"Okay so how exactly is this going to work?" Tatsuki asked as Halibel's Fraccion shed their Gigais. They were in the underground training area.
"Simple. You're going to attack them and they're going to try and block your blows. It's as easy as that." Halibel explained.
"What if they fight back?" Orihime asked.
"They won't. Their orders are strictly to defend, not attack. No Zanpakutos, Cero, or Bala. Only hands and feet." Halibel said as Tatsuki shrugged and quickly whirled around with a flaming fist to strike at Mila-Rose. Her fist impacted against Mila's open palm and the sound of cracking bones was heard. Tatsuki's face scrunched up in agony as her eyes watered. She was struggling to keep from screaming.
"Wow. It seems that Hierro is going to be a bit difficult to overcome for her." Sun-Sun commented.
"Yeah I hardly felt a thing." Mila-Rose added.
"Hey are you alright?" Apache asked curiously. Tatsuki slowly turned towards Orihime.
"Ow." She whimpered, still struggling to keep from screaming.
"Ah! Tatsuki you're bleeding!" Orihime exclaimed as she hurried over and started healing Tatsuki's injuries with her Shun-Shun-Rikka.
"Maybe we took it too far." Apache commented.
"Perhaps starting with direct blows is too much at the moment. Our Hierro is going to be a bit difficult to overcome. Start with evasion around those rocks and try to get her to damage them instead." Halibel ordered.
"Yes Ma'am!" the three Fraccion replied with a bow.
"That's how my Sensei and I started out doing things." Tatsuki said as she flexed her hand carefully. It had been fully healed.
"Are you sure you can fight?" Halibel asked.
"Tatsuki's the second strongest girl in Japan! She's got the medals and trophies to prove it!" Orihime exclaimed happily.
"Apparently spiritual strength has nothing to do with that record. In any case, let's continue." Halibel said as the Fraccion Sonido'd to seemingly random rock formations.
"Come on girl! Let's see what you've got!" Mila-Rose taunted from atop her rock formation as Tatsuki started glowing with red flames and charged at her rock formation. She reared back her fist and leapt into the air. She was right on top of Mila-Rose when she launched her fist straight forward. But Mila had Sonido'd out of range and instead she caused the rock formation Mila had been standing on to completely explode.
"Curious. She can destroy rocks but she cannot penetrate our Hierro." Halibel analyzed quietly.
Tatsuki by then had turned and launched after Sun-Sun. She then delivered a kick to her rock formation which also shattered it into dust.
"Arisawa! Try delivering the blow before you are within range!" Halibel suggested. Tatsuki blinked in confusion at the suggestion but decided to give it a try. She then lunged for Apache and as ordered she made a roundhouse mid-air kick but just as she did, a fireball flew from her foot right at the unsuspecting Apache. The fireball hit her square in the face and knocked her off the formation where she plowed into the ground, leaving quite a fair sized crater. Sun-Sun, Mila-Rose, Orihime, and even Tatsuki were taken by surprise. Halibel however smirked from behind the collar of her Gigais raincoat.
"Apache! Are you alright?!" Mila freaked as she hurried over to the crater where Apache sat up with a hand to her head.
"Yeah sure, but why am I seeing three of you?" Apache asked in a mild daze.
"I knew that was going to happen. You were totally unprepared." Sun-Sun commented.
"Hey! Why don't you put those hands of yours to better use than hiding your mouth and HELP ME GET HER OUT OF HERE!!!" Mila roared.
"And soil my dress? Don't be silly." Sun-Sun replied with a haughty sniff.
"I'll do more than just soil your dress if you don't help!" Mila threatened as she reached for her Zanpakuto, dropping Apache back into the crater in the process.
"Why would I help?" Sun-Sun asked curiously.
"Because you could die if you don't?!" Mila replied, drawing her Zanpakuto angrily.
"Hmm…not really an interesting idea. No thanks." Sun-Sun said as she turned away. She suddenly got hit in the back by a fireball, and sent crashing into a large rock formation which promptly collapsed on her.
Tatsuki was standing with a smug smirk on her face as Mila-Rose and Apache (who had managed to climb back out of the crater on her own) stood stunned for a moment before doubling over in laughter.
"Hey!-Hey! This kid ain't so bad!" Mila laughed as she slapped Tatsuki on the back, accidently sending her to the floor.
"I think you just broke something." Tatsuki grimaced from the ground as Orihime quickly ran over to heal her again.
"Boy she can dish it out but she can't take it can she?" Apache asked. Fortunately Tatsuki was back up on her feet in a matter of seconds.
"You know I wonder if Sun-Sun is okay." Orihime said as she looked over at the pile of rubble where Sun-Sun had crashed.
"Bah she's alright. She's tougher than she looks. There's one thing you never want to do though." Mila replied.
"What's that?" Tatsuki asked as she rotated her shoulder a bit to work out the kinks.
Suddenly the rubble started shifting and they heard a ripping sound coming from it as well. They then saw Sun-Sun emerge with her back turned and with her long sleeves torn off right at the seams.
"Uh-oh." Mila paled.
"Her sleeves got torn off." Apache whimpered.
"You are in so much trouble." Mila added.
"We might want to consider moving out of range." Apache shuddered as she and Mila two-stepped behind another rock formation, grabbing the confused Orihime and dragging her with them. Sun-Sun looked angrily over her shoulder at the confused Tatsuki.
"You ruined my outfit." Sun-Sun said softly with venom clear in her voice. She then Sonido'd into thin air and lunged at Tatsuki from behind, but Tatsuki was faster and successfully dodged her blow. She continued dodging her blows for a few moments before she leapt into the air and started launching fireballs back down at Sun-Sun who used her Zanpakuto to deflect the shots.
Sun-Sun then Sonido'd up to Tatsuki's level and thrust her flat open hand towards Tatsuki's stomach. Tatsuki quickly caught the hand and managed to keep it mere inches from her body as they fell towards the ground. Tatsuki's flames then started turning a more vibrant shade of orange before finally turning blue. Sun-Sun's eyes widened in surprise as Tatsuki quickly brought her leg around and kicked Sun-Sun in the shoulder. The resulting blow knocked Sun-Sun away to the ground and caused a bruise to appear on her shoulder along with first degree burns on her hand.
Tatsuki stood stunned as she floated in the air as if using the Soul Reapers own ability to walk in midair. Orihime, and the other two Fraccion were stunned. They then heard the sound of a single person clapping slowly. They all turned to see Halibel was the one clapping.
"Very nice. I suspected that if put in real danger that you would use more of your powers. But I do not believe that you have fully tapped into your powers. You've made an excellent step forward. Leaving a mark on Sun-Sun's shoulder as well as burning her hand. That's an impressive start." Halibel said as Tatsuki grinned with a sigh of relief.
"However…" Halibel said as everyone looked at her concerned, "…you did injure one of my Fraccion. Apache and Mila-Rose can tell you what happens to those who injure them."
Without warning, Halibel had shed her Gigai and had Sonido'd in behind Tatsuki. She swung her left hand across her front towards Tatsuki who quickly turned and blocked with her left hand. Tatsuki could feel the bones connecting her pinky and ring fingers inside her hand cracking from the sheer strength of the blow. Tatsuki attempted to deliver an uppercut to Halibel's jaw but the swing was stopped halfway by Halibel's right hand. Halibel started squeezing on Tatsuki's hand, breaking the bones. Tatsuki grunted in agony, but didn't take her eyes off her opponent.
"Come on. Hit me." Halibel ordered calmly. Tatsuki instinctively tried to kick Halibel's leg but to no avail. Her foot merely collided with Halibel's hip and she could feel the bones in her foot compacting together.
"Tatsuki!!!" Orihime shouted worriedly as she put her hands to her hairpins.
"No! You can't interfere!" Apache exclaimed as she, Mila-Rose, and a recovered Sun-Sun blocked her path.
"But Tatsuki!" Orihime exclaimed. Meanwhile Tatsuki realized what Halibel was doing. She wanted her to try and tap further into her powers. Tatsuki started trying to resist against Halibel's strength. Fighting the pain from her injured hands and angrily fighting back the tears, the flames started getting larger until they were covering her entire body, still not even slightly singeing her clothes. Halibel's fixed gaze on her remained unaltered. Then sparks of electricity started to crackle around their hands and Tatsuki started pushing Halibel's own hand away, against the pain as the bones in her left hand started breaking completely.
Finally Tatsuki reared her other foot back and delivered another kick to Halibel's side that caused Halibel to grunt and her eyes to squint for a brief second. Tatsuki then shoved her knee up between them and quickly extended her leg in a kick, shoving them apart. Tatsuki by now was completely engulfed in blue flames with electricity crackling around her.
"Yes that's it. You are now experiencing the full extent of your powers as they are at the present time. With time they can come to rival even that of the Soul Reapers. But for now it is time for you to heal and recover." Halibel said as she turned away. She then quickly raised her hand just in time to block an attempted attack from Tatsuki.
"We're not done until I say we are!" Tatsuki growled with a grin on her face.
"If you insist." Halibel replied as she Sonido'd to the top of a nearby rock formation. She then reached for the zipper on her top, causing Tatsuki to freeze.
"Wait…what is she doing?! Oh dear lord! Is she taking her TOP OFF?!" Tatsuki asked mentally in disbelief. Sure enough Halibel unzipped her top slowly to reveal the remains of her Hollow mask neatly covering everything from her nipples up to her nose. Tatsuki then noticed on the left side Halibel's right breast was tattooed the number three. (A/N: I'm going with Halibel's Manga design in mind here. It's called Fanservice and male hormones.)
"WHOA HOLD IT!!! How can you be the third Espada when Nel's the third Espada?! Or can there be more than one at a time?" Tatsuki asked confused.
"Neliel was my predecessor. Back when I was the Cuatro Espada, Neliel was the Tercera Espada." Halibel answered.
"Wait, how did you get the position then? Weren't you guys on the same side?" Tatsuki asked curiously.
"Very much so. Neliel is smart and very powerful, even now I doubt that I could defeat her. We got along almost like sisters in a way. She and each of my Fraccion were the best of friends though. Then the former Quinto Espada, Nnoitra Jiruga, pulled a stunt that caused Neliel to be banished from Los Noches. I got promoted to the third position but out of respect for Neliel, I couldn't call myself the Tercera Espada. Instead I refer to myself as the Tres Espada. There can only be one Espada of a given number at any time. I still consider myself to be the Cuatro Espada when compared next to Neliel. I hold the utmost respect for her. For her to lose to that chauvinist Nnoitra and not fight him for revenge so much as in defense of your mutual friend Ichigo, to me, is a symbol of why she is the rightful Tercera Espada." Halibel explained.
"So she was betrayed by another Espada?" Tatsuki asked in shock.
"Yes. Nnoitra wanted two things. He wanted to be the most powerful Espada, and he wanted all the female Espada to be ranked lower than him. When he took out Neliel, I was expecting Aizen to destroy him but was instead horrified when Aizen promoted Nnoitra from the eighth position to the fifth in acknowledgement of his power. But as punishment for betraying a fellow and superior ranking Espada, promoted me to the third position. I was promoted strictly out of punishment towards an unruly and chauvinist subordinate." Halibel said as she reached behind her and grasped one of the loops on her Zanpakuto, slowly pulling it from its sheath.
"So why did you unzip your top? Can we even have that with a T rating?!" Tatsuki asked as Halibel scoffed.
"I did it to put things in perspective for you. You're not being taught by some ordinary Arrancar. You're being taught by the Tres Espada. By the time we're through, your power will probably rival that of a Soul Reaper Captain's." Halibel said as she grasped Tiburon in her hand.
"What's she going to do?" Orihime asked nervously.
"I think she may release it." Apache whispered.
"Down here? Where she could cause the whole roof to cave in?" Mila-Rose asked.
"It's possible. She might or she might not. Let's watch and see." Sun-Sun said as she hid her mouth with her right hand cupped over it
"Release what?" Orihime asked worriedly.
"Her Zanpakuto." The three replied in unison. Halibel raised her Zanpakuto which started glowing with bright yellow energy in its hollow center.
"Now use all your strength and throw everything you've got at me." Halibel said as Tatsuki, still wincing in pain from her injured hands and foot, clinched her hands into fists and raised them to her chest with her elbows held outward, horizontally. Her hands then started to glow with orange flames and in a single move she thrust her arms forward with the palms opened and facing Halibel. When this happened, a massive stream of bright orange flames launched from her hands towards Halibel who didn't even seem to react.
As the stream reached Halibel, she raised her Zanpakuto and swung upward in a vertical swing, unleashing a very thin and very tall Yellow Cero. The Cero proceeded to cause the stream of flames to split down the center as it flew towards Tatsuki. Tatsuki quickly pulled her fists backward to her sides as they suddenly started to crackle with electricity and glow with orange flames. Tatsuki then opened her left hand flat and then slammed her fist into her open palm in front of her chest, creating a powerful discharge of fire and electricity around her. When the Cero hit the barrier it exploded and collapsed the barrier. Fortunately Tatsuki wasn't hurt by the sudden explosion. Instead she was launched all the way to the opposite side of the room and impacted against the sky colored wall.
Orihime and the Fraccion watched in a mixture of horror and awe as they watched Tatsuki fall to the floor unconscious.
"Orihime. Heal her injuries. She's had enough for one day." Halibel said softly as she sheathed Tiburon. Orihime and the other Fraccion hurried over to Tatsuki's unconscious form. As Orihime healed Tatsuki with her Shun-Shun-Rikka, Halibel approached in her Gigai form.
"Arisawa." Halibel said as she knelt down next to the young girl. Tatsuki's eyes opened slowly and weakly.
"Your performance today was very good. I want to explain something to you. Each Espada has an aspect of death associated with them. My aspect of death is sacrifice. I deliberately forced you to use that aspect against me. Do you know how?" Halibel asked as Tatsuki remained silent.
"I forced you to sacrifice your desire to quit from the pain and force yourself to push your spirit to its limits. While this seems heartless and cruel, and it probably is, you can feel within you that it worked. My final piece of advice for the day is to go home and rest. You not only need time for your injuries to fully heal but because you've earned this reprieve. Ladies if you'll help get Miss Arisawa to her home?" Halibel said as she stood up, turned, and headed for the stairs leading back up to the surface.
"Wow. I haven't heard Miss Halibel talk like that before." Apache said surprised as she and the other two reentered their Gigai.
"She must really have impressed Miss Halibel." Sun-Sun added.
"But…I lost." Tatsuki grimaced.
"Hey, it wasn't a competition." Mila reminded.
"I know but…" Tatsuki sighed.
"To humans you're the second strongest in Japan, but you're no-where near as strong when it comes to spiritual strength. Miss Halibel seeks to fix that." Apache said as the other two Fraccions nodded.
"But why me? Because it'll help you guys?" Tatsuki asked.
"You don't know Miss Halibel very well do you?" Mila asked wryly.
"She'll dedicate herself to a cause she sees as just. And she has to be convinced that its worth her time and energy, and she is not at all easily convinced. And she wouldn't just take you on for the sake of her fellow Arrancar." Sun-Sun explained.
"For once, Sun-Sun has a caring moment. Something's not right here." Apache whispered into Mila's ear, causing the latter to stifle her laughter.
"I think we know what happens when her sleeves gets cut off. Her hole fills in and she gets a heart." Mila replied as Apache snickered.
"So what do we do now?" Orihime asked as she helped Tatsuki climb onto her feet. Apache and Mila-Rose quickly moved in and slung Tatsuki's arms over their shoulders.
"We've got orders to help her get home so we'll be with you all the way." Apache said as Orihime smiled.
"I can walk you know." Tatsuki said proudly. But as she took a step forward, she suddenly buckled from the pain, it was the same foot she had injured.
"Or not." Apache said as she and Mila caught her again.
"Come on. I can tell by that spike in the Spiritual Pressure coming from upstairs that we just missed something big." Mila said as they headed for the stairs.
"Oh this is going to be fun…not." Tatsuki said as they finally reached the stairs.
"Oh just hold your feet up. It's not like we're pathetic weaklings. Sun-Sun! Get behind us and catch us if we fall." Mila said as Sun-Sun shrugged and followed behind them. Naturally they planned on dropping Tatsuki on the snobbish Fraccion.
...and they did.
End Chapter 41.
Radio Kon!!!
Kon was at his desk with sunglasses on once again.
"Yes! Welcome back to Radio Kon! Moving right on to our next guests! The first is the Primera Espada and his Fraccion. Please welcome Stark and Lilynette!" Kon introduced as both of said Arrancar entered and sat down. They were both in their Arrancar form.
"What the hell are you supposed to be?" Lilynette asked as she spotted Kon.
"Lilynette we've been over this. He's the mod soul that inhabits Ichigo Kurosaki's body when he goes to slay the hollows." Stark yawned.
"Oh so he's the one Neliel warned us about." Lilynette said knowingly.
"So you're Espada and Fraccion right?" Kon asked, trying desperately to move onto his questions.
"Pretty much." Lilynette replied.
"But in some of the recent Bleach Manga chapters, it was revealed that the two of you are actually a little closer than that. Don't you become a gun when he releases his Zanpakuto?" Kon asked as Lilynette groaned and rolled her visible eye.
"Don't remind me." Lilynette mumbled.
"Actually yes we are technically one soul split into two. We're like brother and sister." Stark answered.
"Well more like lazy ass big brother and saintly yet sexy younger sister." Lilynette replied playfully.
"Saintly…that's a joke, especially in reference to you." Stark groaned.
"Why whatever do you mean Stark?" Lilynette asked innocently.
"Try shoving your hand down my throat to wake me up and then squeezing my…on second thought let's not discuss this. It does go out over the air after all." Stark said as Lilynette grinned.
"I squeeze his balls." Lilynette answered.
"Lilynette!!!" Stark whined as Lilynette snickered.
"Wow and people call me kinky." Kon said before receiving a curious glare from the two Arrancar.
"Uh-Kinky how? What, do you think just because I squeeze his balls and dress like this that he and I-?! OH YOU SICK AND TWISTED LITTLE FREAK!!!" Lilynette shrieked as she drew her Zanpakuto.
"Huh?! No! I DIDN'T MEAN IT LIKE THAT! HELP!!!" Kon freaked as Lilynette grabbed him by the throat and pinned him to the desk.
"Let's see. Death by Cero, Bala, Zanpakuto, or Resurreccion? Oh the possibilities." Lilynette said as Stark promptly donned a bib and whipped out a knife and fork.
"I've got a better idea." Stark said as Lilynette caught the hint and licked her lips hungrily. Meanwhile Hanataro was sweating bullets.
"Uh. Oh-dear. Uh. Please tune in next time when our guests are the current and former third Espada. Nel and Halibel." Hanataro said before Kon burst through the glass window as he ran for his life.
"SAVE ME HANATARO!!!" Kon shouted in fear.
End
