Chapter 5: Nel
Naoto and Sano were walking through the halls of Las Noches after delivering their findings to Aizen. For obvious reasons, they didn't mention how they brought the wounded Kurosaki Ichigo to the shop of Urahara Kisuke for help. The rougue shinigami quietly listened to their reports and had thanked them for their 'excellent' work before dismissing them.
So now, the two were on their way to their usual spot out in the deserts of Hueco Mundo to discuss their next moves as well as a quick training session when someone calls out to them.
"Naoto... Sano.... Do you have a moment?"
The two arrancars looks back and sees Halibel standing behind them with her fraccions.
Naoto and Sano were introduced to the current Trecera Espada by Stark after they established their alliance and rarely spoke to the mysterious dark-skinned, blonde haired woman. But both had encountered and spoken to her fraccions on more then one occasion and got along with them well enough. And from what they had heard from the three female fraccions, Halibel seemed like an honest, decent and honorable person. But she was also not the sort of person you'd want as your enemy either if her spiritual pressure was any indication.
"Halibel-Sama." Both arrancars greeted with a bow before Naoto asks. "Is there anything we can do for you?"
"Stark asked me to pass along a message to you because he had to go on a mission. I take it that you are on your way out to the desert?" The Espada asks.
"Yes Ma'am. We thought we'd get some training done to pass the time." Sano answered.
"We are on our way out as well. We will walk with you to the gates of Las Noches." Halibel said as she turns and starts walking.
As the contingent was moving towards their destination, Mila Rose starts a conversation. "We heard you two had a mission to the real world. So how'd it go?" The amazonian arrancar asks. Very briefly, the two narrated their venture into Karakura Town including the incident where the hollows were lured into the center of the town for Ishida and Ichigo's little 'contest' as well as the retrieval of Kuchiki Rukia by Soul Society.
"That idiotic Quincy and Shinigami!! They're lucky they only attaracted a weak menos. Anything higher then that and they would've been dead." Apache spat contemptously.
"That's true. But despite their blunder, they did a pretty good job wiping out those hollows." Naoto said.
"While I agree with Apache that the luring of hollows for their masochistic little game was an ill-advised act, something about Kuchiki Rukia's retrieval seems odd to me." Sun Sun said thoughtfully.
"What's so odd about it? The official shinigami of the area screwed up while doing her job so now they're giving her the boot." Mila Rose stated, crossing her arms over her chest.
"It's not that simple Mila Rose. Both officers sent were close acquaintances of Kuchiki Rukia and both seems to hold a lot of contempt for her despite their affiliations." Sano said.
"Sano is right. To send such a high-ranking officers of the Gotei 13 who also happens to be a kin and a close acquaintance for her capture is too much of a coincidence." Sun Sun said. "And from how Naoto-San and Sano-San described the incident, it was almost as if what she did was a heinous act which only deserved capital punishment. Since when is an action born out of desperation considered a serious crime?"
"It's not supposed to be one." Apache said with a derisive snort. "But then again, these are shinigamis we're talking about here. They've got their own rules and do things differently from us."
"Apache is right." Halibel cuts in quietly. "Every society has their own ideas of proper ettiquette and behavior and the shinigamis just happen to think that the lending of their powers to a human under ANY circumstance is unacceptable and illegal. But that doesn't necessarily mean that our ways are any better."
"It really depends on an individual's point of view though." Sano reflected. "Some things that we may do may seem unethical to others yet is perfectly acceptable to us."
"So the question now is, who decides on what is considered as proper behavior for an entire society?" Naoto asks.
Halibel shakes her head at this and states. "You know what? We can argue about this for centuries and still NOT find an answer. But the important thing now is that we're all striving for one thing and that is the general welfare of our kind. We simply cannot allow others with personal agendas to interfere with our goals."
"In any case, we're getting off topic here." Halibel said as she, her fraccions and the two masked arrancars stops at the gates of Las Noches. "Stark wanted me to tell you that should you ever venture out into the deserts of Hueca Mundo again, it's your turn to patrol for insurgents."
Naoto and Sano looks at each other upon hearing this. The coded message basically meant that Stark was asking them to find the former Trecera Espada Nelial. Along with Stark and sometime Halibel, they had discussed the possibility that Nelial was still alive somewhere in the deserts of Hueca Mundo after her sudden disappearance from Las Noches.
They were guessing that the former Trecera and her fraccions were attacked, injured and subsequently forced out into the deserts of Hueca Mundo by one or two other Espadas and hadn't been seen since.
But now, Stark wanted them to find her which meant that the Primera was starting to consolidate his forces and making his move.
"It'll be like finding the proverbial needle in the haystack." Naoto mutters.
"That may be true but we are confident that the two of you are more then suited for the task." Halibel said.
"We will do our best Halibel-Sama." Sano said before Naoto could comment any further.
"Excellent. Then we will take our leave." Halibel said before using Sonido to disappear.
"Happy hunting boys." Mila Rose said before following Halibel using Sonido.
"Sucks to be you guys but good luck anyways." Apache said, waving goodbye as she also disappears.
For her part, Sun Sun merely bows politely before following the Espada and her fellow fraccions and leaving the two arrancar by themselves.
"I guess we better get going too." Naruto said after a moment of silence.
"Yeah. We've got a lot of sand to cover on a limited timetable." Sano said as both he and Naoto disappears into the desert.
(Urahara Shoten)
Ichigo groans out loudly as he opens his eyes and looks around, wondering where he was.
"Ahh.... I see you're awake now Kurosaki-Kun." An annoyingly cheerful and familiar sounding voice said to him.. The orange haired shinigami looks over and sees the storeowner Urahara sitting beside his bed, his face hidden by his ever present fan. "You had us worried for a moment but I'm glad you're all right."
"Urahara-San? Where am I? What happened to me?" Ichigo asks as he looks at the bandages he had all over his body.
"You're in the back of my store young man. I found you nearly dead at my doorstep." Urahara said. "As for what happened to you, I was hoping that you'd enlighten ME on how you got hurt so badly."
"I.... I Don't...." Ichigo starts before his eyes widens. "Rukia!! Where's Rukia?" He said as he starts to get back to his feet. But a searing pain makes him think twice.
"Woah there Kurosaki-San. Take it easy for a bit and tell me exactly what happened from the very beginning." Urahara said.
So that's what Ichigo did. He narrated his encounter with the 6th Division Captain and his lieutenant as they were attempting to bring Kuchiki Rukia back with them and how he had fought with the lieutenant on equal terms for a while before the captain stepped in and disabled him.
"You encountered and picked a fight with officers of the Gotei 13 and you actually survived?" Urahara asks incredilously.
"Yeah. And I would've beaten that lieutenant if that captain didn't attack me like he did." Ichigo groused.
"You're an even bigger fool then I thought if you actually believe what you're saying now brat." A new, rough voice spoke out.
Ichigo looks around in anger but couldn't seem to find the source of the voice. "Who the hell are you? And why don't you tell me that face to face?"
"I'm down here brat." The voice said again. Ichigo looks over the edge of his bed and finds a small black cat sitting on it's haunches and staring at him. "And I'll say it as many times as you like. You're an idiot if you think you could actually beat an officer of the Gotei 13 THAT easily."
Ichigo blinks in confusion and looks at Urahara. "I-Is it my imagination or did I just see and hear this cat talk to me?"
"It's not a dream brat. You just heard me talk to you." The black cat said gruffly.
"Y-Yeah well who asked for your opinion?" Ichigo said as he slowly regained his composure and deciding that wierdness was a norm here in Urahara's shop. "What does a furball like you know about shinigamis anyways?"
Ichigo instantly regretted his words as a powerful spiritual pressure which seems to emanate from the cat flattens him like a ton of bricks. "Brat. You couldn't even learn a fraction of what I know even if you had a hundred years to learn it from me. And frankly speaking, I don't have the time nor the patience to teach it to a brat like you."
"Now now. Let's all not get carried away here." Urahara cuts in, looking at the black cat who nods and eases up on the spiritual pressure. "Perhaps an introduction is in order. Ichigo, this cat is Yoruichi who is one of my.... Business partners. He is aware of shinigamis so he knows what he's talking about. And what he said is true. You can't easily beat an officer of the Gotei 13. You're lucky to even be alive."
"What are you talking about?" Ichigo asks in a much more subdued tone of voice.
"Very good. At least you're now starting to listen." Yoruichi grumbles then starts to explain. "To prevent affecting the spirits of the real world in an adverse way from exposure to their spiritual pressure, all captain classed shinigamis need to have roughly 80 powers sealed away which means when you were fighting the lieutenant, he was fighting at only 1/5 of his real powers. Had he been fighting at full strength, you would've been dead in an instant. Hell! You're extremely lucky to survive an encounter with a captain like Kuchiki Byakuya and live to tell about it."
Ichigo was silent for a moment before saying. "Then what am I lying around here for? If I wanna get much stronger, I need to start training now so I can...."
"That's another thing Ichigo." Urahara interrupts. "When Captain Kuchiki struck you down, he didn't just injure you. He severed the source of your spiritual powers as well so now, you've lost almost all your abilities as a shinigami."
Ichigo looked dumbstruck as the full implications of the situation hit him. After a few moments, he finally spoke. "Isn't there any way I can get them back?"
Urahara looked a little reluctant but a nod from Yoruichi prompts him to speak. "Well.... There IS a method for you to regain your powers. But it's an exceedingly dangerous method because, if you fail.... You will surely die. Would you be willing to go through the ordeal?"
"I swore to Rukia that I would risk everything to save her. What kind of man would I be if I can't keep my promise?" Ichigo said.
"Hehe. You're still an idiot kid but I like your determination brat." Yoruichi said with a chuckle. "If you're gonna do this, then rest up. You're gonna need every last bit of your strength to survive what's about to come."
After leaving Ichigo so he could sleep, Urahara and Yoruichi goes back to the front of the store to talk.
"I saw the ones who left Ichigo here at your doorstep. And you're not gonna believe who it was." Yoruichi said without preamble.
"Oh really? Try me." Urahara said.
Yoruichi takes a deep breath and braces for Urahara's inevitable reaction before continuing. "Arrancars."
(Hueca Mundo)
"As I've said before Sano. A needle in the haystack." Naoto grumbles as both he and Sano appears on top of a sand dune.
"Stop complaining Naoto." Sano said in an annoyed tone of voice. As much as he liked his friend, his impatient nature someimes grated on his nerves. "We haven't even gone THAT far yet."
"Well yeah. But you know as well as I do how big this desert is right?" Naoto stated. "And you know the odds of us finding one specific hollow. What if this is all a wild goose chase, huh?"
Sano was about to retort when his sharp eyes sees something. "Hey! Do you see that?" Sano asks his friend, pointing at a moving cloud of sand a fair distance away.
"Yeah I see it." Naoto confirms. "Let's go see what's going on. Maybe we'll get a clue on where to find our target."
The two arrancars then uses Sonido to quickly travel from their location to the area where they saw the sand cloud. They arrive and finds one of the oddest sight they could ever encounter.
A little, green-haired little girl wearing a ragged cloak which obscured her tiny form was being chased by 3 hollows. A thin one with an antlike head wearing a loincloth, a short chunky one who looked like a walking tiki mask and a large wormlike hollow. And the wierd part about it was the girl was laughing her heart out as if her current predicament was just some sort of game to her.
"How the hell did a kid like that get to Hueca Mundo? And why does she look like she's having fun being chased around like that to boot?" Naoto wondered aloud.
"Let's worry about the details later." Sano said. "Right now we need to give her a hand."
In a blur of speed, the two arrancars disappears then reappears between the little girl and the hollows chasing her. "Alright fellas, that's far enough. You guys better sto.... Whoa!!!" Naruto started to say before the wormlike hollow lunges at the two without warning, causing them both to jump back.
"What do you guys think you're doing?" Sano demanded before blocking a spiked club which the walking tiki mask had pulled out from his mouth.
"Sano!!" Naoto calls out but had to jump back to avoid an attack by the antheaded hollow who moments before, had brought out what seemed to be a zanpaktou from inside his loincloth which had a blade made of energy as well as a creepy phallus shaped hilt.
"What the.... Gillians with zanpaktous?" Naoto thought in surprise. "No..... These two knows how to use 'em which means they're actually arrancars."
"You won't get your hands on her you filth. We won't allow it." The antheaded hollow hissed in anger as he continued to attack Naoto who blocks his attacks with his own weapon. A shadow suddenly looms above him and Naoto looks up in time to see the wormlike hollow trying to smother him.
Reacting quickly, Naoto kicks away the antheaded arrancar and uses the mace of his weapon to send the huge wormlike hollow flying back several feet and finally landing on thesand unconscious.
"Bawa Bawa!" The walking tiki mask cries out. Sano uses the opportunity to kick him away then jumps back to stand by Naoto's side.
"Stop right now and identify yourselves!!" Sano demands, watching their opponents regain their bearings. "You won't get a second warning."
"This is the only answer you're getting from us!!" The antheaded hollow shot back as he jumps on top of the walking tiki mask and crosses his arms in front of him. The walking tiki mask opens his mouth wide and soon, energy starts to gather in front of the two hollows.
"Uh oh.... They're charging up a Cero and it's a big one." Naoto said as he prepares himself.
"Yeah. But that thing looks a little unstable though...." Sano stated thoughtfully.
"Eat this!! Cero Syncretico!!!" The huge ball of swirling energy shoots towards Naoto and Sano who stood waiting. Just before the ball hits them, it seperates into two seperate balls which flies past them and explodes harmlessly away from them.
"W-What? How did they...." The antheaded hollow didn't get a chance to finish his statement as Naoto and Sano knocks both him and his companion on their back and stands over them with a foot on their opponents chests and a charged Cero hovering near their face.
"Whew!! That was some Cero you pulled outta nowhere there." Naoto said to the antheaded hollow he was pinning down with his feet. "But it had two flaws. One is that it's obviously a last ditch move on your part so it takes a lot out you so if you miss, it's game over."
"And as powerful as it may seem, that attack is still a combination of two Ceros and that's where it's second flaw lies. If it's not fully sychronized, all it takes is a little pressure along the stress lines and it will seperate again into two ceros." Sano said emotionlessly, his own foot on the walking tiki mask. "I told you before that you won't get a second warning and you blew your only chance at survival by attacking us."
Naoto's grin grew wider as his Cero got visibly bigger. "Thanks for giving us the excuse guys. Now...."
"Wait!!!! P-Pwease stop that!!!" A tiny voice calls out.
Naoto and Sano looks back and sees the small girl the hollows were chasing running towards them.
"What are you still doing here kid? Get out of here! These things are dangerous!" Naoto calls out. But the girl kept on running towards them and in the process, trips on her cloak and exposes her head which had been partially hidden. On top of her head was a cracked, cartoonish looking skull.
"That kid's an arrancar too?" Sano said in confusion.
The girl then picks herself up from the ground, looks at them then starts to cry.
"Wah!!! Why are you being mean to Nel's fwiends? Pwease don't hurt them!!! We were just pwaying games!!" The arrancar girl who identified herself as Nel cried.
Sano and Naoto seemed at a loss on what to do. The girl was now clearly a friend of the two arrancars who attacked them. But then again, they couldn't just let them go because they'd get attacked again.
"You're in danger Nelial-Sama!! Please run away!!" The antheaded arrancar calls out, prompting Naoto and Sano to look at him in surprise.
"Wait a sec here. Did you just call her Nelial? As in Neliel Tu Oderschvank?" Sano asks tightly.
It was the walking tiki mask who answered. "Yeah. She's Nelial, the one you're ordered to hunt down and kill dontcha' know?"
"Quiet you fool!!" The antheaded arrancar growls at his companion.
Naoto and Sano looks at the quivering child behind them again. "That's Neliel Tu Oderschvank?" Naoto asks in confusion before the two arrancars looks at each other with the same thought in their head.
"We're in deep shit."
Author's Notes: And that concludes my latest chappie guys. As always, R&R and I'll try to put up the next installment soon