Chapter 19 : Enter the Espada

A light snow had begun to fall upon Karakura Town. The bright sun that illuminated the sky earlier that morning had faded. The sky had become gloomy and cold. The heart of Karakura town was deserted by any living bodies. This place has become a breeding ground for the many Hollow that had made their way to the small town. The Hollow had been quiet for a great amount of time. They remained silent, waiting for any prey which might wander into their domain. A few Hollow had begun to move. They twisted and turned around the large structures of the town, searching. One let out a cry, and several dissipated. Several others roared in anger, turning to face the intruders.

"Shit, they saw us..." an orange-haired Soul Reaper wielding a butcher knife - like Zanpaku-to said aloud.

"No shit, Ichigo! You don't just swing into the crowd and expect to not blow your cover!" The blonde Soul Reaper exclaimed, taking a defensive stance. "Couldn't you have waited a few more seconds instead of ruining everything like normal? Oh... Sorrrrry. I forgot. You CAN'T HIDE YOUR REIATSU!!"

"Sorry for the inconvenience 'Captain Uchiki'..." he said, scowling at the blonde Soul Reaper. While the two bickered, the Hollows roared, ready to destroy the intruders.

"BANKAI!" Both shouted in unison. Several Hollow were thrown back from the sudden burst of Spiritual Pressure, but many remained on their feet. The cloud of dust that had been kicked up quickly subsided, revealing the two Soul Reapers, and one other.

"Tensa Zangetsu..." The orange - haired Soul Reaper announced, clutching a new, black blade. His original Soul Reaper uniform had changed into a longer set, the bottom all torn.

"O'kami Suishou..." The blonde Soul Reaper, Jonouchi Uchiki, said, smiling. His blade had dissappeared, an Ice blue wolf standing by his side instead.

"Ready..." Ichigo said as the fallen Hollow got to their feet.

"Set..." Jonouchi smirked as they roared.

"GO!" The Hollow attacked in a group, jumping and pouncing from all sides. Jonouchi and the Wolf vanished, as did Ichigo. Suddenly, Hollow began to dissipate, roaring in agony. Jonouchi reappeared in front of a Hollow, slamming his fist into its mask. The Hollow flew backwards, crushing several smaller ones in its path. O'kami Suishou again appeared at his side while many other Hollow vanished. The wolf jumped into the air once more, biting the mask of a nearby Hollow. The Hollow cried in pain, flailing around on the ground trying to remove it.

"Getsuga Tenshou!" came a cry as a flash of black slashed through the Hollow. The wolf fell to its feet, growling. "That counts as my kill, Captain!" Ichigo smirked.

"You're such an asshole! Stick to your own kills!" Jonouchi replied, diving into another crowd of Hollow. Ichigo did the same, slashing and hacking away at their limbs. Blood splashed on the ground from the several wounded Hollow.

"We've got company." Jonouchi said, looking to the sky. The sky had begun to crack and tear apart as a Gillian class Menos tore through. The two Soul Reapers took no time to slay the large Hollow. They both jumped into the air, slashing its mask. The Menos quickly dissipated, and the sky went back to normal. Both landed, and O'kami Suishou melted and returned to Jonouchi's sheath. With a wave of the blade, Ichigo returned Tensa Zangetsu to its original, butcher knife-like form.

"Well, looks like I win again…" Ichigo smirked. "56 Hollows for my score. Plus the Menos."

"What!?" Jonouchi exclaimed. "What do you mean the Menos!? I helped with that one!"

"Yeah, even so. How many did you manage to kill?" he smirked.

"…32…" Jonouchi frowned.

"So, I still win anyway."

"So, what. You're a lot faster than I am."

"I suppose that's true… But it's strange. Ever since Aizen left for Hueco Mundo, Hollows have been crossing over here quite frequently…"

"Yeah, but that was bound to happen. But have you noticed the appearance of the Hollow?" Jonouchi asked.

"They look like normal Hollow to me."

"Watch closely next time. Some of their masks are broken. You can see a small portion of their face beneath the mask."

"I didn't notice…" Ichigo said, thinking about what the Captain had just said.

"I didn't think you would…" Jonouchi frowned.

Back in the Soul Society

An alarm sounds throughout the Seireitei. Captain Sanosuke Inohatta of Squad 5 and his Vice – Captain, Noah, have assembled at the Senkaimon. "Our orders are simple, Noah. There is an unusually strong spiritual pressure detected towards Karakura Town. The 3rd Squad Captain is there currently, but he may need help. Our job is to neutralize the enemy."

"Got it." Noah replied, clutching his Zanpaku-to.

"Squad 12 said this Spiritual Pressure is abnormally strong. We don't know what we're up against, so let's be careful." Sanosuke said as the gate opened. Both rushed through the gate. Before long, they stood in an open field, just outside Karakura Town. The air was warm and humid. No signs of any trouble.

"Everything seems to check out... What was so urgent?" Noah stated, searching the area.

"Take a closer look. Keep searching. The Reiatsu is hard to trace, but it's there." Sanosuke said. "Whatever it is, they're good at hiding their Spiritual Pressure." Noah searched for a few seconds more, until he looked to the sky.

"Up there." he said. Just as he spoke, the sky cracked, 2 objects smashing into the ground. A huge wave of dust was thrown into the air, blinding the Soul Reapers. In a few moments, the dust began to dissipate. Two silouettes were visible in the cloud of dust, one small, the other much larger. The dust finally cleared, and the two figures were visible.

A wave of panic rushed through Sanosuke. He instantly Flash Stepped to the intruders, bringing his Zanpaku-to's blade down on the smaller one. He froze, astonished. The smaller one had caught his blade with a single finger. "Well, well... Looks like they expected us..." it spoke. The short one smirked. It didn't stand more than 4 feet from the ground. A small metal triangle hung from a chain around its neck. A section of what resembled a metal Hollows mask stretched across the right side of it's face, a large, thin horn extending upward. The other was much larger, at least 10 feet tall. It's mask covered the right side of its face, from the eye up, ending in a sharp pointed horn. He had a dumbfounded smirk, but he was quite muscular compared to the smaller one.

"Arrancar..." Sanosuke managed to say before he was thrown backwards. He landed next to Noah, clutching the fresh gash in his shoulder. "Be careful, these guys are going to give us one hell of a fight..."

"Did you hear that, Trinidad? He's heard of us." the smaller one spoke to the larger. "No matter. It won't be of any use to them. They'll be dead very shortly."

"I don't know, the one in the white robe is a Captain. He might give us some trouble." the larger one spoke.

"Oh, a Captain? Sounds fun..." the short one answered.

"Yeah, I'm a Captain. And I ain't no pushover either. Sanosuke Inohatta, Captain of Squad 5." he glared.

"I see, Lord Aizen's old position. I see they're letting anyone be a Captain these days." the short one grinned. "But, it also looks like we're both fives as well. I am the 5th Espada, Goyo Maximinios."

Sanosuke gasped. "Espada... So you're one of the top ten ranking Arrancar in Hueco Mundo..."

"Correct..." it grinned. "And this here is..." he said, motioning to the taller one. There was a short pause. "Introduce yourself, before I get impatient..."

"Oh, sure thing. The 10th Espada, Trinidad Toribio. That's my name." he grinned. "And I'm no pushover either, that you can count on."

"Well, don't think we're going to just let you leave." Sanosuke said, a black glow enveloping his Zanpaku-to. "Conceal yourself, Taomaru!" he shouted. Noah got into a defensive stance as well, drawing his Zanpaku-to.

"Shake the Earth, Bokuntokage!" he shouted, swinging his blade into the ground. A wave of debris was kicked into the air, and when it cleared, his Zanpaku-to had grow several times its normal size. It resembled a large, flat, top jaw of a Tyrannosaurus. Even the eyes and nose were precisely cut into it. The bottom blade was cut into tooth-like rivets.

Both Sanosuke and Noah Flash Stepped away, attacking the intruders. Noah dug his blade into the ground, and swung it at Trinidad. A wave of rock and earth flew at the Espada, but did nothing. Noah swung forward repeatedly, firing large rocks from the ground. Each attack failed, however. Each punch Trinidad threw crushed the rocks and boulders. The Espada punched Noah in the stomach, into the air. He coughed and gasped for air as he flew higher. Before he could react, the Arrancar was behind him. He kicked Noah, sending him further through the air. Noah swung, knowing his attacker had already ended up in the direction he was headed. The Arrancar blocked the attack with only two fingers, and laughed.

Noah pushed off the Arrancars stomach with his feet, and lunged again, swinging as hard as he could. The Arrancar again tried to block with his fingers, but didn't succeed. It was a clean cut, as the giants fingers seperated from its hand. It howled in pain, clutching its hand. "Damn you, you brat!" it shouted, opening its mouth wide. A red glow emitted from its mouth.

"Noah, look out!" Sanosuke shouted, but he couldn't be helped. The Espada had already fired the Cero. The blast hit Noah head on, knocking him to the ground. He laid there in a bloody heap, coughing. His Zanpaku-to had shattered.

Sanosuke was having troubles of his own agains the smaller Espada. He kept swinging his blade at him, but he just kept dodging. This particular Arrancar was small, but fast. The Arrancar landed on the ground, without a scratch. "Well, it looks like you're not cut out to be a Captain." he grinned. Sanosuke cursed, glaring. "I'll tell you what, Captain." he began. "I'll give you one free hit. I'll just stand here. I am very trustworthy, even if I am a Hollow."

Sanosuke, taking the chance he was given, lunged, stabbing Goyo between the eyes. Sanosuke froze. The blade didn't go through.Where he stabbed the Espada, a layer of metal had formed, stopping the blade. Goyo lifted his hand, wrapping his tiny fingers around Sanosuke's Zanpaku-to. Sanosuke shook in fear. He couldn't control it. He couldn't move. He just stood there, shaking. His eyes widened as he felt his back rip appart. Goyo stood there smirking, as five, metal spikes impaled Sanosuke from behind.

Sanosuke fell to the ground, the black glow fading from his Zanpaku-to. The Espada pointed a finger at Sanosuke, a red glow enveloping the finger. "Today, Squad 5 loses yet another one of its Captains. Goodbye, Sanosuke..."