"Hya!" He yelled as he swung his sword, zangetsu, at Grimmjow.
The man smirked and drew his sword, in the process blocking the blade in its tracks.
Ichigo scowled, though there was no reason to expect he could defeat Grimmjow with only his shikai; his sword's normal release form.
"Didn't you learn anything last time? Even when you use your bankai you still lose to me, don't even think about attacking me when you're using anything less than that."
He stepped back, still holding his sword out in front of him.
"You're right. If I want to end this quickly…"
Suddenly the air around him erupted in black and red flames.
"Then I'm going to use all the power I have! Bankai!"
The flames engulfed Ichigo and swirled around him for several seconds before dissipating and revealing him and Tensa-zangetsu; his bankai. He drew his sword to his side and the same flames appeared across the long thin blade.
"Getsuga… tensho!" He yelled while swinging his sword forward, sending a wave of spirit energy through the air at Grimmjow, who jumped over it. Ichigo flash-stepped to where the Arrancar appeared and swung his sword at the man, who blocked with his own.
"So this is still all you've got, huh? Bankai? I can't believe I wasted my time looking for you. And here I'd thought you had gotten stronger."
Ichigo's expression tightened and one of his hands came away from the hilt, up to his face. Grimmjow frowned, wondering what he was doing, before Ichigo's hand came down and a white mask appeared over his face, his eyes turning black with golden pupils.
Suddenly zangetsu pushed past Grimmjow's defenses and slashed at his neck. The Arrancar just barely managed to avoid getting his head cut off by falling backwards, hand-springing off the ground after the sword had traveled through the air and landing several yards away.
One of his hands leapt up and the air in front of it grew red.
"Bala!" Ichigo thought, charging towards him. Just as the Bala shot towards him he leapt over it and created more energy around Tensa-zangetsu.
"Getsuga tensho!" He yelled once again, this time a wave of black and red flying down through the air at Grimmjow, forcing him to dive out of the way to avoid getting caught in the blast.
The man barely had enough time to stand before Ichigo was in front of him and he struck Grimmjow's sword with his own like a baseball bat, knocking away his guard and sending him into the air. He immediately followed and thrust upwards at the man's chest. Parrying it with his sword, Grimmjow kicked towards Ichigo's head, aiming to damage him enough to at least get some breathing space. However, in his hollowfied state a single free hand was all he needed to block the kick and Ichigo grabbed his ankle, pulling him down through the air and once again swinging his sword at him. Grimmjow blocked like before, but there was such force behind the swing that his sword was sent reeling from his hands and flew down into the ground, imbedded several inches within it.
In a desperate attempt Grimmjow brought up one of his hands and fired a Bala at Ichigo, who had to dodge it at such short range that Grimmjow managed to get back on the ground. Ichigo shortly followed, a triangle formed between Grimmjow, his sword, and Ichigo.
"That mask, those powers… what the hell did you do to yourself?!" The blue-haired man yelled at him, breathing hard.
"I don't have time to tell you, I've got to finish this quickly."
He once again created energy around his sword, bringing it back.
"Okay, that's it. You want to go use some messed up power? Well, I've got more power too!" The Arrancar declared, diving for his sword.
Ichigo swung Zangetsu and the energy began to fly off the blade, its path intending to end directly on the side of Grimmjow's head as he dove for his sword, just barely reaching-
-air.
The energy disappeared from Zangetsu and Ichigo's mask vanished as he watched a man with a tight black beard pull Grimmjow's sword out of the ground and disappear.
Both of the fighters were left at a surprised loss for several seconds before Grimmjow bolted up, spinning around violently.
"Hey! Where the hell did you go?! He demanded at the space around him.
Ichigo's bankai disappeared and her walked forward a few steps.
"Who was that?" He asked the enraged man.
"How the hell should I know?! But he took my sword, and he's going to pay for that!"
Ichigo looked around himself, but he already knew the man was gone.
Grimmjow's hands tightened into fists and he punched down into the ground, cursing as he did so.
The substitute soul reaper looked down at him, placing Zangetsu on his own back.
"What would he want with your sword?"
"I don't know." He breathed.
"But I've got a guess of where he went." Grimmjow said while standing up, eerily calm.
"Just because we're not soul reapers, doesn't mean we don't care about our weapons. The core of our powers are sealed within them. Without our weapons, we aren't even really whole."
Ichigo stared at him silently, not having seen him like this before.
Grimmjow turned his head, looking at him.
"I'm going to go get my zanpakuto back. You get as strong as you can and when I come back I'll crush you at your full strength."
His expression tightened at the repeated mention of the man's intentions.
"Are you sure you don't need some help with that?"
The man scoffed and looked away.
"I'm not some little human, Kurosaki. I don't need someone like you to find my own sword. Besides, I doubt you'd be willing to kill the guys who took it. And that's exactly what I'm going to do."
Ichigo did nothing but stand quietly as Grimmjow walked away and then he heard a "jutting" sound go through the air, and the man was gone.
"But why not Karl?" She asked the uncooperative man, who had taken a step back since she asked him if he would play hide-and-go seek with her.
He held his hands up, as if to show he meant no harm.
"It's just a strange way to play tag."
Her hand came down, allowing the dress in it to drape on the floor.
"It's prince-and-princess go seek. The prince has to find the princess who calls "help me prince" out quietly."
"Like Marco Polo and hide-and-go seek combined." Solomon explained further, his normal smile having taken a bit of a humorous shift to it.
"Quiet, Solomon. You aren't helping." He told the blonde who sat at the table in the skyscraper fossil-glasshouse.
"So put it on and go hide. And be sure to call out 'save me prince' in the highest pitch you can make."
"Why don't you play the princess and I'll find you? Your beautiful voice is much more suited to call out such a phrase."
She shook her head.
"I don't like being the one to hide. I like 'seeking'."
"You'd best do it, Karl. Before she gets upset."
He trembled slightly, as if remembering a past outbreak, and she smiled, foreseeing his cooperation. However, as she expected him to come over to her to take the dress they all heard the elevator arrive and Diva turned away from the table, looking down through the arch at the elevator door as it opened and Amshel walked out of it, carrying something behind himself.
"Amshel!" She shouted out in glee, suspecting he'd brought her a present.
"Did you get me something?!" She questioned him happily, trying to look around his back.
"I don't believe this is something you would want, Diva. I actually just came up here to request that Solomon not take you anywhere else today before I took this down to the lab."
"What is it?" She asked him, still interested as Solomon and Karl both walked over to them. After a moment he held out a katana with blue braiding and a silver S-shaped guard.
"That's-"
"That man's sword! How did you get it Amshel?" She asked him, looking up at his face now.
"He and another person were fighting and he lost hold of it. I took it and left."
"You mean you ran away." She teased him.
"Did you kill the man as well?" Solomon asked normally.
Amshel looked at the blond man and waited a moment before responding.
"No. All I wanted was the weapon. I believe you said it had some sort of special properties."
"Yes. After Diva damaged him he seemed to become enraged. He was going to release some sort of power before James arrived."
"If that is indeed the case, perhaps we can learn something from this weapon. If he really is nothing but a stray chevalier then disposing of him won't be a very big problem."
"Amshel… I want that sword." She told him, touching the blade delicately with her fingertips.
"You do?"
"Yes. It reminds me of that man. If I can't play with him or make him mine then I want a memento of him."
"But Diva."
"Please Amshel? You told me once I could have anything I ever wanted."
He gazed at her.
"I want this. I really do."
His hand lowered the hilt to her, which she appreciatively took.
"Thank you, Amshel."
"Of course, Diva."
She stepped away from everyone else and ran around the greenhouse, swinging at imaginary enemies with the blade.
"Big brother, if you can't test the weapon then what will you do?" Solomon asked.
"Diva wants him. I will bring him to her and then once she has finished with him I will use him as a test subject."
"What if she doesn't get tired of him?"
He gave the man as close to a mocking stare as the strict scientist ever got.
"She always gets bored with them eventually. Karl, how would you and James like to come with me and track down and capture this man?"
"Of course. If he wishes to harm our Diva then it goes without saying that he can't run around freely."
Amshel looked at Solomon once again.
"Work is unimportant for now. Nathan will be arriving here soon. You and him stay here in case that man somehow manages to get here before we find him."
"What about Saya, big brother? I thought the people you had following her and her group said they knew where Diva is."
"They did say that. But seeing that man's powers and what you described proves that he is much more of a threat than that traitor and her servant. Regardless of who may show up to harm her do not let me down, Solomon. Do not let Diva down."
"Never in my darkest nightmares, big brother."
With that Amshel and Karl headed for the elevator once again, leaving Solomon to think and Diva to continue playing with the sword.
She smiled while gazing at its brilliantly shining blade.
"He'll find his way to me first. I know it."