"So, I assume you've all met the newest addition to our army, Chika Konoe, yes?" Aizen asked, turning around to face the Arrancar behind him. He got mixed responses; some would nod, whilst others were shaking their heads in confusion.

"Yes, Aizen-sama, we have. Now, may I ask why we are here?" Szayel questioned.

I glanced around just briefly; we were in the sandy white deserts of Hueco Mundo. I didn't remember coming here though... Maybe I struggled to the point of someone knocking me out and carrying me here... It would explain my slight headache.

"Because, to decide the new Quinta Espada, I have come to the conclusion that they should fight for their position," Superman nodded. "And I do not fancy having more of Las Noches destroyed, hence why I chose the desert for this battle."

"Ah..." Szayel murmured.

"Very smart, Aizen-sama," Gin praised. "But how d' ya know tha' they are of equal streng' ta' Nnoitra-kun?"

"Luppi's spiritual pressure is almost equal to his. Not quite there yet, but almost. His Ressureccion is powerful too. Whereas she, Szayel described her to be quite powerful; this will tell us just how powerful."

They nodded.

"So when do I get to fight her?" Thingy asked impatiently.

"Calm down, Luppi," Aizen said. "I must explain the rules first.

"One, there will be no help from other Arrancar. This is a battle between them and them only.

"Two, there will be no killing, Luppi. You two are both valuable Arrancar... Well, one of them is... We don't want you getting killed now, do we?" A few enthusiastic 'yes's and reluctant 'no's came from the Arrancar that had crowded behind Aizen.

"What about my weapon?" I asked.

"Ah, yes..."

A sword, no longer than a katana, materialised in Aizen's hands, it's sheathe was black and it's hilt was gorgeous, golden, almost angelic. Some of the gold nearest to the blade's beginning strayed from the hilt and formed short swirls, making it even more beautiful.

He presented it to me with pride, "I would have given it to you sooner, but both Gin and Szayel had informed me of your destructiveness, and I already have Grimmjow and Nnoitra to destroy Las Noches, I didn't exactly need a third. But I think you're ready for it now. Good luck."

Aizen.

Wished me.

Good luck.

...What?

I accepted my Zanpakuto and thanked him, slipping it into my belt comfortably.

"Can I fight her now?" Thingy whined like the little brat he probably is.

Aizen nodded in agreement, "Let the battle begin!"

Luppi drew his sword slowly.

"You know, because I'm such a nice person, I shall make your defeat quick and painless," he smirked.

"If you're gonna defeat me using a sword, wouldn't that be painful?" I asked quizzically.

"I suppose you're right. Oh well! It'll be painless for me, at least," he said.

He gave a chuckle and a short 'bye bye' before lunging at me with his sword. Prepared, I ducked down and dodged it, swiping my leg underneath his in an attempt to trip him. He avoided it by sonidoing away at the last moment. I held my hand out in front of me, the golden stuff accumulating there swiftly. I released it, aimed at him. It reached him successfully, but barely left a scratch. I must be too tired to do much damage.

"What was that?" he laughed.

I snarled irritably at him, sonidoing over and punching him violently in the nose. He was so caught up in laughing at me that he was too late to react.

He groaned, holding his now-bloody nose. He swung his blade at me again. This time, I dodged each of his tries effortlessly. He tried again, and again, each time speeding up quite a bit. It was still quite easy to avoid them.

A couple of times, the blade scraped along my skin, leaving small scratches.

I sonido'd behind him, but he expected it this time, so he began slashing his sword that way instead.

I started getting tired from moving around so much so quickly, panting as I continued to make the moves. He noticed my energy draining, keeping with the same strategy of attempting to cut me by moving quickly as my exhaustion grew.

I stopped dodging, my vision moved to the sand, my energy too little to keep my head up. Subconsciously, I raised my hand to block his incoming strike.

As his sword came into contact with my hand, blood dripped down the blade. Just as expected.

I looked up, catching a glimpse of his stunned expression before focusing on my hand.

"That strike was much weaker than my others... How could that one draw blood if the others didn't?" he whispered.

Digging out some unknown strength from somewhere, my neutral expression turned to a bloodlust grin as I grasped hold of the blade and pulled it towards me, causing him to fall forward along with it. Our grips on the weapon held him on his feet. Making the most of his doubled-over position, I kicked him in the private area, causing him to fall to the ground and lose hold of his blade.

"Y'see, I can't tell you that. If I did, I'd be in trouble," my grin grew wider.

I tossed the blade into the air and caught it by the hilt in my right hand, pointing it at his face.

"Give up?" I asked.

"Hell no!" he replied, sonidoing to steal his sword back; he was successful.

I wasn't ready. He dashed in front of me, slashing across my chest with the sharp weapon, ripping my clothes and allowing the blood to seep through. I clutched my chest tightly.

"Strangle, Trepadora," he said.

When I looked back at him, he had eight legs spreading from his back and his mask had grown around his face.

One of his tentacles lashed towards me. I used my remaining energy to jump on top of it and backflip a short way away.

Another two tentacles followed the previous one. I dodged the first one, but that only pushed me into the path of the second one. It wrapped around me tightly, so tight I'm not sure if I can breathe.

"How disappointing..." he said as he dragged me closer. "I would've expected you to put up more of a fight. But I was wrong. Oh well! Let's see how nice your face looks filled with holes!"

He held another tentacle quite a way above me, pointing towards my face. Spikes emerged from the end. I'm screwed.

"Holes are hollow so how can they be full?" I asked with that smartass grin on my face.

"Then your face will be empty with holes!"

"Yeah, filled with makes more sense," I shrugged.

"Just shut up!" He launched his spiked tentacle at me at full force. Before it reached me it... paused...?

"Oh, Luppi!" someone sang cheerfully. "Remembaa'! Ya can't kill her!"

"I know that! I'm just going to... Uhh... Permanently silence her...?" he said.

"That's still the same as killi-OW!" I struggled to stay awake and alive as his grip on me tightened.

The tentacle above me charged down again, the spikes pointing out and ready to attack my beautiful face.

I shut my eyes tightly.

I can't watch.

...Oh, who am I kidding? Of course I can! Some sorta miracle is bound to happen!

My eyes flew open to see Luppi's spiked tentacle flying over me, whilst the one holding me released - they've been cut.

"Halt!" Aizen commanded.

"What's tha' matter, Aizen-sama?" Gin asked worriedly.

"Luppi's tentacles... They were cut. Who did it? I thought I said no interfering!" he demanded an answer. The Arrancar behind him kept silent. "Fine then, don't tell me. But I will find out. You two may continue."

I escaped from the tentacle and drew my sword. I swear, it's so beautiful... I wish I knew its calling...

More of his tentacles lashed towards me, I cut them easily with my new blade.

But alas, I became too tired to continue.

The tentacles shot out of his back and targeted me, all coming at once. I barely have any energy left for sonido. I did my best though, sonidoing back a few feet. I held up sword up defensively to protect me from harm; it didn't work too well. Two of the tentacles reached me, knocking me back a few more feet and ripping both my outfit and my skin a little more.

He noticed that I had dodged them once the dust in the air cleared.

He launched another attack at me, my energy was spent so I couldn't avoid it. The tentacles crashed into me. Luppi gave a grin as he reverted back to his normal Arrancar state.

My vision blurred, pain ran through every inch of my body as I screamed.

I caught a glimpse of my master as I fell forward to the sand.