Uryu and Ihsoy stood staring each other down. Uryu could tell that Yoshi's weakness from their last battle was gone. He quickly created an arrow in his bow and released it, only for it to be blocked by Ihsoy's shield.
"What, you thought that was going to work?!" Ihsoy sneered. Uryu remained silent as he prepared another arrow.
This time however Ihsoy was the one who struck first, creating a chain of the glowing swords made of energy she swung and hurled them at Uryu. She was shocked however when every single one of the swords were shot down in mid-air.
"You're not the only one who's grown stronger since our last battle." Uryu said calmly.
"So I see." Ihsoy growled. She then quickly used bleu sauter to get behind him but only had enough time to turn and defend from one of Uryu's Steele Schneider swords.
"This blade is made entirely of Reishi particles revolving at three million times per second. It's nothing compared to one of my average arrows." Uryu said as he shoved Ihsoy away and took a quick leap towards her. He swung the Steele Schneider but the tip of the blade only slightly grazed her.
She bleu sautered away and quickly used the surrounding Reishi to heal the wound. Uryu then fired a small volley of regular arrows before firing the Steele Schneider at her. Unfortunately she blocked it. Much to his surprise however, his attack left a noticeable hairline crack in the shield and Ihsoy could feel it.
"It would seem your shield isn't as strong as it once was." Uryu taunted as he pulled out another Steele Schneider and charged straight towards her. He parried her blows and finally delivered a painful slash across her front, but the slash was stopped by her shield before it reached the glowing blue hole.
She shoved him back angrily with the shield but as he slid across the ground, he fired the Steele Schneider straight at her. Again she blocked but the crack in the shield only grew larger and a small piece of it fell out.
Ihsoy was getting angry and started swinging her sword at him insanely, sending the glowing energy swords straight at him but he proceeded to destroy each one with a glowing blue arrow. Their rivaling volleys were going nowhere until Uryu's volley started gaining ground. Ihsoy just kept swinging insanely but finally the volley got too intense for her and she finally had to switch to defense. The constant volley of arrows rivaled that of a Fleche Vent and shoved her all the way back towards the edge of the forest and sandwiched her between the pressure of her shield and a tree.
Finally the volley stopped with one final Steele Schneider which caused the shield to suddenly shatter partially. Uryu stood in the center of the clearing as he caught his breath while glaring at Ihsoy in anger.
"It seems that we both got stronger but you didn't get strong enough." Uryu said as Ihsoy growled with anger.
"Damn you Quincy. You're not getting the better of me!" She screeched as she brought her shield in front of her and held the blade aiming straight up.
"Now you shall see my true power Quincy!" she shouted angrily as she started to glow bright blue.
Uryu could sense her spiritual pressure climbing to a higher level.
"What is this?" Uryu asked worriedly.
"You'll see…" Ihsoy said with her eyes narrowed from within her helmet, "…Je Suis Yoshi!!!"
Suddenly she exploded in a ball of blinding blue energy, causing Uryu to shield himself. When the light faded and Uryu lowered his arms he saw a sight that made him pale. Ihsoy had transformed into a massive bone armored Chinese dragon with glowing blue eyes, a green haired mane, and four sets of sharp clawed hands. The round shield was located all along the side of her body and along her back were her swords as if they were dorsal fins on a shark. Her tail ended in a glowing blue bushel of arrows arranged in jagged formation. She looked like a twisted evil version of Renji's Bankai, Hihio Zabimaru.
Uryu was stunned at what he saw. Without warning Ihsoy lunged forward and encircled him with her long snake-like body, trapping him inside. He quickly started firing arrows at her body but the shields would quickly extend on arms made of bone to block the shot then retract. Then the swords along her back started extending and lunging for him like snakes striking their pray.
Uryu was quickly getting overwhelmed as he did his best to parry with another Steele Schneider.
"How does it feel Quincy? To be trapped and losing to an old foe…I would say that this is a fitting revenge for me." Ihsoy hissed as she glared hungrily down at Uryu.
Uryu didn't even dare to respond; instead he focused his energy on defending against Ihsoy's attacks. Suddenly a blade impaled him in the left shoulder from behind, causing him to drop the Steele Schneider.
Blood started trickling down from his wound and he coughed up blood. Ihsoy raised Uryu off the ground, causing the blade to sink in deeper as if impaled on a fork. He stared up in defiance, unable to move at all without excruciating pain.
"Your fate has been sealed now Quincy. With your death…your secret of how you managed to make your weapons lethal to us again will die as well." Ihsoy hissed at her prey before positioning her blue arrowed tail aiming up a few feet underneath him. He then felt the blade slowly retracting into the bone arm that held it causing more blood to spill from his wound.
"Father…" Uryu whispered in his mind as time seemed to slow down, "…I know if you were here now, that you would rescue me…but then you would scold me for associating with Soul Reapers. I know that I've broken my promise to you but I know without a shadow of a doubt that what I have done has been for the greater good. I hope one day you realize that and find it within your heart to forgive me for my crime…my crime in breaking my word as a Quincy."
Uryu closed his eyes to brace himself for his fate, but as he did, his thoughts drifted towards Nemu.
"Nemu…we may have only known each other for a brief while but yet I feel that I have known you for years. One day you must step out of your father's shadow and live as any soul should. You never had a life to begin with Nemu; you were born and raised here in the Soul Society…that is not life. If I had the opportunity I would show you the wonders of the world of the Living…and give you a chance to experience an actual life. Perhaps one day you might though I doubt it will be with me. I know one thing is for certain that beyond a doubt…that I…I love you Nemu Kurotsuchi…with every fiber of my Quincy heart. Thank you for letting me experience actual love for the first time."
Uryu felt his body slipping off the retracting blade and he knew it was only going to be a matter of time before he finally slipped off completely and fell to his doom. Finally it seemed like time returned to normal and he slipped off and started to fall straight towards his death.
Suddenly without warning, something flew in as if using a flash step only different and snatched the helpless Uryu from certain death.
"WHAT THE?!" Ihsoy shrieked in anger as she started turning and looking around in search of where her quarry had disappeared to. She then turned and saw him lying unconscious against a tree nearby. Before Ihsoy could make a move, a figure unfamiliar to her approached holding a Zanpakuto in its hand.
The figure was a female and she was wearing an opened white kimono with a torn green shirt that covered her chest and waist with a single strip connecting them across her bare midriff. Her face had a single pink stripe that ran across her face between her eyes and nose. She also had green hair on her head but perched atop her head was haunting white mask that looked like the skull of an animal with two horns at the side of her head that curved inwards. The woman's facial expression showed that she was clearly unimpressed.
"Get out of my way whelp!" Ihsoy growled as she tried to use her size as an intimidation tactic but failed.
"You are a LeBlanc correct?" Nel asked.
"How astute of you to notice." Ihsoy hissed.
"Nel! Get away! She's too powerful!" Uryu cried out.
"Save your strength Uryu. I shall end this quickly." Nel said calmly to him over her shoulder before turning back to Ihsoy.
"Move away child before I destroy you myself!" Ihsoy hissed but Nel retained her calm demeanor.
"You are a wild animal…you fight out of anger and rage…that is not a reason to fight. But you channel this anger and rage in a lust for vengeance…while deplorable, it is still a reason. I gave into an animal lust for vengeance once and it caused me to revert to a child like state for so long. Now I have regained my strength and abilities and as long as I stand alive, then you shall not harm my friends." Nel said calmly as she raised Gamuza in her hand and pointed it at Ihsoy.
"I fight in the defense of my friend and with this battle I fight to the death." Nel said. She then heard Ihsoy start snickering which quickly evolved into insane laughter.
"You?! You're a pathetic child!!! You cannot hope to defeat the likes of me!" Ihsoy sneered with an amused tone.
"Tell me…do you know what a Hollow is?" Nel asked calmly.
"A Hollow? Why do you bring them up?" Ihsoy asked confused.
"I am an Arrancar…a higher evolution of the regular Hollow." Nel explained as Ihsoy laughed again.
"You?! Impossible! The Arrancar have never developed to such a level as you!" Ihsoy mocked.
"Believe what you will…it changes nothing." Nel said as Ihsoy groaned.
"Fine then…have it YOUR WAY!!!" She shouted as she unleashed a powerful rain of energy swords from her mouth similar to the Fleche Vent. Nel stood her ground however and calmly raised her hand straight forward with the open palm aiming straight at the volley which suddenly scattered when it reached her hand. The volley arced up over her head and into the ground.
"What the-?!" Ihsoy asked confused as Nel proceeded to open her mouth in a loud gasp and started sucking the swords inside. The swords compressed down into a single stream of white energy until it was finally all inside of her. Ihsoy glared in disbelief, not expecting what happened next.
Nel suddenly lurched forward with her mouth open and a massive purple beam of energy shot out from her mouth and delivered a devastating blow to Ihsoy, consuming her within a massive column of fire.
Nel stood patiently waiting for the blast to die down and as it did, she saw Ihsoy's dragon form was injured but still standing.
"Cero Doble…your attack acts very similar to a regular Cero attack so it was easy for me to absorb and use against you." Nel said calmly as she approached the wounded LeBlanc.
She then heard Ihsoy start to cackle as she healed herself by absorbing the surrounding Reishi.
"Did you honestly think that I could go down that easily? Your attack is powerful true, but not powerful enough. Here in the Soul Society, I'm invincible!" Ihsoy shouted with glee. Suddenly she felt a stabbing pain on her back. She turned to see Nel standing on her back and Gamuza stabbed deep through the armor.
"You still have your weakness that cannot be repaired once destroyed." Nel said calmly as she leapt into the air and used Sonido to fly even higher into the air with her blade aimed downward at Ihsoy. Ihsoy growled and launched her arrow spiked tail up towards her but Nel simply swung her blade and knocked the tail away, leaving a massive cut that split the tail right down the center. Nel used Sonido again and landed safely on the ground as Ihsoy howled in pain.
"Why you little-!!!" Ihsoy shouted as she reared her head back but without warning lurched instead towards the half-conscious Uryu. But she suddenly felt a powerful blow to the face which knocked her onto her back. Nel had quickly used Sonido to appear between her and Uryu and then used the hilt of her Zanpakuto to deliver a devastating blow.
Ihsoy then started absorbing the surrounding Reishi again, healing her tail.
"Give it up girl, no matter how many times you injure me; I will always regain my strength thanks to the Reishi in the area. Besides, you have yet to find my core." Ihsoy said as Nel maintained her composure.
"I see…then you leave me no choice." Nel said as she held her Zanpakuto horizontally in her right hand with the edge of the blade aimed away from her and her left palm pressed open against the back. The blade then started glowing with pink energy.
"What? What are you doing?" Ihsoy asked nervously as she sensed Nel's spiritual pressure rising to new levels.
"Declare, Gamuza." She said calmly before a sudden burst of purple spirit energy burst out from around her feet, causing Ihsoy to reel back from the sheer force of the burst. When the energy finally dissipated it revealed Nel in her Resurreccion form holding her double sided lance in hand.
"What is this?" Ihsoy asked in shock.
"My Resurreccion…the Arrancar equivalent to a Soul Reaper's Bankai and that form which you have taken." Nel replied.
"It's called Fondre…it is indeed similar to Bankai only the release command is different than yours and Bankai. Instead of saying Bankai or some other word, we say "Je Suis" then our original name. Our names as LeBlancs are reversed versions of our original names. So I was once Yoshi…but now I am Ihsoy." She explained.
"I see." Nel said as she took a step forward but the when her hoofed foot hit the ground, it sounded like thunder had struck. She reared back her lance over her shoulder and Ihsoy quickly lined up her body to be able to act as a spring to soften whatever attack Nel might have planned.
"Lanzador Verde" she said before hurling the lance straight at Ihsoy. The Lance flew from her hand with a spin to it and soon a glowing pink trail of energy started spiraling back from the tip of the lance in mid-air. It suddenly collided with Ihsoy's closed teeth which caused her to coil back as planned but she didn't expect the lance to break through her teeth. The lance continued spiraling straight through her at the same speed it was flying at when first thrown.
Nel watched carefully as the Lance traveled down Ihsoy's body before spotting a sudden burst of purple energy come from hidden beneath one of the circular shields on her left side. It was her Core. Finally the Lance burst out from the tip of the tail, shattering the spikes at the end. The Lance then turned at a sharp arc and returned to Nel's hand. Ihsoy collapsed onto the ground, the injury having taken a severe toll on her body.
Nel knew that she was still alive and would soon heal herself but she took advantage of the moment and turned towards where Uryu lay still half conscious. Suddenly Izuru Kira arrived with Kukaku and Ganju Shiba along with their twin guards.
"What the hell are you?!" Kukaku exclaimed as Nel looked worriedly at Uryu.
"I am Neliel Tu Oderschvank…former Tercera Espada. Please do what you can to help young Uryu Ishida. He was injured by this beast here." Nel pleaded as Izuru blinked in surprise.
"You're the Arrancar girl that General Yamamoto granted amnesty to…but you've grown so…powerful." Izuru said as Nel smiled.
"My original form has been restored, but please enough about me and deal with Uryu Ishida…he is in very bad shape and needs medical attention. I will deal with this beast myself." Nel said as she turned back towards Ihsoy.
"Well alright but-." Kukaku said but was interrupted by the sudden surge of Reishi that started collecting towards Ihsoy's unconscious form.
"Hurry." Nel ordered as Ihsoy climbed back onto her feet.
"Nice move girl, but like last time you still cannot beat me." Ihsoy said as Nel looked passive as usual and quickly charged for the massive dragon.
Nel quickly skid to a halt and released a powerful purple Cero blast straight at Ihsoy but instead it simply grazed her side, damaging the shields along Ihsoy's left side. Nel then started galloping along Ihsoy's left side as if jousting and shattering the shields as she rode onward. Realizing what her plan was, Ihsoy quickly slithered around to her right and started surrounding Nel in a clockwise circle like she had with Uryu earlier.
"Tough luck girl! But you're not going to defeat me!!!" Ihsoy shouted as she started constricting the space around Nel and she reared her head back then lunged forward towards her with her mouth wide open. Nel used her lance and propped Ihsoy's mouth open.
"Muerte Verde." Nel said calmly as the lance suddenly turned bright green and a powerful surge of green energy surged from the tips of it and into Ihsoy's mouth before traveling quickly through her body, even causing her core to glow with a beam of bright green energy for a moment. (Muerte Verde: Green Death)
"What is that?" Izuru asked curiously as he spotted the core.
"Beats the heck out of me?" Ganju replied. Suddenly a massive column of smoke erupted the ground beneath Ihsoy and as it cleared it revealed Ihsoy back in her original LeBlanc form but Nel still in her Resurreccion form.
Ihsoy's shield was repaired. Nel suddenly spun around on her front hooves and kicked Ihsoy in the shield with her back hooves like an enraged bull. Ihsoy flew back towards, into, and through a small row of trees before skidding into the ground. The shield was now completely shattered. Ihsoy remained stationary but quickly absorbed the Reishi surrounding her, repairing the shield. She then reappeared to Nel's right with a bleu sauter and she quickly charged at Nel, refusing to give up.
"Lanzador Verde." Nel said before hurling her lance once again which shattered the shield yet again and plowed into her shoulder. The force of the blow threw Ihsoy into a tree and pinned her against it as the Lance pierced through her shell and into the tree. Nel calmly and slowly approached the wounded LeBlanc, her hooves thundering with every step. Ihsoy's blue eyes glared at her opponent through her mask, in defiance.
Suddenly Ihsoy winched then cried out in pain. Nel froze in shock at what had caused it. She saw a glowing blue arrow piercing the core. Nel spun around to see Uryu glaring angrily at Ihsoy and sitting in such a manner as if he had just launched an arrow…which he had.
Nel turned back to see the arrow turn green and then the bone armor shattered, revealing the human Yoshi within. The blue glow in her eyes faded away, revealing their natural tan underneath. She looked up at the sky as if in remorse with a tear streaming down her face. The hole in her body where the core once was, now was empty like a Hollow hole. Nel grabbed and removed her lance from the woman's body before she reverted back to her normal form in a green mist that emanated down from beneath her mask.
Yoshi flopped down onto the ground with her eyes still turned towards the sky as she slowly started to turn to dust like the other Bounts would when they died. A smile of relief then swept her face as she closed her eyes.
"Thank you." She whispered before completely dissolving into dust, leaving only her purple Pao and baggie beige pants behind. Nel silently sheathed Gamuza and collected the dust filled clothes with an intrigued expression.
"What a waste. She could have been so much more than that." Nel said softly as she carried the empty clothes over her arm. The twin guards Koganehiko and Shiroganehiko were helping to tend to Uryu's wounds as Nel approached.
"Thanks for coming to my rescue…I feared that she had me beaten for sure." Uryu said as Nel gave him a child like smile.
"No problem Uryu. Besides you still have many more battles left in you. I know it." Nel said as the twins helped to hoist Uryu onto a makeshift stretcher. Suddenly, a trio of familiar Soul Reapers appeared from the tree line. It was Toshiro, Mayuri, and Nemu.
"Lieutenant Kira! Report!" Toshiro ordered as they approached.
"Captains Hitsugaya and Kurotsuchi…the Quincy Uryu was injured by one of the Ryoka but the Arrancar Neliel rescued him and defeated the Ryoka. I was on my way back with members of the Shiba clan to provide some assistance for former Captain Isshin Kurosaki against the other Ryoka when we sensed her Spiritual pressure." Izuru reported. No one noticed as Nemu instinctively hurried over to Uryu's now unconscious form.
"Uryu! Please be alright." Nemu whispered into his ear.
"He'll be fine kid. I've dealt with worse wounds than that, he's as good as healed." Kukaku chuckled.
"May I accompany him?" Nemu asked as Kukaku smirked and nodded.
"Go ahead kid." Kukaku said as Mayuri silently rolled his eyes from a distance and followed along silently. He wanted to be his usual objective self but he decided against it for the time being.
"We should hurry back and check on Isshin. I can still sense his Spiritual Pressure is elevated." Nel said as Toshiro nodded.
"Hey mind if I tag along?" Ganju asked as Nel nodded and Sonido'd away with Toshiro using flash step. Ganju sighed and started running in the direction they disappeared to.
End Chapter 23.
LeBlanc Research Time.
Gin appears in front of the screen with the pointer in his hands again.
"Hello once again. Today-." Gin said before something caused the pointer to break in two as if perfectly cut in half but a blade.
"Today I will be explaining the LeBlancs, Gin." Aizen said as he entered with a noticeably longer pointer.
"Oh…okay." Gin said as he mysteriously shrank out of sight with a tear streaming down his face.
"Today we'll be discussing the LeBlanc's equivalent to Bankai known as Fondre." Aizen said as the screen flipped to the image of Ihsoy's dragon form.
"Fondre, or Fusion in English, is very similar to both the Soul Reaper's Bankai and the Arrancar's Resurreccion in that it is probably the pinnacle of their power. Like a Zanpakuto represents the soul of a Soul Reaper, the Fondre turns the LeBlanc into an animalistic creature that most represents their soul. With that same logic, the same can be said when comparing Fondre to Resurreccion. While Bankai rarely changes the physical structure of its wielder, Resurreccion always changes its user's physical structure to something very reminiscent of the Arrancar's original Hollow form." Aizen explained as Gin walked up with his hands in his pockets.
"Okay then but let me ask this." Gin said as Aizen arched a curious eyebrow.
"Yes Gin?" He asked.
"Why do you have a longer pointer than mine?" Gin asked holding the broken pointer.
"Jealous?" Aizen asked with a smirk.
"Not really." Kaname Tosen said as he entered with a yard stick, causing Aizen to blink in disbelief and for Gin to open his eyes wide in shock.
"No wonder the female Arrancar liked him more than me!" Gin exclaimed.
End
