Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or any of the characters associated with it. All rights belong to the creator Tite Kubo. This is an AU story with some OOC.
Chapter 27: Counting Down The Days: Lily
Day 2
-X-
The clashing sound of blade and steel-skinned echoed in a steady rhythm across the quiet training ground.
Ikkaku takes a step forward and thrusts Hōzukimaru, forcing Lily to side-step his attacks before he takes a swing in attempts to cut her but she reacts by punching the blade with her fist. He smirks as they create sparks between their collision.
He then swings the other end of his naginata, aiming to hit the girl's head, but she blocks his advancement with her forearm. Thinking fast, he then rolls his elbow faster than the girl could follow and hits her from underneath her chin with his staff.
Lily clenched her teeth and mustered enough strength to not startle a step back to give the Shinigami an opening. She saw him swing his spear forward, bringing the blade back around, and she crossed her arms. The blade tore the outfit, but that's all the damage done to her since a combination of Hierro and Reiatsu shielded her skin.
Sparks once again ignited between blade and skin, causing a temporary blind spot for both fighters.
With the small window provided, Lily grabbed both ends of the man's Zanpakutō and pressed it against his chest horizontally. With flexibility gained by training, she returned the man's favor and kicked him under the chin, but just like her; he didn't startle back.
Being physically stronger than Lily, Ikkaku reclaimed his Zanpakutō after a quick struggle against her. He jumped back and swung. When he expected the girl would block again with an arm, he cried out his surprise attack. "Split Apart!"
Lily watched as the spear changed into a three section staff, catching her off guard. At its normal length, she was going to block the blade, but now, as it extended with the three sections connected with a chain, she found her arm wrapped by it.
Ikkaku moves his left hand to grab his Sansetsukon in the middle and the other hand by the end. He pulls his staff, dragging the surprised Arrancar forward and swings the other end, but she recovers and leads her head back, evading the blunt end of the staff.
Watching her dodge, he keeps pulling her forward and lands a knee strike to her stomach that knocks the air out of her lungs. As the Arrancar got briefly stunned, he flicks his wrist and unchains her arm before grabbing back the end of his staff. The weapon reconnected again to return to its spear form, and he thrust forward again.
This time his attacks landed and cut her right side; but while slightly stunned, Lily moves just the slightest to avoid any serious damage. Once focused again, she watched him swing his Zanpakutō by grabbing the end of the staff with one hand. 'Is he that predictable?'
Only one way to find out.
She blocks again by crossing her arms in front of her, but then she sees the smirk on the Shinigami's lips and she figures he thinks he caught her in a trap. She saw the man's Zanpakutō once again change its form without a command, 'Can they all do that?' While she blocked the mid-section of the staff, the other end had come back around and cut her back.
Hissing at the shallow cut, Lily grabs a hold of the staff and pulls—returning the man's act, but the only difference was how she was running towards him with her opposite arm extended and straightened out. Gathering Reiatsu around her arm, Ikkaku's chest met Lily's light-green cover arm. "Lazo (Lariat)!"
Besides feeling the force of the girl's momentum against his chest, the bald Shinigami also felt once again the unbearable heat. Thankfully, he didn't have to tolerate it for long since Lily had let go of Hōzukimaru and he went skidding across the floor before standing back up again. He checked his chest, trying to see if it burned his clothes off, but they were fine and his chest didn't have any burn marks.
He looks up just in time to see the kick aimed towards his side and lifts Hōzukimaru, but the girl had kicked harder than he was expecting and her attack knocked away his Zanpakutō. Now left weaponless but not defenseless, he rushes back at the Arrancar with his fist.
Lily thought the Shinigami would scatter to retrieve his weapon and not rush towards her barehanded. While somewhat shocking, Lily rushed too. She raised an open palm to guide away the swing that Ikkaku had thrown.
Although his attempt got maneuvered away, Ikkaku didn't stop. He steps into the girl's personal space by putting his right foot closer to her and throws a quick jab to hit her sides but the girl takes a quick pivot step forward before guiding his fist away from her again with her left arm and throws a right jab on his chest.
He wordlessly said a quick curse before grabbing the girl's right hand to pull and slam his head with hers. He then lets go of her and as she stumbles a step back, he delivers and lands a nasty left hook on her side before taking a swing with his right that lands right on her cheek.
Right after that last punch, Lily noticed how Ikkaku was going to still carry out his assault by throwing another left hook. Not letting the Shinigami get an upper hand over her, she spun around with her rear foot before lifting her right leg and hitting the back of Ikkaku's left forearm. The kick was a good enough parry that lasted two seconds, in which she took the small time to gather Reiatsu on her right leg before kicking off from the ground with the other foot.
Ikkaku thought of closing the distance before the girl could pull off some stunt, but she was already ahead of him in both distance and action; she swung her Reiatsu covered leg and called out her attack.
"Cero Creciente (Crescent Cero)!" Lily kicks a familiar looking curved sickle shape Cero at the Shinigami, but unlike Mashiro's Super Cero, it doesn't follow the arc-shaped path made by her foot. Instead, it fires off as a crescent-shaped Cero.
If there was one thing that Ikkaku knew about Hollows' Cero was that the energy attack came with their usual explosive kick. He Shunpo to a safe distance and turned around to see that an explosion didn't go off and instead it had created a foot deep trench on the ground.
Sheesh, that would have dismembered any part of his body. Which reminds him, this simple spar could have been an excuse for the Arrancar to 'accidentally' kill him. Was she keeping her promise to his captain?
Confused, he looked back to ask her when suddenly she invaded his personal space.
Oh, that's right. This was a spar.
He attempted to take a step back, but then he felt something pressed behind his leg and looked down to see that the girl had her left foot behind his. Lost at the odd strategy, he looks back at Lily to see that her entire form has changed. Her stance was more narrow because of how close she invaded his proximity—and with her leg set behind his, she was really close, so he couldn't try freeing himself. The girl's arms were both set differently. Her left arm was up to her shoulder with her elbow bent towards her chest with an open palm pose, while her right arm was down to her hip and bent to her stomach with the same pose.
He narrows his eyes as he tries to drag his left leg back, but the girl is keeping him at bay with her leg. He takes a swing with his right and at such close-quarters, his punch will reach her faster. Or so he thought, because the open palm that was close to her chest moved over to guide his punch to the side and that's when she moved the leg that was behind his. She pulls the leg back, and he loses his center of gravity.
Imagine embarrassingly tripping in front of the entire 11th Division, Ikkaku was seconds away from having that entire self-consciousness sitting on the back of his mind for the rest of his afterlife if it wasn't for the knee kick he received from Lily which knocked him back to his feet.
He pressed down on his legs so he wouldn't trip over and look back to Lily only to find her closer to his face, like really close. He could see the colors of her eye better. If it wasn't for the palm strike, he felt on his stomach, he would have waved off her proximity to an awkward tripping-over-scenario during a practice match, but that wasn't the case.
The girl just enjoys invading personal space.
Just like last time, he felt Lily's foot behind his and figured she was trying to trip him again. 'Shame on me if I fell for the same trick twice.' He recovers from the hit and tries to shift his footing to a more comfortable stance but can't as the girl changes her footing to follow his. He tsk'd and stands his ground and swings a right hook, but it never connects as the girl reacts faster and only reflects his attack away from her.
Another click of his tongue and Ikkaku throws a left uppercut, but again another reflection. 'Why you little…'
Right jab, left hook, a short right straight-punch, a right uppercut and then a left overhand but no matter how quickly and sharp he's throwing his punches or feinting them before swinging with his other hand, Lily kept guiding them away and returning some quick hits on him; he hasn't made her move an inch either!
Feeling a bit irritated, Ikkaku feigns a left jab before throwing a right elbow, but an open palm stops that advancement too. He thought of throwing another overhand before he felt a change in his stance and looked down to see that Lily had moved his leg closer to the other, which made him narrow his stance.
Ignoring it, he swings left, and she catches his hand with no effort with her right hand before snaking her left leg behind his. He noticed, but couldn't do anything as she moved faster. She pulled her legs, tripping him back and rears her other arm back.
Seeing her arm coming down at him, Ikkaku kicks off with his right leg and gets another hit on the Arrancar's chin. Since the kick came as a surprise, she had loosened her grasp on him. He pulls his arm and untangles his leg. Without a second to lose, he runs over and grabs Hōzukimaru.
He raises his Zanpakutō to block Lily's fist. "I thought I had a chance in a fistfight, but after that brief exchange, I knew that if I keep fighting against you on your own turf, then I will lose."
"You thought you could beat me in a fistfight?" Lily smirks. "Sorry to tell you this, but a certain Neko-sensei trained me like hell for the last two years. So I'm better than the average Shinigami who fights with their Zanpakutō all the time and doesn't do much hand-to-hand training."
"Before I was a Shinigami, I used to be another punk looking for a fight, but everyone I fought didn't know how to use a sword, so I used my fist." The balded Shinigami admitted, "But I be lying to say they were better than you."
Feeling her pushing harder against him, Ikkaku relaxes his muscles and steps to the side. He then stuck out Hōzukimaru and watched the lime-haired girl tripped forward. Following along with the opening he made, he swung up Hōzukimaru and really hit her stomach.
Hit harder than what she expected had left her momentarily dazed, which the Shinigami took full advantage of. He started cutting across her body, but when she found her bearings again, she glared and prepared to catch his weapon to deliver another Lazo before another idea lit up.
It's slightly risky and she will fail miserably if not done right; so she needs to create an opening and hit him with something he's not expecting, but to do that, he needs to use his three-section-staff. There's a small opening—and by small she means around a second or two—when the man's Shikai takes time to change between staff and spear. Even if it's for a moment, that's all the opportunity she's going to need. 'Let's see if your training helps, Yoruichi!'
Jumping back to avoid his thrust, Lily kept her distance to irritate the bald Shinigami.
"You need to be calm when fighting, got it? A hot-head makes poor decisions." That was a lesson that Yoruichi had beaten into her head since she was a rather short-fuse individual. 'Let's see how long it'll take to piss him off.'
She didn't have to wait for long; the Shinigami had shorter patients than her.
"Stop running around the place!" Ikkaku yelled as the girl dodged. "You were so full of bravado and talk, but now you're running around!"
"Not my fault that you can't hit an easy target." Lily stuck her tongue out childishly, ticking him off even more. "But if you wanna hit a harder target to feel proud of yourself, then—" She smirked before she started running circles around him with Sonido. "—this should make you feel better, right?"
Ikkaku spun around in his spot, looking at three after-imagines running circles around him. "Why you little!" He grabs the end of Hōzukimaru before splitting and swinging it around. As his weapon phase through two of the illusions, he prepares himself to recall back his Zanpakutō and block the sneak attack that would most likely come from above but just when he was about to recall back his Shikai, the 3rd Lily had grabbed his staff. 'She was hiding among them?!'
This part of the plan has gone well, but now comes the harder part. Not only does she have to close the gap between them in less than a couple of seconds, which won't be impossible for her, but she has to predict the next move from Ikkaku right. 'Your instincts in battle are sharp.' She tried throwing the weapon before closing the distance between them faster than his Shikai could revert. 'That's why you'll make some obvious moves!'
He held onto Hōzukimaru when the Arrancar tried to pull and toss the weapon away from him, but all that did was extend the chains of his staff. So all he has to do is flick his risk to whip the back of the Arrancar's back; but then she pulls her stunt. She close the distance faster than he could react, and she was too close to recall his Shikai, so the only two moves left was to either block or move and he couldn't quite lean on the latter for a choice since she was too close to him—a sloppy dodge could cause him his life in real battle.
Lily knew he wouldn't try to attack her and he couldn't risk dodging at such close quarters either. So instead, not letting go of Hōzukimaru, he raises his arms to block, but that's what she was hoping for.
A kick or a punch was the next move he saw coming. What he didn't see coming was the jump to perform a perfect split to stop his arms from guarding him and, in the same motion, the girl pointed two 'finger guns' aiming down at him. 'She doesn't have her Zanpakutō, but that doesn't mean she can't use any other means to do the job!' His eyes widened when he saw Reiatsu gather around three areas; one on both fingers and another one over her mask.
These weren't Cero. "Bala!" But at close quarters, three Balas hit just as hard. Her attack shot the Shinigami back and engulfed him in a screenshot of dirt. She landed on her feet and waited for the surrounding smoke to clear. She didn't hit him hard enough to be lethal, but she put more kick on her attacks to at least injure him.
"That wasn't a Cero but a, what was it again… Bala?" Ikkaku walked out of the smoke with a shredded shirt before ripping and tossing it away, revealing the burn marks across his chest. "They hurt like Hell, but they didn't kill me."
"Not trying to kill you, dumbass, I'm trying to knock you out." Lily frowns before adding, "Although I hit you with enough juice to hurt you."
"Then you should start doing a better job." He inspected the wounds on her sides, then the stomach before checking her limbs. She had blocked most of his attacks with her arms. She even caught his blade a few times, but nothing but sparks seemed to come out of their clash. If he has to guess, it probably has to do with the light surrounding her limbs that acts as some form of protected layer.
Lily checks the burn marks on his chest a little closer. "If I try, then I would most likely kill you." Remembering a particular piece of information from Yoruichi, she seemed to have figured out the man's trick. "A Shinigami doesn't have Hierro, but you can do something close to it. You used your own Reiatsu to harden your skin." She looks at the seal on her arm. "If you focus all 30% of your Reiatsu on your chest before I hit you, then that's the only way I can see you still standing."
"You think I'm the kind to have that kind of control over my Reiatsu? Your Bala hit me faster than I could even try to shield myself." He gestures at her with his head. "What about you? Can't you control protecting your stomach area?"
"If you're referring to our Hierro, then sadly, that's not how it works. We use our Reiryoku, not our Reiatsu, and sadly it's not absolute that we can block every attack."
Ikkaku frowns. "Then how about your arms and legs? You have been able to stop my blade with ease and I haven't seen a single scratch on them."
She smirks and raises a hand up. "Why do you think that is?"
"I'm not a know-it-all, but it's Reiatsu, isn't it?" When her smirk rises higher, he narrows his eyes. "But you said—"
"I never said that we couldn't use our Reiatsu in any way or form."
He nodded. That sounds logical. "There's some kind of heat coming off your arms and legs; I feel it every time you physically touch me." His frown deepens. "You have an element, don't you?"
"Let me ask you a question first. Why haven't you bothered to use Kido?"
Ikkaku laughed before clearing an invisible tear. "As a member of the 11th Division, we don't regulate in using Kido. Besides, my mom didn't make me a do-it-all kind of guy at birth, so in Reiatsu control, I'm on the same level as a beginner."
"Then what about your Bankai?"
"Sorry, no Bankai." Again, he gestures at her. "What about you? Where's your Resurreccion?"
"Well," she looks at her Rapier that was on the ground over the Shinigami's shoulders, "I don't have any good relationship with my Zanpakutō to do that."
If he wasn't lying about not being able to use Bankai, he would have laughed at the fact that they appeared to be two peas in a pod. Well, at least in the sense that they couldn't use their 'ultimate' move. However, the fact remains that Lily has more up her sleeves. Sonido, Hierro, Bala, and—although she hasn't shown him, without a doubt in mind—Cero has been the showcase, but he hasn't seen everything in the girl's arsenal. Compared to him, she had better cards in her hand and he's refusing to use his Bankai with so many people here.
No knowledge to use the art of Kido.
No real mastery over Shunpo.
The only thing he has going on for himself is the fact that he knew how to swing his Zanpakutō.
His mind wanders back to her coated limbs. "So are you going to tell me about your Reiatsu trick or not?"
If there was a word that could best describe Lily's expression right now, it would be incredulous. "You're actually expecting me to tell you? You really think I would tell you, my enemy, the secrets to my techniques?" When Ikkaku said nothing but shrugged while still waiting for an answer, she hopped a few times in her spot before rushing towards him.
Ukitake watched Lily fight off an armed Ikkaku with skills in hand-to-hand combat that seemed to rival those of the second Division's members; she was possibly better than your average lieutenant at hand-to-hand combat, but he wasn't the expert people would listen to. He, just like the other 2 captains, looked at the 2nd Division captain. It was hard to get a read on her since her facial expression seems to be carved from the toughest Sekkiseki, but her eyes lively dance around as she follows the girl's movements.
"Lieutenant." Suì-Fēng could feel their eyes on her as they waited for not some half-ass opinion, but for a proper statement. "She isn't giving Madarame-san any time to recover or to even think thoroughly since she's making sure to always be on the move; she hasn't stopped no longer than five seconds to think of a plan since the match had really started. I'm sure she's already playing them on her head. Even when Madarame-san had landed blows on her, she's still been on her toes and continue on."
She watched Lily raise her left arm to block the 11th Division soldier's thrust before grabbing the man's blade with her hand with no visible hesitation before delivering a two-kick combo with her right leg on Ikkaku's wielding forearm and hand. Ikkaku couldn't resist yelping before dropping his Zanpakutō. No guess why, she had seen how hard those kicks could feel. "She also knows how to disarm her opponent, but what really sets her as a lieutenant is her unique orthodox stance."
The Arrancar girl steps on the man's Zanpakutō before placing her right foot farther in between Ikkaku's feet. "Usually in an orthodox stance, you put your weaker side closer to the opponent and you don't set yourself so close to your opponents either, but the Arrancar had made it work by mixing in different fighting techniques—and on a side note, from what I can see, these techniques aren't something you learn in the Shinigami academy but most likely in the World of Living."
The most simple thing to break down is her arm's posture. "The Arrancar has her arms and hands set to hover close to her chest and waist area. At first glance, you would think she would use her open palms for quick palm strikes only, but she's using them to redirect Madarame-san's punches while landing light blows too." She narrows her eyes when Lily seems to murmur something to herself. 'The way her mouth moved, did she say 12?'
Ukitake looked at an example of Suì-Fēng's explanation when Lily—at close-quarters—guide Ikkaku's fist away from her before landing a hit on his chest. "I can see how she moves her palm inside the punch and places it on his wrist and I'm sure Ikkaku-san has too, but why hasn't he done something about it?"
"Madarame-san, and like the other barbaric fools of the 11th Division, are more brawn than brain. He probably thinks if he hits harder, faster and stronger, then that would do the trick but it doesn't matter because the Arrancar will just keep doing what she's doing and won't get a hit on her because the battle will stay stale and be in her favor."
Shunsui wanted a bit more clarity and, peculiarly enough, the one who answered was Unohana.
"It's rather easy to understand and simple to explain, Captain Kyōraku. Madarame-san knows how much force needs to be put behind his swings to know how fast and how hard he'll hit her, but our dear Arrancar knows how to disrupt that force by placing her palm inside of the punch to touch his wrist and guide the fist away with a bit of her own force."
Ukitake frowns. "Ikkaku-san is no novice. Among lieutenants and seated officers, he's the best in Zanjutsu and Hakuda. He shouldn't be struggling this hard against her. I'm sure he keeps his skills sharp and never dull."
"True, but what does Madarame-san fight?" Suì-Fēng asked.
"I don't understand the question."
"What are Madarame-san's usual opponents?"
"Shinigami and Hollows." Shunsui answered.
"And how many times has he fought an Arrancar?" That got both men to zip their lips before she said. "I can't say how well the rest of the Arrancar may fight when weaponless, but if they're anything like her, then it's a good thing this spar's happening for us to observe; because it looks like someone taught them a little too well."
Ukitake didn't miss the tone when saying 'someone' because he knew who she was talking about and it made sense to watch Lily's fight more carefully because if that someone trained her, then that someone must have trained the rest of the Arrancar. As he looked at the petite woman's face, maybe it'll do good for Captain Suì-Fēng to talk about something else, he can see how just thinking of her was driving the 2nd Division Captain to a mellow tunnel. "Captain Suì-Fēng, about Lilynette's stance?"
She knew he asked as a distraction, and truthfully, she was thankful to Ukitake for it. "The last thing to talk about is the only thing we compliment; her footing. It's rather something I have never seen. She places one of her feet behind a leg to lock him in place and to control his stance; the technique either originated in the World of Living and she adapted it, or someone taught her how to deal with our Hohō."
"That alone would place her at 2nd seat?"
"Shihōin Yoruichi was captain of the 2nd Division because she was a Hakuda and Shunpo Master." She crossed her arms before continuing, "Once mastered, she carried around her Zanpakutō but never used it because she was that confident in her skills."
While Suì-Fēng didn't want to think about her, it only makes sense that she would teach someone every way to counter a Shunpo user. While Hohō and Shunpo are different techniques, footwork is the foundation for both skills and the Arrancar's fighting style seems to have developed to counter just that. From what she has seen so far, when fighting an armed opponent she would use kickboxing to land sharp and heavy kicks and when she disarms, she uses a modern style of Baguazhang that mixes with an orthodox stance and that's where the girl's skills glow.
From an outsider's point of view, Lilynette places herself into Ikkaku's personal circle to have closer hand-to-hand combat and would probably have ignored how she put a foot behind him, but when she noticed the little tripping accident, she knew there was more. If Ikkaku hadn't tripped, she would have missed it, but thankfully it had happened and she has been seeing how the Arrancar uses that foot to place and push the man's feet closer to narrow or spread his stance.
A narrow stance means more power on kicks but less power behind a swing and while quick jabs can get thrown, Lily knows how to defend herself against those.
A spread stance means kicks will be difficult to execute because of the large weight shift, so the only thing left would be hand-to-hand combat, which is something the 11th Division man is good at, but Lily's better at countering.
Just the way she can change and control her opponent's stance made her realize that any other opponent against the girl wouldn't have lasted long if she got to disarm them.
She also can't help but wonder if the girl would do any good against her. Maybe she would be a decent warm-up, seeing how she is the one who taught her…
Her heart aches just thinking about it.
Yoruichi found someone else to train. She always felt somewhat special when Yoruichi used to take a moment of her time to help her train. She felt so joyful back then because it made her feel like her captain enjoyed training her… but then that day happened and she couldn't help but to think that Yoruichi only tolerated her to keep up the fake persona.
Hearing a grunt from the bald man, Suì-Fēng looks back in time to see Ikkaku fly back from a side kick that lands him back to his Zanpakutō, which he grabs instantly and charges at the Arrancar. 'At least he can take a beating.' Just when she was focusing back on the match, her eyes found a pair of individuals near the 2nd seats that shouldn't be here. 'What are a couple of students doing here?'
Shino bit the inside of her cheek. It was unmistakable to her and everyone else that her big brother was losing. Hell, her brother's division stopped cheering!
She could see all the cuts across the Arrancar's sides, but her arms and legs still look fine—her brother has cut the clothes but not cut the steel-like skin. How is that possible? This fight should have been an easy victory to him.
Who was this girl again? Lieutenant to the Boogeyman of Shinigami; Zangetsu and the daughter of the King of Hueco Mundo are what she said too, right? 'Damn it Ikkaku, this was bad luck. You bit off more than you could chew on.'
What her mind still couldn't wrap around was the reality that her brother was losing—her brother couldn't lose, he was the strongest Shinigami she knew! Even though that arrogant side of him annoyed her, he had a reason to feel that way. She remembers spying on one of his spar with the lieutenant of the 6th Division and winning against him so effortlessly! Ikkaku isn't even the lieutenant of his Division but he bested someone who was!
He was a master at Zanjutsu and just as good at Hakuda!
Watching as her brother narrowly avoids a kick to the liver, Shino clenches her hands and shoves the Shinigami that had moved in front of her before walking into the field. "What the hell are you doing, Ikkaku! Kick her ass already!"
Hearing his sister call him out, he stops to see her burst from the line of lieutenants. "Shino? What the hell are you doin—!" A direct kick to the liver sent him rolling across the field before stopping and gasping for air.
"Ikkaku!" Just when she was about to run to her brother's side, she felt someone place a hand on her shoulders.
"Shino?" Yumichika turns the girl around. "What are you doing here? You should be at the academy."
"I know. I know, but this idiot couldn't keep his mouth shut during dinner yesterday since he kept talking about how he was going to fight an Arrancar and I was too curious! You can't blame me for it, I just wanted to see what they look like!" She answered back to her brother's friend and darted her eyes to see him trying to stand up.
Yumichika's purple-colored eyes follow the girl's sight. "Come on, this is your brother's fight." He pulls her, but when the girl doesn't budge, he looks back at her and she looks back at him. The look in her eyes was very obvious to him. "Your brother is going to be fine."
When Yumichika takes his hand back and waits for her to walk, she turns around and screams at her brother one more time, "I'LL BE CHEERING FOR YOU, SO YOU BETTER WIN THIS!"
Shit! 'This hurts like hell!' There was a reason he was covering his right side the best he could. He was sure that Lily had been avoiding hitting that spot. There were plenty of openings in which she had slipped through his defenses and a few times he wouldn't have been able to block, but she never took them.
"Finally pulling out shots under the belt?" He grimaces slightly at the pain that ran across his body. "That was a rather dirty hit that I didn't expect from you."
Lily knew that; she didn't need anyone to tell her that a liver shot can cause some serious damage, but she needs to end this fight. This has taken too long, and she's enjoying it. This doesn't feel like those simple spars that she partakes with Mashiro or Yoruichi. Those two basically use sparring matches to teach her new fighting methods. This also doesn't feel like her regular training routines she does to help Menoly or Loly.
Her opponent also wasn't some low-tier Adjuchas.
This man is one of their actual enemies.
She was also finally fighting someone who didn't see some weak little girl. He was fighting her with the respect of a warrior.
Which is why she's enjoying this fight, because she's actually fighting someone at an equal footing—well, technically, the seals placed on them are what put them on equal grounds, but that's what had made this fight so enjoyable.
'Breathe and calm down. No reason to feel so high because of some fight.' She told herself in a way to relax, but her Inner-Hollow started saying otherwise.
'What the hell is wrong with that?'
'What's wrong with it?' She took another quick breather before rushing back to the Shinigami without answering his question. 'I'm not one of Baraggan's barbaric Hollows that only wants to fight!' She balances her body to the right as Ikkaku makes a haste attempt to stab her and locks his spear under her arm before delivering another devastating kick to the liver.
'Again, I ask, what's wrong with that?'
Seeing Ikkaku stunned, she throws a cross punch that lands on his chest, '18!' and sends him rolling back. 'I'M NOT SOME HOLLOW THAT FINDS PLEASURE IN FIGHTING! I'M BETTER THAN—!'
Her Inner-self cut in sharply. 'Better than what? Hollows? Now you're feeling like you're better than them when you were trying to show them that everyone should get treated the same, even if they're Hollow and you're an Arrancar?'
'No! Damn it! That's not what I'm trying to say! I'M supposed to be better! I'm supposed to show them we don't need to act like animals when we have the chance to feel human again even if we don't look like it!' She silently prays that Ikkaku could stay down but the guy gets up again. "Kami! Do I need to break bones for you to stop fighting!"
He laughed before answering, "Remember what we bet on! Give me a Hell of a good time, Lilynette!" He rushed towards her with his spear held high.
'DAMN IT!' She didn't bother running towards him and appeared in front of him with a Sonido. She twisted her body to move her rear foot at front to swing at his head level, but Ikkaku acted fast and swung Hōzukimaru down low to trip her, which caused her to fall backwards.
Seeing an opening, he brings Hōzukimaru back around and slams Lily on her liver—returning the favor for those cheap shots. Instead of expecting her to lose some drive after that hit, the look in her eye seemed to tell otherwise since it appeared like she got a jumpstart instead.
Even after getting hit by the spear and still falling backward, she found enough strength to twist her body and deliver a kick on the Shinigami's head. She hears his body rolling a few times as she flops with her back to the ground.
'I'm supposed to show everyone that we don't have to keep living like Hollows; fighting and killing are our fundamental traits, but we do that without reason. If I can show them how I can fight for a good cause, then they should be able to follow my example. This fight isn't for any cause! It's just to fulfill someone's wet dream! I don't need to waste my time with this stupid fight!' Panting hard, she looked over at Ikkaku standing up again and couldn't stop herself from following his example.
'You think we don't have reasons for doing what we do?' She asked back, but Lily didn't answer. That doesn't mean she's going to give up, not when Lily is getting close. 'You don't want to keep fighting?'
'Of course I don't.' She said while dodging the separated Hōzukimaru before grabbing and pulling it to deliver a Lazo across the bald man's chest, but he was only down for a couple of seconds before running back to her.
'Then why do you keep fighting? Is it to find some self-worth in yourself? I remember how everyone made you feel—made you feel weak.' She watched Lily cross her arms over her head to block the spear, but left herself open to a knee strike on her stomach. 'Is it the pleasure of a good fight? I know how you've been feeling this whole time; you never felt this excited before.' Even after the hit, Lily hasn't budged her arms. 'Or is it because of pride? I mean, claiming to be the daughter of the King of Hueco Mundo and lieutenant to the infamous Zangetsu means you have to carry yourself in the same manner of pride as them, right?'
Lily grabbed a hold of Ikkaku's weapon and fired a Bala over her eye that hit him. She didn't rush after him and stopped to let Ikkaku have time to catch his breath. 'What do you want me to say?'
'I want you to tell me how you really feel. Not self-worth, pleasure, or pride. Tell me how you feel.'
She stares at Ikkaku laughing before standing up and telling her something that seems to fly over her head. He rushed towards her and met her up close for a close-quarter battle. 'I…' She ducks under a swing that is at her head level. 'I feel so normal. Fights with Mashiro or Yoruichi don't feel like this. With the way I'm fighting right now, with the way my body moves on its own, I feel like this is all natural for me.'
With one hand, Lily blocks a knee strike Ikkaku was trying to pull off and with the other one, she stops Hōzukimaru. She acted a little too late when the Shinigami pulled his head back before slamming it on her face. She stopped holding the knee and tried to check herself, but that's when her opponent used the opportunity to deliver a punch across her cheek that threw her back.
She lay on the ground exhausted but not beaten and seconds later stood back on her feet. 'Why can't I stay down? Why do I want to keep going?' She quietly asks her Inner-self as she goes back into fighting Ikkaku.
'You can call that a drive or pulse… it has another fancy name, too.' The Inner-Lily quietly spoke back. 'This makes you a Hollow. What makes everyone feel like a Hollow.'
'The fighting? That's what it means to be a Hollow?'
'I guess you don't understand it. You said it yourself before, back when you split apart from Starrk, that you had been taking it for granted in the way you have never gone through the life of a Hollow and THIS is the life of a Hollow; fighting to survive or to feel pleasure. We have literally divided Hueco Mundo into this because we follow these simple pulses that give us drive.' The Inner-Hollow smiled broadly. 'To you, I represent these pulses that you need to accept, Lilynette!'
Lily skips back to escape a swipe and hisses as she could feel another addition to the cuts on her stomach. Luckily it wasn't something too deep, and it was an inch away from her… Hollow hole. '... I get it now.' She smiles while relaxing her mind to coat her arms and legs with an extra layer of her Reiatsu.
'Do you?'
'It was a little hard but, like you said, I didn't go living like a normal Hollow, so I didn't get to know what it was to follow it. And because of that, I don't know the struggles that Hollows go through. I shouldn't try to hide or take away their instincts!'
Low chuckles bubble up from Inner-Lily's throat before she laughs out loud. 'For two years you have ignored me, but now that you can finally feel it, think you can accept me so easily?'
The corners of Lily's smile drop to a small frown. 'We're Hollows. Listening to our instincts should come naturally to us.' She goes back to smiling again. 'You're a part of me I should have listened to from the moment I heard you, which reminds me, I want to have a chat with you.'
'... Fine.' The Inner-Hollow grins, 'But first, you gotta take out the cue ball.'
"What are you smiling about, Lily?" Ikkaku asked with his own grin on his face.
Her smile turned into a smirk. "Honestly? I'm smiling because I'm actually enjoying myself right now."
At her answer, he bursts out laughing before asking, "Finally understood what I meant?"
"Yeah, I did."
"So then," He moves into a stance, "for how long do you want to enjoy this?"
"Sorry, but I'm going to be ending this soon."
Ikkaku took it as a challenge. "I want to see you try!"
'Do you know what you're going to do?'
'I have… a crazy idea.' Lily looked past Ikkaku's shoulder to see her Rapier a few meters behind him; No matter how many times she has kicked him, he seems to always land near her sword. 'I don't know if it'll work, because by logic, it shouldn't be possible, but I don't feel so dispirited about trying it.'
'Do you remember what Urahara-san told you before? About Zanpakutō?'
'I do.' She rushed towards Ikkaku before taking a leap and slamming her foot down at the spot the Shinigami was standing just seconds before he took a jump back. 'A Zanpakutō isn't just a weapon, or an extension for yourself. A Zanpakutō is a part of you, a part of your soul!' Seeing him closer to her Rapier, and feeling much spiritually closer to her Zanpakutō, she focuses on gathering her Reiryoku. 'However, an Arrancar's Zanpakutō is far different that a Shinigami. That's why I feel that my idea would work.'
The more Reiryoku she focused on, the more she could feel it gather in her rapier. 'An Arrancar's Zanpakutō are a part of our essence and soul!' After launching another ax kick that lured Ikkaku closer to her Zanpakutō, she called out her trap card, "Punta!"
The girl wasn't holding her Zanpakutō; he could clearly see that, but why would she call out that attack? It's not like her Zanpakutō could launch her attack. 'Unless it can!' Just as he finished the thought, he felt the familiar burning sensation that ran through the shoulder he was holding his weapon.
Ikkaku turns his head to see that the girl's attack has not come from the point of the blade but had come from a spot that was close to the weapon's guard that a beam of light shot to his shoulder. 'Shit! I didn't expect something like this from her!' He turns back around to see that Lily's right leg was coming down from an axe kick he wasn't paying attention to.
Just before her leg hit his shoulder, Lily had created an Espinas at the back of her ankle and when she felt that her leg pinned to his shoulder, she used every muscle in her right leg to hoist herself off the ground before swinging her other leg to hit Ikkaku on the side of the head. She dispelled Espinas and Punta at the same time she landed her kick to see him fly off across and land near the ground of 2nd seated officers.
'Is he down for the count?'
'No.' She answered way before Ikkaku started moving because she already knew the type of person he is. "Is not worth it."
"What… the hell are you… talking about..?" Ikkaku asked as he pushed himself to his feet. "This is going… to be the best fight I will ever have…"
"You make it sound like we will not fight again."
He chuckles before lifting his head. "You're going to die, remember?" Grumbling from both puncture wounds on his shoulders, he switched his spear to his other hand.
"Maybe… or maybe not." She can't help but smile a little because something was telling her how he was already on his way here. "We have to wait and see." His eyes still held a glint in them that appears she couldn't quite understand. Whatever it could be, it's the reason he hasn't dropped his weapon. "You don't need to keep fighting. Just swallow your pride and we can fight another day."
"Pride?" He laughed before correcting her, "I'm not fighting for any pride or honor, I'm just being selfish and wanting a good time."
'He took a lot of beatings to the head and liver. How can he still keep going?' The Inner-Lily asked right as Ikkaku took a stance. 'Maybe an Espinas to the chest will stop him?'
Before she could try any more violence, she says, "22." Which seemed to be enough to stop the Shinigami in confusion.
"22? 22 What?"
"22 different times I could have killed you." She told him in a hard, clipped tone.
'So that's what she has been counting.' But Suì-Fēng knew that it wasn't just any hit that Lily landed, she knew that because she has seen Lily land over 22 different hits. 'She has been counting lethal blows then, anything that meant one hit kill.' However, it all sounded like—
"BULLSHIT!" Ikkaku screamed out in rage. 22 different times he could have died? That's absurd!
"Then a demonstration?" She stated back coolly—which only seemed to enrage the man—before taking her stance.
Ikkaku rushed towards her, his mind already checking in the boxes of the many ways Lily could attack.
Her Rapier wasn't close or near enough to surprise him from a sneak attack to the back.
Her stance right now was the one she uses to redirect his punches and trip him, and as long as he didn't get into her zone, then there's no way she can trap him.
With Balas and, most likely, Ceros, he can easily dodge with a well-timed Flash Step.
Her Hierro seems to cover just her arms and legs. It wasn't even that tough, so if he could, then maybe sneaking a slash across her chest could give him the win.
'I just need to act faster than her!' Once he reached a safe distance that was close and far away from her, he swung and split apart Hōzukimaru.
"23."
The light the shot from both of Lily's palms wasn't what Ikkaku expected; they even moved faster than he could have reacted. One of the girl's attacks had gone through his left forearm—the one he was holding Hōzukimaru and the other light hit… He looks down to his chest. He could sense the heat from the light, but thankfully, it didn't pierce him. "Shit..." He looked back up. "You could have always done this, huh?"
Lily kept her Espinas up as she explained, "Espinas; just another one of my tricks. All I have to do is focus on the Reiatsu that I have over my arms and legs. Every hit to the head, liver, chest and stomach could have been all lethal blows." Her eye narrows down. "This match is over. You can't use your arms anymore."
"Then I'll just hold Hōzukimaru with my teeth!" Ikkaku responded.
"And if I break your teeth?"
"Then I'll just kick you!"
"And if I break your legs?" That closed the man's mouth. "We can fight another day, Ikkaku. This won't be our last." She dispersed her Espinas and started walking towards Captain Zaraki. "But it could be if we keep going and you don't go over and recover." She looked over her shoulder to see the bald Shinigami vending down to grab his Zanpakutō. She stopped to watch him just in case he tried to pull a quick one on her, but he held his spear over his left shoulder.
'Doesn't he have a hole in his forearm?'
'I'm sure he's trying to tough it out.'
"You didn't win, so the promise doesn't hold up."
She turned around and walked back to Captain Zaraki while hiding her smirk from him. "We never bet on winning or losing, only if I give you a good fight. So it's up to you if the bet holds up." She heard Ikkaku laugh just as she stood in front of the captain of the 11th Division, his imposing figure towering over her, but she didn't feel terrified. She raised both her arms and pressed them together. "Welp, I'm ready to go back to my hole again."
Kenpachi's impassive expression manner soon change into hysterical laughter.
Did he not see one of his men getting beat up? She raised her arms a little higher and shook them. "Hello, Captain Zaraki; the prisoner's supposed to go back to her cell, remember?"
The giant of a man's laughter slowly came to a halt. "You sure you wanna return there?" His signature smirk came forth and said, "I can give you a few more minutes to mess around."
"Huh?" Lily looked in the direction Kenpachi was staring at and recognized the group of Shinigami that are around Ikkaku as Hanatarō tended to his wound were all Lieutenants—it was easy to see the white badge on their arms. She looked back at the captain, "Your guy gave me a hard time, and I'm already beat up; I don't think I want to take my chance with a lieutenant right now."
He shrugged his shoulders and waved at the guards that brought Lily here. "Fine." He smirked and said, "Then next time."
She smirked back, "Yeah, next time."
Shino was having a hard time keeping up a scowl on her face as her lips quiver a bit. "You almost died, dumbass!"
Ikkaku seemed insulted by what he heard. "Who are you calling a dumbass, brat!" At the wrong thing.
"You! Almost! Died!"
"Yeah? Well—OUCH! Don't tighten the bandage too hard!" He glared at the 4th Division member, who quickly back away and bowed his head up and down repetitively.
"I'm sorry about that, Madarame-san!" Hanatarō looked up and said, "I did what I could, but you will need to come to the 4th Division so that the captain can heal and keep you there to recover better."
"Huh!? I don't need to be bedridden!"
"Oh? Are you sure about that, Madarame-san?"
Everyone's spine shivered at the little too sweet tone in Captain Unohana's voice. The group of lieutenants moved away as she got closer to Ikkaku.
She put her hand over his punctured shoulder and gave it a light squeeze, making the man groan in pain. "I think you need to come with me if a gentle touch like that made you wince, Madarame-san."
The "sweet" smile she gave him said that there was no room for arguments. "I-I suppose if you say so, Captain Unohana."
After they slammed the door to her cell, she looked back and stared at the door for a few seconds before dropping to the ground. 'Shit! I'm exhausted!'
'Are you really?'
'Yes? No? I don't know! My heart is beating hard but my body feels so light!'
'And the smile on your face?' The Inner-Hollow asked with a teasing tone in her voice.
She's right, she could feel herself smiling. 'Guess I'm still excited.' Her smile dropped. 'Can we talk?'
'We can talk tomorrow, okay?'
'Promise?'
'... Yeah, I promise.'
Day 3
She didn't find the time to talk to her Inner-Hollow. 'Correction.' She watches Captain Suì-Fēng do another lap around her. 'I couldn't even try.' Her body, and she's sure of her appearance, must look like shit.
Soon as light shone through the window of her cell, Captain Suì-Fēng grabbed her and she got taken back to the room of the first day, only that this time the petite captain was alone and she hadn't laid a finger on her for the past hour.
Yet.
Lily watched Captain Suì-Fēng stop after making another lap around her and leaned close before cupping her chin with a hand. The unexpected action made her jerk her head back, but the woman kept an iron grip and didn't let go. She wanted to tell her off, but stopped upon seeing the mixed pool of desperation and frustration in the captain's eyes.
She stared back too, wondering if Suì-Fēng was staring into a deeper part of her soul that she has never seen before. A tender shiver ran down her back as those gray orbs seemed to take her body apart and try to find something much deeper than just the thousands of souls that dwell inside of her.
Lily wanted to know what was going on inside the woman's head.
Suì-Fēng felt the knot in her stomach get worse, so much worse. She doesn't know how or when it happened, but sometime last night she was wrestling with restless sleep. She tossed and turned to find a comfortable position, but her legs kept shaking and she felt like running. So she did just that. She got up and went for a quick run to burn off the unnecessary energy she's filled with, but wanted to do more than just run around.
So she started training for hours before realizing that sleepless nights only happen when she's thinking of her and having her invade her mind again after all these years again makes her feel frustrated.
She's not some obsessed little girl anymore! She's the captain of the Division that she left behind for a bunch of beasts! Beasts that look just like this girl!
'I don't see it!' Suì-Fēng moves Lily's head side to side. "What did she see in you that made it worth leaving everything behind?" She lets go of the girl's face and sits on her chair; the feeling of spite that builded towards Lily filled her stomach and has made it harder for her to keep standing. She was actually more or less surprised that the girl had said nothing after the rough treatment.
Lily stared at Suì-Fēng and the woman glared back at her. She opened her mouth, wanting to snap at the woman for her rudeness, but stopped when she opened her mouth first.
"I don't see it." Suì-Fēng spoke her thoughts out aloud. "I see nothing that makes you, or any of the other Arrancar, worth siding with. What can you possibly give them? Or maybe you're supposed to help them? That would explain why she spent so much time with all of you."
"What are y—"
"What's Shihōin Yoruichi's plans?"
Lily's frustration slowly dimmed aways. "I'm sorry. Yoruichi's plans?"
Suì-Fēng glares before saying, "I won't ask about your Hollow army, Zangetsu or any other Hollow related topic." She leans over the table. "What I want to know is about a certain individual that's helping you; Shihōin Yoruichi."
"Why the change of topics?" Lily carefully asked back.
The captain narrows her eyes with no frustration. "Because that's what I should have asked the first day we had you here. Your king, Zangetsu, you or any other Hollow activity shouldn't have been our top concern." She leans back before continuing, "Central 46's worries had spread into our minds and clouded what should have been obvious."
Lily watched the captain stand up and walk around her again.
"A bunch of Hollows appeared out of the blue in Karakura Town. They attacked a group of Shinigami and some captains before disappearing to only get found again later in the hideout of the Soul Society's currently most wanted criminals; Urahara Kisuke and Shihōin Yoruichi. Only to come back later following the order of some Hollow King and have all of Hueco Mundo 'coordinated'." She scoffed. "Hollows are too animalistic to find any harmonization with one another. And if Hueco Mundo is under the rule of a King, he's not the one making the call because it is those two who are pulling the strings." Standing across from the girl again, she said, "So, what's their plan?"
"They don't have any plans."
Somewhat feeling irritated, Suì-Fēng was about to press harder when she realized Lily sounded somewhat clueless too. She put out the anger before it could spread and said, "I see. They never told you or anyone else what their actual intentions are. They're only using all of you, just like they use us." She sat back in her seat with a heavy frown.
Lily still felt clueless. Why was the Shinigami captain asking about Yoruichi now? What had brought it up?
Suì-Fēng's frown still frames her lips. "I'm not surprised you look so clueless. Shihōin had probably made sure you're all outside of the loop. It's not the first time she has done it. She has atleast told you why they're fugitives, right? I mean, they must've gained all of your trust; So I have to assume they told you."
Slowly, the unawareness faded away and Lily said, "Are you talking about the way they got framed?"
The captain laughed a little too bitterly, "Framed? Her? No. The two who got caught, however, are the ones who broke the law and as partners, Yoruichi had to go save t—."
"Not partners. They're friends and if one of my friends got framed, I would do anything to help."
Suì-Fēng hid the slight surprise that the girl would cut in sharply with a glare. "And help them how? By escaping instead of bringing in evidence that could set them free? Yoruichi's smart and with the power that she has, if she could, she could have put their trial on hold until they found solid evidence."
Now it was Lily's turn to frown. "Central 46 had already made up their minds about what was about to happen to them."
Something slowly clicks inside of Suì-Fēng's head. "And what was Central 46's plan?"
"To execute the Visoreds and to lock-up Urahara and Tessai's powers before being exiled to live in the Human World."
"I'm going to assume the Visoreds are those treacherous captains and lieutenants. But, you know, being exiled sounds like light punishment once you know what they did. To be fair, they should have gotten executed too." She watched the girl press her lips together. "You know what they did was wrong, right?"
"They got framed." Lily's answers seemed to have snapped Captain Suì-Fēng's patient, and the woman slammed her hands on the table.
"How the hell can someone frame you for giving the Visoreds their Hollow powers! No one else at the time besides Urahara Kisuke potentially knew how to do it!"
"You'll be a little surprised to know."
"Enlightened me."
Just before Lily could open her mouth, she noticed a glint behind the captain's eyes again; it was the look of desperation and frustration, but now she knew they were both connected. Whatever the desperation is, it's frustrating her and the only thing they have been talking about that seemed to lack any answers to her, have been about Yoruichi.
Yesterday when asking about Zangetsu or anything to do with Hollows didn't bring any kind of expression into her eyes, but she clarified she wasn't searching for any answers about them today, just Yoruichi.
But now she was asking about what she knew about Urahara and Tessai…
Could it be?
"You know." Lily calmly stated, and all the anger that Suì-Fēng seemed to have been faking disappeared. "You know that what happened to them must have been a setup."
"And what makes you say that?"
"Because you know Yoruichi would do nothing like this." Her eye caught the petite woman's body stiff. "You have been doubting Central 46 this entire time about their case, because you know they're innocent."
"There's no proof of their innocents, so what do I believe in? My captain?"
They both looked into each other's eyes and Lily saw a barrier between them that's preventing them from reaching the middle ground. She knows how to take down the wall, which is going to be a stupidly enormous gamble.
"... Our Hollow army isn't really what you think we're going to use it for."
The captain leans back and wonders why the girl's finally talking about it now. 'From preventing her from talking about Yoruichi.' She wanted to scoff at the attempt at changing the subject, but… somehow, it didn't feel that way. "Then why have an army if you will not use it to attack Soul Society?" Because why else would you build an army?
"Armies aren't used to just attack."
'Protection?' Suì-Fēng frowned at the idea. "Worry we might attack you instead?"
"Your men in the 12th Division haven't figured out how to trace us back and we will keep it that way." Lily carefully reveals information that she knew about Gotei 13. "Besides, if there's going to be an attack, it's going to happen in Hueco Mundo and not from outside."
"... I see, not everyone agrees with the current King of Hueco Mundo." She tried to guess, but by the look on the girl's face, it wasn't.
"Before my father could be king, he had to take the crown first."
The girl dropped more information for her. "So there was another King of Hollows?" She's also noticing now that the girl's attitude seemed to change from her usual snappy self. As of right now, she was carefully cooperating with her and keeping her attitude in check to the manner of a professional diplomat.
"We hid from Baraggan for as long as we could, but eventually, he was going to find us. So my father acted first and challenged him." With a serious look, she said, "IF there's a Hollow that you're supposed to be worried about, it has to be him. Baraggan WAS building his army for war."
"That he was going to attack Seireitei with?" The captain crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow. "As far as our history goes, no Hollow has ever breached Seireitei; we have a barrier for that. So unless this Baraggan is powerful enough to destroy the barrier, he still has thousands of Shinigami and the Captain Commander himself to go through IF he can get past it." When the girl showed her a smirk that basically spelled out 'I know something that you don't,' she had to ask. "What do you know?"
"If there's going to be an attack, it's going to be happening from the inside of Seireitei."
Crap. Is the girl confirming… "A traitor?"
"Traitors."
"How do you know this?"
Before talking, Lily thought about it first. If there was any person who she could trust in Soul Society about this kind of information, it would be her. "Yoruichi's proud of you." The statement seemed to have shocked Suì-Fēng as she drew in a sharp breath. "One day she couldn't stop bragging about how well she trained you and how amazing you turned out with your own training that you were able to almost beat Ulquiorra. She told me before that if I want to set my bar high, I need to make sure I can go higher than her little bee."
Suì-Fēng felt anger. How dare the Arrancar bring up her name only to spit out some nonsense like that! Also, Ulquiorra? She supposed it must be the name of the Arrancar she fought a couple of years back… But she's actually proud that she almost beat him..? The praise actually makes her feel so… ashamed of herself.
She felt her heart skip a beat in the same way it used to be when Yoruichi would praise her back when she was starting out her life as a member of the 2nd Division. Why does it still have the same effect on her even after she outgrew that stupid phase of her? Does that mean that Yoruichi really cares about her? The Yoruichi that she knew was never a fake? Or is she still the same little girl that's hoping her captain was innocent?
The thought made her feel both sad and guilty. While it seemed like her captain still kept her in her heart, she tried her best to stomp her out of it… Was Yoruichi really keeping her inside of her heart?
It was pretty clear to Lily just how Suì-Fēng was feeling. But, once again, "The only person I can trust with this information is you, because Yoruichi would trust you."
"... Okay." The captain took a breath to calm herself. "Tell me everything you know."
Lily couldn't stop the small smile—she got help from the inside now! "Aizen is the one behind everything."
"Aizen?" Suì-Fēng narrows her eyes. One hundred years later and they're still convinced—'No… not convince. In Central 46's trial records, they said Urahara stated how he stopped Aizen from killing the Visoreds.' There must be proof of that. "How are you sure Aizen is one of them?"
Lily smirked and said, "I know eight eyewitnesses."
Ofcourse, if the Visoreds survive the Hollowfication, then they could come forth as eyewitnesses. However… "Urahara said the same thing about Aizen, however, reports said that there were several eyewitnesses that saw Aizen in his Division Barracks working on the night of the accident. Can you explain that?"
Lily actually does, but, "Can you please stay open-minded with me and hear me out?" When the captain nodded, she said, "Okay, it's hard to explain and probably harder to accept, but I think it had been possible for Aizen to lie about his Zanpakutō's ability."
The Arrancar's right, that sounds hard to accept. "How?"
"Two years ago, Aizen showed himself to Ichigo in the park and he swore Aizen had activated his Zanpakutō on him and it seemed to have used it to show Ichigo when he died. It was super convincing for Ichigo because to him, it looked like he was back at the moment of his death because everything looked so real."
That sounds a lot like illusions. But there's an explanation for that. "Captain Aizen's Zanpakutō is a water-base sword. Refraction of light as it passes from air into water causes optical illusions. That's probably what he saw."
"But is he good enough to change day into night and bring Ichigo right to the river where he died?"
The petite captain frowns because she doesn't know if Captain Aizen is that good with his Zanpakutō. How would Aizen also know where Zangetsu died? "Okay, let's say Aizen was there. How come the 12th Division wasn't able to pick up his Reiatsu?"
"He wore a cloak that hide Reiatsu."
That's logical to Captain Suì-Fēng. A few decades back and Captain Kurotsuchi created just that. Has the 12th Division Captain lost a few cloaks? She probably has to check and by check, she means to sneak into Kurotsuchi's lab because that man is too prideful to admit someone could steal from under his nose. "Who are the other traitors?"
"Believe it or not, one of them actually introduced himself; his name is Ichimaru Gin." Starrk told her about Gin once it was apparent that Aizen had joined forces with Baraggan… which reminded her. "He tried to recruit us a few years back to join forces with Aizen. You can see it didn't work, but he recruited someone much worse."
"I see. That's why Baraggan was building an army? Aizen commanded him?" Suì-Fēng has to wonder if either this Baraggan character was really just some weak Hollow or if Aizen was just powerful enough to subdue him.
Lily shook her head. "Baraggan and Aizen are working together."
Doesn't quite answer the question she asked in her head.
"There's another person too. His name's Kaname Tōsen."
The 9th Division captain? "Proof?"
"Witnesses; Hirako Shinji and Muguruma Kensei."
The captain recognizes those names. "I don't understand how they could leave unfinished work like that."
Lily frowns and says, "You can thank Urahara and Tessai for that." Her frown deepened as the captain stood up, probably ready to leave. "I don't know what you'll do, but whatever it is, do it fast. Aizen is about to unravel his plan."
"How do you know this?" Suì-Fēng walked behind her before pressing the Arrancar's arms—gently—behind her back.
Lily let the woman guide her back to her cell. "They came to Hueco Mundo to kidnap me to make sure that Ichigo could come and try to rescue me, but what's going to happen is have our forces clash." She turned her head around and said, "My father can't leave Hueco Mundo without worrying that Baraggan would use the opportunity to attack us."
The infamous Hollow is coming to Soul Society? Sounds like her 2nd seat is about to get his rematch him. "That's just great… What should I be expecting from Zangetsu?"
Lily had turned her head back around so the captain didn't see the smile on her lips. "My captain can be quite unpredictable. So I don't know." Her smile dropped, and she quietly said, "Ichigo probably knows, but I don't think he does, about what he did to your old lieutenant… but when you get to see him, ask him."
Soon after that, the walk back to her cell seemed spent mostly in silence and it wasn't because a Shinigami and a Hollow shouldn't be talking to each other but because her last words seemed to have brought back the cold 2nd Division Captain that she knew from day one. Once she's locked behind her cell, she turns to see Suì-Fēng's back.
"Everything you told me, I'm going to take with a grain of salt."
When she left, Lily cursed herself for bringing up her late 2nd seat officer…
'Nice move, idiot.'
Lily smiled at hearing her Inner-Hollow. 'I thought you weren't real. Thought Ikkaku had hit my head a few times too hard and only imagined you.' Before her Inner-Hollow could reply, Hanatarō had walked in.
"I'm here to heal your wounds, Lily-san."
Smiling, Lily said, "Thank you. I guess you had to wait for Captain Suì-Fēng to bring me back."
Cocking his head to the side, Hanatarō said, "I didn't know that Captain Suì-Fēng took you away. Central 46 sent a messenger to the 4th Division to come heal you."
Central 46? "Well, that's nice of them… although they should have done it yesterday."
"They didn't allow us." He removed the medic bag and said, "But about five minutes ago, someone came with orders from Central 46 to heal you."
Nice for them to wait after Captain Suì-Fēng brought her back.
'Almost like anyone can come and get you since you don't have any guards.'
'... I don't have any guards?' Did she ever see guards?… No, she hasn't. "How come no one is guarding me?"
Removing two bottles that seemed like ointment from his bag, the boy said, "No one is guarding you?"
"I haven't seen or heard a single guard. Only the occasional Shinigami that brings me food. Didn't you see anyone outside?"
"No, I haven't." Is he supposed to report that to Central 46? To his captain? He opens the cells and walked inside without any fear. Lily sat down with a warm smile on his face as she waited for him to treat her.
"Sheesh, who's making those dumb decisions?" She flinched a bit when Hanatarō rubbed ointment above her eye.
"I believe that would be Central 46."
Lily frowns. Central 46 has been giving her quite the freedom lately, and that's not sitting well with her. Before she could say anything about it, Captain Zaraki barged in with Shino behind him. 'Just great.'
Just as Captain Suì-Fēng stepped out of the guard tower, she saw her lieutenant walking towards it.
"Did you just interrogate the Arrancar?" Tōshirō didn't know they had to do it at the break of sunrise.
Suì-Fēng didn't answer the question, instead she said, "Come now, Lieutenant Hitsugaya, we have work to do in the shadows."
-X-
Yo~! It'd been awhile, eh? Almost... 6 months since the last update?
Truthfully I just been having off and on days when I do wanna write and then days in which I don't wanna bother with the story.
And no I didn't wrote myself into a writers block. I been having things planned out already so haven't driven myself to an dead valley.
There's also work but meh, I just rest a day or two before I go back to writing.
Did get some motivation however once I saw that the Bleach anime is coming back after 9 years! So that's something to get my drive back and focus back on the story.
Also, even though I never thought about it, I do wanna apologize with the pacing of the story might be too slow for some. I just don't wanna rush so much but I also don't wanna add too much, but obviously that's not true because after 30+ chapters I finally reached the Soul Society arc. And after this arc i'm going to add the 'Memories of Nobody' into the story and then we have Hueco Mundo and Karakura Town battles before reaching the two years timeskip and bringing in the Quincies.
So... yeah. With my slow ass pacing I might take a few more years to finish this story.
But hey, I'm not going to quit! Gonna make sure to finish and not leave it undone!
Sorry about not special chapter with Ulquiorra and Mashiro, i'll add that part in the next chapter! So until next time in hopefully 3 months!
-Ten Out