*Turns and sees readers* Oh no! Not these guys again! *Throws himself out the window* ... *Pops up from behind his desk* Just kidding! Here we go, chapter eight. Here we get to see the Ichigo vs Grimmjow fight, which I hope you guys find enjoyable. It was fun to type out, especially with the music inspiration. Go ahead and check it out at the bottom if you want. With that out of the way, here's the review corner!
Grinja:That is true. I made a point to make him much stronger in this... cause it's just better that way.
Dark Dragen:I'm not going to add Nel, sorry to say. I just want to stick with Loly, Menoly, Apacci, and Sun-Sun
Kaiser969:Yes, the whole Numeros being stronger than fraccion was my bad :P I edited that out.
darkmachines:I like Aaroniero too, I think he had a lot of potential in the story.
Nightkill:Yes, I have. The IchgioxRukia one, right? That was epic.
chad001:Your part about Harribel is correct. They do go where she goes, but then that means she'll have to stay in the World of the Living then, eh? :o
Sentiment Remains:It shall go better than the anime
DemonAngel of Ice:Your opinion on Harribel joining is noted. And yes, I have plans for the Soul Society finding out about Ichigo and the arrancar
God:Indeed it will be.
Seiei:You say you can't wait for the fight? Then you will wait no longer! Here... you... wait for it... go!
marc:Yes, it will. I have plans for his Vasto Lorde form.
DBZlover:Your welcome. I do take reviewsinto consideration. A couple of reviews have already given me ideas that changed the way things turned out
Desuse:Yes, I do, in fact, planin Grimmjow being a 'bro' to Ichigo. To good an oppurtunity to pass up. And, by the way, your comment on Mila-Rose made me think things through. So, I'm actually dropping her from the harem :D
MadmanTobz:Numbers above ten simply mean the order in which they were born, not strength. That's only Espadas, but you are right when you say Numeros aren't stronger than fraccion... as they're both Numeros, some just serve Espada.
bloodyemperor:Yes, I, too, like Ichigo getting stronger than canon. He'll kick butt now. And about Harribel, it's still gonna have to be a no about her joining the Harem. Sorry if that disappoints you and anyone else.
The Demon Rabbit:I'm still contemplating Barragon, but yes, the fight will go a little better than canon did.
And that's the review corners for today. Please read and enjoy!
(Karakura Town/Ichigo and Grimmjow)
Grimmjow leapt down from his spot, slashing his zanpakuto downwards with a bloodthirsty smirk on his face. Ichigo brought Zangetsu up and blocked the strike, stopping Grimmjow. Ichigo winced slightly at the force behind the blow. They held this for a few seconds, both trying to overpower each other. When the ground began to crack from the reiatsu, Ichigo angled Zangetsu and sliced downwards, at which Grimmjow retracted his blade and jumped back a few feet. The moment he touched the ground, Ichigo shunpo'd forward, Grimmjow using a sonido, and met each other halfway, slamming their blades against the others.
The two exchanged sword strikes, switching from offensive and defensive, Ichigo pushing Grimmjow back, then Grimmjow pushing Ichigo back. This contest of speed and technique continued for a full minute, neither one slowing up or making a mistake. It ended when they both, at the same time, brought their blades back and brought them forward with all their strength. When their zanpakuto collided, the reiatsu from their attacks crashed together and destroyed the concrete below them and the walls that surrounded them. Ichigo had a serious and concentrated look, Grimmjow held his smirk.
Suddenly, Grimmjow spun his zanpakuto in a way that would have cut off Ichigo's hand. The only thing Ichigo could do was pull his hand back, releasing the grip on his zanpakuto. Grimmjow brought his right leg up and kicked Zangetsu aside, the massive cleaver flying to the side and embedding itself in a wall. Grimmjow looked back at Ichigo with a superior smirk on his face, lashing out with his zanpakuto to cut Ichigo up.
Ichigo cursed as he evaded the sword strokes. He had no weapon at the moment, and his opponent did. Going to try and retrieve his zanpakuto right now was just what Grimmjow wanted him to do. It would leave him wide open to attack. So, the only thing Ichigo knew he could do was try and equally disarm Grimmjow, and now he had the chance.
When Grimmjow swung his zanpakuto down on Ichigo, his wrist was caught suddenly. Ichigo twisted his body to put more strength into a back-handed fist that landed on the side of Grimmjow's head. Ichigo followed up with a punch to Grimmjow's gut, and then ended it with grabbing Grimmjow's sword-arm and cracking it upwards with his knee. When this caused Grimmjow to lose grip on his own zanpakuto, which Ichigo immediately kicked to the side, as Grimmjow had done. The zanpakuto lodged itself in a wall on the opposite side of the street from zangetsu. Ichigo and Grimmjow stared each other down, each in their own stance. Ichigo in a karate stance, Grimmjow in a more 'street-fighting' stance.
Grimmjow sonido'd in front of Ichigo, his leg already aimed at Ichigo and being swung forward. Ichigo evaded this and jumped back when Grimmjow followed through with a roundhouse kick. Ichigo jumped forward and aimed a punch at Grimmjow's stomach. His fist was caught, but was immediately let go of when Grimmjow had to evade a kick. When Ichigo tried to follow through with another kick, Grimmjow caught his leg. With two punches to Ichigo's stomach, followed with a couple of kicks to the head, Ichigo had to back off and get some distance. When he did so, Grimmjow stood there with his hands in his pockets.
Ichigo shunpo'd to the side, Grimmjow doing the same with a sonido, and grabbed Zangetsu, Grimmjow grabbing Pantera. The two jumped to meet each other in the middle of the street, and when they did, there was loud sword clang. The two continued their motion and both landed where the other had jumped from. This was done once more, though Ichigo managed to get some height on Grimmjow and forced him down onto the street, where another battle of strength began.
Grimmjow spun around Ichigo's stance and came in with a kick, aiming for Ichigo's temple. Ichigo leaned back quickly and felt the air from Grimmjow's leg as it passed by his face, mere inches from connecting. Ichigo leaned forward again and followed it with a slash of Zangetsu at Grimmjow, who blocked it with his zanpakuto. When Ichigo noticed that Grimmjow was holding his zanpakuto with one hand, his eyes widened. Grimmjow quickly brought his other hand forward and smirked when a cero started charging in his palm.
"Getsuga Tensho!"
The sudden attack from Ichigo caught Grimmjow off-guard. A decent-sized explosion shook the area around them, followed by two smoke-trails that leapt out of the dust cloud. The one on the right, Grimmjow, landed atop a house. His right temple was bleeding and there was an impressive burn up his left arm, which still gripped his zanpakuto. The smoke trail on the left, Ichigo, landed in the street below. Due to him not being on the receiving end of the attack, Ichigo had no wounds on him, but his robes were slightly tattered, and his hair was rather messy.
Grimmjow looked down on him with the same dangerous smirk on his face. "You're not half bad, Shinigami! You might be worth my time!" He threw his head in laughter. When he stopped and looked back down at Ichigo, his eye's widened when he found Ichigo floating in the air right in front of him. He barely had time to bring his blade up to defend himself when Ichigo attacked with a diagonal slice with Zangetsu. Grimmjow managed to block the strike, but after he did so, he noticed how Ichigo was holding his zanpakuto.
Ichigo had attacked Grimmjow using the lowest part of the blade and was gripping Zangetsu as far up the handle as he could. It looked rather awkward, something Grimmjow was going to use as a jab against Ichigo's abilities, but when Ichigo suddenly whacked Grimmjow in the face with Zangetsu's handle with surprising speed and force, he bit his tongue in surprise.
Catching Grimmjow off-guard, Ichigo was able to continue his attack with a kick to Grimmjow's stomach and an unorthodox head butt. When Grimmjow stumbled back in slight pain, Ichigo brought Zangetsu back, and with a cry of "Getsuga Tensho!" he swung his blade forward and unleashed another wave of sharpened reiatsu at Grimmjow, who was only able to bring up his arms to shield his face from the attack. The attack hit Grimmjow fiercely and, once again, exploded on impact. When the smoke cleared, there stood Grimmjow, a long, deep, cut reaching from his right leg to his left shoulder. He brought his hands down and, needless to say, looked pissed.
"That's it, you worm. Now I'm really going to kill you." Grimmjow brought his zanpakuto forward and placed his right hand on the blade. Gathering reiatsu into his hand, he yelled out. "Grind!" He clenched the fingers on his blade and dragged them back quickly. "Pantera!"
There was an explosion of reiatsu that absolutely destroyed the house below him and spiraled upwards around where Grimmjow had stood. Before the column of smoke cleared, a voice spoke up,
"I don't think I introduced myself, Shinigami! Grimmjow Jeagerjaques! Sexta Espada!"
The smoke cleared enough for Ichigo to see Grimmjow in his release state. His hair was considerably longer, while a tail flickered violently behind him. His hands and feet had claws on them, something Ichigo concluded were his means of attack now. His ears were longer, like a cats, his teeth were sharpened, and what looked like armor was being worn. Ichigo narrowed his eyes, getting ready. The reiatsu coming off of Grimmjow was intimidating.
Ichigo spoke up. "Ichigo Kurosaki, Deputy Soul Reaper! Before we begin, Grimmjow, who's Harribel? And what does she want with me?"
Grimmjow sneered. "Why should I tell anything to a dead man?" With that, Grimmjow let out a roar that seemed to shake the area around them. He looked back at Ichigo with bloodlust in his eyes, and, without even the use of a Sonido, appeared in front of Ichigo with the same arrogant smirk.
Ichigo's eyes widened.
(Ikakku and Yumichika)
Yumichika's eye's narrowed at the powerful reiatsu coming from the distance. He turned to address Ikakku, who had leapt back to plan his next attack.
"Ikakku, do you feel that?"
Ikakku grinned manically. "Yeah, it certainly is powerful. Too bad. Ichigo got the strong one."
He had to jump to the side as his opponent brought his weapon down to slice Ikakku in two. The Arrancar brought his weapon back up in an offensive stance.
"How disrespectful." He said with a sneer. "You should be more concerned about your own opponent. I'm more than capable of killing you, Shinigami."
Ikakku smirked in a taunting manner. "I'm not so sure, Arrancar." He retorted. "Wanna try and prove me wrong?"
"You won't be able to regret those words, Shinigami. I won't even have to release to defeat one as arrogant as you."
"Then lets go!"
Ikakku leapt forward and attacked Edorad with Hozukimaru, sticking it out in a way that would skewer his opponent should it connect.
When Ikakku returned to his fight, Yumichika contacted the Soul Society.
"Yes, Ayasegawa-san? What can I do for you?"
"The destructive power of the opponent of Deputy Shinigami Ichigo Kurosaki has increased exponentially. I want a spatial freeze in a one thousand-ken radius of Ichigo Kurosaki."
"Say again, sir. A one thousand-ken spatial freeze?"
"Yes. A number of Konpaku have already been caught in the conflict. I am taking pre-emptive measures to prevent further loss of human life."
"Copy that. It may take several minutes, but we will get the area specified within a spatial freeze."
Yumichika put his communicator away and went back to watching Ikakku fight. Keigo could only watch and listen blankly at what was going on.
(Ichigo and Grimmjow)
Ichigo quickly pulled himself out of the rubble of the street. He saw a line in the concrete that stretched back for several blocks. Grimmjow had taken him by surprise, to say the least. A single punch while he was off guard sent him back several hundred feet, skidding in the concrete. It seemed that this release, as Ichigo thought to himself, greatly increased Grimmjow's speed and brute strength.
Ichigo wasn't going to wait to test out any more of Grimmjow's abilities, deciding it be best not to take any chances. He brought Zangetsu forward and cried out. "Bankai!"
An explosion of Ichigo's own reiatsu flooded the area. When things calmed, Ichigo stood there holding Tensa Zangetsu in a battle-ready stance. A laugh was heard from above.
"Haha! Your reiatsu is rising, Kurosaki! Impressive, but nowhere near enough to save you!"
Ichigo managed to bring Tensa Zangetsu up just in time to block an attack from one of Grimmjow's clawed hands. He had no time to react when Grimmjow's other hand followed through and slammed him down into the concrete once more. Ichigo coughed up blood and could only brace himself when Grimmjow grabbed him and threw him into one of the surrounding buildings.
Ichigo pulled himself up and got ready to fight again. When Grimmjow appeared in front of him in the same manner as he just did, Ichigo brought Tensa Zangetsu up to defend himself. When he blocked the first strike, Ichigo angled his blade quickly and caught the second strike that followed, and then managed to jump back to dodge a kick that was sure to have knocked his head clean off.
Ichigo managed to simply dodge or block Grimmjow's strikes consecutively for almost a full minute, but was overwhelmed by the ferocity. When Ichigo held Tensa Zangetsu up to the side block a left hook, he coughed up blood when Grimmjow suddenly planted his right hand in his side. Grimmjow ripped his hand back, removing flesh from bone as he did so. He laughed triumphantly. "How does it feel to be completely outmatched, Kurosaki?"
Ichigo said nothing in reply, but quickly brought his hand up and materialized his Hollow mask on his face. The overwhelming reiatsu sent Grimmjow back a few feet. He could only stare dumbly at Ichigo, who stood there with a Hollow's mask covering his face. Ichigo then spoke up, his voice affected by the transformation.
"I didn't think I'd be using this so soon after obtaining it, Grimmjow. I guess I'll be able to test out how strong this really makes me now."
Faster than Grimmjow could react, Ichigo shunpo'd in front of him and sliced horizontally, leaving a gash in his torso. The new gash crossed over the one from Ichigo's earlier Getsuga Tensho painfully.
Grimmjow snarled and got back into the fight with another roar. He jumped forward and brought a clawed hand down on Ichigo, but it was blocked effortlessly. Not allowing Ichigo a chance to attack, Grimmjow speared his other hand forward, aiming for Ichigo's stomach. This attack was blocked by the flat side of Tensa Zangetsu. Before Grimmjow's eyes could widen in surprise, the blade was angled and slashed upwards, creating another deep gash on Grimmjow's chest.
Grimmjow leapt back, intent on getting some distance between him and his opponent. Ichigo had become faster. Much faster. This didn't concern Grimmjow all that much, but what did was the increase in reiatsu. If Ichigo used that Getsuga Tensho technique and managed to catch him with it, it'd be over. He looked forward and saw Ichigo standing there, Tensa Zangetsu outstretched to the side. What really caught Grimmjow's attention was his eyes.
Grimmjow growled. "Don't look at me like that! You think you're superior to me because you caught me with a couple of lucky shots? Huh? Punk!"
Grimmjow jumped up in the air and began rotating at an incredible speed. Ichigo saw this, but instead of preparing himself, began his own rotation, quickly matching Grimmjow's speed. The two whirls approached each other, then passed by. When they passed each other, several slices could be heard.
Grimmjow stopped and landed on the building below, Ichigo stopped himself and held onto the air for footing. No movement was made for a few seconds. Then, Grimmjow's left leg, his stomach, and his right shoulder shot out blood. Grimmjow's eye's widened in pain. He growled, managing to get one word out. "How?"
Ichigo looked down on him, responding in the same twisted voice. "You were spinning incredibly fast, Grimmjow. I could tell all your limbs, even your tail, were going to be used in the attack and were part of your rotation. All I did was match your rotation with my own. When I did, I easily slipped by your attacks and landed my own."
Grimmjow didn't admit out loud, but he was impressed. He allowed himself to think that, maybe, Harribel was right. He didn't dwell on the thought for to long, getting back into the fight. He came at Ichigo as fast as he had the very first time. Unlike before, though, Ichigo managed to track Grimmjow as he approached him. When Grimmjow came within feet of him, Ichigo sidestepped and slashed out with Tensa Zangetsu. The blade met Grimmjow's armor with a very loud screech, but did no damage to Grimmjow.
Planting his foot down, Grimmjow turned and attacked Ichigo again, using the same attack he had just done. This time, Ichigo broguht Tensa Zangetsu up in the air and timed his attack just right. Bringing his blade down on Grimmjow's back as he sidestepped him, Grimmjow slammed down into the street below.
Pulling himself up from the crater, Grimmjow growled. He stood up and slashed his claws outward in Ichigo's direction. Several, incredibly long, spear-like objects traveled their way to Ichigo, who's eyes widened. Ichigo just managed to evade the attack, but the buildings for the rest of the block weren't so lucky. They were decimated entirely.
"What was that?" Ichigo yelled out at Grimmjow.
"Desgarron! My strongest technique!" Grimmjow yelled back. Doing the same thing as before, Grimmjow slashed out one of his clawed hands, creating the Desgarron again. It came from Ichigo's left and was easily evaded by jumping up higher into the air. This was a mistake, as Grimmjow had already brought down another Desgarron above Ichigo. Now it was Ichigo who was slammed down into the street below.
Ichigo brought himself up warily. He cursed when half of his mask cracked and left his face. His time was almost up, he knew it. He had to finish things now. If Grimmjow killed him, nothing would stop him from killing the others.
When Ichigo stood up completely and looked up at Grimmjow with determination in his eyes, Grimmjow laughed. "You can take a beating, Shinigami! But, that only means-." Grimmjow slashed down, creating more Desgarron. "-your torment continues!" The desgarron came down at Ichigo once more. This time, Ichigo knew what to do. He jumped forward and met one of the claws of reiatsu with Tensa Zangetsu. Putting more reiatsu into his attack, Ichigo was able to push back the attack until it cracked and shattered. This left a hole from him to attack through. He brought up Tensa Zangetsu and cried out,
"Getsuga Tensho!"
The attack flew through the air at Grimmjow, who only smirked and prepared himself. At this point in the fight, and the condition of Ichigo's mask, it wasn't near as strong as it had been previous times. Grimmjow was able to stop the blow with both of his hands and dispel the attack. Only when the attack faded did he see what had happened.
Ichigo was already there in front of him, hiding behind the Getsuga Tensho. Grimmjow had no time to react as Tensa Zangetsu was plunged through Grimmjow's ribcage. He sneered at Ichigo, blood dripping out of his wound. He couldn't move his limbs, so, he fell back off of Ichigo's blade. Instead of crashing down to Earth, his wrist was caught.
Ichigo lowered himself and Grimmjow down onto the ground, Ichigo's mask cracking and disappearing completely. Grimmjow was laid down onto his back, as he was still conscious, so now Ichigo could ask questions.
"Grimmjow, who is Harribel? What does she want with me?"
Grimmjow said nothing for a few seconds, thinking to himself. He finally conceded and replied."Harribel is the Tercera Espada."
"How does she know me?" Ichigo asked him.
"There were two Numeros that told her fraccion, her followers, of you. She sent me to… ask for your assistance."
Ichigo's eyes narrowed dangerously at this. "I'll never join Aizen!" He declared, pointing Tensa Zangetsu down at him. Grimmjow laughed, surprising Ichigo.
"No No, Kurosaki, not Aizen. She and the Primera are secretly recruiting Arrancar to betray Aizen!"
"What? Why would she want me to help?" Ichigo asked him, caught off-guard by how this had turned out.
"She said that, from what she heard, you would help us if you knew just who was going to be with us. Harribel told me to drop the names Loly and Menoly should you ask." Grimmjow told him, starting to tire from the blood-loss. Ichigo widened his eyes at this.
"Loly and Menoly are going to defect from Aizen?"
"Harribel is going to try and recruit them, from what she told me." This received a hardened gaze from Ichigo.
"Tell this Harribel that I will help anyway I can."
Grimmjow scoffed in reply, but said nothing else. Suddenly, both he and Ichigo sensed someone else. They both looked up and saw a Garganta opening above them. When it opened completely, Tousen walked out into the World of the Living.
"Tousen." Grimmow sneered.
"How disgraceful, Grimmjow. Going against Aizen's orders and venturing into the World of the Living, and then, on top of it, getting defeated." Tousen used a shunpo and appeared next to Grimmjow and grabbed him by the arm. A Garganta opened up behind the two of them.
"You will receive punishment in Las Noches Grimmjow. Consider yourself fortunate that no Arrancar died today, despite your heinous actions." Tousen told Grimmjow in complete seriousness. Grimmjow didn't even look back at Ichigo as he was, literally, dragged into the Garganta. It closed behind them, leaving Ichigo alone.
"Ichigo! Are you ok?"
Ichigo looked back to see Rukia rushing towards him. With Grimmjow gone, nothing stopped her from returning to his side. He nodded and released Tensa Zangetsu, returning it to it's shikai state.
"Yeah, I'm good. Anything happen with the others? From what I heard, Grimmjow brought others with him."
Rukia nodded and informed him, "Yes, there were six others. None of them were killed though, and none of the others died. Today ended in a stalemate."
Ichigo sighed in relief, "Good to hear." Rukia nodded.
(Las Noches/Infirmary)
Due to Grimmjow's current state, and the fact that no soldiers were lost, he was let off easy. Grimmjow knew he was lucky. He was surprised he wasn't demoted for this, something he'd be pissed at Harribel for if it did happen.
He hadn't expected Ichigo to be as strong as he had shown. It didn't make him feel any better about losing, but at least Harribel was right about him.
"How did things go in the World of the Living, Grimmjow-san?"
Speak of the devil. Grimmjow turned his head and looked at Harribel, who was looking down at him as he rested on the bed, her arms crossed as usual. He scowled and looked back up at the ceiling. "Kurosaki said he'd join us."
Harribel looked pleased, even behind her collar. She looked him over and counted the gashes and cuts on his body that had been bandaged up. Harrible spoke up again, humor evident in her voice. "I assume he gave you these injuries?" At his growl at her sarcasm, Harribel concluded that it was, in fact, Ichigo who did this. This was good. It meant that Ichigo was strong to a degree. Grimmjow may have been the Sexta Espada, but it was still no mean feat. Grimmjow's ferocity in battle made him a tough opponent. Back when she had sparred with him, there were some times when she was almost taken by surprise, though it wasn't anywhere near enough to defeat her.
"Then, I suppose Kurosaki will make a powerful ally." Harribel said, dropping her thoughts.
"Punk got lucky. Nothing else." Grimmjow tried to convince her, and himself. Harribel didn't believe so, though.
"Of course, Grimmjow-san."
Grimmjow glared at her. "What's that supposed to mean?" he asked tersely.
"Nothing at all. I wish you a swift recovery." Harribel told him with a nod.
With that, the tercera sonido'd out of the infirmary. Grimmjow 'tched' and looked back up at the ceiling. Both he and Harribel were unaware of the person who had listened in on the small exchange, from her own bed in the corner of the infirmary.
Menoly's eyes were wide in surprise. What had she heard? She heard Harribel talk to Grimmjow about Ichigo. They said he joined them. She had heard nothing from Loly or anyone else about Aizen trying to recruit Ichigo. So, what could this mean? Menoly steeled herself and decided to find out for herself.
There were several things she wanted to know now, and she believed only one person would have the answers for her. The first chance she got when she was released from the infirmary, Menoly would go into the World of the Living and find Ichigo. There were some things that desperately needed to be cleared up between her and him. If her assumptions were correct, maybe, just maybe, she could talk to Loly about it and try and get her back to see Ichigo.
After all, if either of the two needed to talk to Ichigo the most, it was Loly.
(Harribel's Palace)
When Harribel returned to her palace, she was almost tackled by Apacci as she entered the room.
"And, Harribel-sama? What happened?" Apacci asked her, trying to hide her concern.
"Grimmjow is in the infirmary, with several deep wounds over his body. Kurosaki has decided to help us." Harribel told the girl, trying to calm her down slightly. A large grin appeared on Apacci's face, and a sigh was released that she didn't know was being held in.
"Thank kami Ichigo's ok. I mean, it's good he's alive. We have another ally to help us, right?"
Harribel noticed Apacci try and cover for herself. Now she was definitely curious. Harribel figured that Apacci was slightly interested in Ichigo, most likely because the stories she had heard from Loly and Menoly. If Apacci was indeed interested in Ichigo in such a way, maybe there was more than one thing Harribel needed to talk to him about. An idea came to mind when Harribel remembered what she had told Sun-Sun earlier, and decided to tell Apacci.
"Yes. Now, listen closely. Since Kurosaki has decided to join us, he needs to know everything he can about our situation. Apacci, you will be going into the World of the Living to give Kurosaki all this information."
Apacci blinked in surprise at the assignment, but surprise quickly turned to excitement, her posture straightening considerably. Harribel knew she had Apacci's full attention.
"I want you to tell him of the Espadas, and which ones have joined us. Tell him what he wants to know about Aizen as well." Harribel told her.
Apacci nodded. "Is that all, Harribel-sama?" She asked.
Harribel shook her head. "No. I would like you to spend a day in the World of the Living with Kurosaki."
Apacci felt her face heat up slightly. She thanked kami there wasn't a visible blush on her face, but she still had the urge to nervously tug at the collar of her arrancar uniform.
"Spend a day? As in, s-stay the night?" Apacci stuttered slightly, though not because she was going to see Ichigo. More because she would be spending a day with someone who was stronger than Grimmjow. She calmed herself down when she remembered everything Loly and Menoly had told her, though. If what they had always said was true, then there would be nothing to worry about.
Harribel continued, breaking Apacci from her thoughts. "The reason for this is because I want you to form your own opinion of Kurosaki. Find out what you can about him and tell us what you discovered when you return."
Apacci nodded once more. "When should I leave, Harribel-sama?" She asked.
"You can leave whenever you wish. Though, the sooner the better." Harribel answered in her same monotone as usual. Apacci bowed, and with nothing else to say, was dismissed by Harribel with a slight gesture.
Apacci planned to leave as soon as possible. She quickly headed down to her own room to get ready to depart, an excited grin on her face the whole time.
(Las Noches/Loly and Menoly's Room)
Loly sat there on the floor, against the wall. Her arms were on her knees, and she rested her head on top of them. The room was a bit of a wreck. Both her and Menoly's bed was destroyed, the sheets strewn across the room, torn up, the pillows had the stuffing ripped out of them. What had been a table was in pieces on the floor, in splinters. What had been a glass of water was in a small pile of shards on the floor, a wet spot on the wall showing it had been thrown.
Loly hated her life right now. She hated Aizen, she hated the arrancar, and she hated herself. She felt so confused. When she had found out Ichigo had been a Shinigami, she tried to convince herself that it was the end. She'd never get to go down and spend time with him again. She thought she had accepted that, but she hadn't.
Ichigo had hurt both her and Menoly badly, yet Menoly still thought that he was good. Loly knew Menoly still loved Ichigo, something that angered her slightly. What about her? Did she love Ichigo?
Memories of what had happened that night flashed through her mind. When she was about to make up her mind on the situation, all the memories of the times spent with him the weeks before sprung up. Loly's eyes moistened. What was she going to do? Once again, she thought this should be an easy decision. He was a shinigami, she, an arrancar. Their kind had been enemies for a thousand years, and that wouldn't change.
But when an image of her, Menoly, and Ichigo appeared in her mind, all three of them grinning and having a good time, it didn't matter to her that they should be enemies. Then, the next issue. If she wanted to be with Ichigo, she would have to defect from Aizen, and that was suicide. She found herself wanting to, really wanting to, but the thought of being the target of Aizen's intense reiatsu gave her chills. She had seen the some Espada get floored with it. Particularly Grimmjow, Nnoitora, and Yammy.
Loly shook her head and tried to get her mind away from Ichigo. She found it hard to do so, and settled for remembering the weeks before. Maybe she should talk to Menoly about this. Maybe even Apacci, who had been deemed trustworthy in her eyes.
She looked up and used the back of her hands to wipe her eyes slightly. She had calmed down now, and decided to try and do something about the situation. When Loly stood, she looked around the room. With slight humor, she thought it was a mess that would be a pain to clean up. For now, though, there were more important things to do.
(Karakura Town/Orihime's House)
It had been a couple of hours since the fight with Grimmjow and the other arrancar. Currently, all of the Shinigami were standing in Orihime's house. Hitsugaya had received word that Yamamoto wanted to speak with them. Specifically he wanted to speak with Ichigo. Everyone but Ichigo was slightly nervous. Both Yumichika and Renji had reported that several Konpaku had been caught in Ichigo and Grimmjow's fight. They knew that if there was one thing the sotaicho hated, it was when there were unnecessary casualties.
The strange TV like object came to life, no longer showing static. The first thing that came up on the screen was the Sotaicho himself. The old man glanced at each of them before addressing Hitsugaya. "Hitsugaya-taicho. I see that no one on your end was killed." He stated, managing to look directly at Toushiro with closed eyes. Hitsugaya nodded and reported,
"Yes, sir. None of the arrancar were killed either. Before Gentai Kaijo could be approved, all of our fights were stopped by the appearance of Ex-Taicho Tousen, who brought them back to Hueco Mundo through a garganta. The only one who managed to actually win his fight was Kurosaki, but before a final blow could be given, Tousen, again, came and helped the arrancar retreat."
Yamamoto gave a slight nod of the head to acknowledge Hitsugaya and turned to Ichigo. This time, though, his eyes were opened.
"Aah, Kurosaki-san. While I do believe congratulations are in order, I must first ask-." The Sotaicho brought his cane up and slammed it down in the ground. Yamamoto yelled out in a scolding tone, "-what in the world is the matter with you, boy? There were seventeen reported Konpaku casualties as a result of your skirmish! Have you no restraint in battle?"
Ichigo blinked in surprise, but quickly angered and got on the defensive.
"What do you mean, you old fart?" Everyone else turned to look at him, their mouths agape and their eyes widened. "I did what I had to do to keep Grimmjow from killing everybody! If I had let up for even a second I would have been killed, then everybody else!"
Ichigo and Yamamoto stared each other down for several seconds, both of their expressions set in stone. Eventually, the silence and tension was broken when Yamamoto. "See that it doesn't happen again. I would strongly dislike having to label you as a threat to the Konpaku and Shinigami. Hitsugaya-taicho, continue your operations in Karakura Town once you have all healed up."
Hitsugaya bowed to Yamamoto, whose image vanished from the screen. Ichigo huffed and crossed his arms. "Crazy fool-gack!"
Whatever he had planned on saying afterwards was cut off when both Renji and Rukia bopped him on the head. Renji spoke up first, yelling at him. "You're the crazy fool! Don't yell at the sotaicho like that!"
Rukia finished his point "It's suicide! You're lucky he didn't order your arrest."
Ichigo rubbed the spots on his head in pain, but still said, "So? I did what I had to do. If he has a problem with it, he can see me in person."
Renji and Rukia continued to yell at him on his stupidity. Ikakku and Hitsugaya both simply shook their heads. At the least, Ikakku's respect of Ichigo just went up a notch. Not even Zaraki had the balls to yell at the Sotaicho in defiance. Though, he wasn't sure to label it as courage or stupidity.
"Would you both shut up? I'm going home now! I'm tired and I've got more training tomorrow!" Ichigo yelled at the two in annoyance. He stomped out of the room, his legs and arms both sticking out in a ridiculous manner as he did so.
Rukia huffed and crossed her arms. "He's going to get himself killed one of these days."
Renji nodded at this and replied. "Yeah, and then we'll have to deal with his stupid ass in the Soul Society."
When that was said, all the Shinigami in the room groaned.
(Kurosaki Clinic)
Ichigo had taken his time getting home. His thoughts had drifted to the fight with Grimmjow. That had been intense. Grimmjow was tough. He found himself incredibly lucky that he had decided to get his Hollow under control. If he hadn't, he was sure Grimmjow would have killed him. Then, his thoughts drifted to what Grimmjow had said moments before leaving with Tousen back to Hueco Mundo.
So, there were a few arrancar that didn't like Aizen and were planning to defect? It sounded crazy, but Grimmjow had seemed sincere enough telling him. Though, this made him think. What if other arrancar showed up in Karakura Town that were planning to defect? How would he know who was who? Naturally, every one of the arrancar who were going to defect were probably going to be told that a Shinigami had joined them. But he had no way of knowing just who was on his side, and who wasn't. Hopefully, he'd get some answers.
He had left his body outside near his house, so that it wouldn't be lying there dead in his room. Walking up to it and slipping back in, Ichigo walked home with his hands stuffed into his pockets. He turned the corner and saw his home, the clinic, and sighed in relief that nothing else had gone wrong. Though, he did notice something, or rather someone standing out front.
It was a girl. She looked to be in her mid-teens and was leaning back against the fence in front of his home. She seemed to be deep in thought, so much that she didn't notice him walk up on her left.
"Hey, you! What are you doing?'' Ichigo asked the girl, who jolted in surprise at the sudden voice. As the turned to find out who it was that addressed her, Ichigo got a good look of her. She was almost a full head smaller than him and had strangely colored eyes. One red, the other blue. She had blue hair that was neatly cut down to her chin. Her apparel was a t-shirt almost as blue as her hair that fit snugly on her upper body, showing off her curves. Her light-blue jeans did the same thing with the shape of her legs.
When she calmed down enough to answer, she placed a hand on her hip and shifted her weight onto it.
"Me? I was waiting for you. You took your time getting home, I've been waiting for a while now." She told him, grinning. Ichigo was about to ask her what she wanted, but then he got a strange feeling. He brought his hand up to point at her.
"Who are you?"
The girl's grinned widened. "My name's Apacci. I'm an arrancar, sent by Harribel-sama."
(End of Chapter/Author's Note)
And there you go. The Grimmjow vs Ichigo fight, you also saw some of Loly and the way she was taking things, as well as Menoly too, briefly. Just a heads up to you guys. Due to the end of this chapter, next chapter will be all developing the IchigoxApacci pairing... so, you can look forward to that. With nothing else to say it's time for the musical inspiration.
Musical Inspiration for this Chapter;
Band:Pantera
Song:Walk
Re... spect! Walk! What did you say? Re... spect! Walk! Are you talking to me? Re... spect! Walk! What did you say? Re... spect! Walk! Are you talking to me? No way, punk!
Perfect headbanging song... or walking song :D
That'll end it for today. Please read and review. Constructive Criticism is welcome, but flamers will be hunted down and beaten up by me personally, I assure you.