Dsiclaimer: I do not own Bleach, or any of its characters. I do, however, own this story.
Torn
Chapter 10: Survival of the Fittest
Nel Tu was sitting alone in her room reading a book when she received an unexpected visitor.
"May I come in, Neliel-sama?"
The Third Espada looked up and was surprised to see the emotionless face of Ulquiorra Schiffer staring back at her. Nodding lightly, she motioned for him to enter.
"Of course," she said, "and don't be so formal. Just because I'm one rank higher than you doesn't mean you have to address me like that. We're both Vasto Lorde after all, are we not?"
The Fourth Espada walked calmly over to a chair and sat down, before shifting his gaze to regard his female comrade.
"What class of Hollow we were before we chose to serve under Aizen-sama is irrelevant, Neliel-san," he answered, downgrading the honorific but feeling compelled to at least put something at the end of her name. "Now, our strength is all that matters. You are stronger than me, and as such I will treat you with due deference."
Nel brushed off the second part of Ulquiorra's justification, focusing instead on the first thing he'd said.
"You didn't choose to serve under Aizen," she said. "He forced you into joining him, didn't he? So why do you fight with him?"
"I had no choice," Schiffer shot back as a hint of bitterness entered his voice. "He was stronger than I, and compelled me to join the Espada. As I said, the will of the strong must be respected by the weak."
Oderschvank gave a small, sad smile that Ulquiorra could not see before replying.
"You think you are weak because you lost a single fight, Ulqui-kun?" she asked, deliberately using the nickname that had always infuriated him back when they had both been Hollows. "That doesn't sound like you at all. The Ulquiorra I remember would have died before acknowledging a usurper like Aizen as his master."
Schiffer flinched at the hard tone, but his voice did not rise to the provocation when he spoke.
"It is as you say, Neliel-san," he answered. "The Ulquiorra you remember is dead, and Aizen-sama was the one who destroyed him."
The Fourth Espada vanished with a buzz before Nel could ask him what he had come there to say in the first place. It was yet another question she had about the mysterious, green-eyed Arrancar that she doubted would ever get answered. Schiffer had spoken sparingly even as a Hollow, but at least back then he had said more than two sentences at a time. Getting that much out of him now was like pulling teeth, and Neliel could only hope that her comrade was wrong; that somewhere, buried deep underneath those dull, emerald eyes, was the fire that had once made him the fiercest warrior the Third Espada had ever known.
Breaking out of her melancholy, Neliel was surprised at how depressed she had let herself become. Resolving to cheer up as quickly as possible, the green-haired Arrancar walked out of her room and was on her way to meet up with her two fraccion when she ran into Ichigo, who was coming the other way down the hall.
"Hey there, Ichigo," she greeted as cheerily as she could. "Where've you been all—" Nel's question was stopped in her throat as she saw a pale figure walking next to Ichigo who might as well have been his albino twin. As her mind connected the dots, the Espada rushed forward and looked at the bone-white version of Ichigo with a mix of surprise and excitement.
"You're Ichigo's Hollow, aren't you?!" she exclaimed, continuing to speak quickly and not allowing the surprised Hollow to get a word in edgewise. "I remember I felt your presence all the way back in that cave; it's so nice to finally meet you in person! Do you mind if I call you Shiro-kun?"
The thoroughly mystified Hollow couldn't say a word, and Ichigo was too busy struggling not to laugh to come to his defense.
"Shiro-kun it is, then!" Neliel declared. "Oh, Ichigo," she said, ruffling Hichigo's hair, "he's adorable!"
At this point Kurosaki was almost on the floor, and the look on Hichigo's face made it clear that he was trying to decide between dying right that instant or killing a small, defenseless creature in a horrendously brutal fashion. Fortunately neither of those outcomes came to pass, because the female Arrancar relinquished her grip on Hichigo and took a few steps further down the hall.
"Well, I have to get going," she said in farewell. "Dondochakka and Pesche are probably waiting dinner on me at this point. See you later, Ichigo! It was nice meeting you, Shiro-kun!"
Once Neliel was out of earshot, Ichigo let loose with a toe-curling bout of laughter while Hichigo's scrambled mind struggled to comprehend what had just happened to him.
"Did she call me… adorable?" he asked incredulously, and the Soul Reaper stopped laughing long enough to reply.
"I wouldn't worry about it," he said. "You were probably just imagining things… Shiro-kun!"
The Soul Reaper broke down into another fit of laughter upon saying the nickname again, which was only halted when Hichigo grabbed him by his neck and slammed him into the wall.
"Tell anyone… anyone about that nickname," he hissed, "and I will fucking end you."
A grin remained on Ichigo's face even as he caught his breath and brushed bits of rubble off of his clothes.
"Don't you worry, Shiro-kun," he said smugly, "your secret is safe with me."
Ichigo wound up sprinting the rest of the way to his next training session with Ichimaru, Hichigo hot on his tail and lashing out with his zanpakuto like a butcher on speed with severe anger management issues.
In the moonlit night hanging over Karakura Town, Kaien Shiba exchanged increasingly frenetic strikes with his Arrancar opponent.
"I gotta hand it to ya, bro," the blond-haired fraccion said as he deflected yet another attack, "you're pretty good at this. But there's no way you'll ever cut me if you've spent this long trying to break through my defense and failing. Just give up now, bro; I'll make it painless, I promise."
The Lieutenant smirked and jumped back a few feet, something in his eyes suddenly making the Arrancar across from him very, very afraid.
"I haven't been trying to get through your defense, you fraccion trash," he said acidly. "I've been figuring out its weak points."
Kaien flashed away, reappearing behind the Arrancar holding a now-bloodied Nejibana, drops of the crimson liquid rolling effortlessly down the edge. The thin Arrancar could only gasp in shock as his right arm fell away, and it would have taken his zanpakuto with it if he hadn't snatched it up in his other hand at the last possible moment. Whirling around, he looked at his opponent with fury and more than a little fear shining in his eyes.
"Don't take me lightly, you Soul Reaper bastard!" the Arrancar shouted. "I, Illeforte Grantz, will bury you under the weight of my true power! Gore, Del Toro!"
Shiba took the time he was given to release his own zanpakuto and adopt a defensive stance, waiting to see what kind of resurrecion form this Arrancar possessed before going on the attack. There was some chattering over the communicator in his ear that caught Kaien's attention: Ikkaku had managed to defeat his opponent, but Rukia and Renji will still fighting hard, to the point of requesting the release of their Limiter Seals. Kaien knew that he had to let Kuchiki fight her own fight, but if things got bad and he was still here slugging it out with this joker while his student was bleeding out on the pavement, he would never be able to forgive himself.
He would finish this fight now, and then watch Rukia's duel from a distance. Willfully ignoring the ominous parallels that idea had with the night he had been possessed by Metastacia, Shiba turned his attention back to Illeforte, who had by now finished transforming into a gigantic, bull-like creature.
"Not bad," Kaien said nonchalantly, increasing his reiatsu to its maximum possible level. The Arrancar just chuckled; it was a deep, grating sound that seemed to scrape at the Lieutenant's soul.
"You're not scared, bro, I can tell that much by your stance and your reiatsu," Grantz spoke, "but it'll take more than cojones to beat me!"
Kaien smiled widely with a berserker's glee, charging forward and attacking fiercely with Nejibana. Gleaming steel and water that seemed almost as sharp struck again and again, each blow taking off sizeable chunks of Grantz' bone-like form. But even at this rate, the fight would take too long if he wanted to get over to Kuchiki in time. Sighing, Shiba backed off from the assault and focused, digging deep within his soul.
"You know," he said with a frustrated sigh as he re-sealed and sheathed his zanpakuto, "I was hoping to keep these powers buried for good, but you went an' gave me no choice but to use 'em. That really, really pisses me off, Arrancar."
Illeforte's eyes narrowed as he saw his opponent sheathe his sword, leaving him completely defenseless. What was he up to?
Suddenly the Lieutenant disappeared with a buzz, reappearing right behind the shocked Arrancar.
"Sonido?" Grantz gasped as he turned around sharply, trying to figure out what the hell was going on. Striking out with one of his horns, Illeforte was in for another shock as the blow connected with Kaien's skin and stopped, scraping harmlessly against the surface like a sword-blow glancing off of an iron shield.
"Hierro? What the fuck?! What are you, Soul Reaper?!"
Kaien lunged forward and put his hand right up against the Arrancar's forehead, where bright, red energy began to gather. Smirking, Shiba answered all of the questions running through his enemy's mind at once as his green eyes flashed maliciously.
"Let's just say you don't spend as many years as I did fused with an Arrancar without it rubbing off on you," he said, right before releasing the full-power, point-blank cero and completely obliterating his enemy. As the smoke cleared, Kaien relaxed and let go of his Hollow powers, feeling the skin of his cheek to make sure it was pliable once again. Satisfied that he had completely shifted back to normal, Shiba flashed away to where he felt Kuchiki's reiatsu flaring sharply: it seemed like the request for the Limiter Seal release had finally come through.
Rukia stood across from the Arrancar who called himself Shawlong Qufang, her shoulder lacerated by the spiny claws that had grown on his hand when he'd released his zanpakuto. Trying to ignore the lightness that seemed to be creeping into her head as blood flowed from her wound, the young Kuchiki tightened her grip on Sode no Shirayuki and flew forward once again.
"I admire your spirit, child," the fraccion said right before he buzzed away, reemerging behind Rukia. "It is a shame that I must crush it, but I have no choice."
The violet-eyed Soul Reaper gasped in shock and pain as her other shoulder suddenly bore gashes to match her already-wounded one, blood spurting bright red from the new wounds. At this rate, she wasn't going to be able to move her arms, let alone fight with a sword or use kido. What was taking that Limiter release so damn long?
The Arrancar struck again, but this time the white blade intercepted Shawlong's claws right before they would have pierced her heart.
"Oh. You still have enough strength in you to block, child?" Qufang asked patronizingly. "Perhaps I misjudged you after all. Out of respect for your naïve tenacity, I will refrain from holding back any longer."
The fraccion's reiatsu rose and he renewed his assault, Rukia's blocks becoming more and more frantic and harried as she was pushed backwards by the sharp claw and stabbing tail. Just when she thought her sword was about to break in half from a particularly harsh attack, Kuchiki heard the magic words in her ear.
"Limiter Seal release has been granted! I repeat, Seal release has been granted! The use of full force is authorized!"
Rukia smiled through the pain that burned in her arms, raising her hand up sharply.
"Hado number 31: Shakkaho!"
Qufang used sonido to escape the spell, reappearing a few feet away unharmed. Scoffing, he narrowed his one visible eye.
"Why did you attempt such a pitiful attack, child?" he taunted. "You should have known that, in your current condition, such a spell as that could not even scratch me."
"I wasn't trying to scratch you," Rukia hissed as she parted the upper folds of her uniform just enough to reveal a black tattoo of a snowdrop on her chest. "I was buying enough time to do this. Limit Seal, release!"
"Limit… Seal?" Shawlong repeated in confusion, before he was shocked into silence by the sudden eruption of power from the Soul Reaper in front of him.
"Let me explain something, so you can stop looking so foolish," Kuchiki said smugly. "When we Soul Reapers enter the Human World, we have a seal put on our powers to keep us from disturbing the order of things in this dimension. When that seal is in place, our powers are cut down to 20 percent of their maximum. In other words," the warrior finished as she brandished Sode no Shirayuki once more,
"I'm now five times stronger than I was before releasing my Limit Seal. Some no Mai: Tsuki Shiro!"
Rukia flash-stepped right next to Shawloing as she released the attack, and only a split-second usage of sonido saved the Arrancar from being frozen solid. The move did catch one of his arms, however, which promptly shattered into countless glittering white shards.
"Damn you, brat," the fraccion growled. "You presume to crush me, the oldest of the numeros outside of the Espada, with such a cheap trick as that? Don't make me laugh!"
Not responding to the taunt, Rukia waited for the next attack to come with muscles tensed. When the tail whipped around and struck again, she dodged to the side, grabbed it, and spoke.
"Hado number 13: Tsuzuri Raiden!"
Lightning arced out from her hand and was conducted by the Arrancar's tail, traveling swiftly up it and electrocuting Shawlong.
"Why… won't you just… die?!" Qufang shouted, yanking his tail back and pulling Rukia along with it before striking out again with his clawed hand, fingers bunched together and aimed for her ribcage. The violet-eyed Soul Reaper blocked the attack, but the fatigue of the battle pressed down on her and Rukia's guard wavered. The blade of Sode no Shirayuki broke in half as the appendages pushed through and hit home, puncturing her skin and embedding themselves in her lungs.
"Sh—it…" she cursed, coughing up blood as pain ripped through her, followed closely by rage. She had released her Limiter, and she still couldn't kill this bastard? Why? Why wasn't she strong enough?! At this rate, she would never be able to fight against the rest of Aizen's army. She would never be able to help bring Ichigo back home safely, to where he truly belonged.
Feeling a familiar reiatsu appear nearby, Rukia looked up and saw Kaien perched on a nearby roof, his expression concerned. It looked like he was about to intervene, but Kuchiki gave him a pleading look to remain on the sidelines. He nodded shortly, but communicated wordlessly that if it got much worse, he wasn't going to hold back for the sake of her pride.
Newfound determination welled up within the violet-eyed Soul Reaper and she gripped her broken sword once more, pressing the truncated blade up against Shawlong's chest. She was going to show Kaien-dono that she could win this fight, even if she had to use her trump card to do it.
"San no Mai: Shirafune!"
Qufang's eye widened in shock as the broken zanpakuto re-forged itself, impaling the Arrancar through the heart. As he melted away, the adrenaline that had been keeping Rukia upright left her behind and she fell, only to be caught seconds later by the strong arms of her Lieutenant.
"Easy, Kuchiki," he said softly, "easy. You'll be all right; you fought well."
"Don't… lie to me, Kaien-dono," she forced out over the blood that was filling her lungs. "I had to… use Shirafune to beat him… I should be stronger than that… at full power…"
"Shhh," the Lieutenant said insistently, frustration giving his worried voice an edge. "Don't waste your breath saying such pointless things, Kuchiki; he was an incredibly powerful opponent, and I would be surprised if even Captain Hitsugaya could have beaten him without his bankai active and seal released."
"But he wasn't even… one of the Espada, was he?" Rukia asked, and Kaien shook his head as he gently healed his student's wounds with kido.
"Let us hope," Shiba said gravely as he finished patching up the violet-eyed Soul Reaper and put her back on her own two feet, "that we don't run into any of those bastards for a long, long time. Now let's get going," he finished, "we should probably meet up with Captain Soi Fon and take stock of our situation."
Nodding in agreement, the young Kuchiki flashed away with her teacher.
Ichimaru had decided, in a gesture of his "infinite capacity for mercy," as he called it, to not beat Ichigo to a pulp with his zanpakuto this time around. Instead, he used kido exclusively, and expected Ichigo to do the same to him.
Of course, this proved to be quite a problematic arrangement when it came to light that, if there were a negative scale for measuring kido ability, Ichigo's would be firmly placed at -500.
"Come on, this is just sad," Hichigo jeered from the sidelines. "You can't even pull off a byakurai? Are you kidding? I can bypass a raikoho in my sleep… at times like this, I can't believe I used to be a part of you, brother."
"Shut… up!" Ichigo growled while rolling away to dodge a soukatsui, ash on his face from a shakkaho that had backfired on him, Renji-style. After he had finished snorting in disapproval, Gin spoke up while firing off a tenran that blew Ichigo clean off of his feet.
"You're trying too hard, Ichigo," he said sharply. "You have to let the energy flow naturally from your soul; you can't force it out or you'll never be able to cast the first hado, let alone the harder ones like kurohitsugi."
Kurosaki's eyebrow rose in confusion.
"Kuro…hitsugi?" he repeated slowly. "What's that?"
"Ooh, ooh!" Hichigo broke in excitedly, like a kid who had just opened up his first Christmas present. "Hado number 90," he explained once he'd calmed down. "It's one of the most painful Hado spells that exists. It traps you in a dark cube of energy, before stabbing you from all sides with dozens of energy spears. At full power, it could outright kill a Captain in one shot!" he finished, a positively homicidal gleam shining in his eyes. Ichimaru grinned.
"Well, it looks like someone's been doing their homework, at least," he said.
"It's a personal favorite of mine," the Hollow replied casually, as if admiring a spell with that much destructive potential was not a sign of insanity. Ichigo was about to break back in when he felt something lurch deep within his soul, an instinctive, primal feeling that put him completely on edge. He couldn't explain how he felt it or why, but at that moment he knew, beyond any doubt, that Rukia was in grave danger.
She was about to die.
"I gotta go!" he called out, grabbing Hichigo by his collar and pulling him along, the Hollow complaining and cursing all the way. "Sorry, Ichimaru-sensei," the Soul Reaper shouted over his shoulder, "but we'll have to finish this some other time!"
Gin just watched the boy go with an exasperated look in his eyes. That girl was going to be the death of him, there was no doubt about that; he just hoped that Ichigo didn't die before they had the chance to topple Aizen once and for all.
Grimmjow and Soi Fon found themselves fighting a very peculiar kind of duel: neither of them wanted to strike the other's zanpakuto again, and so they would continuously dodge each other's attacks while launching half-hearted counters of their own.
"This is just stupid," Soi Fon spat as she twisted out of the way of a jab from Pantera. "You look ridiculous fighting like that, Arrancar."
"You're one to talk, kid," Grimmjow snarled back. "I thought there was some kind of law making it forbidden for people under six feet to carry swords?"
"Are you calling me short, you bastard!?"
Grimmjow smirked.
"And if I am…?"
Dark eyes gleamed murderously.
"I'll kill you!"
Jaegerjaques just scoffed.
"As if you could, Shaolin," he taunted, before he almost swallowed his tongue as he stopped speaking suddenly, both his and Soi Fon's eyes widening simultaneously.
"What did you just call me?" She said softly, almost sounding scared. "How do you know that name? Answer me, you bastard!"
"I… don't… know!" Grimmjow shouted back, grabbing her by her shoulder with his free hand and pulling her towards him, frustration at the whole screwed-up situation driving his actions. But he underestimated his own strength, and the two of them collided with no small amount of force. As the Espada looked down into the smoky eyes no more than inches from his own, he felt them swallow him up as the fragmented images once again supplanted reality.
A moonlit night, sitting on the grass and looking up at the stars.
It's breaking the rules, but neither of them have ever cared about those.
Out here, they're safe from the cold concrete of the walls, and the petty pride of the bullies that prey upon them.
Out here, their cage may still hold them, but for a moment, one blissful moment, as they look into each other's eyes…
They are free.
Just as quickly as the vision had come it vanished, leaving both the Captain and the Espada breathing hard and now more confused than ever. Their zanpakuto hadn't even touched… so why the hell had that happened?
Not even bothering to think about it anymore, the two of them inched closer and closer, feeling almost drawn in by a force outside of their control…
Right before they connected, though, the tense atmosphere was broken by a cough that was not without a hint of amusement.
"Am I interrupting something, Captain?" Kaien spoke out. Her face shifting from nervous to mortified in an instant, Soi Fon shoved Grimmjow away and spun around to face the now-grinning Lieutenant.
"I don't know what the fuck you think you saw, Shiba," she hissed, her anger at being caught red-handed compounded by her frustration over not being able to finish what had just been started, "but let's get one thing clear right now: if anyone asks, you saw nothing." She raised the finger bearing Suzumebachi up into the moonlight to make a point, and Kaien chuckled before waving her off.
"Hey, whatever floats your boat, Captain," he said. "Hell, I was part of an Arrancar for I don't know how long; it'd be kind of weird if I judged you for this."
"I don't follow, Lieutenant," Soi Fon hissed, tacitly implying that if Kaien wanted to live, it would be in his best interest to shut up right that instant. He got the hint, but couldn't keep from saying one last thing to Grimmjow.
"I'd be careful of her, if I were you," he said. "This hornet's got a hell of a sting."
The Captain was about to lunge at the Lieutenant, but stopped in her tracks when the other Soul Reapers emerged around her.
"Kaien-dono," Rukia gasped, "don't flash-step so quickly! I'm still healing!"
"Sorry about that," he said apologetically, before looking around at the scene in front of him. Renji, Ikkaku, and Rukia were all looking to Soi Fon for orders, who in turn looked like she wanted a thunderbolt to strike her dead that instant.
And just when Shiba thought the situation couldn't get any tenser, a garganta opened up behind Grimmjow and Ichigo stepped out, bankai at the ready. Clearly, he was more than determined to annihilate anyone who dared to injure Rukia, despite any damage the recoil of his newfound bankai might cause. The gathered Soul Reapers' eyes widened even further as Hichigo stepped out from behind Ichigo, his zanpakuto still just in shikai but nonetheless radiating killing intent.
Ichigo looked over at Rukia and broke the silence, concern lacing every word.
"Are you all right, Rukia?" he asked. The violet-eyed Kuchiki wanted to shout at him, to cry, to scream, to punch him, to kiss him and many other things besides, but all she could do in that moment was nod dumbly. That was enough, though, as Ichigo's frown was replaced by a weary smile and he turned to Grimmjow.
"Jeez, man," he said exasperatedly, "I leave you alone for five minutes, and this is what happens? I'd look for a leash for you or something, but I don't think they make ones for cats your size."
Jaegerjaques growled and looked over at his comrade murderously, while Soi Fon had to fight down the strangest urge to laugh. What the hell…?
"Captain Soi Fon," Ikkaku spoke out, breaking through her thoughts, "permission to engage?"
Soi Fon was about to give it, but then Ichigo and his Hollow counterpart both powered up, silencing the order in her throat.
"Look, we're both rested and ready to fight," Ichigo said calmly, "and most of you guys are torn up, beaten down or still healing. I have no desire to fight any of you," he finished, locking pleading eyes with Rukia, "so please, don't make me."
Soi Fon nodded, turning to her troops.
"We've done enough fighting for tonight," she said crisply, recovering her poise. "Fall back for now, and see to your wounds."
Renji in particular looked like he was about to be insubordinate as hatred flared in his eyes, but as every other fighter backed off he was compelled to as well. As he left, though, he gave Ichigo a scathing glance that told his former friend their battle was far from over. The Soul Reapers all departed except for Rukia, who stayed behind, unwilling to let this chance slip through her fingers. Ichigo gave both Grimmjow and Hichigo a glance that told them to get lost for a few minutes and they took the hint, leaving the two Soul Reapers alone.
Rukia closed the gap between them slowly, almost hesitantly, as if she thought the Ichigo in front of her was a ghost that would vanish when she touched him. As she came within arm's length she stopped, reaching up and putting her hand gently on his cheek.
"Your eyes," she said after a few thunderous heartbeats. "What happened to your eyes?"
"It's a long story," he said with a weak smile, "but I'm fine, trust me; I can control my Hollow now. Everything's going to be fine."
For an instant, almost childlike naiveté lit up Rukia's face; the orange-haired boy knew what was going through her mind, and it almost broke his heart.
"If… if you can control it, then you can come back! You can stay with us, with me…" The young Kuchiki's plea stuck in her throat when she saw the look in those black-and-yellow eyes, at once loving, determined and heartbroken.
"You're staying with Aizen," she said, her hand still not leaving his cheek, "aren't you?"
"I have to finish this," he answered, putting his hand on top of her own. "If I don't do it, no one will."
"What about me?!" she shot back, her voice rising as it became more anguished, her hand slipping out from underneath his own. "What's wrong with me? Am I not strong enough? Is that it?!"
"Of course that's not it, you stupid midget!" Ichigo shouted, a torrent of emotions swelling up within his soul that threatened to crush him. "Do you have any idea what it was like for me that day I stopped the Soukyoku? Do you know what the only thing I could think of was?" he pressed, grabbing onto her shoulders with both hands. "All I could think of was what would happen if I failed," he continued, tears beginning to form in his eyes. "What would happen if I couldn't do it."
"But you always said…"
"I know, I know!" he cut off, his voice ragged. "'Don't say what'll happen if I fail, because that's not an option', right? Of course that's what I said, an usually I meant it, because that's what everyone was looking to me to say. But I'm just a teenager, Rukia! I'm not some great hero, or some fucking war veteran. That's why I need to do this myself, don't you get it? I can't just lose the people I love and move on!"
Rukia's eyes widened as she processed what she had just heard.
"Are you…" she said softly, "are you saying you love me, too, Ichigo?"
The orange-haired Soul Reaper smiled tiredly.
"Can you just not hear me down there, midget?" he quipped. "That's exactly what I said."
The violet-eyed Soul Reaper gave a huge smile and jumped up into Ichigo's arms, wrapping her legs around his waist and locking her heels to anchor herself before kissing him so fervently that Ichigo thought he was going to pass out.
"I promise you I'll stay safe," she said seriously after they'd broken apart and caught their breath, "but you have to swear to me that you won't throw your life away doing something stupid."
"Don't worry, Rukia," Ichigo said gently, running his forefinger along her cheek, "I'll come back to you. That's a promise."
"I'll be waiting," she spoke as she disengaged herself, giving her loved one a quick kiss on the lips before turning around and walking away. As Ichigo blinked and tried to recover, a pair of joking voices pulled him out of his thoughts.
"Why didn't you seal the deal?" the blue-eyed Espada jeered.
"He must not swing that way, Grimmjow," Hichigo whispered just loud enough so that Ichigo could hear it.
"Yeah, I think I agree," Jaegerjaques chimed in, as a vein in Ichigo's forehead became more and more visible by the moment. "I mean, did you see her? She almost strangled him! I just hope that Renji guy doesn't make a move tonight, or the carrot-top is screwed!"
"Would you two shut the fuck up!?" Ichigo shouted, as his two warrior comrades cackled like hyenas. Kurosaki sighed, biting back the urge to massacre the pair of them right then and there.
"Let's just go," he said, as he opened a garganta, trying not to sound worried. "I don't know about Aizen, but Tosen's furious with you."
"Fuck him," Grimmjow spat as the three warriors began the journey back to Las Noches. "I can handle Tosen."
As they stood before Aizen, who had taken up residence on his throne for the occasion, Ichigo could feel the anger radiating from the blind Soul Reaper nearby. When Grimmjow failed to address Sosuke with an honorific, which he'd never done before anyway, Kaname snapped.
"Please, Aizen-sama," he said, "give me permission to execute him!"
Aizen, oddly, did not look at Tosen, but was looking square into Ichigo's eyes with an incredibly searching gaze as he spoke.
"Go ahead, Kaname," the former Captain said, smiling ever so slightly as Ichigo connected the dots and the Soul Reaper's still-yellow eyes hardened in hatred,
"Kill him."
Grimmjow's blue eyes widened in shock at the decision just moments before Suzumushi rose and fell, a head hitting the ground immediately afterwards.
A/N: This chapter is the longest one I've written yet, and will be the longest one I write for a while; I just felt that every scene in here had to be included. I hope you enjoyed it, apologies for the super-cliffhanger, and as always, please review!