. This was to be expected, though; Hollows always appeared genderless before becoming Arrancar.

The stillness of the air that had followed the Hollow's question was broken by the voices of Pesche and Dondochakka, which cried out in joyful, if discordant unison.

"Nel-sama!"

Ichigo's now-brown eyes shined with the subtle glow of comprehension: this was Neliel Tu Oderschvank, one of the precious few Vasto Lorde in all of Hueco Mundo. He could only hope that Dondochakka and Pesche vouched for him and Grimmjow, or they would be giblets on the floor very shortly. Neliel looked over at the two underlings, and Ichigo could see that the Vasto Lorde's mask had curved horns on the top of it.

"Are you two all right?" Neliel asked, with a tone that almost sounded concerned, or at least as close to concerned as a normal Hollow could sound. Pesche stepped forward and opened his mouth to speak, while Kurosaki's life began to flash in front of his eyes.

"Yes, Nel-sama, we are fine," the slim Adjuchas replied. "Nothing worse than a few cuts and bruises. That one over there set us free, actually," he continued, pointing over to Ichigo as Neliel's eyes followed the gesture. Oderschvank and the Soul Reaper locked eyes, and Ichigo felt Hichigo tilt his head in begrudging deference while simultaneously grumble something about needing to eventually surpass the Vasto Lorde. This Hollow was much stronger than Ichigo could hope to be at the moment, and it made no effort to conceal the fact.

"You are curious, child," Neliel spoke at last, the voice emerging now as an odd blend of whimsy and assurance, no longer threatening. "Your reiatsu speaks to me neither as a Soul Reaper's does, nor a Hollow's, but something… else. What is your name?"

"Ichigo Kurosaki," the Soul Reaper replied hesitantly, and Neliel's eyes widened the slightest bit before quickly returning to normal.

"I see," the Vasto Lorde said. "That makes sense."

Before Ichigo could ask what 'made sense' about his name being what it was, Neliel had already turned around and was trotting over towards Pesche and Dondochakka. Shrugging, Ichigo decided to turn around and see how Grimmjow was reacting to having been slammed by such a powerful reiatsu.

As it turned out, that decision wound up saving Neliel's life.

Kira Irukon, the ex-Fifth Espada, had not been killed or even knocked out by the reiatsu surge that had followed Neliel's appearance. Kira had been hiding his reiatsu thanks to the special ability granted to him as an Arrancar; not only had he already incapacitated Grimmjow, who had still been dazed and winded at the time, but the ex-Espada was now charging up an orange Gran Rey Cero in his right hand. The Vasto Lorde was too preoccupied by concern for its underlings to notice, and Ichigo felt a knot of dread rise up from the pit of his stomach as he saw the inevitable assassination unfold in front of him.

But no, it wasn't inevitable; far from it. Ichigo could stop it, if he wanted to. But did he want to? He was a Soul Reaper, and Neliel was a Hollow. Was there any guarantee that Oderschvank wouldn't reward his kindness with a bala through the chest? But then Kurosaki saw the orange cero get released, and the look of horror in Neliel's eyes as the Vasto Lorde realized it wouldn't be able to escape in time. Cursing the fact that his mother had raised him to be such a nice kid, Ichigo dove in front of the devastating attack and poured as much power into defending himself from it as he could.

The Soul Reaper's barrier held for all of two seconds before shattering, and then his world was nothing but white-hot spikes of pain. These were soon followed by an oddly soothing feeling as tendrils of oblivion wrapped around him like a blanket, carrying him gently off to sleep.

The Captain's Meeting in the First Division headquarters was understandably somber: the elite of Soul Society were still struggling to get over the shock of Aizen's betrayal, and some had been hit harder than others. Komamura had to be dragged out of his quarters by his Lieutenant, and Shunsui looked like he'd just crawled out of a bottle of sake, still beating himself up for that one night so many years ago when he might have been able to prevent his former Lieutenant, Lisa Yadomaru, from… but that was another sad story altogether.

"Our course of action has never been clearer," Yamamoto intoned gravely. "We will take the time to bolster our forces as much as is needed, and then an assault will be mounted directly on Hueco Mundo. Each of the four men that defected on that fateful day will be dealt with as High Traitors and Hollow-sympathizers. Your orders are to kill them on sight!"

There was a murmur of assent around the room, but it was more restrained in some parts than in others. Ukitake's misgivings about the circumstances surrounding Ichigo Kurosaki's defection still hung over him like a shroud, and nothing would dispel them. There was no question that Aizen, Ichimaru and Tosen deserved to be punished for their crimes, but what crime had Ichigo committed, other than being in the wrong place at the wrong time and being forced to reach out to the wrong people for help?

One of Jushiro's subordinates was trying to answer that question herself at the same time. Instead of going to sleep that night with a peaceful, reconciled heart, however, Rukia fell into a fitful, dreamless slumber as pieces of her broken heart littered the floor.

A/N: So there you have it, the grand entrance of Neliel, Nnoitra as a Hollow and the fateful verdict of the stubborn old codger known as Yamamoto.

Before you start asking me why I made Nel 'gender-less' in this chapter, it's so that I can show certain male characters reacting in dumb shock next chapter when she turns into a 'she'.

I hope this chapter was fun to read; it felt rougher in parts while I was writing it than some of my previous chapters, but this should be the only installment where that's the case for a while. Let me know what you thought by dropping a review, and come back next chapter for the first appearance of Neliel as an Arrancar, the conclusion of Gin's duel with Nnoitra and some Soul Society goodness as well.