Author's Notes:
All fight and no slow moment make me write slooow. I hope no one expected a quick chapter. . .
Night had fallen over Karakura Town, which for a town of its size meant that its citizens had returned home for the night, leaving the streets completely deserted and void of life, with the sole exception being the odd stray animal.
At least, that's how it normally was.
Although only a tiny fraction of the people living in Karakura would ever know it, the nightly streets these days were far from as deserted as they appeared to the average onlooker. And although there was a multitude of behind-the-scenes factors that had caused this, the unusual nightly activity right now was primarily the result of only one thing: the Shinigami patrolling through town, put into place by Isshin and his task force. Although so far, there seemed to be no immediate danger in town, the captain had ordered that several of them should be patrolling the town at all times, so as to be ready for any attack. So it was that on this night, Rukia walked the streets, as part of the first patrol.
However, despite the significant importance of this duty, Rukia could not help but to feel a certain sense of fondness, even nostalgia as she went after it. True, it had only been a few months since she had last seen Karakura Town, but even so, it gave her an odd feeling of ease to be here again, where everything had started about half a year ago.
The Shinigami shook her head as the thought entered her mind. Half a year ago… for a member of the Gotei, whose lives easily surpassed the lifespan of the average person, it was such a laughably short amount of time. And yet, so much had happened in this time that Rukia still found it hard to believe how recent all of these events had taken place. Everything in her life as well as everything surrounding it had been… wild, for lack of a better term. Everything that happened since she had met Ichigo.
Rukia paused in her patrol. She had reached the place that she had wanted to reach. Ichigo's home. Of course, it wasn't good work ethics to just take a break from patrolling duty to visit somebody, but Rukia was confident that she could still be watchful of any spiritual developments in town while paying a long overdue visit to Ichigo. And of course, she wasn't the only one patrolling town right now, as Isane Kotetsu had left their base together with her to walk another route, so everything should work out.
A small smile on her lips, Rukia slipped into a shunpo to move towards Ichigo's room. Like she had that one fateful night, she slipped through the window. Everything still looked just like it had all those months ago when she first was here, with the sole exception of the desk being a great deal messier.
"I was wondering when you'd show up." Ichigo greeted her from said desk, looking over his shoulder to see her. Although his tone was mostly neutral, there was… something in it that made it sound like he was, in a way, tired, more than just from it being so late.
Putting the thought aside, Rukia smiled at him. "I would've come sooner, but work got in the way. You need to remember that we're here with a mission, so of course your fa- I mean, Shiba-taichou had to settle some things before I was free to come here." She paused for a moment to awkwardly scratch her head before she continued. "…Though technically, I'm not really free per se… to be honest, I'm on a patrol through town, but it should still be okay for me to stop by for a few minutes."
"Either way, I'm just glad to see you again," he said as he got up from his desk, and walked to Rukia, "especially after everything that happened recently…"
Confused, the Shinigami blinked. Recent events? She hadn't heard of any recent events in Karakura Town… and now that he stood right in front of her, she could not help but to notice that Ichigo didn't just sound kind of tired, but that he looked oddly tired as well. What was going on? "…What happened recently? I'm sorry, but- what do you mean? I haven't heard of anything that happened here in Karakura over the last couple of weeks."
For a moment, Ichigo stared at her in a kind of confusion that seemed equal to her own, before his expression changed to one of understanding. "Oh yeah, I s'pose it makes sense that you wouldn't have heard of that..." He mumbled under his breath, "Uh, well. I'll tell you what I mean in a moment. But why don't you tell me what happened on your end since we last saw each other?"
Rukia just barely refrained from making a face. It was typical of Ichigo to just bring up something ominous like this, and then have her wait before following up on it. But if that was how he wanted this to go, then fine- she knew him well enough to know that it'd be a wasted effort to try to get him to clarify what he was talking about now. "Well then…"
One explanation (that Rukia had tried her best to keep short) later, Ichigo was smiling warmly at her, though looking no less tired. She had told him everything about her search for Yuzu, Renji's promotion to captain, as well as the general war preparations in Soul Society, though she only really went into detail about the first subject. She knew what he needed and wanted to hear.
"So it was you who found her… sure is like my father to leave out that detail," Ichigo grumbled, sounding a lot more energetic than before.
"You know him, don't you?" Rukia said half-jokingly. "He's a captain, and a powerful warrior and leader, and an even bigger goofball with the attention span of a six year old."
While she herself didn't particularly care whether or not captain Shiba had mentioned her involvement, it was amusing to see Ichigo get a little worked up over it. Especially when considering how emotionally drained her appeared to be...
But as nice as it was seeing him again, Rukia's curiosity had been piqued. She was not about to let him off the hook after acting so aloof.
"But anyway- this is all that happened on my end. Are you going to tell me now what happened with you since I last saw you and the others?"
The substitute Shinigami's expression instantly darkened again. Taking a deep breath, he sat down on the floor with his legs crossed, prompting Rukia to do the same thing. "Alright then… I'll tell you."
And tell he did. About the group of Fullbringers, calling themselves "Xcution". About the things their leader had told him, a story about a substitute Shinigami being abandoned by the Gotei. About their offers to tell Ichigo and his friends more. About their alignment with Aizen. About Soifon's annihilation of the group, Urahara's involvement with it all, and Ichigo's fight with him…
Once he was done with his recapping of the events, Ichigo's expression was even darker when it had begun, and he himself also seemed more drained than before. Rukia's mind on the other hand was racing – after hearing everything that had happened to Ichigo, it was no surprise that he seemed so tired. But what could she possibly tell him to make him feel better? From her perspective, taking out the Fullbringers definitely had been the right thing to do, cruel as it might've been. But that definitely was the last thing that he needed to hear right now…
"…I can't believe that Urahara-san would do something like this," Rukia said, having decided to simply say something where she could agree with Ichigo, "I mean, I knew that he was shady, but this… this was just a downright ruthless thing to do. And don't even get me started on how he behaved when you attacked him!"
She made a pause to let Ichigo say something in response, but the substitute Shinigami just silently stared at the floor in front of him. After the silence went on just long enough for it to become awkward, she continued, "But even so… we're at war. This sort of thing happens. People working for the enemy get killed, and there is nothing that can be done about it. These Fullbringers would also have been killed if you had not been there. I'm sorry you had to see that, but... war is an ugly thing, and chances are you'll see worse if you keep getting involved. Most importantly, you need to remember one thing: You are not the cause of this." She sighed, and shook her head. "I'm sorry you had to see that, Ichigo, I really am. You're not a soldier, and nobody prepared you to be one. But at the end of the day, deaths like these... history is littered with them, among both Shinigami and humans. It's not your fault. It's theirs, for manipulating you and dragging you into this."
Again, Rukia made a pause. Just like before, it seemed like Ichigo was not going to say anything, as the silence stretched well to the point where it became awkward. But then, just as Rukia was starting to think about what else she could say, he broke the silence, after all. "…Thank you. I suppose I needed to hear that. Tatsuki already told me something similar… I guess I really am letting this get to me a lot more than I should, aren't I?" He made a pause to raise his head and look at Rukia, looking a lot livelier than he did before. "But even so-"
Ichigo interrupted himself and jumped to his feet, looking at his window. At the same time, Rukia did the same thing, while placing a hand on her zanpakutou, having also felt it. Hollows had appeared in town, stronger than she had ever encountered.
"I'm coming along with you," Ichigo said firmly.
Rukia gave him an incredulous look. "You're not coming along! You may have a Bankai, but you are not a formally trained Shinigami! Shiba-taichou has brought a hand-picked, professional team with him for this exact situation. If you were to come along with me, you'd probably do more harm than good!"
"Are you kidding me?! This town is my home! My friends and family all live here! You can't just expect me to stay here and do nothing while you're out there risking your life!" The substitute Shinigami shot back as he moved over to his desk to grab his badge.
Gritting her teeth, Rukia hesitated for a moment. As a substitute, there was no telling how Ichigo would fit into the Gotei's regulations on missions like these, and even if he was stronger than her, she really did not want to endanger him by letting him come along… but at the same time, she realised that he would follow her anyway if she told him to stay behind. "…Alright. Let's go, then. But please, stick with me."
oOo
Soifon had been a busy little bee since her arrival, setting up her own headquarters in an abandoned building. She had been quick to call in more operatives, along with all the equipment they could need to quickly relay information back to the Gotei, as well as setting up an intelligence network, having teams scout out the city more thoroughly, set up sentries...
In short, she had done her job, the one thing she truly excelled at, felt comfortable with. Whatever misgivings she had had about this expedition, she buried in orders, in commands and information, and it hadn't taken long before her chosen headquarter looked less like a dusty, abandoned building slated for destruction, and more like a proper field operations centre. It pleased her.
It was this that let her sense the threat first, the message of a ripple opening in the sky being sent to her in the form of a beacon going off, the pulse of the ripple itself alerting her moments later. Immediately, she felt the icy cold calm come over her, the calm she had learned well in her time as commander, the calm that meant people could die at any given moment and just how many died might depend on her keeping a level head.
"Taichou! Extremely powerful contacts four kilometres southwest!" One of her operatives barked, looking up from her data processing unit. "At least one captain class, judging by preliminary readings!"
"Full alert!" Soifon ordered firmly. "Tenku, relay orders for teams four and six to observe from a distance- minimum safety distance, maximal reiatsu suppression! Sento, you are in charge- I am going out to face them myself. All of you, stay sharp!"
"Should I request authorisation for the lifting of limit releases, taichou?" one of her younger, more enthusiastic subordinates piped up.
"They're already lifted," Soifon scoffed, "we're in a state of readiness for war. Wasting time waiting for authorisation could be fatal. By the soutaichou's orders, all such protocols are suspended until further notice. Everyone, stay alert and man your posts. I want to be updated every ten- no, every five minutes. If there are new arrivals, we must know of it immediately!"
There was a chorus of "Yes, Taichou!" from her subordinates, and Soifon stepped out of the hastily put together operations centre, pale moonlight bathing her and the city in its radiance. She tapped her Suzumebachi, a compulsive gesture from her youth that had never quite died. Its steely rigidity brought some reassurance. A move made, so soon? What was Aizen's thinking? Briefly, she closed her eyes, sensing for the intruders. They seemed powerful, quite powerful, but not nearly so strong or so many that it could be considered an invasion. Testing the waters, then. Well then, she thought, test them, Aizen Sousuke. He would find them filled with crocodiles.
She shook that last thought off, as she sped away into the night. Pride, boastfulness, such things were folly to an assassin, a hindrance to efficiency. She would go there, assess the threat, and provide what assistance was needed. Above all else, it was her responsibility to document the capacity of these new foes. As much as Aizen was testing them, he was revealing part of his hand here, too. She would see to it that it did not go to waste.
oOo
Grinning maliciously, Grimmjow watched as his Fraccion dashed off into the city to find their victims. He had no doubt that the various Shinigami that he could sense all over town would be getting to them within a manner of minutes at most, but the Espada nonetheless hoped that his underlings would still at least manage to murder some living people before they had to deal with the angry watchdogs. Of course, it technically was their mission to fight said watchdogs, he'd still prefer it if they'd have to get some fun before that. And while fighting the Shinigami would by no means be boring, it just wouldn't be quite the same.
By now, the Arrancar could sense his Fraccion coming across the first reiatsu signatures, and extinguishing them, all while the stronger ones of the Shinigami moved towards them. For the time being, Grimmjow was content with just staying where he was, keeping his power low, and observing what was going on – he was certain that a strong enough Shinigami would show up for him to fight.
As he relished in the beginning carnage, he could not help but to feel a smug kind of satisfaction at the thought of Ulquiorra being denied permission to do this. That emotionally dead bat-bastard had rubbed him the wrong way ever since he had become a member of the Espada, with his aloof and condescending way of dealing with just about everyone around him, and Grimmjow in particular. For just being number five among the Arrancar, that bat piece of shit had always been way too condescending to Grimmjow in his own way, even though he was only two ranks lower than him, and definitely not that much stronger. Him getting told off by Aizen like this had to be the most satisfying thing that he had seen in a very long time.
Putting the thought aside for a moment, he focussed on sensing what was going on around town again. Most of his Fraccion were already in a battle with a Shinigami, with the exception of D-Roy… who was being approached by two Shinigami.
Uncertain on what to do, Grimmjow hesitated for a moment. On the one hand, he didn't want to rob his Fraccion of his fight… but on the other hand, one of these Shinigami did seem to be decently strong.
Shrugging, Grimmjow began heading towards them. If nothing else, the Shinigami would be able to keep him occupied until someone stronger showed up – and D-Roy could just as well look for someone else to fight.
The two had slowed down once they had come close. Speed wouldn't serve them well if they didn't know where their enemy was. Given how brazenly the enemy had announced themselves, it was unlikely they would hide for long. It was bizarre, but to walk around at a fair pace, waiting for them to show themselves, was the most reasonable course of action at the moment. Keeping sharp, sensing for any change, Ichigo and Rukia walked down the moonlit streets of central Karakura.
They did not have to wait for long. Turning around a corner, they saw a figure, not very tall in stature but with an impressive presence, waiting for them in the middle of the street.
"That... is that guy a hollow?" Ichigo asked, putting a hand on the hilt of his sword. It looked strange in the distance, waiting calmly for them. He looked as if he had some sort of... helmet on.
"I'll explain later," Rukia said firmly, "I can sense power about him, but I doubt he will be too strong for us to handle. Keep a level head, and back me up."
"...sure," Ichigo muttered. Rukia was different, now that he walked alongside her on a real mission, the both of them Shinigami, neither needing to rely on the other to solve the problems all by themselves. She moved with the confident ease of an experienced soldier, cautiously advancing, making no rash moves. A significant part of Ichigo wanted to charge right in, but he knew it would be unwise- and after all, this was Rukia's mission, and while he didn't have much love for the Gotei right now, he didn't want to screw anything up for her.
"Sense him," Rukia said, keeping her eyes fixed. "How powerful would you say he is?"
"Hmm..." Ichigo said, and he couldn't shake the feeling that he was a student being tested by his teacher, "Powerful enough to best most Gotei officers, I think, but not nearly captain level, unless he's really good at hiding his reiatsu. I have no idea what the hell this guy is, but he seems like a hollow... and hollows never seemed to be big on things like subtlety or discipline."
"I agree," Rukia said, nodding.
"Took the both of ya long enough," said their opponent as they came within earshot. He was grinning, and as they got closer, Ichigo got a better view of his inhuman features. What had looked in the distance like a hat or a helmet was in fact part of his face, a large piece of bone adorning his head. It looked quite like a hollow's mask, only fragmented. His teeth were pointed, like a shark's, gleaming in the moonlight, and his clothes were all in white.
"Look at ya both," the man said, sounding cocky. "Ya ain't nothing next to Grimmjow-sama. Hell, I think I can take ya both. You're gonna make a tasty snack- hell, I might not even share."
"Ichigo, stand back," Rukia said firmly, drawing her sword.
"What, you think he's that strong? I'm not that stupid, I can help-" Ichigo protested, but Rukia cut him off.
"On the contrary, I can handle him with comparative ease. I am sure of it now. Given that, it is better for you not to expend any energy or give anything away to our enemy."
"...well, um. Okay then," Ichigo said, a little surprised. Pleasantly so; for a second he had thought Rukia thought little of him, and that idea had upset him more than perhaps it should.
"Really, you alone?" Said the man, cocking his head. "A shrimp like you ain't nothing. Before I kill ya, let me tell you this: I'm D-Roy, servant to the great Grimmjow Jaegerjaques of the Espada. Even if you beat me, you'd both get killed the moment he stepped in."
"Enough talk," Rukia said firmly, stepping forward. She now stood opposite D-Roy, holding her blade out. "I am Kuchiki Rukia of the-"
"Save it, shrimp," D-Roy said, flexing an arm. "If I asked the name of everyone I'd kill, I'd never get anything done." Though his words were the words of a braggart, there seemed to be more to him than talk, as he surged forward with incredible speed, striking at Rukia with his hand alone. Rukia parried, and to Ichigo's surprise, the hollow-man didn't have so much as a scratch on his skin.
"Like my hierro?" he said gleefully. "It's like living armour. Our skin can't be cut, and we're stronger than almost all Shinigami. We are your end, shrimp."
"I see," Rukia said, pushing back against him, "big words. I see I will need to end this quickly."
"Do whatever, shrimp," D-Roy said lazily. "Won't change nothing."
Rukia skipped back, and held her sword out. "If you won't take my name... then you should at least remember the name of my zanpakutou. Dance, Sode no Shirayuki!" She held the blade straight out, and turned it downward in a circle counter-clockwise, and as she did, the blade and its hilt turned entirely white, a long white ribbon extending from the hilt. Ichigo felt a chill run down his spine, and the temperature dropped as if they had been hit by an arctic gale. Any unease or offence he had felt was replaced by curiosity, and he watched with interest.
"What, that's it? You're gonna make it nice and cool for us?" D-Roy said mockingly.
"You are already dead," Rukia said flatly. Holding her zanpakutou upside down, blade pointed to the ground, she cried, "First Dance: Tsukishiro!"
Ichigo watched as the ground around her and D-Roy came alight, shining white as Rukia made a horizontal cut straight into the air. D-Roy was well outside her reach, but Ichigo guessed he didn't need to be too close.
"What-" D-Roy managed before the zanpakutou took effect, and a pillar of ice formed around the man, freezing him solid.
"That is the power of my zanpakutou," Rukia said calmly, mostly for Ichigo's benefit, he suspected. "It encases my enemy in ice, and..."
There was a cracking sound, and for a moment, Ichigo thought he saw fear in D-Roy's frozen face. Immediately, the ice pillar burst into pieces, collapsing into a neat pile. The man was nowhere to be seen. Rukia's zanpakutou sealed itself, and smoothly, she sheathed it again.
"Let's move on, then," she said, giving Ichigo a glance. Ichigo couldn't help but feel impressed.
"That was... not bad," he said.
Rukia gave him a quick smile. "Come on, let's get going. The others may need help."
"Well, ain't that somethin'?"
The voice was rough and coarse, reminding Ichigo of the punks he'd face at school- only this voice was much more adult, much more confident, and entirely without the false bravado of the juvenile delinquents. It came from above, and Ichigo and Rukia both drew their swords as they saw him descend from above. He was a magnificent and terrifying sight, for he held raw power of a kind Ichigo hadn't felt since he had last faced a captain- only this time it was coupled with the maliciousness of a hollow's soul.
He wore all white, like D-Roy had, pants and a vest that exposed a finely toned muscular chest. His hair was light blue, and there were markings at the edge of his eyes, lending him a wild appearance. Bone adorned his face too, the upper and lower half of a jaw running across his right cheek, with sharp, ferocious teeth.
"Shit..." Ichigo said, paling. There was no doubt- with this power, it had to be one of the very strongest of his kind.
"Look at you, taking out D-Roy, that piece of shit," The newcomer said, spitting toward the ice. "Well, I guess you'll make for a bit of fun till the real entertainment shows up."
"What, you think you can beat us, punk?!" Ichigo snapped, his years of experience at dealing with delinquents in town getting the better of him. The moment the words left his mouth, he already regretted them – though he also quickly realised that they didn't make much of a difference.
The newcomer gave him a mildly bemused look. "At least ya can talk big, I'll give you that. Just keep running that mouth of yours, maybe that way you'll actually deal some damage to me."
"Ichigo, to my side!" Rukia whispered at him. "We'll need to fight this guy together if we want to stand a chance!"
Giving Rukia a quick nod, Ichigo did as he was asked without taking an eye off the hollow-man. Rukia's tense tone made it more than apparent that she, too, was downright intimidated by this guy, which only made his own uneasiness worse. Just his presence was worse than anything that Ichigo had ever felt from any hollow he had ever faced before...
Said hollow meanwhile let out a roaring laugh. "Yeah, sure! Fight together if ya think that helps! Try anything ya want! Not that it'll be of any help – not when you're fighting against one of the might Arrancar, the Séptima Espada, Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez!"
"Are you sure that you aren't just pulling words out of your ass to try and intimidate us? 'Cause I have absolutely no idea what you're going on about!" Ichigo shot back, his mind racing. There was no telling when this guy – Grimmjow – would attack, and if there was even anything that could be gained from stalling for time... but if nothing else, it would give him and Rukia time to think about their next move.
The Espada's grin grew even wider if that were possible. "Izzat so? Well, I think you're just spouting whatever bullshit comes into your mind in the hopes that I'll let you live a bit longer. Just keep going – maybe it'll win ya a few minutes. But in the end, I'll still rip the both of you apart for what you did."
"For what we did?" Rukia asked, sounding a bit confused but no less tense. "You mean the Arrancar I just killed? What, did you care about him? I didn't know you Hollows were capable of something like that."
Grimmjow let out another vile laugh. "Me caring about that shitstain? Like hell I would! But the fact of the matter is that he was still a member of my pack. Attacking one of it is same as attacking me… and no idiot who does that-"
He interrupted himself, as Ichigo saw a flash of white moved past him. He then noticed that Grimmjow was no longer standing in front of him: He had moved past him faster than Ichigo could see. "-has ever survived."
In a painfully slow moment in which his perception of time itself seemed to slow down, Ichigo turned his head to the left to look at Rukia. As he did, he could just see her collapse, her expression changing from a look of shock into an empty one, as blood started spilling from a large slash wound across her torso.
Before the reality, or even the implications of what he was seeing had reached Ichigo's brain, he already found himself charging right at Grimmjow, yelling at the top of his lungs. "DESTROY HIM, ZANGETSU!"
Somewhere within the far corners of his mind that were still thinking rationally, Ichigo was hoping that his sudden attack would send the Arrancar flying into the nearest wall, breaking his haughty demeanour, making him pay for what he did to Rukia- but whatever scenario he imagined, what actually happened was far from it.
With an impact that shook his entire body, Ichigo's charge came to a screeching halt. Grimmjow glared at him, completely unimpressed, having blocked Zangetsu with the palm of his open hand.
"Are ya telling me that D-Roy got done in by some weak-ass shit like this?!" Grimmjow said, spitting the words out with disgust. "Ya really musta gotten lucky, kid."
Ichigo said nothing in response, and just responded to the glare with an equally mad look. As his mind was catching up to him, he tried to pull back Zangetsu to bring it down for another attack – but he found himself unable to do so, as the Grimmjow was now grabbing it.
Grinning sadistically, the Arrancar balled his free hand into a fist and slammed it into Ichigo's chest. With what felt like the force of a sledgehammer, Ichigo got knocked back, sending him to the ground several feet away from his enemy, losing hold of his zanpakutou.
"Ya wanna know the bad thing about luck? It tends to leave ya at the most unfortunate of times." Grimmjow meanwhile growled, tossing Zangetsu after Ichigo – with the blade landing only within a short distance of his face. "Now c'mon, make me work for this! I want to get at least some satisfaction out of killing ya."
Ichigo grabbed Zangetsu and got up as fast as he could, staggering like he was drunk. He knew he only had one hope of having any chance to fight this guy… and he really should have been using it right from the start.
"BANKAI!" Ichigo shouted, trying to block out all the pain he still felt with the scream. "Tensa Zangetsu!"
For a moment, Ichigo could've sworn that he saw something bordering on surprise on Grimmjow's face – but before the substitute Shinigami could make sure of it, he already began to charge at the Arrancar while the Bankai still took effect. Like before, Grimmjow put up his hand to block the attack, but this time Ichigo was too fast for him. While his arm was still moving, he was already behind the Arrancar, putting down Zangetsu for a massive slash against his back. The cut drew blood, a red, thin line opening across the Arrancar's back.
Before Grimmjow could however do as much as react to the slash, Ichigo was already continuing to move around him, covering him with a barrage of slashes against every part of his body that Ichigo could hit. Taken in by the rush of the fight, Ichigo began to grin. The fight was as good as won! The Arrancar could do absolutely nothing-
With a feeling like he had run face-first into a brick wall, Ichigo was stopped, and lifted off the ground.
"What a neat little trick ya got there." Ichigo could hear Grimmjow's voice, sounding dangerously angered. For a moment, he was uncertain as to what was going on, as he could barely see anything. But then Ichigo realised: The Arrancar had grabbed him by the face, and was lifting him off the ground. "Y'know, I always thought that this Bankai was some super-elusive thing that only the strongest of all Shinigami had… guess I was wrong."
And with that, Grimmjow slammed Ichigo head-first down in the ground. Against the Arrancer's palm, he let out a pained scream – it was a feeling like his entire upper body was being shattered. "Seems like the trash also gets it."
Slowly, Ichigo turned his head to look up at Grimmjow. He was breathing heavily; the pain was worse than anything he had felt since he fought against Byakuya, and his vision was getting blurry… but in the light of the street lamps, he could still see what his own attacks had done to the Arrancar.
Grimmjow's body was covered in cuts. Most of them were bleeding, some heavier than others, but none of them seemed to be particularly deep or otherwise hindering him.
"Not quite what I hoped for, but better than nothing." The Arrancar scoffed. "I hope that some other of you Shinigami offer a better-"
Interrupting himself, Grimmjow turned his head to look at something to the right side of him. With great effort, Ichigo followed his gaze. What he saw was a figure that was still vivid in his memory: The captain of Squad Two, Soifon.
oOo
Isane felt him coming well before she could see him, the Arrancar not even trying to hide its immense power. A wave of nausea passed her as she realied it was heading for her specifically, leaping from one rooftop to another. She was no coward, but fighting was not her forte; it was why she had sought out Fourth Division in the first place. It had been some time since last she saw any real action, quite some time actually, and although she practiced with her blade regularly, she knew she was not a warrior at heart.
The Arrancar, on the other hand, was a creature of nightmare born for killing, a blasphemous meld of a hollow's killing instinct and a Shinigami's abilities. Taking a deep breath, she steadied herself, and walked out into the middle of the street, the moon illuminating everything in its glum light. Experienced or not, she was a Shinigami and she had a duty to do, and she would not fall short of it.
With a massive leap the Arrancar landed some thirty yards off, the ground shaking under the impact. He was tall, taller even than Zaraki Kenpachi, and he was broad of shoulder, muscular, looking the very picture of intimidating masculinity. Half of his hair was short, a crew cut, while the right side of his scalp was adorned with a wild mane of bright red hair, standing up almost like a natural mohawk. He wore all white robes, contrasting Isane's black, and a black hole was in his chest, but except for that, the only thing in his appearance that spoke to his savage background was the fragment of a hollow's mask. It was a small piece of bone running across the bridge of his nose, looking like an elegant pair of pincenés, entirely at odds with the confident, arrogant bearing of his muscular frame.
"I am Edrad Liones, Arrancar thirteen," he said, "and I've come to kill you, Shinigami."
"Kotetsu Isane, Fourth Division," Isane said sharply. She took a deep breath, her hand at her zanpakutou. It was now or never. He could come charging any minute, and a mistake could mean her death.
"Fourth?" Edrad said with a chuckle. "The medical division, wasn't it? Just my luck... Ylfordt will never let me hear the end of this."
Isane said nothing, and took a series of deep breaths, pulling her blade out.
"Look at you, brittle in the breeches already," Edrad said with distaste, "I'll just end you quickly and try to catch up with the others."
It was an odd and shocking thing to see such a large and monstrous being move so quickly, but he dashed forward with speed, closing the gap in almost an instant. He didn't even bother pulling his sword out, instead raising a fist.
However, he struck nothing but air, and his surprise was soon replaced with nuisance as he felt the burning sting of a sword's edge raking against his scalp. He stopped his charge and spun around.
Isane had jumped over him, anticipating his charge, and cut into his head at the same time. It had bounced off, naturally, but fact remained that Edrad had expected it to end with just the one punch.
"You broke my hierro," he mumbled thoughtfully, running two fingers over the gash on his head, a slight cut at the left side of his head. Looking at the blood of his fingers, he rubbed it onto his thumb, "how did you do that?"
"Surgical precision. It's part of the job description for being a medic," Isane bit back. Holding out her sword, she proclaimed, "Run, Itegumo!"
Heeding her call, the zanpakutou transformed. It seemed underwhelming to the naked eye, the weapon simply adding a couple of prongs to the hilt, but Edrad would soon learn not to underestimate it. Isane was determined to do at least that much.
"So much for ending this in one punch, man…" The Arrancar meanwhile mumbled, appearing thoroughly unimpressed by the sight of Isane's shikai. "But fair enough. I'll take this seriously."
And with that, he drew the zanpakutou from his side, and held it out in front of him. "Erupt, Volcánica."
Instantly, his mask broke as his zanpakutou was engulfed by a golden light, looking like it had been heated up by several hundreds, if not thousands of degrees – which very well might have been the case, as the sword quickly melted, flowing out of Edrad's hand and onto the ground beneath him. There, it spread out even further until completely surrounded him, growing even brighter as it did. Then it burst into an enormous flame, with the Arrancar in its middle.
What happened next was hard for Isane to make out, as she could only see his silhouette in the centre of the fire, but she could definitely sense what was going on – the Arrancar's already massive power grew even more. But in spite of the pressure that Edrad's sheer presence caused, Isane found herself unexpectedly at ease. Her opponent had fire powers…
"Take it all in, Shinigami. This is what you are dealing with!" The Arrancar's voice came from the centre of the flames, just before they died down, revealing what had become of Edrad's body.
Had the Arrancar previously been able to at least somewhat pass as a human, he'd be no longer able to do so. What Isane saw before her now looked like a bizarre, unnatural fusion between a hollow and a human. While most of Edrad's body had remained as it was, his arms and hands had grown to absolutely gargantuan proportions, being longer than he was tall, thick as oaken tree trunks, and reaching even beyond his shoulders. In addition to that, both of his arms were covered in a kind of bone armour which even reached up to and beyond his neck.
Before she was however able to take all this in, the monstrosity began charging right at her, not slowed down by the size of his arms in the slightest. Realizing that she'd be unable to move out of the way in time, Isane brought up her zanpakutou in an attempt to block the attack, even though she already felt like she would only be able to lessen the impact at best-
With an impact that rattled her bones, leaving her with the numb, familiar ache of fracturing bone, Edrad's giant fist collided with Itegumo. Thrown back by the sheer force of the attack, Isane fell over, only barely managing to roll up on her feet again, stumbling as she got up. The Arrancar was in no hurry, confident in his victory. Again he raised his fist, and this time, knowing better, Isane jumped back. The ground trembled under the force of his punch as it connected with the asphalt, melting it to its basest pieces where it connected. As Isane landed, she realised the index and middle finger of her sword arm were broken, and her forearm likely fractured as well. Such raw power was well outside her ability; she could not afford to take him on directly.
But if she did things right, she wouldn't need to.
"Is this all, Shinigami?" The Arrancar said, his voice thick with arrogance. "You disappoint me. Consider yourself lucky that I derive no pleasure from toying with my prey. If this is all the elite of the Gotei has to offer, our victory is assured."
"You are indeed strong," Isane said, forcing her voice to go from a quiet whimper to something closer- if not by very much- to defiant courage, "but the bigger they are, the harder they fall. Underestimating me will be the end of you, Arrancar."
The Arrancar let out a chuckle. "Brave words, Shinigami. Brave words from a medic, cowering behind true warriors while she heals their fallen."
"I've heard that before," Isane shot back, "from 'true warriors' who never complain when they get themselves patched up and saved from dying."
Edrad snorted, "Such is the weakness of your society, that you constantly save those too weak or unlucky to survive. Hueco Mundo leaves only the strong, and weeds out the weak. These things you take for granted, help and healing, we would consider luxury."
"That is why the Gotei has lasted a thousand years, while none of you managed to build a civilization of your own."
"Insolence!" Edrad snapped, and brought his fist down. It wasn't even aimed at Isane, slamming down into the street ahead of her, thick spurts of magma showering the area. A quick shunpo took Isane out of the way, small spurts of white-hot gravel singing her uniform.
"You are a pest, Shinigami!" Edrad bellowed, charging forward through the magma, "A race of weaklings devoid of strength and ruthlessness, too wrapped into your comfortable sense of morality to accomplish greatness!"
He was fast, and Isane couldn't quite evade him. He closed in, and she managed just barely to deflect his first two strikes, making them glance off. He was ruthless to be sure, but lacked anything like real form. Her fingers and arm screamed in protest, and she dodged under the third swing, jumping back to evade a fourth.
"You can run all you like, coward!" Edrad bellowed, "you cannot escape your death at my hands. I will burn you to cinders!"
Isane took a deep breath, and forced herself to remain focused, her mind steady. He was strong indeed, but... it was too late. Suddenly she halted, and Edrad bellowed a gleeful cry, sure of his victory, and raised his fist. It was red-hot, magma dripping down from his arms. With just one hit, he would end the fight, end her entirely.
Isane lowered her zanpakutou, holding on to it with her injured hand. She raised the palm of her healthy hand.
The thunderous roar of Edrad's fist impacting, crushing her wholesale, was exchanged for a simple 'thud', and a mild sizzling sound. His fist, mighty as it was, had stopped, as it Isane's palm was the bedrock of a mountain. Where it had impacted, it had gone from red-hot to black, rapidly cooling. Steam was rising from where she held him. Edrad strained in confusion, pushing down on the small, weak little Shinigami. This made no sense. No matter how he pushed, she wouldn't die, wouldn't even budge.
"H-how?" He muttered, beads of sweat forming as he pushed to no avail, "you should be dead, Shinigami."
"You are strong, certainly," Isane said calmly. More steam rose, and Edrad's knuckles became grey with cold, the heat beginning to evaporate along his entire arm, "but you were unlucky. I would have had a hard time against somebody else, I think."
"How?" Edrad demanded.
"You didn't see me use my shikai at all, did you?"
Edrad's eyebrows furrowed, and he shot her a hateful look.
"Itegumo is different," Isane continued, "it doesn't turn people into a block of ice or send big, pointy shards to hurt people. It lets me control temperatures. With enough time, I can freeze everything around me if I need to. You didn't notice, because you were too set on killing me quickly, but I've been cooling you down this whole time."
"You mean..." Edrad trailed off, as realization hit. He had been slower, all this time. He hadn't even thought about it, but his last few attacks had felt a bit... sluggish.
"This is a bit of conjecture, but I assume your powers work in such a way that they fuel the magma you generate. That would take more than a little energy to do continuously, and if the temperature is too cold, you aren't able to generate any in the first place. In short, you met the worst possible opponent for your skill set."
"You little..." Edrad snarled, and tried pulling his fist back for another strike, only to realise his arm was frozen in place- his arm, and his entire body felt stiff, difficult to move even a little. A rising panic overriding his anger, he tried fervently to move, to step back, but it was too late. Rapidly, his body was freezing. He managed to stumble back one step and fell on his back, his body almost frozen solid.
"I'm very sorry," Isane said, and put one foot on his chest, holding Itegumo, its tip facing down, "you're right. I'm a medic, not a warrior, and I do let fighters do the fighting. My role is to patch them up afterwards. Even now, I'd rather heal you than kill you. But I'm a Shinigami and an officer of the Gotei... and I know my duty."
"Wait-" Edrad cried, his shout cut short by Itegumo's tip sliding into his chest, cutting through his hierro without effort. His body began to fully freeze, and within seconds, Edrad had taken on a blue shade, every spiritual particle in his body frozen solid. Isane twisted her blade, and a crack appeared in the Arrancar's chest. Another followed, then another, and moments later, hundreds of cracks spread outward across his entire body. With a sound like breaking glass, Edrad Liones shattered into a thousand pieces, red with blood and white with bone.
Isane sighed, and as she sheathed Itegumo, the blade sealed itself. Before her, Edrad's corpse began to melt as the temperature rose to normal. His reiatsu would disperse, purified by her zanpakutou, and his body alongside it. She breathed heavily, one deep lungful of air after another. It had been a long time since she had killed anything, her duties largely keeping her as a healer, but this... this was a war zone, and she was an officer. Feeling the pain of her fractured arm, she was reminded that she had not gone out of this unscathed. Hastily, she began applying a healing medical kido. The others would need her soon enough, and she had no time to waste.
oOo
Warily, Tatsuki stared out into the night, trying to discern what was going on in town. It had been just a few minutes since she had felt the arrival of several hollow-like… things not too far away. In those minutes, she had frantically searched for her Substitute Shinigami Badge, lain down in bed so that any member of her family walking in on her would think that she was simply asleep, entered Shinigami form, and moved up to the roof to get a better view of things. And now… now what?
Up on the roof, there was nothing that Tatsuki could not have seen from the window of her room. A clear, star-lit night that she might have considered peaceful if the Substitute Shinigami hadn't sensed the reiatsu of strong, hollow-like creatures in town. But although the strength of these beings was worrying in and of itself, the main thing that got Tatsuki thinking was one question: Should she go out to fight or not? She was aware of the Gotei members stationed in town, having received a short message from Ichigo on the matter, but right now there was no telling whether or not they would be able to take care of all hollows in time...
Tatsuki paused her train of thought. The hollows had begun moving- and one of them clearly headed into her direction. No choice, then. Taking a deep breath, the Substitute Shinigami braced herself for the worst, and slipped into a shunpo to meet the hollow-creature before it could get to her family's house.
A few seconds and several streets later, she stopped. She now stood in a small alleyway, lit only by the street lanterns. Figuring that this place would be as good as any other for a fight, Tatsuki waited, zanpakutou in hand.
The wait didn't last for long, as only a moment later the hollow appeared in the light of the next lantern, giving Tatsuki a first good look what she was up against. Standing in front of her was… a young man with long, blond hair, red eyes, and a face that vaguely reminded her of a more emotional Byakuya Kuchiki; soft, handsome yet decidedly masculine features, complemented with an aura of confidence and power.
Tatsuki blinked. This was definitely not what she had been expecting. She would have felt like she wasn't facing a hollow at all, had it not been for some aspects of his appearance that made it clear that this really was him. Namely, his white clothes, the sword at his side… and what looked like the remnants of a hollow's mask on his head. And of course, the big, gaping hole in his chest.
"Hm. If I'm remembering the description my brother gave us before being sent here correctly, I'd say that you're one of the Substitute Shinigami… so, are you?" The man said. His voice was smooth, calm and restrained, befitting the rest of his appearance.
"What's it to you?!" Tatsuki shot back, trying her best to sound confident in the face of… whatever thing this guy was. "Either way, you're not gonna beat me, so what's the point in asking, hollow?"
The hollow-man let out a sigh. "You would mistake me, Ylfordt Granz, Arrancar fifteen, for a mere hollow? Substitute it is, then. What a disappointment… but I suppose you'll do just fine as an appetizer for the big slaughter coming up."
Tatsuki grimaced. Not just a hollow-man – Arrancar? – but an arrogant one at that, too… but if he was human enough to be this arrogant, perhaps she could somehow take advantage of it to gain the upper hand? If nothing else, it was worth a shot.
Ignoring everything Ylfordt had said, she simply drew her zanpakutou and held it out in front of her. "Strike, Raitora!"
Heeding her call, the zanpakutou transformed, shifting into the inelegant instruments of blunt violence, the pair of brass knuckles. Her energy surging, she charged forward, feeling the rush. The thought of slamming her fist into his smug face filled her with anticipation, even glee-
Which was cut short when the Arrancar caught her fist in his palm with ease, shooting her an arrogant smile.
"Half-decent punch for a substitute, I guess," he said. Tatsuki shoved back, putting space between herself and the hollow. That strike could have split a boulder in two, but he had absorbed it without even flinching!
"Why don't I show you how to do it properly?" He said, and Tatsuki barely had time to react. Although he hardly looked like a hardened warrior, having a face more like an underwear model than a soldier, he moved with the casual ease of a veteran. He closed the gap in the blink of an eye, and jammed a fist forward, toward her chest. Tatsuki put her arms up in a cross to block- but at the last second he aimed higher, and she cursed herself for falling for a feint. His fist slammed into her cheek, sending her flying. He had a punch like the kick of a mule, and Tatsuki barely even had time to recover after she landed on her feet before he came at her again. He hit fast and hard, and although he lacked her form, clearly not trained in any martial art, he was nevertheless all but unstoppable. Tatsuki was quickly locked into a pattern of blocking, dodging and evading, continuously pushed back. This Arrancar was something else entirely, something of a calibre she hadn't faced since their fight with Kuchiki Byakuya.
A punch slid under her guard, connecting just beneath her solar plexus. The air got knocked out of her lungs, and she sunk to her knees, coughing and hacking.
"Where's all that bluster now, girl?" Ylfordt said bemusedly, content to gloat with Tatsuki at his feet. "With that confidence, you'd think you would be able to put up more of a fight. Don't make my night boring."
Tatsuki glared at him, still coughing. The world was spinning a little, and she was still catching her breath. He reached down, his hand closing around her neck, pulling her to her feet and lifting her up, until her toes were only barely touching the ground. He was toying with her, Tatsuki realised, and somewhere she thought to herself... if he was sure he would win, then his guard could drop.
"Oh well..." He muttered, raising his free arm up, his hand and wrist level like a knife, ready to run her through. As his elbow arched back, she slammed both of her arms down on his elbow joint. The sudden strike twisted his arm, and surprised, he lost his grip. Tatsuki, back on her feet, pulled her arm back and slammed a punch into his throat, before spinning around on one foot, delivering a swift sweeping kick to his knee joint. Her fist and foot hurt, the impacts feeling like she had slammed into a concrete wall, but it had the desired effect. Ylfordt coughed, staggering back, almost going down to one knee. Suddenly wary, he assumed a proper stance, drawing his sword. Tatsuki raised her fists, knowing she couldn't afford to take this less than deadly serious.
"Good girl," he said, and nodded with approval, "I guess you'll make for good sport, after all."
Once again, Tatsuki barely had any time to react as Ylfordt rushed at her, sword raised up high, ready to stab. For a short moment the thought to jump to the side, out of his way, flashed through her mind, but then it was already too late. The Arrancar was in front of her, and unleashed a flurry of lightning-fast stabs. Completely overwhelmed, Tatsuki was left unable to do anything but dodge – which still was not enough to evade his attacks entirely, as she was quickly beginning to get covered in superficial slash wounds for every stab that she just barely managed to evade. But worse yet, her brass knuckles were entirely useless, as she could not use them to block an attack without risking an injury to her hands.
The blade gave him plenty of reach; just by having it, he could strike her as he pleased while remaining well outside the range of her fists. He shot her a condescending grin. At this rate, it was only a matter of time before Tatsuki was too slow to dodge an attack, and get stabbed for it
...Though she still had one trick more trick up her sleeve. Wordlessly, Tatsuki had Raitora shift into its alternate form of a pair of daggers while continuing to try her best to not get hit by the Arrancar's attack. Said Arrancar was too occupied in his swordplay, so that he did not notice that the Substitute Shinigami's weapon had changed – though it was not like she had made any attempts to use her brass knuckles to do anything about his stabs yet.
For a few more seconds, Tatsuki continued to simply dodge Ylfordt's stabs, until at last, one particular attack came at a slow enough pace that she was confident enough to take action. As fast as she could, Tatsuki raised up her left dagger, knocking the Arrancar's zanpakutou upwards, out of her way, before following up with a stab of her own with her right dagger, aimed at his sword arm.
Ylfordt let out a pained, angry groan. Tatsuki had put as much force as she could into her attack, but even so, her dagger had not sunk very deep into his flesh, as the Arrancar's absurdly hard skin had absorbed much of the force before getting penetrated.
Grimacing madly, Ylfordt crossed the distance between them, and delivered a left-handed punch to Tatsuki's stomach before she could even withdraw either of her daggers. Unable to protect herself, she was send stumbling backwards. But while the punch had been weaker than any of the Arrancar's previous hits, she still did not get her hopes up for having gotten an advantage: If anything, the surprise of getting wounded had lessened Ylfordt's blow.
"Well, would you look at that!" He chuckled, staring at Tatsuki's daggers. "The little substitute has a trick up her sleeve. Aren't these dual-wielding zanpakutou supposed to already be a bit of a rarity among you Shinigami? And yours can even change into different weapons... well, no matter. If this is really all you got, you might as well let me devour your soul now, because in case you haven't noticed, your little knives did nothing but nick me a bit, sis."
Tatsuki swallowed, as a cold shiver ran down her spine. This was serious: She had to do something now, or else Ylfordt would effortlessly kill her. The Arrancar was strong, far stronger than she was. If she wanted to win, or even survive, she had to use her Bankai. And as things seemed now, even that wasn't a guarantee for victory.
Cursing herself for having let it come to this point, she got into a fighting stance. "BAN KAI!" She then yelled. There was a flash of white light, and as it vanished, she could hear the quiet cackling of the electrically-charged dark blue cloud that was summoned by her Bankai behind her. "Dai-Kaminari Raitora!"
She was feeling extremely uncertain. This was the first time that she had used her Bankai since she had fought Kuchiki Byakuya a few months ago, and her grasp of the form had hardly improved since then. Raitora was still quite unhappy about Tatsuki having forced her to teach it so prematurely. At this point, Tatsuki half expected- or perhaps hoped- that the spirit to chime in and tell her that even her limited understanding of her Bankai would be enough to deal with this situation, but nothing came.
"Ahh, good! Now you're actually making this interesting for me!" Ylfordt said, grinning maliciously. "I can't say that I've ever seen a Bankai for myself – even if this does seem rather half-baked. But let's see, sis, maybe this will help you last a-"
He didn't get any further, as he suddenly found himself flying backwards after a heavy punch to the chest, delivered with Raitora's knuckle form.
"How's that for a start, fucker?!" Tatsuki shot back. Landing an actual, good hit on her opponent had given her a new surge of confidence, which was certainly not harmed by her having managed to interrupt the bastard mid-sentence.
"So you're a bit faster. Good for you." The Arrancar growled, as he quickly got up from the ground several meters away. He did seem like he had taken damage, but what seemed to be hurting the most right now was his pride. "But that alone won't be enough to keep up with me!"
And with that, Ylfordt began to charge at Tatsuki with a blinding speed, his sword raised to stab her… or at least it would have been blinding, had she still been using her Shikai. As things were now, his movements to her seemed slow, sluggish and predictable. Without much effort, she moved out of the way of his blade, turned her zanpakutou back into a pair of daggers, and stabbed him once more into the same spot she had hit earlier, slashing the same arm with the other dagger. This time, the dagger sunk right into his flesh, all while releasing extreme amounts of electricity.
Tatsuki grinned. Now this was going more in her favour!
Pulling the dagger out of Ylfordt's arm, she followed up with a fierce kick to his stomach, sending him once again flying. Intent on ending the fight right here and now, she dashed right after him.
The Arrancar, however, was set on finishing her himself. With a speed that Tatsuki would not have expected of him after the hits that she had landed on him, he got up before she could reach him, and held out his zanpakutou in front of him. The look on his face one of sheer rage. Startled and uncertain of what would happen now, the Substitute Shinigami stopped dead in her tracks.
"Skewer, Del Toro!" Ylfordt bellowed. At once, his zanpakutou started to vanish, beginning with the tip. Once it was completely gone, the Arrancar began to hunch over, as his entire torso and arms began to widen more and more until at least they became so heavy-set that he had to walk on all fours. At the same time, his mask began to expand, covering his head like a helmet with a pair of horns not unlike that of a bull growing out of it. And then... the transformation finished. Ylfordt was now standing before her, looking like a gigantic bull covered in white armour reminiscent of bones.
Her eyes widening as far as they possibly could, Tatsuki stared at the transformed Ylfordt. If she were to go by looks alone, she would have probably more at ease, as now he was looking a lot more like what she considered to a regular hollow – but the sheer pressure of his reiatsu told another story entirely. He was more than just a match for her…
Without another word, Ylfordt began to charge at Tatsuki, aiming his horns right at her chest. Despite his now massive size, he was still able to move with an extreme speed – but it was all in just a straight line. Just barely, she moved out of the way of his attack. At the same time, she attempted to stab his arm, but in vain: Her dagger merely scratched over his bone armour without doing too much damage.
The Arrancar meanwhile stopped dead in his tracks and turned around to look at her. "Bankai or not, your weak-ass daggers won't go through my armour, sis! You can jump around and try to dodge all you like, but I'll get you on my horns sooner or later!"
"Big talk! You'll have to actually catch me first!" Tatsuki shot back angrily. As much as she hated to admit to herself though, Ylfordt was right about one thing. If he just continued charging at her, he'd get her eventually. The injuries she had received before he had transformed were still bleeding, and if the pain was anything to go by, they were deeper than she had initially believed. The power rush that her Bankai provided her was able to tune out the pain for now, but that wouldn't last forever. If she wanted to win this she had to think of something – quick.
As Ylfordt passed her by once more, which Tatsuki evaded with a bit more difficulty than the first charge, she tried to take in as many details of her opponent's transformed state as was possible in the short amount of time. What she saw as she got ready to evade another attack did not look encouraging: The Arrancar was covered from head to toe in the white bone armour, protecting every vital area as well as most other that would have made for a good spot to attack. Of course, the armour did have seams, but those seemed all to be in places that were either in movement, or otherwise hard to reach. From his legs, to his torso, to his arms, to his head, Ylfordt was entirely covered- wait.
Tatsuki took another look at his head. The mask had expanded enough to be considered a helmet at this point, sure, but Ylfordt's long hair was still flowing out of it from the back.
Trying to calm herself a bit, the Substitute Shinigami took a deep breath and put one of her daggers between her teeth, dropping the other. Then, as the Arrancar charged at her once more, rather than jump out of the way entirely, she instead grabbed on to his left arm, and used it as a starting point to climb up on Ylfordt's back.
"Hey! What kind of shit are you trying to pull there, Shinigami?!" He yelled, beginning to fiercely shake in order to shake Tatsuki off. Undeterred, she kept going until she could grasp one of his horns with her hands. In an increasing anger, Ylfordt threw himself to the ground and tried to roll on his back, but still she held on. And then, somewhere between trying not to fall off and trying not to lose her remaining dagger, Tatsuki saw it: The Arrancar's neck, completely free of any armour.
As quickly as she could, Tatsuki let go off the horn with her right hand, removed the dagger from between her teeth, and rammed it into Ylfordt's neck, grasping it with both hands, using all the strength she could muster. Amplified by her increased strength in Bankai, the blade effortlessly pierced the comparatively soft skin, and sunk deep into his flesh.
The Arrancar let out an ear-piercing scream that sounded more like that of a wild animal than something coming from a human. In a frenzy, he got up from the ground, ran up to a nearby wall, and smashed his back against it, again and again. "I'LL SMASH YOU TO PIECES, YOU LITTLE PIECE OF SHIT! DON'T THINK THAT THAT WILL BE ENOUGH TO TAKE ME DOWN!"
Tatsuki grit her teeth and summoned every last bit of strength she had left. This was her last chance.
"Hōden!" She yelled at the top of her lungs. At once, all the electric energy in her bankai got to work, channelling through her body and into the dagger, sending thousands of volts of lightning right inside the Arrancar's body.
Once again, Ylfordt screamed, a scream that was every bit as loud and painful as his last one. He then renewed his efforts to get Tatsuki off his back, smashing her into the wall, throwing himself to the ground, bending his arms as much as he could just so that he could reach her and pull her down – but still she held on.
But as she did her best not get shaken off, Tatsuki could quickly feel her strength fading. Already her grip on Ylfordt's horn began to weaken, and her vision began to grow dark. Not much later, and she had no strength left to keep up her attack. Slowly, she was beginning to accept that she had lost…
Then his movements stopped. Somewhere, from the corner of her mind, Tatsuki registered that… well, nothing was happening. Forcing herself to move, she slowly got up, shook her head to clear it up, and looked around. Every single little movement was followed by waves of pain, and she could barely stand due to the sheer exhaustion she felt, but there was no mistaking it: Ylfordt had fallen to the ground, and was no longer moving. She had won.
Not allowing herself to fall to the ground just yet, the Substitute Shinigami spread out her senses, to try and feel what else was going on in town. She could tell that fights were still happening all over the place, and she could even sense that Ichigo was in battle – and then she could sense him no more.
Blocking out the pain and exhaustion as best as she could, Tatsuki dragged herself in the direction where she had sensed him – or at least she tried to. After only a few steps, her legs gave in, and she collapsed once more. Unable to fight the sheer exhaustion any longer, she closed her eyes and fell into darkness.
When she came back to her senses, she initially wondered why it had even happened. She was still as exhausted and as much in pain as she had been before she had passed out, whenever that had been. Only slowly the realization dawned on her that she was not alone: There was another Shinigami with her – tending to her?
Slowly, and not without difficulty, Tatsuki opened her eyes. After the few seconds it took her to get her vision clear, she realised that not much time could have passed, seeing as it was still night. The other thing she noticed was the Shinigami: A white haired, concerned-looking woman leaning over her.
"Hello there, pretty lady… I need healing…" Tatsuki mumbled, only partially aware of what she was even saying.
The woman, having apparently still understood what she had said, frowned. "Healing can only help you with your wounds, young lady. The only thing helping with reishi exhaustion is rest – and with how little of your reiatsu I can sense, I'd say you are going to need lots of it."
Defiantly, Tatsuki tried to mobilize any last bits of strength that she might have left in order to sit up… which ultimately didn't amount to anything. "Can't rest… need to check on Ichigo… can't sense the idiot anymore…"
The Shinigami-woman remained silent for a moment, as if she were thinking about something. Then, slowly she muttered, "Well… I can't leave you here. And Kurosaki will beyond any doubt also be needing medical attention… fine. I'm taking you with me."
A deep feeling of relief came over Tatsuki. Again trying to mobilize any last bits of strength, she tried to at least thank the woman, but found herself unable to do so. Instead, she relaxed as much as she was willing to allow herself as her rescuer (who she now noticed must be a good deal taller than her) picked her up in a bridal carry, and headed off into the night.
oOo
With an impact that felt as if it had just shattered his spine, Shawlong landed on the ground. Trying his best to force back the anger rising within him, he immediately got back up, and fixed his eyes on his opponent: The Shinigami captain.
"What's wrong, Arrancar?" He asked casually, as if they were having a friendly meeting instead of a fight. "Didn't you boast a moment ago about how you would enjoy tearing me limb from limb, and devour my soul? Because lemme tell ya, there sure isn't a whole lot of any of those things going on right now."
Shawlong grit his teeth, slowly managing to regain composure. He had been uncharacteristically reckless… the moment he had realised that his enemy for this fight would be a captain, he had arrogantly simply attacked him empty-handed – which had gone as well as he should have expected it to. The emotional high that he had experienced after devouring the human souls earlier must have gotten the better of him.
"I'll admit, my choice of opening words was a bit poor," Shawlong said. The captain was stronger than him, there was no doubt about – he'd need a moment to weigh his options, and distracting him with a conversation should work just fine. After all, Shinigami usually were talkative enough. "It was also impolite of me to not even give you my name before I attack. Allow me to amend this: I am your death: Shawlong Kufang, Arrancar Eleven."
The captain grinned. "Oh, so we're doing politeness now? Alright, then I guess it is my turn: Hello, Yourdeath. I am Shiba Isshin, captain of Squad Ten!"
Shawlong frowned. This man clearly wasn't taking him seriously. And judging by the reiatsu pressure that he already emitted, he didn't even need to… no, there was no helping it. If he wanted to win, he needed to go all-out right away, and try to overwhelm the captain before he had a chance to retaliate.
Quickly, Shawlong drew his zanpakutou, held it out in front of him, and calmly stated "Snip, Tijereta."
Without even waiting for his body to fully transform, he then charged right at Isshin, raising his hand with the intent of slashing him with the claws that were currently forming on his hands. Caught in a wide-eyed surprise, the captain could only barely move out of the way, as Shawlong was already about to slash with his other hand.
"What, so we're already done with banter and politeness?" Isshin asked, as he was forced further and further back by the flurry of attacks.
"Spare me the jokes, Shinigami!" Shawlong shot back, as he redoubled his efforts to finally hit him. "This is a battle to the death, and I will treat it with the appropriate seriousness!"
The captain said nothing in response. He simply continued to avoid the slashes silently and casually, focussed and constantly moving back. With a sense of glee, Shawlong noticed that he was forcing Isshin toward a wall, seemingly unaware of it being behind him.
And then his back was against the wall.
Probably more out of instinct than anything else, the captain looked behind him, and in this moment, Shawlong brought down his claws down on his head with all the force he could muster-!
"You really thought you had me there?" Isshin asked.
Grimacing madly, the Arrancar looked up. Faster than he had noticed, the captain had drawn his own zanpakutou to block the attack – and even though Shawlong was putting all of his strength against it, he simply held it up like it was nothing. Without a thought, he attempted to strike with his other claw, only to receive a fierce kick into the gut. Shawlong was sent flying, just as he had after his very first attack.
Once again, Shawlong found himself landing on the ground with his back – only this time, Isshin got to him before he had the chance to get up, and pinned him to the ground by standing on his arm.
"It is over, Arrancar. I have the high ground!" The captain stated, without a hint of maliciousness or fierceness in his tone. Instead, he sounded like he had just made a kind of joke.
Confused, Shawlong stared at him with a look of pure disdain and anger.
"Ah yeah, you probably won't get that…" Isshin muttered, scratching his head with his free hand. "Well, no matter."
"You said this was a battle to the death, right? Well, then I suppose it's only fair that I treat it as one as well." Isshin said, the light-hearted tone gone entirely from his voice. He then raised his zanpakutou aiming to stab at his face.
The last thing Shawlong saw was the tip of the blade moving towards his eyes.
oOo
Nakeem towered over the Shinigami, more than a head taller. His considerable bulk factored in, all girth and muscle, her small frame was entirely dwarfed by the Arrancar. Size, of course, wasn't much of an indicator in spiritual matters, but if Nakeem was any judge- and his time surviving Hueco Mundo had allowed for quite a lot of experience- she wasn't very powerful. She wore a vice-captain's armband, sure, but she didn't even seem to have a sword. Her hair was black, she had quite a bust on her, and a blank expression. She hadn't even reacted to his presence when he had landed on the moon-lit street before her, simply standing there staring at him with a blank expression. He wondered if she was right in the head.
"Do they employ idiots at the Gotei now?" he said mockingly, walking closer to her with a confident swagger. Weak or not, she'd make a good meal. He could just imagine the way her flesh would feel when going down his gullet, the way she'd scream...
With some annoyance, he noted that she seemed entirely unaffected by his presence, not phased in the slightest. Nakeem was used to the simple structure of Hueco Mundo- if you were stronger, people cowered before you, and if you were weaker, you cowered. The complete disdain she treated him with, like he was an insect, only an Espada would have managed. He was a Fraccion of the Septima Espada, not some small fry.
"I said," he all but bellowed, stopping just within striking distance, "do they employ idiots at the Gotei? Are they so desperate that they send some vegetable to fight us?"
No reply again. Nakeem sighed under his breath. By now, any kind of reaction would have made it more fun. Still, he'd make her scream soon enough. He raised a fist, and slammed it down with furious strength, holding nothing back.
But instead of feeling the satisfying crunch of a cracking nose, his punch slammed into the Shinigami's palm. She had braced herself just slightly, and caught his punch with ease. Surprised and angered, Nakeem pushed, his muscles straining, caught up in an instinctual urge to measure muscle. His brows furrowed. She had to have hid her power level well. Little bitch.
"Subject appears to be fusion of Shinigami and hollow energies. Hollow baseline, although fundamentally altered to mimic Shinigami spiritual structures."
She said the words like she was just taking down a mental note, like Nakeem's fist was nothing, like it wasn't inches from her face, threatening to cave her skull in.
"I'm an Arrancar, you bitch," snarled Nakeem, "and we're what's coming to replace you. Don't you take us lightly!"
"Subject refers to himself as 'Arrancar'."
Having had enough, Nakeem pulled his fist back for another strike- only to realise he couldn't. Her hand was clamped over his, her grip like steel.
"I realise that I am being rude," she said, keeping that infuriating, quiet, dispassionate tone, "I am Kurotsuchi Nemu, vice-captain of Division Twelve, designated science advisor for this deployment."
"What the hell... are you?" Nakeem snarled. Furiously he slammed his other fist into the Shinigami's face. He hit well, but she barely flinched. Her head was rocked by the punch, but she didn't even show a sign of pain. Letting out a growl in between enraged and frightened, Nakeem hit her again, and again. It was like punching a piece of rubber, hard and enduring. A drip of blood trailed down her cheek, and a red mark was left where he had hit her, but she still seemed not to care. Her grip around his fist tightened, and with her arm she pushed down, slowly and inexorably. Nakeem let out a groan, pain shooting through his hand.
Grabbing his stuck arm with his free hand, he pulled and managed to break free. His hand throbbed with pain; she'd had a grip on her entirely in contrast with her appearance.
She should be the one asking him what he was. How dared she? He was Arrancar, the next part of hollow evolution!
"You little bitch..." he growled, and reached for his blade, letting his reiatsu surge. He'd been stupid to take her so lightly, but he wasn't going to make that mistake twice. Pulling his blade out, he readied himself mentally. He'd release, show her what's what, and then feast on what was left. No time to put her in her place, but that was well worth it.
"Get ready-" he began.
In an instant she had taken three quick steps forward, and slammed a fist into his throat. Nakeem gargled, and staggered back. Relentlessly, she struck again, firmly into his solar plexus. Nakeem's body was by no means weak, protected by layers of fat and muscle, all boosted by his impressive reserve of reiatsu, but she struck him hard all the same. He struggled to breathe, his throat mangled from the first punch, and he put one arm over where she had struck that second time. He was seeing stars.
"What... the hell..." he began.
"What is your name, Arrancar?"
"Nakeem... Grindina..." he spat.
"It's better than 'subject'," she said, and nodded, "I am Nemu. You asked what I was. I am an artificially engineered soul, having gained the powers of a Shinigami, modified extensively. Particularly in terms of endurance and strength."
Nakeem just stared at her. A created soul? Artificial, not forged from battle experience like a hollow or Arrancar? The very thought was repulsive to him.
"Please surrender. If you volunteer information useful to us, you will be treated humanely."
"Like hell I will!" Nakeem snarled, reaching for his blade. He was Grimmjow Jaegerjaques' Fraccion. He wasn't going to bend the knee to some damned Shinigami, freak or not.
Immediately, Nemu's arm shot out, grabbing him by the throat. Before Nakeem could get his blade out, her fist had slammed into his face with the force of an industrially powered sledgehammer. Nakeem saw stars, too dizzy to move, let alone bring his blade up.
"I advise you to rethink your decision," said Nemu, still expressionless and dispassionate.
"Screw... you..." Nakeem gurgled. His sword in hand, he raised it to strike, but Nemu caught it with ease. Her hand tightened, and Nakeem screamed as the bones in his wrist cracked and broke. Shouting like a wounded animal, Nakeem lashed out with his foot, kneeing her in the midsection, over and over. Reacting immediately, Nemu punched him in the face again. And again. And again.
Within seconds, Nakeem's face became a disfigured, broken, bloody mess, Nemu's arm striking again and again like a piston, with a slow, smooth rhythm. Blood splattered over her face, and Nakeem's death throes became pitiful little twitches. Finally, Nemu stopped.
"Oh," she said quietly to herself, and blinked, "his neck snapped. Shame."
She let go, and the lifeless Arrancar collapsed to the ground. Nemu made a mental note of just how much force it had taken to kill an Arrancar. Kneeling by the fallen Arrancar, she adjusted it so that it lay on its back. This would make for valuable data. Her father would be pleased.
oOo
Grimmjow let out a mirthful bark of a laugh, and flung Ichigo aside like he was nothing, like he was the wrapping paper of a candy bar, trash to be discarded without a thought. He looked at the captain, a wide grin on his face.
"Please," he said, "please tell me you're better than the garbage I knocked about until now."
Soifon said nothing, advancing toward him in silence, step by step. Ichigo, weary and brow-beaten, looked on with a mixture of fear and anger. Anger at having been beaten so easily, discarded like trash; fear that this terrifying Arrancar would be too much for even a captain to handle.
"All right, the quiet type," Grimmjow said, walking to meet Soifon, "fine by me. Some people don't know when to shut up, anyway."
He lunged, and Ichigo felt that sinking feeling. He had felt first-hand that fist and how hard it could hit...
However, as the Espada charged, slinging a mean right hook with lightning speed and with the force of a speeding train, his fist hit only air. Smoothly, the captain had evaded his attack, taking a step back and bending her back just a little. Grimmjow threw punch after punch, each one failing to connect. Soifon was like air, like water, smoothly dodging everything he threw at her.
"Stand still, you little monkey!" he snarled irritably.
Soifon did not reply. Instead she dodged under a wide swing, and let out a burst of attacks, a set of punches slamming into his gut. The force of them all, well over a dozen in a matter of seconds, sent him reeling back, sliding across the ground.
Grimmjow, a second ago sounding annoyed, now said triumphantly,
"Whatsamater, little miss captain? I barely felt that."
Soifon shook her hands, clearly not having expected the thick skin of the Arrancar to absorb the blows so easily. It had to have been much like punching a wall, and Ichigo wondered if she would recover.
He charged again, slamming a fist into the little captain's face before she could react. Shocked by the impact, she was thrown back and through the air, and only managed to twist herself around and land on her feet by the last second. Grimmjow gave her no time to recover, already speeding down the street for another hit. Soifon parried his first blow, but was caught unawares by a vicious sweeping kick, slamming into her midsection. She gasped, the air knocked out of her lungs, and staggered back, nearly losing her balance. Grimmjow launched into another set of lightning-fast punches, raining down on her like a smith's hammer on an anvil.
"C'mon, c'mon, c'mon!" he hollerred gleefully. He was hitting now, not frequently but still hitting, each successful blow sending the Shinigami reeling. Trying her best to counter, Soifon swept at his leg. Grimmjow evaded, and slammed another roundhouse kick into her chest, sending her back toward Ichigo's direction.
"If that is all, then the Gotei will be a cakewalk!" Grimmjow cackled, and surged forward once again. Undeterred, Soifon met his charge head on. Ichigo could barely follow the fight, but he thought he caught the gist of it- a foot surged up, kicking aside the Espada's left arm with dexterity that should be impossible, and then as his right hand went in for a punch, she let it sail past her before hooking his forearm with her own arm, twisting it up and locking him in place. Before he could react, she had slammed a punch into his throat, kneed him in the groin, and slammed her palm into his nose with an upward thrust. Cussing and in pain, Grimmjow reeled back again.
"Armour is a useful thing to have sometimes," Soifon said, speaking up at last, "and one that weighs as little as your skin is quite the advantage. However, as I think you just learned, no armour is invincible."
She was something else, Ichigo thought. She had endured all that abuse, taken all those hits while evading even more, and she was still more than ready to take him on.
"Fuckin'..." Grimmjow snarled, coughing. His hierro had absorbed most of the blow to his throat, but he still felt it, still hacked and coughed.
"Are you going to stand there all night moaning," said Soifon coldly, "or are we going to fight?"
Grimmjow, all out of arrogant boasts, snarled and charged.
Isane arrived at the scene, having followed the strongest signature and figured that's where she would likely be needed the most. She had been a little slowed by the Substitute Shinigami in her arms. She felt more than a little concerned; her energy levels were dangerously low. She had to have expended a lot of it at once, either not knowing or not caring about the risk.
Still, she was conscious, which was a good sign. Right now, though, she would be of no use in combat, and wouldn't be for quite some time.
"Can you stand?" Isane said as she slowed her run, having reached the outskirts of the battle. Captain Soifon was engaging an Arrancar in battle, easily the most powerful one so far. Kuchiki Rukia and Kurosaki Ichigo were there, too, the latter looking worse for wear but not badly hurt. Even so, Isane wanted to check on him.
"Mm-hmm," Tatsuki said, sounding a little dizzy. Gently, Isane set her down.
"You're nice," Tatsuki said, wobbling a little on her step, but remaining standing nonetheless.
"You're drained. Symptoms include disorientation and impairment of cognitive functions. I strongly recommend you stay out of trouble," Isane said firmly, "do you understand?"
"Cognitive orientation. Troubles. Gotcha," Tatsuki said, shaking her head, "Man, this took a lot out of me..."
"Just... stay down," Isane said, hoping the girl would heed her advice. Right now, she had a job to do, and all she could hope was that Captain Soifon would be capable of holding off that Espada.
As she ducked under yet another vicious swing, Soifon weighed her options. She couldn't afford to keep taking punishment; a few more hits might disorient her, cause her to lose focus, and that would be disastrous. The Espada was powerful, and he hit like a ton of bricks, and he showed no sign of slowing down or tiring.
At the same time, she had little trouble evading him. He was no rookie, that much was easy to tell from the smooth, confident way he moved, and she supposed it was only to be expected from the best of Aizen's army. But even so, it was clear he had no formal training. Every move he had seemed instinctual, practiced in the same way an animal practices, but lacking the clarity of form that a skilled practitioner of hakuda would have. It made him easy to read, predictable. While undoubtedly it had taken him serious skill to survive as a hollow long enough to ascend this far, she doubted he had ever tried anything more complex than hitting a target until it died.
That considered, she had few ways of really hurting him. Suzumebachi would be ideal, except she doubted it would even penetrate his thick, armour-like skin. Perhaps with a pinpoint strike, focusing energy? It was possible, but she disliked the idea of experimenting mid-combat. The best she could hope for was aid from Shiba Isshin, although she did not count on it. No- you could never depend on somebody else to save your skin. She had to do this herself; that was what she had to assume. Well... actually, a few precise strikes, applied at maximum strength could work, even if it was likely to hurt like hell. Yes- if she could match his power for just long enough, hit him hard enough just a few times, this might really work. She disliked mid-combat experimentation, but she was out of options. She kicked the Arrancar in the midsection, accomplishing nothing more than to send herself back, putting space between them.
"You wanted a fight, Arrancar?" She said.
"Hell yeah, I did," Grimmjow snarled, "so are ya gonna stop dodging and actually give me one?"
"Your wish is granted," Soifon said, letting her reiatsu rise to its maximum output, abandoning all notions of conserving energy.
"Now that is more like it," Grimmjow cheered.
Tatsuki staggered forward, her mind still not entirely clear. She wanted to go toward the fighting, wanted to help somehow, even though on some level she knew she couldn't. Eventually she had felt faint, and sat down by a street light.
Then came the wave of power, and it shook her awake. It was rare to feel raw spiritual force like this, rare for her to be able to feel it so clearly, but she did. It was Soifon's, and it was strong.
Tatsuki saw a light blue-haired, muscular Arrancar with a jaw bone for a mask piece charge at the captain, and watched in awe as they clashed. Soifon met his first slug, deflecting it easily with her forearm, grabbing hold of his wrist as he struck thin air. The Arrancar snarled, lashing out with his other arm, but he struck air as Soifon moved aside. Then, in one smooth move, she launched herself up into the air, still holding on to his wrist. Her feet slammed into his face, and the Arrancar staggered. Recovering flawlessly, Soifon landed on her feet, and twisted the Arrancar's arm behind its back, slamming one foot into his knee joint from behind, one hand around its wrist and the other pushing at its shoulder. The Arrancar went down on one knee, straining and snarling, but the captain had him in a death grip.
"Submit!" Soifon snapped, loud and clear, "I have no problem holding you down like this until you tire, beast!"
"Go fuck yourself!" the Arrancar snarled.
Tatsuki realised her jaw had dropped. Soifon had completely manhandled this creature, this monster of an Arrancar, so much stronger than the one she herself had nearly burnt herself out to defeat. In a smooth couple of moves, she had beaten it without even needing to kill or maim it. She was awestruck. Was this what it meant to be a captain? To apply martial arts to the insane power of a captain?
Grimmjow roared with frustration. Down on one knee, that shitty little captain had him well and fully pinned. His strength was meaningless here; hers was not insignificant, and if he was stronger than her, then the difference wasn't so much that he could just overpower her.
"I said submit!" she repeated, "you are now a prisoner of war-"
"And I said to go fuck yourself!" Grimmjow roared.
It was humiliating enough, being down on his knees, but taken prisoner? Hell no. It was about time he reminded the Shinigami what the difference between the two of them was. He twisted himself forward, suddenly, with as much force as he could muster. Red hot pain surged through his shoulder as his arm dislocated itself. Surprised by the sudden move, the captain's grasp of his arm loosened. Seeing through the pain, a familiar enough presence in his life, Grimmjow tugged and tore, and his arm finally got loose. He twisted around, lashing out with his good arm, and the captain jumped back.
"Dontcha underestimate me, bitch," he said, leering at her. His arm was hanging limp by his side. Well, this was gonna hurt...
Grabbing his upper arm, he twisted, and he saw red for a second as the pain shot through him again, as he shoved the arm back into its socket. It hurt and throbbed, and probably would for weeks to come, but he was good to go.
Glaring at the little captain, he weighed his options. Of course, he could just use his Resurreccion now, and completely overpower her, but doing that now would be cowardly. This bitch was definitely weaker than him at the moment, and there'd be no way he'd lose to someone like that. Like it or not, he had to think of a battle plan...
Suddenly distracted, Grimmjow interrupted his train of thought and looked up. The present Shinigami meanwhile also looked up, startled. They had probably felt it too: The arriving presence of another Arrancar.
A few more seconds passed, but then the moment had come: The sky up above them tore up, and out of the hole in reality stepped another person dressed entirely in white. Then Grimmjow saw the long, light-green hair, and he grit his teeth.
Trying her best to not divert her attention from Grimmjow entirely, Soifon stared up at the newcomer. This new Arrancar was a tall young woman with light green hair, a kind of horizontal, red tattoo across her nose, an odd-looking skull on her head and a facial expression that oddly reminded Soifon a bit of Byakuya Kuchiki.
As the newcomer approached them, her mind started to race. At the current time, it was nearly impossible to gauge her strength. But if it was really just her who had been sent for reinforcements, then she had to be strong, probably at the same level of strength as the blue-haired Arrancar. In the likely case that she should attack, Soifon would be forced back, even with the potential assistance of Isane Kotetsu. And that was not even getting in the possibility of any of them taking hostages in the form of Kurosaki, Arisawa or Kuchiki...
"Oi, Neliel!" Grimmjow yelled, "The hell are you doing here?! This is my mission! Don't get in my way!"
The other Arrancar however ignored him completely, and landed at a point somewhere between Soifon and Grimmjow, with her eyes fixed on the captain. "I am the Cuarto Espada, Neliel tu Oderschwank. Be at ease, taichou. I am not here to aid Grimmjow in battle."
"HEY! Look at me when you're already interrupting my fights! And whaddya mean you're not here ta fight?" Grimmjow shouted, his rage ever-increasing.
Finally Nel turned around to him, with just a hint of annoyance in her expression. "I was sent to end your mission and get you back to Hueco Mundo. Aizen-sama has decided that it is best to end this before you too become a casualty."
"THE FUCK?!" Grimmjow roared, stepping up to Nel. "I don't care if our head honcho calls me back or not, I will end this fight! Besides, my boys are still out there, fightin', so don't stop me now!"
Nel shook her head. "You really haven't paid any attention to what has been happening around here? You are the last one. Every one of your Fraccion is dead."
Visibly taken aback, the blue-haired Arrancar paused, as he was most likely trying to sense if any of his comrades still remained. Soifon meanwhile continued to silently watch both him and the other Arrancar, feeling a bit uncertain on what to do. On the one hand, this was the prime opportunity to attack and eliminate either one of them, ridding the Soul Society of a potential major threat. But on the other hand... the exact strength and skill of this Neliel were still a complete mystery. Considering how comparatively little she knew about Arrancar in general, Soifon ultimately resolved to simply continue watching, hoping that this situation really would not come to the worst-case scenario.
"...All the more reason to continue fighting, then!" Grimmjow finally said, having no doubt confirmed that Nel had been telling the truth. "If these fuckers can fight to the end, then I won't be a coward by not doing the same!"
"Don't be foolish," Nel shot back, more than just a hint of anger in her voice. "I will not allow you to throw your life away by acting rashly now. Aizen-sama has ordered that you return to Hueco Mundo, and if you don't oblige then I will drag you back there if I have to!"
More silence followed. Grimmjow simply glared at Nel, while she met his glare with a strict look. Then, a short moment later he nodded. "...Fine."
With that, he turned around and was seemingly ready for Nel to open up a portal for them to leave through. Soifon however was not quite ready yet to let them go.
"Hold on!" She shouted. "What if we will not let you go this easily?"
Nel turned her head to face Soifon, and fixated her with a cold gaze. "If that is what you wish, then I will do what I must." With that, she drew her zanpakutou, and let her reiatsu flared up, erasing any doubt in Soifon's mind that she was weaker than Grimmjow – Nel was at least as strong as he was, and that before either of them had shown their true strength... "Considering that you are not the only captain stationed in this town, and that you still have other fighters with you, I suppose that you might just be able to defeat us... but I wonder, what will the cost for that be? And how high will the civilian casualties be?"
Soifon silently met her gaze with an equally cold expression, before easing up a few seconds later. "Leave."
"A wise decision." Nel said, nodding. "But be warned: This night was just a prelude of what is to come. Once Aizen-sama strikes with his full force, you will wish that it were as simple as this little skirmish."
And with that, she too turned around, and opened a portal in front of her. As they stepped through it, Grimmjow shot one last glare at Soifon, before both he and Soifon vanished, leaving Karakura Town as suddenly as they had appeared in it.